Psychological Testing and Assessment

Objective Tests

• Objective tests require test-takers to provide responses with predetermined answers.
• Tasks are clearly defined.
• Examples: SAT, GRE, NEO personality inventory, MMPI, CPI, Myers-Briggs.

Projective Tests

• Projective tests use ambiguous or unstructured stimuli to which test-takers project their own thoughts and feelings.
• These tests are open-ended.
• Example: Rorschach inkblot test.

Psychology

• Psychology utilizes the scientific method to describe, explain, and predict human behavior.

Psychological Tests

• Psychological tests are tools or techniques used to measure human attributes, traits, and characteristics.
• Participants perform behaviors to determine inferences about the constructs or predict future outcomes.

Assessment

• Assessment uses various methods (tests, records, observations) to gain a comprehensive understanding of individuals.
• It's multimodal, gathering data from multiple sources.

Example of Assessment

• Assessing ADHD in a child combines cognitive tests, observations, interviews, and academic records.

Measurement

• Measurement quantifies constructs; may or may not involve formal tests.

Example of Measurement

• Quantifying anxiety using a self-report questionnaire with numerical scores for different anxiety levels.

Testing

• Testing is a standardized measurement method to evaluate traits, skills, and abilities.
• It's a form of measurement.

Assessment vs. Testing

• Assessment is broader and uses multiple methods.
• Testing is one tool within the assessment process.

Standardized Tests

• Standardized tests are administered to a large sample representing the target population.
• Individual scores are compared to this larger sample.

Achievement Tests

• Assess what a person has learned (previous knowledge) in a specific area.
• Example: Academic achievement.

Aptitude Tests

• Predict future performance or potential for learning.
• Example: Vocational testing for career goals.

Intelligence Tests

• Measure overall intellectual ability.

Survey vs. Test

• Surveys measure group outcomes.
• Tests measure individual performance.

Components of All Tests

• Behavior performed
• Psychological construct measured
• Inferences drawn

Behavior

• Observable and measurable actions.

Psychological Constructs

• Underlying, unobservable attributes describing or explaining human behavior.

Inference

• Drawing conclusions based on evidence.

Differences Among Tests

• Behaviors, Attributes measured and predicted outcomes, Content, Administration, Format, Scoring and interpretation, psychometric quality.

Attributes of a Good Psychological Test

• Representative samples of behaviors, Standardized testing conditions, Clear scoring rules.

Individual Decisions

• Test takers make decisions based on their test scores (e.g., college applications based on GRE scores).

Institutional Decisions

• Institutions make decisions about individuals based on their test results (e.g., admission decisions based on GRE scores).

Comparative Decisions

• Decisions comparing individual scores to others' (e.g., admission based on top scores).

Absolute Decisions

• Decisions based on minimum required scores (e.g., scholarships based on minimum GRE score).

Psychological Test Settings

• Educational, clinical, and organizational settings.

Army Alpha Test

• Early intelligence test used by the U.S. Army to assess soldiers' capabilities.
• Exhibited cultural bias.

Test Publisher Responsibilities

• Selling tests to qualified professionals
• Marketing tests accurately
• Providing detailed test manuals with psychometric data.

Test User Responsibilities

• Determining testing needs
• Selecting appropriate tests
• Administering, scoring, interpreting tests
• Adhering to professional standards.

Test User

• Any person using or involved in a psychological test.

Test Taker

• Individual completing the test.

Test Taker Responsibilities

• Preparation, Understanding of consequences, Following instructions, Honest responses, Requesting accommodations if needed.

Test Taker Rights

• Privacy, informed consent, understanding results, protection from stigma, qualified personnel, knowledge of test optionality and consequences.

Likert-type Scale

• A scale for measuring agreement/disagreement with statements.

Survey Steps

• Identify objectives
• Operational definition of objectives Constructing a survey plan
• Selecting survey type
• Writing survey items

Reasons for Neutral/Midpoint Options

• Increased scale reliability
• Reduced missing data.

Reasons to Exclude Neutral Options

• Loss of insight
• Could force responses from those without strong opinions
• Lower validity
• Poorly motivated respondents may choose midpoint.

Good Survey Items

• Purposeful, straightforward language
• Unambiguous statements
• Appropriate rating scales
• Clear response options
• Single questions
• Avoid reverse-coding.

Four Levels of Measurement

• Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio.

Nominal Scale

• Categorical, no order, most basic.
• Data names only.
• Mean doesn't relate to attributes.
• Example: Football jersey numbers.

Nominal Scale Analysis

• Frequency, mode, chi-square.

Ordinal Scale

• Rank order, order matters, no distance between ranks.
• Example: U.S. News & World Report college rankings.

Ordinal Scale Analysis

• Frequency, mode, median, percentages, correlation.

Interval Scale

• Equal intervals, no absolute zero.
• Ratio of differences meaningful.
• Example: Degrees Celsius, IQ scores.

Interval Scale Analysis

• Frequency, mode, median, mean, standard deviation, correlation, t-test, F-test.

Ratio Scale

• Equal intervals, absolute zero.
• Example: Number of text messages.

Example: Nominal Scale

• Answering "Are you currently happy? (Yes/No)"

Example: Ordinal Scale

• Ranking colors from most liked to least liked.

Example: Interval Scale

• Rating health on a scale from poor to excellent.

Example: Ratio Scale

• Answering "How many children do you have?"

When to Use Median

• Extreme scores, skewed distributions, undetermined values, open-ended distributions, ordinal scales.

Central Tendency

• Represents a group's typical behavior.
• A single score representing the group's center.

Negatively Skewed Distribution

• Data clustered at higher values.
• Mean affected by extreme low values.
• Missing negative values.

Positively Skewed Distribution

• Data concentrated at lower values.
• Mean affected by extreme high values.
• Missing positive values

Skewed

• Lack of symmetry.

Raw Scores

• Original test results.
• Limited interpretation on their own.

Norm Scores

• Scores compared to a norm group (reference population).

Frequency Distribution

• Organized arrangement of scores into class intervals.
• Examples: histograms and stem-and-leaf displays.

Class Intervals

• Grouping raw scores for display.

Histogram

• Bar graph showing frequency distribution.

Stem-and-Leaf Displays

• Visualize individual values within grouped data.

Normal Curve/Distribution

• Bell-shaped curve describing many physical and psychological traits.

Mean

• Arithmetic average of a distribution.

Median

• Middle score in a distribution.

Mode

• Most frequent score(s) in a distribution.

Bimodal Distribution

• Two modes.

Multimodal Distribution

• More than two modes.

No Mode

• No repeated data values.

Normal Curve Central Tendency

• 50% above/below mean.
• Mean = Mode = Median.
• Most scores near the mean.

Outlier Influence

• Mean most affected by outliers.
• Mode unaffected.

Kurtosis

• Measure of flatness or peakness of a distribution.

Problems with Central Tendency

• Not all individuals the same as the average.
• Variablity needed to describe the score.

Variability

• Score dispersion from each other and from the mean

Small Variability

• Scores clustered together.

Large Variability

• Scores widely dispersed.

Measuring Variability Purpose

• Describes score distribution (clustering or spread).

Types of Variability

• Range, interquartile range, standard deviation.

Range

• Difference between highest and lowest scores.
• Limited by extreme outliers.

Range and Dispersion

• Higher range = greater dispersion, Lower range= scores closer to central range

Range Limitations

• Affected by extreme values.
• Doesn't use complete data.

Variance

• Standard deviation squared.

Standard Deviation (SD)

• Average difference between scores and the mean.

Standard Deviation Advantages

• Interpretability of individual scores.
• Common measure of data characteristics

Explore objective and projective psychological tests. Understand psychology's scientific approach to behavior. Learn about psychological tests as tools to measure human attributes and assessment's comprehensive methods.