Week 2

Study Notes

Historical frameworks for psychological testing include French clinical, German nomothetic, British idiographic, and American applied orientations.

Shift from demonological to mental illness perspectives, spearheaded by Philippe Pinel, who removed chains from patients in asylums.
Differentiation of mentally ill individuals from those with deficiencies by Jean Esquirol, who incorporated statistical methods into clinical diagnosis.
Edouard Seguin introduced training for muscular and sensory skills, paving the way for intelligence testing methods.

Focus on hypnosis and hysteria in clinical settings highlighted the debate between suggestion and organic causes.
Jena Charcot's use of hypnosis influenced Sigmund Freud’s theories regarding the unconscious mind.
Pierre Janet’s observations led to the dissociation school of thought, linking dissociative symptoms to pathological behavior.

Alfred Binet developed the first general intelligence test (Binet-Simon scale) that included psychophysical, verbal, and sensory tasks, emphasizing task selection based on relevance to student intelligence.
The Binet-Simon scale aimed for objective measurement that surpassed clinical intuition and personal bias.

William Wundt’s experimental psychology laid the foundation for standardized psychological testing, prioritizing sensory function measurements.
Eduard Spranger proposed a value-centered approach to life organization, influencing the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values, a tool in social psychology.

Francis Galton posited that genius could be inherited, devising tests for reaction time and sensorimotor abilities to trace these traits.
Statistical methods emerged through Charles Spearman's concept of general intelligence, Karl Pearson's correlation studies, and Ronald Fisher's analysis of variance.
Large-scale intelligence tests in Scotland demonstrated a rise in IQ scores from 1932 to 1947, contrary to societal fears of intellectual decline.

James Cattell introduced "mental tests" focusing on sensory acuity as indicators of intelligence, inspiring the formation of a committee by the American Psychological Association in 1895 for data collection.
Evidence from Stella Sharp and Clark Wissler questioned the validity of Cattell’s theories.

Henry Goddard translated the Binet-Simon scale into English for societal application, while Lewis Terman revised and standardized it, giving rise to the IQ concept.
Various adaptations of the Stanford-Binet test were created for specific populations.

Army Alpha and Beta tests assessed spatial and common sense abilities for military service selection.
Woodworth Personal Data Sheet functioned as a self-report inventory for neurotic symptoms, accompanied by psychiatric assessments for those flagged.
Post-war developments expanded psychological testing into educational settings, leading to the creation of projective tests and standard measures for intelligence, achievement, and personality assessment.