The Tools of Psychological Assessment PDF

The Tools of Psychological Assessment Hanna Mae A. Caparas, MP, RPm, CHRA The Tools of Psychological Assessment Test- measuring device or procedure Interview- method of gathering information through direct communication involving reciprocal exchange Portfolio- Work products or...

The Tools of Psychological Assessment Hanna Mae A. Caparas, MP, RPm, CHRA The Tools of Psychological Assessment Test- measuring device or procedure Interview- method of gathering information through direct communication involving reciprocal exchange Portfolio- Work products or samples of one’s ability and accomplishment Case History Data- records, transcripts, and other accounts in written, pictorial, or other form that preserve archival information, official and informal accounts, and other data and items relevant to an assessee Below are several aspects in which to view an interview Verbal and face-to-face - what does the client tell you? How much information are they willing/able to provide? Para-verbal- how does the client speak? At normal pace, tone, volume? What is their command of English, how well do they choose their words? Do they pick up on non-verbal cues for speech and turn taking? How organized is their speech? Situation - Is the client cooperative? Is their participation voluntary? For what purpose is the interview conducted? Where is the interview conducted? The Tools of Psychological Assessment Behavioral Observation- monitoring the actions of others or oneself by visual or electronic means while recording quantitative and/or qualitative information regarding the actions. Role-Play Tests - tool of assessment wherein assessees are directed to act as if they were in a particular situation. Role play - acting an improvised or partially improvised part in a simulated situation Behavioral Observations How does the person act? Nervous, calm, tensed? What they do and do not do? Do they make and maintain eye contact? How close to you do they sit? Often, behavior observations are some of the most important information you can gather. Behavioral observations may be used clinically (such as to add to interview information or to assess results of treatment) or in research settings (to see which treatment is more efficient or as a DV) The Tools of Psychological Assessment Computers as Tools role in test administration, scoring, and interpretation CAPA -Computer Assisted Psychological Assessment CAT- Computer Adaptive Testing adaptive -computer’s ability to tailor the test to the test taker’s ability or test taking pattern History of Psychological testing and Assessment  Circa 2200 B.C. Chinese test public officials For a period of about three thousand years, forms of proficiency testing existed in China. In dynasties where state- sponsored examinations, referred to as imperial examinations, for official positions were in force, the consequential privileges for succeeding varied  Historical Perspective Ancient Greco-Roman era- writings are early attempts to categorize personality types based on bodily fluids (e.g., blood, phlegm). Renaissance era-measurement in the modern sense began to emerge. 18th century- Christian von Wolff had anticipated psychology as a science and psychological measurement as a specialty within that science. 1859- Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, arguing that chance variation in species would be selected or rejected by nature according to adaptivity and survival value. 1869- Francis Galton was aspired to classify people “according to their natural gifts” and to ascertain their “deviation from an average”. Galton would be credited with devising or contributing to the development of many contemporary tools of psychological assessment including questionnaires, rating scales, and self-report inventories.  Experimental Psychology Assessment was also an important activity at the first experimental psychology laboratory, founded at the University of Leipzig in Germany by Wilhelm Max Wundt (1832–1920) Wundt and his students tried to formulate a general description of human abilities with respect to variables such as reaction time, perception, and attention span. Wundt focused on questions relating to how people were similar Individual differences were viewed by Wundt as a frustrating source of error in experimentation Wundt attempted to control all extraneous variables in an effort to reduce error to a minimum Mental Test James McKeen Cattell dealt with individual differences— specifically, individual differences in reaction time. Inspired by his interaction with Galton, Cattell returned to the University of Pennsylvania in 1888 and coined the term mental test in an 1890 publication. Other students of Wundt: Charles Spearman- credited with originating the concept of test reliability as well as building the mathematical framework for the statistical technique of factor analysis. Victor Henri -Frenchman who would collaborate with Alfred Binet on papers suggesting how mental tests could be used to measure higher mental processes (memory and social comprehension). Emil Kraepelin -early experimenter with the word association technique as a formal test Lightner Witmer - cited as the “little-known founder of clinical psychology”, owing at least in part to his being challenged to treat a “chronic bad speller” Other Milestones in Testing History Year Milestones in Testing History Early to late 1800s Carl Frederich Gauss discovered the normal distribution when evaluating measurement error. 1832 English East India Company used test for the selection of overseas employees 1900s Civil service exams were used in Europe 19th Century Physicians and psychiatrists assessed mental patients with new techniques. Brass instruments era- had an emphasis on measuring sensory and motor abilities. Civil service exams were initiated in the US in 1883. Early attention to questionnaires and rating scales by Galton and Cattell.  The Evolution of Intelligence and Standardized Achievement Tests Alfred Binet 1895- Alfred Binet and Victor Henri published several articles in which they argued for the measurement of abilities such as memory and social comprehension. 1905-Binet and Theodore Simon published a 30-item Binet-Simon Scale a “measuring scale of intelligence” designed to help identify mentally retarded Paris schoolchildren 1908-Binet-Simon Scale had been substantially improved: include nearly twice as many items as the 1905 scale size of the standardization sample was increased to more than 200 determined a child’s mental age- measurement of a child’s performance on the test relative to other children of that particular age group 1911- Binet-Simon Scale received a minor revision. By this time, the idea of intelligence testing had swept across the world. The Evolution of Intelligence and Standardized Achievement Tests 1916- L. M. Terman of Stanford University had revised the Binet test for use in the United States. Terman’s revision, known as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was the only American version of the Binet test that flourished. Terman’s 1916 revision of the Binet-Simon Scale contained many improvements: standardization sample was increased to include 1000 people original items were revised many new items were added The Evolution of Intelligence and Standardized Achievement Tests 1939-David Wechsler, a clinical psychologist at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, introduced a test designed to measure adult intelligence. For Wechsler, intelligence was “the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment” Originally christened the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, the test was subsequently revised and renamed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). The WAIS has been revised several times and versions of Wechsler’s test have been published that extend the age range of test takers from young children through senior adulthood. World War I World War I fueled the widespread development of group tests. Group intelligence tests came into being in the United States in response to the military’s need for an efficient method of screening the intellectual ability of World War I recruits. 1921- Robert Yerkes (President of APA) headed a committee of distinguished psychologists who soon developed two structured group tests of human abilities: the Army Alpha and the Army Beta. Army Alpha required reading ability Army Beta measured the intelligence of illiterate adults. Achievement Tests Among the most important developments following World War I was the development of standardized achievement tests. Standardized achievement tests: provide multiple-choice questions that are standardized on a large sample to produce norms against which the results of new examinees can be compared. caught on quickly because of the relative ease of administration and scoring and the lack of subjectivity that can occur in essay or other written tests. allowed a broader coverage of content and were less expensive and more efficient than essays. 1923-Stanford Achievement Test by T. L. Kelley, G. M. Ruch, and L. M. Terman. 1930s- it was widely held that the objectivity and reliability of standardized tests made them superior to essay tests. The Measurement Of Personality A government Committee on Emotional Fitness chaired by psychologist Robert S. Woodworth was assigned the task of developing a measure of adjustment and emotional stability that could be administered quickly and efficiently to groups of recruits. Personal Data Sheet developed by Woodworth and his colleagues asked to indicate yes or no to a series of questions that probed for the existence of various kinds of psychopathology. Ex. “Are you troubled with the idea that people are watching you on the street?” Woodworth Psychoneurotic Inventory a personality test for civilian use that was based on the Personal Data Sheet First widely used self-report test of personality The Measurement Of Personality During the brief but dramatic rise and fall of the first structured personality tests, interest in projective tests began to grow. Projective personality tests- provide an ambiguous stimulus and unclear response requirements; the scoring is often subjective. 1921- Rorschach test was first published by Herman Rorschach 1935- Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) by Henry Murray and Christina Morgan Picture 1. TAT The Emergence of New Approaches to Personality Testing 1943-Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) began a new era for structured personality tests. Personality tests based on the statistical procedure called factor analysis began to emerge. Factor analysis -method of finding the minimum number of dimensions (characteristics, attributes), called factors, to account for a large number of variables ex. Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) of R. B. Cattell Brief History of Testing Year Milestones in Testing History Circa 2200 B.C. Chinese test public officials Early to late 1800s Carl Frederich Gauss discovered the normal distribution when evaluating measurement error. 1900s Civil service exams were used in Europe 19th Century Physicians and psychiatrists assessed mental patients with new techniques. Brass instruments era- had an emphasis on measuring sensory and motor abilities. Civil service exams were initiated in the US in 1883. Early attention to questionnaires and rating scales by Galton and Cattell. 1905 Binet-Simon Scale was released-ushers in the era of intelligence tests 1917 Army Alpha and Beta was released- first group of intelligence tests 1918 Woodworth Personal Data Sheet was released- ushers in the era of personality assessment 1920s Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Rorshach Inkblot test were developed- testing expands its influence 1930s David Wechsler released the Wechsler-Bellevue I – initiates a series of influential intelligence tests 1940s The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was released-destined to become the leading objective personality inventory  The Controversial Career of Henry Herbert Goddard Has interest in the study of “feeble-mindedness” (mental deficiency). Goddard found that Binet’s test appeared to work very well in terms of quantifying degrees of mental deficiency. Goddard devised a system of classifying assessee’s by their performance on the test, coining the term moron and using other such terms that today are out of favor and not in use. Goddard came to associate low intelligence with many of the day’s most urgent social problems, ranging from crime to unemployment to poverty. According to him, addressing the problem of low intelligence was a prerequisite to addressing prevailing social problems.. Goddard believed that in the interest of the greater good of society at large, mentally deficient individuals should be segregated or institutionalized (at places such as Vineland) and not be permitted to reproduce  The Controversial Career of Henry Herbert Goddard Goddard traced the lineage of one of his students at the Vineland school back five generations in his first and most famous book, The Kallikak Family: A Study in the Heredity of Feeble-Mindedness (1912). In this book, Goddard sought to prove how the hereditary “menace of feeble-mindedness” manifested itself in one New Jersey family. “Kallikak” was the fictional surname given to the Vineland student, Deborah, who had previous generations of relatives that were from distinctly “good” or “bad” References Clemente-Faustino, J.A.R. (2024). Instructional Materials: Psychological Assessment Cohen, R.J. (2013). Psychological testing and assessment (8th ed.) McGrawHill, Phils. Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M. E. (2018). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement (9th ed.) New York: Mc-Graw Hill. Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2018). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Boston: Cengage Learning. Manguiat, G.,(n.d.). Psychological Assessment Study Guide. RGO Review Center for Psychology. Calculating Chronological Age Chronological Age (CA)- individual’s age at the time of testing Year Month Days Date of Test Date of Birth Chronological Age: Example: A child has a chronological age of 7-9-13. It means that the child is 7 years, 9 months, and 13 days old. Example #1 Jun took a psychological test last November 25, 1999. According to his profile he was born on July 9, 1985. What is his chronological age when he took the test? Year Month Days Date of Test 1999 11 25 Date of Birth 1985 07 09 CA: