Ch 2 Historical, Cultural, and Legal/Ethical Considerations Flashcards
Roadmap Historical Considerations [skip]
Know important historical events related to psychological testing
What happened in the 19th century?
- Strong interest in the humane treatment of intellectually challenged and mentally ill individuals
- Intelligence testing in schools
- Psychology research labs (e.g., experimental psychology)
Experimental Psychology
Began in the late 1800s in Europe
– Introduction of psychological labs
- Objective, repeatable measures
- Testing focused on reaction times & sensory thresholds
- Scientific study of the mind
Darwin
His interest in individual differences led his half cousin Francis Galton, to devise a number of measures for psychological variables
Wilhelm Wundt
- Started the first experimental psychology laboratory and measured variables such as reaction time, perception, and attention span
- 1st psychological lab in Germany (1879)
- Reaction time, perception, attention span
Human similarities
-Individual differences are seen as measurement error
Francis Galton
“Father of Mental Testing”
Anthropometric Laboratory
- Subjects measured according to physical characteristics
Individual differences
- Differences from average
Coined Term: “Nature vs Nurture”
James McKeen Cattell
A student of Wundt’s but was inspired by his interaction with Galton coined the term mental test in 1890 and was responsible for introducing mental testing in America.
Founded Psychological Corporation, tried to develop intelligence test but didn’t correlate academic achievement
Binet and Simon
developed the first intelligence test to identify intellectually disabled Paris school children
World Wars 1 and 2
brought the need for large-scale testing of the intellectual ability of new recruits
Group Testing
Binet - Individual tests
Group Testing
- Pressing need
- Military recruits in WW1
Yerkes
- chaired committee (1.5 million recruits) who to discharge, who to put where, etc.
- used multiple choice and other objective item types
Army Alpha
General Routine testing
- Model for group intelligence tests
- Used simplified instructions, administration procedures, and this requires minimal training on the part of the examiner
- After WW1, released for civilian use
Army Beta
non-verbal test (people who couldn’t read or people who were foreign-born)
- Model for group intelligence tests
- Used simplified instructions, administration procedures, and this requires minimal training on the part of the examiner
- After WW1, released for civilian use
Personality Testing
- Also started with WW1 to screen for recruit general adjustment (self-report measure)
- Projective measure
Projective Tests
- Famous test Rorschach Inkblot Test in which the individual is assumed to “project” onto some ambiguous stimulus his or her own unique needs, fears, hopes, and motivation
What are the two lines psychological assessment has proceeded?
The academic and the applied
Academic tradition
Researchers at universities throughout the world use the tools of assessment to help advance knowledge and understanding of human and animal behavior
Applied tradition
the goal is to select applicants for various positions on the basis of merit
Culture
The socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, and products of work of a particular population, community, or group of people
culture-specific tests
In the 1930s and 40s developers of IQ tests devised the tests
- Clarified that the tests were not intended for minority cultures; yet the tests were used on individuals belonging to other cultures
- Today, developers of intelligence tests take precautions against bias
Legal and Ethical Issues [placeholder]
.
Concerns of the public
Happened when testing from the military was adapted to schools and industry use
- launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union caused the U.S. to greatly increase testing of abilities and aptitudes in schools
- Led to renewed public concern
Rights of Test Takers
- Informed Consent
- Explanation of the test
- Right to confidentiality
- Privilege is not absolute and might have to disclose information if there might be harm to others or some endangered third party
