Chapter 1: History

Question 1

Earliest forms of testing

Answer 1

China: interview tests for civil servants

Han dynasty: written tests for people wanting to work in government

Question 2

Physiognomy

Answer 2

Practiced by ancient Greeks
Belief that internal characteristics are shown in external features
Example: person with upturned nose is arrogant

Question 3

Phrenology

Answer 3

Germany in 1700s
Franz Joseph Gall
Examining bumps on the head: “organs” in the brain that had been exercised, contributing to personality

Question 4

Psychophysicists

Answer 4

Theorized that there is a difference between the physical world and the world that people experience
Tested absolute threshold and just noticeable difference

Question 5

Absolute threshold

Answer 5

Related to psychophysiology

Amount of stimulus needed to detect as present 50% of the time

Question 6

Just noticeable difference

Answer 6

Related to psychophysiology

Amount of change in stimulus needed to detect as present 50% of the time

Question 7

Darwin’s theory of natural selection

Answer 7

Contributed to psychology: focusing on individual differences between individuals (intra-species variability)

Question 8

Francis Galton

Answer 8

Key person in “Brass instruments era”
Tested individual differences between people to determine intelligence
Sensory and motor, questionnaires, and physical attributes were tested

Question 9

Cattell

Answer 9

Performed work similar to that of Galton (“Brass instruments era”)
Coined the term “mental tests”

Question 10

Wissler

Answer 10

Brought about the end of the “Brass instruments era”

Discovered that physical attributes (particularly sensory and motor) didn’t actually correlate with intelligence

Question 11

Wundt

Answer 11

Father of modern psychology

Ran first psychology lab

Question 12

Kraepelin

Answer 12

First person to classify mental illness

Tested for emotional handicaps (interview-based test of emotional regulation)

Question 13

Esquirol

Answer 13

Developed test to determine degrees of mental retardation

Mental ability was classified according to verbal ability

Question 14

Alfred Binet

Answer 14

First person to develop intelligence test, which was used to determine placement of children in school

Question 15

Army alpha and beta tests

Answer 15

Used to place people as officers or non-officers
Alpha- verbal test
Beta- non-verbal test

Question 16

Aptitude test

Answer 16

Test of ability (like SAT or ACT)

Used to predict future success

Question 17

Wechsler scales

Answer 17

Intelligence test used the most in modern times

Question 18

Robert Woodworth

Answer 18

Created first personality test (Personal Data Sheet)

Question 19

Examples of personality tests

Answer 19

Rorschach inkblot test
Thematic Apperception Test
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Question 20

Test

Answer 20

Procedure in which a sample of an individual’s behavior is obtained, evaluated, and scored using standardized procedures

Question 21

Measurement

Answer 21

A set of rules for assigning numbers to represent objects, traits, attributes, or behaviors

Question 22

Assessment

Answer 22

Systematic procedure for collecting information that can be used to make inferences about the characteristics of people or objects

Question 23

Reliability

Answer 23

Consistency

Question 24

Validity

Answer 24

Accuracy

Question 25

Relationship between reliability and validity

Answer 25

Can have reliability without validity, but can’t have validity without reliability

Question 26

Maximum performance test

Answer 26

Goal: best performance
Examples: classroom tests, intelligence tests

Question 27

Achievement tests

Answer 27

Test specific skills

Question 28

Aptitude tests

Answer 28

Assess abilities

Question 29

Objective tests

Answer 29

Specified scoring (clear right and wrong answer)

Question 30

Subjective tests

Answer 30

Require judgment to evaluate (no clear right and wrong answers)

Question 31

Speed tests

Answer 31

Timed tests

Usually fairly easy

Question 32

Power tests

Answer 32

Unlimited time

Give best performance

Question 33

Typical response tests

Answer 33

Survey

No right or wrong answer

Question 34

Objective typical response tests

Answer 34

Answers can be calculated without subjectivity (like surveys)

Question 35

Projective typical response tests

Answer 35

Project something about self onto stimulus

Question 36

Norm-referenced scores

Answer 36

Your score is dependent on others' scores
Percentile rank (ex- ACT, SAT, GRE)
Tests that have been curved fall into this category

Question 37

Criterion-referenced scores

Answer 37

There is a set criterion for success
Typical of classroom tests
Doesn’t depend on others’ performance