Chapter 14

Question 1

Who introduced the concept of practical intelligence and why?

Answer 1

Sternberg; to explain success in non-academic pursuits

Question 2

What are some methods of assessing practical intelligence?

Answer 2

• simulations
• analysis of critical incidents
• situational judgement tests

Question 3

What are some of the main advantages/innovations of computers in testing, for the future?

Answer 3

• speech recognition input
• ability to correct answers and provide feedback and a report immediately
• the same stimulus is displayed in exactly the same way to each examinee, greatly improving standardisation of presentation

Question 4

What is the only exception between the administration/responding of pencil-and-paper tests and computerised-testing?

Answer 4

Speeded tests

Question 5

What was Kyllonen’s (1997) ‘smart test’ designed to do?

Answer 5

to incorporate all current significant technology associated with abilities measurement

Question 6

___ minimises the error variance around a single trait estimate, whereas ____ minimises the ‘volume of the credibility hyperellipsoid’ round the cluster of all trait estimates

Answer 6

CAT; MAT

Question 7

What is the main advantage of CAT over MAT?

Answer 7

The potential to reduce testing time without sacrificing accuracy of measurement due to its selection of maximally informative items

Question 8

What is the main disadvantage of CAT?

Answer 8

Needing to develop an item bank large enough

Question 9

What is the main disadvantage of MAT?

Answer 9

The likelihood of frequent chopping and changing between item types, as the system selects items from any subtest in the battery

Question 10

To date item generative techniques have mainly been used to develop what?

Answer 10

Figural ability items

Question 11

What is the aim of time parameterisation?

Answer 11

To solve the fundamental problem of speed-accuracy trade-off

Question 12

What is a key disadvantage of internet testing?

Answer 12

• digital divide
• security of information
• bandwidth limitations (e.g. ping latency)
• not currently suited to full-blown psychological assessment

Question 13

What is ‘ping latency’?

Answer 13

Not knowing when the question appeared on the test taker’s screen after it left the server

Question 14

How many levels of supervised testing due Bartram (2000) propose?

Answer 14

4

Question 15

What did Batram (2000) suggest as the main functions of a supervisor?

Answer 15

• authenticating the test taker
• establishing test taker rapport
• ensuring the test is administered according to the manual
• preventing cheating
• ensuring security of the test itself

Question 16

What are Bartram’s (2004) 4 types of supervision?

Answer 16

• open (anyone can access the test, no user identification, no supervisor)
• controlled (being sent a password and logging onto a testing site, no human supervision)
• supervised (presence of a supervisor, but in a non-secure environment)
• managed mode (formal examination conditions)

Question 17

Which is deemed the supervision mode of choice for most professionally developed internet tests?

Answer 17

Unproctored controlled mode

Question 18

What are the two main reasons for the drop in the use of psychological assessment between 1970-2000?

Answer 18

• cost of assessment

- apparent weak link between many forms of assessment and useful therapies