Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Psychometrics > Chapter 2 > Flashcards

Chapter 2 Flashcards

1
Q

what was Anne Anatasi’s definition of a psychological test?

A

an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behaviour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what is a sample of behaviour?

A

refers to an individuals performance on a task agreed upon beforehand

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what were the four main elements of Anne Anatasi’s definition of a psychological test?

A
  • tests are about behaviour of person that can be observable/non-obserable
  • test measures a sample of behaviour
  • tests should be objective and standardized
  • standardized tests produce standardized scores (ex. z scores)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what is generalizability theory?

A

extent to which test results vary

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what is a sample?

A

a set of observations/scores/measurements collected

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

are sample of behaviour tests always accurate?

A

no, not always representative

you could have a bad day, or have extraneous factors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

how can tests be objective and standardized?

A
  • when questions are equal (either same, taken from bank, or all of equivalent difficulty)
  • when tests are scored in a consistent manner

depends on: purpose of test, what it is trying to measure, method of measurement

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what is a z-score

A

a number ranging from -3 to +3 which expresses how well you did relative to others

tells who the proportion of entire sample that falls between 2 z scores

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what would a z score of +3, +1, and 0.5 tell you?

A

+3 = much better than everyone else in group (99% better)

+1 = higher than most in group (72% better)

0.5 = central part of distribution of scores (where most people score/average)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

when is a test objective

A
  • when it is not influenced by beliefs of person making test
  • when Q’s do not unfairly disadvantage test taker
  • when test is free of bias
  • depends on what test should measure and how well it does at that
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what was Lee Cronbach’s definition of a psychological test?

A

a systematic procedure for comparing the behaviour of 2 people

relinquishes idea of scoring tests in a standardized way

emphasizes that purpose of test is to compare individuals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

how was the field of psychometrics founded?

A

1935 - psychometric society founded by Louis Leon Thurstone who wanted to emphasize the mathematical foundations of psychological research

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

define psychometrics

A

psych field concerned with theory and methods of psychological measurement

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

what are the two main elements of psychometrics?

A

construction of instruments + procedures for measurement (involves measuring traits, characteristics, symptoms, etc.)

development/refinement of theoretical approaches to measurement (used to evaluate statistical properties of questionnaires, or accuracy of scorers judgements)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what is a construct and who came up with it?

A

idea/concept that a researcher would like to measure

Lee Cronbach and Paul Meehl (1995)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what are some of the elements of constructs?

A

include attributes that character a person (ex. shyness, intelligence, etc.) which are reflected in test scores

are generally unobservable

measuring a construct involves creating a set of measures (operationalized measure)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what are nomological networks and who came up with them?

A

Lee Cronbach and Paul Meehl

specifies what qualities/attributes a construct refers to and how that construct is related o other constructs

also what operations would be used to measure the qualities that define a construct

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what are the two types of definitions that every construct has?

A

formal (what it is) and operational definition (how it is measured)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is a leap of faith?

A

assigning numbers to individuals in a systematic way, according to a rule/convention (imposing a scale)

imposes a relationship upon indicators that may/may not be justifiable

20
Q

what are non-paramedic operations

A

not leap of faith

stat methods that don’t make assumptions (no number assignment)

21
Q

what are the two main implications of number assignment (leap of faith)

A

people will be given a score than can be compared

you will get a distribution of scores from the group

22
Q

what is a distribution of scores?

A

visual representation of number of each score

23
Q

what is central tendency?

A

central/middle part of a distribution of scores

24
Q

what is the median score?

A

absolute middle of a group of scores

can be smaller/larger than the mean

easily influenced by extreme scores

25
Q

what is standard deviation

A

a single number than can describe the degree to which very person in a group tends to deviate/vary/spread out

allow you to compare groups of people with a single number

26
Q

what does the ability to compare individuals depend on?

A

amount of test scores variability

there needs to be enough variability in scores to capture the actual degree in variability among test participants for proper comparison

variability allows you to see how characteristics are related

27
Q

what is a score

A

when constructs are represented by numbers

28
Q

what is a variable

A

what a score is referred to as when used in analysis

29
Q

what are the three main types of variables?

A

discrete, continuous, and dichotomous

30
Q

what are discrete variables?

A

difference between one member of group and next is very discernible (ex. 1% and 80%)

usually a very small # of subgroups

ex. race, year of study

31
Q

what are continuous variables?

A

differences between one member of group and next are not very discernible (ex. 78% and 79%)

many different possible values (ie. 0 to 100% on a test)

ex. severity of depression, midterm grade, etc.

32
Q

what are dichotomous variables?

A

discrete variables that have two levels

ex. gender used to be

33
Q

what is the benefit of expanding discrete categories?

A

allows for examination of differences among individuals that were ignored before

ex. measuring gender as only female/male not representative and could be expanded

34
Q

when are continuous variables converted to discrete?

A

when slight differences (ex. 78 to 79%) are less important than the broader category (B+)

or

made when the construct being studied is more discrete in nature

35
Q

what is a true score?

A

most accurate representation of the actual amount of ability/traits/condition/knowledge

score you would achieve if conditions were completely ideal

very difficult to achieve, but possible

36
Q

what are the two main types of variation?

A

unsystematic and systematic variation

37
Q

what is unsystematic variation?

A

variation in test scores that can be attributed to unpredictable and random events affecting individuals taking the test

events are considered random because they don’t affect everyone

can work out in your favor, or harm you

ex. guessing answers, being tired

38
Q

what is systematic variation?

A

variation in scores that can be attributed to differences among individuals (or subgroups of individuals) that are predictable

is something that affects everyone, or a large subgroup of people taking the test

ex. bad prof, bus not showing up for majority of class

39
Q

is the greatest amount of variation among scores attributed to systematic or unsystematic differences?

A

systematic differences

40
Q

what would happen in terms of variation if a test was too susceptible to random factors?

A

there would be too much unsystematic variation

scores would not be stable/reliable

different results would be yielded every time

41
Q

what would happen in terms of variation if a test was not influenced by random factors

A

test would produce only systematic variation

scores would be very stable/reliable

scores would be the same every time

42
Q

what is the main goal of tests in terms of variation?

A

to produce scores that vary more because of systematic variation rather than unsystematic variation

tests that have more unsystematic variation will not be as reliable

43
Q

what is the difficult involved with multiple systematic effects?

A

difficulty arises when a questionnaire was designed to measure one construct (being influenced by one systematic effect) gets influenced by 2+ systematic effects instead

44
Q

what is systematic bias?

A

a systematic effect

doesn’t happen at random

puts part of group at disadvantage

causes systematic variation in test scores

45
Q

what are the concerns of systematic bias?

A

measurement concern = because scores no longer determined by what you were intending to measure

equity concern = because one group is at a disadvantage

46
Q

what are the 3 sources of variation effects?

A

systematic effect (of what is being measured
systematic bias (that effects individuals in one or more groups)
unsystematic random error/bias (error that can affect individuals test scores at any time)

47
Q
A

Psychometrics (5 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions