Chapter 2: Historical, Cultural, and Legal/Ethical Considerations

Question 1

China

Answer 1

Where tests and testing programs first came into being as early as 2200 BCE to select who, of many applicants, would obtain government jobs

Question 2

Contents of Early Tests from China

Answer 2

Proficiency in endeavors such as music, archery, horsemanship, writing, and arithmetic were examined; so were agriculture, geography, revenue, civil law, and military strategy; knowledge and skill with respect to the rites and ceremonies of public and social life were evaluated

Question 3

Song Dynasty

Answer 3

Emphasis placed on knowledge of classical literature

Question 4

Imperial Examinations

Answer 4

State sponsored examinations for official positions; those who passed the examination were entitled to wear special gard which entitled them to be accorded special courtesis by anyone they happened to meet; exemption from government sponsored interrogation by torture if the individual was suspected of committing a crime

Question 5

Middle Ages

Answer 5

Who was in leage with the Devil; various measurement procedures were devised to address this question

Question 6

Christian Von Wolff

Answer 6

Anticipated psychology as a science and psychologic measurement as a specialty within that science;

Question 7

Francis Galton

Answer 7

In the course of his efforts to explore and quantify individual differences between people, became an extremely influential contributor to the field of measurement; aspired to classify people according to their natural gifts and to ascertain their deviation from an average; pioneered the use of a statistical concept central to psychological experimentation and testing: the coefficient of correlation

Question 8

Contemporary Tools of Psychological Assessment

Answer 8

Questionnaires
Rating Scales
Self-Report Inventories

Question 9

Karl Pearson

Answer 9

Developed the product-moment correlation technique

Question 10

Wilhelm Max Wundt

Answer 10

Ran the first experimental psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany; he and his students tried to formulate a general description of human abilities with respect to variables such as reaction time, perception, and attention span; focused on questions relating to how people were similar; attempted to control all extraneous variables in an effort to reduce error to a minimum

Question 11

Contemporary Assessment

Answer 11

Objective is to ensure that any observed differences in performance are indeed due to differences between the people being measured and not to any extraneous variables

Question 12

James McKeen Cattell

Answer 12

Coined the term Mental test; responsible for getting mental testing underway in America; instrumental in founding the Psychological Corporation; the goal was the advancement of psychology and the promotion of the useful applications of psychology

Question 13

Charles Spearman

Answer 13

Credited with originating the concept of test reliability as well as building the mathematical framework for the statistical technique of factor analysis

Question 14

Victor Henri

Answer 14

Frenchman who collaborated with Alfred Binet on papers suggesting how mental tests could be used to measure higher mental processes

Question 15

Emil Kraepelin

Answer 15

Early experimenter with the word association technique as a formal test

Question 16

Lightner Witmer

Answer 16

Succeeded Cattell as director of the psychology laboratory at University of Pennsylvania; little founder of clinical psychology

Question 17

Alfred Binet & Victor Henri

Answer 17

Published several articles in which they argued for the meaurement of abilities such as memory and social comprehension

Question 18

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon

Answer 18

Published a 30-item measuring scale of intelligence designed to help identify mentally retarted Paris schoolchildren

Question 19

Sundry Mental Characteristics

Answer 19

Personality, Interests, Attitudes, values, and Widely varied mental abilities

Question 20

David Wechsler

Answer 20

Clinical psychologist at Bellevue Hospital in NYC; introduced a test designed to measure adult intelligence

Question 21

Intelligence

Answer 21

The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment

Question 22

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Answer 22

Used to be called Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale

Question 23

Group Intelligence Tests

Answer 23

Were first used 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

Question 24

Robert S. Woodworth

Answer 24

Assigned the task of developing a measure of adjustment and emotional stability that could be administered quickly and efficiently to groups of recruits; Labeled the questionnaire as Personal Data Sheet which later was adapted for civilian use and was called Woodworth Psychoneurotic Inventory

Question 25

Self-Report Test

Answer 25

Method of assessment tht would soon be employed in a long line of succeeding personality tests

Question 26

Projective Test

Answer 26

One in which an individual is assumed to project onto some ambiguous stimulus his or her own unique needs, fears, hopes, and motivation

Question 27

Ambiguous Stimulus

Answer 27

Inkblot, a drawing, a photograph, or something else

Question 28

Rorschach Test

Answer 28

Series of inkblots deeloped by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach

Question 29

Culture

Answer 29

Socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, and products of work of a particular population, community, or group of people

Question 30

Henry Goddard

Answer 30

Highly instrumental in getting Binet’s test adopted for use in various settings in the United States; Raised questions about how meaningful such tests are when used with people from various cultural and language backgrounds

Question 31

Culture-Specific Tests

Answer 31

Tests designed for use with people from one culture but not from another,

Question 32

Issues Regarding Culture and Assessment

Answer 32

Verbal Communication

Nonverbal Communication and Behavior

Question 33

Psychoanalysis

Answer 33

Theory of personality and psychological treatment developed by Sigmund Freud, symbolic significance is assigned to many nonverbal acts

Question 34

Affirmative Action

Answer 34

Refers to voluntary and mandatory efforts undertaken by federal, state, and local governments, private employers, and schools to combat discrimination and to promote equal opportunity in education and employment for all

Question 35

Laws

Answer 35

Rules that individuals must obey for the good of the society as a whole-or rules thought to be for the good of society as a whole

Question 36

Body of Ethics

Answer 36

Body of principles of right, proper, or good conduct

Question 37

Principle of Ethical Resesarch

Answer 37

The researcher should never fudge dta; all data must be reported accurately

Question 38

Minimum Competency Testing Programs

Answer 38

Formal testing programs designed to be used in decisions regarding various aspects of students’ education

Question 39

Truth-in-testing Legislation

Answer 39

Primary objective was to provide testtakers with a means of learning the cirteria by which they are being judged; provide descriptions of
The test’s purpose of its subject matter
The knowledge and skills the test purports to measure
Procedures for ensuring accuracy in scoring
Procedures for notifying testtakers of errors in scoring
Procedures for ensuring the testtaker’s confidentiality

Question 40

Technical Recommendations for Psychological Tests and Diagnostic Tests

Answer 40

A ddocument that set forth testing standards and technical recommendations

Question 41

Ethical Standards for the Distribution of Psychological Tests and Diagnostic Aids

Answer 41

Defined three levels of tests in terms of the degree to which the test’s use required knowledge of testing and policy

Question 42

Levels

Answer 42

Level A
Level B
Level C

Question 43

Level A

Answer 43

Tests or aids that can adequately be administered, scored, and interpreted with the aid of the manual and a general orientation to the kind of institution or organization in which one is working (achieement or proficiency tests)

Question 44

Level B

Answer 44

Tests or aids that require some technical knowledge of test construction and use and of supporting psychological and edcational fields such as statistics, individual differences, psychology of adjustment, personnel psychology, and guidance (aptitude tests and adjustment inventories applicable to normal populations)

Question 45

Level C

Answer 45

Tests and aids that require substantial understanding of testing and supporting psychological fields together with supervised experience in the use of these devices (projective tests, individual mental tests)

Question 46

Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education

Answer 46

Presents standards for educational test developers in four areas:

1. Developing/selecting tests
2. Interpreting scores
3. Striving for fairness
4. Information testtakers

Question 47

Major Issues with Regard to CAPA

Answer 47

Access to test administration, scoring, and interpretation software
Comparability of pencil-and-paper and computerized versions of tests
The value of computerized test interpretations
Unprofessional, unregulated psychological testing online

Question 48

International Test Commission

Answer 48

Developed the International Guidelines on Compter-Based and Internet-Delivered Testing

Question 49

Rights of Testtakers

Answer 49

The right of informed consent
The right to be informed of test findings
The right to privacy and confidentiality
The right to the least stigmatizing label