Exam Flashcards
Psychological test
⭐️An objective procedure for sampling and quantifying human behaviour to make an inference about a particular psychological construct using standardised stimuli, and methods of administration and scoring.
⭐️✖️Psychological tests can ASSIST in making a diagnosis, but should not be considered the only tool in making this determination. This is because it does not take into account other factors which should be considered (e.g. their behaviour outside the testing situation)
Why do we need psychological tests?
- Human judgement is SUBJECTIVE and FALLIBLE. Some factors that can influence the outcomes of human judgement include stereotyping, personal bias, positive and negative halo effect, errors of central tendency.
- They are better than personal judgement in informing decision making in many situations because of the nature and defining characteristics of these tests
Psychological TESTING
⭐️It is the PROCESS of administering a psychological test and obtaining and interpreting the test scores
Psychological ASSESSMENT
A broad process of ANSWERING REFERRAL QUESTIONS, which includes but is not limited to psychological testing. It can also include observation, interview and checking records.
⭐️Acknowledges that tests are only one type of tool used by professional assessors (along with other tools, such as the interview or case history data), and that the value of a test, or of any other tool of assessment, is intimately linked to the knowledge, skill, and experience of the assessor.
Construct
⭐️A hypothetical entity with theoretical links to other hypothesised variables, that is postulated to bring about the consistent set of observable behaviours, thoughts or feelings that is the target of a psychological test.
Reliability
⭐️The confidence we can have that the score is an accurate reflection of what the test purports to measure.
We want to be reasonably certain that the measuring tool or test that we are using is consistent and is yielding the same numerical measurement every time it measures the same thing under the same conditions.
⭐️It is the proportion of the total variance attributed to true variance. The greater the proportion of the total variance attributed to true variance, the more reliable the test.
Types of reliability:
Internal consistency
⭐️Splits a test into subtests which are then correlated with all the other subtests and the average correlation is calculated (can also look at internal consistency of individual subtests, by examining the items within the subtests)
Types of reliability:
Split half reliability
⭐️Splits a test into two equivalent forms and correlating the scores on the two halves.
Types of reliability:
Test-retest reliability
⭐️Examines whether the score we have obtained on a measure remains stable over time (e.g. Personality trait). Time between testing varies across measures and can be a source of error variance.
When the interval between testing is greater than 6 months, the estimate of test-retest reliability is often referred to as the “coefficient of stability”.
✖️Experience, practice, memory, fatigue and motivation may intervene and confound an obtained measure of reliability.
Types of reliability:
Inter-rater reliability
⭐️Examines the extent to which the score obtained by one informant (e.g. parent) correlates with the score obtained by another informant (e.g. teacher)
Factors that can affect the RELIABILITY of test results
❕How recently the test was developed
❕The type of test it is (tests of cognitive abilities and (self-reported) personality are generally more reliable than other tests)
❕The standard error of measurement
❕The length of the test (long forms are generally more reliable than their short form or screening equivalent)
❕The interval between testing and retesting
❕Who the test was developed for (i.e. Cultural considerations)
❕Personal (e.g. Fatigue, motivation, anxiety) and environmental (e.g. Time of day, lighting, external noise) factors
Validity
⭐️The extent to which the test measures what it purports to measure (based on what we currently know).
❕A test can be reliable without be it valid, BUT it cannot be valid without being reliable.
Types of RELIABILITY
- Internal consistency
- Split half reliability
- Test-retest reliability
- Inter-rater reliability
Types of VALIDITY
- Construct validity
- Face validity
- Predictive validity
- Content validity
- Convergent validity
- Discriminant (or divergent) validity
Types of validity:
Content validity
⭐️The extent that the content of the test items represents all facets of the construct being measured (e.g. A cumulative final exam in introductory statistics would be considered content-valid if the proportion and type of introductory statistics problems on the test approximates the proportion and type of introductory statistics problems presented in the course)
Types of validity:
Face validity
⭐️The extent that items appear to be valid for the area that is being measured (informal and may be subjective).
⭐️Refers more to what a test APPEARS to measure than what the test ACTUALLY measures
Types of validity:
Predictive validity
⭐️The extent that scores on a test allow us to predict scores on some criterion measure (e.g. Is the Conners 3 an adequate screening tool for ADHD?)
Types of validity:
Construct validity
⭐️The extent that the test truly reflects the construct that it purports to measure.
Types of validity:
Construct validity:
Convergent validity
⭐️Tests the extent that the content of the items in one test correlate (have a similar relationship with) the content of items in another measure of the same (or a similar) construct.
Types of validity:
Construct validity:
Discriminant (divergent) validity
⭐️The extent that the content of the items on one test is different from (does not overlap with) the content of the items in a contrasting measure.
Factors that can affect the VALIDITY of test results
❕External events unrelated to the construct being measured (e.g. The death of a family member prior to taking an exam)
❕Factors not considered by test developers but which are found to be relevant to the construct
❕Scores on one construct correlating highly with scores on an unrelated construct (e.g. Measures of creativity correlating more highly with IQ reads than with other measures of creativity)
Scores
Z scores
M = 0 SD = 1
T scores
M = 50 SD = 10
Standardised scores
M = 10 SD = 3
Standardisation
⭐️The process of administering a test to a REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE of test takers for the purpose of ESTABLISHING NORMS.
Norms
⭐️Tables of the distribution of scores on a test for specified groups in a population that allow interpretation of any individual’s score on the test by comparison to the scores for a relevant group.
❕Ideally, norm samples should be representative of the reference group. They should take into account demographic characteristics that relate to the construct of interest (e.g. Age, gender, education level, SES, ethnicity)