Foundations Of Testing Flashcards
What is a test
Standardised procedure
Meaningfully described outcomes eg - categories and scales used to make inferences
Norms and standards (reference point to make results meaningful and objective)
Made up of items (stimuli or questions)
Ability tests
- Intelligence tests - ability and global area
- aptitude tests - potential on specific task
- achievement tests - previous learning or accomplishment
- Creativity test - novel or original thinking and unique solutions
Personality and Behavioural tests
- Personality test - traits or behaviour, features of individuality
- interest inventory - preferences, determine job or social choices
- behavioural procedures - describe or count behaviour
- neuropsychological tests - cognitive, perceptual, sensory or motor control
Why use psychological test
- Classification
- diagnosis and treatment planning
- self knowledge
- Program evaluation
- Research
Responsibilities with psych tests
- Test developers and publishers (test construction and standards)
- test administrators (who should be using test?)
- test takers (impact on individual)
- Society (individual differences acknowledged by systems organise this complexity eg who is bipolar)
- others (government, compares, sponsers)
Factors affecting testing
- Test characteristics
- Standardisation
- psychometric properties
- Test taker characteristics
- familiarisation
- rapport
- test anxiety
- motivation
- reason for test
- test administrator characteristics
Early history -China
Han dynasty (206 BC - 200)
Developed test batteries for issues
Most for jobs in public office
Early history - Britain
Early 19th century
Two methods developed in opposition to inheritance of intelligence being linked to inheritance of social position
1: Experimental - scientific method to qualify psychological phenomena
2: observational- Darwins hypothesis applied to human behaviour by Galton
Early history - France
Late 19th century
Tests to categories people as worth determined by ability and merit (meritocracy)
Binet - first major intelligence test 1905- standardised and representative sample 1908- Mental age 1911- revision 1916- MA/AA x 100 = IQ
Early history - WW1
Needed efficient way to test lots of people = group test
Woodworth first self report personality test
Army alpha- reading ability
Army beta- illiterate adults
Early history - WW2
Group intelligence tests reaffirmed
Gave rise to clinical psychologists as tester - shift for psychotherapy
Post WW2
More Binet revisions
Wechsler first version with nonverbal scales, multiple facets of IQ, pattern and combination of abilities
Personality testing measures behaviour (traits) not ability
1: structured- psychometrically sound, factor analysis (MMPI)
2: projective - TAT and Rorschach
Bias and misuse
Eugenics - improvement of human species through selective parenthood - Galton
Goodard- translated stanford-binet to English = culturally bias to screen immigrants
Feebleminded should be sterilised- idea adopted by Nazi
Jensen-1960/70 - genetic basis of IQ - race based
Psych tests are powerful
Cultural differences
Biggest issue is language
Impact of culture - language, assumed knowledge, interpretation of performance/behaviour
Cultural fair tests have no distortion from cultural background
Should test be used? How is test score interpreted?
Objective - testing VS assessment
Testing -gauge ability from score and categorisation eg- measure behaviour
Assessment- answer referral question, solve problem, multiple tools of evaluation eg- ascertain diagnosis through interviews, observations, history ect.
