Gregory: origins psychological testing Flashcards
What is physiognomy? Where did this idea originate and what did Lavater think of this?
The assumption that the inside character can be judged based on the outside appearance
Origin: Aristotle: soul and body sympathise with each other
Lavater: moral character can be read from facial appearance
What is phrenology and who invented it?
Invented by Gall
The idea that bumps in the skull say something about the size of the underlying brain tissue
When did the brass instruments era of testing begin and what was the main idea?
Late 1800s
- testing human abilities in laboratories
- emphasis on objective measures and measurable quantities
What are brass instruments and what do they show in the 1800s?
Simple sensory processes
–> Perception and response speed are indicators of intelligence
Show that the mind can be subject to scientific measurement
What was Wundt’s point of view in the Brass instruments era?
Speed of thought might differ from one person to the next
What is the essence of Galton’s work in the Brass instruments era?
Continued brass instruments testing an developed ways that allowed for larger data sets
Who are the three important scientists in the brass instruments era?
Wundt, Galton, Cattell
What is the essence of Cattell’s work in the Brass instruments era? Name 4 things
- invented the term ‘mental test’
- impossible to separate mental energy from bodily energy (hand squeeze = mental power)
- General intelligence
- Studied individual differences
In which categories did Cattell divide the term general intelligence?
- Fluid: solve novel reasoning problems
- Crystallized: deduce secondary relational abstractions
Why was the brass instruments movement turned away?
Discovery that mental tests had very little correlation with each other
Who were the two founding fathers of rating scales?
Galen: 9-point scale with neutral middle
Thomasius: applied rating scales for psychological variables
Which two categories were there in the early 1800s for mental retardation?
- Dementia: emotional disabilities
- Idiocy: mental retardation
What was the essence of Binet’s and Henri’s work?
Intelligence could be better measured by means of higher psychological processes rather than simple elementary processes
This led to the Binet-Simon test
What is the original Binet-Simon test and what is its purpose?
Scale could measure mental retardation to giftedness
Purpose was classification and the aim was to decide on educational measures that should be undertaken with children who couldn’t function with regular instruction
Which revisions were made to the original Binet-Simon test?
First version:
- Importance cultural factors
- Tests were ordered to the typical age level
Second version:
- Each age has 5 tests
- Extended to adult range
- New scoring methods
- Child’s exact mental level shouldn’t be taken as an absolute measure of intelligence
What was the Binet-Simon test used for?
Compare child’s mental age with chronological age
State 3 reasons why many researchers ignore Goddard’s work?
- Argued that retarded kids should be segregated from society and have their breeding restricted
- Undesirable behavior (crime, prostitution) was due to mental deficiency
- Misuse of intelligence testing
What’s the difference between the Binet-Simon test and the Stanford-Binet test?
Stanford-Binet test is the Americanized version of the Binet-Simon test –> it introduces the term IQ
What were the 3 results of Hollingsworth’s tests on gifted individuals?
- Children of high genius have greater school achievement
- Dispelled belief that gifted children should not be moved ahead in school because they would lag others in motor skills
- Highly gifted adolescents were judged to be significantly better looking than controls
What is the difference between the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler test?
Wechsler: provides IQ score and also subtest scores + verbal/performance IQ’s
What is the Yerkes’ Army test?
Test for WW1 recruits to assign them
What is an aptitude test?
Assessment used to determine a candidate’s cognitive ability or personality
What were two important aspects in development of aptitude tests?
- Factor analysis = determining extent to which shared variance exists between variables (Spearman and Thurstone)
- Pressure to select competent candidates for certain jobs in WWII
What is the origin of personality testing?
Woodworth attempted to develop an instrument for detecting army recruits who were susceptible to psychoneurosis
