Lecture 1 - Intro & History

Question 1

Psychiatric testing was around before psychological testing

Answer 1

These tests contributed standardised procedures that could reveal nature and extend of symptoms in brain injured and mentally ill patients

Question 2

1885 Hubert Von Grashey

Answer 2

memory tests for brain injured patients

Question 3

Conrad Rieger

Answer 3

furthered tests for brain damaged patients however took a significant amount of time to administer

Question 4

Physiognomy

Answer 4

assumes that you can judge a person’s inner character through their appearance

Question 5

Phrenology

Answer 5

bumps on the skull tell you what is wrong with patients

Question 6

Phrenology: Psychograph

Answer 6

measures bumps on the head to determine a personality

Question 7

Brass instruments

Answer 7

• Moved away from subjective/introspective experimental testing
• Meant that methods could be replicated
• Early experimental psychologists thought intelligence could be measured by sensory perceptions measured by brass instruments designed to measure sensory thresholds

Question 8

Psychophysics

Answer 8

Assumed that human perceptual system is a measuring instrument yielding results (experiences, judgements and responses) that may be systematically analysed

Question 9

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 9

• Credited with the foundation of explaining individual differences
• Observer would note pendulum position when bells sounded thought auditory and visual stimuli would be perceived simultaneously incorrect difference between perceived position and actual proposed to reflect swiftness of thought

Question 10

Sir Francis Galton

Answer 10

Clearly demonstrated that individual differences exist and can be measured with standardised procedures

Question 11

James McKeen Cattell

Answer 11

• Expanded on Galton’s tests measuring motor skills

- Based on the idea that mental and bodily energy cannot be separated

Question 12

Clark Wissler

Answer 12

• Significant influence on early psychology testing first to use mental test scores to predict academic performance (validity)
• Demonstrated that there was no relationship between mental tests with academic achievement and no relationship between mental tests themselves

Question 13

First IQ tests were created for a practical need

Answer 13

No difference between “mental retardation” and emotional disabilities recognised

Question 14

Seguin

Answer 14

• Established the new humanism toward people with an intellectual disability
• Developed educational programs and an experimental class

Question 15

Alfred Binet

Answer 15

• Pioneered individual psychology
• Attention and suggestion were important variables when studying children
• 1896 – argued that intelligence could be better measured by higher order mental processes

Question 16

Alfred Binet - 2

Answer 16

1904 – hired by French government to identify children who would struggle to learn in an ordinary classroom

• Aimed to classify children’s mental ability therefore assessed general mental development
• Measured practical judgment
• Items arranged by level of difficulty and standardised with intended population and “normal” kids
• Tested what was “normal” for a child of a certain age and if they passed/failed all tests for that age group moved to the next level and their mental age was calculated

Question 17

Early non verbal tests

Answer 17

• Developed following the realisation that tests were not fair for non English speakers

Question 18

ENT: Porteus Maze Test

Answer 18

– Measures frontal lobe functioning (i.e. planning, impulsivity)

Question 19

Army Alpha (no validity for illiterates/non English)

Answer 19

8 verbally loaded tests for average to high functioning recruits:

Following oral directions
Antonym/synonym pairs 
Disarranged sentences 
Practical judgement
Arithmetic
Number series
Analogies
Information

Question 20

Army Beta tests

Answer 20

Non verbal for illiterates and those for whom English was not first language

Mazes
Block designs
Three dimensional drawings

Question 21

Aptitude tests

Answer 21

• Assess more specific abilities than IQ tests used to isolate specific skills

Question 22

Projective Testing Origins

Answer 22

Word Association: 4 seconds to come with as many words in regards to stimulus

Question 23

Interest Tests

Answer 23

Yoakum’s: help & counselling + guidance of normal people