lecture 1- Intro to Psychometrics and Intelligence Tests

Question 1

what does psychometrics measure?

Answer 1

measure differences in personality, intelligence, psychological function

Question 2

what are fundamental aspects of psychological assessment?

Answer 2

• reliability and validity of tests
• intellectual ability
• anxiety and depression
• intelligence tests and anxiety and depression scales will be used primarily to illustrate important general points about psychological assessment
• emphasis will be on getting you to think about what issues a psychologist needs to consider when using psychological tests

Question 3

what are assumptions of psychological assessments?

Answer 3

• psychological traits and states exist
• psychological traits can be quantified and measured
• test-related behaviour predicts non-test related behaviour
• test have strengths and weaknesses
• various sources of error are part of the assessment process
• testing and assessment can be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner
• testing and assessment benefit society

Question 4

what is one of the most valued transferrable skills a psychology graduate is expected to possess?

Answer 4

knowledge and expertise in assessment and measurement is one of the most valued transferable skills in psychology graduate is expected to posses

Question 5

what does psychological assessment set out to measure?

Answer 5

complex constructs that are hard to capture- mood, intellectual functioning, memory, attitudes

Question 6

assumptions that “soft” psychological tests are less reliable and valid as “hard” biological tests found in medicine

Question 7

Meyer et al., 2001- comparing psychological to medical testing procedures

Answer 7

• psychological tests are as, or more, reliable than many (biological) medical tests
• psychological tests are as, or more, valid than many medical tests (have equivalent levels of sensitivity and specificity)

Question 8

how would you describe an intelligent person?

Answer 8

• learning (acquiring, remembering lots of information, grasps things easily)
• good vocab ( they find the right words quickly)
• problem solving (applying their knowledge to solve real world problems)
• reason logically (plan effectively)

Question 9

definition of intelligence given by David Wechsler 1958..

Answer 9

“a global concept that involves an individuals ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with that environment”

Question 10

what is the most commonly used measure of adult intelligence?

Answer 10

wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS)

Question 11

what percentage of clinical psychologists use WAIS?

Answer 11

-over 90% of clinical psychologists report they use the WAIS in their practice
- the test is now in its fourth edition
- it was standardized in the USA on a sample of 2200 people aged between 16-90

Question 12

state- the IQ range as been extended each time the WAIS has been re-standardized

Answer 12

• currently range is 40-60; IQ has an SD of 15, therefore measures from 4 SDs below mean to 4 SDs above
• age range has also been extended upwards each time
• this is partly to reflect increased longevity but also a (belated) recognition that the elderly are more commonly referred for testing than other age groups
• quality of norms for the elderly have improved for many psychological tests in recent years

Question 13

whats the child version of the intelligence scale called?

Answer 13

The WISC-V
Wechsler intelligence scale for children/ adolescents (ages 6-18)

Question 14

similarities between the WISC and WAIS:

Answer 14

• same overall structure
• essentially the same subsets
• very similar psychometric properties

Question 15

WAIS-IV

Answer 15

as with all psychological tests, users must administer the WAIS (or WISC) according to the standardized instructions
- a psychologists might think they give better/ clearer instructions but must resist the temptation to deviate from the standard instructions
- test norms were obtained using the standard instructions

Question 16

WAIS-IV cont

Answer 16

• consists of 10 core subtests, arranged into four higher level indexes and an overall IQ
• IQs and indexes have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15

all scores are age corrected:
- the elderly raw score will be lower than the average young for their age, their IQ will be 100
- on some subsets (particularly those involving psychomotor speed) peak performance is around 17/18 years of age
- peak performance is much later for some subsets

Question 17

structure of the WAIS-IV

Question 18

verbal comprehension index

Answer 18

• the verbal comprehension index measures well consolidated verbal material and verbal reasoning
• the vocab subtest is just as it sounds, words have to be defined
• the similarities subset measures abstract reasoning
• the information subset measures general knowledge and verbal comprehension

Question 19

what is the perceptual reasoning index and what does it consist of?

Answer 19

• the perceptual reasoning index measures perceptual reasoning
• consists of three subsets: Matrix Reasoning, block design, and visual puzzles

Question 20

what does the working memory index measure?

Answer 20

the working memory index measures the ability to temporarily retain and manipulate information

Question 21

digit span

Answer 21

the digit span subset is divided into three section: digits forward, digits backward and sequencing
- arithmetic subset is as it sounds: have to solve arithmetic problems