Psych Ass (Terms) Flashcards
The formula helps to estimate how the reliability of a test changes when the number of items (questions) in the test is increased or decreased. It is usually used in establishing Split-half reliability.
Spearman Brown formula
means that the two variables move in opposite directions: when one goes up, the other goes down.
negative relationship
A type of test that does not have a fixed set of questions or format. It allows for open-ended responses and is more flexible in nature. An example would be an open-ended interview.
Unstructured test
A psychological test where a person responds to ambiguous stimuli, such as pictures or words, with the goal of uncovering hidden emotions and internal conflicts. An example is the Rorschach Inkblot Test.
Projective test
A test with a set of fixed questions and a specific format for responses. It is standardized and typically used to measure specific traits or abilities. An example is the Children Personality Questionnaire-R (CPQR).
Structured test
ensures that participants are assigned to different groups in a way that minimizes bias
Random assignment
A test designed to measure a person’s cognitive abilities and intellectual potential. It often includes tasks related to reasoning, problem-solving, and understanding complex ideas.
Intelligence test
It is a group that is necessary to compare the effects of the experimental treatment
control group
is the average of a set of numbers
Mean
is the value that appears most frequently in a dataset. It represents the most common or typical value in a set of data.
Mode
is the middle value in a dataset when the values are arranged in ascending or descending order.
Median
can skew the mean by pulling its value towards extreme scores, which can misrepresent the central tendency of the data.
Outliers
Checks newborns’ health right after birth.
Apgar test
Is a battery of tests measuring intelligence and achievement of normal and exceptional children ages 2½ through 12½ years. It yields four scales: the Sequential Processing Scale, the Simultaneous Processing Scale, the Mental Processing Composite (Sequential and Simultaneous) Scale, and the Achievement Scale.
Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC)
Assesses academic skills and cognitive abilities. It measures seven broadly defined abilities identified in CHC theory: Long-Term Retrieval (Glr), Short-Term Memory (Gsm), Processing Speed (Gs), Auditory Processing (Ga), Visual-Spatial Thinking (Gv), Comprehension-Knowledge (Gc), and Fluid Reasoning (Gf).
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III)
Evaluates development in infants and toddlers up to 3.5 years old.
Bayley Scale
It checks how well a new test correlates with an established measure of the same thing, given at the same time.
Concurrent validity
Estimates how consistent test scores would be if the test were longer or shorter.
Spearman-Brown formula
Measures how well items in a test measure the same thing, especially for yes/no or true/false questions.
Kuder-Richardson 20
Measures how closely a single score (continuous variable) relates to a dichotomous variable (like pass/fail).
Point-biserial correlation
Measures how strongly two sets of scores are related to each other in a straight line.
Pearson r
involves dividing the test into two halves and checking if scores on one half of the test are correlated with scores on the other half. A high correlation between the two halves suggests that the items in the test are measuring the same underlying construct or dimension consistently, thereby indicating internal consistency reliability.
Split-half reliability testing
is a personality test that includes scales to detect unusual or atypical responses.
16 Personality Factors (16-PF)
This scale assesses whether the respondent is trying to portray themselves in a socially desirable manner rather than answering honestly.
(16-PF)
Impression Management
This scale detects whether the respondent is endorsing unusual or improbable items at a higher frequency than expected. (16-PF)
Infrequency
This scale checks whether the respondent tends to agree with statements regardless of their content, often alternating between agree and disagree responses.
(16-PF)
Acquiescence
is agreeing to something, like a medical study, when someone can’t legally consent, such as minors.
Assent
Consistently skews measurements in one direction due to a specific cause.
Systematic error
Unpredictable variations in measurements that occur randomly, causing measurements to vary around the true value.
Random error
A statement that is true by definition or logical deduction.
Analytical statement
A statement that can be tested and proven false through observation or experimentation.
Falsifiable statement
A statement that is self-contradictory and inherently false.
Contradictory statement
A statement that is based on an assumption or hypothesis, awaiting evidence or testing for validation.
Hypothetical statement
are the most widely used measures of intelligence, and have been translated, adapted, and standardized in dozens of countries around the world. It measures cognitive abilities in adults with subtests for verbal comprehension, reasoning, memory, and processing speed.
Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale
A test that assesses abstract reasoning through visual pattern completion tasks.
Raven’s Progressive Matrices
A test that is originally for children, it now assesses various cognitive abilities across different age groups.
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
It a test that is designed to reduce cultural bias by measuring cognitive abilities without relying on specific cultural knowledge or language skills.
Culture Fair Intelligence Test
In psychometrics, the process of choosing test items that are appropriate to the content domain of the test. It focuses on sampling relevant content domains in tests.
Domain Sampling Model
Assumes test scores include true scores and random error, emphasizing standardized testing.
Classical Test Score Theory
Assesses how well test items distinguish between different levels of ability or trait.
Item Discriminability Analysis
Models how individuals’ abilities relate to their responses on test items, providing insights into item difficulty and discrimination.
Item Response Theory
Changes in behavior that occur when individuals know they are being studied or observed.
Reactivity
The phenomenon where higher expectations lead to an increase in performance.
Pygmalion effect
Also known as the “expectancy effect,” it occurs when researchers’ expectations about study participants influence the participants’ behavior or performance.
Rosenthal effect
When participants in a study change their behavior because they perceive themselves in competition with another group or condition.
John Henry effect
refers to the consistency of test results between two different versions of the same test, administered to the same group of people.
Alternate Forms reliability
Different participants are assigned to different conditions or groups, with each participant experiencing only one condition.
Between-subjects
The same participants experience all conditions or treatments, allowing comparisons within the same individuals.
Within-subjects
Combines elements of both between-subjects and within-subjects designs. Some factors are tested within subjects, and others are tested between subjects.
Mixed
Examines the effects of two or more independent variables (factors) by combining them in all possible ways, with each participant being assigned to one of the combinations. This can be between-subjects, within-subjects, or mixed.
Factorial
A measure of the linear correlation between two variables, indicating how well one variable predicts the other.
Pearson r
A measure of reliability for tests with dichotomous (yes/no, true/false) items, assessing the internal consistency of the test.
Kuder-Richardson 20
A measure of internal consistency or reliability for tests with multiple items, indicating how well the items measure the same underlying concept.
Cronbach’s alpha
A measure of inter-rater reliability, indicating the extent to which different raters or observers agree on their assessments.
Kappa statistics
It asks “Does the test measure what it’s supposed to measure?”
Validity
“Does the test produce consistent results?”
Reliability
A type of rating scale where respondents indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with a series of statements.
Likert scale
A method where respondents compare two items or alternatives at a time and choose which one they prefer.
Paired comparisons
A format where respondents choose one or more options from a list of predefined choices.
Multiple choice
A scale where items are arranged in a hierarchical order of intensity or agreement, such that agreement with a stronger statement implies agreement with all milder statements below it.
Guttman scale
is one where the responses or results can be interpreted in multiple ways, leading to uncertainty or unclear conclusions about the respondent’s traits, beliefs, or attitudes.
ambiguous test
A test where respondents complete sentence stems to reveal subconscious thoughts and feelings.
Sack’s Sentence Completion Test
A test where respondents complete sentences to measure aspects like locus of control.
Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank
A test assessing an individual’s sense of meaning and direction in life through specific questions or scales.
Purpose in Life Test
usually states that there is no relationship or no difference between variables.
null hypothesis
states that there is a relationship or a difference between variables.
alternative hypothesis