Psych testing and assessment (chaper 1-5)

Question 1

What is a psychological test?

Answer 1

A tool that psychologists use to collect data about people. An OBJECTIVE procedure for SAMPLING and QUANTIFYING human BEHAVIOUR to make an inference about a particular psychological CONSTRUCT using STANDARDISED stimuli, and methods of administration and scoring.

Question 2

What is the difference between a norm and criterion-referenced test?

Answer 2

Norm: group average - compared to norm group performance
Criterion: priori criteria - standard pass/fail

Question 3

Outline a criterion-referenced test

Answer 3

Standard of performance is determined in ADVANCE, test taker’s performance compared to this

Question 4

Outline a norm-referenced test

Answer 4

Performance of a representative group of people used in preparing test norms, and these used for scoring the test

Question 5

Cronbach and Meehl argued that tests can be invalidated if…

Answer 5

They correlate too highly with tests of constructs they are not supposed to be measuring

Question 6

The major forms of psychological test, as we know them today, had been developed by:

Answer 6

1950s

Question 7

Which area of psychology does not use psychological tests in practice?

Answer 7

Social

Question 8

What did the international test commission develop?

Answer 8

A set of guidelines on how psychological tests developed for one culture can be adapted for use for another culture

Question 9

List three problems that can occur with test results if not used carefully

Answer 9

Reduce motivation, label some individuals as failures/problems, stigmatise individuals

Question 10

What are four methods of data collection to answer a referral problem?

Answer 10

Observation, interviewing, record checking, psychological testing

Question 11

In classical test theory, the correlation between true score and error score components of observed scores is assumed to be what?

Answer 11

0

Question 12

In confirmatory factor analysis the fit of data and model is shown by…

Answer 12

A statistically non-significant chi square

Question 13

The Rorschach ink blot test was originally designed to identify

Answer 13

Jungian psychological types

Question 14

How does a psychological test differ from psychological assessment?

Answer 14

• Assessment is the broad process of answering a referral question
• testing is one of the methods of data collection within assessment, answers more straightforward questions e.g. what is IQ of a child

Question 15

List 4 limitations of psychological tests

Answer 15

• Only tools, can’t make decisions for test users
• Used to capture the effects of hypothetical constructs - but psychological constructs aren’t always directly observable
• Can become obsolete due to advances in theory/technology
• People of differing culture/language can be at disadvantage

Question 16

List 2 advantages of psychological tests NEED MORE HERE

Answer 16

• Objective procedure

- Can be administered by a computer and to hundreds of people at once

Question 17

Define reliability

Answer 17

How consistently a test measures what it says it measures

Question 18

What is the process of psychological testing? (2 steps)

Answer 18

• Administer test

- Obtain and interpret test scores

Question 19

List an advantage and disadvantage of self-report and performance tests

Answer 19

Self:
Quicker and lots of people at once BUT only shows what people SAY they can do
Perf:
Tells us what person can ACTUALLY do BUT can only be administered individually

Question 20

Self-report tests are good for measuring __ __ whereas performance tests are good for assessing ___

Answer 20

typical behaviour, limits of what a person can do

Question 21

What is an advantage of group vs individual test administration?

Answer 21

Group: more economical to test and score
Individual: can observe performance of person

Question 22

What is a culture fair test?

Answer 22

One free from systematic distortion of scores because of differences in cultural background

Question 23

Being judged as a competent driver is an example of ____ referencing, whereas asking how other drivers performed on their driving test is an example of ____ referencing.

Answer 23

criterion, norm

Question 24

To ask about the reliability of a psychological test score is to ask about how much is can be ____ on

Answer 24

Depended

Question 25

List 2 ways tests can be unreliable

Answer 25

Systematically and unsystematically

Question 26

Define validity

Answer 26

The extent to which a test measures what it says it measures

Question 27

A test can be reliable, but not valid T/F

Answer 27

True

Question 28

A test can be valid, but not reliable T/F

Answer 28

False

Question 29

A test can be reliable without being valid. However, a test cannot be valid unless it is reliable. Why?

Answer 29

An test can provide you with consistent results, making it reliable, but unless it is measuring what it is supposed to measure, it is not valid

Question 30

What is a construct?

Answer 30

A hypothetical concept

Question 31

How do you know how good the reliabilities of tests in use are?

Answer 31

Check the test manual

Question 32

Which two types of tests have the highest reliabilities?

Answer 32

Cognitive, then self-report personality tests

Question 33

What is the standard error of measurement?

Answer 33

the precision of our estimate of one’s true score, form judgements about <i> individual </i> scores

Question 34

What is the reliability coefficient, and how does it differ in practice from the standard error of measurement?

Answer 34

ratio of true score variance to total variance of test scores. Differs as we form judgements about the <i> overall</i> value of a test, rather than <i>individual</i> scores within a test