Psychological measurement Flashcards
Psychometrics is a branch of the wider field called psychological assessment
Psychometrics is an abbreviation for psychological measurement
What are we assessing using Psychometrics?
The psychology of the individual
What is the purpose of undertaking psychological assessments?
The psychological assessment is designed to describe, explain, predict, diagnose & make decisions about you.
I/O psychologists in psychometric testing will use ability tests, in addition to other inventory (tools) such as…
- questionnaires
- interviews,
- case studies
- work sample exercises
- assessment centres
- references
You can’t describe a personality questionnaire as a test because tests have right or wrong answers
Although questionnaires are still a sub-component of measurement.
Questionnaires will provide you with statements of which…
A true or false answer is given by the individual.
Some inventory (assessments) can be distinguished from measurement tools, these are..
Interviews, simple checklists, & observations.
When using tests & questionnaires for assessment, it is important to understand the statistics underlying those tools
It’s a process of gathering & integrating information from different sources to gain a comprehensive understanding, using personal, social, & medical history where relevant.
(1) What are the ways in which people differ & how can we objectively measure the differences?
- measurement gives us a way to verify & make justifiable predictions, including giving us an agreed criteria to define psychological constructs.
Psychometric instruments operate on the basis of clear criteria & standardised measurement scales, which means the assessment must be
- accurate
- replicable
Why do we need to measure & use psychological instruments?
So that the measurement can give us accurate & relevant information which leads to more effective decision-making, that goes beyond the insights provided by interviews & observational studies.
(1) What is measurement?
Measurement is the assignment of numbers to properties or attributes of people, objects or events using a set of rules, according to Stevens (1946, 1948)
Measurement uses a set of rules to quantify, meaning results must be …
- standardised
- clear
- understandable
- easy to apply
Scaling involves …
Assignment of numbers to quantify (i.e. how much of an attribute is present in a individual compared to the department)
Classification involves…
Defining people, objects or events & whether they fall into the same or different categories.
