Test 1 Flashcards
What is the main difference between a Psychometrist and a Registered Counsellor?
- scope of practice
- types of tests they’re allowed to use
Name two scales that Registered counsellors are not allowed to use
JSAIS
SSAIS
You cannot run the same psychometric test on in individual twice within ….. months?
Why not?
12
Familiarity with the test could skew the results
One of the reasons that unethical administration of tests (non-standardized conditions etc) is an ethical issue is because….
One has to wait 12 months to re-administer the test if initial results are invalid
SA has language exemptions for ….. but not for …..
Foreigners but not for SA citizens
(But RCs can make language concession recommendations post-testing)
Definition of psychometrics
the scientific way in which
psychological measures are developed and the
measurement standards that these must meet (eg rel/val)
Definition of psychological assessement
the gathering of infor through the use of tests and other sources - all info is then integrated
“Testing” is….?
a key element of a much BROADER evaluative approach
One needs to tweak ….. of and …. from tests based on the ….
interpretation
recommendation
context
Name the 7 characteristics of assessment measures
- Systematic methods of scoring
- Standardized conditions
- Different procedures for different indis/aims
- Different domains
- Procedures re interpreting data (norms etc)
- Valid and reliable tests needed
- Context NB
Some STudents DeePly DepenD on PVC pipes
Name 4 ways in which measures vary
scoring
norms
intended purpose
whether time limits are imposed
In addition to the quantitative data drawn from a test,….. is imporant too and will influence interpretation and recommendations
qualitative observations (facial exps, body language etc)
Complete assessments should assess individuals across multiple …. (5 marks)
- domains (physical, emotional, social etc)
- occasions (time of day, monday vs friday etc)
- measures (verbal ability, comprehension, MCQ etc)
- sources (teacher, coach, parent…) - need written consent
- settings (school, home, sports field
DOMSS
In choosing a battery, one must take into account what 4 elements?
- age (of client)
- ability (of client)
- capacity (of client)
- purpose (of test)
What has been the greatest contribution to psychology being accepted as a science?
The use of scientific methods to create measures
Psychometrics were first used in SA for ….
And in what ways does this still happen?
White job reservation and white superiority motivation.
Now, psychometric tests are used in job applications - but these tests are still not fully normed to black SA populace and thus can be seen as reserving jobs for whites even still
Early psychometric measures in SA were only normed for which race group? (but were applied to all race groups)
Whites
How does the 1998 Employment Equity Act offers protection for employees against psychometric discrimination? (3 points)
- test must be valid and reliable
- test must be applied to all employees
- test cannot be biased against an employee or group
Provide 5 points in support of psychological assessment having a role to play in democratic SA
- tests are objective in nature (unlike interviews)
- tests provide structure to obtains baseline info
- tests allow for evaluation of programs and interventions (training, rehab, therapy)
- tests aid decision making
- tests can predict varsity and job performance
*IF TESTS ARE CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE AND PSYCHMETRICALLY SOUND
Baseline/Objective/ Prediction/Evaluation/Decisions
BOPED
What is the value of ASSESSMENT over TESTING?
Assessment gathers clinical and statistical data from multiple sources and methods, it integrates this with acknowledgment of the context of the client
What are the two methods of adapting measures?
- Test translation - direct conversion to a local language
- Test adaptation - making a test more applicable to a specific context
List 3 reasons why cross-cultural adaptation of measures is necessary
- improve fairness (assess individuals in first language etc)
- to reduce costs and save time - avoid having to develop a whole new test
- to allow for comparative studies (across different languages, cultural groups etc)
List 3 challenges to test translation/adaption
- culturally bound concepts
- idiomatic expression un-translatable
- difference in terms and expression within subgroups of one language
What are 3 important considerations in test adaption
- Administration - test administrator must also be familiar with culture/language/dialect for communication and validity to not be compromised
- Item format - not all test-takers familiar with al formats (essay vs MCQ vs clay construction)
- Time limits - different cultural concepts of speed and intelligence
For cross-cultural comparisons, measures must be equivalent across groups. What is equivalence in this case?
Individuals with a similar standing on a construct but from different groups should score similarly on he different versions of a test
To ensure test equivalence, tests should be adapted using which two approaches?
Judgmental approach - judges with experience and expertise (eg linguists)
Statistical approach - characteristics of the participants
We need to know the Reliablity and the Validity of test because….
we need to know if we can trust the results, if they mean something
Measurement is the process of….?
assigning numbers to objects according to clearly specified rules
Describe the difference between a raw score and norm
Raw score - converted to a normal
score through statistical
transformation – e.g standard bell shaped distribution
Norm = A measure against which an
individual’s raw score is evaluated
so that the individual’s position
relative to the normative sample
can be determined
Psychometric measures can be …..- reference or …..-referenced
Criterion - attainment of particular skill or content
Norm - performance interpreted with reference to a relevant sample or norm group
True or false: You will have both a raw score and a norm score for both norm-reference and criterion-referenced tests
True
List 4 types of commonly used norm scores
Developmental scale
Percentiles
Standard scores
Deviation IQ scales
Give the means, ranges and standard deviations of Standard scores, McCall’s T-scores, Stanine scales, Sten scales and Deviation IQ scales
Standard scores: mean = 0, std dev = 1, range = -3 - +3
McCall’s T-score: mean = 50, std dev = 10
Stanine scale: mean = 5, SD = 1.96, range = 1-9
Sten scale: mean = 5.5, SD = 2, range = 1-10
Deviation IQ: mean = 100, SD of 15
Give 5 advantages of Stanine/Sten scales
- Scale units are equal
- Reflect position in relation to normative sample
- Rank order is evident
- Comparable across groups
- Allow statistical manipulation
Reliability is the …
Consistency of a measurement
The Observed score (X) = …..
the true score (T) plus the error (E)
Give the minimum reliability coefficients of tests for individuals, groups and aptitude tests
Indi - 0.85
Groups - 0.65
Aptitude - 0.9
List 6 types of reliability tests
Test-retest
Alternate forms
Split-half
Inter-item consistency
Inter-scorer
Intra-scorer
TASIII
Error that affects reliability comes from which two sources
Respondent error
Administrative error (try to control via manuals)
Give 5 types of respondents error in psychometric testing
- Non-response/self-selecting bias
- Measure is time-limited
- Variability in individual scores
- Ability levels
- Response bias (8 types)
Lift 4 types of administrative error
- Instructions
- Assessment conditions
- Interpretations of instructions
- Scorings or rating
List 4 types of response bias
- extremity bias
- centrality/neutrality bias
- soc des bias
- purposive falsification
Validity is all about….
accuracy of measurement
List 3 broad types of validity
- Content-description
- Construct-description
- Criterion-prediction
What are the 2 types of content-description validity?
- Face validity - does it appear to measure what it claims to
- Content validity - whether content of test covers a representative sample of the measured construct
List and explain 2 types of construct-identification validity
- Factorial validity - statistically analyze the relationships between variables
- Correlation with other tests - convergent and divergent validity
List and briefly explain the two types of criterion-prediction validity
Crit-PV - the correlation between a predictor and a variable
Concurrent - accuracy of test is IDing current skill/characteristic
Predictive - accuracy of test to predict future behaviour
List 3 examples of where criterion-prediction measures are commonly used
- academic achievement
- job performance
- psychiatric diagnoses
What is criterion contamination? Give some examples
The effect that extraneous variables or other factors have
on a criterion so that the criterion is no longer a valid measure
Anxiety levels
Understanding or language ability
One measure of validity is the predictive validity coefficient. What is this?
The correlation coefficient between the predictor variable(s) and criterion variable
List 4 factors that affect the validity coefficient
- Reliability
- Differential impact subgroups
- criterion contamination
- moderator variable (SES, gender, age)
No validity without
reliability. It is a necessary (but
not sufficient) precondition for
validity
List some reasons as to why the use of assessment measures should be controlled (4 points)
- to ensure its administered correctly
- to ensure the results are interpreted/used correctly
- ensures rel/val of assessment measures
- purchasing of material restricted to only those who are qualified (prevent gen pop becoming too familiar with test and invalidating it)
The Health Professions Act of 1974 restricts us of psych assessment measures to….
the appropriate psychology professionals
this includes aptitude, personality, psychopathology, intellectual/cog ability test etc
List 5 categories of psych professionals
- Psychologists (various kinds)
- RCs
- Psychometrists
- Psycho-technicians (phased out)
- Forensic and Neuro Psychologists (awaiting official registration)
Although RCs can run psychometric tests, this is only for screening, they cannot ….
Diagnose
Psychologists can administer, score, interpret and report on which types of measures?
The ones in which they have been trained
Eg
Clinical = psych distress and psychopathology
Counselling = developmental and well-being problems
RCs can administer, score, interpret and report on which types of measures?
The ones in which they have received training
Who decides on issues surrounding measures such as the nature of one, who may use it etc
The Psychometrics Committee of the
Professional Board of Psychology:
List the 4 roles of the Professional Board for Psychology/HPCSA
- protect the public
- be accessible to public should there be complaints etc
- ensure training and professional guidelines
- establish standards for assessment practitioners
List 8 Fair/Ethical assessment practices for practitioners
- Adequate knowledge of psychometrics/testing
- Familiarity with good standards of practice
- Adequate knowledge and skill of specific measures
- Contextual knowledge (how factors affect testing)
- Appropriate interpersonal skills
- Able to provide meaningful/understandable feedback
- Oral/written comm skills to give clear instructions/reports
- Interact with others over the outcomes of the assessment
Knowledge/standards/skill/contextual knowledge/interpersonal/feedback/comm/outcomes
KISS CCOF
List some of the responsibilities of the test administrator
- Informing test-taker of their rights
- maintaining confidentiality
- scoring properly
- obtaining consent
- using info in a fair and unbiased manner
- using correct norms
- securely store matrial
- only use measures one have been trained in
List some of the rights of the test taker
- being informed of their rights
- be assessed by a properly trained professional
- withhold consent to be tested
- know who will have access to report/results
List some responsibilities of the test taker
- treat practitioner with respect
- inform practitioner is anything interferes with the assessment
What is the goal of psychometric testing in SA in the future?
Using both indigenous, African-centered measures AND Westerns oriented measures that are adapted for SA
To conceptualize constructs in Psych measures, we need both a ….. and a …. approach
Etic - universal constructs
Emic - culture-specific, indigenous constructs
Give some examples of African-centered item content (3 points)
- 3D familiar objects rather than 2D pictures
- wet clay as alternative to pencil and paper tasks
- incorporating oral traditions into assessments
In what ways could psychometric training be improved?
Training errs on the quantitative aspects (easier to train)
But the art of assessment lies in the integration of all assessment info. Lecturers should be familiar with the SCIENCE (theory/quants) and the ART of assessment
