Test 1 Flashcards
Def: Quantitative
it is subject to numerical qualification. actual measurement
Def: a psychological test
the measurement instrument (ie. measurement tool or technique) that consists of a sample of behaviour obtained under standardized conditions and evaluated using established scoring rules
- helps to make inferences about human attributes, traits, characteristics or future outcomes
Def: Measurement
is a set of rules for assigning numbers to traits, objects, attributes, skills, behaviour etc
Def: assessment
is a systematic procedure for collecting information that can be used to make inferences/predictions about people (ex. an interview or observation)
Differences between psychological assessment and psychological test
psychological assessments are broader concepts. they use multiple methods like history interviews, behaviour observations, etc. assessments can be both subjective and objective. psychological tests are sometimes used in psychological assessments
Differences between surveys and psychological tests
surveys focus on group outcomes while psychological tests focus on individual outcomes. The results of a psychological test are often report in terms of an overall derived score or scaled scores. Results of surveys are often reported at the question level by providing the percentage of respondents who selected each answer alternative
Def: Psychological construct
the underlying observable traits, attributes, characteristics, or behaviours that tests are designed to describe, understand, and measure
what are the characteristics of a good psychological test
- All good test representatively sample the behaviours thought to measure an attribute or thought to predict an outcome
- All good tests include behaviour samples that are obtained under standardized conditions. The test must be administered to everybody in the same way
- All good tests have rules for scoring. These rules ensure that all examiners will score the same set of the responses in the same way
what is behaviour sampling
• It is a sample of behaviour
It is not an exhaustive measure- it is too difficult to evaluate every single behaviour.
Ex. You cannot look at every single performance an athlete does in their sport, but you can look at certain aspects such as the athletes running ability such as their speed
The test must somehow be representative of behaviours that would be observed outside of the testing situation
what is standardization
Each individual taking a psychological or educational test should be tested under essentially identical conditions (ie. A standardized sample)
define standardized test
one that has been administered to a large group of individuals who are similar to the group from whom the test has been designed for
define unstandardized test
does not have standardization samples and are more common than standardized tests. usually constructed by a teacher or trainer in a less formal manner for single administration Ex. university midterm
Define projective tests
are those on which test takers view and are asked to responsd to unstructured or ambiguous stimuli such as images or incomplete sentences. the role of the test taker is less clear and more subjectivity is involved in interpreting the test taker’s response
define objective tests
test which make test takers choose a response or provide a response and there are predetermined correct answers
define objective scoring rules
most mass-produced tests fall in this category. different qualified examiners will all come to the same score for an identical set of responses
define subjective scoring rules
when the judgement of the examiner is an important part of the test, different examiners can legitimately come to different conclusions concerning the same sample of behaviour. the conclusions should be similar however
define maximum performance test
tests in which the subject performs a task to the best of their ability
define behaviour observation tests
tests that involve observation of the subjects behaviour within a particular context
what category is behaviour observation tests and self measure tests considered under?
typical tests
define achievement tests
measures a persons previous learning in a specific academic area
ex. the midterm for this class
define ability test (aptitude test)
measures a test taker’s knowledge in a specific are at a specific point in time
measures cognitive abilities and skills accumulated from life experiences
define speed test
measures difference in speed of performance
ex. how fast can you type a set of words
define power test
measures the difficulty of theorems that the participant is able to answer correctly (no time limit)
ex. how far can someone run. there is no time limit you just run until you cant anymore
define subject tests
tests classified by subjects like an English test or science test
define self-report instruments
participant is asked to report his or her feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values, etc
when does self- report make sense?
- self-report relies upon the test taker’s awareness and honesty
- it is the best method to measure internal states- things only the person themselves can be aware of the judge
- provide an estimate
what are the 7 reasons why psychological testing is important
- Allows us to make important decisions about people- because there are comparison points
- Allows us to describe & understand behaviour as objectively as possible
- Measures personal attributes
- Measures performance
- Saves time
- Most economical
Because it saves time it is economical. We can get a lot of data in a short amount of time. When we save time we save money - Its scientific
- It is a tool and can be seen as integral piece (if appropriately used)
the types of psychological decisions:
- individual
- institutional
- comparative
- absolute
what is an individual psychological decision
how an individual sees themselves through testing. you reflecting on your own results. ex. reflecting on how you feel u did on an interview
what is an institutional psychological decision
how another individual or entity sees you
ex. how the interviewer makes a decision makes on how they feel the interview went and how you answered the questions posed in the interview
what is a comparative psychological decision
comparing a number of people to see who has the best score
ex. the interview compares your interview to the interview of another candidate
what is an absolute psychological decision
decisions made by other/entities based on minimum score needed to qualify. in this decision you must need to certain score to be chosen. Ex. needing a certain average to get a scholarship
what does KSAO stand for
knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics
when is organizational testing used?
- testing competency
- hiring/job selection
- Job placement, training & development
When is educational testing used?
- student learning
- instructional planning
- selection
- placement
- classification (classifying career or problems with learning)
When is clinical & research testing used
- diagnosis
- treatment planning and effectiveness
What does SIOP stand for
society of industrial organizational psychologists
what is the job of the society of industrial organizational psychologist
they help create standards for practice in psychological testing for industrial organizational psychologists
what does SHRM stand for?
society for Human Resources and management
Define licensure
mandatory credential for individuals to practice their profession. Ex. psychologists must be licensed before they begin practicing
define certifications
professional credentials that individuals earn to demonstrate that they have the knowledge skill and abilities in other characteristics to be able to undertake certain activities
Who is the test publisher
the developer/ publisher/ seller of the test or instrument
who is the test user
the individual who determines the needs for psychological testing, select the test or instrument, administers the testing procedure, scores/interprets the test, the organization or practice that will eventually use the information to make certain decisions
who is the test taker
person who responds to the instrument/ test questions. person taking the test
what does a level A qualification level allow?
there is no special qualifications to purchase these produces (ex. the big 5)
what does a level B qualification level allow?
a master’s degree in psychology, education, or in a field closely related to the intended use of the assessment or certification by a professional organization that requires training and experience in relevant area of assessment. can be used if you are supervised by an individual with a doctorate degree in psychology, education, or closely related field
what does a level C qualification level allow?
a doctorate degree in psychology, education or a closely related to field with formal training in the ethical administration, scoring an interpretation of clinical assessments related to the intended use of the assessment OR you can have a master’s degree and be supervised by an individual with a doctorate degree in the related field
what does a Level C+ qualification level allow?
you need a doctorate degree plus supervision from another individual with a doctorate degree (ex. HARE PCL-R)
define anonymity
the practice of administering testing or obtaining information without obtaining the identity of the participant, usually seen in double-blind studies
Ethical Issues psychologists /mental health professionals must follow
Issue 1: right to privacy
Issue 2: right to informed consent
Issue 3: right to know and understand results
Issue 4: right to protection of stigma
- psychologist or mental health professional must avoid using stigmatized words with their client
what is the responsibility of the test user
- Have competence in test administration, scoring criteria, interpretation and feedback
- Have an understanding of basic psychometrics and scoring procedures and be competent in interpretation, and apply scientific knowledge and professional judgement to the results
- Develop clear guidelines- be familiar with the context of use: the situation, purpose, setting in which a test is used, how much time is needed, equipment/resources
- Have knowledge of legal (ex. copyright laws, and ethical issues related to test use)
- Awareness of ethnic/cultural, language proficiency, developmental factors/variables (sensory, motor, cognitive impairments) that could influence the results- example of each?
what should be said in post administration discussions
thank the participant
restate purpose of the research
explain how the result will be used
reiterate that finding will be treated confidentially
answer all the respondent’s questions fully
what are the responsibilities of the test taker
- Responsible for preparing for the assessment
- Responsible for following the directions of the individual administering the assessment
- Responsible for responding in a manner that accurately reflects their characteristics and abilities
- In group testing situations, they are responsible for not interfering with the performance of others
- Responsible for informing the professional if they believe the assessment results do not adequately represent their true abilities
- Should respect the copyright rights of the test publisher and should not disclose information about the contents of a test
Define Measurement:
defined as the application of rules to assign number to objects (or attributes)
Def Measurement rules
the procedures used to transform the qualities of attributes into numbers ex. types of scales used
define individual differences
premise that people can very (get different scores) of an attribute
define magnitude
properties of moreness. higher scores refer to more of something
define equal intervals
it is the difference between any two adjacent numbers referring to the same amount of difference between second and third
define absolute zero
does the scale have a zero point that refers to non that attribute. this is not common in psychology
What is a nominal measurement scale
assign number to objects where different number indicate different objects. the numbers have no real meaning other than differentiating between the objects Ex. male =1 female =2
what is an ordinal measurement scale?
assigning number to an object (like nominal) but here the numbers also have meaning order. in ordinal scores the number indicate placement or order
what is an interval measurement scale?
number have order (like ordinal) but there are equal intervals between adjacent categories. the difference means the same thing all the way up and down the scale. Ex. temperature.
what is a ratio measurement scale
differences are meaningful (like interval) plus ratios are meaningful and there is a true zero point. ex. 10lbs is twice as much as 5lbs (ratios are meaningful: 10/5=2) and zero pounds means no weight or an absence of weight (true zero)
define distribution
a set fo scores, which helps with score representation. because a raw score in isolation typically has very little meaning. a distribution is a cluster of raw scores
what are the ways to represent a distribution
- ungroup frequency distribution
- group frequency distribution
- frequency graph (ex. freq. table histogram)
how do you calculate z score
(data point-mean)/SD
how do u calculate t scores
(datapoint - mean/SD) x 15 + 10
or in other words the z score x 15 + 10
define negative skewness
when relatively few of the scores fall at the low end of the distribution. Most scores are high scores
define positive skewness
when relatively few of the scores fall at the high end of the distribution. most of the score are low
what does negative skewness indicate
may indicate that the test was too easy
what does positive skewness indicate
may indicate that the test was too hard
why are statistics important
give us a method for answer questions about the meaning of those numbers
define variability
measures the extent to which scores differ. the spread of the scores within the distribution
define correlation
relationship between scores
define prediction
forecasting future relationships between scores
define range
difference between the highest and lowest score. (not how it is dispersed)
define variance
the degree of spread within the distribution (the larger the spread, the larger the variance) it is the sum of the square differences from the mean of each score, divided by the number of scores
define standard deviation
a measure of how the average score deviates or spreads away from the mean
what does a small standard deviation mean
there is a small amount of variability in the data set
what does a large standard deviation mean
there is a large amount of variability in the data set
define relational research
attempts to determine how two or more variables are related to each other . correlation does not imply causation
what does a positive correlation mean
high scores on one variable tend to go with high scores on the other variables and that low scores on one variable tend to go with low scores on the other variable
what does a negative correlation mean
high scores on one variable tend to go with low scores on the other variable
what does an r = 1.00 indicate
perfect relationship between the variables
define Pearson product- moment correlation coefficient
- When variables are on an interval or ratio scale
define Spearman rank correlation coefficient
- When variables are on an ordinal scale
