The history of psychological testing

Question 1

More info on the Han dynasty psychological testing

Answer 1

(2200 BC) used testing to ensure officials were proficient in a number of skills (ability test). re-examined every three years. Make sure that they were well-versed in a range of topics such as civil law matters, military affairs, agricultural understanding, revenue, and geography. Good penmanship was important.

Question 2

where can psychological testing be dated back to?

Answer 2

Han dynasty in China, 2200 BC.

Question 3

How did the process of psychological testing in the Han Dynasty start?

Answer 3

preliminary exam where candidates had to stay isolated in a booth for a day and a night. Pass rate of between 1 and 7%

Question 4

what was the process of examination in the Han dynasty?

Answer 4

preliminary exam: candidates had to spend a day and night in an isolated booth. The pass rate was somewhere between 1 and 7% only. district exam: took place over the course of three days and nights, with only a 1-10% pass rate. Peking final round exam: the 3% that passed here became eligible for public office.

Question 5

what contributions did the Han dynasty make to modern psychological testing?

Answer 5

names of candidates were concealed - anonymous testing, assessments were independent, conditions of examinations had to be standardized

Question 6

who is considered the father of psychology?

Answer 6

Wilhelm Wundt (1879)

Question 7

which era of psychological testing is referred to as the ‘brass instruments’ era of testing and why?

Answer 7

The late 1800’s (1879 Wilhelm Wundt) Considered this because of the instruments that were used to test people.

Question 8

What did early psychologists in the ‘brass instruments’ era of psychological testing believe?

Answer 8

Early psychologists mistook sensory processes for intelligence. They used brass instruments to measure thresholds for sensory processes, such as for example, looking at how long it takes for someone to react to something. They thought that this kind of measurement could tell us most about an person’s intelligence.

Question 9

name a specific tool Wilhelm Wundt developed and what it was

Answer 9

the ‘thought meter’, which is essentially a pendulum with needles sticking from each side. It would swing from one side to the other and strike bells with these needles

Question 10

How did the ‘thought meter’ work?

Answer 10

The test-taker would take note of the position of the pendulum when each bell was struck. Wundt would then look at the difference between where the pendulum really was and where the test-taker said it was an indication of ability in a sense.

Question 11

what did the ‘thought meter’ show us?

Answer 11

overly-simplistic - but it did show us how empirical analysis could be used to explain individual differences.

Question 12

who is considered the father of modern psychometrics?

Answer 12

Francis Galton, believed everything was measurable (obsessed with measurement), more interested in evolution than psychology (Charles Darwin’s cousin)

Question 13

What were some claims Galton made in his book?

Answer 13

He argued that white, English middle-class men were the best, and that apes, ‘savages’, what he referred to as races of the colonies, the Irish, and the English working class were inferior

Question 14

What did Galton’s book focus on?

Answer 14

he studies the genealogy of famous scientific families (including his own) and came to the conclusion that genius was genetic, essentially. This was largely derived from Darwin’s theories

Question 15

what is ‘visual discrimination’?

Answer 15

the ability to visually discriminate between multiple pictures - match pictures correctly with various options

Question 16

what contributions did Galton make to psychological testing?

Answer 16

early versions of regression and correlation for analyzing data, came up with twin studies in order to study hereditary factors

Question 17

who invented the term ‘mental test’?

Answer 17

Cattell - studied experimental psychology with Wundt and Galton

Question 18

what did Cattell investigate?

Answer 18

He investigated the relationship between academic grades, psycho-sensory tests, size of the brain, and shape of the head (sensory discrimination) - proposed a battery of ten mental tests

Question 19

who was the first to develop an intelligence test? what was the test called?

Answer 19

Alfred Binet - The Binet-Simon intelligence test (1905)

Question 20

What was the goal of the Binet-Simon intelligence test?

Answer 20

to separate children with intellectual disabilities from normal children in schools. To do so, they needed a way to measure and test intellectual abilities.

Question 21

how was the third version of the Binet-Simon intelligence test different?

Answer 21

adjusted the questionnaire to be able to assess adults as well

Question 22

what important concept arose from the Binet-Simon intelligence tests?

Answer 22

intelligence quotient (IQ) - the idea that one had a mental level or mental age - influenced intelligence testing throughout the 20th century - comparing mental age with chronological age.

Question 23

how do you calculate IQ?

Answer 23

IQ can be calculated by taking your mental age and dividing it by your chronological age and then multiplying it by 100.

Question 24

Who coined the term IQ (intelligence quotient)?

Answer 24

Lewis Terman

Question 25

what is the Stanford-Binet intelligence test?

Answer 25

developed by Lewis Terman in 1916 - adapted Binet’s test for American schools and adults. 5th version of this test still in use today.

Question 26

What is important about the Stanford-Binet intelligence test?

Answer 26

the Stanford-Binet scale had clear and well-organized instructions as to how to administer the test and score – standardization was clearly outlined.

Question 27

How was the Stanford-Binet intelligence test standardized?

Answer 27

by testing a large sample of subjects representing the population he was interested in. So we could now locate an individual’s score in relation to the population.

Question 28

What was tested in the Stanford-Binet intelligence test?

Answer 28

heavy reliance on language and vocabulary skills.

Question 29

why did intelligence testing and psychometrics develop?

Answer 29

through the need to identify the ‘feeble-minded’

Question 30

What is Eugenics?

Answer 30

the science of using controlled, selective breeding to improve hereditary qualities of the human race and create superior individuals.

Question 31

How is psychological testing linked to Eugenics?

Answer 31

They would be concerned with the lower classes breeding too quickly, as it would lower the average standard of intelligence. This concept is the ideological forerunner to Nazism, where Hitler tried to create the perfect race through numerous methods, one of which was through exceptionally unethical experiments on live humans.

Question 32

what are ‘positive’ eugenics?

Answer 32

concerned with encouraging reproduction of the genetically ‘fit’

Question 33

what are ‘negative’ eugenics?

Answer 33

it aims to prevent those deemed physically, mentally, or morally unfit to procreate

Question 34

what is an example of Eugenics relating to psychology?

Answer 34

Eugenics Movement in the US in the early to mid-1900’s. In 1927 the US supreme court rule in favor of involuntary sterilization laws for inmates in mental institutions. By 1941, 33 states had laws which included handicapped, convicts and ‘degenerates’; ‘feeble-minded’ most commonly targeted. For example, impoverished women receiving public assistance were told to be sterilized to continue receiving benefits.

Question 35

what are examples of ‘positive’ eugenics?

Answer 35

‘fitter family contests’: In these contests families were judged on physical, mental and moral traits
‘better babies’ contests: The goal was to encourage the fit to reproduce, to raise racial consciousness, bring public awareness to the eugenics agenda, and to emphasize the value of marriage and family

Question 36

what are examples of ‘negative’ eugenics?

Answer 36

forced sterilizations were enforced in an effort to stop problems of mental illness, crime, and low IQ.

Question 37

What is Ellis island?

Answer 37

Ellis Island was a through-way for immigrants entering the states at the time. In 1910, Henry Goddard was invited to Ellis Island by the Commissioner of Immigration to assess immigrants more accurately

Question 38

How were intelligence tests used in WW1?

Answer 38

used extensively to recruit individuals for the Army. In 1917 the Stanford-Binet test was adapted to multiple choice tests for use by the US army. This adaptation was important as it meant that tests were easy to administer and score, did not need to be administered by trained professionals, and were objective. This was a quick, effective and efficient way to evaluate emotional and intellectual functioning of potential soldiers.

Question 39

What were the different intelligence tests used in WW1 and how did they differ?

Answer 39

The Army Alpha was for those who were English literates and would include assessment by oral directions, arithmetic, practical judgment, analogies, disarranged sentences, number series, and information. The Army Beta was for non-English speakers and non-literates, so it relied on using non-verbal approaches to assessment, including assessment of memory, matching, picture completion and geometric construction.

Question 40

why was intelligence testing used for recruiting soldiers in WW1?

Answer 40

The two versions, the Army Alpha and the Army Beta were used to segregate and eliminate mentally incompetent, and classify men according to mental ability.

Question 41

What effect did IQ testing in the army have on the larger population?

Answer 41

explosion of testing outside of the military such as in schools, with the negative consequence of racism.

Question 42

How did the Binet IQ test result in racism?

Answer 42

In the 1960’s Jensen and Eyesenck used the Binet IQ test to show that black American children had lower average IQs than white children. The argument being floated about at the time was that this difference was due to genetics.

Question 43

what are some critiques of mental testing?

Answer 43

the intelligence tests used required knowledge and cultural values rather than innate intelligence and because of this, it was biased towards the white middle class performing better. These tests were culturally biased. Another important point that was highlighted is that correlation does not imply causation.

Question 44

How was psychological testing used negatively in SA?

Answer 44

In 1929, Fick used these tests developed for and standardized on whites only in the US to white and non-white children in SA, white children scored markedly better.

Question 45

What did Fick attribute the differences in intelligence scores between white and non-white South Africans to?

Answer 45

He originally proposed that cultural, environmental, educational, and social reasons could be cited for this discrepancy. He later suggested that the differences are likely due to differences in innate abilities and said it is not due to external factors such as those originally cited.

Question 46

Why did the use of psychological testing arise in SA?

Answer 46

arose from the need to identify which jobs would suit non-white individuals best. These tests of intellectual ability were used to compare the races and justify superiority of one group over another.

Question 47

How were measures developed in SA in the 1960’s?

Answer 47

From the 1960’s onwards in SA measures were developed along racial lines. In other words, tests were developed for a target race. The reasoning for this was there was little need for a test that could be applied to all races as groups did not compete with one another.