Introduction to Psychological testing

 Psychological Testing ( explain , ref class 11 chap 2 , ncert book )

 Psychological testing refers to the administration of psychological tests. A
psychological test is "an objective and standardized measure of a sample of
behavior". The term sample of behavior refers to an individual's performance
on tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand. Performance on the
items produces a test score. A score on a well-constructed test is believed to
reflect a psychological construct such as achievement in a school subject,
ability, aptitude, emotional functioning, personality, etc. Differences in test
scores are thought to reflect individual differences in the construct the test is
supposed to measure. The technical term for the science behind
psychological testing is psychometrics. Psychology practical
 (Page 2) Types of tests Tests have been developed to measure many
different human developments.
 They are classified as:
 On the basis of Administration – Group test and individual test (explain )
 On the basis of context – Verbal tests, non-verbal tests, performance tests
[Define the above-mentioned from chapter 1 NCERT Psychology Book]
 Culture – Culture fair test vs culture bias test
 Standardization of tests : Standardization - All procedures and steps must be
conducted with consistency and under the same environment to achieve the
same testing performance from those being tested. • Objectivity - Scoring
such that subjective judgments and biases are minimized, with results for
each test taker obtained in the same way.
 Test Norms - The average test score within a large group of people where the
performance of one individual can be compared to the results of others by
establishing a point of comparison or frame of reference.
 Reliability - Obtaining the same result after multiple testing. It refers to the
consistency of scores obtained by the same person when re-examined with
the same test with different set of questions at another time.
 Types – Split half and Test retest ( explain )
 Validity - The type of test being administered must measure what it is
intended to measure. Types of Validity
 Face Validity Face validity is a measure of how representative a research
project is ‘at face value,' and whether it appears to be a good project.
 Content Validity Content validity is the estimate of how much a measure
represents every single element of a construct.
  Criterion Validity Criterion Validity assesses whether a test reflects a certain
set of abilities.

Application of Psychological testing

a. Detection of specific Behavior Psychological test is used to measure
and to detect the abilities of a person.
b. Individual Differences A psychological test is used to measure the
individual differences, that is different between abilities of different
persons and the performance of the same person at different time.
c. To diagnose by the Psychological Test The psychological tests are
usually used in clinical psychology.In clinical psychology a test's
function is to diagnose mental disorders.So tests are used in mental
hospitals and coaching and guidance centers for the assessment and
diagnose of mental disorders.
d. Legal Classification A psychological test helps in classifying a
number of people into different categories For example normal and
abnormal, criminal and innocent, intellectual and mental retarded,
able and disable etc.
e. Promoting Self Understanding A psychological test provide
standardized information about the abilities, capabilities, aptitudes,
potential competencies interest, trait and states of a person which
helps in understanding one's personality and planning future
prospective.
f.Program Evaluation Effectiveness of a particular program is
assessed by the applications of some kind of test. This Psychology
practical function is usually performed by an achievement test. g.
Scientific Inquiry or Research Some experts use tests for research
purpose which provide information about the mental level and
personality of the subject.
h. Military Selection A closely related application of psychological
testing is to be found in the selection and classification of military
personal. From simple beginnings in the World War-I, the scope and
variety of psychological tests employed in military situations
underwent a phenomenal increase during World War-II. Subsequently
research on test development has been containing on a large scale in
all brands of the normed services.
i. Industry In industry and business tests are helpful in selection and
classifying personal for placement in jobs that range from the simpler
semiskilled to the highly skilled, from the selection of filling clerks and
sales-person to top management for any of these position, however
test results are only one source of information , though an important
one. Industrial and Organizational Psychology (also known as I-O
psychology, industrialorganizational psychology, work psychology,
organizational psychology, work and organizational psychology,
industrial psychology, occupational psychology, personnel psychology
or talent assessment) applies psychology to organizations and the
workplace.
Common research and practice areas for I-O psychologists include:
▪ Job performance ▪ Job analysis ▪ Personnel recruitment and selection
▪ Performance appraisal/management ▪ Individual assessment
(knowledge, skills, and ability testing, personality assessment, work
sample tests, assessment centers) ▪ Psychometrics ▪ Compensation ▪
Training and training evaluation/Development ▪ Employment law ▪
Work motivation ▪ Job attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, commitment,
organizational citizenship, and retaliation) ▪ Human resources ▪
Organizational development (OD) Psychology practical Page 6 ▪
Organizational research methods ▪ Technology in the workplace ▪
Group/team performance ▪ Employ safety and health Essentially,
industrial psychologists study the behavior of employees in a work
setting. Although industrial psychology didn't begin until the 1920's,
the discipline has evolved rapidly and revolutionized the workplace
within the last century. Because the workplace is a social system, the
application of industrial psychology is useful in understanding its
complexity.
j. Education Psychological tests especially those of general intelligence
and of specific aptitudes have very extensive use in educational
classification, selection and planning from the 1st grade (and
sometimes earlier) through the university. Prior to World War-II
schools and colleges were the largest users of psychological tests.

Pioneers of Psychology Modern mental testing began in France in

the 19th century. It contributed to separating mental retardation from
mental illness and reducing the neglect, torture, and ridicule heaped
on both groups.
 Englishman Francis Galton coined the terms psychometrics and
developed a method for measuring intelligence based on
nonverbal sensory-motor tests. It was initially popular, but was
abandoned after the discovery that it had no relationship to
outcomes such as college grades.
 French psychologist Alfred Binet, together with psychologists
Victor Henri and Théodore Simon, after about 15 years of
development, published the Binet-Simon test in 1905, which
 focused on verbal abilities. It was intended to identify mental
retardation in school children.
 Wilhelm Wundtestablished the first laboratory in Leipzig of
psychology in 1879 and employed introspection as a method of
studying the workings of the mind. William James Psychologist
and philosopher
 William James is often referred to as the father of American
psychology. His 1200-page text, The Principles of Psychology,
became a classic on the subject and his teachings and writings
helped establish psychology as a science. James also
contributed to functionalism, pragmatism and influenced many
students of psychology during his 35-year teaching career.

 Statistical Measures :
1. Percentile Rank – An individual`s percentile rank on a test designates the
percentage of cases or scores lying below it. For e.g. Percentile 20 means the
individual is situated above 20% of the group fall below this person`s rank.
2. Percentage – A rate, number or amount in each hundred. Any proportion or
share in relation to a whole.
3. Stanine scores – According to this method the standard population is
divided into 9 groups. Stanine 1 is the lowest and stanine 9 is the highest.
4. Sten Scores – standard scores on a scale of ten.
5. Standrard scores – It designates the individual`s position with respect to the
total range and distribution of scores. The standard score indicates, in terms
of standard deviation how far a particular score is removed from the mean of
the distribution.

• Difference between test and experiment

Test Experiment

It is standardized instrument used to The researcher tries to manipulate

measure intellectual and non-
intellectual characteristics of an
individual through verbal or non-
verbal measures
It evaluates certain attributes of an
individual.
It does not have a hypothesis
It is standardized and has norms.
the situation and tries to prove or
disapprove a hypothesis
It determines cause and effect
relationship between variables.
It has a hypothesis.
It does not have norms and is meant
for verification of various principles.