PSY ASS M1

psychological assessment- gathering and integration of psychology - related data for the purpose of
making a psychological evaluation that is accomplished through the use of tools such as tests, interviews,
case studies, behavioral observation, and specially designed apparatuses and measurement procedures.

psychological testing as the process of measuring psychology-related variables by means of devices or

procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior.

OTHER TERMS USED INCONNECTION WITH TESTS AND TEST TITLES

Scale

- whole test made up of several parts

- a subtest, or set of items within a test, that measures a distinct and specific characteristic
- array of subtests that share some common characteristic
- separate instrument made up of items designed to evaluate a single characteristic
- numerical system used to rate or to report value on some measured dimension
- In the field of psychological measurement—also known as psychometrics—scale has a more
precise meaning. It refers to a group of items that pertain to a single variable and are arranged in
order of difficulty or intensity
- The process of arriving at the sequencing of the items is called scaling.

Battery

- term often used in test titles. A battery is a group of several tests, or subtests, that are
administered at one time to one person.

Process of assessment:

1. begins with a referral for assessment

2. selecting the tools of assessment to be used
3. Formal assessment will begin
4. Writes a report of the findings that is designed to answer the referral question
5. Collaboration between the assessor and the assessee

TOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT:

TEST

- Measuring device/procedure designed measure variable related to that modifier

- Refers to procedure designed to measure variables related to psychology
- May differ with respect to a number of variables such as content, format, administration
procedures, scoring and interpretation procedures and technical quality.

INTERVIEW

- Method of gathering information thru direct communication involving reciprocal change

- Interviewer must take note both verbal and nonverbal behaviour
- ‘’ ‘’ be sensitive to intervieweee’s pitch
PORTFOLIO

- Keep files of their work products (paper, canvas, film, video, audio)
- Sample of one’s ability and accomplishment
- Tool of evaluation

CASE HISTORY DATA

- Records, transcripts, and other accounts in written, pictorial or other form that preserve archival
info, official & informal accounts relevant to an assessee.

BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATION

- Monitoring the action of others or oneself by visual electronic means while recording
quantitative /qualitative information regarding the actions
- Venture outside of the confines of clinics, classrooms, workplaces, and research laboratories in
order to observe behaviour of humans in natural setting

ROLE-PLAY TESTS

- Acting an improvised or partially improvised part in a simulated situation.

- Assesses are directed to act as if they were in a particular situation
- ‘’ may be evaluated with regard to their expressed thoughts, behaviours, abilities and
other variables.

COMPUTER AS TOOLS

- Role in test administration, scoring, and interpretation

- CAPA “computer assisted psychological assessment: assistance computers provide to test user,
not the test taker,
- CAT “Computer adaptive testing”: computer’s ability to tailor the test to the test taker’s ability to
the test taking pattern.

WHO ARE THE PARTIES?

1. Test developer: create tests

2. Test user: clinicians, counsellors, school psychologist, human resources personnel, consumer
psychologist, experimental psychologist etc.
3. Test taker: anyone who is subject of an assessment or an evaluation

TYPES OF SETTINGS ARE ASSESSMENTS CONDUCTED

A. Educational settings
B. Clinical settings
C. Counselling settings
D. Geriatric settings: Wherever older individuals reside, they may at some point require
psychological assessment to evaluate cognitive, psychological, adaptive, or other functioning
 E. Business and military settings
F. Governmental & organizational credentialing

HOW ARE ASSESSMENTS CONDUCTED??

1. Responsible user have obligations before, during and after test or any measurement procedure is
administered
2. Test user must ensure that the room will be conducted, suitable and conducive to the settings
3. Attempts to establish rapport with the test taker not compromise any rules of the test
admiration instructions
4. Safeguard the test protocols & conveying the results in a clearly understandable fashion

Alternate assessment- diagnostic procedure varies from the usual, customary, or standardized way a
measurement is dervived either by virtue of some special accommodation made to the assessee or
by means of alternative methods designed to measure the same variables

WHERE TO GO FOR AUTHORITATIVE INFORMATION: REFERENCE SOURCES

Test catalogues

- Contain only brief description of the test and seldom contain the kind of detailed technical
information that a prospective user might require. The objective is to sell the test.

Test manuals

- Detailed information concerning the development of a particular test and technical information
relating to it should be found in the test manual

Reference volumes

- One stop shopping for a great deal of test-related information.

Journal articles

- May contain reviews of the test, updated or independent studies of its psychometric soundness,
examples of how the instrument was used
- Rich source of information on important trends in testing and assessment

Online databases

- Widely used bibliographic data bases for test-related publication

APA: maintains a number of databases useful in locating psychology-related information in
journal articles, book chapters, and doctoral dissertations.
ETS: World’s largest private measurement institution

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:

Binet and Simon developed the first major general intelligence test.

Representative sample: one that comprises individuals similar to those for whom the test is to be used.
Mental age: a measurement of a child’s performance on the test relative to other children of that
particular age group

MODULE 2

CULTURAL, LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

Culture- socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, and products of work of a particular population,
community, or group of people

TEST USERS QUALIFICATIONs:

LEVEL A: test that can be administered, scored, and interpreted with the aid of the manual and a
general orientation to the kind of institution or organization

LEVEL B: Require some technical knowledge of test construction and use and of supporting psychological
and educational fields such as statistics, individual differences, psychology of adjustment, personnel
psychology, and guidance.

LEVEL C: test that require substantial understanding of testing and supporting psychological fields
together with supervised experience in the use of these services

THE RIGHTS OF TESTTAKERS

1. The right of informed consent - have a right to know why they are being evaluated, how the test
data will be used, and what (if any) information will be released to whom. With full knowledge
of such information, testtakers give their informed consent to be tested. disclosure of the
information needed for consent must, of course, be in language the testtaker can understand.
Consent must be in written rather than oral form. The written form should specify: general
purpose of the testing, specific reason it is being undertaken in the present case, general type of
instruments to be administered.
2. The right to be informed of test findings- Testtakers have a right to be informed, in language
they can understand, of the nature of the findings with respect to a test they have taken. In no
case would they disclose diagnostic conclusions that could arouse anxiety or precipitate a crisis.
giving realistic information about test performance to examinees is not only ethically and legally
mandated but may be useful from a therapeutic perspective as well. Testtakers have a right to be
informed, in language they can understand, of the nature of the findings with respect to a test
they have taken.
3. The right to privacy and confidentiality - Privilege in the psychologist-client relationship belongs
to the client, not the psychologist. The competent client can direct the psychologist to disclose
information to some third party (such as an attorney or an insurance carrier), and the
psychologist is obligated to make the disclosure. In some rare instances, the psychologist may be
ethically (if not legally) compelled to disclose information if that information will prevent harm
either to the client or to some endangered third party. Clinicians may have a duty to warn
endangered third parties not only of potential violence but of potential AIDS infection from an
HIV-positive client as well as other threats to their physical well-being.
 4. The right to the least stigmatizing label - least stigmatizing labels should always be assigned
when reporting test results.
For assessment professionals, some major issues with regard to Computer-assisted
psychological assessment (CAPA) are as follows:

1. Access to test administration, scoring, and interpretation software.

- computer-administered test may be easily copied and duplicated
2. Comparability of pencil-and-paper and computerized versions of tests.
- the comparability of the traditional and the computerized forms of the test has not been
researched or has only insufficiently been researched
3. The value of computerized test interpretations.
- Thousands of words are spewed out every day in the form of test interpretation results, but the
value of these words in many cases is questionable.
4. Unprofessional, unregulated “psychological testing” online.
- Many test offered online for free would not meet a psychologist’s standards.

MODULE 3

Measurement- phenomenon that is measured is made more easily subject to confirmation and analysis,
and thus is made more objective as well

a variable is anything that varies

constant is anything that does not.

discrete variables are those with a finite range of values—or a potentially infinite, but countable, range
of values. (e.g. Dichotomous, polytomous)

Dichotomous: assume only two values (true or false)

Polytomous: more than two values (marital status)

Continuous variables such as time, distance, and temperature, on the other hand, have infinite ranges
and really cannot be counted; can never be calibrated with enough precision

SCALES OF MEASUREMENT

Nominal: classification or categorization; numbers are used solely as labels; Numbers can also be used to
label categorical data; results of such operations are not meaningful.

Ordinal: ordinal scales permit classification; rank ordering; e elements in a set can be lined up in a series
—from lowest to highest; they carry no information with regard to the distance between positions.

Interval: contain equal intervals between numbers; Each unit on the scale is exactly equal to any other
unit on the scale.

Ratio: has a true zero point. All mathematical operations can meaningfully be performed because there
exist equal intervals; In psychology, ratio-level measurement is employed in some types of tests and test
items, perhaps most notably those involving assessment of neurological functioning; , all with
meaningful results.

TYPES OF STATISTICS

Descriptive: Numbers and graphs used to describe, condense, or represent data belong in the realm of
descriptive statistics

Inferential: when data are used to estimate population values based on sample values or to test
hypotheses

- Frequency distribution: organize raw data in some sensible way so they can be inspected; help
to organize scores into a still more compact form; , scores are grouped into intervals of a
convenient size to accommodate the data, and the frequencies are listed for each interval
instead of for each of the scores; simple frequency distribution to indicate that individual scores
have been used and the data have not been grouped
- Graphs: a diagram or chart composed of lines, points, bars, or other symbols that describe and
illustrate data.
- Measures of central tendency- statistic that indicates the average or midmost score between
the extreme scores in a distribution.
- Arithmetic mean- e most appropriate measure of central tendency for interval or ratio data
when the distributions are believed to be approximately normal

- Median- middle score in a distribution; is an appropriate measure of central tendency for

ordinal, interval, and ratio data; useful measure of central tendency in cases where relatively few
scores fall at the high end of the distribution or relatively few scores fall at the low end of the
distribution.
- Mode- most frequently occurring score in a distribution of scores is the mode.
bimodal distribution- there are two scores (51 and 66) that occur with the highest frequency

MEASURES OF VARIABILITY

Variability is an indication of how scores in a distribution are scattered or dispersed.

measures of variability: Statistics that describe the amount of variation in a distribution

range: range of a distribution is equal to the difference between the highest and the lowest scores; e
simplest measure of variability to calculate; range provides a quick but gross description of the spread of
scores. When its value is based on extreme scores in a distribution, the resulting description of variation
may be understated or overstated

The interquartile and semi-interquartile ranges

A distribution of test scores can be divided into four parts

quartile refers to a specific point whereas quarter refers to an interval

interquartile range is a measure of variability equal to the difference between Q 3 and Q1 .

semi-interquartile range, which is equal to the interquartile range divided by 2

In a perfectly symmetrical distribution, Q 1 and Q 3 will be exactly the same distance from the median

If these distances are unequal then there is a lack of symmetry. This lack of symmetry is referred to as
skewness

Average deviation: describe the amount of variability in a distribution

All the deviation scores are then summed and divided by the total number of scores ( n ) to arrive at the
average deviation.

Standard deviation - as a measure of variability equal to the square root of the average squared
deviations about the mean. More succinctly, it is equal to the square root of the variance

- must be calculated same as the average deviation but Instead of using the absolute value of each
deviation score, we use the square of each score.

variance is equal to the arithmetic mean of the squares of the differences between the scores in a
distribution and their mean

Skewness- the nature and extent to which symmetry is absent.

negative skew when relatively few of the scores fall at the low end of the distribution.

positive skew when relatively few of the scores fall at the high end of the distribution. Positively skewed
examination results may indicate that the test was too difficult

Kurtosis- steepness of a distribution in its center

platykurtic (relatively flat)

leptokurtic (relatively peaked)

omewhere in the middle— mesokurtic

standard score is a raw score that has been converted from one scale to another scale, where the latter
scale has some arbitrarily set mean and standard deviation

z score is equal to the difference between a particular raw score and the mean divided by the standard
deviation

MODULE 4

Assumption 1: Psychological Traits and States Exist

- trait has been defined as “any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one individual
varies from another”.
- States also distinguish one person from another but are relatively less enduring.
- construct — an informed, scientific concept developed or constructed to describe or explain
behavior.
 - overt behavior refers to an observable action or the product of an observable action, including
test- or assessment-related responses.

Assumption 2: Psychological Traits and States Can Be Quantified and Measured

- test score is presumed to represent the strength of the targeted ability or trait or state and is
frequently based on cumulative scoring
- the more the testtaker responds in a particular direction as keyed by the test manual as correct
or consistent with a particular trait, the higher that testtaker is presumed to be on the targeted
ability or trait.

Assumption 3: Test-Related Behavior Predicts Non-Test-Related Behavior

- Patterns of answers to true–false questions on one widely used test of personality are used in
decision making regarding mental disorders.
- tasks in some tests mimic the actual behaviors that the test user is attempting to understand.
such tests yield only a sample of the behavior that can be expected to be emitted under nontest
conditions.
- obtained sample of behavior is typically used to make predictions about future behavior, such as
work performance of a job applicant.

Assumption 4: Tests and Other Measurement Techniques Have Strengths and Weaknesses

- Competent test users understand and appreciate the limitations of the tests they use as well as
how those limitations might be compensated for by data from other sources

Assumption 5: Various Sources of Error Are Part of the Assessment Process

- error refers to a long-standing assumption that factors other than what a test attempts to
measure will influence performance on the test
- error variance- component of a test score attributable to sources other than the trait or ability
measured.

Assumption 6: Testing and Assessment Can Be Conducted in a Fair and Unbiased Manner

- all major test publishers strive to develop instruments that are fair when used in strict
accordance with guidelines in the test manual.

Assumption 7: Testing and Assessment Benefit Society

- In a world without tests or other assessment procedures, personnel might be hired on the basis
of nepotism rather than documented merit

What’s a “Good Test”?

- measures what it purports to measure.

psychometric soundness- technical criteria that assessment professionals use to evaluate the quality of
tests and other measurement procedures.
Reliability- consistency of the measuring tool: the precision with which the test measures and the extent
to which error is present in measurements.

Validity- measure what it purports to measure.

MODULE 5

Reliability – consistency of measurement

Sources of error variance:

Test construction: item sampling or content sampling, terms that refer to variation among items within a
test as well as to variation among items between tests

Test administration: may influence the testtaker’s attention or motivation. The testtaker’s reactions to
those influences are the source of one kind of error variance. Other potential sources of error variance
during test administration are testtaker variables. . Examiner-related variables are potential sources of
error variance.

RELIABILITY ESTIMATES:

1. Test-retest reliability
2. Parallel forms & alternate forms
3. Split-half
4. Inter-scorer
Test scoring & interpretation: The advent of computer scoring and a growing reliance on objective,
computer-scorable items virtually have eliminated error variance caused by scorer differences in many
tests.

o The Spearman-Brown formula allows a test developer or user to estimate internal consistency
reliability from a correlation of two halves of a test.

Other Methods of Estimating Internal Consistency

o Inter-item consistency refers to the degree of correlation among all the items on a scale.
- Tests are said to be homogeneous if they contain items that measure a single trait
- KR-20 is the statistic of choice for determining the inter-item consistency of
dichotomous items, primarily those items that can be scored right or wrong (such as
multiple-choice items)
- Coefficient alpha is the preferred statistic for obtaining an estimate of internal
consistency reliability. Coefficient alpha is widely used as a measure of reliability, in part
because it requires only one administration of the test.
o Inter-scorer reliability is thedegree of agreement or consistency between two or more scorers
(or judges or raters) with regard to a particular measure.

THE NATURE OF THE TEST:

1. test items are homogeneous or heterogeneous in nature

2. characteristic, ability, or trait being measured is presumed to be dynamic or stati
3. range of test scores is or is not restricted;
4. test is a speed or a power test
5. test is or is not criterion-referenced

o test is said to be homogeneous in items if it is functionally uniform throughout.

o if the test is heterogeneous in items, an estimate of internal consistency might be low relative to
a more appropriate estimate of test-retest reliability.
o dynamic characteristic is a trait, state, or ability presumed to be ever-changing as a function of
situational and cognitive experiences
o trait, state, or ability presumed to be relatively unchanging (a static characteristic ), such as
intelligence
o If the variance of either variable in a correlational analysis is restricted by the sampling
procedure used, then the resulting correlation coefficient tends to be lower.
o If the variance of either variable in a correlational analysis is inflated by the sampling procedure,
then the resulting correlation coefficient tends to be higher.
o some items are so difficult that no testtaker is able to obtain a perfect score, then the test is a
power test.
o a speed test generally contains items of uniform level of difficulty (typically uniformly low) so
that, when given generous time limits, all testtakers should be able to complete all the test items
correctly.
 o A criterion-referenced test is designed to provide an indication of where a testtaker stands with
respect to some variable or criterion, such as an educational or a vocational objective.

MODULE 6 VALIDITY

Validity - judgment based on evidence about the appropriateness of inferences drawn from test scores.

test developer’s responsibility to supply validity evidence in the test manual.

test users to conduct their own validation studies with their own groups of testtakers.

Face validity

- judgment concerning how relevant the test items appear to be

- what a test appears to measure to the person being tested than to what the test actually
measures.

Content validity

- a judgment of how adequately a test samples behavior representative of the universe of

behavior that the test was designed to sample.
- Lawshe

Criterion-related validity

- how adequately a test score can be used to infer an individual’s most probable standing on some
measure of interest

Concurrent validity

- index of the degree to which a test score is related to some criterion measure obtained at the
same time
- extent to which test scores may be used to estimate an individual’s present standing on a
criterion.

Predictive validity

- degree to which a test score predicts some criterion measure.

validity coefficient is a correlation coefficient that provides a measure of the relationship

between test scores and scores on the criterion measure

Incremental validity

- Test users involved in predicting some criterion from test scores are often interested in the utility
of multiple predictors. The value of including more than one predictor depends on a couple of
factors
 - Expectancy data provide information that can be used in evaluating the criterion-related validity
of a test.

Construct validity

- t the appropriateness of inferences drawn from test scores regarding individual standings on a
variable called a construct

VALIDITY, BIAS AND FAIRNESS

Test bias
- having to do with prejudice and preferential treatment.

Rating error
- numerical or verbal judgment (or both) that places a person or an attribute along a continuum
identified by a scale of numerical or word descriptors known as a rating scale
- intentional or unintentional misuse of rating scale
A leniency error (also known as a generosity error ) is, as its name implies, an error in rating that
arises from the tendency on the part of the rater to be lenient in scoring, marking, and/or
grading
- central tendency error. Here the rater, for whatever reason, exhibits a general and systematic
reluctance to giving ratings at either the positive or the negative extreme. Consequently, all of
this rater’s ratings would tend to cluster in the middle of the rating continuum
- Halo effect rater’s failure to discriminate among conceptually distinct and potentially
independent aspects of a ratee’s behavior

MODULE 7 UTILITY

Utility- practical value of using a test to aid in decision-making.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT A TEST’S UTILITY

1. Psychometric soundness: if reliability and validity coefficients are acceptably high.

index of utility- practical value of the information derived from scores on the test
2. Cost: financial cost of the selection device (or training program or clinical intervention) under
study. financial cost of the selection device (or training program or clinical intervention) under
study.
3. Benefits: profits, gains, or advantages
4.