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Unit 2 Psy101l - Test
Unit 2 Psy101l - Test
Unit 2 Psy101l - Test
Psychological Testing
• Diagnosis:
Psychological tests are used in diagnosing
psychological disorders or problematic
behaviors.
Why is a Psychological Test
Important (Cont.)?
• Understanding and decision making:
Allows us to describe and understand behavior.
Allows us to make important decisions about people.
e.g. Early School Placement, College Entrance
Decisions, Military Job Selections
Types of Psychological Tests
• Projective tests
• Objective tests
Personality Tests
• Projective tests: open-ended format and have no
clearly specified answers.
(e.g., Rorschach Inkblot Test, TAT)
Personality Tests (Cont.)
• Objective tests: present test takers
with a standardized group of test
items in the form of a questionnaire.
(e.g., the MMPI, 16PF, CPI)
Standardized
Psychological Tests
• In order for a test to be good or
effective, it must be standardized.
• Standardization refers to the uniform
procedures used in administrating a test,
and scoring and interpreting its results.
Properties of a Standardized
Psychological Test (Cont.)
• A standardized test should meet the
following three or four criteria:
– Objectivity
– Validity
– Reliability
– Norm
Objectivity
• The test should be free from rater
bias or subjective judgment about the
ability, skill, knowledge, trait or
potentiality to be measured and
evaluated.
Validity
• Refers to the ability of a test or
scale to measure what it was
designed to measure.
• Does our measure really measure
the construct?
• Is there bias in our measurement?
Reliability
• X=T+E
• X = Observed score
• T = True score
• E = Measurement error
• A reliable measure will have a
small amount of error (E)
Reliability
• Example
• Reliability
• You take a personality
refers to the test and are scored as
measurement “assertive”. Three
weeks later you take
consistency of a the same test and are
test or scale. scored as “passive”. A
drastic change is
probably a result of an
unreliable test.
Visual Example
Test A: Test B:
Reliable Unreliable
Test Norms
• Norms refers to the performance of a
typical reference (or norm) group on a
particular measure for which a person can
be compared to.
• Scores on psychological test are most
commonly interpreted by reference
to norm that represents the test
performance on standardization sample.
Types of Test Norms
• Age norm: The norm (as for height, weight, or
intellectual achievement) of individuals of a given
chronological age
• Grade norm: The norm (as for height, weight, or
intellectual achievement) of individuals of a given grade
• Percentile norm: A percentile (or a centile) is a measure
used in statistics indicating the value below which a
given percentage of observations in a group of
observations fall. For example, the 20th percentile is the
value (or score) below which 20% of the observations
may be found.
Ethics in Psychological Testing
• Given the widespread use of tests, there is considerable
potential for abuse.
• A good deal of attention has therefore been devoted to
the development and enforcement of professional and
legal standards.
• The American Psychological Association (APA) has
taken a leading role in the development of professional
standards for testing.
APA Ethical Guidelines
The principal investigator is responsible for the
ethical practices of collaborators, assistants,
employees, etc. (all of whom are also responsible for
their own ethical behavior).