Psychological - Lecture 1 - Introduction to Psychological Testing (Catherine)

In essence, psychological testing involves measurement, and psychological testing involves evaluation

Psychological testing aims to gauge some ability or attribute numerically; whereas psychological assessment aims to answer a referral question, solve a problem or arrive at a decision.

Testing is either individual or group, tester tallies responses rather than seeking underlying meaning.

Whereas, assessment is generally individualised, consideration given to how an individual processes, not simply the results/scores.

In testing it is possible to substitute evaluators with no negative impact; whereas in assessment the assessor is key in the selection of the tests, other tools of evaluation and drawing conclusions from the entire evaluation.

Testing requires technician-like skills for administration, scoring & interpretation. Whereas, in assessment, an educated selection of tools of evaluation, evaluation skills & thoughtful integration of the data is required.

Testing typically yields a score or series of scores; whereas in assessment, there is a logical problem-solving approach to answer a referral question.

Psychological Traits & States exist & can be quantified & measured

Test-related behaviour predicts non-test-related behaviour

Tests & Measures have strengths & weaknesses

Error is part of the measurement process

Testing & Assessment can be fair and unbiased and Benefits society

Psychological traits are stable & distinctive patterns of behaviour that characterise an individual & his/her reactions to the environment

Psychological states are also distinguishable, though less enduring

Assumption 1 applies with administration & test construction

Assumption 2 is rarely tested

Focus instead in on the development of test instruments

Attention is focused on emotional states, psychological traits of intelligence & personality

There are multiple theories of intelligence & of personality

-A tests objective is to provide an indication of a test-taker’s behaviour; i.e. ‘predictive validity’ -There are 2 types of performance tests: Maximum-Performance tests & Typical-Performance Tests

-Psychological tests are imperfect measures of psychological attributes -Test Developers aim to maximise the strengths & minimise the weaknesses of psychological testing -Two KEY characteristics of tests that MUST be considered when constructing a test are: reliability & validity

Measurement error refers to the idea that variables other than those measured by the test influence test performance

To understand the concept of error, it is necessary to understand reliability & validity

Test-taker scores contain the True Score & Error (this is Classical Test Theory)

Test Publishers strive to develop tests which are fair by ensuring they accord with key ethical principles and ethical codes- -There are 3 Theoretical perspectives on Ethics:

Deontological (Duty Based)

Consequentialist (Outcome Based)

Personality Based (Virtue Ethics)

Simply that Testing and Assessment benefits society

**Although testing and assessment may seem undesirable at times, do the benefits of testing outweigh the costs?

*An historical example of the SOCIAL COSTS of testing

H. H. Goddard and the menace of the feeble minded 15

Popularised the Frenchman Albert Binet’s intelligence scale

Source of the descriptor “moron” – below average IQ “high grade defectives”

Wanted to prevent the entry of the feeble minded into the US

Application of this test led Goddard to believe that the majority of refugees arriving to America from Eastern and Southern Europe were “morons”/feeble- minded

*An historical example of the SOCIAL BENEFITS of testing

Ability and the emergence of meritocracy

Awarding jobs and rewarding people on the basis of ability is historically novel

E.g.,Samuel Pepys, 1st person in the 1660s,was a middle-class Briton who was among 27 the first officials to make his way up in government by virtue of the fact that he was smart.