Psychological Testing: Chapter 2: Historical, Cultural

Where tests and testing programs first came into being as early as 2200 BCE to select who, of many applicants, would obtain government jobs

Proficiency in endeavors such as music, archery, horsemanship, writing, and arithmetic were examined; so were agriculture, geography, revenue, civil law, and military strategy; knowledge and skill with respect to the rites and ceremonies of public and social life were evaluated

Emphasis placed on knowledge of classical literature

State sponsored examinations for official positions; those who passed the examination were entitled to wear special gard which entitled them to be accorded special courtesis by anyone they happened to meet; exemption from government sponsored interrogation by torture if the individual was suspected of committing a crime

Who was in leage with the Devil; various measurement procedures were devised to address this question

Anticipated psychology as a science and psychologic measurement as a specialty within that science;

In the course of his efforts to explore and quantify individual differences between people, became an extremely influential contributor to the field of measurement; aspired to classify people according to their natural gifts and to ascertain their deviation from an average; pioneered the use of a statistical concept central to psychological experimentation and testing: the coefficient of correlation

Questionnaires
Rating Scales
Self-Report Inventories

Developed the product-moment correlation technique

Ran the first experimental psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany; he and his students tried to formulate a general description of human abilities with respect to variables such as reaction time, perception, and attention span; focused on questions relating to how people were similar; attempted to control all extraneous variables in an effort to reduce error to a minimum

Objective is to ensure that any observed differences in performance are indeed due to differences between the people being measured and not to any extraneous variables

Coined the term Mental test; responsible for getting mental testing underway in America; instrumental in founding the Psychological Corporation; the goal was the advancement of psychology and the promotion of the useful applications of psychology

Credited with originating the concept of test reliability as well as building the mathematical framework for the statistical technique of factor analysis

Frenchman who collaborated with Alfred Binet on papers suggesting how mental tests could be used to measure higher mental processes

Early experimenter with the word association technique as a formal test

Succeeded Cattell as director of the psychology laboratory at University of Pennsylvania; little founder of clinical psychology

Published several articles in which they argued for the meaurement of abilities such as memory and social comprehension

Published a 30-item measuring scale of intelligence designed to help identify mentally retarted Paris schoolchildren

Personality, Interests, Attitudes, values, and Widely varied mental abilities

Clinical psychologist at Bellevue Hospital in NYC; introduced a test designed to measure adult intelligence

The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment

Used to be called Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale

Were first used in the United States in response to the military’s need for an efficient method of screening the intellectual ability of World War I recruits

Assigned the task of developing a measure of adjustment and emotional stability that could be administered quickly and efficiently to groups of recruits; Labeled the questionnaire as Personal Data Sheet which later was adapted for civilian use and was called Woodworth Psychoneurotic Inventory

Method of assessment tht would soon be employed in a long line of succeeding personality tests

One in which an individual is assumed to project onto some ambiguous stimulus his or her own unique needs, fears, hopes, and motivation

Inkblot, a drawing, a photograph, or something else

Series of inkblots deeloped by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach

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

Highly instrumental in getting Binet's test adopted for use in various settings in the United States; Raised questions about how meaningful such tests are when used with people from various cultural and language backgrounds

Tests designed for use with people from one culture but not from another,

Verbal Communication

| Nonverbal Communication and Behavior

Theory of personality and psychological treatment developed by Sigmund Freud, symbolic significance is assigned to many nonverbal acts

Refers to voluntary and mandatory efforts undertaken by federal, state, and local governments, private employers, and schools to combat discrimination and to promote equal opportunity in education and employment for all

Rules that individuals must obey for the good of the society as a whole-or rules thought to be for the good of society as a whole

Body of principles of right, proper, or good conduct

The researcher should never fudge dta; all data must be reported accurately

Formal testing programs designed to be used in decisions regarding various aspects of students' education

Primary objective was to provide testtakers with a means of learning the cirteria by which they are being judged; provide descriptions of
The test's purpose of its subject matter
The knowledge and skills the test purports to measure
Procedures for ensuring accuracy in scoring
Procedures for notifying testtakers of errors in scoring
Procedures for ensuring the testtaker's confidentiality

A ddocument that set forth testing standards and technical recommendations

Defined three levels of tests in terms of the degree to which the test's use required knowledge of testing and policy

Level A
Level B
Level C

Tests or aids that can adequately be administered, scored, and interpreted with the aid of the manual and a general orientation to the kind of institution or organization in which one is working (achieement or proficiency tests)

Tests or aids that require some technical knowledge of test construction and use and of supporting psychological and edcational fields such as statistics, individual differences, psychology of adjustment, personnel psychology, and guidance (aptitude tests and adjustment inventories applicable to normal populations)

Tests and aids that require substantial understanding of testing and supporting psychological fields together with supervised experience in the use of these devices (projective tests, individual mental tests)

Presents standards for educational test developers in four areas:

1. Developing/selecting tests

2. Interpreting scores

3. Striving for fairness

4. Information testtakers

Access to test administration, scoring, and interpretation software
Comparability of pencil-and-paper and computerized versions of tests
The value of computerized test interpretations
Unprofessional, unregulated psychological testing online

Developed the International Guidelines on Compter-Based and Internet-Delivered Testing

The right of informed consent
The right to be informed of test findings
The right to privacy and confidentiality
The right to the least stigmatizing label