Psychological Test

Psychological Testing

• refers to the use of psychological tests

• refers to all possible uses, applications, and underlying concepts of psychological tests

Psychological Test

• a device for measuring characteristics of human beings that pertain to overt (observable) and covert (intraindividual) behavior

  • Observable: physical manifestation

  • Covert: memory

• measures past, present, and future human behavior

• essentially an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior

• Nature:

  • sample of behavior → standardized (environment factors can affect performance) → study the test before administering it

Psychometrics

• a specialized branch of psychology dealing with mental tests

• branch of psychology dealing with the development and application of statistical and other mathematical procedures to psychology

Test

• a measurement device that quantifies behavior

Test Administration

• the act of giving a test

Test Administrator

• a person giving a test

Nature of a Psychological Test

• A psychological test is a measurement instrument that has 3 defining characteristics

  1. a psychological test is a sample of behavior

  2. the sample is obtained under standardized conditions

  3. there are established rules for scoring and interpreting, or of obtaining quantitative (numeric) information from the behavior sample

Purpose of Testing

• General Uses of Tests

  • identification of abilities

  • classification for grouping purposes

  • selecting individuals for placement

  • planning educational and vocational steps

  • adjustment of a person

Kinds of Instrument

1. Intelligence Test or Mental Ability Test

   • measured objectives of intelligence tests (general ability tests) are designed to provide an estimation of a person’s probable intellectual behavior; his innate potentials

   • 2 Types of Forms

     • Verbal Test: question and answer

     • Nonverbal Test: choose to fit the pattern

   • mental age, IQ, EQ

2. Achievement Test

   • designed to measure the outcome of the instructional program

   • designed to measure what a student has already learned in a particular subject area or areas

   • measure actual learning rather than potential for learning

   • learned knowledge

3. Aptitude Test

   • attempt to measure an individual’s potentialities for future development and learning among individuals along certain lines or specific areas

4. Personality Test

   • not really tests at all, but rather attempt to inventory an individual’s feelings about himself and other people

   • measures used to account for behavioral phenomena by identifying the number of consistent patterns of traits

   • MBTI, OCEAN

5. Interest Inventories

   • measure of a person’s preferences, his likes and dislikes at a given time, which may be influenced by his environment, his experience and perhaps his innate tendencies

   • a method designed to provide an individual with forced choices that he will either like or dislike

Other Classifications of Tests

1. Performance vs Pencil-and-Paper Tests

   • Performance Test

     • a test in which the examinee is required to manipulate objects or perform a task

   • Pencil-and-Paper Test

     • a test which represents questions or items to which a person responds by writing or marking answers

     • for economy and convenience of storing, separate answer sheets are often used

2. Objective vs Subjective Tests

   • Objective Test

     • require the person scoring the test to exercise little, or if any, judgment

     • an answer key is prepared when the test is constructed so as that no matter how many persons grade the test, the one who tool the test will receive the same numerical score for each item

   • Subjective Test

     • require the scorer to use considerable judgment and training in evaluating the examinee’s responses

3. Standardized vs Teacher-Made Tests

   • Standardized Test

     • administered and scored according to specific instructions for uniformity

     • has been the result of test and retest

     • Norms: available for standard interpretation of scores

   • Teacher-Made Test

     • constructed by the teacher for the purpose of an informal evaluation of her classroom teaching

4. Speed vs Power Tests

   • Speed Test

     • required the examinee to complete as many test items or complete some tasks as possible in a specified time limit

   • Power Test

     • require the examinee to demonstrate the extent of his knowledge or depth of his understanding with the time factor eliminated as much as possible

5. Group vs Individual Tests

   • Individual Test

     • tests designed to be administered to one person at a time

     • allows the tester to observe carefully the examinee’s behavior

   • Group Test

     • tests designed to be administered to a group of examinee’s at a time

     • saves time, money, and effort

Criteria for Test Selection

1. it must be relevant to the problem

2. appropriate for the patient or client

3. familiar to the examiner

4. adaptable to the time available

5. valid ad reliable

• need for battery testing

Responsibility of Test Users

• Test users should select test that meet the purpose for which they are to be sued and that are appropriate for the intended test-taking populations

• Test users should:

  • First define the purpose for testing and the population to be tested. Then, select a test for that purpose and that population based on a thorough review of the available information and materials.

  • Investigate potentially useful sources of information, in addition to test scores, to corroborate the information provided by tests.

  • Read the materials provided by test developers and avoid using tests for which unclear or incomplete information is provided.

• Become familiar with how and hen the test was developed and tried out

• Read independent evaluations of a test and of possible alternative measures. Look for evidence required in supporting the claims of test developers

• Examine specimen sets, disclosed tests or samples of questions, directions, answer sheets, manuals, and score reports before selecting a test.

• Ascertain whether the test content and norm group(s) or comparison group(s) is appropriate for the intended test takers.

• Select and use only those tests for which the skills needed to administer the test and interpret scores correctly are available.

Principle in Test Administration

1. To ensure fair testing, the tester must become thoroughly familiar with the test. Even a simple test usually presents one or more stumbling blocks which can be anticipated if the tester studies the manual in advance or even takes time to take the test himself before administering.

2. The tester must maintain an impartial and scientific attitude. The tester must be keenly interested with the persons they test, and desire to see them do well. It is the duty of the tester to obtain from each subject the best record he can produce.

3. Establishing and maintaining rapport is necessary if the subject is to do well. That is, the subject must feel that he wants to cooperate with the tester. Poor rapport is evident by the presence of inattention during directions, giving up before time is up, restlessness or finding fault with the test.

4. In case of individual testing, where each question is given orally, unintended help can be given by facial expression or words of encouragement. Thereon, taking test is always concerned to know how well he is doing and watches the examiner for indications of his success. The examiner must maintain a completely unrevealing expression, while at the same time silently assuring the subject of his interest in what he says or do.

5. In individual testing, the tester observes the subject’s performance with care. He notes the time to complete each task and any errors, he watches for any unusual method of approaching the task. Observation and note taking must be done in a subtle and unobtrusive manner so as not to indirectly or directly affect the subject’s performance of the task.

General Procedures

Conditions of Testing

1. physical condition

2. condition of the person

3. test condition

4. condition of the day

Control of the Group

• Group tests are given only to those reasonably and cooperative subjects who expects to do as the tester requests.

• Directions should be given simply, clearly, and singly. The subjects must have a chance to ask questions whenever they are necessary but the examiner attempts to anticipate all reasonable questions by full directions.

• Effective control may b combined with good rapport if the examiner is friendly. avoid an antagonistic, overbearing attitude.

• The goal of the tester is to obtain useful information about people; that is to elicit good information from the results of the test. There is no value adhering rigidly to a testing schedule if the schedule will not give true information. Common sense is the only safe guide in exceptional situations.

Directions to the Subject

• most important responsibility

• imperative that the tester gives the directions exactly as provided in the manual

Judgments Left to the Examiner

• The competent examiner must possess a high degree of judgment, intelligence, sensitivity to the reactions of others, and professionalism, as well as knowledge with regards to scientific methods and experience in the use of psychometric techniques.

Guessing

1. It is against the rules for the tester to give supplementary advices, he must retreat to such formula as “use your judgment”.

2. The person taking the test is usually wise to guess freely.

3. From the point-of-view of the tester, the tendency to guess is an unstandardized aspect of the testing situation which interferes with accurate measurement.

4. The most widely accepted practice now is to educate students that wild guessing is to their disadvantage, but to encourage them to respond when they can make an informed judgment as to the most reasonable answer even if they are uncertain.

5. The motivation most helpful to valid testing is a desire on the part of the subject that the score be valid. Ideally the subject becomes a partner in testing himself. The subject must place himself on a scale, and unless he cares about the result he cannot be measured accurately.

6. The desirability of preparing the subject for the test by appropriate advance information is increasingly recognized. This information increases the person’s confidence, and reduces standard test anxiety that they might otherwise have.

Scoring and Interpreting the Test

• the acquisition of the raw score maybe obtained in a number of ways, two of which are hand and machine scoring.

• Raw Score

  • measure of performance that is given directly by the scoring rule for a test, before conversion on the basis of a reference group or a judgmental recoding

  • presents a direct report of a person’s performance in a test

  • readily available and a teacher makes a conclusion about a student on the basic of his score in a given test

• A raw score on a psychological test taken by itself, has no significance. It can be interpreted only by comparing it to some standard criteria or norm.

• A raw score by itself has very little significance because it is merely a numerical description of the pupil’s performance on a test. The same raw score obtained on two different examinees can have very different meaning.

• Before an examinee’s raw score can have meaning. Therefore, it is a must that it be compared with the scores made by comparable persons in a similar situation in order to learn how the examinee’s performance deviate from the average or typical performance of the group. In short, to be meaningful, the raw scores must be converted into another score called the derived score which is a numerical description of the examinee’s performance in terms of norms.

• Norm

  • tables of figures that show the distribution of scores of a group

  • obtained by giving the test to a large group of representative sampling of individuals whose age, experience, educational level, etc. are compatible to members of the group for which the test is intended for use.

  • Hence, they show how an examinee compares with other individuals in the same test.

  • typical scores; should not be mistaken for standard scores

  • They show where the examinees are, not where they should be.