Psychological Testing

Psychological Testing

Concepts and Functions

• What is testing?• Why do we have so many tests?• What are the pros and cons to

testing?• How can we use testing to

improve . . .?• What types of tests do we take?

Psychological Testing• A psychological test is a

standardized measure of a sample of a person’s behavior that is used to measure the individual differences that exist among people.

Types of Psychological Testing

• There are two types of Psychological tests.–Mental Ability tests–Personality tests

Why use tests?• Psychological

tests are used in research, however, most serve a practical purpose.

Mental Ability Tests• Includes three subcategories.

–Intelligence tests–Aptitude tests–Achievement tests

Intelligence tests• Measure

general mental abilities. They are intended to measure intellectual potential.

Examples• Emily is four years old. Her big

sister Amy is three times as old as Emily. How old will Amy be when she is twice as old as Emily?

• WOLF is to FLOW as 8526 is to: 2856 - 6258 - 5862 - 5682 - 6852

Examples• Hanger is to closet as tree is to:

Branch - Bushes - Forest - Ground - Nest

• What would be the next number in this series? 15 ... 12 ... 13 ... 10 ... 11 ... 8 ... ?

Aptitude tests• Assess talent

for specific kinds of learning. (clerical speed, mechanical reasoning, etc.)

Examples• Are You a Self-Starter?• Climbing the ladder would bring a load

of responsibility and pressure that I wouldn't want to carry.

• If my boss or supervisor told me I were being promoted, the fact that they had so much confidence in my abilities would:

Achievement tests• Gauge a

person’s mastery and knowledge of various subjects

Examples• Who was the 43rd President of

the United States?• What is 5x6 divided by 2?• How many branches of

Government exist in the U.S.?

Personality Tests• Measure

aspects of personality, including motives, interests, values, and attitudes.

Examples• Do you become

upset when. . ?• Do you feel

like you lose control when. .?

• Are you happy when . . ?

Test Design• In order for a test to be accurate, it

must meet the three standards below.– Standardization– Validity– Reliability

Standardization• Standardization refers to the

uniform procedures used in administrating and scoring a test.

• Test norms: information used to rank scores in relation to other scores on the test.

• Can you think of examples

Validity• Refers to the

ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure.

• Examples• What psychologist

promoted introspection?

• Who developed the four mechanisms for dreaming?

• What school of psychology does Skinner belong to?

Reliability• Reliability

refers to the measurement consistency of a test (or other techniques).

• Example

• You take a personality test and are scored as “assertive”. Three weeks later you take the same test and are scored as “passive”. A drastic change is probably a result of an unreliable test.

Testing ReliabilityTest-retest–Comparing subjects’ scores on

two administrations of a test.Correlation Coefficient–A numerical index of the degree

of relationship (-1, +1)

Visual example

Visual example

Think!• Why do we have so many tests?• How can we use testing to improve

. . .?• How does psychological testing

apply to school, careers, sports, etc?