Psych Testing - Mays AP Psych

•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 ?

• 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.

• The technical term for the science behind psychological testing is psychometrics.

• Samples of Behavior- one means observations of an individual performing tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand

• These responses are often compiled into statistical tables that allow the evaluator to compare the behavior of the individual being tested to the responses of a norm group.

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

Both of these types of tests break off into subcategories of testing.

•Psychological tests are used in research, however, most serve a practical purpose such as schooling, job qualifications , etc.

•Includes three subcategories.–Intelligence tests–Aptitude tests–Achievement tests

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

• 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

• Hanger is to closet as tree is to A) Branch B) Bushes C) Forest D) Ground

E) 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.)

• 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:

•Gauge a person’s mastery and knowledge of various subjects

•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.?

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

• Using interpretation of "ambiguous designs" to assess an individual's personality

• An idea that goes back to Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Interpretation of inkblots was central to a game from the late 19th century. Rorschach's, however, was the first systematic approach of this kind.

• Do you become upset when. . ?

• Do you feel like you lose control when. .?

• Are you happy when . . ?

•In order for a test to be accurate, it must meet the three standards below.–Standardization–Validity–Reliability

•Standardization is known as 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.

•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 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.

Test-Retest Method–Comparing subjects’ scores on two administrations of a test.

Correlation Coefficient–A numerical index of the degree of relationship (-1, +1)

•Why do we have so many tests?

•How can we use testing to improve . . .?

•How does psychological testing apply to school, careers, sports, etc?