Chapter 1 Applications and Consequences of Psychological Testing

Chapter 1 Applications and Consequences of Psychological Testing

Topic 1A The Nature and Uses of Psychological Testing

The Consequences of Testing From birth to old age, people encounter tests at all most every turning point in life. Whether a person is admitted to one college and not another, offered one job but refused a second, diagnosed as depressed or not all such determinations rest, at least in part, on the meaning of test results as interpreted by persons in authority. True-Life Vignettes of Testing: Useful or abusive

Definition of A Test Tests are enormously varied in their formats and applications. Nonetheless, most tests posses these defining features: 1.Standardized procedure 2.Behavior sample 3.Scores or categories 4.Norms or standards 5.Prediction of nontest behavior

Standardized procedure A test is considered to be standardized if the procedures for administering it are uniform from one examiner and setting to another. Take the digit span test for example, the directions are : to present the number at constant rate, to keep a neutral facial expression when examiner records subjects answer, and to know how to react to unexpected responses.

Behavior sample Practical constrains dictate that a test is only a sample of behavior. Yet, the sample of behavior is of interest only insofar as it permits the examiner to make inferences about the total domain of relevant behaviors. The test items need not resemble the behaviors that the test is attempting to predict.

Scores or categories In most cases, all people are assumed to possess the trait or characteristic being measured, albeit in different amounts. Cautions: First, the imprecision of testing is simply unavoidable. X=T+e Second, test results do not represent a thing with physical reality. Typically, they portray an abstraction, such as IQ, that has been shown to be useful in predicting nontest behaviors.

Norms or standards An examinee s test score is usually interpreted by comparing it with the scores obtained by others on the same test. For this purpose, test developers typically provide norms a summary of test results for a large and representative group of subjects. An exception to this point occurs in the case of criterion-referenced tests.

Prediction of nontest behavior The ultimate purpose of a test is to predict additional behaviors, other than those directly sampled by the test. The ability of a test to predict nontest behavior is determined by an extensive body of validational research, most of which is conducted after the test is released.

Further Distinctions In Testing Norm-referenced test v.s. criterion-referenced test In a criterion-referenced test, the objective is to determine where the examine stands with respect very tightly defined educational objectives. Testing v.s. assessment Assessment is a more comprehensive term, referring to the entire process of compiling information about a person and using it to make inferences about characteristics and other psychological tests.

Types of Tests Intelligence Tests Aptitude Tests Achievement Tests Creativity Tests Personality Tests Interest Inventories Behavioral Procedures Neuropsychological Tests

Intelligence Tests Measure an individual s ability in relatively global areas such as verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, or reasoning and thereby help determine potential for scholastic work or certain occupations. The term intelligence test refers to a test that yields an overall summary score based on results from a heterogeneous sample of items.

Aptitude Tests Measure the capability for a relatively specific task or type of skill; aptitude tests are, in effect, a narrow form of ability testing. Aptitude tests are often used to predict success in an occupation, training course, or educational endeavor, such as SAT.

Achievement Tests Measure a person s degree of learning, success, or accomplishment in a subject or task. One instrument may serve both purposes, acting as an aptitude test to forecast future performance and an achievement test to monitor past learning.

Creativity Tests Assess novel, original thinking and the capacity to find unusual or unexpected solutions, especially for vaguely defined problems. Educators were especially impressed that creativity tests required divergent thinking putting forth a variety of answers to a complex or fuzzy problem as opposed to convergent thinking finding the single correct solution to a well-defined problem.

Personality Tests Measure the traits, qualities, or behaviors that determine a person s individuality; such tests include checklists, inventories, and projective techniques such as sentence completions and inkblots.

Interest Inventories Measure an individual s preference for certain activities or topics and thereby help determine occupational choice. Interest tests are based on the explicit assumption that interest patterns determine and, therefore, also predict job satisfaction. For example, if the examinee has the same interests as successful and satisfied accountants, it is thought likely that he or she would enjoy the work of an accountant.

Behavioral Procedures Objectively describe and count the frequency of a behavior, identifying the antecedents and consequences of the behavior. The assumption is that behavior is best understood in terms of clearly defined characteristics such as frequency, duration, antecedents, and consequences.

Neuropsychological Tests Measure cognitive, sensory, perceptual, and motor performance to determine the extent, locus, and behavioral consequences of brain damage.

Uses of Testing Classification Diagnosis and treatment planning Self-knowledge Program evaluation Research These applications frequently overlap and, on occasion, are difficult to distinguish one from another.

Classification Assigning a person to one category rather than another. Placement, screening, certification, and selection

Diagnosis and treatment planning Diagnosis consists of two intertwined tasks: determining the nature and source of a person s abnormal behavior, and classifying the behavior pattern within an accepted diagnostic system. Diagnosis should be more than mere classification, more than the assignment of a label.

Self-knowledge Psychological tests also can supply a potent source of self-knowledge. In some cases, the feedback a person receives from psychological tests can change a career path or otherwise alter a person s life course.

Program evaluation Educational program evaluation and social program evaluation

Research Collecting the data from psychological tests to check the research hypothesis.

Factors Influencing the Soundness of Testing The manner of administration, the characteristics of the tester, the context of the testing, the motivation and experience of the examinee, and the method of scoring.

Standardized Procedures in Test Administration Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, published by the American Psychological Association and other groups. Specifications regarding instructions to test takers, time limits, the form of item presentation or response, and test materials or equipment should be strictly observed.

Desirable Procedures of Test Administration Sensitivity to Disabilities: try to help the disable subject overcome his disadvantage, such as increasing voice volume or refer to other available tests Desirable Procedures of Group Testing: Be care for time, clarity, physical condition (illumination, temperature, humidity, writing surface and noise), and guess.

Influence of the Examiner The importance of Rapport Rapport means a comfortable, warm atmosphere that serves to motivate examinees and elicit cooperation. Examiner sex, experience, and race: the results are contradictory, inconclusive.

Background and Motivation of the Examinee Test Anxiety Anxiety causes bad performance and then results in anxiety again v.s. bad performance history causes anxiety Motivation to Deceive Does the client have motivation to perform deceitfully on the tests? Is the overall pattern of test results suspicious in light of other information known about the client?

Topic 1B Ethical and Social Implications of Testing

Ethical and Professional Quandaries in Testing Case Exhibit 1.3 1.Is it ethical for the psychologist to deny such feedback to the candidates? 2.Is the counselor s refusal to use the MMPI-2 a breach of professional standards? 3.Is it an appropriate practice to use a translator when administering an individual test such as the WISC-III 4.Is the psychologist obligated to report this case to law enforcement?

Responsibilities of Test Users Best interests of the Client: Assessment should serve a constructive purpose for the individual examinee. With certain worry-prone and selfdoubting clients, a psychologist may choose not to use an appropriate test, since these clients are almost certain to engage in self-destructive misinterpretation of virtually any test findings. Confidentiality and the Duty to Warn: The clinician should consider the client s welfare in deciding whether to release information, especially when the client is a minor who is unable to give voluntary, informed consent.

Responsibilities of Test Users Expertise of the Test User:A common error observed among inexperienced test users is the overzealous, pathologized interpretation of personality test results. Case Exhibit 1.4 Informed Consent: From a legal standpoint, the three elements of informed consent include disclosure, competency, and voluntariness. Disclosure means the client receive sufficient information, such as risks, benefits, release of reports. Competency refers to the mental capacity of the examinee to provide consent. Voluntariness implies that the choice to undergo an assessment battery is given freely and not based on subtle coercion.

Responsibilities of Test Users Obsolete Tests and the Standard of Care: Standard of care means usual, customary or reasonable in professional or legal review of specific health practices, including psychological testing. Using obsolete tests might violate the prevailing standard of care. Responsible Report Writing: typically use simple and direct writing that steers clear of jargon and technical terms.

Responsibilities of Test Users Communication of Test Results: Proper and effective feedback involves give-and-take dialogue in which the clinician ascertains how the client has perceived the information and seeks to correct potentially harmful interpretations. Consideration of Individual Differences: Practitioners are expected to know when a test or interpretation may not be applicable because of factors such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socioeconomic status.

The Impact of Cultural Background Figure 1.6. on Test Results High-mistrust group with an African American examiner scored much better than the high-mistrust group with a white examiner. Figure 1.7 Stereotype threat

Assessment of Cultural and Linguistic Minorities The likelihood that linguistic barriers and lack of test sophistication will influence test results of minorities is a strong argument in favor of using a careful Multidisciplinary assessment approach.