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Psychological Testing and
Assessment
Introduction to Psychological Testing
Psychological Testing
Psychological testing refers to the administration of psychological tests. A psychological test is an "objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior." The term "sample of behavior" refers to an individual's performance on tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand. Performance on the items produces a test score. A score on a well- constructed test is believed to reflect a psychological construct such as achievement in a school subject, ability, aptitude, emotional functioning, personality, etc. Differences in test scores are thought to reflect individual differences in the construct the test is supposed to measure. The technical term for the science behind psychological testing is psychometrics.
Types of Tests
Tests have been developed to measure many different human developments. They are classified as:
On the basis of Administration – Group test and individual test On the basis of Behavior – Ability tests [Intelligence tests and achievement tests], Personality Tests [structures personality tests, projective techniques and behavioral analysis] On the basis of context – Verbal tests, non-verbal tests, performance tests
Fundamental Concepts of Psychological Testing
Proper psychological testing is conducted after vigorous research and development, in contrast to quick web-based or magazine questionnaires. Proper psychological testing consists of the following:
Standardization
All procedures and steps must be conducted with consistency and under the same environment to achieve the same testing performance from those being tested.
Objectivity
Scoring such that subjective judgments and biases are minimized, with results for each test taker obtained in the same way.
Test Norms
The average test score within a large group of people where the performance of one individual can be compared to the results of others by establishing a point of comparison or frame of reference.
Reliability
Obtaining the same result after multiple testing. It refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when re-examined with the same test with different set of questions at another time.
Validity
The type of test being administered must measure what it is intended to measure. Types of Validity include:
Face Validity
A measure of how representative a research project is 'at face value,' and whether it appears to be a good project.
Content Validity
The estimate of how much a measure represents every single element of a construct.
Criterion Validity
Assesses whether a test reflects a certain set of abilities. Concurrent validity measures the test against a benchmark test, and high correlation indicates that the test has strong criterion validity. Predictive validity is a measure of how well a test predicts abilities.
Construct Validity
Defines how well a test or experiment measures up to its claims. A test designed to measure depression must only measure that particular construct, not closely related ideals such as anxiety or stress.
Applications of Psychological Testing
Detection of Specific Behavior
Psychological tests are used to measure and detect the abilities of a person.
Education
Psychological tests, especially those of general intelligence and specific aptitudes, have extensive use in educational classification, selection, and planning from the first grade (and sometimes earlier) through the university.
Pioneers of Psychology
Modern mental testing began in France in the 19th century, contributing to separating mental retardation from mental illness and reducing the neglect, torture, and ridicule heaped on both groups. Englishman Francis Galton coined the terms "psychometrics" and developed a method for measuring intelligence based on nonverbal sensory-motor tests, which was initially popular but later abandoned. French psychologist Alfred Binet, together with psychologists Victor Henri and Théodore Simon, published the Binet- Simon test in 1905, which focused on verbal abilities and was intended to identify mental retardation in school children. Wilhelm Wundt established the first laboratory of psychology in Leipzig in 1879 and employed introspection as a method of studying the workings of the mind. William James, the psychologist and philosopher, is often referred to as the father of American psychology, and his teachings and writings helped establish psychology as a science.
Definitions
Percentile Rank
An individual's percentile rank on a test designates the percentage of cases or scores lying below it. For example, Percentile 20 means the individual is situated above 20% of the group, with the remaining 80% falling below this person's rank.
Percentage
A rate, number, or amount in each hundred. Any proportion or share in relation to a whole.
Stanine Scores
According to this method, the standard population is divided into 9 groups. Stanine 1 is the lowest, and stanine 9 is the highest.
Sten Scores
Standard scores on a scale of ten.
Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM)
Aim
To measure the educative component of 'g' as defined in Spearman's Two- factor theory using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices.
Basic Concept
Intelligence can be defined in various ways, such as the ability to adjust, learn, and carry out abstract thinking. According to the Oxford dictionary, intelligence is the ability to perceive, learn, understand, and know. Psychologists like Alfred Binet, Wechsler, and Thorndike have proposed different conceptualizations of intelligence, including the ideas of general intelligence (g-factor), primary mental abilities, and multiple intelligences.
Assessment of Intelligence
Standardized intelligence testing has been widely used to identify individuals with mental retardation, learning disabilities, and to place military recruits in suitable positions. The concept of Mental Age (MA) and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) were introduced to quantify an individual's intellectual development compared to their chronological age.
Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM)
RSPM is a widely used test of abstract intelligence. It consists of 60 multiple-choice items arranged in 5 sets (A, B, C, D, E) of increasing difficulty. The test was developed for research purposes but found widespread practical application due to its language-independence and ease of use.
Reliability
The test-retest reliability of RSPM has been extensively studied across different age groups and populations, as shown in the table provided. The RSPM also shows moderate to high correlations with other measures of verbal reasoning ability, such as the Mill Hill Vocabulary Scale.
Validity
The concurrent and predictive validity of RSPM varies depending on factors like age, sex, sample homogeneity, and the relevance of the criterion measure. Correlations between RSPM and other intelligence tests like the Binet and Wechsler scales range from 0.54 to 0.86 for English-speaking children and adolescents.
Grade 2 (Above-Average Intellectual Capacity): Score between the 90th and 75th percentiles, showing advanced reasoning skills and a good memory. Grade 3 (Average Intellectual Capacity): Score between the 25th and 75th percentiles, demonstrating the ability to make judgments, form opinions, and exhibit intrinsic motivation to learn.
References
NCERT Psychology Textbook SPM Manual, Author – J.C. Raven Baron RA 2001/Indian Reprint Psych Michael Egan, Mercury's Web: Some Reflections on Following Nature across Time and Place
Maudley's Personality Inventory
Aim
To assess the introversion-extraversion, emotional stability-neuroticism dimensions of personality of the subject using MPI.
Basic Concept
According to Allport, personality is the dynamic organizations within the individual that determine its behavior.
Theories of Personality
Behavioral Theories
Behavioral theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment. Behavioral theorists study observable and measurable behaviors, rejecting theories that take internal thoughts and feelings into account. Behavioral theorists include B. F. Skinner and John B. Watson.
Psychodynamic Theories
Psychodynamic theories include Sigmund Freud's psychosexual stage theory and Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. Psychodynamic theories of personality are heavily influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud, and emphasize the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences on personality. According to Freud, personality is divided into three parts – Id, ego and super-ego.
Post/neo Freudian Approach
The Neo-Freudian psychiatrists and psychologists were a group of loosely linked American theorists of the mid-twentieth century, who were all influenced by Sigmund Freud, but who extended his theories, often in social or cultural directions. The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation—the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung created some of the best known psychological concepts, including the archetype, the collective unconscious, the complex, and extraversion and introversion.
Humanist Theories
Humanist theories emphasize the importance of free will and individual experience in the development of personality. Humanist theorists emphasized the concept of self-actualization, which is an innate need for personal growth that motivates behavior. Humanist theorists include Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
Trait Theories
The trait theory approach is one of the largest areas within personality psychology. According to this theory, personality is made up of a number of broad traits. A trait is basically a relatively stable characteristic that causes an individual to behave in certain ways. Some of the best known trait theories include Eysenck's three-dimension theory and the five factor theory of personality.
Gordon Allport's Trait Theory
Gordon Allport was one of the first modern trait theorists. Allport organized traits into a hierarchy of three levels:
Cardinal traits dominate and shape an individual's behavior, such as Ebenezer Scrooge's greed or Mother Theresa's altruism. They stand at the top of the hierarchy and are collectively known as the individual's master control.
Central traits come next in the hierarchy. These are general characteristics found in varying degrees in every person (such as loyalty, kindness, agreeableness, friendliness, sneakiness, wildness, or grouchiness). They are the basic building blocks that shape most of our behavior.
Secondary traits exist at the bottom of the hierarchy and are not quite as obvious or consistent as central traits. They are plentiful but are only present under specific circumstances; they include things like preferences and attitudes.
inner world, or extravert, those who gives more attention to other people and his environment.
Neuroticism-Emotional Stability: This category is synonymous to 'moodiness versus even-temperedness', where in a neurotic person is inclined to having changing emotions from time to time, while an emotionally stable person tends to maintain a constant mood or emotion.
Psychoticism: This dimension refers to the finding it hard to deal with reality. A psychotic person may be considered hostile, manipulative, anti-social and non-empathetic.
Methods of Assessing Personality
The most commonly used methods for assessing personality are – psychometric tests, self-report measures, projective techniques and behavioral analysis. We are using self-report measures here, which are fairly structured, often based on a theory, that requires subjects to give verbal responses using some kind of rating scale. Examples include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Eysenk Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and 16 Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire.
Advantages of self-report measures include their use for career guidance, vocational exploration, personal counselling and personality development.
Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI)
History and Description
The Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI) is a questionnaire designed to measure two major dimensions of personality: extraversion and neuroticism. It was developed by the German-born British psychologist H. J. Eysenck, and first published in the journal Rivista di Psicologia in 1956. Later versions of the test were called the Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.
The MPI is named after the Maudsley Hospital in Denmark Hill, south London, where Eysenck worked, which in turn is named after the English psychiatrist Henry Maudsley (1835–1918) who founded it. Each of the two traits (extraversion and neuroticism) are measured by means of 48 questions.
Neuroticism refers to the general emotional stability of a person, their emotional over-responsiveness, and their susceptibility to neurotic breakdown under stress. Extraversion, as opposed to introversion, refers to the outgoing, uninhibited, and sociable proclivities of a person. The two dimensions are conceived of as being quite independent, and all the theoretically possible combinations of scores may be observed.
Reliability and Validity
Both split-half and Kuder-Richardson reliability coefficients have been calculated on many samples. For the neuroticism scale, these values nearly all lie between 0.85 and 0.90, and for the extraversion scale, they lie between 0.75 and 0.85, with the majority above 0.80. Retest reliabilities are available only on about 100 cases, and are 0.83 and 0.81 respectively.
The correlation between the long and short MPI scales are 0.86 and 0. respectively for neuroticism and extraversion. The Cattell's neuroticism and introversion scales correlate 0.34 and 0.53 (forms A and B) and 0.65 and 0.67 (forms C and D) with the corresponding MPI scales.
Preliminaries
The test requires the following materials: - MPI manual - Response sheet - MPI questionnaire form - Pen/pencil
Precautions
Optimal conditions for testing were ensured before the test began. The time of start and finish were noted. The tester should ensure that the subject is not familiar with the test. The subject should be told that there is no correct answer, and should not skip any item. The subject should be assured of the confidentiality of the test results.
Rapport Formation
Rapport was established between the subject and the tester prior to the test, so that the subject could feel comfortable and at ease. This would allow the subject to answer the questions in a calm manner, and any doubts could be cleared before starting the test.
Instructions
The following instructions were given to the subject:
"There are some questions regarding the way you feel, behave and react. In each item, there are three answers: 'yes', 'no', and '?'. Don't leave any question, and try to complete the test as soon as possible. There are a total of 48 items in this test, and there are no right or wrong answers. Give the first natural answer as it comes to you. When in doubt, give the best possible answer."
Administration
After the instructions were given, the subject was asked to fill in the necessary details. The MPI questionnaire was then given to the subject, and was completed in less than 10-15 minutes. The raw score was obtained after the subject completed the test.
In the present test, adjustment is being measured by three different ways:
Social : Man needs to be accepted by the society in which he lives. He has to follow norms of the society to be adjusted. Emotional : An individual is emotionally adjusted if he/she is happy with themselves, realizes his/her potential and is content with what he/ she has achieved. Educational : An educationally well-adjusted person is one who has an ability to think and innovate, he/she needs to be happy in their academic achievements.
History and Description
The AISS seeks to segregate well-adjusted school students. The test consists of 60 items where the subject is required to answer in terms of 'yes' or 'no'. Each item in the test is scored as per the instructions given in the manual. The subject can be classified into five categories in accordance with the raw scores obtained by them in the inventory:
A - Excellent B - Good C - Average D - Unsatisfactory E - Very Unsatisfactory
Reliability
Split half - 0. Test retest - 0.
Preliminaries
Subject's name Age Gender Class Place of conduction
Materials Required
AISS questionnaire Response sheet Scoring sheet Pen/pencil
Precautions
Optimal conditions for testing should be ensured before starting the test. Instructions should be clearly given.
Rapport Formation
The subject was made to feel comfortable. General questions about the subject's day and life were asked. The subject was ensured that the results will be kept confidential.
Instructions
In each item can be answered in 'yes' or 'no'. Don't leave any question and try to complete as soon as possible. There are no right or wrong answers. Give the first natural answer as it comes to you. When in doubt, give the best possible answer. Read the questions carefully. There is no time limit for this test.
Administration
After the instructions were given, the subject was asked to fill in the demographic details. It was ensured that all instructions were clearly understood by the subject. The subject was asked to check whether he/she left any items unanswered.
Introspective Report/Verbal Report
The test was quite insightful and fun to do. The tester made me feel at ease.
Behavioural Report
The subject was calm while answering the questions. He/she did not take a long time in completing the test.
Scoring
Scoring was done as per the instructions given in the manual. The responses of the subject was marked in the scoring sheet under the three dimensions and actual response (AR) and expected responses (ER) were tallied with one another. If the ER and AR matched then given 1 mark and if it doesn't match then give 0 mark. After allotting the marks, total all the three dimensions and interpret the scores from the result sheet.
References
SCQ Manual NCERT Psychology textbook, XII Lavery, B.B. 1993, Psychology
Preliminaries
Name Age Gender Qualification Place of conduction: Psychology Lab Time
Materials Required
SCAT manual SCAT questionnaire form Pen/pencil
Precautions
Optimal conditions for testing were ensured before the test begun. Time of start and finish were noted. The tester should ensure that the subject is not familiar with the test. Subject should be told that there is no correct answer. Subject should not skip any item. Subject should be assured of confidentiality of test results.
Rapport Formation
Rapport was established between the subject and the tester, prior to the test so that he/she could feel comfortable and at ease. In such a state, she/he should answer the questions in a calm manner and any doubts should be cleared before starting the test.
Instructions
In each item there are two options, 'yes' or 'no'. Don't leave any question and try to complete as soon as possible. There are no right or wrong answers. Give the first natural answer as it comes to you. When in doubt, give the best possible answer. Read the questions carefully and put a 'x' for whichever option suits you the best. There is no time limit for this test.
Administration
After the instructions were given, the subject was asked to fill in the demographic details. The subject was asked to check whether he/she left any items unanswered.
Introspective Report/Verbal Report
The test was quite insightful and fun to do. The tester made me feel at ease.
Behavioural Report
The subject was calm while answering the questions. He/she did not take a long time in completing the test.
Scoring
Scoring can be done by hand, for any response indicated 'yes' score will be 1 and 0 for 'no'. The sum of all positive responses would be the total score of the subject.
Interpretation
The aim of administering SCAT was to assess the level of anxiety of the subject.
References
SCAT manual NCERT textbook, Psychology
