PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

2/6/26

MODULE 1: BASICS OF ASSESSMENT

Definition

 A systematic process of obtaining info from participants and using it

to make inferences or judgements about them
 The gathering and integration of data to evaluate a person’s bhvr,
abilities, and other characteristics
 For making a diagnosis or treatment recommendation
 Psychologists assess diverse psychiatric problems (anxiety,
substance abuse) and non-psychiatric concerns (intelligence, career
interests)
 In the fields of clinical, educational, organisational, forensic and
other settings
 Assessment data may be gathered thru interviews, observation,
standardised tests, self-report measures, physiological or
psychophysiological measurement devices or other specialised
procedures and apparatuses
 A complex activity that involves deriving inferences from multiple
sources of info to achieve a comprehensive understanding of a
client, including measuring mental status, dvlping psychological
profiles, and evaluating outcomes using various tests and diagnostic
interviews
 Systematic evaluation of a person’s bhvr
 Comprehensive understanding of psychological functioning
(perceptual, cognitive, processing)
 To identify support needs
 Components – variables selected for measurement (beleifs, social
bhvrs)
 The measurement methods used (interviews, observation)
 The reduction and synthesis of derived data

Definition of psychological test

 An objective and standardised measure of a sample of bhvr

 Psychological testing is the use of standardised tests to gather
objective data and supplement psychiatric evaluations in cases
involving cognitive impairments. It helps in clarifying diagnoses,
understanding an individuals deficits
 Objective means empirically demonstrable
 Standardised supports and expands the notion of objectivity
  In testing, this term refers to 2 central aspects of psychological test
 On one hand, it refers to the uniform and systematic way in which
tests are administered and scored whenever and with whoeverthey
are used
 The second aspect of standardis

4/6/26

HISTORY OF ASSESSMENT (Robert Kaplan)

The origins of psychological testing

 History of psych testing is highly relevant to present day practices

 Contemporary psychological tests evolved gradually over the last
100 yrs
 Modern tests dvlpd from many earlier precursors and methods
 Present day testing practices did not emerge suddenly or in isolation
 Understanding historical roots helps in understanding current
psychological tests

Historical perspective

 Early antecedents
o The origins of testing are ancient and not American
o China had a sophisticated civil service testing system more
than 4000 yrs ago
o Oral examination in china were conducted every 3 yrs for work
evaluation and promotion
o Durig han dynasty test batteries covering multiple subj were
commonly used
o Early Chinese test included topics such as civil law, militsry
affairs, agriculture, revenue and geography
o Testing became highly advanced during the ming dynasty with
a national multistage testing system
o Local nd regional testing centres had special testing booths for
examinations
o Successful candidates progressed from local tests to provincial
and then national examinations
o Only candidates who passed the final round were eligible for
public office
o The western world likely lrnd about testing practices from
china
o The English east india company adopted the Chinese testing
system in 1832 for employee selection
 o The british govt introduced civil servise testing in 1855 after
its successin the company
o France and Germany later adopted simila testing sytems
o The us established the American civil service commission in
1883
o Competitive examinations were introduced for certain govt
jobs in the us
o The testing mvmnt expanded rapidly in the western world
during this period
 Charles Darwin and individual difference
o Individual differences – no 2 individuals are exactly alike in
ability or bhvr
o Psychological tests are designed to measure differences in
ability and personality
o Dvlping tools to measure individual differences was difficult
o Understaning what needs to be measured was essential for
test dvlpmnt
o Charles’ darwin’s the origin of species greatly influenced the
understanding of individual differences
o Proposed that species evolve because individuals differ from
one another
o Some individuals possess more adaptive characteristics than
others
o Individuals with adaptive traits are more likely to survive and
pass these traits to future generations
o Darwins theory highlighted the imp of individual variation
o Sir francis galton applied darwins ideas to the study of
humans
o Galton argued that some individuals possess superior
characteristics
o In hereditary genius galton emphasized inherent abilities
o Galton conducted studies on sensory and motor functions
such as reaction time visual acuity and physical strength
o Galtons work initiated scientific study human individual
differences
o Study of individual differences became imp are in psych
o Cattell extended galtons work in the us
o Cattell coined the term mental test
o His rsrch focused on individual differences in reaction time
o Work contributed to the dvlpmnt of modern psychological
testing
 o Early experimental psychologusts focused on sensory
processes and reaction times
o They mistakenly believed simple sensory abilities were the
basis of intelligence
o This period known as brass instruments era of psychological
testing
o Rsrchrs used instruments to measure sensory thresholds and
reaction times
o Despite limitations, early experimental psychologists
introduced scientific methodology into psychology
o Pioneers such as Wilhelm wundt, francis galton, james mckeen
cattell and wissler demonstrated that mental processes could
be scientifically measured
o Wilhel wundt is credited with founding the first psychological
laboratory in Leipzig
o Wundt had been measuring mental processes even before
establishing laboratory
o 1862 – he dvlpd the thought meter a calibrated pendulum
device
o The thought meter attempted to mwasure the speed of
thought
o He believed differences b/w observed and actual pendulum
positions reflected mental processing speed
o Proposed that differences in thought speed explained
variations among observers
o He believed eeach individual had a unique speed of thinking
o Wundts approach was an empirical attempt to explain
individual differences scinetifucally
o His work highly………..
 Experimental psychology and psychophysical measurement
o A major foundation of testing dvlpd from experimental
psychology and the scientific study of consciousness
o J.e. herbart created mathematical models of the mind that
influenced 19th century educational practices
o E.h. weber studied the psychological threshold, the minimum
stimulus needed to activate a sensory system
o G.t. fechner proposed that sensation strength increases as the
logarithm of stimulus intensity
o Wilhelm wundt established the 1st psychology laboratory at
the university of Leipzig in 1879
o E.b. Titchener succeeded wundt and influenced later
psychologists
 o G. whipple conducted an imp seminar at the Carnegie institute
in 1919
o The seminar influenced the dvlpmnt of vocational interest
tests
o The Carnegie interest inventory and strong vocational interest
blank emerged from this work
o Psychological testing dvlpd from 2 major lines of inquiry
o Ine line focused measuring individual differences thru the
work of Darwin, galton and cattell
o The 2nd line dvlpd from german psychophysiscits such as
herbart,weber. Fechner and wundt
o Experimental psycho…………..
o Modern psychological tests also dvlpd to identify and classify
mentally and emtnlly disabled individuals
o The seguin form board test was created to evaluate and
educate mentally disabled individuals
o Kraeplin dvlpd examinations to assess emtnlly impaired
individuals
o An imp breakthru occurred when the French govt sought
methods to identify intellectually subnormal individuals
o Alfred binet and theodre simon dvlpd the 1st major general
intelligence test
o The binet – simon test marked the 1st systematic attempt to
measure individual differences in intelligence
 The evolution of intelligence and standardized achievement tests
o The 1st version of the binet intelligence test, the binet simon
scale was oublished 1905
o The test contained

11/6/26

The period of rapid changes in the status of testing

 1940s marked advances in psychological testing and applied

psychology
 The importance od psychological testing was reinforced during ww2
 The us govt supported the dvlpmnt of applied psychological
practices
 Federal funding provided supervised training for clinically oriented
psychologists
 By 1949 formal university training standards for clinical psychology
were established
 Clinical psychology officially emerged as a professional field
  Psychological testing became one of the major roles of applied
psychologists
 The Shakow, Hilgard, Kelly, Sanford and Shaffer report identified
testing as a unique role of clinical psychologists
 The report recommended that testing methods be taught only to
doctoral psychology students
 The APA later confirmed testing as part od the clinical psychologist’s
role
 Clinical psychologists often played a secondary role to medical
practitioners
 Testing allowed psychologists to support physicians rather than
compete with them
 In the late 1940s and early 1950s testing became the primary
function of clinical psychologists
 Govt support attracted many talented individuals to applied
psychology fields
 Many psychologists began rejecting the testing role associated with
this secondary status
 Public fears about misuse and invasiveness of tests increased
distrust toward psychological testing
 Criticism of testing csame from both within and outside ……….

The current envt

 Since 1980s several branches of applied psychology have expanded

significantly
 Major growing fields include neuropsycholgy, health, forensice and
child psychologu
 These fields rely heavily on psychological testing
 Psychological testing regained imp and status due to these
dvlpmnts
 Neuropsychologists use tests to assess brain injuries in clinical
settings
 Health psychologists use tests and surveys in medical envts
 Forensic psychologists use tests in legal cases involving insanity,
competency and emtnl damages
 Child psychologists use tests to assess childhood disorders
 Psychological tests are widely used across dvlpd countries
 Psychological testing remains both highly imp and controversial
 Psychological tests have remained essential tools throughout the
history of psychology

Summary
  Psychological tests have evolved within a complex envt of support
and criticism
 Both +ve and -ve influences have shaped the dvlpmnt of testing
 Psychological testing has continuously improved thru innovation and
refinement
 Ppl rarely remain neutral about psychological tests
 Individuals are encouraged to maintain an open mind while studying
testing
 The aim of studying psychological testing is to evaluate tests
intelligently throughout life

15/6/26

Afternoon session

Characteristics of a test

 Objectivity
o Free from subjective elements
o Rsrch finidngs free from personal biases and emtns
o Emphasis on evidence based on observable phenomenon and
measurable bhvr
o Use of scientific methods ensure systematic and specialised
procedures ..
 Reliability
o Self correlation of the test
o Consistency in results
o The results obtained are consistent when administered once
or more than on the same sample with a reasonable time gap
o 2 aspects
o 1. Index of internal consistency – consistency in results
obtained in a single administration
o 2. Index of temporal consistency – consistency in results
obtained upon testing and retesting
o Reliability tests are free from internal defects of
standardization( errors of measurement)
 Validity
o The test measures what it intends to measure, wehen
compared with some outside independent criterion
o Correlation of the test with some outside independent
criterion
o The criterion shud be regarded as the best index of train or
ability being measured by the test
 o Using standardised procedures and clear operational
definitions enhances validity
 Norms
o Refer to the avg performance of a representative sample on a
given test
o Four types
o 1. Age norms – shows how a person’s score compares with
others of the same age
o 2. Grade norms – shows how a person’s score compares with
students in the same grade or class
o Percentile norms – indicate the percentage of ppl in the norm
grup who scored below a given score
o Standard score norms – shows how far a person’s score is a
above or below the avg score
o It depends on the intended purpose and application od the
test
o Norms- it aids in the interpretation of test scores
 Practicability
o The test shud be practical in terms od administration and
scoring
o It shud not be lengthy or difficult to score
o It shud not require highly specialized personnel for
administration or scoring
o It shud be economical to use
 Generalizability
o Extent to which rsrch findings apply to broader population,
settings or times beyond the study sample
o Linked to extend validity, depends on representative sampling
and diverse contexts
o High generalizability enables real world application, low limits
findings to specific grups
 Context specificity
o Rscrch findings may apply to specific settings or population
only
o Certain psychological phenomena are influenced by cultural,
social or envmntl factors
o Diff methods may be better suited for clinical, educational, or
social psychology contexts
o It requires caution when generalising results beyond studied
grups
o Observational and qualitative methods often highlight context
specific bhvrs
  Applicability
o Refers to how well rsrch findings can be used in practical
setting
o Experimental methods are useful for establishing cause effect
rlsps
o Case studies provide deep insights into unique or rare
conditions
o Survey and interview methods gather broad perspectives for
applied use
o Applicable rsrch supports real world decision making in clinical
or counselling setting
o Effective applicability balance scientific rigor with relevance to
everyday life

Types of tests

 One the basis of the criterion of administrative conditions

o Individual tests
 Administered to one person at a time
 Require direct interaction
 Allow observation of the individuals bhvr
 Time consuming and require trained examiners
 Useful when imp decisions about individual
o Grup tests
o Administered to many individual
o Save time and resources
o Useful for assessing achievement, aptitude and
adjustment
o Help identify students’ strengths and weakness
o Commonly used in educational settings
 On the basis of the criterion of scoring
o 1. Objective test
 Scored w/o examiner judgement or personal option
 Have clear and unambiguous correct ans
 Commonly include true false and mcq
 Also known as new type tests or limited ans tests
o 2. subjective
o Scoring involves examiner judgement snd interpretation
o Responses may vary in content and organisation
o Assess abilities such as recall, organisation and expression of
ideas
o Also known as essay tests or free ans test
 Criterion of time limit in producing the response
 o 1. Power test
 Have little or no time limit
 Most examinees can attempt all items
 Items are arranged in increasing order of difficulty
 Measure the level of knowledge, ability or skill
 Commonly used in intelligence and aptitude testing
o 2. Speed test
o Have strict time limits
o Contain relatively easy items of similar difficulty
o Few examinees can complete all items within the allotted time
o Measure how quickly an individual can respond or work
o Assess speed of performance rather than difficulty level
 Criterion of nature or contents of items
o 1. Verbal tests
 Use language based items involving reading, wirting or
speaking
 Instructions are given in words
 Commonly administered as paper pencil tests
 Assess abilities thru verbal communication
o 2. Non verbal tests
 Use pics, figures, symbols or designs instead of
language
 Minimize the influence of language skills
 Assess nonverbal abilities such as spatial perception
 Useful for young children and individuals with language
difficulties
o 3. Performance
 Require examinees to perform tasks rather than ans qns
 Assess practical abilities thru actions ans task
completion
 Usually administered individually
 Allow assessment of both performance quality and
completion time
o 4. Non language
 Do not depend on spoken, written or reading skills
 Instructions are given thru gestures, demonstrations or
manipulation of objects
 Responses are made by pointing to or handling
materials
 Suitable for individuals who cannot communicate
effectively thru language
 Criterion of purpose or objective
 o Intelligence tests
 Assess an indiivduals level of intelligence
 Measure cgntve abilities such as reasoning, prblm
solving and lrng
o Aptitude tests
 Assess a persons potential to lrn or perform specific
tasks
 Predict future performance in particular areas
o Personality tests
 Assess personality traits, interests, values

Neuro, achievement

 Criterion of standardization
o Standardized tests
 Dvlpd and administered using uniform procedures
 Have standardised instructions, scoring methods and
testing conditions
 Reliability and validity are established
 Usually include norms for interpreting scores
o Teacher made tests

Uses of tests in various settings

 Classification – placement, screening, certification and selection

o Psychological tests are widely used to classify individuals into
appr categories based on specific purposes
o Classification involves assigning a person to one category
from several possible categories
o Psychological tests play an imp role in edu, occ, and clinical
decision making
o Psychological testing makes such placemetns more accurate
and obj
o Tests help to identify individuals with special charactristics or
needs
o Screening can be used to detect exceptional talents, abilities
or specific difficulties
o Tests may assess traits such as abstract reasoning,
intelligence, aptitude or other psychological characteristics
 Diagnosis and treatment planning
o Accurate diagnosis helps professionals understand the
individuals difficulties more clearly
 o Diagnosis not only identifies the problem but also guides appr
intervention and treatment
o Treatment planning is based on the specific needs and
characteristics revealed thru assessment
o Early and accurate assessment enables professionals to
provide max support and assistance to the individual
 Self knowledge
o Test results offer feedback regarding an indivuals strengths
and areas for improvement
o Slef knowledge gained thru testing can influence imp life
decisions, including career choices
o Individuals become more aware
 Programme evaluation
o Social and community programs can also be evaluated using
tests
o Govt, org, and political grup may use test data to assess the
success of social welfare initiatives
o Tests help determine whether programs have reduced
disadvantages or improved the well being of target grups
o Evaluation thru testing supports informed decisions about
continuing, modifying
 Theoretical and applied branches pf bhvrl rsrch ……………….

Limitation

 Invasion of privacy
 Permanently categorisr ppl – labelling
 Measure only limited and benefiecial aspects of bhvr – may not
capture the full complexity of human personality, abilities, and exp
 Cause test anxiety - -vely affect perf and lead to inaccurate results
 Insensitive to atypical and creative resp – greater emphasis on
typical or expected resp

Unit 3

Variable

 Any aspect that changed with diff conditions

 Anthing that is subj to vsriation
 They are measure or counted
 Also called as data item

Types of variable
  Dependent and independent
o Independent
 The condition manipulated or selected by thw
experimenter to determine its effect on bhvr
 Every independent variable has levels
 Levels r diff values of an independent variable
o dependent
 a measure if the subjects behaviour that reflects the
independent variables effect
 it’s a responding variable
 Confounded
o One whose effect cannot be separated from the supposed
independent variable
o Its assosciated with independent variable.
o And invariably affects the outcome (dependent variable).
o It does not lie on the casual way.
o Eg: to study gender dofferences in color preference.
o Eg: to identify
 Quantitative and categorical
o Varies in amount
o Measured in numbers
o Have a numeric meaning
o Also called numerical variables
o Eg: height, weight, population. Temperature
 Categorical Variables
o Varies in kind
o Describes a quality or characteristic
o Doesn’t have a numerical meaning
o Also called qualitative or attribute variables.
o Eg: hair color, gender, status of disease infection
 Continuous and discrete
o Takes any value on a continuum
o It is measure. Not counted
o It could be ,2 and everything between : 1.00, 1.01, 1.001
o Eg: height, weight, time
 Discrete variables
o Takes only a certain number of values’it is counted’
o eg. Amount in your pocket, no of cars in parking lot.

MEASUREMENT
  the terms measurement and evaluation are often used
interchangeably, but in psychological, sociological and educational
rsrch they have distinct meanings
 measurement refers to the process of assigning numeral to events,
obj, or persons acc to specific rules
 tyler – definition – measurement as the assignment of numerals acc
to rules
 nunnally – measurement as a set of rules for assigning numbers to
obj in a way that represents quantities of attributes
 involves assigning numbers acc to established rules rather than
personal choice
 numbers used in measurement sre numerals that carry quantitative
mng
 investigators assign numbers based on fixed and explicit rules
 rules are procedures that transform qualities or attributes intro
numerical values
 soe cases rules are obvious and explicit
 physical meausrements genrally have clear and straightforward
rules for assigning numerical values
 psychological measurements such as measuring traits like
extroversion, requirw more complex rules for assigning numbers
 to measure attributes that are not initary but consist of several sub
attributes
 numerals r used to represent quantities of an attributw
 quantification indicates the extent or degree to which an attribute is
present in an obj or person
 evaluation refers to appraisal or assessment with reference to a
standard
 nunnally – evaluation examines whether processes or outcoms of a
programme meet stated objectives, expectation or standards…

levels of measurement

 a postulate is an assumption about the rlsp among grups, obj or

events being measured
 Guilford – 9 basic postulates of measurement
 Postulates gruped in 3 categories
o Postulates relating to equalities or identities
o Postulates relating to rank or order
o Postulates relating to additivity
 There r 3 variations in postulates relating to equalities or
identities, 2 relating to rank or order and 4 relating to additivity

3 variations in postulates relating equalities or identities

  If a = b or a not equal to b then numbers are either qual or not
equal.
 If a= b and b = a, the equality rlsp is symmetrical and the positions
of a and b can be interchanged
 If a = b, b =c then a = c. obj equal to the same obj are equal to one
another

2 postulates relating to rank or order

 If a > b and b > a is not possible, the rlsp is asymmetrical.

Interchanging a and b reverses the rlsp
 If a > b and b>c then a >c this establishes a definite order or
ranking
 Ranking is a fundamental basis of many measurements in psy,
sociology and edu

4 relating to additivity

 If a = p and a+b>0, then a + b >p. adding a positive quanitiy

increases the total. Adding 0 does not create variability in the result
 If a +b = b + a, the order of numbers in addition is not imp.
 If a = p and b = q then a +b = p + q. equal numbers or obj can be
substituted for one another w/o changing the result
 If (a +b) +c = a + (b+c) the gruping of numbers or obj during
addition does not affect the outcome

18/6/26

Levels of measurement

 Nominal
o Data may only be classified
o Jersey no. of football players
o Make of car
o Lowest level of measurement
o Numbers r used only to name, identify or classify persons, obj,
grups or events
o R not true scales becoz their sole purpose is classification
o Ex: sample of indi may be classified as hindu, muslim, sikh,
christiam
o Classif based on sex, rural urban bg, political party affiliation
and similar variables r examples of nominal measurement
o All mem of grup considered equivalent not of diff grups
o Equivalence rlsp in nominal measuremtn is reflexive, transitive
and symmetrical
o Data obtained thru this r countable data
 o Appr statistical oper for nominal data include counting,
frequency, %, proportion and mode
o Arithmetic oper cannot be meaningfully applied to nominal
data
o Major limitation – it is vey elementary and simple
o Least precise method or quantification
o Becoz of its limited precision, experts argue that it is not a
measurement in a strict sense
 Ordinal
o Data are ranked
o Your rank in class
o Team standings in the Pac – 10
o Possesses the ppty of magnitutde but does not have equal
intervals or an absolute 0
o Numbers indicate the rank order of obj or indi
o Numbers r arranged from lowest to highest or vice versa
o Shows whether a person pr obj is greater or lesser, larger or
smaller, heavier or lighter, bright or dull, harder or softer
o Indi may be gruped acc to physical, social ro psychological
traits to indicate rlsp of “greater than” or “lesser than”
o Socio eco status is a common ex
o Every mem of uc is considered higher in social prestige that
every mem of the middle and lc
o Every mem of mc is considered higher in social prestige than
every mem of lc
o Students ranked on basis of aca achievement another ex
o Reflects and equivalence rlsp and a greater than or lesser
than rlsp
o Mem within a particular subclass r considered equivanr ro one
another
o Mem of 1 sub class r considered gt or lt than mem of another
subclass
o Rlsp of gt is generally irrflexive, transitive and asymmetrical
o App statistica operations for ordinal data include median,
percentiles nd rand correlatio
 Interval
o Mngful differences b/w values
 Ratio
o Mngful 0 point and ration b/w values
 F
 F
 Fff
 f