Psychological Assessment Practice Flashcards

A comprehensive set of practice vocabulary flashcards covering psychological assessment, psychometrics, statistical methods, ethical principles, and specific testing instruments based on the BLEPP 2025 review notes.

Psychological Assessment

The gathering and integration of psychology-related data for the purpose of making a psychological evaluation through the use of tools such as tests, interviews, case studies, and behavioral observation.

Dynamic Psychological Assessment

An interactive approach to evaluation that follows an evaluation-intervention-evaluation sequence, also known as the sandwich method.

Ecological Momentary Assessment

The in-the-moment evaluation of specific problems and related cognitive and behavioral variables at the very time and place that they occur.

Psychological Test

A device or procedure designed to measure variables related to psychology, such as subject matter, form, arrangement, or arrangement.

Cut Score

A reference point, usually numerical, derived by judgment and used to divide a set of data into two or more classifications.

Psychometric Soundness

The technical quality of a psychological test.

Psychometrician

A professional who uses, analyzes, and interprets psychological test data.

Reliability

The consistency in measurement of a psychological tool.

Reliability Coefficient

A proportion indicating the ratio between the true score variance on a test and the total score variance.

Classical Test Theory (CTT) Equation

$X = T + E$, where $X$ is the observed score, $T$ is the true score, and $E$ is error.

True Variance

Variance from true differences among test takers.

Random Error

A source of error caused by unpredictable fluctuations and inconsistencies of other variables in the measurement process, which is considered unavoidable.

Systematic Error

A source of error in measuring a variable that is Typically constant or proportionate to what is presumed to be the true value; it is avoidable if corrected.

Test-Retest Reliability

Reliability obtained by correlating pairs of scores from the same people on two different administrations of a test.

Coefficient of Stability

The estimate obtained from test-retest reliability; the longer the time that passes, the greater the likelihood this coefficient will be lower.

Parallel Forms Reliability

An estimate of the extent to which different versions of the same test satisfy the condition that the means and variances of observed test scores are equal.

Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20)

Used exclusively for tests where items are dichotomously scored and have different degrees of difficulty.

Cronbach’s Alpha ($\alpha$)

A measure of internal consistency used for tests with items scored on a continuous scale, such as Likert-scale items.

McDonald's Omega ($\omega$)

A measure of internal consistency preferred for its ability to handle more complex factor structures than Cronbach's Alpha.

Spearman-Brown Prophecy Formula

Estimates how many more items are needed in order to achieve a target reliability.

Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)

An index of the extent to which one individual’s score varies over tests presumed to be parallel, providing an estimate of the error inherent in an observed score.

68% Confidence Interval

Calculated as $\pm 1\,SEM$ from the observed score, indicating the range where there is a $68\%$ chance the individual's true score falls.

Standard Error of the Difference

A statistical measure used to determine how large a difference between scores should be before it is considered statistically significant.

Validity

A judgment based on evidence about the appropriateness of inferences drawn from test scores, indicating if a test measures what it purports to measure.

Validity Coefficient

A correlation coefficient that provides a measure of the relationship between test scores and scores on a criterion measure.

Construct Underrepresentation

A failure to capture important components of a construct in an assessment tool.

Lawshe’s Content Validity Ratio (CVR)

A quantitative index based on the number of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who rate an item as essential, calculated as $CVR = \frac{N_e - (N/2)}{N/2}$.

Concurrent Validity

A type of criterion-related validity established when test scores and criterion measures are collected at approximately the same time.

MTMM (Multi-trait Multi-method Matrix)

A structured way to evaluate both convergent and discriminant validity simultaneously by analyzing four types of correlation coefficients.

Factor Analysis

A class of mathematical procedures designed to identify specific variables or dimensions on which people may differ.

Stratified-Random Sampling

A sampling method where every member of the population has the same chance of being included, resulting in a sample representing different subgroups (strata) of the population.

Percentile

An expression of the percentage of people whose score on a test measure falls below a particular raw score.

Ordinal Scale

A level of measurement where data can be categorized and the categories have a meaningful order or rank, such as satisfaction ratings.

Ratio Scale

A level of measurement that has equal intervals and a true or absolute zero point, such as height, weight, or age.

Mesokurtic

A distribution that is medium-tailed, where outliers are neither highly frequent nor highly infrequent.

Gaussian Curve

Another name for the Normal Curve, which is a bell-shaped, perfectly symmetrical, and asymptotic curve.

Z-score Formula

$Z = \frac{x - \mu}{\sigma}$, where the mean is $0$ and standard deviation is $1$.

Coefficient of Alienation

The proportion of variance in the Dependent Variable (DV) that is not accounted for by the Independent Variable (IV).

Biserial Correlation

Used to correlate an artificial dichotomous variable with an interval or ratio variable.

Tukey’s HSD (Honestly Significant Difference)

A post hoc test used after an ANOVA when variance and sample sizes are equal.

Item-Difficulty Index (p)

Calculated by the ratio of students who answered the question correctly to the total number of students who attempted it ($P = \frac{R}{T}$).

Optimal Difficulty

Usually the midpoint between $1.00$ and the chance of success proportion, calculated as $p = \frac{1 + c}{2}$.

Item-Discrimination Index (d)

Calculated as $D = \frac{R_H - R_L}{N}$, indicating how well an item separates high scorers from low scorers.

RA 10029

The Philippine Psychology Act of 2009, which limits the practice of psychology to licensed and registered professionals.

Psychological Autopsy

A reconstruction of a deceased individual’s psychological profile on the basis of archival records, artifacts, and previous interviews.

Level C Qualification

A qualification level requiring a highly specialized educational background and training, such as those held by Registered Psychologists for administering projective tests.

Flynn Effect

The progressive rise in intelligence test scores expected to occur on a normed intelligence test over time from the date it was originally normed.

Formula for IQ

$IQ = \frac{\text{mental age}}{\text{chronological age}} \times 100$.

Fluid Intelligence (Gf)

A type of cognitive ability proposed by Cattell that is nonverbal, relatively culture-free, and independent of specific instructions.

Clinical Scale 1: Hs (MMPI-2)

Hypochondriasis, which evaluates preoccupation with bodily functions, physical symptoms, and health.

Base Rate (BR) Scores

A unique scoring system used in the MCMI-IV where a score of $75$ is the cutoff for the presence of a disorder.

Barnum Effect

The tendency for people to accept vague personality descriptions as accurate descriptions of themselves, also known as the Aunt Fanny Effect.

Mood vs. Affect in MSE

Mood is the patient's subjective self-reported emotional state, while Affect is the clinician's objective observation of the patient's emotional expression.

Honesty-Humility (H)

A trait in the HEXACO model where high scorers are sincere, fair, and modest, and are less likely to manipulate others for personal gain.