Psychometric Properties and Principles

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the fundamental principles of psychological testing, psychometric properties, statistical applications, and test development.

Psychological Testing

The process of measuring psychology-related variables by means of devices or procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior; it is numerical in nature and yields specific test scores.

Psychological Assessment

The gathering and integration of psychology-related data for the purpose of making a psychological evaluation, involving the educated selection of tools and logical problem-solving to answer a referral question.

Dynamic Assessment

An interactive approach to psychological assessment that follows a model of evaluation, followed by intervention, and then a subsequent evaluation.

Item

A specific stimulus to which a person responds overtly, and this response is being scored or evaluated.

Psychometrics

The science of psychological measurement.

Achievement Test

A measurement of previous learning used to assess mastery and general knowledge in a specific period of time, relying mostly on content validity.

Aptitude

The potential for learning or acquiring a specific skill, focusing on informal learning and relying mostly on predictive validity.

Intelligence

A person’s general potential to solve problems, adapt to changing environments, think abstractly, and profit from experience.

Speed Tests

Tests where the primary interest is the number of items a test taker can answer correctly within a specific, restricted period of time.

Power Tests

Assessments that reflect the level of difficulty of items the test takers can answer correctly when time is not the primary constraint.

Reliability

The dependability or consistency of an instrument or the scores obtained by the same person when re-examined with the same test at different times.

Validity

A judgment or estimate of how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure, involving evidence about the appropriateness of inferences drawn from scores.

Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)

Provides a measure of the precision of an observed test score; it is the $\text{standard deviation}$ of errors and serves as an index of expected error in an individual’s score.

Classical Test Theory

A theory assuming that each testtaker has a true score that would be obtained but for the action of measurement error; expressed as Observed Score = True Score + Error.

Carryover Effects

Occurs in test-retest reliability when the interval is short, and the second test is influenced because the taker remembers or practiced the previous items, leading to an overestimation of reliability.

Internal Consistency

The degree to which each item in a test measures the same construct, used when tests are administered only once to assess homogeneity.

Face Validity

The extent to which a test appears to measure what it claims to measure from the perspective of the person being tested.

Content Validity

A judgment of how adequately a test samples behavior representative of the universe of behavior it was designed to sample.

Criterion-Related Validity

A judgment of how adequately a test score can be used to infer an individual's most probable standing on a specific measure of interest or standard.

Construct Validity

The 'umbrella' validity that involves a judgment about the appropriateness of inferences drawn from test scores regarding an individual's standing on an unobservable, hypothesized variable.

Standard Deviation

An approximation of the average deviation around the mean, equal to the $\sqrt{\text{variance}}$; it detail how much a score is above or below the mean.

Z-Score

A standard score resulting from the conversion of a raw score into a number indicating how many $\text{standard deviation}$ units the score is below or above the mean; has a mean of $0$ and a $\text{SD}$ of $1$.

T-Score

A standard score scale with a mean set at $50$ and a $\text{standard deviation}$ of $10$, used to avoid negative values.

Flynn Effect

The progressive rise in intelligence scores expected to occur on a normed intelligence test from the date the test was first normed.

Malingering

The deliberate feigning of an illness or disability to achieve a particular desired outcome.

Halo Effect

A rating error where there is a tendency to give a high score due to a failure to discriminate among conceptually distinct and potentially independent aspects of a ratee’s behavior.

Empirical Criterion Keying

A process where test items are selected and scored based on how well they differentiate an experimental group from a control group, notably used in the MMPI.

Inter-Scorer Reliability

The degree of agreement or consistency between two or more scorers regarding a particular measure.

Cut-Score

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

Utility

The usefulness or practical value of a testing tool to improve efficiency or make better decisions, often evaluated through cost-benefit analysis.