Chap 8: Testing and Individual Differences

Standardized

Test items have been piloted on a similar population of people as those who are meant to take the test and that achievement norms have been established.

Standardization Sample

Used to establish reliable norms for the population that it represents.

Psychometricians

* People who make tests
* Use the performance of the standardization sample on the experimental sections to choose items for future tests

Reliability

Refers to the repeatability or consistency of the test as a means of measurement

Split-Half Reliability

* Randomly dividing a test into two different sections and then correlating people’s performances on the two halves
* The closer the correlation coefficient is to +1, the greater the split-half reliability of the test

Equivalent-Form Reliability

The correlation between performance on the different forms of the test

Test-Retest Reliability

Correlation between a person’s score on one administration of the test with the same person’s score on a subsequent administration of the test

Validity

Measures what it is supposed to measure (accuracy)

Content Validity

* How well a measure reflects the entire range of material it is supposed to be testing
* Example: If you’re testing to find a good chef, a test that required someone to create a variety of dish types would have greater content validity

Face Validity

* Superficial measure of accuracy → extent to which the items or content of the test appear to be appropriate for measuring something, regardless of whether they actually are (type of content validity)
* Example: A test of cake-baking ability has high face validity if you’re looking for a chef but low face validity if you’re looking for a doctor.

Criterion-Related Validity

Concurrent and Predictive Validity

Concurrent Validity

Measures how much of a characteristic a person has now

Predictive Validity

Meausre of future performance

Construct Validity

The degree to which a test or instrument is capable of measuring a concept, trait, or other theoretical entity.

Aptitude Tests

Measure ability or potential

Achievement Tests

Measure what one has learned or accomplished

Speed Tests

* Generally consist of a large number of questions asked in a short amount of time
* Goal is to see how quickly a person can solve problems
* Amount of time allotted should be insufficient to complete the problems

Power Tests

* Gauge the difficulty level of problems an individual can solve
* Consists of items of increasing difficulty levels
* Sufficient time to work through as many problems as they can

Group Tests

Large number of people at a time and interaction between the examiner and the people taking the test is minimal

Individual Tests

1-on-1 and involve a greater interaction between the examiner and examinee

Intelligence

Typically defined as the ability to gather and use information in productive ways

Fluid Intelligence

Refers to our ability to solve abstract problems and pick up new information and skills

Crystallized Intelligence

Involves using knowledge accumulated over time

Charles Spearman

* Argued that intelligence could be expressed by a single factor
* Used factor analysis, a statistical technique that measures the correlations between different items
* Concluded that underlying the many different specific abilities *s* that people regard as types of intelligence is a single factor *g* (general)

Howard Gardner

Subscribes to the idea of multiple intelligences

Daniel Goleman

One of the main proponents of EQ (Emotional Intelligence)

Robert Sternberg

* 3 types of intelligence → componential or analytic intelligence, experiential or creative intelligence, contextual or practical intelligence
* Intelligent behaviour depends on the context or situation in which it occurs. Other theories of intelligence view intelligence as ability-based

Alfred Binet

* Came up with the idea of mental age, an idea that presupposes that intelligence increases as one gets older
* Used mental age to identify how “intelligent” children were compared to their peers

Louis Terman

* Created the Stanford-Binet IQ test
* A person’s IQ score on this test is computed by dividing the person’s mental age by his or her chronological age and multiplying by 100

David Wechsler

* 3 different types: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is used in testing adults, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is given to children between the ages of 6 and 16, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) can be administered to children as young as 4.
* Used deviation IQ to yield IQ scores → The absolute measure of how far an individual differs from the mean on an individually administered IQ test (standard deviation is usually 15)

Heritability

A measure of how much of a trait’s variation is explained by genetic factors

Flynn Effect

The gradual cross-cultural rise in raw scores obtained on measures of general intelligence