05 Psychological Assessment Review

maternal effect

nuclear genotype of mom affects phenotype of progeny through substances present in egg

family effect

parental support and monitoring, cultural factors

culture fair test

a test (such as an intelligence test) designed to minimize the importance of skills and knowledge that may be more common in some cultures than in others

culture loading

the extent to which a test incorporates the vocabulary, concepts, traditions, knowledge, and feelings associated with a particular culture

meclelland personality

the most adequate conceptualization of a person's behavior in all its detail

Menninger personality

individual as a whole, his height and weight and love and hates and blood pressure and reflexes; it means all that anyone is and he is trying to become

byrne personality

psychology's garbage bin in that any research in which it doesn't fit other existing categories can be labelled personality; individual's unique constellation of psychological traits relatively that is stable over time

personality assessment

instruments measuring different traits or aspects of character

personality traits

enduring characteristics that describe an individual's behavior

personality types

discrete categories of people based on personality characteristics

personality states

short-term patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

self-report

a method in which people provide subjective information about their own thoughts, feelings, or behaviors, typically via questionnaire or interview

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

halo effect

the tendency to draw a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic

response style

tendency for subjects to respond to questions or test items in a specific way, regardless of the content

impression management

the attempt by people to get others to see them as they want to be seen; selective exposure of some information or suppression of some information

validity scale

Test scale that attempts to shed light on the respondent's test-taking attitudes and motivations (e.g., to present themselves in an overly favorable light, to exaggerate their problems or symptoms, to engage in random responding).

traditional sites for taking tests

schools, clinics, hospitals, academic research laboratories, employment counselling, vocational selection centers, offices of psychologists and counsellors

natural settings for taking tests

assessee's own home, assessee's prison cell

locus of control

a person's tendency to perceive the control of rewards as internal to the self or external in the environment

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.

structured interview

a research procedure in which all participants are asked to answer the same questions

graphology

the study of handwriting and how it relates to a person's character

frame of reference

defined as aspects of the focus of exploration such as the time frame as well as other contextual issues that involve people, places, and events

Q-sort technique

An assessment device in which the subject sorts statements into categories following a normal distribution. Used by Rogers as a measure of statements regarding the self and the ideal self.

nomothetic approach

examines personality in large groups of people, with the aim of making generalizations about personality structure

idiographic approach

approach to personality that focuses on identifying the unique configuration of characteristics and life history experiences within a person

logic and reason

in test development, this is referred to as the content or content oriented approach

research theory

Framework guiding the development of research aims.

cluster analysis

statistical techniques identify groups of entities that have similar characteristics

criterion

standard used in judging

criterion group

a reference group of test takers who share specific characteristics and whose responses to test items serve as a standard according to which items will be included in or discarded from the final version of a scale

empirical criterion keying

the process of using criterion groups to develop test items

acculturation

the adoption of the behavior patterns of the surrounding culture

measures of interest

Assumption is that interest in one's work promotes better performance, greater productivity, and greater job satisfaction

measures of ability and aptitude

measurement of prior learning, both formal and informal; ability and aptitude tests vary widely in topics covered, specificity of coverage, and other variables

NEO-PI-R

An objective personality test designed to assess the Big Five personality traits.

High Openness To Experience

imaginative, creative, original, curious

low openness to experience

down-to-earth, uncreative, conventional, uncurious, and conservative

high conscientiousness

More likely to be well organized, reliable, and consistent. Enjoy planning, seek achievements, and pursue long-term goals.

low conscientiousness

Generally more easygoing, spontaneous, and creative. Tend to be less concerned with rules and plans.

high extraversion

Talkative, outgoing, likes meeting new people and going to new places, active, bored easily, hates routine

low extraversion

Quiet, withdrawn, prefers being alone or with a few friends to large crowds, prefers routines, prefers familiar to unexpected

high agreeableness

More trusting, helpful, good-natured, tolerant, selfless, flexible

low agreeableness

Less cooperative, more intolerant, suspicious, self-focused

high neuroticism

anxious, angry, depressed, responds overly-emotionally

low neuroticism

not easily upset in stressful situations, tend to be relaxed, and generally not anxious

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

a personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types

16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)

A self-report inventory developed by Raymond Cattell that generates a personality profile with ratings on 16 trait dimensions.

screening

the evaluation or investigation of something as part of a methodical survey, to assess suitability for a particular role or purpose.

selection

Choosing from among qualified applicants to hire into an organization

placement

Fitting a person to the right job; assignment

performance tests

Also known as skills tests, measure performance on actual job tasks—so-called job tryouts; minimizes the use of language

leaderless group technique

A situational assessment procedure wherein an observer/assessor evaluates the performance of assessees in a group situation with regard to variables such as leadership, initiative, and cooperation

in-basket technique

Method of training in which the participant is required to simulate the handling of a specific manager's mail and telephone calls and to react accordingly.

assessment center

a wide variety of specific selection programs that use multiple selection methods to rate applicants or job incumbents on their management potential

physical tests

ensure that applicants are capable of performing on the job in ways defined by the job specification and description

drug testing

A method of assessment typically based on an analysis of urine that is used to detect illicit drug use by the candidate.

Measures of Cognitive Ability

assess abilities involved in thinking

productivity

output per unit of input yielded relative to work effort made

forced distribution technique

a procedure entailing the distribution of a predetermined number or percentage of assessees into various performance (such as categories ranging from "unsatisfactory" to "superior")

critical incidents technique

a job analysis method that identifies extremely effective and ineffective behaviors by documenting critical incidents that have occurred on the job

expectation theory of motivation

Assumption of positive outcomes leads to higher motivation

achievement motivation

a desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard

work preference inventory

A measure of an individual's orientation toward intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation.

intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

burnout

state of emotional, mental, and even physical exhaustion

Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)

Psychometrically robust instrument to assess perceptions about work-life balance; 22 items divided into three subscales - emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment

job satisfaction

a positive feeling about one's job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics

organizational commitment

the degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization

organizational commitment questionnaire

15 item questionnaire to measure the three commitment factors: acceptance of the organization's values and goals, willingness to work help the organization, and a desire to remain with the organization

organizational culture

the set of values, ideas, attitudes, and norms of behavior that is learned and shared among the members of an organization

discussion of organizational culture

interview and discussion guide designed for administration by trained interviewer or focus group moderator which explore various aspects of organizational culture

barnum effect

People have the tendency to see themselves in vague, stock descriptions of personality

test conceptualization

An early stage of the test development process wherein the idea for a particular test or test revision is first conceived

norm-referenced test

A test takers performance reported in comparison to other test takers in the same age or grade sample. Results are reported in standard scores, percentile ranks, t scores, or z scores.

good item on norm-referenced test

high scorers on test item respond correctly while low scorers on the test respond on the same item incorrectly

criterion-referenced test

Individual's performance is measured against mastery of curriculum criteria rather than other students

good criterion-referenced test

entail exploratory work between two groups of test takers: one group known to have mastered the knowledge or skill being used and another group known not to have mastered such knowledge or skill; the items that best discriminate between these two groups would be considered "good items"

pilot work

the preliminary research surrounding the creation of a prototype of the test

scaling

a process by which a measuring device is designed and calibrated and by which numbers are assigned to different amounts of trait, attribute, or characteristic being measured

L.L. Thurstone

forefront efforts to develop methodically sound scaling methods

Age-based scale

a test wherein the testtaker's test performance as a function of age is of critical interest

grade-based scale

a test wherein the testtaker's test performance as a function of grade is of critical interest

stanine scale

A scale in which all raw scores are converted to a single-digit system of scores ranging from 1 to 9

rating scale

a numerical value is assigned to specific behavior that is listed in the scale

summative scale

Final score is obtained by summing the ratings across all the items.

likert scale

a numerical scale used to assess attitudes; includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme

unidimensional

Measures only one attribute of a concept, respondent, or object.

multidimensional

affected by an intricate blend of biological, psychological, and social forces

method of paired comparison

Taker presented with two test stimuli and are asked to make some sort of comparison

comparative scaling

entails judgments of a stimulus in comparison with every other stimulus on the scale

categorical scaling

stimuli are placed into one of two or more alternative categories that differ quantitatively with respect to some continuum

guttman scale

A type of composite measure used to summarize several discrete observations and to represent some more-general variable.

writing items

When devising a standardized test using a multiple-choice format, it is usually advisable that the first draft contain approximately twice the number of items that the final version of the test will contain

item format

form, plan, structure, arrangement, and layout of individual test items

selected-response format

require testtakers to select response from a set of alternative responses

multiple-choice format

has three elements: (1) a stem, (2) a correct alternative or option, and (3) several incorrect alternatives or options variously referred to as distractors or foils