Ch 3

Question 1

you cannot tell the difference just by looking at the test. You need to know…

Answer 1

….how the tests are constructed, how they work, and how they fail.

Question 2

MMPI, CPI, (clinical) 16PF (personality), SVIB, HPI

Answer 2

Widely used tests

Question 3

most test provide S data (self-report) and some tests provide

Answer 3

B data (behavioral data) - observing how the person is interacting with the test (ex. MMPI, intelligence (IQ tests), also known as performance-based instruments

Question 4

Theory: answers reveal inner
psychological needs, feelings, experiences, thought processes, or other hidden aspects of the mind

analysis of the content of stories, letters, and speeches. mostly used by clinical psychologists. provide B data

main tests: rorschach inklot test, draw-a-peson test, thematic apprecption test (tat)

disadvantages: validity evidence is scarce, expensive, and time-consuming, a psychologist cannot be sure about what they mean, other less-expensive tests work as well or better, sometimes used inappropriately

advantages: good for breaking the ice, some skilled clinicians may be able to use them to get information not captured by controlled research

Answer 4

projective tests

Question 5

Questions seem more objective and less open to interpretation (yes or no, true or false).

Answer 5

Objective Tests

Question 6

based on theory, but sometimes less systematic. Provides S data. Rationally related to what the test developer wishes to measure.

Answer 6

Rational Tests (most common form of test construction)

Question 7

• Items mean the same thing to the test taker and creator.
• Capability for accurate self-assessment
• Willingness to make an accurate and
  undistorted report
• Items must be valid indicators of what is being measured.

Answer 7

Four conditions for validity for rational tests

Question 8

o Generate a long list of objective items.
o Administer these items to a large number of
people.
o Analyze with a factor analysis.
o Consider what the items that group together have in common and name the factor.

Answer 8

Factor Analytic

Question 9

Steps for using this method
o Gather lots of items.
o Have a sample of people already divided into
groups.
o Administer the test.
o Compare the answers of the different groups.
o Cross-validation

Answer 9

Empirical (methods of objective test construction)

Question 10

Correlation coefficient
o Can be used for correlational and experimental studies
* Calculating correlations
o Between -1 and +1
o If 0, there is no relationship.
* Positive and negative correlations

make sure you look at the actual size. if it’s something that can be replicated again, it’s probably a good study.

Answer 10

Evaluating Assessment and Research: Effect Size

Question 11

worries about the truth of publishing spread to psychology. “p-hacking” (tweaking” statistical analyses and data in order to obtain statistically significant results).

Answer 11

Evaluating Assessment and Research

Question 12

• Use larger numbers of participants.
• Disclose all methods.
• Share data.
• Report studies that don’t “work.”
• Never regard one study as conclusive proof of
  anything, and know that scientific conclusions are always subject to change.

Answer 12

How to make research more dependable