Module 1 Lesson 1: Major Categories of Tests Flashcards

Question

What are objective personality tests?

Answer 1

In testing parlance, objective simply means the tests are objectively scored, based on items answered in a true–false or similar format.

Answer 2

Examples of these objective personality tests are the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, abbreviated MMPI, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI).

Answer 3

The second major subdivision of personality tests includes projective techniques. With all these techniques, the examinee encounters a relatively simple but unstructured task. We hope that the examinee's responses will reveal something about his or her personality.

Answer 4

The most famous of these techniques is the Rorschach Inkblot Test—sometimes just called the Rorschach, other times called the inkblot test. Other examples are human figure drawings, sentence completion techniques, and reactions to pictures.

Answer 5

We include under personality measures a third category, simply labeled “other approaches,” to cover the myriad of other ways psychologists have devised to satisfy our limitless fascination with the human personality.

Answer 6

1. Vocational Interests 2. Attitude Scales

Answer 7

These tests are widely used in high schools and colleges to help individuals explore jobs relevant to their interests.

Answer 8

Examples of such tests are the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) and the Self‐Directed Search (SDS).

Answer 9

This category also includes numerous measures of attitudes toward topics, groups, and practices. For example, there are measures for attitude toward capital punishment, attitude toward the elderly, and so on.

Answer 10

These are tests designed to yield information about the functioning of the central nervous system, especially the brain.

Answer 11

From some perspectives, this should not be a separate category because many of the tests used for neuropsychological testing simply come from the other categories. Much neuropsychological testing employs ability tests and often uses personality tests, too. However, we use a separate category to capture tests used specifically to assess brain functions. Of special interest are tests of memory for verbal and figural material, psychomotor coordination, and abstract thinking.

Answer 12

1. Paper‐and‐Pencil versus Performance 2. Speed versus Power 3. Individual versus Group 4. Maximum versus Typical Performance 5. Norm‐Referenced versus Criterion‐Referenced

Answer 13

In a performance test, the examinee completes some action such as assembling a product, delivering a speech, conducting an experiment, or leading a group.

Answer 14

In a paper‐and‐pencil test, the examinee responds to a set of questions usually, as implied by the title, using paper and pencil.

Answer 15

Many paper‐and‐pencil tests use multiple‐choice, true–false, or similar item types. Traditional paper‐and‐pencil tests often appear now on a computer screen, with the answer marked by key stroke or mouse click.

Answer 16

The essential purpose of a speed (or speeded) test is to see how fast the examinee performs.

Answer 17

The person's score is how many items or tasks can be completed in a fixed time or how much time (e.g., in minutes or seconds) is required to complete the task. For example, how quickly can you cross out all the “e's” on this page? How quickly can you complete 50 simple arithmetic problems such as 42 + 19, 24 × 8, and so on?

Answer 18

A power test, on the other hand, usually involves challenging material, administered with no time limit or a very generous limit. The essential point of the power test is to test the limits of a person's knowledge or ability (other than speed). The distinction is not necessarily all‐or‐none: pure speed versus pure power.

Answer 19

Some power tests may have an element of speed. You can't take forever to complete the SAT. However, mental prowess and knowledge rather than speed are the primary determinants of performance on a power test. Some speed tests may have an element of power.

Answer 20

An individual test can be administered to only one individual at a time.

Answer 21

A group test can be administered to many individuals at the same time, that is, to a group.

Answer 22

True. In general, any group‐administered test can be administered to one individual at a time, when circumstances warrant, but individually administered tests cannot be given to an entire group at once.

Answer 23

How well can examinees perform when at their best?

Answer 24

Maximum performance tests are usually used in achievement and ability tests.

Answer 25

On the other hand, we sometimes want to see a person's typical performance. This is usually the case with personality, interest, and attitude tests. For example, on a personality test we want to know how extroverted a person typically is, not how extroverted he can be if he is trying really hard to appear extroverted.

Answer 26

Many tests have norms based on performance of cases in a standardization program. For example, you may know that your score on the SAT or ACT is at the 84th percentile, meaning that you scored better than 84% of persons in the national norm group. This constitutes a norm‐referenced interpretation of your performance on the test.

Answer 27

In contrast, some test interpretations depend on reference to some clearly defined criterion rather than on reference to a set of norms. For example, an instructor may say: I want you to know all the key terms at the end of the chapter. On the instructor's test, you correctly define only 60% of the key terms, and this is considered inadequate—regardless of how well other people did on the test. This is criterion‐referenced interpretation. Actually, it is the method of interpretation rather than the test itself that is either norm‐referenced or criterion‐referenced. We explore this distinction more fully in Chapter 3.