Psychological Assessment Flashcards
Three levels of examiner qualifications for tests
Level A - administered and interpreted by nonpsychologists
Level B - require some technical knowledge with supporting psychological knowledge for administration
Level C - should be administered only by individuals with at least a masters degree and one year of supervised experience by a psychologist
Examinee characteristics to consider for testing
Age Developmental level Reading level Physical abilities Motivation Anxiety Cultural and socioeconomic background
Reliability
Degree to which test scores are free from the effects of measurement error
Validity
The degree to which the test measures what it is designed to measure
Two definitions of standardization
When the testee’s words and acts, the apparatus, and the scoring have been fixed so the scores that are collected at different times and places are fully comparable.
When it has been administered according to standard conditions, to a representative sample, for the purpose of establishing norms.
Three main types of scores
Norm-referenced scores: examinee’s score compared to a reference group (ex. Standard score, percentile rank)
Criterion-referenced scores: examinee’s test performance represents how well they are capable of knowing or doing a clearly defined thing
(Ex. Percentage correct)
Self-referenced scores: scores are provided on ipsative scales which permit intraindividual comparisons (ex. Strengths and weaknesses)
Norm-referenced scores
Permit comparisons between an examinee’s test performance and the performance of individuals in a norm group
Ex. Percentile ranks and standard scores
Criterion-referenced scores
Aka. Domain-referenced scores OR Content-referenced scores
Permit interpreting an examinee’s test performance in terms of what the examinee can do or knows with regard to a clearly defined content domain or in terms of performance in an external criterion
Ex. Percent correct scores, pass-fail with preestablished cutoffs
Self-referenced scores
Scores are provided on ipsative scales, which permit intraindividual comparisons
Ex. Scoring that provides information on an examinee’s strengths and weaknesses
Behavioral assessment
Focuses on overt and covert behaviors that occur in specific circumstances
(May utilize behavioral interviews, behavioral observation, cognitive assessment, and/or psychophysiological measures)
Functional behavioral assessment
Type of behavioral assessment
Entails determining the function or purpose of a behavior by identifying its antecedents and consequences
Goal: Identify strategies for decreasing the target behavior by eliminating antecedents and consequences, and adding antecedents and consequences that promote alternative behaviors
Dynamic assessment
Involves interactive approach and deliberate deviations from standardized testing procedures
To obtain additional information about the examinee or determine if they are likely to benefit from assistance or extra instruction
Examples of dynamic assessment
Testing the limits
Graduated prompting
Test-teach-retest
Computer adaptive testing
The computer tailors the test to an individual examinee by choosing subsequent items based on the examinee’s previous answers
Actuarial v statistical predictions
Actuarial - based on regression tables and empirically-supported criteria
Clinical - based on decision maker’s knowledge and experience
Actuarial outperforms clinical judgement every time
