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Psychological Assessments

Mr. Koch

AP Psychology

Andover High School

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Psychometric Principles

  • Standardization
    • Test should be administered (and scored) using consistent procedures and environments
      • Ensures that scores can be compared to each other

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  • Norms
      • Description of frequency at which particular scores occur, allowing scores to be compared statistically
    • Standardization group
      • Representative sample of people pretested to determine meaningful scores
    • Percentile score
      • Percent of individuals in normative group whom the individual has scored above

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Psychometric Principles

  • Reliability: the degree to which a test can be repeated with similar results
    • Test-Retest Reliability
        • A group of people take the same test twice
    • Split-Half Reliability
        • Correlation is calculated b/w person’s scores on two comparable halves of test (“Internal Consistency Reliability”)

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Psychometric Principles

  • Validity: he degree to which assessment measures what it is supposed to measure
    • Predictive Validity
      • Correlation between test scores and an independent measure of what it is supposed to assess
    • Construct Validity
      • Extent to which scores suggest test is measuring theoretical construct it claims to measure

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Psychometric Principles

  • Researchers strive to develop assessments of intelligence that are socio-culturally responsive to reduce:
  • “Stereotype Threat”
      • Anxiety or stress that arises when someone is aware of a negative stereotype about a group they are part of and fears confirming it
        • May undermine an individual’s actual ability to perform well
  • “Stereotype Lift”
      • A performance boost that occurs when people compare themselves favorably to a group that is negatively stereotyped

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Systemic Issues with Intelligence Assessments

  • Flynn Effect
      • IQ scores around most of the world have increased over time
        • Likely due to societal factors (increased SES, better healthcare/nutrition)

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  • IQ scores tend to vary more within a group than between groups
    • Personal & sociocultural bias can impact interpretation of scores and relationship with other outcomes
      • Poverty, discrimination, educational inequity can negatively impact scores
      • Has been used to limit access to jobs, military ranks, educational institutions, and immigration to US

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Academic Testing

  • Aptitude Tests
    • A test designed to measure a person’s capacity to learn certain things or perform certain tasks
      • SAT, ACT, GRE, Wonderlic
        • Look to measure “potential”
  • Achievement Tests
    • A measure of what a person has accomplished or learned in a particular area
      • MCA tests, AP Psychology Exam

Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset

People’s beliefs about whether intelligence is fixed at birth or malleable due to experience can affect academic achievement