1 Definitions
2 Psychological assessment = process-orientated activity that gathers information from a variety of
sources.
3 Competency based assessment = Assessing people using their knowledge and skills in an on the job
situation
4 Binet & Simon scale – first intelligence test
5 Chinese personality inventory - sets standard for the development of culturally relevant personality
measures
6 Paper and pencil games – first SA measure in 11 different languages
7 First thorough study on bias - Senior Aptitude Test, Mechanical Insight Test and Scholastic Proficiency
Test.
8 Measurement – process of assigning numbers to objects according to clearly specified rules –
determined by:
What entity measured (weight vs height)
Nature of measure used (scale vs ruler)
Rules of measurement (with shoes, clothes, etc.)
9 Response scale -
10 Measures of central tendency = Numerical values best reflect the centre of a distribution of scores
11 Mean X = arithmetic average
12 Mian – Me = Middle point of the distribution
13 Mode – M0 Most frequently occurring score
14 Confidence interval - a range from somewhere below the sample mean to the same distance above it.
This is the range that we believe the population mean falls into.
15 Confidence level - how confident we are that the population mean falls into the confidence interval. It is
usually set at 95% or 99%
16 Measures of Variability – statistics that indicate the degree to which individual scores are distributed
around the mean
17 Range – difference between largest and smallest score
18 Variance - how close the scores in the distribution are to the middle of the distribution – distance from the
mean
19 Standard Deviation - a measure of variability that describes an average distance of every score from the
mean = square root of variance / also called Sigma
20 Leptokurtic distribution – abnormally peaked distribution
21 Norm = measurement against which an individual’s raw score is evaluated so individual position relative
to normative sample can be determined.
22 Normal distribution / Gaussian distribution - a bell-shaped curve, describing the spread of a characteristic
throughout a population.
In a normal distribution, half the scores fall at or above the mean and half the scores fall at or below the
mean.
23 Percentile – The % of people in a normative standardisation sample who fall below a given raw score. =
a ranking system that standardises a raw score against a population of others who have taken the
psychometric assessment.
24 Percentage = raw scores expressed i.t.o. % correct answers.
25 Co-norming – process where 2 or more related but different measures are administered and
standardised as a unit on the same norm group. Test validation process conducted on two or more tests
using the same sample of testtakers.
26 Random error =unexplained difference between true score (T) & obtained score (X).
27 Systematic error = error when something obscures the true score & individual source of error
consistently increases or decreases the true score by exactly the same amount each time
28 Test order effects
29 Memory & learning effects
30 Gender, age & education effects
, 31 Scaling format effects
32 Basal age – age at and below which a certain measure is passed
33 Mental age = Basal age + additional months of credit earned at a higher age
34 Crystallised intelligence - involves knowledge that comes from prior learning and past experiences.
35 Fluid intelligence - involves being able to think and reason abstractly and solve problems. This ability is
considered independent of learning, experience, and education
36 Z-Score – Expression of individual’s distance from mean in standard deviation unit
37 Normalised scores = standard scores transformed to fit normal distribution
38 Standard deviation - measures how much the data varies:
A large number means the data varies a lot
A small number means the data varies a little
A standard deviation of zero indicates that all the values in the data are identical
Takes into account how far apart all the values are from each other, not just the distance between the extremes (range)
39 Expectancy table – tabulates performance on predictor measure against criterion variable
Relate particular ranges of scores on the test to expected levels of performance on the criterion.
The criterion can be any variable of interest for which a relationship with a test can be demonstrated.
Typically, criteria include job performance measures, training outcomes, effects of treatment, and academic examination
scores.
To produce expectancy tables, it is necessary to collect a substantial amount of information about the relationship
between people's scores on the test and on the criterion.
40 Psychometrics is a set of techniques for estimating the amount of error contained in each test score
41 Reliability = consistency with which a measure, measures – ability to produce the same results every
time.
42 Internal validity = the extent to which you are able to say that no other variables except the one you're
studying caused the result
43 External validity = the extent to which results of a study can be generalized to the world at large
44 Construct Validity refers to the ability of a test to measure the psychological construct, such as
depression, that it was designed to measure. One way this can be assessed is through the test’s
convergent or divergent validity, which refers to whether a test can give results similar to other tests of
the same construct and different from tests of different constructs.
45 Convergent validity (mono trait, hetero method) – high correlation with other variables should
theoretically correlate with
46 Discriminate validity – (hetero trait, mono method) Low correlation with variables should differ from
47 Content Validity refers to the ability of a test to sample adequately the broad range of elements that
compose a particular construct.
48 Criterion-related Validity refers to the ability of a test to predict someone’s performance on something.
For example, before actually using a test to predict whether someone will be successful at a particular
job, you would first want to determine whether persons already doing well at that job (the criterion
measure) also tend to score high on your proposed test. If so, then you know that the test scores are
related to the criterion.
49 Criterion = benchmark variable against which scores on a psychological measure are compared or
evaluated
50 Cronbach Alpha Coefficient = compute Spearman-Brown corrected split-half reliability coefficient for
every one of the possible split-halves and then find the mean of those coefficients = Cornbach Alpha
51 P-value - uniformly measures the difficulty of a test across the different dimensions of the test.
52 Ipsative measure – evaluates the performance of the individual to create its own standard.
53 Criterion keying = process of gathering information about the aspects of a construct that will help
determine the discriminatory power of a measure
54 Cultural adaptation = the process in which a measure that is developed in one culture is transferred for
usage in another culture while still retaining the original meaning
55 Mantel–Haenszel test - for repeated tests of independence.
o There are three nominal variables; you want to know whether two of the variables are independent of each other, and the third
variable identifies the repeats.
56 IRT – item response theory / latent trait theory / strong true score theory = general framework for
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying this summary from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller VickeydeJager. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy this summary for R50,00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.