2 Historical, Cultural, and Legal/Ethical Considerations

• The first systematic tests were developed in China as early as 2200 B.C.E. as a means of selecting people for government jobs.
• During the Song dynasty, tests emphasized knowledge of classical literature. Test-takers who demonstrated their command of the classics were perceived as having acquired the wisdom of the past and were therefore entitled to a government position.
• Darwin ’s interest in individual differences led his half-cousin, Francis Galton, to devise a number of measures for psychological variables.
• Galton demonstrates that individual differences not only exist but also are objectively measurable.
• In Germany, Wilhelm Wundt started the first experimental psychology laboratory and measured variables such as reaction time, perception, and attention span. The objective is to ensure that any observed differences in performance are indeed due to differences between the people being measured not extraneous variables.
• James McKeen Cattell, an American who had studied with Galton, coined the term mental test in 1890 and was responsible for launching mental testing in its modern form. Founding member of the APA and that organization’s 4th President.
• 20th Century: brought the first tests of abilities such as intelligence.
• 1905: Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon developed the first intelligence test to identify mentally retarded Paris schoolchildren.
• 1908: the number of test was increased
• 1911: 3rd revision of the Binet – Simon Scale
• 1916: developed the 4th revision at Stanford University and termed it as Stanford-Binet Scale by Lewis Terman.
• Binet and colleague Theodore Simon developed a series of tests designed to assess mental abilities. Rather than focus on learned information such as math and reading,
• Binet instead concentrated on other mental abilities such as attention and memory. The scale they developed became known as the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale.
• In 1939, David Wechsler, a clinical psychologist at Bellevue Hospital in NYC, introduced a test designed to measure adult intelligence.
• Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale – original name

  Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) – new name
• The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale is an individually administered, standardized test designed to measure cognitive ability in individuals from age 16 years to 90 years, 11 months.
• Group testing was basically developed to meet a pressing practical need of large number of recruits for the war.
• Robert Yerkes – was an American psychologist best known for his work in intelligence testing and the field of comparative psychology. In 1917, he was elected President of the American Psychological Association. After the U.S. entered World War I, he urged the APA to get involved in contributing psychological expertise to the war effort
• Army Alpha: This is a test that test measures "verbal ability, numerical ability, ability to follow directions, and knowledge of information". It was distributed to determine whether draftees could read English, but also to evaluate soldiers so that they could be assigned to tasks or training in alignment with their abilities.
• Army Beta: was developed for those men with limited literacy who were unable to respond to the written test or who were unable to take a test in English.
• Robert Woodworth was assigned the task of developing a measure of adjustment and emotional stability called the Personal Data Sheet.
• The Woodworth Psychoneurotic Inventory was the first widely used self-report personality test
• In psychology, a projective test is a personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts projected by the person into the test.
• Projective tests, such as the Rorschach Inkblot Test, are tests in which an individual is assumed to “project” onto some ambiguous stimulus his or her own unique needs, fears, hopes, and motivation.
• Academic tradition: Researchers at universities throughout the world use the tools of assessment to help advance knowledge and understanding of human and animal behavior.
• Applied tradition, the goal is to select applicants for various positions on the basis of merit
• Virgilio P. Enriquez – Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao
• Aurora R. Placio – Panukat ng Katalinuhang Pilipino
• Anadaisy Carlota – Panukat ng Pagkataong Pilipino
• Gregorio E.H. Del Pilar – Masaklaw na Panukad ng Loob or Mapa ng Loob
• Culture: The socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, and products of work of a particular population, community, or group of people
• Early psychological testing of immigrant populations by Henry Goddard was controversial: He found that the majority of immigrant populations were “feeble-minded.”
• Culture-fair tests, also called culture-free tests, are designed to assess intelligence (or other attributes) without relying on knowledge specific to any individual cultural group.
• The Culture Fair Intelligence Test was created by Raymond Cattell in 1949 as an attempt to measure cognitive abilities devoid of sociocultural and environmental influences.
• Collectivist cultures value traits such as conformity, cooperation, interdependence, and striving toward group goals
• Individualist cultures place value on traits such as self-reliance, autonomy, independence, uniqueness, and competitiveness.
• RA No. 10029

  The Philippine Psychology Act of 2010 or Psychology Act

  Passed on March 16, 2010, the Bill “recognizes the significance of the psychological services that practicing psychologists provide to diverse types of clients, but also recognizes the need to protect the public by preventing inexperienced or untrained individuals from offering psychological services.” Simply put, “If you are a psychology graduate working anywhere as a psychologist or doing psychological services, you must be licensed to practice”
• Test user qualifications: In 1950 the APA published a report called Ethical Standards for the Distribution of Psychological Tests and Diagnostic Aids.
• Level A - Tests or aids that can adequately be administered, scored, and interpreted with the aid of the manual.
• Level B - Tests or aids that require some technical knowledge of test construction/use and knowledge of psychology and education.