Chapter 1

• Psychological testing


  Process of measuring psychology-related variables by means of devices or procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior
• Psychological assessment


  Gathering and integration of psychology-related data for the purpose of making a psychological evaluation that is accomplished through the use of tools such as tests, interviews, case studies, behavioral observation, and specially designed apparatuses and measurement procedures
• Psychological evaluation


  Although the terms evaluation and assessment are often used interchangeably, evaluation is a component and often end product of the assessment process
• The Process of Assessment

  1. Referral question
  2. Evaluate reason for referral
  3. Planning data collection
  4. Data collection
  5. Interpreting the data
  6. Communicating assessment data
• The test


  • A measuring device or procedure
  • When prefaced with a modifier, refers to a device or procedure designed to measure a variable related to that modifier
  • Psychological test refers to a device or procedure designed to measure variables related to psychology
• Variables that psychological tests and other tools of assessment may differ with respect to

  • Content
  • Format
  • Administration procedures
  • Scoring and interpretation procedures
  • Technical quality
• Content


  • Subject matter of the test
  • May vary with the focus of the particular test
  • Different test developers employ different definitions and theoretical orientations
• Format


  • Form, plan, structure, arrangement, and layout of test items
  • Form in which a test is administered: computerized, pencil-and-paper, or some other form
• Administration procedures


  May involve demonstration of various kinds of tasks on the part of the assessee as well as trained observation of an assessee's performance
• Scoring and interpretation procedures


  • Score is a code or summary statement, usually but not necessarily numerical in nature, that reflects an evaluation of performance
  • Scoring is the process of assigning such evaluative codes or statements
  • Cut score is a reference point, usually numerical, derived by judgment and used to divide a set of data into two or more classifications
• Technical quality


  • Psychometric soundness refers to how consistently and how accurately a psychological test measures what it purports to measure
  • Psychometric utility refers to the usefulness or practical value that a test or assessment technique has for a particular purpose
• The interview


  • Method of gathering information through direct communication involving reciprocal exchange
  • May be done face-to-face or through any other formats such as telephone, online, e-mail, or text messaging
  • Focuses on both the content of what is said and the way it is being said, including verbal and nonverbal behaviors
  • Motivational Interviewing
• The portfolio


  Work products retained on paper, canvas, film, video, audio, or some other medium
• Case history


  Records, transcripts, and other accounts in written, pictorial, or other form that preserve archival information, official and informal accounts, and other data and items relevant to an assessee
• Behavioral observations


  Monitoring the actions of others or oneself by visual or electronic means while recording quantitative and/or qualitative information regarding the actions
• Role-play tests


  A tool of assessment wherein assessees are directed to act as if they were in a particular situation
• Computers as tools


  • Computers can serve as test administrators (online or off) and as highly efficient test scorers
  • Computer Assisted Psychological Assessment (CAPA)
  • Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT)
• Other tools


  • Video
  • Tools traditionally associated with medical health, such as thermometers, biofeedback equipment
• Parties in the assessment enterprise


  • Test developer
  • Test user
  • Testtaker
• A psychological autopsy may be defined as a reconstruction of a deceased individual's psychological profile on the basis of archival records, artifacts, and interviews previously conducted with the deceased assessee or with people who knew him or her.
• Types of settings where assessments are conducted

  • Educational settings
  • Clinical settings
  • Counseling settings
  • Geriatric settings
  • Business and military settings
  • Governmental and organizational credentialing
  • Other settings (courts, program evaluation, research)
• How assessments are conducted

  1. Preparing for assessment (storing tests securely, ensuring proper administration, selecting appropriate tests, preparing the testing environment)

  2. Administering the assessment (establishing rapport, following procedures)

  3. After assessment (safeguarding results, scoring, interpreting, using results ethically)
• Alternate assessment


  An evaluative or diagnostic procedure that varies from the usual, customary or standardized way a measurement is derived, either by virtue of some special accommodation made to the assessee or by means of alternative methods designed to measure the same variables.
• Where to go for authoritative information on assessments

  • Test catalogues
  • Test manuals
  • Reference volumes
  • Journal articles
  • Online databases
  • Other sources
• The roots of contemporary psychological testing and assessment can be found in early twentieth century in France
• In 1905, Afred Binet published a test to help place Paris schoolchildren in appropriate classes.
• During World War I in 1917 the military needed a way to

  screen large numbers of recruits quickly for intellectual and

  emotional problems. Psychological testing provided this

  methodology.
• During World War II the military would depend even

  more on psychological tests to screen recruits for service.
• During World War I, the term "testing" described the group screening of thousands of military recruits.
• In World War II, semantic distinction between testing and a more inclusive term "assessment" began to emerge.
• As summarized in Assessment of Men (OSS Assessment Staff, 1948) and

  elsewhere (Murray & MacKinnon, 1946), the assessment data generated were subjected to thoughtful integration and evaluation by highly trained

  assessment center staff.
• The OSS model would later inspire what is now referred to as the assessment

  center approach to personnel evaluation (Bray, 1982).
• The OSS model - using an innovative variety of evaluative tools along with data from the evaluations of highly trained assessors - would later inspire what is now reffered to as the assessment center approach to personnel evaluation.
• Psychological assessment is a problem-solving process of identifying and using relevant information about individuals, groups, or institutions for the purpose of decision making and recommendations.
• Varieties of Assessment

  1. Educational Assessment
  2. Retrospective Assessment
  3. Remote Assessment
  4. Ecological Momentary Assessment
• Educational assessment refers to the use of tests and other tools to evaluate abilities and skills relevant to success or failure in a school or pre-school context.
• Therapeutic psychological assessment refers to assessment that has a therapeutic component to it.
• Retrospective assessment is defined as the use of evaluative tools

  to draw conclusions about psychological aspects of a person as they existed at some point in time prior to the assessment.
• Remote assessment refers to the use of tools of psychological evaluation to gather data and draw conclusions about a subject who is not in physical proximity to the person or people conducting the evaluation.
• Ecological momentary assessment (EMA). EMA refers to the “in the moment” evaluation of specific problems and related cognitive and behavioral

  variables at the exact time and place that they occur.