...PSY475 (Week 2 DQ 1) Explain the steps to test development? 1. The purpose of the test must be stated. Almost always this entails the defining of what trait or behavior is to be measured and what target audience will be tested. It can be just one sentence (Hogan, 2007). 2. It would seem that this step is mostly concerned with the subject of validity, dealing with issues of interpretation and purpose. Items of consideration include: mode of administration, length, item format, number of scores, score reports, administrator training, and background research. 3. Item preparation is the proposition and preliminary design of the items that will make up the test. Items consist of a examiner stimulus, an examinee response, (selected-response or constructed-response) and scoring procedures. 4. Step 4 consists of item tryout, the statistical analysis, and item selection of the items proposed in step 3. 5. The standardization program or the norming program seeks to establish a norm for the test items being administered, to create a standard by which future test scores may be interpreted and compared. 6. Last, publication of the test—at its very basic level—includes a test booklet, the scoring key, and instruction on how the test should be administered. I must admit, there is a lot more involved in creating a test than I had first considered. I can remember from the statistics class that the number of people being tested, the p-value, and the descriptions of central tendency...
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...PSY475 (Week 1 DQ 1) Summarize the major assumptions and fundamental questions associated with psychological testing? The definition of test in our text reminds me of the definition of hypothesis that I encountered when I took my first statistics class. A hypothesis is not a simple prediction; rather the chore of a good hypothesis is the elucidation of causality (Aron, Aron & Coups, 2006). It is not enough to simply predict what will happen when vinegar is added to baking soda. A good hypothesis would propose a cause for the chemical interaction and further would devise a set of experiments to unearth that cause. In the same way, I thought that the “test” was merely the instrument by which causality was unearthed. Both of the standard definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary and Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing were clearly circular. For one, I don’t think you are supposed to use the term being defined in the definition. The text offers a six element definition of the word test (Hogan, 2007). Collective the six dimensions describe testing as a procedure or device used to yield quantifiable, measurable information about behavior and cognitive processes through a systematic, standardized procedure. I suppose the most fundamental question of psychological testing is: can behavior—cognitive or corporeal—be quantified into valid, reliable, usable, relevant numerical values? And further can the quantifications elucidate causality, because if they can’t then...
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...PSY475 (Week 1 DQ 2) Compare and contrast reliability and validity? Going back to Plato’s cave wall of shadows, if we all held up mirrors and reflected a particular point outside the cave would we all see the same thing and further if we were to take another peek an hour later would we see the same thing (reliability). Second is the subject of validity. My second class at college was a critical thinking class. I loved it. I can remember studying syllogisms: All animals are big, all big things are slow, therefore all animals are slow. This syllogism is valid, but not true (i.e. the conclusion reasonable follows from the premises). The problem with this syllogism is that the premises are untrue. They are both global absolutes, which are almost always false or at the very least not completely true in all instances. It is the same with psychological testing: the conclusion must reasonably flow from the facts gathered during experimentation. It would seem that validity has to do more with the interpretation of test results, than the test results themselves. Referring to the hypothesis as an elucidation of causality, validity is the bridge by which the numerical quantification of numbers is verified as it is translated into causation. It is a hindsight mechanism. It is used to verify the applicability of the test results to the hypothetical conclusion of causation. Both are equally important I think. If not, then the test might give great scores one time and not the next or the results...
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...Daiane Boran Introduction to Psychological Testing PSY475 Dr. Andrea Engles March 21, 2016 Introduction to Psychological Testing Psychological testing consists of many types or categories of tests. Because psychology is a science testing is a large part of this field. Individual behaviors, characteristics, and traits are part of humans a need to measurable these by psychologists is necessary. Psychologists must be able to conduct psychological test and quantify the results. These traits vary from person to person and in such a way that measuring clearly will show the different aspects of the individuals through testing. Psychologists agree that different psychological states and traits are part of human behavior. To quantify these states and traits can be difficult because qualities are not tangible and testing can give assistance in this matter (Hogan, 2007). Test The term test according to Hogan (2007) can be defined in a number of ways. Originally, the term test was used to describe a cup “used for smelting gold or silver ore, perhaps an apropos reference for some high-stakes testing today” (Hogan, 2007, p, 38). In modern times the term is typically defined as any assessments designed to measure peoples’ behaviors, knowledge, abilities, skills, or personalities. Hogan (2007) suggests that regardless of these various definitions of the term test, there are six common elements defining the term test in the behavioral sciences. These six elements include...
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...Running head: Attitude Survey Attitude Survey Michelle Anderson University of Phoenix PSY475 March 12, 2012 Abstract The purpose of this survey is to ascertain the general beliefs of a mixed populous on the subject of unemployment. The survey is scored in Likert Method, each item gives a small amount of information about the subject’s attitude. These small amounts add up to a whole attitude toward the object. Attitude Survey The subject of unemployment has become one of great debate over the last decade. There are many people out of work (Bureau of Labor Statistics), and more businesses closing their doors, permanently, every day. The purpose of this survey is to query the general public about their opinions on unemployment. The survey covers such questions as; is unemployment as bad as the media would have us believe, and is unemployment rates rising or falling. The most popular scale for attitude survey is the Lickert method (Hogan, 2007 p. 574). The Lickert method is the scale found on the customer survey cards at local fast food restaurants such as Hardees and at some specialty stores like Krispy Kreme. To get a general view of subjects’ attitude toward the over- all object the method uses a “large number of item stems expressing some aspect” (Hogan, 2007, p. 574) of the whole object. The scale is a five point system using completely agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree and completely disagree. The first step in generating the unemployment survey...
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