Chapter 1

Introduction
What a test is
A measurement device or technique used to quantify
behavior or aid in the understanding and prediction of
behavior
What does it mean when someone gets 75 items correct
on a 100-item test ?
75% of the items were answered correctly
The meaning of this score can change, depending on
how a well-defined sample of individuals scores on a
test
Scales: relate raw scores on test items to some defined
or empirical distribution.
Types of tests
Individual test vs Group test
Achievement test : refers to previous learning
Aptitude test: the potential for learning or acquiring a specific
skill
Intelligence tests: refers to a persons general potential to solve
problems, adapt to changing circumstances, think abstractly and
benefit from experience.
Personality tests: the tendency of a person to show a particular
behavior in a given situation
Structured personality tests: the subject has to choose
between 2 or more alternative responses
Projective personality tests: the stimulus or the required
response are ambiguous.


. Answer specific
questions and aid in
making relevant
decisions



Psychometrists :
technical aspects of testing


Psychometrists :
use tests to obtain data
Psychometrist vs a clinician
conducting psychological
assessment
Role of the clinician
Role of the clinician
Psychological assessment : evaluate an individual in a
problem situation so that the information derived from
the assessment can help with the problem. Integrate
their knowledge into the interpretation of tests results.
Assessment includes as well conducting structured and
unstructured interviews, the use of scales, behavioral
observations in natural settings, observations of
interpersonal relations, neuropsychological
assessments and behavioral assessment.
Testing and assessment
Administering, scoring , and
interpreting tests scores.
Measure the magnitude of a trait
or attitude.
Psychological testing : the
process of measuring
psychology-related variables by
means of devices or procedures
designed to obtain a sample of
behavior
Tests are only one type of tool
used by assessors. A tests value is
linked to the knowledge, skill and
experience of the assessor.
Psychological assessment :
gathering and integration of
psychology-related data for the
purpose of making a psychological
evaluation, accomplished through the
use of tools such as tests, interviews,
case studies, behavioral observations

Testing Assessment
Phases in clinical
assessment
Evaluating
the referral
question
Acquiring
knowledge
related to the
content of
the question
Data
collection
Interpreting
the data
The process of
assessment
Referral for assessment ; teacher, school psychologist,
counselor, judge, clinician, corporate human resource
specialist.
Use of tests and other tools
Report writing
Minimal input from the assessee vs collaboration
between the assessor and the assessee.
Collaborative psychological assessment ; the assessor and
assessee work as partners. The assessee is seen as expert
about his or her current views and remembered life
events
Collaborative psychological
assessment
Therapeutic psychological
assessment
Encourages self-discovery
and new understandings
through the assessment
process

Dynamic psychological
assessment
Interactive evaluation ,
various types of assessors
intervening
The tools of psychological
assessment
The test
Measuring device or procedure designed to measure variables
related to psychology. Analysis of a sample of behavior
Different content, format, administration procedures, scoring
and interpretation procedures
Cut score ; reference point, usually numerical, derived by
judgment and used to divide a set of data into 2 or more
classifications.
Psychometrics : the science of psychological measurement
Psychometric soundness: how consistent and how accurately
a psychological test measures what it purports to measure.



The tools of psychological
assessment
The interview
Nonverbal and verbal behavior
Over the phone, by means of electronic data.
A method of gathering information through direct communication
involving reciprocal exchange.
Differ with regard to variables such as their purpose, their length,
and the willingness of the interviewee to provide information
candidly.
Help make diagnostic or treatment decisions.
Panel interview; more than one interviewee participates in the
assessment of personnel.
Interviewers differ in their ability to convey genuineness, empathy
and humor.
The tools of psychological
assessment
The portfolio
Work sample
Distinct advantages in assessing the
effectiveness of teachers.
The tools of psychological
assessment
Case history data
Can shed the light on an individuals past and current
adjustment, as well as events and circumstances that
may have contributed to any changes in adjustment.
Neuropsychological evaluations; provide information
about neuropsychological functioning prior to the
occurrence of the trauma
School psychologists; answer questions about the
course of a students developmental history.
The tools of psychological
assessment
Behavioral observation
Monitoring the actions of others or oneself by visual
or electronic means recording qualitative and/or
quantitative information regarding the actions.
Diagnostic aid in a clinical setting or as a means of
data collection in basic research.
In a laboratory or otherwise structured settings vs
naturalistic observation.
Not economically feasible for the private
practitioner.
The tools of psychological
assessment
Role play tests
A tool of assessment wherein assessees are directed
to act as if they were in a particular situation.
Evaluated with regard to their expressed thoughts,
behaviors, abilities,
Computers as tools
Computer assisted psychological assessment
(CAPA) refers to the convenience and economy of
time in administering, scoring, and interpreting
tests.
The tools of psychological assessment
in summary









THE TEST
THE INTERVIEW
CASE HISTORY
DATA
Analysis of a sample of behavior
psychometric soundness: how
consistent and how accurately a
test measures what it is purports to
measure.


A method of gathering information
through direct communication involving
reciprocal exchange
Help make diagnostic or treatment
decisions.

Past and current adjustment
Events and circumstances that may
have contributed to changes
CONTEXT OF CLINICAL
ASSESSMENT
Clinicians must place testing procedures and test scores in an
appropriate context.
Clarify the referral question.
Understand the referral context , clarify aspects of the reason
for referral.
Follow ethical guidelines
Identify and work with test bias
Select the most appropriate instrument for the variable being
studied
Make appropriate use of computer-assisted interpretation.
Types of referral settings
Thorough investigation of the underlying motive for a
referral
Respond to the referral question in its broadest context
The clinician and the referral source should work together to
place the clients difficulty in a practicable context.
Clinicians need to specify the relevance of the psychological
evaluation in determining different alternatives and their
possible outcomes.
Psychiatric setting
The psychiatrist may be asking the referral question in
the role of administrator, psychotherapist, or physician
Administrator in a ward: must take decisions about
suicide risk, admission/discharge, the suitability of a
wide variety of medical procedures and issues about
custody, freedom of the patient.
Psychologist performing assessments must make a
DSMIV diagnosis, determine the suicide risk, the
activities in which the patient must be involved, and the
method of therapy that would most likely to benefit
them.
Psychiatric setting
Psychiatrists evaluating a patient for possible
psychotherapy involve the appropriateness of the client
for such therapy, the strategies that are most likely to e
effective, and the likely outcomes of therapy.
Such an evaluation can elaborate on likely problems that
may occur during the course of therapy ,capacity for
insight, diagnosis, level of resistance, degree of
functional impairment, and problem complexity.
A psychiatrist may also refer a defensive patient who
cannot or will not verbalize his or her concerns and ask
whether this person is schizophrenic.
General medical setting:
2/3 of patients seen by physicians have primarily psychosocial
difficulties
Patients with established medical diagnosis have psychological
disorders in addition to medical ones (somatization disorders).
Coronary heart disease, asthma, allergies, ulcers and headaches
possess a significant psychosocial component. Psychological
factors are related to disease and to the maintenance of health.
Cost-effective treatment and prevention of psychosocial aspects
of medical complaints for areas such as preparation for
smoking-cessation, surgery, rehabilitation of chronic pain
patients, obesity, interventions for coronary heart disease, and
somatizing patients. Millon behavioral heath inventory,Millon
Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic.
General medical setting
Assessment's of a patients neuropsychological status
Evaluates how the person is functioning as a result of
possible brain abnormalities
Areas of assessment focus on the presence of possible
intellectual deterioration in areas such as memory,
sequencing, abstract reasoning, and executive abilities.
Address the nature and extent of identified lesions,
localizations of lesions, emotional status of
neurologically impaired patients, extent of disability,
and suggestions for treatment planning ( cognitive
rehabilitation, vocational training, readjustment to
family and friends).
Legal context
Assess the reliability of a witness or help evaluate the
quality of information by a witness.
Help in supporting an insanity plea, help in jury
selection, or document that brain damage has occurred.
Help determine a sentence, determine the type of
confinement and level of dangerousness, or plan a
rehabilitation program.
Used most frequently in child custody cases,
competency of a person to dispose from property,
juvenile commitment