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I. History: The Development of Psychological Tests: Sir Francis Galton

Psychological tests were first developed in the 19th century to measure intelligence and distinguish mental disabilities from mental illness. Sir Francis Galton proposed early statistical concepts including measures of central tendency, variability, and correlation. James McKeen Cattell developed early mental tests to predict academic achievement. Karl Pearson developed statistical techniques still used today like standard deviation and normal curve. Alfred Binet formulated early tests for children with mental challenges and believed intelligence could be nurtured. David Wechsler developed widely used intelligence scales for adults and children. Anne Anastasi defined psychological tests as standardized measures of behavior that can be used for good or harm.

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16 views

I. History: The Development of Psychological Tests: Sir Francis Galton

Psychological tests were first developed in the 19th century to measure intelligence and distinguish mental disabilities from mental illness. Sir Francis Galton proposed early statistical concepts including measures of central tendency, variability, and correlation. James McKeen Cattell developed early mental tests to predict academic achievement. Karl Pearson developed statistical techniques still used today like standard deviation and normal curve. Alfred Binet formulated early tests for children with mental challenges and believed intelligence could be nurtured. David Wechsler developed widely used intelligence scales for adults and children. Anne Anastasi defined psychological tests as standardized measures of behavior that can be used for good or harm.

Uploaded by

saeedabbashassan
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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I.

History:
The Development of Psychological Tests

Psychological tests were first invented for the purpose of measuring intelligence.
In the early 19th century there was strong interest in classifying types of mental
disabilities. It was critical to distinguish between mental disabilities and mental
illness.

Sir Francis Galton proposed the development of measures of central tendency


and variability to summarize data and also developed the concept of correlation.

James McKeen Cattell, a student of Galton, was the first person to use the term
“mental test”. He developed a set of tests that were able to predict a child’s
scholastic achievement. Cattell’s goals were related to his desire to strengthen
psychology’s scientific credentials.

Karl Pearson, also a student of Galton, developed several techniques still used
today in modern statistics, such as the standard deviation and the normal curve.
His most well known statistical concept is the product moment correlation
coefficient, or Pearson’s r.

Alfred Binet was the first person to formulate a test for children with mental
challenges. He spoke strongly about the nature-nurture controversy, believing
that intelligence could be nurtured, and was not simply the product of nature.
Binet developed cognitive exercises called “mental orthopedics” to increase the
intelligence level of children.

David Wechsler, a student of Pearson, developed two widely used intelligence


scales: the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS) and the Wechsler
Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Wechsler defined intelligence as, “The
global capacity to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with
the environment.”

Anne Anastasi, one of the best known psychologists in the field of testing, tells us
that psychological tests are tools that can be instruments of good or harm,
depending on how they are used. She defines a test as an "objective" and
"standardized" measure of a sample of behavior.
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