ESSENTIALS OF

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
B Y: S U S A N A U B I N A
 ESSENTIALS OF TEST USE

psychological tests are used primarily to help in making

decisions about people in educational, employment, clinical,
forensic, and vocational counseling settings.

applied in the process of psychotherapy for purposes of

personal development, increased self understanding, or
both.
 TO USE OR NOT TO USE (TESTS), THAT IS
THE (FIRST) QUESTION
Regardless of the purposes for which psychological testing is
intended, the first issue to be decided is whether testing is needed.

and explicitly consider the following questions:

1. What kind of information do I seek to gain from testing?
2. How will this information be used?
3. How much, if any, of the information I seek is already available from
other sources?
4. What other tools might be used to gather the information I seek?
5. What are the advantages of using tests instead of, or in addition to,
other sources of information?
6. What are the disadvantages or the costs in time, effort, and money
of using tests instead of, or in addition to, other sources of
information?
 TWO IMPORTANT REASONS FOR USING
TESTS

1. Efficiency
2. Objectivity

the meaning and value that can be derived from the behavior
samples obtained through standardized tests depend almost
entirely on the normative or criterion-based frames of
reference that are available for comparisons and on the
accumulated data on test score reliability and validity.
 TEST UTILITY

Consideration that is closely related to validity, refers to an

appraisal of the subjective desirability of an outcome or
event.

Utility is an aspect of the much larger topic of decision

theory, a widely used approach to gathering and analyzing
information, usually in mathematical form, in order to devise
rational strategies for making decisions
 FOUR POSSIBLE OUTCOMES

Assuming that the criterion of job performance can be

dichotomized into the categories of success or failure, these
decisions have four possible outcomes:

(a) valid acceptances - are the most desirable of all outcomes,

provide benefits to both.
( b) valid rejections are for the most part advantageous to the
employer but most likely not so to the applicants who are rejected
(c) false acceptances - on the other hand, pose some risks. (lost)
(d) false rejections - typically do not present significant risks to the
employer, unless the decisions are contested, but they may harm the
applicants who are falsely rejected, possibly in significant ways.
 THE FOLLOWING ARE THE ESSENTIAL
ITEMS OF INFORMATION NEEDED IN ORDER
TO ESTIMATE SUCH GAINS
1. Validity data the higher the validity coefficient of test
scores is, the greater the accuracy of criterion estimates and
predictions will be

2. Base rate data - The concept of a base rate refers to the

starting point from which potential gains in accuracy can be
calculated, that is to say, the established probability of events
in a population prior to the introduction of any novel
procedure, such as testing.

the base rate refers to the proportion of correct decisions

that are made without the use of test scores.
 incremental validity or improvement contributed by a test in
selection decisions.

3. Selection ratios - which is the ratio that results when the

number of positions available is divided by the number of
applicants for those positions.
 the degree of improvement in the accuracy of selection
decisions that can be gained through the use of test scores in
employment and education settings depends on a
combination of the base rates and selection ratios in a given
situation, as well as on the validity of test scores.
 TAYLOR-RUSSELL TABLES

1939, Taylor and Russell published a set of tables that

display the expected proportion of successes (valid
acceptances) that can be expected for various combinations
of base rates, selection ratios, and validity coefficients.

provide a basic amount of information that can be used in

evaluating the possibility of using a given test within a certain
context, but they do not evaluate all possible outcomes of a
decision nor do they address all of the factors pertinent to
selection decisions.
 TEST UTILITY
IN CLINICAL DECISION MAKING
In clinical psychology, or instance, base rates refer to the
frequencies with which pathological conditions, such as
depression, occur in a given population.

With regard to diagnoses, if the base rate of a condition within a

population is very high (e.g., .80) the probability of a false
positive findingthat is, of diagnosing the condition when it is
not presentis low (.20) even if diagnostic decisions are made on
a random basis.

Similarly, if the base rate is extremely small, the probability of a

false negative findingthat is, of not detecting the condition
when it is presentis also low.
 Furthermore, contextual issues related to the reasons why
diagnostic assessment is undertaken can significantly alter
the relative ease or difficulty of achieving accurate results
from testing and other assessment tools.

In view of all these factors, it is not surprising that the utility

of tests in clinical decision-making is a subject of frequent
debate within the field of psychology
 OTHER ASSESSMENT TOOLS

to gather information for evaluating and making decisions

about people.
1. Case history or biographical data
2. interviewing
3. systematic and naturalistic observation
4. academic and employment records
5. as well as references from teachers and supervisors
can be standardized and evaluated in terms of their reliability
and validity, as well as with regard to their utility in decision-
making.
1. Biodata - Life-history information, also known as biodata, can
be obtained through a number of methods, including
interviewing, questionnaires, and examination of existing
records of past behavior, such as academic transcripts, police
reports, and so on.

2. Interview Data - provide a wealth of information in almost

any assessment context; it affords the opportunity to observe
the interviewees behavior and to gather pertinent life-history
data as well as information about the individuals attitudes,
opinions, and values.
3. Observation - Another ubiquitous source of assessment data
consists of ratings, checklists, and coding systems based on
various types of direct behavioral observation or on previous
relevant contact with the person to be assessed. (EXAMPLE :
The use of standardized rating scales to gather data from
informants, such as parents or teachers, is a common
procedure in the assessment of children and adolescents)
 FAQ/Finding Information About Psychological Tests - this
resource is an excellent point of departure for the person who
seeks information about published or unpublished
psychological tests.

The FAQ document lists and summarizes the contents of all

the major reference works on tests of both types, and
provides information on how to locate tests and test
publishers, how to purchase tests, available software and
scoring services, as well as additional information on the
proper use of tests.
 Specimen Sets that include the test manual and samples of
the materials needed for administration and scoring.

Testing Standards will serve the purposes for which test use is
intended.
 ESSENTIALS OF TEST ADMINISTRATION
AND SCORING
The essentials of test administration can easily be summed
up in two words: adequate preparation.

The proper administration of psychological tests requires

careful preparation of the testing environment, the test
taker, and the person who administers the test.
 ESSENTIALS OF TEST ADMINISTRATION
AND SCORING
1. Preparing the Testing Environment - As a general rule, the
presence of anyone other than the examiner and the test taker
in the room where an individual test administration takes place
should not be allowed.
2. Preparing the Test Taker
A) Establishing Rapport
B) Test Preparation From the Test Takers Perspective
-Test anxiety
-Test sophistication (a.k.a. test-taking skills or test wiseness)
refers to the extent to which test takers have had experience or
practice in taking tests
3. The Problem of Test-Taker Dissimulation - An entirely different
perspective on test takers predispositions is presented in situations
in which the type of decision-making for which a test is used
promotes dissimulation. Attempts on the part of test takers to
present themselves in either an unrealistically favorable or
unfavorable fashion are not at all uncommon and may or may not be
conscious.

4. Preparation of the Examiner

- Obtaining Informed Consent
- Importance of Examiner Preparation
- Computer-Based Test Administration
-Test Scoring
 A PARTICULAR PERSPECTIVE ON TEST
INTERPRETATION
1. Psychological tests can sometimes be the most efficient and
objective tools available for gathering reliable and valid data
about people.

2. Psychological testing can often be a valuable component in

the process of assessment of individuals and groups.

3. Psychological test scores should never be the only source of

information on which to base decisions that affect the lives of
individuals.
 The particular manner in which the interpretation and
reporting of test scores should be conducted depends on two
interrelated factors:
(a) the purpose for which the testing was undertaken
( b) the party on whose behalf the testing was undertaken.
 With respect to the latter, three distinct possibilities determine
how test data are interpreted and communicated.

1. When psychologists use tests on their own behalf (e.g., as

instruments in research)
2. When psychologists use tests on behalf of their own clients, they
are singularly responsible for interpreting test data, integrating them
with other sources of information, and communicating their findings
to their clients in an appropriate and helpful manner.
3. When psychologists use tests on behalf of a third party, such as
an organization or another professional, they are acting as
consultants in an assessment process initiated by others for their
own purposes.
 The interpretation of test results involves a series of inferences
that are made on the basis of the data gathered from
(a) the actual behavior samples (responses to test items)
( b) the aggregation of these samples into one or more scores
(c) the available evidence concerning the reliability of the obtained
scores
(d) the comparison of scores against the normative or criterion-based
frames of reference the test provides
(e) the evaluation of scores in light of the quality of internal and
external validation data available
(f ) the specific context and situation in which the testing takes place
(g) the personal characteristics of the individual being assessed.
 COMMUNICATING TEST RESULTS AND
ASSESSMENT FINDINGS
The most basic guideline to follow in communicating test
results is to provide the information derived from test scores,
including its limitations, in language that the recipient can
understand.

1. When test results are communicated directly to test takers in

score report cards or profiles produced by computers, the
organization responsible for the testing program must provide
adequate interpretive information.
 COMMUNICATING TEST RESULTS AND
ASSESSMENT FINDINGS
2. Interpretations of scores derived from computer programs
apply decision rules based on the clinical experience and
judgment of experts, actuarial approaches based on statistical
associations and correlations between scores and criteria, or
both

3. The traditional means for communicating test results and

assessment findings is the written psychological report.