Monday, October 14, 2019
Introduction To Psychological Testing Paper
Introduction To Psychological Testing Paper The study ofà person and his characteristics is theà most importantà tasksà of psychological science.à Development of psychological science is characterized with significant increase in interest to problems of psycho diagnostic.à The aim of modern psycho diagnostic is research of characteristics and differences between individuals and groups in a systematic manner.à The task of such research in the most general form is definition of mental and psychological characteristics of individuals and their intra-individual relationships. Psychologicalà test is theà basis forà psycho diagnosticsà ofà peopleà andà the foundationà of practicalà psychology. The aim of this paper is to define the concept of psychological test, describe its major categories, the concepts of reliability and validity, and other fundamental questions associated with psychological testing. The conceptà of a psychological testà and its mainà characteristics The scope of psycho diagnostic includes a set of various diagnostic methods to identify psychological characteristics of man.à It represents a bridge between general and applied psychology, and in relation to the methods used, it acts as a common ground that unites all areas of their practical application. Practical psycho diagnostics solves some typical problems, which include the following:à 1.à To establish certain psychological properties or behavior in a person.à 2.à Determine the degree of development of these properties and their expression in specific quantitative and qualitative terms.à 3.à Description of diagnostic psychological behavior of a person 4.à Comparison of the degree of development of psychological characteristics in different people. The standardized psycho diagnostic methods, allowing obtaining comparable quantitative and qualitative indicators of the degree of development of the properties in people, are called psychological tests.à Under standardized techniques is meant that they haveà strictlyà definedà rulesà of application,à rangingà fromà studying the situationà and ending withà the methods of calculationà andà interpretationà of results. The literature presents a great variety of definitions of psychological tests:à Psychological test is essentially an objective and standardized measurement of a sample of behavior (The American Psychological Association).à Test is a standardized, often time-limited study designed to establish the quantitative (and qualitative) individual psychological differences (The American Psychological Association).à Under test is understood a specific tool for evaluating the psychological qualities of the individual, which consists of set of tasks or questions, offered under standard conditions and is intended to identify particle types of behavior (The American Psychological Association) Objectivity,à validityà andà reliabilityà are the main requirementsà to the test.à It is necessary to consider these concepts and to discuss how they impact the field of psychological testing. Objectivityà of a psychological testà meansà that primaryà indicators, evaluationà and interpretationà of data do notà depend onà the behaviorà andà subjectiveà judgmentsà of the experimenter.à Developmentà of testing tasks, its procedure, processingà of test resultsà is carried outà according to certainà standardà rules.à To achieveà objectivity,à a psychological testà must follow the nextà conditions: à standardization ofà procedures of conductingà the testà to allow comparisonà of its results; à standardization of testà performance evaluation; Definition of result normsà of the testà forà comparisonà them withà resultsà got from theà processing of test data. These three conditions are referred to as the stages of standardization of psychological tests. During the development of a test certain standardization procedures are carried out, which include three stages:à 1.à The first stage of standardization of psychological tests is to establish uniform testing procedures. 2.à The second phase is to establish a uniform evaluation of the test: the standard interpretation of the results and pre-standard evaluation. 3.à The third stage of standardization of psychological tests is to determine the norms of the test.à Norms are necessary in the interpretation of test results (primary parameters), as a benchmark with which to compare testing data.à For example, in tests of intelligence the primary received IQ is correlated with standard IQ (43, 44, 45 points in the test of Raven).à If the IQ received by respondent is above normative, as 60 points, we can talk about of the respondent as high.à If the resulting IQ is lower than the norm, then the level of intelligence is low, if the received IQ is 43, 44 or 45 points, then it is average. (Ford-Martin, 2004) All methods of psychological diagnosis, both standardized and non-standardized, are aimed at measuring personality traits and characteristics of intelligence.à Each method is designed to measure a certain personal characteristic, and information about the extent to which the test actually measures it is known as the concept of validity.à Effectiveà method ofà testingà can beà created, ifà it passedà allà the stages ofà validation,à when it meets requirements of both generalà andà practical validity.à Practicalà validity describesà the testà not byà itsà psychologicalà content,à but in termsà ofà itsà value for achievingà certainà practicalà goalsà (prediction,à diagnosis). (Messic, 1980) The last importantà characteristic ofà testsà are their reliability.à Reliabilityà meansà consistency ofà testà resultsà of eachà testing attempt with the same subject,à with theà resultsà of his firstà test.à Absoluteà reliability ofà the testà does notà exist, and errorsà are allowed,à butà the higher areà they,à the lower is theà testà reliability. The highà reliability ofà the testing methodà meansà thatà ità accuratelyà measuresà the characteristic. Theseà three basic characteristics ofà psychological testà determineà itsà use in practicalà psychology. Conclusion Psycho diagnosticsà isà an areaà of psychological science, andà at the same timeà the most importantà formà of psychological practice,à that is associatedà with the development and useà of variousà methodsà of recognitionà of individualà psychological characteristics of people. Psycho diagnosticsà is aà set ofà methods and tools forà diagnosisà of mentalà characteristics of man.à One of suchà methodsà isà testing.à The use ofà psychologicalà testsà is aimedà to investigate the characteristicsà of person, and provideà informationà about mentalà properties ofà a particularà personà (the subject). An effective psychologicalà testà shouldà meet requirements suchà as objectivity,à validityà andà reliability,à in this caseà ità givesà the correct results,à which canà beà interpretedà and appliedà in practicalà psychology.
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