UNIT-3 Psychological testing

DIWAKAR EDUCATION HUB

 UNIT-3 Psychological testing 2020

What is Types of tests Test construction: Item

writing, item analysis?
Types of tests Test construction: Item writing, item analysis

TesPsychological testing — also called psychological assessment

— is the foundation of how psychologists better understand a
person and their behavior. It is a process of problem solving for
many professionals — to try and determine the core components of
a person’s psychological or mental health problems, personality, IQ,
or some other component. It is also a process that helps identifies
not just weaknesses of a person, but also their strengths.
Psychological testing measures an individual’s performance at a
specific point in time — right now. Psychologists talk about a
person’s “present functioning” in terms of their test data. Therefore
psychological tests can’t predict future or innate potential.
Psychological testing is not a single test or even a single type of
test. It encompasses a whole body of dozens of research-backed
tests and procedures of assessing specific aspects of a person’s
psychological makeup. Some tests are used to determine IQ, others
are used for personality, and still others for something else. Since
so many different tests are available, it’s important to note that not
all of them share the same research evidence for their use — some
tests have a strong evidence base while others do not.
Psychological assessment is something that’s typically done in a
formal manner only by a licensed psychologist (the actual testing
may sometimes be administered by a psychology intern or trainee
studying to become a psychologist). Depending upon what kind of
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testing is being done, it can last anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to a full
day. Testing is usually done in a psychologist’s office and consists
largely of paper-and-pencil tests (nowadays often administered on a
computer for ease-of-use).
Psychological testing is divided into four primary types:
 Clinical Interview
 Assessment of Intellectual Functioning (IQ)
 Personality Assessment
 Behavioral Assessment
In addition to these primary types of psychological assessment,
other kinds of psychological tests are available for specific areas,
such as aptitude or achievement in school, career or work
counseling, management skills, and career planning.
Within the field of test development, the tasks and/or questions that
are used to construct tests and examinations are referred to as
‘items’, and the range techniques involved in preparing those items
are collectively referred to as ‘item writing’. Is item writing an art or a
science?
The best item development techniques combine elements of both
these intellectual activities. On the one hand, there is a fair amount
of experimental method, which we might recognize as scientific,
incorporated within the whole set of procedures for developing a
good item, or the sets of such things we call ‘tests’. However, as this
document will make clear, writing a good item is also a highly
creative act. By the end of the process something new, powerful,
and useful has emerged – a test instrument which has used words,
symbols or other materials from a curriculum or a syllabus in a new

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way, often to serve a variety of educational purposes. In doing so,

the item developer needs imagination and ingenuity as well as
knowledge: form, structure and balance become important, as they
are to a sculptor or a musician. Why are these building-blocks of
tests called ‘items’, anyway? Is it merely educational jargon? Why
not call them ‘questions’?
The choice of the word ‘item’, in preference to ‘question’, draws
attention to two matters. One is that items are often not in question
format – the test-taker is required to perform a specific task, or
reveal specific knowledge, which is implied in the words given on
the testpaper, rather than explicitly offered as a direct question.
The other matter concerns the independence of items in a test. Like
the items on a shopping list, they are discrete, or they should be. If
you can’t get one right, that should not stop you from having a fair
chance of obtaining success on all of the others. The term ‘item
writing’, used in the title of this document, draws attention to this
essential independence – the separate skills, abilities or pieces of
knowledge which make up human learning are considered
individually in the test. This is the prime focus.
However the discussion (and the test development process) begins
and ends with consideration of a second focus. It considers what
happens when these items achieve additional significance or
importance by having been grouped or combined with other items to
form a test instrument. We must continually remember that our
building blocks are part of a larger whole. Several times in the
paragraphs above, the word ‘development’ has been used. This is
not mere jargon either.
It draws attention to the fact that items do not spring to life ready-
made in an item writer’s brain. A thorough developmental process,

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often in a defined and specialised sequence, occurs. Like the

student knowledge to be tested, it occurs gradually – sometimes
with false starts, and often with much wastage on the way, as the
test writers clarify their initial ideas, add to them, try them out, and
finally decide what will serve their purposes best. Note also the use
of the plural ‘writers’. Item writing is best done using a team
approach at various stages of the exercise.
learning difficulties, and so on. However, the real objectives for any
test come directly from considering two things in conjunction. The
first is the actual educational context in which the results of the
testing will be used. The second is the knowledge and
understanding the test-taker will be expected (or able) to bring into
the test-room.
The objectives which are determined will therefore be local and
specific, and determining what they are is the starting point for
determining what the test and its items ought to look like. Much of
the material in this paper concerns one particular branch of item
writing which is perhaps the most difficult to master – the
development of multiple-choice items and tests. However this
emphasis should not obscure the fact that all items, from simple
short-answer formats to extended response essays, need the same
careful and methodical processes during their development if the
final tests are to be reliable and valid measures of learning
outcomes.
The suggestions made as to process can (and should) be applied
whether the user is a teacher in a school preparing a semester test
or an administrator setting up a large national assessment program.
One more element remains to be added to the matrix used in this
example – the formats which have been chosen for the test items

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themselves. In the UNESCO study being used as an example in this

section, only a small space of time was available for each of the
cells of the matrix. Hence the solution to the format problem could
not involve vast amounts of reading or writing by the test takers, or
large numbers of computational exercises to test their basic
numeracy. For policy reasons, equal amounts of time had to be
given to testing in English and testing in the student’s vernacular
language, and this suggested selection of formats which were
similarly parallel.
The time allocations were suggestive. Thirteen minutes for
computations suggested 25 exercises at about two a minute. Eight
minutes for reading comprehension suggested 8 short-answer
questions (one a minute), and the free writing exercise suggested a
sentence every two minutes.
So long as the test-takers were given a few minutes to read through
the paper before the test actually began, the stimulus material for
the reading and writing exercises could be fully informative but not
particularly extensive. More reading comprehension questions could
perhaps have been asked if a multiple-choice format had been
chosen, but this format was decided against – additional information
about a student’s writing skills would be elicited if they prepared
their own sentences as responses to the comprehension questions.
Problems for solution
The problems which test-writers set for solution by candidates
actually represent a sub-category of constructed responses, but
seem important and common enough to be discussed separately. In
a sense, setting an essay task for extended response has a
problem element built into it, especially if the candidate is required
to read a large amount of informative stimulus and choose some

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sort of personal response to be developed during the test. For

example, we might look again at an example (given earlier under
the heading ‘Extended Responses’) with this in mind: Read the
material presented opposite and prepare a balanced and detailed
critical response to the ideas about education presented by the
various writers and cartoonists.
Your piece of writing should be between 600 and 1000 words.
Other problems may not require words as a response, but
quantitative reasoning and expressions for their solution. Or
perhaps it is manipulation of materials that is required, as in a test
conducted in a laboratory or workshop or art studio.
Mathematical problems are probably the most common kind, from
simple primary examples to more complex ones at higher levels of
schooling. As in the first example, they too might involve
manipulation of objects as an aid to their solution.
Item analysis

There is not room in a paper of this size to canvass and describe all
the different options which exist for the analysis of item data. Papers
for other modules will explore the matter in some detail. School-
based tests will use simple rather than complex strategies to obtain
(and indices to express) this information.
Larger test programs will probably have the resources to engage in
quite lengthy and complex processing. Broadly speaking, for
multiple-choice items in large programs, the analysis consists of
statistics which show the facility of each item:
• the percentage of the whole test-taking population which got it
right;

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• the discrimination index of each item: how well the keyed answer
distinguishes between students of high ability and those less able;
• the response level for each item: how many actually attempted it,
right or wrong;
• the criterion score on each item: the mean score of all those who
did attempt it;
• whether any distractors did not function well: attracted too few
candidates, or a preponderance of those of high ability
However, from the item-editor’s point of view, it should be noted that
at least five other things are under analysis during this vital stage of
the whole development process. Information is obtained about:
1. the parts of an item, especially in multiple-choice format with its
stems, keyed answers and distractors;
2. the integrity or worthwhileness of the item as a whole;
3. the performance of the item as a discrete test element;
4. the performance of an item with regard to other items in the same
set or test;
5. the integrity or worthwhileness of the test as a whole.
The distinctions between 2, 3, and 4 (which seem on the surface to
be saying much the same thing) are important, especially for a
multiple-choice test. Each, for the item editor, might offer a slightly
different reason for rejecting or retaining an item in the final test. An
item might be worthwhile as a measure of a particular higher order
skill (2).

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It might operate well as a discrete test element, discriminating

satisfactorily between the most able and the less able (3). But it
might be simply far too hard by comparison with all the other items
in the test (4) and deserve exclusion on that ground.
Stage Two – editing for Publication
When the test has been taken into the field and tried out, and the
item analysis has been completed, a second stage of editing then
occurs. Using the analysis results, each item is scrutinised and
decisions made about rejection or retention.
There may be a little judicious re-writing, but this should be limited
to minor changes to distractors only. If the stem and keyed answer
need change, then a new item has resulted, and this would require
further trial testing: it would be better to reject the item and use one
that did work. Once every item is clean, making up the final form
actually begins.
As in so many matters to do with test development, there is a
sequence of activity which should be followed, in order to ensure
that new bugs don’t appear and the test as completely as possible
meets the original specification. Figure 16 suggests an appropriate
sequence.
EDITING FOR PUBLICATION – A CHECKLIST OF ACTIVITIES
1. Read the item analysis and sort the items (or groups of items)
into three piles:
a) ready to go;
b) needing editing;
c) possible rejects.

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2. Edit items and establish a final pool of items for the test. Check
the omit rate to establish optimum test length.
3. Check the specification against this pool for the number and
qualities of the items available. Reinstate any usable ‘rejects’ if all
the objectives are not satisfactorily covered.
4. Assign the items to a tentative order for the whole test and enter
the scoring scheme at the end of each section of the test.
5. Check this order for: a) order of difficulty (for example, in a set of
multiple-choice items, make sure some easy ones occur early, to
give the candidate some confidence);
b) keyed answer order and distribution;
c) balance and variety of item type.
6. Write or insert appropriate instructions for candidates. Include
suggestions for time to be spent on each section.
7. Assign the items to a preliminary paging of the test-paper: some
may have to be moved to allow a more satisfactory layout. Allow
sufficient space for answering if there is to be no separate answer
sheet.

What is Norming, Reliability and Validity of

Psychometric Tests?

Norming, Reliability and Validity of Psychometric Tests

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Evaluation of human qualities – such as attitude, competency,

proficiency, accomplishment, and belief, among other constructs- is
routinely conducted by administering tests fairly, which are precisely
formulated and applied using standardized protocols. Test takers
are usually concerned with the results from a test administered to
them; they don’t have a proclivity to look into the technical aspects
or characteristics of the tool itself. Despite this, many people take
the tests internal components into account because they realize that
the relevance and usefulness of test result interpretation are
dependent on its core features. In technical terms, these internal
test attributes are termed as psychometric properties.
The psychometric properties of a test are associated with the data
that has been garnered from the assessment to find out how well it
evaluates the interest construct. The development of a valid test is
conditional on the fact that it has been subjected to statistical
analyses, which ascertains that it has adequate psychometric
properties.
A good psychometric test must have three fundamental properties-
reliability, validity, and norming. Be it hiring or developing
employees, choosing the correct set of assessments is pivotal in
making or breaking a business.
Besides the reliability and validity of tests, the standardization of the
assessments normed for various aspects, such as age, gender,
education, profession, employability, etc. also determines the
properties of tests.
Psychometric properties, usually, provide insights into a test’s
meaningfulness, appropriateness, and usefulness(or rather say, its
validity). Let’s say a test is publicized as a measure important for
diagnosing a mental disorder such as bipolar disorder. The

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psychometric properties of a test present the test creators and users

with satisfactory evidence of whether the tool performs as
portrayed.
The psychometric property of a test focuses on its particular feature.
Some psychometric properties speak volumes about the quality of
the whole test, while others give weight to its constituent parts,
sections, and even individual items. For instance, when considered
in totality, a psychometric property could reveal whether the test
assesses a single construct or multiple constructs.
The characteristic of a test analyzing only one dimension or multiple
dimensions is the psychometric property of the whole instrument.
Another psychometric property of the test could point out whether
the instrument evaluates the target construct reasonably well for
both men and women. We can call this a psychometric property of
gender equality. Yet other psychometric properties furnish evidence
whether a test assesses a construct consistently (reliability).
Psychometric properties are most often expressed quantitatively.
Numerical quantities such as a coefficient or an index are used to
represent the property. For example, the reliability coefficient is a
numerical value that most students and professionals are familiar
with. Even though reliability is mentioned as the psychometric
feature for a test, it is expressible in the form of quantitative value.
Likewise, many other psychometric properties are expressed
numerically. Meanwhile, a quantifiable value is not often the best
way to convey a specific psychometric property. For example,
validity, being a hard fact, cannot be suggestively reduced to a
single value or index. It is an encompassing psychometric property,
but an exhaustive discussion that synopsizes a substantial body of
evidence is required to explain test validity.

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One must explore and learn about the psychometric properties of

tests for two key reasons. First, this knowledge enables makers to
create useful tests. Psychometricians and other experts who create
tests must analyze and describe the functionality of tests to build
them to a predefined level of quality. Second, the awareness about
the psychometric properties of a test ensures that the information
gained using the instrument could provide a firm foundation for
making the right decisions. It stands to reason that counselors,
psychologists, policy personnel, educators, and many other
professionals often formulate their decisions on the data collected
from the tests.
Psychometric properties: Reliability, Validity, and Norming

In definition, a standardized test is administered and scored in a

consistent or “standard” manner. They are designed in a way that
stabilizes questions, conditions for administering, scoring
procedures, and interpretations as consistent.
Standardized testing could be composed of true-false, multiple-
choice, authentic assessments, or essays. It’s possible to shape
any form of assessment into standardized tests. When it comes to
the creation of psychometric evaluations, questions are measured in
scales. And these too are often most valid with standardization post-
creation.
We should look for these three factors when creating/standardizing
psychometric tests:
 Nature of Reliability
 Understanding Validity
 Importance of Norming

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Nature of Reliability in Psychometric Tests

Psychometric Test Reliability refers to the level to which test scores
are accurate and free of measurement mistakes. In other words,
does the test measure what it is supposed to measure? It is the
consistency in the measurement tool to produce scores by which
interpolations can be made.
For instance, a test measuring intelligence should yield the same
score for the same person after he or she has completed the rest
each time within a short period in between (provided the test taker
has not changed regarding his/her intelligence over the period).
A test is reliable as long as it produces similar results over time,
repeated administration, or under similar circumstances.
If you were to use a professional dart player as an example, his or
her ability to hit the designated target consistently, but not the
bullseyes under specified conditions, would classify them as an
excellent and reliable dart player. However, this does fail on account
of validity. When compared to psychometric assessments, a reliable
test is better known for its ability to produce stable results over time.
Over the years, scholars and researchers uncovered multiple ways
to check for reliability. Some include testing the same participants at
different points of time or presenting the participants with varying
versions of the same test to see how consistent the results are.
Suffice it to say that an assessment has to show demonstrably
excellent reliability to qualify for validity.
Types of Psychometric Test Reliability
 Parallel Forms Reliability:

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In this type, the two tests that are different use the same content but
separate procedures or equipment, and yield results that are the
same for each test taker.
 Internal Consistency Reliability:
Items within the test are examined to see if they appear to measure
what the test measures. Internal reliability between test items is
referred to as internal consistency.
 Inter-Rater Reliability:
When two raters score the psychometric test in the same way, inter-
scorer consistency is high.
 Test-Retest Reliability:
This is when the same test is conducted over time, and the test
taker displays consistency in scores over multiple administrations of
the same test.
Factors Influencing Psychometric Test Reliability
There are always minor discrepancies in psychometric test
reliability. Moreover, individuals taking the same psychometric test
may have different thoughts, feelings, or ideas at various points in
the time, leading to variance in scores. A lot of factors (both stable
traits and momentary issues) can result in variation in test scores.
Stable traits include weight, height, and other such characteristics.
Momentary inconsistency is attributed to different things such as the
health of test-takers, an understanding of a particular test item, and
so forth.
Why Psychometric Test Reliability Counts?

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Reliability is essential for psychometric tests. After all, what is the

point of having the same test yield different results each time,
especially if scores can affect employee selection, retention, and
promotion?
Errors in Reliability
Psychometricians identify two different categories of errors:
 Systematic errors: These are factors that impact test
construction and are inbuilt in the test.
 Unsystematic errors: These are errors resulting from random
factors such as how the test is given or taken.
Numerous factors influence test reliability. The timing between two
test sessions affects test-retest and alternate/parallel forms
reliability. The similarity of content and expectations of subjects
regarding different elements of testing affects only the latter type of
reliability along with split half and internal consistency.
Changes in subjects over time, such as their environment, physical
state, emotional and mental well-being, also need to be considered
while assessing the reliability of psychometric tests. Test-based
factors such as inadequate testing instructions, biased scoring
lacking in objectivity, and guessing on the part of the test-taker also
influence the reliability of tests. Tests can generate reliable
estimates sometimes and not so stable results other
times (Geisinger, 2013).
So, just how reliable is your test? Well, it all depends on these
factors:
 Construction of Items/ Questions

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Test designers construct questions on the psychometric test to

assess mental quality (for example, motivation). The test questions
difficulty level or the confusion they create through ambiguity can
negatively influence reliability. Biases in interpreting the items as
well as errors in question construction can only be corrected if test
instructions are properly implemented, and the redesign and
research process is active and ongoing.
 Administration
Administration of the test is another area where systemic errors can
creep in. Instructions accompanying the analysis should be clear cut
and well defined. Errors in the guidance provided to test takers or
administrators can have multiple adverse effects on the reliability of
the test. Guidelines that affect accurate interpretation could lower
test reliability.
 Scoring
Reliability also means that the test has a particular scoring system,
by which interpretation of results is possible. All tests comprise
instructions on scoring. Errors such as conclusions without basis or
substantial proof can lower the reliability of the test. Test
construction is associated with research to provide evidence for the
conclusions drawn. If there is a systematic error in the test design
phase, this can impact reliability too.
 Environmental Factors
Excessive extremes in temperature or distractions of an audio-
visual nature can influence test scores regarding reliability. Errors
made in administering the psychometric test can also impact the
reliability of scores obtained. Human error is possible too, and

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interpretation or scoring can be influenced by the examiner’s

attitude towards the test taker.
 Test-Taker
The person being examined may suffer from social desirability
concerns and give answers that are not reflective of actual choices.
Other factors that influence test takers include anxiety, bias,
physical factors like illness, or lack of sleep.
Overcome Psychometric Test Reliability Issues?
 Test Length:
Increasing test length can be a way to improve reliability. The longer
the test, the more reliable it is considered.
 Speed Test:
Speed versus power in psychometric testing is an age-old debate.
Speed tests are designed to ensure all students cannot complete
the items. Power tests provide items of average difficulty and
ensure that students have ample opportunity to complete the
psychometric test. Test takers can be evaluated with reliability if a
test has items that can be completed. Speed tests cannot be
measured using internal consistency, parallel form, or test-retest
method.
 Group Homogeneity:
This is another factor whereby the more heterogeneous the scores
of the test, the more reliable its measures will be.
 Item Difficulty:

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When there is low variability among test scores, reliability

decreases. If the test is so easy that every test taker can easily
complete it, how will it serve as a measure of individual differences?
Understanding Validity in Psychometric Tests
Validity is qualitatively defined as the test’s efficacy to measure
what it claims to measure. Suffice to say, a test with high validity
ensures the test items (questions) remain closely linked with the
test’s intended focus.
It is understandable to expect a test used in organizations to shed
light on how a candidate would perform in a particular job. With this
in mind, it is essential to reiterate the difference between reliability
and validity, with the former being a prerequisite to the latter.
Let’s consider the same dart player. In repeated trials, he or she
continues to miss the mark consistently by about two inches. Of
course, this implies a reliable aim. Each shot hits the board in a
region two inches from the target. It’s difficult to not question his
validity as a professional – considering he or she doesn’t hit the
bull’s eye as is the aim of all professional dart players – in
comparison to his or her peers.
Reliability and validity go hand in hand, but reliability by no means
indicates validity. As our example showed, having the first without
the second hints at high consistency, but also inaccurate
consistency.
There are tests for validity


Importance of Norming in Psychometric Tests

 How Mercer | Mettl Can Help?

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RELATED BLOGS
What are the Psychometric Properties?
Evaluation of human qualities – such as attitude, competency,
proficiency, accomplishment, and belief, among other constructs- is
routinely conducted by administering tests fairly, which are precisely
formulated and applied using standardized protocols. Test takers
are usually concerned with the results from a test administered to
them; they don’t have a proclivity to look into the technical aspects
or characteristics of the tool itself. Despite this, many people take
the tests internal components into account because they realize that
the relevance and usefulness of test result interpretation are
dependent on its core features. In technical terms, these internal
test attributes are termed as psychometric properties.
The psychometric properties of a test are associated with the data
that has been garnered from the assessment to find out how well it
evaluates the interest construct. The development of a valid test is
conditional on the fact that it has been subjected to statistical
analyses, which ascertains that it has adequate psychometric
properties.
A good psychometric test must have three fundamental properties-
reliability, validity, and norming. Be it hiring or developing
employees, choosing the correct set of assessments is pivotal in
making or breaking a business.
Besides the reliability and validity of tests, the standardization of the
assessments normed for various aspects, such as age, gender,
education, profession, employability, etc. also determines the
properties of tests.

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing 2020

Psychometric properties, usually, provide insights into a test’s

meaningfulness, appropriateness, and usefulness(or rather say, its
validity). Let’s say a test is publicized as a measure important for
diagnosing a mental disorder such as bipolar disorder. The
psychometric properties of a test present the test creators and users
with satisfactory evidence of whether the tool performs as
portrayed.
The psychometric property of a test focuses on its particular feature.
Some psychometric properties speak volumes about the quality of
the whole test, while others give weight to its constituent parts,
sections, and even individual items. For instance, when considered
in totality, a psychometric property could reveal whether the test
assesses a single construct or multiple constructs.
The characteristic of a test analyzing only one dimension or multiple
dimensions is the psychometric property of the whole instrument.
Another psychometric property of the test could point out whether
the instrument evaluates the target construct reasonably well for
both men and women. We can call this a psychometric property of
gender equality. Yet other psychometric properties furnish evidence
whether a test assesses a construct consistently (reliability).
Psychometric properties are most often expressed quantitatively.
Numerical quantities such as a coefficient or an index are used to
represent the property. For example, the reliability coefficient is a
numerical value that most students and professionals are familiar
with. Even though reliability is mentioned as the psychometric
feature for a test, it is expressible in the form of quantitative value.
Likewise, many other psychometric properties are expressed
numerically. Meanwhile, a quantifiable value is not often the best
way to convey a specific psychometric property. For example,

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing 2020

validity, being a hard fact, cannot be suggestively reduced to a

single value or index. It is an encompassing psychometric property,
but an exhaustive discussion that synopsizes a substantial body of
evidence is required to explain test validity.
One must explore and learn about the psychometric properties of
tests for two key reasons. First, this knowledge enables makers to
create useful tests. Psychometricians and other experts who create
tests must analyze and describe the functionality of tests to build
them to a predefined level of quality. Second, the awareness about
the psychometric properties of a test ensures that the information
gained using the instrument could provide a firm foundation for
making the right decisions. It stands to reason that counselors,
psychologists, policy personnel, educators, and many other
professionals often formulate their decisions on the data collected
from the tests.
Psychometric properties: Reliability, Validity, and Norming
In definition, a standardized test is administered and scored in a
consistent or “standard” manner. They are designed in a way that
stabilizes questions, conditions for administering, scoring
procedures, and interpretations as consistent.
Standardized testing could be composed of true-false, multiple-
choice, authentic assessments, or essays. It’s possible to shape
any form of assessment into standardized tests. When it comes to
the creation of psychometric evaluations, questions are measured in
scales. And these too are often most valid with standardization post-
creation.
We should look for these three factors when creating/standardizing
psychometric tests:

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 Nature of Reliability
 Understanding Validity
 Importance of Norming
Nature of Reliability in Psychometric Tests

Psychometric Test Reliability refers to the level to which test scores

are accurate and free of measurement mistakes. In other words,
does the test measure what it is supposed to measure? It is the
consistency in the measurement tool to produce scores by which
interpolations can be made.
For instance, a test measuring intelligence should yield the same
score for the same person after he or she has completed the rest
each time within a short period in between (provided the test taker
has not changed regarding his/her intelligence over the period).
A test is reliable as long as it produces similar results over time,
repeated administration, or under similar circumstances.
If you were to use a professional dart player as an example, his or
her ability to hit the designated target consistently, but not the
bullseyes under specified conditions, would classify them as an
excellent and reliable dart player. However, this does fail on account
of validity. When compared to psychometric assessments, a reliable
test is better known for its ability to produce stable results over time.
Over the years, scholars and researchers uncovered multiple ways
to check for reliability. Some include testing the same participants at
different points of time or presenting the participants with varying
versions of the same test to see how consistent the results are.

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Suffice it to say that an assessment has to show demonstrably

excellent reliability to qualify for validity.
Types of Psychometric Test Reliability
 Parallel Forms Reliability:
In this type, the two tests that are different use the same content but
separate procedures or equipment, and yield results that are the
same for each test taker.
 Internal Consistency Reliability:
Items within the test are examined to see if they appear to measure
what the test measures. Internal reliability between test items is
referred to as internal consistency.
 Inter-Rater Reliability:
When two raters score the psychometric test in the same way, inter-
scorer consistency is high.
 Test-Retest Reliability:
This is when the same test is conducted over time, and the test
taker displays consistency in scores over multiple administrations of
the same test.
Factors Influencing Psychometric Test Reliability
There are always minor discrepancies in psychometric test
reliability. Moreover, individuals taking the same psychometric test
may have different thoughts, feelings, or ideas at various points in
the time, leading to variance in scores. A lot of factors (both stable
traits and momentary issues) can result in variation in test scores.

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Stable traits include weight, height, and other such characteristics.

Momentary inconsistency is attributed to different things such as the
health of test-takers, an understanding of a particular test item, and
so forth.
Why Psychometric Test Reliability Counts?
Reliability is essential for psychometric tests. After all, what is the
point of having the same test yield different results each time,
especially if scores can affect employee selection, retention, and
promotion?
Errors in Reliability
Psychometricians identify two different categories of errors:
 Systematic errors: These are factors that impact test
construction and are inbuilt in the test.
 Unsystematic errors: These are errors resulting from random
factors such as how the test is given or taken.
Numerous factors influence test reliability. The timing between two
test sessions affects test-retest and alternate/parallel forms
reliability. The similarity of content and expectations of subjects
regarding different elements of testing affects only the latter type of
reliability along with split half and internal consistency.
Changes in subjects over time, such as their environment, physical
state, emotional and mental well-being, also need to be considered
while assessing the reliability of psychometric tests. Test-based
factors such as inadequate testing instructions, biased scoring
lacking in objectivity, and guessing on the part of the test-taker also
influence the reliability of tests. Tests can generate reliable

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estimates sometimes and not so stable results other

times (Geisinger, 2013).
So, just how reliable is your test? Well, it all depends on these
factors:
 Construction of Items/ Questions
Test designers construct questions on the psychometric test to
assess mental quality (for example, motivation). The test questions
difficulty level or the confusion they create through ambiguity can
negatively influence reliability. Biases in interpreting the items as
well as errors in question construction can only be corrected if test
instructions are properly implemented, and the redesign and
research process is active and ongoing.
 Administration
Administration of the test is another area where systemic errors can
creep in. Instructions accompanying the analysis should be clear cut
and well defined. Errors in the guidance provided to test takers or
administrators can have multiple adverse effects on the reliability of
the test. Guidelines that affect accurate interpretation could lower
test reliability.
 Scoring
Reliability also means that the test has a particular scoring system,
by which interpretation of results is possible. All tests comprise
instructions on scoring. Errors such as conclusions without basis or
substantial proof can lower the reliability of the test. Test
construction is associated with research to provide evidence for the
conclusions drawn. If there is a systematic error in the test design
phase, this can impact reliability too.

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 Environmental Factors
Excessive extremes in temperature or distractions of an audio-
visual nature can influence test scores regarding reliability. Errors
made in administering the psychometric test can also impact the
reliability of scores obtained. Human error is possible too, and
interpretation or scoring can be influenced by the examiner’s
attitude towards the test taker.
 Test-Taker
The person being examined may suffer from social desirability
concerns and give answers that are not reflective of actual choices.
Other factors that influence test takers include anxiety, bias,
physical factors like illness, or lack of sleep.
How to Overcome Psychometric Test Reliability Issues?
 Test Length:
Increasing test length can be a way to improve reliability. The longer
the test, the more reliable it is considered.
 Speed Test:
Speed versus power in psychometric testing is an age-old debate.
Speed tests are designed to ensure all students cannot complete
the items. Power tests provide items of average difficulty and
ensure that students have ample opportunity to complete the
psychometric test. Test takers can be evaluated with reliability if a
test has items that can be completed. Speed tests cannot be
measured using internal consistency, parallel form, or test-retest
method.
 Group Homogeneity:

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This is another factor whereby the more heterogeneous the scores

of the test, the more reliable its measures will be.
 Item Difficulty:
When there is low variability among test scores, reliability
decreases. If the test is so easy that every test taker can easily
complete it, how will it serve as a measure of individual differences?
Understanding Validity in Psychometric Tests
Validity is qualitatively defined as the test’s efficacy to measure
what it claims to measure. Suffice to say, a test with high validity
ensures the test items (questions) remain closely linked with the
test’s intended focus.
It is understandable to expect a test used in organizations to shed
light on how a candidate would perform in a particular job. With this
in mind, it is essential to reiterate the difference between reliability
and validity, with the former being a prerequisite to the latter.
Let’s consider the same dart player. In repeated trials, he or she
continues to miss the mark consistently by about two inches. Of
course, this implies a reliable aim. Each shot hits the board in a
region two inches from the target. It’s difficult to not question his
validity as a professional – considering he or she doesn’t hit the
bull’s eye as is the aim of all professional dart players – in
comparison to his or her peers.
Reliability and validity go hand in hand, but reliability by no means
indicates validity. As our example showed, having the first without
the second hints at high consistency, but also inaccurate
consistency.
There are tests for validity

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Even with a test that is both reliable and valid, there exists a
question about results. An assessment fails without quantifiable
results, but as often stated – human beings are far from
measurable.
Validity is subjectively defined as the test’s capacity to measure
what it claims to measure. It’s imperative to say that a psychometric
test with high validity guarantees the items remain firmly connected
with the test’s intended core interest.
Importance of Norming in Psychometric Tests
Psychometric tests are often normed against groups for
comparison. It also avoids looking at individual items or questions
and instead observes the total score of an individual as compared to
a representative sample for the same.
A representative sample means using a group of children when
developing a test for children and an adult group when developing a
test for adults. Also, based on the population, samples are generally
made representative based on demographic factors like age,
gender, education, religion, etc.
This is primarily a standard practice because a psychometric test
score of say 30 correct out of 40 is meaningless unless compared to
the performance of others at a similar level on the same test. The
practice of using relative scores becomes all the more important
when interpreting ability test results.
When you get the 94th percentile on a trait like extraversion, you
know that you are simply more extraverted than 94% of the sample
group from whom the test makers derived the normal distribution.
On the other hand, if you scored 94% on a math test, it implies that
you marked about 94 in every 100 questions correctly.

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It’s important to note, however, that every test has its appropriate
norm group. Data is better developed when the psychometrics is
within the context of the role also. For example, if the role
possessed numerical work but without the time pressure in real-
world scenarios, someone with below average results on numerical
reasoning tests may be given the benefit of the doubt.
Where possible, it also makes sense to take the candidate’s
response style in interpreting percentile scores. It has something to
do with both speed and accuracy, meaning some people may prefer
a slower approach through ability tests – which are a part of
psychometrics – with emphasis on precision. Others may cover
ground on several items with lowered accuracy.
Psychological constructs such as personality have no right or wrong
answers associated with them, and can thereby not be marked
using percentages. This is why academics and researchers alike
resort to norming, among other methods, to make sense of scores
on personality assessments.
With growing concerns over costs, conveniences, and other
logistical challenges, technology-enabled assessments have
become popular over time as well. Simply because they serve to
streamline the process, reduce costs, increase efficiencies, allow
employers to assess, and analyze more data points than previously
deemed possible.
Know-how about the creation or standardization of psychometric
tests aside, it’s also imperative to understand how best one can
determine the quality of a psychometric test.

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What is Areas of testing: Intelligence, creativity,

neuropsychological tests, aptitude, Personality
assessment, interest inventories ?

Areas of testing: Intelligence, creativity, neuropsychological

tests, aptitude, Personality assessment, interest inventories

Intelligence test Psychology

Intelligence test, series of tasks designed to measure the capacity

to make abstractions, to learn, and to deal with novel situations.
The most widely used intelligence tests include the Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler scales. The Stanford-Binet is
the American adaptation of the original French Binet-Simon
intelligence test; it was first introduced in 1916 by Lewis Terman, a
psychologist at Stanford University. The individually administered
test—revised in 1937, 1960, 1973, 1986, and 2003—evaluates
persons two years of age and older and is designed for use
primarily with children. It consists of an age-graded series of
problems whose solution involves arithmetical, memory, and
vocabulary skills.
The test is scored in terms of intelligence quotient, or IQ, a concept
first suggested by German psychologist William Stern and adopted
by Lewis Terman in the Stanford-Binet Scale. The IQ was originally
computed as the ratio of a person’s mental age to his chronological
(physical) age, multiplied by 100. Thus, if a child of 10 had a mental
age of 12 (that is, performed on the test at the level of an average

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12-year-old), then the child was assigned an IQ of (12/10) X 100, or

120. A score of 100, for which the mental age equaled the
chronological age, was average; scores above 100 were above
average, scores below 100 were below average. The concept of
mental age has fallen into disrepute, however, and few tests now
involve the computation of mental ages.
Yet many tests still yield an IQ; this figure is now computed on the
basis of the statistical percentage of people who are expected to
have a certain IQ. Intelligence test scores follow an approximately
“normal” distribution, with most people scoring near the middle of
the distribution curve and scores dropping off fairly rapidly in
frequency away from the curve’s centre.
For example, on the IQ scale about 2 out of 3 scores fall between
85 and 115 and about 19 out of 20 scores fall between 70 and 130.
A score of about 130 or above is considered gifted, while a score
below about 70 is considered mentally deficient or intellectually
disabled.
Intelligence tests have provoked a great deal of controversy about
what kinds of mental abilities constitute intelligence and whether the
IQ adequately represents these abilities, with debate centring on
cultural bias in test construction and standardization procedures.
Critics have charged that intelligence tests favour groups from
more affluent backgrounds and discriminate against less privileged
racial, ethnic, or social groups. Consequently, psychologists have
attempted to develop culture-free tests that would more accurately
reflect an individual’s native ability.
One such test, the Johns Hopkins Perceptual Test, developed
by Leon Rosenberg in the early 1960s to measure the intelligence
of preschool children, has a child try to match random forms

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(ordinary geometric forms, such as circles, squares, and triangles,

are avoided because some children may be more familiar with the
forms than are others).
Another attempted solution to the problem was to use test material
pertinent to a child’s living environment; for example, for inner-city
children, urban and not pastoral scenes are appropriate.

Creativity Tests

Tests designed to measure creativity in children or adults.

Creativity tests, mostly devised during the past 30 years, are aimed
at assessing the qualities and abilities that constitute creativity.
These tests evaluate mental abilities in ways that are different
from—and even diametrically opposed to—
conventional intelligence tests. Because the kinds of abilities
measured by creativity tests differ from those measured
by intelligence quotient (IQ) tests, persons with the highest scores
on creativity tests do not necessarily have the highest IQs. Creative
people tend to have IQs that are at least average if not above
average, but beyond a score of 120 there is little correlation
between performance on intelligence and creativity tests.
Most creativity tests in use today are based at least partially on the
theory of creativity evolved by J.P. Guilford in the 1950s. Guilford
posited that the ability to envision multiple solutions to a problem
lay at the core of creativity.
He called this process divergent thinking and its opposite—the
tendency to narrow all options to a single solution—convergent
thinking. Guilford identified three components of divergent thinking:

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fluency (the ability to quickly find multiple solutions to a problem);

flexibility (being able to simultaneously consider a variety of
alternatives); and originality (referring to ideas that differ from those
of other people). Early tests designed to assess an individual's
aptitude for divergent thinking included the Torrance (1962) and
Meeker (1969) tests.
The most extensive work on divergent thinking was done under
Guilford's direction at the University of Southern California by the
Aptitudes Research Project (ARP), whose findings between the
1950s and 1970s produced a broad structure-of-intellect (SI) model
which encompassed all intellectual functions, including divergent
thinking. A number of the ARP divergent thinking tests, which were
originally devised as research instruments for the study of creativity,
have been adapted by a variety of testing companies for use by
educators in placing gifted students and evaluating gifted and
talented programs. The ARP tests are divided into verbal and figural
categories. Those that measure verbal ability include:
 Word fluency : writing words containing a given letter
 Ideational fluency: naming things that belong to a given class
(i.e., fluids that will burn)
 Associational fluency: writing synonyms for a specified word
 Expressional fluency: writing four-word sentences in which
each word begins with a specified letter
 Alternate uses: listing as many uses as possible for a given
object
 Plot titles: writing titles for short-story plots

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 Consequences: listing consequences for a hypothetical event

("What if no one needed to sleep?")
 Possible jobs: list all jobs that might be symbolized by a given
emblem.
The figural ARP tests, which measure spatial aptitude, include the
following:
 Making objects: drawing specified objects using only a given
set of shapes, such as a circle, square, etc.
 Sketches: elaborating on a given figure to produce sketches of
recognizable items
 Match problems: removing a specified number of matchsticks
from a diagram to produce a specified number of geometric
shapes
 Decorations: using as many different designs as possible to
outline drawings of common objects.
Divergent thinking tests are generally evaluated based on the
number and variety of answers provided; the originality of the
answers; and the amount of detail they contain (a characteristic
referred to as elaboration). A number of creativity tests currently in
use include sections that measure divergent thinking.
Rather than ways of thinking, some creativity tests evaluate
attitudes, behavior, creative perception, or creative activity. Some
creativity tests specifically address the problem of assessing
creativity in minority populations, who are at a disadvantage in tests
that place a strong emphasis on verbal and semantic ability. The
Eby Gifted Behavior Index reflects the growing view of creativity as
specific to different domains. It is divided into six talent fields:

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verbal, social/leadership, visual/spatial, math/science problem-

solving, mechanical/technical, and musical. The Watson-Glaser
Critical Thinking Appraisal is a more analytical assessment
of giftedness based on five components of critical thinking:
inference, deduction, interpretation, awareness of assumptions, and
evaluation of arguments.
Creativity tests have been found reliable in the sense that one
person's scores tend to remain similar across a variety of tests.
However, their validity has been questioned in terms of their ability
to predict the true creative potential of those who take them. In one
study, there was little correlation between the scores of both
elementary and secondary students on divergent thinking tests and
their actual achievements in high school in such creative fields as
art, drama, and science.
Creativity tests have also been criticized for unclear instructions,
lack of suitability for different populations, and excessive
narrowness in terms of what they measure. In addition, it may be
impossible for any test to measure certain personal traits that are
necessary for success in creative endeavors, such as initiative, self-
confidence, tolerance of ambiguity, motivation, and perseverance.
Tests also tend to create an anxiety-producing situation that may
distort the scores of some test takers.
Useful Creativity Tests To Know If You Are Creative
I find creativity tests a fascinating subject to study. Whether you use
creativity in your hobby or at work, I think it is a characteristic worth
nurturing. A friend of mine once asked “how do you rate or measure
a creative corporate culture?”. I told him there are two way’s. The
first is to set key performance indicators on the innovations or the
ideas your company develop (I’m talking about qualitative ideas

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within the company or for your stakeholders). The second way is

to share creativity tests to the people you are working with.
Many people believe that creativity is subjective and is uniquely
innate to us. What we do not know is that several researches have
been conducted to document the measurement of creativity. These
creativity tests have been used by several researchers, educators
and psychologists to gauge a person’s creative quotient (CQ) and
determine which aspect of our creativity need more nurturing. I think
it can be useful for an organisation to have a clear view of his
creative corporate culture landscape.
1 – Guilford’s test of Divergent Thinking – Alternative Uses
Task
This test is used to measure how respondents are able to come up
with alternative uses for a certain product (a chair, paperclip, cup
etc.) based of four factors: originality, fluency, flexibility and
elaboration. It aims to derive multiple answers to the question and
categorize the answers into:
 Originality – the novelty of the alternative use
 Fluency – the number of uses the respondent was able to
come up with
 Flexibility – the categories with which the alternative uses fall
into
 Elaboration – the amount of detail the respondent provided
with regards to the alternative use of the item.
2 – Remote Associates

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This is one of the creativity tests that fall into convergent thinking –
that is finding the “one-right” answer to the problem. This test gives
the respondents three words which are in one way or the other
related. The respondents’ task is to find what links or associates
these words together.
Example: What links: Elephant–Lapse–Vivid Answer: check
at the end of this article
3 – Torrance Test of Creative Thinking – Incomplete Figures
Ellis Paul Torrance was one of the forerunners of the creativity tests
we use until today. One of the most notable tests he ever came up
with was the Incomplete Figures. This test is favoured by many
because it is easy to administer and can be finished in a short
period of time. The test begins with giving the respondents and
incomplete figure which they must draw and build an object upon.
Possible solutions at the end of this document.
For those that don’t trust creativity tests here is an interesting article
of the Creativity Research Journal Can We Trust Creativity Tests? A
Review of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT)

Artistic-Assessment Tests
These creativity tests are administered in special domains or areas.
It is the equivalent of Pulitzer Price for the best well-written work or
the Nobel Prize for an outstanding individual in a specific field.
Artistic assessment tests are often used to measure the creativity of
an artwork, dance, design and similar fields.
5 – Self-Assessment Tests

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Self-assessment tests allow respondents to assess their creative

intelligence by answering questions. The questions usually ask how
they feel about a certain situation and whether you have that certain
creative trait. Several self-assessment tests have been developed
over the years, two of which was created by one of Torrance’s
colleague, Joe Khatena. The test is called the Khatena-Torrance
Creative Perception Inventory which contains two sub-categories:
1. Something About Myself (SAM)- gauging the respondents
artistic abilities, self-strength and individuality.
2. What Kind of Person Are You? (WKOPAY)- measures
imagination, self-confidence and inquisitiveness.
There are still so many creativity tests available today, several of
them are built upon the principles created by Torrance, Guilford and
other forerunners. I think the ongoing interest in measuring creativity
is a wonderful development, considering that several factors in this
day and age influence one’s creative skills.

Neuropsychological Tests

If you’re having trouble concentrating or making decisions, some

simple tests might be helpful in figuring out what’s wrong. They’re
called neuropsychological tests.
Neuropsychology looks at how the health of your brain affects your
thinking skills and behavior.
These tests are usually done with a pencil and paper in a doctor’s
office. They may also be done on a computer. Or, a
neuropsychologist may just ask you a series of questions that you
answer orally.
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These tests help your doctors look at your attention span and how
well you concentrate on things. Other areas covered by
neuropsychological testing include:
 Your ability to think, understand, learn, and remember
(cognition)
 Memory
 Motor function (walking, coordination, etc.)
 Perception (how well you take in what you see or read)
 Problem-solving and decision-making
 Verbal ability
You may be given different types of test, including:
Memory test: Repeat a list of words, sentences, or numbers.
Cognition test: Explain how two items are like. For instance, if you
see a picture of a dog and a cat, you might answer that they’re both
animals or that they are both pets.
Verbal communication test: Name some items as the person
giving the test points at them. You might also be given a letter of the
alphabet and told to list words that start with that letter.
Motor tests: These might include tasks such as inserting pegs into
a pegboard using one hand and then the other.
You might also be given tests to see how your hearing
and vision affect your thinking and memory.
Neuropsychological Test Uses

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You usually take a neurological test when you have a noticeable

change in your thinking or memory. They help doctors figure out
whether your problems are caused by any of the following:
 Disease, such as Alzheimer's
 Brain injury
 Emotional disorders, such as depression or anxiety
 Normal brain changes related to getting older
It is especially important for doctors to find out about thinking
problems in cases where the patient has a movement disorder,
such as Parkinson’s disease. This is a condition that affects
the brain cells that control movement and coordination.
People with Parkinson’s eventually can have trouble with their
memory or with communication. If you have Parkinson's, you might
get a neuropsychological test soon after diagnosis. Results from
future tests can then be compared with that first test to see if the
disease is changing your thinking skills.
Neuropsychological Test Preparation
No matter what type of neurological test you take, you won’t need to
study for it. There are a few things you should do before the test,
however:
 Get a good night’s sleep, since being tired affects how you
think.
 Eat a good breakfast.
 Don’t drink anything with alcohol in it the night before the test.

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 Ask your doctor about whether you can take any medications,
including sleep medicine, the night before.
 Tell the psychologist about any previous psychological tests
you’ve taken.
 Relax and don’t worry about the results.
You or a loved one should bring a list of all your medications. If you
have trouble answering questions about your medical history or
symptoms, bring someone along who can.
Neuropsychological Test Procedure
Part of the testing will include a review of your medical history. If
you’ve had a stroke, for instance, you may have a harder time
thinking or talking. It will help the neuropsychologist to better
understand your challenges if they know that you’ve had a stroke.
Your neuropsychologist will also interview you or someone close to
you to learn more about your symptoms. They will then decide what
tests will be given.
A technician who works with the neuropsychologist will typically give
you the tests. This person is usually a “psychometrist,” a person
who is trained to give and score these tests. Or the person may be
a student working on a doctoral degree in psychology.
How long will the test take?
The testing may take 3 to 6 hours. It depends on how at ease you
are and how quickly you and the technician can go through all the
questions. You'll get breaks during the session. In some cases, you
might need to make more than one visit.
Neuropsychological Test Results and Follow Up

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Once the tests are done, the neuropsychologist will go over the
results and write a report. It will include a diagnosis and suggestions
for treatment, if any is needed.
The treatment plan could include more medical tests, such as a CT
or MRI scan of your brain. This is helpful in looking for tumors or
other diseases.
Treatment might also include counseling if the diagnosis
is depression. Medications to help manage symptoms may also be
recommended.
Whatever the results are, they will become part of your permanent
medical history. They will be helpful in understanding your current
health picture and your future medical needs, too.
If you’re ever told you should undergo neuropsychological testing,
understand that the tests are meant to get a picture of your brain
health at this moment. Your thinking skills may get worse, or they
may improve.
When you and your doctor get more information about your brain
now, you’ll both be able to make smarter decisions about your
mental and physical health later.

Specific Areas of Aptitude Test

Mechanical Aptitude Test:

This test is designed to measure fundamental aptitudes of tool

usage, press visualization and sub arithmetic in the area of
mechanical ability. Mechanical aptitude is a combination of various

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factors. It is very difficult to give any clear-cut list of the various traits
comprising mechanical ability.
Clerical Aptitude Test:
General intelligence, speed, appropriateness of vocabulary,
accuracy in checking and measure business arithmetic is required
in clerical services. Abilities in regard to official language usage,
spelling, vocabulary, hand writing etc. are tested in clerical aptitude
tests. Clerical aptitude like the mechanical aptitude is a combination
of several traits. Super thinks that, “In routine clerical work one
would expect speed and accuracy in checking numerical and verbal
symbols to be a characteristic of the successful worker.
There is some justification for referring to this ability as clerical
aptitude.” According to Bigham “Clerical work is based on
perceptual ability, intellectual ability, command over the basic
educational skills and motor ability. Bill is of the opinion that clerical
duties, “include the gathering, classification and presentation of data
of all sorts and the analysis and use of these data in planning,
executing and determining the results of operation.”
a. Perceptual:
“The ability to observe words and numbers to see instantly and
correctly what is on the paper.”
b. Intellectual:
“Ability to grasp the meaning of words and symbols.”
Clerical Aptitude can be measured through the following ways:
1. Grade in academic Subjects:

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Here subjects usually considered for this purpose are English, type
writing, book keeping etc.
2. Social Ability:
The social ability of a person can be measured through his
participation in curricular activities.
3. Aptitude Test:
Standardized tests have also been found to be useful in indicating
success in clerical jobs. It has been found that factors like general
intelligence, speed and accuracy in checking and measuring
business arithmetic determine the suitability of an individual for a
clerical job. Abilities with regard to English and Hindi usage,
spelling, vocabulary, hand writing, etc. are also important. More
than 30 years ago, Muscio and Sowton made an effort to measure
aptitude for typing in London.
Five types of questions were included in this type of question:
(1) Reproduction of sentences immediately after they are read
(2) Carrying out directions,
(3) Calculating products of numbers,
(4) Completion of sentences, and
(5) Spelling test.
The Minnesota Clerical Test:
This test is designed to select persons for accountancy and book-
keeping. Super recommends that it can-be used with adolescents
but very cautiously. Besides there is Johnson O’cannon’s clerical
test.

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Art Aptitude Tests:

Seashore and Meier devised an Art Judgment Test. It consists of
125 pairs of pictures. Each pair consists of two pictures painted by
some famous artists, one picture being of a superior quality and the
other of inferior type. The person taking the test is shown these
pictures and asked to select from each pain the one that is the
“More pleasing, more artistic, more satisfying.” After counting the
score, we find the aptitude of the subject for art. Another test that
may be mentioned in this category is of McAdory Art Test.
Seashore Musical Tests:
These tests are designed to measure pitch, intensity, time timber,
tonal memory and rhythm – the factors which determine the
suitability of a man in music. Seashore established a clinic at the
University of Law in 1916 for testing musical capacity.
The assessment is made on the following bases:
I. Musical Sensitivity which takes note of:
Simple form of impression, which includes
(i) Sense of pitch,
(ii) Sense of intensity,
(iii) Sense of time,
(iv) Sense of extensity.
(4) Tests of Scientific Aptitude:
“This two-hour test for students in college and senior high school
has been shown to reveal at least as much about the relative
scientific aptitude of college students as science teachers discover

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after a semester or more of contact with them. It provides an

indication of aptitude for the various branches of engineering,
chemistry, physics, biology and other work in which success
depends in part upon the ability to profit by training in scientific
method.
Performance is relatively independent of acquired knowledge.
Whatever specific information is needed is furnished in the test.
Since, it makes no attempt to ascertain whether a person actually
knows enough about mathematics for example, to enable him to
profit by engineering studies, such information must be sought from
the school record or from standard achievement test.” —Bingham
Construction involves these processes:
(a) A careful analysis of the occupation into its elements,
(b) Determination of the psychological qualities important in respect
of each element,
(c) Testing of individuals for these qualities,
(d) Finding out the correlation between performance in the test and
performance in the occupation.
Educational Aptitude Test:
Yele has developed a, battery of educational aptitude test to
measure a person’s relative aptitude in:
(i) Linguistic ability
(ii) Verbal reasoning
(iii) Quantitative reasoning
(iv) Verbal ability

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(v) Mathematical aptitude

(vi) Teaching aptitude and
(vii) Spatial visualizing
(5) Teaching Aptitude Test:
Teaching aptitude test may broadly contain three types of test
items:
(1) Test items relating to knowledge in the areas of aptitude test,
teachers trait test, teaching efficiency inventories, teaching attitude
test, and tests of intelligence and general mental ability.
(2) Test items relating to the application of principles in various
areas related to teaching.
(3) Test items relating to education and allied areas of a
miscellaneous nature.
Broad Areas Relating To Teaching Aptitude:
Teaching aptitude, would to a large extent, be determined by
the candidate’s knowledge in the following areas:
1. Educational thought-the contribution of great educators.
2. Standard work on education
3. Pupil-teacher relations.
4. Special needs of backward and gifted students.
5. Educational practices in general.
6. Teaching techniques for special subjects.
7. Evaluation and measurement.

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8. Institutional planning.
9. Planning individual lesson.
10. Role of mass media in education.
Construction and Standardisation of the Aptitude Test for
Secondary School Teachers:
B.M. Upadhyaya, Ph. D. Psychology, Saurashtra University, 1976.
The test included 125 items.
It was found that sex and socio-economic backgrounds were not
related to aptitude for teaching, whereas academic discipline and
previous experiences of teaching were found to be significantly
related to aptitude for teaching.
7. Construction and Standardisation of an Aptitude Test for Primary
School Teachers in Gujarat State. D.P. Patel, Ph.D. Education,
South Gujarat University, 1980.
The test covered the following ten teacher traits:
1. Interest in the profession.
2. Attitude towards community.
3. Mental ability.
4. Professional information.
5. Attitude towards children.

Personality assessment Psychology

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Personality assessment, the measurement of personal

characteristics. Assessment is an end result of gathering
information intended to advance psychological theory and research
and to increase the probability that wise decisions will be made in
applied settings (e.g., in selecting the most promising people from a
group of job applicants).
The approach taken by the specialist in personality assessment is
based on the assumption that much of the observable variability in
behaviour from one person to another results from differences in the
extent to which individuals possess particular underlying personal
characteristics (traits). The assessment specialist seeks to define
these traits, to measure them objectively, and to relate them to
socially significant aspects of behaviour.
A distinctive feature of the scientific approach to personality
measurement is the effort, wherever possible, to describe human
characteristics in quantitative terms. How much of a
trait manifests itself in an individual? How many traits are present?
Quantitative personality measurement is especially useful in
comparing groups of people as well as individuals.
Do groups of people from different cultural and economic
backgrounds differ when considered in the light of their particular
personality attributes or traits? How large are the group differences?
Overt behaviour is a reflection of interactions among a wide range
of underlying factors, including the bodily state of the individual and
the effects of that person’s past personal experiences. Hence, a
narrowly focused approach is inadequate to do justice to the
complex human behaviour that occurs under the constantly
changing set of challenges, pleasures, demands, and stresses of
everyday life. The sophisticated measurement of human personality

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inescapably depends on the use of a variety of concepts to provide

trait definitions and entails the application of various methods of
observation and evaluation. Personality theorists and researchers
seek to define and to understand the diversity of human traits, the
many ways people have of thinking and perceiving and learning and
emoting.
Such nonmaterial human dimensions, types, and attributes
are constructs—in this case, inferences drawn from observed
behaviour. Widely studied personality constructs include anxiety,
hostility, emotionality, motivation, and introversion-extroversion.
Anxiety, for example, is a concept, or construct, inferred in people
from what they say, their facial expressions, and their body
movements.
Personality is interactional in two senses. As indicated above,
personal characteristics can be thought of as products of
interactions among underlying psychological factors; for example,
an individual may experience tension because he or she is both shy
and desirous of social success. These products, in turn, interact
with the types of situations people confront in their daily lives. A
person who is anxious about being evaluated might show debilitated
performance in evaluative situations (for example, taking tests), but
function well in other situations in which an evaluative emphasis is
not present. Personality makeup can be either an asset or a liability
depending on the situation. For example, some people approach
evaluative situations with fear and foreboding, while others seem to
be motivated in a desirable direction by competitive pressures
associated with performance.
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Measuring Constructs
Efforts to measure personality constructs stem from a variety of
sources. Frequently they grow out of theories of personality; anxiety
and repression (the forgetting of unpleasant experiences), for
example, are among the central concepts of the theory of
psychoanalysis. It is understandable that efforts would be made to
quantify one’s degree of anxiety, for example, and to use the score
thus obtained in the assessment of and in the prediction of future
behaviour. Among the major issues in the study of personality
measurement is the question of which of the many personality
constructs that have been quantified are basic or fundamental and
which can be expected to involve wasted effort in their
measurement because they represent poorly defined combinations
of more elemental constructs; which measurement techniques are
most effective and convenient for the purpose of assessment; and
whether it is better to interview people in measuring personality, or
to ask them to say, for example, what an inkblot or a cloud in the
sky reminds them of.
Assessment Methods
Personality tests provide measures of such characteristics as
feelings and emotional states, preoccupations, motivations,
attitudes, and approaches to interpersonal relations. There is
a diversity of approaches to personality assessment, and
controversy surrounds many aspects of the widely used methods
and techniques. These include such assessments as the interview,
rating scales, self-reports, personality inventories, projective
techniques, and behavioral observation.

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interest inventories

Personality inventories
Among the most common of self-report tests are personality
inventories. Their origins lie in the early history of
personality measurement, when most tests were constructed on the
basis of so-called face validity; that is, they simply appeared to be
valid. Items were included simply because, in the fallible judgment
of the person who constructed or devised the test, they were
indicative of certain personality attributes. In other words, face
validity need not be defined by careful, quantitative study; rather, it
typically reflects one’s more-or-less imprecise, possibly erroneous,
impressions. Personal judgment, even that of an expert, is no
guarantee that a particular collection of test items will prove to be
reliable and meaningful in actual practice.
A widely used early self-report inventory, the so-called Woodworth
Personal Data Sheet, was developed during World War I to detect
soldiers who were emotionally unfit for combat. Among its
ostensibly face-valid items were these: Does the sight of blood
make you sick or dizzy? Are you happy most of the time? Do you
sometimes wish you had never been born? Recruits who answered
these kinds of questions in a way that could be taken to mean that
they suffered psychiatric disturbance were detained for further
questioning and evaluation. Clearly, however, symptoms revealed
by such answers are exhibited by many people who are relatively
free of emotional disorder.
Rather than testing general knowledge or specific skills, personality
inventories ask people questions about themselves. These
questions may take a variety of forms. When taking such a test, the
subject might have to decide whether each of a series of statements
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is accurate as a self-description or respond to a series of true-false

questions about personal beliefs.
Several inventories require that each of a series of statements be
placed on a rating scale in terms of the frequency or adequacy with
which the statements are judged by the individual to reflect his
tendencies and attitudes. Regardless of the way in which the
subject responds, most inventories yield several scores, each
intended to identify a distinctive aspect of personality.
One of these, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI), is probably the personality inventory in widest
use in the English-speaking world. Also available in other
languages, it consists in one version of 550 items (e.g., “I like tall
women”) to which subjects are to respond “true,” “false,” or “cannot
say.” Work on this inventory began in the 1930s, when its
construction was motivated by the need for a practical, economical
means of describing and predicting the behaviour of psychiatric
patients. In its development efforts were made to achieve
convenience in administration and scoring and to overcome many of
the known defects of earlier personality inventories.
Varied types of items were included and emphasis was placed on
making these printed statements (presented either on small cards or
in a booklet) intelligible even to persons with limited reading ability.
Most earlier inventories lacked subtlety; many people were able to
fake or bias their answers since the items presented were easily
seen to reflect gross disturbances; indeed, in many of these
inventories maladaptive tendencies would be reflected in either all
true or all false answers.

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Perhaps the most significant methodological advance to be found in

the MMPI was the attempt on the part of its developers to measure
tendencies to respond, rather than actual behaviour, and to rely but
little on assumptions of face validity.
The true-false item “I hear strange voices all the time” has face
validity for most people in that to answer “true” to it seems to
provide a strong indication of abnormal hallucinatory experiences.
But some psychiatric patients who “hear strange voices” can still
appreciate the socially undesirable implications of a “true” answer
and may therefore try to conceal their abnormality by answering
“false.”
A major difficulty in placing great reliance on face validity in test
construction is that the subject may be as aware of the significance
of certain responses as is the test constructor and thus may be able
to mislead the tester.
Nevertheless, the person who hears strange voices and yet
answers the item “false” clearly is responding to something—the
answer still is a reflection of personality, even though it may not be
the aspect of personality to which the item seems to refer; thus,
careful study of responses beyond their mere face validity often
proves to be profitable.
Much study has been given to the ways in which response sets and
test-taking attitudes influence behaviour on the MMPI and other
personality measures.
The response set called acquiescence, for example, refers to one’s
tendency to respond with “true” or “yes” answers to questionnaire
items regardless of what the item content is. It is conceivable that
two people might be quite similar in all respects except for their

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tendency toward acquiescence. This difference in response set can

lead to misleadingly different scores on personality tests.
One person might be a “yea-sayer” (someone who tends to answer
true to test items); another might be a “nay-sayer”; a third individual
might not have a pronounced acquiescence tendency in either
direction.
Acquiescence is not the only response set; there are other test-
taking attitudes that are capable of influencing personality profiles.
One of these, already suggested by the example of the person who
hears strange voices, is social desirability. A person who has
convulsions might say “false” to the item “I have convulsions”
because he believes that others will think less of him if they know he
has convulsions.
The intrusive potentially deceiving effects of the subjects’ response
sets and test-taking attitudes on scores derived from personality
measures can sometimes be circumvented by varying the content
and wording of test items. Nevertheless, users of questionnaires
have not yet completely solved problems of bias such as those
arising from response sets. Indeed, many of these problems first
received widespread attention in research on the MMPI, and
research on this and similar inventories has significantly advanced
understanding of the whole discipline of personality testing.
Attributes of the MMPI
The MMPI as originally published consists of nine clinical scales (or
sets of items), each scale having been found in practice to
discriminate a particular clinical group, such as people suffering
from schizophrenia, depression, or paranoia (see mental disorder).
Each of these scales (or others produced later) was developed by

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determining patterns of response to the inventory that were

observed to be distinctive of groups of individuals who had been
psychiatrically classified by other means (e.g., by long-term
observation).
The responses of apparently normal subjects were compared with
those of hospital patients with a particular psychiatric diagnosis—for
example, with symptoms of schizophrenia. Items to which the
greatest percentage of “normals” gave answers that differed from
those more typically given by patients came to constitute each
clinical scale.
In addition to the nine clinical scales and many specially developed
scales, there are four so-called control scales on the inventory. One
of these is simply the number of items placed by the subject in the
“cannot say” category.
The L (or lie) scale was devised to measure the tendency of the test
taker to attribute socially desirable attributes to himself. In response
to “I get angry sometimes” he should tend to mark false; extreme L
scorers in the other direction appear to be too good, too virtuous.
Another so-called F scale was included to provide a reflection of the
subjects’ carelessness and confusion in taking the inventory (e.g.,
“Everything tastes the same” tends to be answered true by careless
or confused people).
More subtle than either the L or F scales is what is called the K
scale. Its construction was based on the observation that some
persons tend to exaggerate their symptoms because of excessive
openness and frankness and may obtain high scores on the clinical
scales; others may exhibit unusually low scores because of
defensiveness. On the K-scale item “I think nearly anyone would tell

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a lie to keep out of trouble,” the defensive person is apt to answer

false, giving the same response to “I certainly feel useless at times.”
The K scale was designed to reduce these biasing factors; by
weighting clinical-scale scores with K scores, the distorting effect of
test-taking defensiveness may be reduced.
In general, it has been found that the greater the number and
magnitude of one’s unusually high scores on the MMPI, the more
likely it is that one is in need of psychiatric attention.
Most professionals who use the device refuse to make assumptions
about the factualness of the subject’s answers and about his
personal interpretations of the meanings of the items. Their
approach does not depend heavily on
theoretical predilections and hypotheses. For this reason the
inventory has proved particularly popular with those who have
strong doubts about the eventual validity that many theoretical
formulations will show in connection
with personality measurement after they have been tested through
painstaking research.
The MMPI also appeals to those who demand firm experimental
evidence that any personality assessment method can make
valid discriminations among individuals.
Comparison of the MMPI and CPI
The MMPI has been considered in some detail here because of its
wide usage and because it illustrates a number of important
problems confronting those who attempt to assess personality
characteristics. Many other omnibus personality inventories are also
used in applied settings and in research. The California
Psychological Inventory (CPI), for example, is keyed for several

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personality variables that include sociability, self-control, flexibility,

and tolerance. Unlike the MMPI, it was developed specifically for
use with “normal” groups of people.
Whereas the judgments of experts (usually psychiatric workers)
were used in categorizing subjects given the MMPI during the early
item-writing phase of its development, nominations by peers (such
as respondents or friends) of the subjects were relied upon in work
with the CPI. Its technical development has been evaluated by test
authorities to be of high order, in part because its developers
profited from lessons learned in the construction and use of the
MMPI. It also provides measures of response sets and has been
subjected to considerable research study.
Other self-report techniques
Beyond personality inventories, there are other self-report
approaches to personality measurement available for research and
applied purposes. Mention was made earlier of the use of rating
scales. The rating-scale technique permits quantification of an
individual’s reactions to himself, to others, and, in fact, to any object
or concept in terms of a standard set of semantic (word) polarities
such as “hot-cold” or “good-bad.” It is a general method for
assessing the meanings of these semantic concepts to individuals.
Another method of self-report called the Q-sort is devised for
problems similar to those for which rating scales are used. In a Q-
sort a person is given a set of sentences, phrases, or words (usually
presented individually on cards) and is asked to use them to
describe himself (as he thinks he is or as he would like to be) or
someone else. This description is carried out by having the subject
sort the items on the cards in terms of their degree of relevance so
that they can be distributed along what amounts to a rating scale.

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Examples of descriptive items that might be included in a Q-sort are

“worries a lot,” “works hard,” and “is cheerful.”
Typical paper-and-pencil instruments such as personality
inventories involve verbal stimuli (words) intended to call forth
designated types of responses from the individual. There are clearly
stated ground rules under which he makes his responses. Paper-
and-pencil devices are relatively easy and economical to administer
and can be scored accurately and reliably by relatively
inexperienced clerical workers.
They are generally regarded by professional personality evaluators
as especially valuable assessment tools in screening large numbers
of people, as in military or industrial personnel selection.
Assessment specialists do not assume that self-reports are
accurate indicators of personality traits. They are accepted, rather,
as samples of behaviour for which validity in predicting one’s
everyday activities or traits must be established empirically (i.e., by
direct observation or experiment). Paper-and-pencil techniques
have moved from their early stage of assumed (face) validity to
more advanced notions in which improvements
in conceptualization and methodology are clearly recognized as
basic to the determination of empirical validity.

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What is Attitude scales – Semantic differential,

Staples, Likert scale Computer-based
psychological testing ?

Attitude scales – Semantic differential, Staples, Likert scale

Computer-based psychological testing

Direct Attitude Measures

Perhaps the most straightforward way of finding out about
someone’s attitudes would be to ask them. However, attitudes are
related to self-image and social acceptance.
In order to preserve a positive self-image, people’s responses may
be affected by social desirability. They may not well tell about their
true attitudes, but answer in a way that they feel socially acceptable.
Given this problem, various methods of measuring attitudes have
been developed. However, all of them have limitations. In
particular the different measures focus on different components of
attitudes – cognitive, affective and behavioral – and as we know,
these components do not necessarily coincide.
Attitude measurement can be divided into two basic categories

Semantic Differential

The semantic differential technique of Osgood et al. (1957) asks a

person to rate an issue or topic on a standard set of bipolar

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adjectives (i.e. with opposite meanings), each representing a seven

point scale.
To prepare a semantic differential scale, you must first think of a
number of words with opposite meanings that are applicable to
describing the subject of the test.
For example, participants are given a word, for example 'car', and
presented with a variety of adjectives to describe it. Respondents
tick to indicate how they feel about what is being measured.
In the picture (above), you can find Osgood's map of people's
ratings for the word 'polite'. The image shows ten of the scales used
by Osgood. The image maps the average responses of two groups
of 20 people to the word 'polite'.
The semantic differential technique reveals information on three
basic dimensions of attitudes: evaluation, potency (i.e. strength) and
activity.
• Evaluation is concerned with whether a person thinks positively or
negatively about the attitude topic (e.g. dirty – clean, and ugly -
beautiful).
• Potency is concerned with how powerful the topic is for the
person (e.g. cruel – kind, and strong - weak).
• Activity is concerned with whether the topic is seen as active or
passive (e.g. active – passive).
Using this information we can see if a persons feeling (evaluation)
towards an object is consistent with their behavior. For example, a
place might like the taste of chocolate (evaluative) but not eat it
often (activity).

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The evaluation dimension has been most used by social

psychologists as a measure of a person’s attitude, because this
dimension reflects the affective aspect of an attitude.
Evaluation of Direct Methods
An attitude scale is designed to provide a valid, or accurate,
measure of an individual’s social attitude. However, as anyone who
has every “faked” an attitude scales knows there are shortcomings
in these self report scales of attitudes.
There are various problems that affect the validity of attitude
scales. However, the most common problem is that of social
desirability.
Socially desirability refers to the tendency for people to give
“socially desirable” to the questionnaire items. People are often
motivated to give replies that make them appear “well adjusted”,
unprejudiced, open minded and democratic. Self report scales that
measure attitudes towards race, religion, sex etc. are heavily
affected by socially desirability bias.
Respondents who harbor a negative attitude towards a particular
group may not wish be admit to the experimenter (or to themselves)
that they have these feelings. Consequently, responses on attitude
scales are not always 100% valid.
High-dimensional Context Spaces
Osgood et al.'s semantic differential can also be seen as a
predecessor of contemporary corpus-derived measures of
semantics and semantic similarity. For example, Burgess and
Lund's (1997) hyperspace analogue to language model (HAL)
learns a high-dimensional context from large-scale linguistic corpora

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that encompass many millions of words of speech or text. The

model tracks lexical co-occurrences throughout the corpus and from
these derives a high-dimensional representational space. The
meaning of a word is conceived of as a vector. Each element of this
vector corresponds to another word in the model, with the value of
an element representing the number of times that the two words co-
occurred within the discourse samples that constitute the corpus.
For example, the vector for dog will contain an element reflecting
the number of times that the word ‘bone’ was found within a given
range of words in the corpus. These vectors can be viewed as the
coordinates of points (individual words) in a high-dimensional
semantic space. Semantic similarity is then a matter of distance
between points in this space.
Several other such usage-based models have been proposed to
date; similar in spirit to HAL, for example, is Landauer and Dumais's
(1997) latent semantic analysis (see also Semantic Processing:
Statistical Approaches). The basic approach might be seen to be
taking to its logical consequence Wittgensteir's famous adage of
‘meaning as use.’
Its prime advantage over related approaches such as spatial
models of similarity and the semantic differential lies in the ability to
derive semantics and thus measures of semantic similarity for
arbitrarily large numbers of words without the need for any
especially collected behavioral data. The ability of these models to
capture a wide variety of phenomena, such as results in semantic
priming and effects of semantic context on syntactic processing, has
been impressive.
Stapel scale

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Stapel scale is defined as a rating scale that is close-ended with a

single adjective (unipolar), developed to gather respondent insights
about a particular subject or event. The survey question is
comprised of an even number of response options without a neutral
point.
For example, these options can range from any scales like +2 to -2
or +5 to -5 or even +10 to -10 and they are purely dependent on the
nature of the study and the required outcome, all without a neutral
point. The stapel scale can be indicated as standalone questions or
even as a matrix question type where each line item is one unique
adjective.
This scale was named after its developer, Jan Stapel. Since this is a
non-comparative and categorical scale, it makes it very similar to
a semantic differential scale with the sole difference being the
presence of only adjective in between a positive and negative
category rather than having two opposing adjectives. Respondents
must indicate the relevance of each characteristic to an object in the
question.
An example of the use of staple scale question in a survey is
understanding the competency level of a respondent’s supervisor
on the basis of some basic skills. This question helps the surveyor
understand if the top management of the company is fit to be in the
role or not or if they could get to a certain level with training.
Characteristics of Stapel Scale
The scale can be depicted either as vertical or a horizontal scale
with one single adjective in the middle of the range of values and
the respondent has to choose a numerical value that best defines
the validity of the adjective.

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 Agreement and Disagreement: A positive score accurately

describes the object and a negative score is the exact
opposite; the statement is incorrect. Higher up the rating scale
indicates a higher acceptance with the single adjective and a
lower negative score indicates the disagreement with the
adjective. This directly equates to the + rating being a strong
agreement and the – rating being strong disagreement.
 Data Analysis: The data collected in a stapel scale survey is
treated as an interval and it can be analyzed in the same way
as the data collected by using a semantic differential survey
type. The results in both question types are similar.
 No Need of Bipolarity: Due to the nature of the question, one
adjective and the subsequent rating is adequate to collect
feedback about a certain adjective. This question type is used
when there is difficulty in finding out bipolar adjectives or there
is difficulty in pre-testing of adjectives to ensure their true
bipolarity.
Stapel Scale Survey used
A stapel scale survey is used to conduct an in-depth data
analysis about each metric in a question and that is done by having
to select from that a numerical value is assigned to each metric or
adjective. Stapel scale questions allow flexibility to tweak a survey
in a way that suits the research objective. The survey respondent
can be asked questions in a way that they offer maximum value
about each metric.
Stapel scale surveys are generally used in customer-satisfaction
surveys due to the nature of the questions asked and the numerical
data collected. The researcher or the organization conducting

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survey uses stapel scale questions to rate each parameter of their

product or service individually. This provides a complete snapshot
of aspects and is important in understanding if their business is
doing well and what is not.
Use Stapel Scale Questions in your survey research
 Easy to administer: Stapel scale questions are very easy to
administer due to the nature of how they are set-up. They are
used effectively due to the rating nature of the responses
which makes it easier for a survey respondent to answer the
question correctly.
 Reduce survey drop off rate: The options provided in a
question are administered separately with each adjective
forming one option and one question can have multiple
options. This makes it easier for a survey respondent to
answer each option on the basis of each objective rather than
be forced to select between two or more objectives. This
reduces the drop-off rate in a survey.
 Collect actionable insights: Each objective is provided a
numerical value and each adjective forces a respondent to
respondent rather than leaving it blank. This helps collect a
higher level of actionable insights.
The Difference between Stapel Scale and Semantic Differential
Questions in a Survey:
Although the data collected in both, stapel scale surveys
and semantic differential scales are similar, there are some other
stark differences between them. Some of the major differences are:

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Stapel Scale Questions Semantic Differential Questions

In a semantic differential question,

In a stapel scale survey, the options are
the options
are unipolar. The rating bipolar. The rating provided in a
given to each question is question is on
on the basis of one
objective. the basis of two polar opposite
objectives.

The semantic differential allows for a neutral p

There is no neutral t which means that a survey respondent can lea

point in a stapel scale a question unanswered
question which means
each option can describe if the the bipolar objectives
the objective. do not appropriately define the
experience.

There is no capped There are generally seven

number of responses as
responses from highly
long as the number
of responses are even. unlikely to highly likely.

Each stapel scale survey Semantic differential

question has forced
survey questions provide the
responses due to the lack

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of a neutral zero option. flexibility for unforced responses due to

the presence
of a neutral option.

The options are

The options are represented textually.
represented numerically.

Advantages of using a Stapel Scale

The stapel scale survey has many advantages. Some of them are:
 Easy to understand and respond to: A stapel scale question
is easy to understand and respond to as there is a + and –
rating system for each adjective in the stapel scale survey.
This makes it very easy for each survey respondent to
understand and to reply to.
 Numerical labels: Numerical labels reduce all possible
ambiguity in the mind of a respondent about their feeling
towards an objective or metric. This ensures that the option
selected by the survey respondent numerically represents their
emotions towards that object.
 Forces a response as there is no neutral or zero: A stapel
scale survey helps collect the ideal or most ideal response to a
question as it eliminates the possibility of a neutral answer
leaving each objective to be aptly selected.
 Measures both the direction and the intensity of attitudes
simultaneously: Since the stapel scale question looks to

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measure each objective separately, there is a deeper rooted

clarity on the direction and intensity of each objective
separately. The “how positive” or “how negative” throws light
on the degree of each objective in the mind of the respondent.
Likert Scale Definition, Examples and Analysis

Various kinds of rating scales have been developed to measure

attitudes directly (i.e. the person knows their attitude is being
studied). The most widely used is the Likert scale (1932).
In its final form, the Likert scale is a five (or seven) point scale which
is used to allow the individual to express how much they agree or
disagree with a particular statement.
For example:
I believe that ecological questions are the most important issues
facing human beings today.

A Likert scale assumes that the strength/intensity of an attitude is

linear, i.e. on a continuum from strongly agree to strongly disagree,
and makes the assumption that attitudes can be measured.
For example, each of the five (or seven) responses would have a
numerical value which would be used to measure the attitude under
investigation.

Likert Scale Examples for Surveys

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In addition to measuring statements of agreement, Likert scales can

measure other variations such as frequency, quality, importance,
and likelihood, etc.
How can you analyze data from a Likert scale?
The response categories in Likert scales have a rank order, but the
intervals between values cannot be presumed equal.
Therefore, the mean (and standard deviation) are inappropriate for
ordinal data (Jamieson, 2004)
Statistics you can use are:
• Summarize using a median or a mode (not a mean as it is ordinal
scale data ); the mode is probably the most suitable for easy
interpretation.
• Display the distribution of observations in a bar chart (it can’t be a
histogram, because the data is not continuous).
Critical Evaluation
Strengths
Likert Scales have the advantage that they do not expect a simple
yes / no answer from the respondent, but rather allow for degrees of
opinion, and even no opinion at all.
Therefore quantitative data is obtained, which means that the data
can be analyzed with relative ease.
Offering anonymity on self-administered questionnaires should
further reduce social pressure, and thus may likewise reduce social
desirability bias.

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Paulhus (1984) found that more desirable personality characteristics

were reported when people were asked to write their names,
addresses and telephone numbers on their questionnaire than when
they told not to put identifying information on the questionnaire.
Limitations
However, like all surveys, the validity of the Likert scale attitude
measurement can be compromised due to social desirability.
This means that individuals may lie to put themselves in a positive
light.

Computer-based test interpretation in psychological

assessment

Computers are playing an ever increasing role in the administration

and scoring of psychological tests, and in the generation of
interpretative reports of test results. As a result of concerns that this
enhanced role of the computer has not always been applied with the
same ethical, professional, and technical standards that govern the
traditional means of testing and test interpretation, the American
Psychological Association has put forth the Guidelines for
Computer-Based Tests and Interpretations. Of the 31 CBTI
Guidelines, nine describe user responsibilities in two areas,
administration and interpretation. These user guidelines emphasize
standardization of administrative procedures and the need for
professional judgment in conjunction with the use of computer-
generated interpretative reports.
The guidelines for developers are more numerous and complex as
a result of the multitude of steps required in the design of systems

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that either administer/score or interpret test results. In the case of

systems to administer/score tests, there are human factor and
psychometric issues. With respect to interpretation, the areas of
concern are classification and validity. The final section contains
one guideline specifying reasonable access to computer-based test
systems by qualified professionals for purposes of scholarly review.
The CBTI Guidelines are designed to address the problems that
already exist with computer testing and interpretation while at the
same time keeping in mind the promise of this new technology.
As the educational applications of computing have continued to
evolve, more complex and interactive computer learning
environments have emerged. Generally, these environments focus
on providing students with experiences testing hypothesis,
organizing and interpreting data, and performing other problem-
solving activities within a particular content area. In this article, the
complexity of educating teachers so that they can effectively
utilize this software and integrate it into the curriculum is discussed.
It is suggested that teachers are accustomed to delivering and
evaluating curriculum in the framework of behavioral psychology
and that the more cognitive orientation of computer learning
environments will be difficult for teachers to implement. The article
suggests that experiences for teachers must include
(a) the opportunity to experience learning and problem-solving with
tool software and simulations and
(b) examination of these approaches with respect to views of the
learner, goals, roles of the teacher, and evaluation of outcomes. A
sample experience for teachers using the Logo language is
described.

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Applications of psychological testing in various settings:

Clinical

Psychological tests enable mental health professionals to make

diagnoses more reliably, validly, and quickly than they can from
personal observation alone. Tests can uncover problems that a
mental health professional may not detect until much later. This
allows the clinician to focus on the appropriate treatment more
quickly, thereby saving time and money for the patient or client.
Once a course of treatment has begun, tests can help the clinician
monitor the effectiveness of the treatment as it proceeds.
Tests are not designed to label people. In fact, responsible test
manuals discourage any such linkage between results and labels.
These manuals help users interpret the test results in a way that
respects each individuals uniqueness. They also recommend that
the test user base diagnoses or clinical decisions on several
sources of information rather than on just a single test result.
However, some public groups such as insurance companies,
legislatures, school boards, and human service agencies do attach
labels to people. This happens when programs and treatments are
standardized by categories. Thus, an individual seeking treatment
or a child with learning problems often has to be diagnosed and
labeled to fit into one of the categories in order to receive funding for
the special help they need.
Do clinical psychologists use different tests from those used in
businesses or in schools?
Sometimes. But most psychological tests, especially those
measuring motor skills and mental aptitudes, can be useful in more
than one field. A test for cognitive ability, for example, may be used

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in a school or at an employment office as well as by a mental health

clinician. Also, some tests require high levels of training and
expertise of test users for proper administration and interpretation.
Can a test prove that somebody is mentally disturbed?
Tests alone cannot diagnose a person. They are tools used only by
qualified and competent professionals, just as a physician may
combine information from X-rays, blood tests, and personal
examination of the patient in reaching a physical diagnosis.
What good are tests when somebody has already been
diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder?
Psychological tests are often used to monitor a persons response to
medications, which are used increasingly in treating a number of
disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, and attention deficit
disorder in children. The tests can help to track progress during a
course of treatment to determine if a person is receiving the correct
dosage, or is responding correctly to the medication. In a similar
manner, tests can help monitor a persons response to other
therapeutic treatments such as psychotherapy. Tests can also serve
to confirm or reject potential diagnoses.
Since we now have modern medical procedures, such as
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), why do we need
neuropsychological tests?
It's true that medical imaging techniques are now widely used to
help physicians diagnose neurological illnesses. However,
neuropsychological tests are useful for screening patients for signs
of neurological disorder. They are also helpful, and far less
expensive than computerized tomography (CT) scans and MRIs, for
monitoring patients over long periods of recovery or rehabilitation.

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Through neuropsychological testing, a physician can measure the

progress of stroke victims, for example, and determine whether a
particular treatment is working properly.
Psychological assessment contributes important information to the
understanding of individual characteristics and capabilities, through
the collection, integration, and interpretation of information about an
individual (Groth-Marnat, 2009; Weiner, 2003). Such information is
obtained through a variety of methods and measures, with relevant
sources determined by the specific purposes of the evaluation.
Sources of information may include
 Records (e.g., medical, educational, occupational, legal)
obtained from the referral source;
 Records obtained from other organizations and agencies that
have been identified as potentially relevant;
 Interviews conducted with the person being examined;
 Behavioral observations;
 Interviews with corroborative sources such as family members,
friends, teachers, and others; and
 Formal psychological or neuropsychological testing.
Agreements across multiple measures and sources, as well as
discrepant information, enable the creation of a more
comprehensive understanding of the individual being assessed,
ultimately leading to more accurate and appropriate clinical
conclusions (e.g., diagnosis, recommendations for treatment
planning).

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The clinical interview remains the foundation of many psychological

and neuropsychological assessments. Interviewing may be
structured, semi structured, or open in nature, but the goal of the
interview remains consistent—to identify the nature of the client's
presenting issues, to obtain direct historical information from the
examinee regarding such concerns, and to explore historical
variables that may be related to the complaints being presented. In
addition, the interview element of the assessment process allows for
behavioral observations that may be useful in describing the client,
as well as discerning the convergence with known diagnoses.
Based on the information and observations gained in the interview,
assessment instruments may be selected, corroborative informants
identified, and other historical records recognized that may aid the
clinician in reaching a diagnosis. Conceptually, clinical interviewing
explores the presenting complaint(s) (i.e., referral question), informs
the understanding of the case history, aids in the development of
hypotheses to be examined in the assessment process, and assists
in determination of methods to address the hypotheses through
formal testing.
industrial and organizational psychology
Industrial and organizational psychology, also known as I/O
psychology, is the study of the workplace.
According to the American Psychological Association, I/O
psychology pulls from ideas about decision theory, small group
theory, and criterion theory. It applies them to real-world workplace
situations.
This field focuses on analyzing employee engagement, company
culture, retention, productivity, morale, and team building.

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Industrial and organizational psychologists can work with individual

employees, groups, management teams, and consultants on
improving the above processes.
For Dr. Jeremy Nicholson, a TCSPP professor of behavioral
economics, I/O psychology is “a standardized skillset” that includes
personnel selection, workplace training, business development,
human resources, and consulting.
Are you interested in pursuing an industrial and organizational
psychology degree? Whether you’re looking for an online program
or an on-campus degree program near you, The Chicago School
offers a certificate and a variety of M.A. programs in this field.
business psychology?
While I/O psychology focuses on more individual and personal
workplace issues such as engagement and morale, business
psychology applies psychological practices to big-picture areas.
These areas include corporate strategy, stakeholder relationships,
market performance, and broader business operations.
Professionals who are knowledgeable of this intersection between
psychology and business use assessment and intervention skills to
analyze high-level issues and provide recommendations to a
business leadership team.
This career field includes consultants, program directors, and
organizational development specialists. Oftentimes, business
psychologists work with senior leadership teams, business owners,
and board members.
The Chicago School offers various I/O and business psychology
degrees and certificates including:

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 Certificate in I/O psychology (online)

 B.A. in psychology with a business psychology minor (online)
 M.A. in I/O psychology (online and various campuses)
 Ph.D. in business psychology (online and various campuses)
 M.A. and Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership (online and
various campuses)
Two intertwined fields
Of course, I/O psychology and business psychology are clearly
linked. Both work to improve the overall function, performance, and
efficiency of businesses.
The merging of these two disciplines creates the possibility for
professionals to establish themselves as authorities with multiple
psychological foundations that are rooted in business-minded
practices. Professionals I/O and business psychology are not only
able to navigate business fields but also understand and describe
the psychological nuance that drives individual behavior—and this,
makes them more versatile.
According to Dr. Jay Finkelman, a TCSPP professor of I/O business
psychology and the department chair of the Southern California
campuses, “they all fit under the same umbrella.”
This overlap is clear even in The Chicago School’s degree tracks.
For example, you can pursue a business psychology degree with an
industrial and organizational focus.
Finally, many I/O psychologists cover corporate strategy, and
business psychologists analyze issues such as employee retention
and productivity. All aspects of a business are intertwined, so it’s

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inevitable that two psychology fields that specialize in helping

businesses succeed are intertwined.
Education, Counseling, Military. Career guidance

Career Counseling This section summarizes the development of

career counseling, the most widely used career counseling
interventions, the typical settings in which career counseling occurs,
important differences among clients who seek career counseling
services, the focal issues examined in career counseling, and the
career counseling process. The articles appearing in this
section describe these topics in greater detail (see the sidebar for
links).
Development of Career Counseling
The theoretical underpinnings of career counseling were first
recorded around 360 B.C. when Plato observed in The Republic
that different jobs require different types of workers for optimal
performance. Today we regard this as obvious; the jobs of
elementary school teacher, truck driver, opera singer, and
accountant each require a different set of skills and interests.
Frank Parsons formalized this theory of the relation between people
and jobs in the late 19th century. He wrote that effective career
placement requires knowledge of the special talents of the worker,
the requirements of various occupations, and the relations between
these sets of knowledge. Over time Parsons’s ideas have been
codified into the person-environment fit model and trait and factor
counseling. The overlapping disciplines of counseling psychology,
vocational psychology, and career counseling emerged from this
beginning.

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Three crises, World Wars I and II and the Great Depression, helped
shape career counseling. Prior to World War I, French scholars
Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon developed a test to measure
cognitive ability. Their work paved the way for modern intelligence
tests. Entry into World War I suddenly confronted the United States
with the need to place hundreds of thousands of workers into
suitable jobs. Using the Binet-Simon approach as a starting point,
the U.S. Army developed a series of tests (e.g., the Army Alpha and
Army Beta) to measure cognitive aptitudes. Scores of these tests
were used to place military recruits into suitable jobs. This work
developed and validated a model of vocational placement that has
been a key component of career counseling for over 90 years.
The Great Depression focused attention on the nation’s workforce
and provided another stimulus to the development of career
counseling. Under the leadership of Donald G. Paterson at the
University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Employment Stabilization
Research Institute (MESRI) undertook a decade of research on the
optimal relation of workers to jobs. MESRI research demonstrated
that workers perform better and are less likely to quit or be
terminated when placed in occupations that match their interests
and aptitudes. The MESRI also developed an extensive library of
aptitude tests for use in job placement. MESRI research
demonstrated unequivocally that skilled career counseling using a
trait-and-factor approach produces beneficial results.
The entry of the United States into World War II again created a
need to assign millions of workers to jobs in an efficient manner.
The career counseling procedures and instruments developed and
validated by the MESRI were applied in the most massive
application of career counseling in history.

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Following the war, the GI Bill enabled veterans to enter colleges and
universities in unprecedented numbers. This created a strong need
for career counseling services in those institutions. An even larger
number of veterans sought civilian jobs. This created a demand for
career counseling services for civilians and stimulated the
development of the United States Employment Service.
Clinical psychology was a well-established specialty for treating the
mentally ill by the end of World War II. Insightful leaders such as
University of Minnesota psychologist John G. Darley recognized
that normal individuals sometimes need assistance in dealing with
problems confronting them in daily life. Clinical psychologists were
ill prepared to provide this assistance, but that is the type of
assistance career counseling personnel had been providing. The
contemporary specialty of counseling psychology is an outgrowth of
the MESRI research, military experience in vocational placement,
and Darley’s recognition of healthy individuals’ needs for
developmentally oriented services.
As the United States became more affluent during the 1950s and
1960s, two social movements furthered the development of career
counseling. Early 20th-century generations experienced the strife
and deprivation of two world wars and the Great Depression, but the
baby boom generation experienced a time of relative affluence and
tranquility. The earlier generations’ survival concerns were replaced
by the baby boomers’ desire for an occupation that would enhance
their quality of life and contribute to a better world. Established
workers also began to consider a midlife career change to a more
meaningful occupation. Workers who in earlier times would have
unquestioningly followed in their parents’ footsteps or taken a job

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that satisfied their basic survival needs now turned to career

counseling for assistance in achieving these goals.
Group Counseling
Group counseling differs from individual counseling in one important
respect; group members learn from each other in addition to
learning from their interactions with the counselor. This can be
particularly valuable to individuals who are early in their career
exploration and lack career-related experience and information.
Group career counseling takes a variety of forms. Career
development groups include most of the components found in
individual career counseling, and they have similar objectives.
Group participants typically take tests and participate in a group
discussion of their test results. In addition, they may be assigned to
complete a computer-based activity, prepare a resume, complete a
homework assignment, or interview a potential employer or a
person employed in a career of interest. Clients complete these
activities outside the group and discuss their experiences during a
group meeting.
Structured group interventions are more narrowly focused on a
specific issue. The goals of structured groups are limited only by the
needs of clients and the imagination of psychologists. For example,
structured groups are commonly offered to teach assertiveness
skills, resume preparation, time management, study skills, and
interviewing skills. Sensitivity groups focus on interpersonal topics
such as sexism, racism, and other workplace behaviors.
Organizations
Among the earliest organizations to provide career counseling
services were the corporations that emerged with the industrial

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revolution. Until recent years the primary focus of these

organizations was employee selection and individual career
advancement (often referred to as career management).
Corporations began to offer a wider range of services in the late
1980s, and many now offer a program of career counseling
services.
Government agencies such as the military, rehabilitation agencies,
and correctional facilities also provide career counseling services.
Career counseling on military bases tends to emphasize the
transition from a military specialty to a civilian occupation.
Rehabilitation counseling helps people identify suitable training and
employment options so that they can become self-supporting. The
focus in correctional and mental health facilities is on helping clients
develop work attitudes, behaviors, and marketable skills that will
permit them to secure and maintain employment following their
discharge.
Many organizations employ staff members (often in their human
resources department) to provide career services. Specialists
employed as independent contractors may supplement the routine
services by providing specialized services such as psychological
assessment and work evaluations. Other organizations contract with
independent professionals or corporations (e.g., an employee
assistance firm) for career counseling services.
Private Practice
Until recently there was little opportunity for career counselors to
work exclusively in private practices. Free career counseling is
available to most individuals through schools, colleges and
universities, services organizations (e.g., B’nai Brith and Big

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Brothers and Big Sisters of America) and government agencies

(e.g., the United States Employment Service, the Rehabilitation
Services Administration, and the military). However, expansion of
the range of career services offered by corporations in the late
1980s increased the opportunities for psychologists in private
practice to specialize in career counseling. Organizations often find
that contracting with private practitioners is cost-effective because
career services can be purchased on an as-needed basis.
Career Guidance and Counseling Programs

What is a Career Guidance and Counseling Program?

It is a comprehensive, developmental program designed to assist
individuals in making and implementing informed educational and
occupational choices. A career guidance and counseling program
develops an individual's competencies in self-knowledge,
educational and occupational exploration, and career planning.
Why is Career Guidance and Counseling Key to the Delivery of
Vocational-Technical Education?
Career guidance and counseling programs help individuals acquire
the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to identify options,
explore alternatives and succeed in society. These programs better
prepare individuals for the changing workplace of the 21st century
by:
 teaching labor market changes and complexity of the
workplace
 broadening knowledge, skills, and abilities
 improving decision making skills

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 increasing self-esteem and motivation

 building interpersonal effectiveness
 maximizing career opportunities
 improving employment marketability and opportunities
 promoting effective job placement
 strengthening employer relations
Benefits from Career Guidance and Counseling Programs?
Everyone benefits--youth and adults, male and female, disabled,
disadvantaged, minorities, limited English proficient, incarcerated,
dropouts, single parents, displaced homemakers, teachers,
administrators, parents and employers.
Where are Career Guidance and Counseling Programs offered?
Everywhere--elementary, junior and senior high schools, community
colleges, technical institutes, universities, career resource centers,
correctional facilities, community-based organizations, human
services agencies, community and business organizations, skill
clinics, employment and placement services.
Where is Career Guidance and Counseling Working?
During 1997-1998, four career guidance programs were selected
as exemplary in the following sites:
 Dorchester District Two Career Development Initiatives,
Summerville, SC
 La Crosse Central High School Guidance/Career Center, La
Crosse, WI

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 Lewis and Clark Community College: Career and Employment

Services, Godfrey, IL
 Rich South High School: Horizon Program, Richton Park, IL
Additionally, States implementing the National Career Development
Guidelines have many success stories.
What are the Key Components of Successful Career Guidance
and Counseling Programs?
 A planned sequence of activities and experiences to achieve
specific competencies such as self-appraisal, decision making,
goal setting, and career planning
 Accountability (outcome oriented) and program improvement
(based on results of process/outcome evaluations)
 Qualified leadership
 Effective management needed to support comprehensive
career guidance programs
 A team approach where certified counselors are central to the
program
 Adequate facilities, materials, resources
 Strong professional development activities so counselors can
regularly update their professional knowledge and skills
 Different approaches to deliver the program such as outreach,
assessment, counseling, curriculum, program and job
placement, follow-up, consultation, referral

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Conclusion
Career counseling theory and practice is an effective psychological
specialty that has benefited from over 90 years of innovation and
experimentation. Meta-analyses of decades of research reveal that
career interventions produce measurable benefits. Individual career
counseling, structured career counseling groups, career workshops,
and career education are all effective interventions that are useful
for helping clients explore options and make career decisions.
Nevertheless, efforts continue to identify even more effective career
counseling interventions that can be used to assist an increasingly
diverse clientele.

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UNIT-3 Psychological testing
MCQs

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1. The validity of a test refers to: 4. Which of the following describes

A. ? how norms for the test a "good" test? A good test
were developed __________.
B. ? whether a test is precise A. ? is valid
as a tool of measurement B. ? is reliable
C. ? whether the test C. ? has norms
measures what it purports to D. ? all are correct
measure Ans:- D
D. ? whether a test is
consistent in its 5. The most significant growth of
measurement psychological testing occurred in
Ans:- C the:
A. ? 1950s and 1960s
2. Interviews are a primary method B. ? 1920s and 1930s
of information gathering in: C. ? 1910s and 1920s
A. ? clinical and counseling D. ? 1930s and 1940s
assessment Ans:- A
B. ? all are correct
C. ? forensic assessment 6. What was the importance of
D. ? personnel assessment Binet's test of intelligence?
Ans:-B A. ? served as a catalyst for
the early growth of
3. Who are the authors of your psychological measurement
textbook? B. ? none are correct
A. ? Eric Cartman and Stan C. ? served as a catalyst for
Marsh subjective psychological
B. ? Cohen and Swerdlik tests (e.g., Rorschach Inkblot
C. ? Davis and Palladino test)
D. ? Beavis and Butt-head D. ? served as a catalyst for
Ans:- B personality test
development
Ans:- A

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Ans:- B
7. In personnel assessment,
psychological tests are used 10.Where should you be able to find
primarily for the benefit of the: detailed information on the
A. ? examiner development of a particular test,
B. ? consumer its normative sample, and specific
C. ? employee details regarding the studies
D. ? employer presented in support of its
Ans:- D psychometric soundness?
A. ? in the Standards for
8. Which of the following is true of Educational and
tests used in clinical settings? Psychological Tests
They are: B. ? in published reviews of
A. ? used to choose the best the test
person for the job C. ? in test catalogues
B. ? used to measure distributed by the test
consumer attitudes publisher
C. ? used as a measure of D. ? in the test manual
corporate culture Ans:- D
D. ? used with one individual
at a time 11.Psychological tests may differ
Ans:- D with respect to:
A. ? content
9. By federal law, which of the B. ? administration
following types of tests may not C. ? all are correct
be used in schools? D. ? format
A. ? minimal competency Ans:- C
exams
B. ? all may be used in 12.According to the APA, about how
schools many tests are developed each
C. ? IQ tests year?
D. ? Achievement tests A. ? 15,000

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B. ? 50,000
C. ? 20,000 15.The Adjustable Light Beam
D. ? 1,000 Apparatus is used to:
Ans:- C A. ? measure body-image
distortion
13.In business and industry, B. ? assess reactivity in light
engineering psychologists tend to C. ? measure emotional
be most involved with: reaction to acne
A. ? the selection of the most D. ? adjust illumination
qualified employees for levels in light research
positions Ans:- A
B. ? the prediction of public
receptivity to new products 16.In everyday practice,
C. ? creating and testing responsibility for appropriate test
instrumentation for trains administration, scoring, and
D. ? the design of products interpretation lies with:
that can be used with A. ? elected officials
optimal safety and efficiency B. ? test users
Ans:- D C. ? test-takers
D. ? test publishers
14.A psychological test that is Ans:- B
ecologically valid:
A. ? relies primarily on 17.Testing is to assessment as
interviews with ecologists __________ is to __________.
B. ? uses a wide variety of A. ? mechanic; automobile
tests in a wide variety of B. ? blood test; physical
environments exam
C. ? none are correct C. ? selection; placement
D. ? includes observing the D. ? blood test; x-ray
subject in his or her natural Ans:- B
environment
Ans:- D

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18.A basic assumption of scaling is the growth of psychological

that: testing in the U.S.?
A. ? traits and abilities can A. ? all are correct
be quantified and measured B. :-) the identification of
B. ? traits and abilities can competent recruits for the
be attributed to a variety of military during WW I
causes C. ? the expansion of
C. ? a test's reliability and agriculture and business to
validity can be measured international markets
D. ? all are correct D. ? the identification of
Ans:- A children who were
performing poorly in school
19.According to the authors of your Ans:- B
textbook, which of the following
is the most controversial of the 21.During which decade did public
12 assumptions of psychological concern regarding psychological
assessment? testing reach its height, resulting
A. ? tests and measurement in formal investigations of the
benefit society psychological testing enterprise?
B. ? testing and assessment A. X 1970s
can be conducted in a fair B. X 1990s
and unbiased manner C. :-) 1960s
C. ? present day behavior D. ? 1980s
sampling predicts future Ans:- C
behavior
D. ? various sources of error 22.The Standards for Psychological
are part of the assessment and Educational Tests are most
process useful for all of the following
Ans:- B EXCEPT:
A. ? test publishers
20.Which of the following needs B. ? test-takers
served as a major movement for C. ? test users

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

D. ? test developers C. ? aberrant behavior in a

Ans:- B recessionary economy
D. ? the receptivity of people
23.The Thirteenth Mental to new products and services
Measurements Yearbook Ans:- A
contains:
A. ? sample personality tests Q.-26. The factors that influence
B. ? sample intelligence tests social behavior and thoughts in
C. ? annual reviews of test certain ways are called–
development (a) Independent variables
D. ? reviews of psychological (b) Confounding variables
tests (c) Dependent variables
Ans:- D (d) Mediating variables
Ans : d
24.Biofeedback equipment has been
used in psychological Q.-27. Feeling touchy or
measurement to assess: hypersensitive following an
A. ? all are correct upsetting experience is a form of–
B. ? changes in blood level in (a) Imprinting
the brain (b) Habituation
C. ? changes in muscular (c) Sensitization
tension (d) Reflexive Behaviour
D. ? changes in saliva flow Ans : c
Ans:- C
Q.-28. Because it has the external
25.The field of ergonomics is features associated with the concept
concerned with the study of: of dog, a wolf is perceived as a dog.
A. ? the relationship This is an example of–
between people and work (a) Centration
B. ? the abuse of ergs in (b) Equilibration
industry and organizations (c) Object Permanence
(d) Prototype

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

Ans : d Q.-32. Cattell Propounded gf-gc

theory of intelligence mainly based
Q.-29. Which of the following is the on–
final destination for much of the (a) First order factors of abilities
brain’s information about emotion (b) Second order factors of abilities
before action is taken? (c) Third order factors of abilities
(a) Amygdala (d) Higher order factors of abilities
(b) Anterior cingulated cortex Ans : b
(c) Pre-frontal cortex
(d) Hypothalamus Q.-33. Which one of the following
Ans : c statements is true?
(a) The ‘Global Five’ factors in
Q.-30. Research shows that the personality refer to the second-order
following does not contribute to factors of 16 PF, latest edition.
teacher effectiveness– (b) The ‘Global Five’ factors refer to
(a) Communication skills the factors assessed by the NEO-Five
(b) Use of ICT Factor Inventory, latest edition.
(c) Years of experience (c) The ‘Global Five’ factors refer to
(d) Use of student feedback the factors assessed by Goldberg’s
Ans : c bipolar adjectives.
(d) The ‘Global Five’ factors are
Q.-31. Phonemic restoration as we derived from Eysenck Personality
perceive speech in a noisy party is an Profiler, latest edition.
example of– Ans : a
(a) Top-down processing
(b) Bottom-up processing Q.-34. Which of the following
(c) Subliminal Perception statement best defines maturation?
(d) Supraliminal perception (a) It is directly based on Social-
Ans : a Cognitive learning.
(b) It is an automatic biological
development of the body that
naturally unfolds overtime.

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

(c) It does not take place in human Q.-38. When is aspiration a method
beings. of choice to make a lesion?
(d) It is the basis of all physical and (a) in a deeper brain area
psychological developments. (b) in an area of cerebral cortex
Ans : b (c) and irreversible lesion
(d) in underlying white matter
Q.-35. Brief stress enhances the Ans : b
activity of immune system as
evidenced by the action of– Q.-39. A psychologist was
(a) macrophages administering a projective test which
(b) T cells involved a word association task.
(c) B cells She tended to nod and smile every
(d) All these time a plural word was given by the
Ans : d respondent. The following testing
bias was seen–
Q.-36. Torrance Tests of Creative (a) favouritism
Thinking (TTCT) are mainly indexing– (b) test wiseness
(a) Creative Products (c) selective reinforcement
(b) Creative Processes (d) gender of assessor
(c) Creative Personality Ans : c
(d) Creative Persuasion
Ans : b Q.-40. Four important elements in
the theory of signal detection are–
Q.-37. Which one the scaling method (a) errors, hits, speed and accuracy
is more likely to yield (b) speed, accuracy, power and false
multidimensional attitude scale? alarm
(a) Guttman Scalogram analysis (c) hit, miss, correct rejection and
(b) Paired comparison method false alarm
(c) Equal appearing intervals method (d) acuity, efficacy, speed and power
(d) Method of summated rating Ans : c
Ans : d

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Q.-41. Jia had written a list to do her (d) Children have an innate mental
week and work, but incidently left it grammar
home while going out for her first Ans : d
activity. Trying to remember the list,
Jia remembers what was at the Q.-44. Failure to develop consistent
beginning of the list and what was at identity results in–
the end but not those things in the (a) Inferiority
middle. This is an example of– (b) Role confusion
(a) Encoding specificity effects (c) Stagnation
(b) Flash bulb memory (d) Social isolation
(c) Serial position effect Ans : b
(d) Tip-of-the tongue effect
Ans : c Q.-45. Helpers respond to the needs
of a victim because they want to
Q.-42. The underlying motivation for accomplish something rewarding;
acts of aggression is– this may be referred as–
(a) intent to harm (a) Negative state – relief model
(b) anger (b) Empathic – joy hypothesis
(c) retaliation (c) Empathy – altruism hypothesis
(d) need to exert control (d) Pluralistic empathy
Ans : d Ans : b

Q.-43. Which of the following is a Q.-46. Which is the correct order of

characteristic of Chomsky’s theory? the emergence of following Psycho-
(a) Development of language is Social strengths?
between three and five years of age (a) Love, Fidelity, Wisdom, Care
(b) Language development is (b) Care, Fidelity, Love, Wisdom
dependent on the reinforcements (c) Fidelity, Love, Care, Wisdom
received by the child (d) Care, Fidelity, Wisdom, Love
(c) Children acquire mistakes in Ans : c
language by observing their parents Multiple Choice Questions for
and others around them Psychology

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

(c) Response Extinction

Q.-47. From the following list of (d) Latent Extinction
tools used by the career guidance Ans : d
counselor, choose the odd one out–
(a) DAT Q.-50. Self is conceptualized in
(b) GATB Western and Eastern perspectives
(c) DBDA on personality, respectively as–
(d) SVIB (a) free and deterministic
Ans : d (b) instinctive and learned
(c) ideal and real
Q.-48. Detecting movement in spite (d) independent and interdependent
of camouflage is easier for people Ans : d
who are–
(a) field dependent Q.-51. The centre-surround
(b) field independent organization of ganglion cells that
(c) both field dependent and field enhance contrast at edges in a visual
independent environment are well illustrated by–
(d) neither field dependent nor field (a) Craik bands
independent (b) Mach bands
Ans : b (c) Luminance bands
(d) Optic bands
Q.-49. Read the following statement Ans : a
and decides–
“If a rat that had previously learned Q.-52. The growth needs of ERG
to traverse a maze or a runway to theory are represented by various
obtain food is placed directly into a needs in Maslow’s model–
non-empty goal box, it will stop (a) Physiological and social needs
traversing the maze or runway on (b) Safety needs and esteem needs
subsequent trials”. What is (c) Social needs and esteem needs
exemplifies? (d) Esteem needs and self-
(a) Latent Learning actualization needs
(b) Place learning Ans : d

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

(d) Puppets and play dough

Q.-53. When a Background Ans : b
Interference Procedure was used
experimentally, the following 56. Emotional intelligence is
findings became apparent? different from other intelligences in
(a) Field independent persons did that …
better than field dependent persons a. it is a set of skills
(b) Field dependent persons did b. it can be measured using tests
better than field independent easily
persons c. the focus is on emotional
(c) Both field dependent and field reasoning, ability and
independent persons did equally knowledge
well d. it is a new type of intelligence
(d) BIP enhanced the performance of Answer:
all subjects c. the focus is on emotional
Ans : a reasoning, ability and knowledge

Q.-54. People with moderate mental 57. Emotional intelligence can be

retardation would have an IQ in the studied through …
range of– a. the abilities-focussed
(a) 10 to 19 approach
(b) 35 to 54 b. the integrative model
(c) 55 to 70 approach
(d) 20 to 34 c. the mixed model approach
Ans : b d. all of the above
Answer:
Q.-55. The following is not typically d. all of the above
found in a school in a school
guidance counsellor’s office– 58. Which of the following describes
(a) Sand pit how Ability Emotional Intelligence
(b) Lie detector and Trait Emotional Intelligence are
(c) Psychometric tests different?

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a. The way they are measured c. no incremental validity

b. The way they are
conceptualized 61. Which of the following is the
c. The way they correlate with best predictor of academic
other constructs performance?
d. All of the above a. Trait EI
Answer: b. IQ
d. all of the above c. Personality
d. None of these
59. Incremental validity refers to … Answer:
a. the additional contribution a b. IQ
new psychological idea makes
to existing knowledge 62. Mixed Emotional Intelligence
b. the additional evidence models have …
provided by new research a. significant overlap with
c. the way research findings are conscientiousness,
reinterpreted extraversion, and self-efficacy
d. the way statements are b. no significant overlap with
written in new tests conscientiousness,
Answer: extraversion, and self-efficacy
a. the additional contribution a new c. non-significant overlap with
psychological idea makes to existing conscientiousness,
knowledge extraversion, and self-efficacy
d. little overlap with
60. When predicting intellectual conscientiousness,
academic performance in medical extraversion, and self-efficacy
students, EI showed … Answer:
a. it is essentially social skills a. significant overlap with
b. large incremental validity conscientiousness, extraversion, and
c. no incremental validity self-efficacy
d. a deterioration in its display
Answer: 63. The higher the Trait EI …

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a. the higher the likelihood of b. people with lower EI often

personality disorder think of themselves as victims
b. the lower the likelihood of c. that is the only way the
personality disorder person know how to express
c. the higher the likelihood of their displeasure
self-harm d. other’s emotions and
d. the higher the likelihood of behaviours are misinterpreted
harm to others as hostile and an aggressive
Answer: response is therefore
b. the lower the likelihood of exhibited
personality disorder Answer:
d. other’s emotions and behaviours
64. EI is linked to romantic are misinterpreted as hostile and an
relationship satisfaction because EI aggressive response is therefore
may be linked to … exhibited
a. having better understanding
of the partner’s emotions 66. Demonstrating incremental
b. giving the person higher self- validity of which of the following is
esteem tricky?
c. agreeing with the partner all a. Intelligence
the time b. Ability EI
d. getting what one wants out of c. Trait EI
the relationship d. All of the above
Answer: Answer:
a. having better understanding of c. Trait EI
the partner’s emotions
67. Which of the following makes
65. Lower EI is likely linked to more measuring EI challenging?
aggressive behaviour because … a. Whether the scenarios
a. taking action is more presented should be authentic
important than expressing or hypothetical
emotions

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

b. Whether conscious, effortful b. a person with high EI is aware

processing or spontaneous that others have low EI
processing of emotional c. a person is the best person to
materials should be measured estimate his or her own EI
c. How happy the person is d. a person’s EI is best evaluated
feeling by others
d. a and b only Answer:
Answer: a. a person with low EI is unaware of
d. a and b only his or her own low EI

68. Ability EI tests are more 70. Having high EI may not always be
objective than Trait EI tests because adaptive. Why?
… a. Others will likely ignore them
a. they are easier to b. They will have high opinion of
demonstrate one’s own themselves
strength c. These people are more
b. participants tended rate their sensitive to mood
own Trait EI as higher than manipulation
they actually are d. All of above
c. they are made up of multiple- Answer:
choice questions c. These people are more sensitive
d. they cost money to mood manipulation
Answer:
b. participants tended rate their own 71. Psychology may best be
Trait EI as higher than they actually described as the scientific study of
are _______ and ______.
A Mental states, physical states
69. Dunning-Kruger effect in EI states B Thoughts, emotions
that … C Behavior, mental processes
a. a person with low EI is D Mental health, mental illness
unaware of his or her own low Answer: Option [C]
EI

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72. Freud believed that adult Answer: Option [C]

problems usually:
A Result in Freudian slip 76. Reflexes are usually controlled
B Result in bad dreams by the:
C Can be traced back to critical stage A Hypothalamus
during childhood B Spinal cord
D Are the result of poor behavior C Frontal lobe
Answer: Option [C] D Medulla
Answer: Option [B]
73. Gestalt theory emphasizes:
A A flow of consciousness 77 A part of the brain that sends
B The atoms of thought signals “alert” to higher centers of
C Environmental stimuli the brain in response to incoming
D Our tendency to see pattern messages is:
Answer: Option [D] A amygdala
B Hippocampus
74. Whereas the _______ asked C Limbic system
what happens when an organism D Reticular formation
does something; the _____ asked Answer: Option [D]
how and why.
A functionalist, behaviorist 78 Perception of the brightness of a
B structuralist, introspectionist color in affected mainly by:
C structuralist, functionalist A The saturation of light waves
D functionalist, structuralist B The wavelength of light waves
Answer: Option [D] C The purity of light waves
D The amplitude of light waves
75. The _____ lobe is to hearing as Answer: Option [A]
the occipital lobe is to vision.
A cerebeller 79 Which of the following is not a
B Parietal clue for depth perception?
C Temporal A Orientation
D Frontal B Interposition

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C Reduced clarity B An aid in perceiving a stable and

D Linear perspective consistent world
Answer: Option [A] C Confusing to an individual rather
than helping him determine what
80. According to Mischel’s really exists
‘situationist’ critique of personality, D Illusion in which we perceive
which of the following statements is something that does not correspond
true? to the sensory information
a. Behaviours that express a trait Answer: Option [B]
in different settings only
correlate weakly 83. Which of the following is a
b. Different measures of the subdivision of the autonomic
same trait only correlate nervous system?
weakly A Brain and spinal cord
c. Behaviour is highly specific to B Only sympathetic nervous system
particular situations C Only the parasympathetic nervous
d. All of the above system
Answer: D Both the sympathetic and Para-
d. All of the above sympathetic nervous system
Answer: Option [D]

81. Psychophysics is the study of: 84. Which of the following

A Depth perception approaches to personality is least
B Perceptual illness deterministic?
C Movement perception A The humanistic approach
D The psychological perception oh B The behavioral approach
physical stimuli C The psychoanalytic approach
Answer: Option [D] D The social learning approach
Answer: Option [A]
82. Perceptual constancies are
A Likely inborn and not subject to 85. In Freud’s theory of personality
leaning

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A The id operates by secondary

process 88. Analysis of avoidance learning
B The superego obeys the pleasure suggest that many phobias are
principle acquired through ______
C The ego obeys the reality principle conditioning.
D The ego operates by primary A Classical
process thinking B Operant
Answer: Option [C] C Intermittent
D Reinforcement
86. The frustration-aggression Answer: Option [A]
hypothesis;
A Was developed by social learning 89. The ability to learn by observing
theorist a model or receiving instructions,
B Assumes that frustration produces without reinforcement, is
aggression called_____
C Assume that aggression is basic A Contingency
instinct B Social learning
D Claims that frustration and C Cognitive learning
aggression are both instinctive D Instrumental learning
Answer: Option [B] Answer: Option [B]

87. The James-Lange or body 90. Illnesses that seem to result

reaction theory of emotion says from an interaction of physical and
A You feel emotion then a bodily psychological factors are called:
reaction A Somatic
B Emotions and visceral reactions B Hysterical
are simultaneous C Psychosomatic
C The somatic nervous system is the D Conversion disorder
seat of emotion Answer: Option [C]
D You react with your body first then
you feel emotion
Answer: Option [D]

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91. Which of the following clinical B Conservation

procedures are based, in part on C Metacognition
classical conditioning? D Egocentrism
A Transference Answer: Option [A]
B Token economy
C Two chair technique 95. People who consistently come
D Systematic desensitization up with _____ explanations of
Answer: Option [D] events are more prone to
depression.
92. When people are _____ they A dysthemic
have lost touch with reality. B Delusional
A Manic C Pessimistic
B Neurotic D Overly optimistic
C Psychotic Answer: Option [C]
D Psychopathic
Answer: Option [C] 96. The leading cause of mental
retardation is believed to be:
93. Intelligence can be defined as: A Inherited traits
A Knowledge of a great many facts B Environmental factors
B The ability to get good grades in C Organic brain syndrome
school D Fetal alcohol syndrome
C All the factors that make one Answer: Option [B]
person different from another
D The ability to think abstractly and 97. An affective disorder in which a
learn from experience person swings from one mood
Answer: Option [D] extreme to another is classified as:
A Bipolar
94. According to Piaget the process B Unipolar
of building mental representation of C Manic
the world through direct interaction D Depressive
with it is: Answer: Option [A]
A Adaptation

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98. Albert Ellis and Aron Beck are B CS is presented first and US is
names associated with the ____ presented before the termination of
therapy approach. CS
A Gestalt C CS is presented first and US is
B Cognitive presented after the termination of
C Behavioral CS
D Phenomenological D US is presented first and CS is
Answer: Option [B] presented after the termination of
US
99. The process by which a trained Answer: Option [D]
professional uses psychological
methods to help people with 102 The James-Lange theory and the
psychological problem is known as: cognitive theory of emotion disagree
A Psychiatry on whether :
B Psychoanalysis A specific brain centers are involved
C Psychosurgery in specific emotions.
D Psychotherapy B bodily feedback determines which
Answer: Option [D] emotion is felt.
C individuals can judge their
100. Basic characteristics of tasks emotions accurately.
that result in social loafing is that D there is no any biological
they are: involvement in human emotions.
A Additive Answer: Option [B]
B Negative
C Subtractive 103 Biologically based emotional
D Multiplicative and behavioural tendencies that are
Answer: Option [A] evident in early childhood represent
:
101 Backward Conditioning occurs A Trait
when : B Type
A CS and US are presented C Temperament
simultaneously D Style

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Answer: Option [C] B Operant conditioning takes place

as a result of some voluntary action
104 In Jungian theory, the idea that while classical conditioning takes
energy is automatically redistributed place without choice.
in the psyche in order to achieve C In operant conditioning, response
equilibrium or balance depicts : is elicited while in classical
A Principle of Equivalence conditioning it is emitted.
B Principle of Synchronicity D In operant conditioning magnitude
C Principle of Entrophy of the response is the index of
D Principle of Opposites conditioning while in classical
Answer: Option [C] conditioning it is the rate of
response.
105 After the recent terrorist attacks Answer: Option [B]
in France, a psychologist proposed a
study wherein he would interview 107 Words learned under water are
two hundred French citizens to find recalled :
whether their attitude towards fate A Better on land than under water
as a consequence of the attack. This B Better above land (sky) than on
study can best be labelled as : land
A attitude change experiment C Better above land (sky) than under
B field experiment water
C ex post facto study D Better under water than on land
D psychometric study Answer: Option [D]
Answer: Option [C]
108 Which of the following sequence
106 Which of the following is correct is correct ?
while comparing classical and A Oral phase ® Anal phase ® Latency
operant conditioning ? ® Phallic ® Genital
A Operant conditioning takes place B Anal ® Oral ® Phallic ® Latency ®
before reinforcement while classical Genital
conditioning takes place after C Oral ® Anal ® Phallic ® Latency ®
reinforcement. Genital

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

D Oral ® Phallic ® Anal ® Genital ® Answer: Option [D]

Latency
Answer: Option [C] 112 What is the role of positive and
negative reinforcement ?
109 Which memory is the result of A To increase the likelihood that
instrumental/motor learning responses preceding both will be
processes ? repeated.
A Semantic memory B To decrease the likelihood that
B Episodic memory responses preceding negative
C Sensory memory reinforcement will be repeated.
D Procedural memory C To increase the likelihood that
Answer: Option [D] responses preceding only positive
reinforcement will be repeated.
110 In which lobe of the cerebral D To ensure that there are no
cortex, the primary olfactory cortex negative consequences following the
lies ? behaviour.
A Frontal lobe Answer: Option [A]
B Temporal lobe
C Occipital lobe 113 While forming a concept one
D Parietal lobe chooses to take one hypothesis and
Answer: Option [B] selects many of its features to
quickly form the concept at once :
111 “Factor Analysis is used as a A Successive scanning
means of confirming a structured B Conservative focusing
model than as a means of C Focus gambling
discovering a structural model”. This D Simultaneous scanning
is true of which theory of Answer: Option [C]
intelligence ?
A Spearman 114 What is the correct sequence an
B Thurstone auditory stimulus takes to reach the
C Jensen primary auditory cortex ?
D Guilford

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

A Cochlear nuclei - Superior olive - B Split-half reliability coefficient

Inferior colliculus - Medial geniculate would also be .90, but the Kuder -
nucleus Richardson reliability coefficient may
B Cochlear nuclei - Inferior colliculus differ from .90.
- Superior olive - Medial geniculate C Both Kuder - Richardson reliability
nucleus coefficient and split-half reliability
C Superior olive - Cochlear nuclei - coefficient would be .90.
Inferior colliculus - Medial geniculate D The correlation between odd and
nucleus even parts of the test would be .90.
D Medial geniculate nucleus - Answer: Option [A]
Inferior colliculus - Superior olive -
Cochlear nucleus 117 To obtain inter-item
Answer: Option [A] correlations, which one of the
following correlation coefficient
115 In the above context, which one should be used in the above analysis
of the following correlation should ?
be computed to obtain item- A Biserial correlation
remainder correlations ? B Point biserial correlation
A Point biserial correlation C Phi-coefficient
B Phi-coefficient D Rank difference correlation
C Rank difference correlation Answer: Option [C]
D Tetrachoric correlation
Answer: Option [A] 118 What is the expected Cronbach
alpha for the short versions, referred
116 Which one of the following to in the paragraph ?
statement would be true in the A 0.45
above context ? B 0.67
A Kuder - Richardson reliability C 0.82
coefficient would also be .90, but the D 0.90
split-half reliability coefficient may Answer: Option [C]
differ from .90.

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119 Which one of the following B Habituation

conclusion can be drawn from the C Sensitization
data provided above ? The new D Reflexive Behaviour
Abstract Thinking Test has : Answer: Option [C]
A Satisfactory convergent validity
B Satisfactory divergent validity 123 Because it has the external
C Satisfactory concurrent validity features associated with the concept
D Unsatisfactory concurrent validity of dog, a wolf is perceived as a dog.
Answer: Option [D] This is an example of :
A Centration
120 The factors that influence social B Equilibration
behaviour and thoughts in certain C Object permanence
ways are called : D Prototype
A Independent variables Answer: Option [D]
B Confounding variables
C Dependent variables 124 Which of the following is the
D Mediating variables final destination for much of the
Answer: Option [D] brain’s information about emotion
before action is taken ?
121 Phonemic restoration as we A Amygdala
perceive speech in a noisy party is an B Anterior cingulate cortex
example of : C Pre-frontal cortex
A Top down processing D Hypothalamus
B Bottom up processing Answer: Option [C]
C Subliminal perception
D Supraliminal perception 125 Cattell propounded gf-gc theory
Answer: Option [A] of intelligence mainly based on :
A First order factors of abilities
122 Feeling touchy or hypersensitive B Second order factors of abilities
following an upsetting experience is C Third order factors of abilities
a form of : D Higher order factors of abilities
A Imprinting Answer: Option [B]

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128 Four important elements in the

126 Which one of the following theory of signal detection are :
statements is true ? A errors, hits, speed and accuracy
A The ‘Global Five’ factors in B speed, accuracy, power and false
personality refer to the second-order alarm
factors of 16 PF, latest edition. C hit, miss, correct rejection and
B The ‘Global Five’ factors refer to false alarm
the factors assessed by the NEO-Five D acuity, efficacy, speed and power
Factor Inventory, latest edition. Answer: Option [C]
C The ‘Global Five’ factors refer to
the factors assessed by Goldberg’s 129 Jia had written a list to do her
bipolar adjectives. week end work, but incidently left it
D The ‘Global Five’ factors are home while going out for her first
derived from Eysenck Personality activity. Trying to remember the list,
Profiler, latest edition. Jia remembers what was at the
Answer: Option [A] beginning of the list and what was at
the end but not those things in the
127 Which of the following middle. This is an example of :
statements best defines maturation A Encoding specificity effect
? B Flash bulb memory
A It is directly based on social- C Serial position effect
cognitive learning D Tip-of-the tongue effect
B It is an automatic biological Answer: Option [C]
development of the body that
naturally unfolds over time 130 Torrance Tests of Creative
C It does not take place in human Thinking (TTCT) are mainly indexing :
beings A Creative Products
D It is the basis of all physical and B Creative Processes
psychological developments C Creative Personality
Answer: Option [B] D Creative Persuation
Answer: Option [B]

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

131 Which one of the scaling method A Development of language is

is more likely to yield between three and five years of age
multidimensional attitude scale ? B Language development is
A Guttman scalogram analysis dependent on the reinforcements
B Paired comparison method received by the child
C Equal appearing intervals method C Children acquire mistakes in
D Method of summated rating language by observing their parents
Answer: Option [D] and others around them
D Children have an innate mental
132 When is aspiration a method of grammar
choice to make a lesion ? Answer: Option [D]
A in a deeper brain area
B in an area of cerebral cortex 135 The centre - surround
C an irreversible lesion organization of ganglion cells that
D in underlying white matter enhance contrast at edges in a visual
Answer: Option [B] environment is well illustrated by :
A Craik bands
133 A psychologist was B Mach bands
administering a projective test which C Luminance bands
involved a word association task. D Optic bands
She tended to nod and smile every Answer: Option [A]
time a plural word was given by the
respondent. The following testing 136. The growth needs of ERG
bias was seen : theory are represented by various
A favoritism needs in Maslow’s model :
B test wiseness A Physiological and social needs
C selective reinforcement B Safety needs and esteem needs
D gender of assessor C Social needs and esteem needs
Answer: Option [C] D Esteem needs and self-
actualization needs
134 Which of the following is a Answer: Option [D]
characteristic of Chomsky’s theory ?

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137 In Bloom’s taxonomy of 140 Detecting movement in spite of

educational objectives, the following camouflage is easier for people who
appear in ascending order : are :
A Remember ® Understand ® Apply ® A field dependent
Analyze B field independent
B Apply ® Analyze ® Understand ® C both field dependent and field
Remember independent
C Understand ® Apply ® Remember ® D neither field dependent nor field
Analyze independent
D Analyze ® Remember ® Apply ® Answer: Option [B]
Understand
Answer: Option [A] 141 Self is conceptualized in Western
and Eastern perspectives on
138 Helpers respond to the needs of personality, respectively, as :
a victim because they want to A free and deterministic
accomplish something rewarding; B instinctive and learned
this may be referred as : C ideal and real
A Negative state - relief model D independent and interdependent
B Empathic - joy hypothesis Answer: Option [D]
C Empathy - altruism hypothesis.
D Pluralistic empathy 142 When a Background
Answer: Option [B] Interference Procedure was used
experimentally, the following
139 Which is the correct order of the findings became apparent ?
emergence of following Psycho- A Field independent persons did
Social strengths ? better than field dependent persons
A Love, Fidelity, Wisdom, Care B Field dependent persons did better
B Care, Fidelity, Love, Wisdom than field independent persons
C Fidelity, Love, Care, Wisdom C Both field dependent and field
D Care, Fidelity, Wisdom, Love independent persons did equally
Answer: Option [C] well

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

D BIP enhanced the performance of 146 Which one of the following

all subjects design is used in the above research
Answer: Option [A] ?
A Multigroup design with single I.V.
143 People with moderate mental B 232 factorial design
retardation would have an IQ in the C 232 mixed factorial design
range of : D Repeated measures design
A 10 to 19 Answer: Option [B]
B 35 to 54
C 55 to 70 147 Which one of the following
D 20 to 34 statement is true in the context of
Answer: Option [B] above study ?
A The assumption of homogeneity of
144 The following is not typically variance was satisfied.
found in a school guidance B The assumption of homogeneity of
counsellor’s office : variance was not satisfied.
A Sand pit C The correction for heterogeneity of
B Lie detector variance was required.
C Psychometric tests D The data are insufficient to
D Puppets and play dough evaluate the assumption of
Answer: Option [B] homogeneity of variance.
Answer: Option [A]
145 According to Piaget the children
are able to grasp the concept of 148 On the basis of the information
object permanence and conservation provided about the main effect of A,
in : it can be concluded that :
A Sensory motor stage A Interpolated learning had no effect
B Pre-operational stage on the recall of A.
C Concrete operational stage B Interpolated learning caused
D Formal operations stage retroactive interference.
Answer: Option [] C Interpolated learning caused
retroactive facilitation.

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D Either retroactive interference or C 110

retroactive facilitation has occurred. D 121
Answer: Option [D] Answer: Option [B]

149 What would be the degrees of 152 Who first attempted to describe
freedom for the numerator and personality traits in terms of Lexican
denominator of the F - ratio defined descriptors ?
as ‘MSA3B/MSE’ ? A Ross Stagner
A 1 and 96 respectively B Allport and Odbert
B 1 and 98 respectively C R.B. Cattell
C 2 and 97 respectively D Coasta and McCrae
D 3 and 96 respectively Answer: Option [B]
Answer: Option [A]
153 Which of the following is
150 A procedure that establishes a correctly arranged ?
sequence of responses which lead to A Encoding – retrieval – storage
a reward following the final B Encoding – storage – retrieval
response and then working C Storage – encoding – retrieval
backwards is called D Retrieval – encoding – storage
A Shaping Answer: Option [B]
B Stimulus control
C Chaining 154 Which one of the following does
D Stimulus generalization not contribute to memory ?
Answer: Option [C] A Interesting / disinteresting
learning material
151 In a study on scaling of attitude B Goal behind learning
items, eleven statements were C Gender
included. What would be the D Some rest after learning
number of pairs of attitude Answer: Option [C]
statements ?
A 21 155 In terms of efficiency in scanning
B 55 information, which one of the

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

following strategies is considered to 158 Lesions of the ventromedial

be the best ? nuclei in the hypothalamus produce
A Conservative focusing A Anorexia
B Focus gambling B Obesity
C Simultaneous scanning C Low level of Leptin
D Successive scanning D Hypoinsulinemia
Answer: Option [C] Answer: Option [B]

156 According to Master and 159 When the action potential

Johnson following is the correct reaches the end of the axon
sequence of human sexual response terminals, it causes the release of
: A An electric spark that sets off the
A Excitement → Orgasm → Plateau next neuron
→ Resolution B Positively charged ions that excite
B Excitement → Plateau → Orgasm the next cell
→ Resolution C Negatively charged ions that
C Excitement → Arousal → Orgasm inhibit the next cell.
→ Resolution D Neurotransmitters that excite or
D Arousal → Excitement → Orgasm inhibit the next cell.
→ Resolution Answer: Option [D]
Answer: Option [B]
160 AIDS attack a number of very
157 In graphical representations different population; young gay
showing stress levels on X axis and men, intravenous drug users,
performance on Y axis, best haemophiliacs, Haitians, infants and
performance can be expected at recipients of blood transfusion, but
A Lower end of X axis commonly among them is the
B Middle portion of X axis decrease in T lymphocytes, so it is an
C Higher end of X axis example of
D None of the above A Inductive reasoning
Answer: Option [B] B Deductive reasoning
C Analogical reasoning

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D Syllogism B Class → Unit → Systems →

Answer: Option [A] Relation → Transformation →
Implication
161 Muller-Lyer illusion is likely to C Unit → Class → Relation → System
occur more in cultures characterised → Transformation → Implication
by D Unit → Relation → Class → System
A People living in rectangular and → Transformation → Implication
square buildings Answer: Option [C]
B People living in buildings which are
round and have few corners 164 The light passes through the eye
C People living in open spaces in which of the following sequence ?
D People living in caves A Cornea, Pupil, Lens, Retina
Answer: Option [A] B Cornea, Lens, Pupil, Retina
C Lens, Cornea, Pupil, Retina
162 28. One prominent class of D Pupil, Cornea, Lens, Retina
theorists of deductive reasoning Answer: Option [A]
believe that deduction depends on
_____ of inference akin to those of 165 Which one of the following
______. statement is true in the context of
A informal rules; logical calculus item analysis ?
B formal rules; analytical calculus A Item-total correlation = Item-
C procedural rules; logical calculus remainder correlation
D formal rules; logical calculus B Item-total correlation is greater
Answer: Option [D] than or equal to item-remainder
correlation.
163 What is the correct sequence of C Item-total correlation is smaller
products in Guilford’s Struct of than or equal to item-remainder
Intellect Model (SOI) ? correlation.
A Unit → Class → System → D Item-total correlation cannot be
Relations → Implication → negative.
Transformation Answer: Option [B]

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166 36. The difference in images in B Red, Blue and Green

the two eyes is greater for objects C Yellow, Blue and Green
that are close and smaller for distant D Yellow, Red and Blue
objects is an example of Answer: Option [B]
A Binocular Disparity
B Convergence 169 Which one of the following
C Accommodation conclusion can be drawn on the
D Relative Size basis of the above study ?
Answer: Option [A] A The researcher’s hypothesis has
been accepted.
167 Shaping in instrumental B The researcher’s hypothesis has
conditioning means been rejected.
A Teaching a complex sequence of C The researcher’s hypothesis has
behaviours by first shaping the final been partially accepted.
response in the sequence and then D Inadequate data to evaluate
working backwards researcher’s hypothesis.
B A continuous reinforcement Answer: Option [B]
schedule is used for establishing new
behaviours. 170 Amit met with an accident and
C It involves reinforcing successive later turned into impulsive,
approximations of the final desired irresponsible and less concerned
behaviour. with the consequences of his
D Consistent occurrence of a actions. He must have suffered
behaviour in the presence of damage in
discriminative stimulus. A Parietal lobe
Answer: Option [C] B Frontal lobe
C Occipital lobe
168 According to Trichromatic D Temporal lobe
theory of colour vision, which of the Answer: Option [B]
following are the three types of
cones ? 171 Effective teaching may include
A Red, Yellow and Blue conceptual scaffolding, which is best

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

described by the following C ethically correct practice provided

statement : the results are used only for
A introducing practice sessions after diagnostic purpose.
every module. D ethically correct practice provided
B gradually fading support as the results are kept confidential and
student proficiency increases. are used only for diagnostic purpose.
C punishing student for incorrect Answer: Option [A]
answers.
D encouraging brighter students to 174 The following instrument can
help weaker students. not be utilized in the measurement
Answer: Option [B] of emotions :
A Sphygmomano meter
172 A social worker, appointed to B Galvanic skin response
assist the psychiatrist, used to C Digital thermometer
administer and interpret Rorschach D Pupillary measurement camera
test. This is an Answer: Option [C]
A ethically incorrect practice
B ethically correct practice 175 Arrange in sequence the stage of
C ethically correct practice provided personality development according
the results are used only for to Rollo May
diagnostic purpose. A Innocence → ordinary
D ethically correct practice provided consciousness of self → rebellion →
the results are kept confidential and creative consciousness of self
are used only for diagnostic purpose. B Innocence → rebellion → ordinary
Answer: Option [A] consciousness of self → creative
consciousness of self
173 A social worker, appointed to C Ordinary consciousness of self →
assist the psychiatrist, used to innocence → rebellion → creative
administer and interpret Rorschach consciousness of self
test. This is an D Rebellion → innocence → ordinary
A ethically incorrect practice consciousness of self → creative
B ethically correct practice consciousness of self

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Answer: Option [B] D Procedural justice; Distributive

justice
176 The rapid change in Answer: Option [C]
performance as the size of
reinforcement in varied is called 179 The concept of _______ is vital
A Crespi effect in the understanding of fractional
B Disequilibrium hypothesis antedating goal response
C Premack principal A Drive stimulus reduction
D Programmed learning B Reactive Inhibition
Answer: Option [A] C Secondary Reinforcement
D Conditioned Inhibition
177 In Solomon Asch’s study on Answer: Option [C]
conformity, subjects conformed to
the Group approximately what 180 Which of the following identity
percent of time status describes the individual who
A 25% has been exploring but not yet
B 35% committed to self chosen values and
C 45% goals ?
D over 50% A Identity achievement
Answer: Option [B] B Identity foreclosure
C Identity diffusion
178 Perceived fairness of the D Identity moratorium
amount and rewards among Answer: Option [D]
individuals refers to ________ while
perceived fairness of the ways used 181 Scientific study of Creativity is
for rewards and pays refers to considered to be started by
_________. A Galton
A Organizational justice, Distributive B Guilford
justice C Torrance
B Equity, Organizational justice D Mednick
C Distributive justice; Procedural Answer: Option [B]
justice

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182 Culture exerts strong effect on C Specific, surprising, unimportant

memory through the operation of events
cultural schema. One’s memory is D Unspecific, important, common
influenced by learning in events
A Own culture effect Answer: Option [A
B Culture effect due to enculturation
C Acculturation effect 185 Which of the following
D Socialization effect sequences is correct with respect to
Answer: Option [A] effective teaching ?
A Match student’s level → specify
183 21. Evolutionary Social learning goals → emphasize self
Psychology Research seeks to comparison → suggest
investigate : improvements and model problem
A Changes in human behaviour solving.
B Seeks to investigate the potential B Specify learning goals →
role of genetic factors on social emphasize self-comparison →
behaviour suggest improvements and model
C Interrelationships between people problem solving → match student’s
of two groups of different social level.
environment C Suggest improvements and model
D Focuses on individual’s behaviour. problem solving → match student’s
Answer: Option [B] level → specify learning goals →
emphasize self-comparison
D Emphasize self-comparison →
184 Which one of the following is match student’s level → specify
the right explanation of flash bulb learning goals → suggest
memory ? improvements and model problem
A New, important, helpful social solving.
events Answer: Option [A]
B Unspecific, important, common
events 186 Sleep disorders can be
categorized as

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

A Paraphilias and Dysfunctions B Job instruction training

B Insomnia and Hypersomnia C Role playing
C Parasomnias and Dyssomnias D Apprentice training
D Serotonergic and Dopaminergic Answer: Option [C]
Answer: Option [C]
190 “Pygmalion effect” in
187 Which is the correct sequence of educational settings suggests :
the stages involved in creative A exceptional progress by student as
thinking ? a result of high teacher expectations.
A Preparation; orientation; B biases creeping into summative
illumination; incubation; verification assessment
B Preparation; incubation; C authenticity factors in classroom
illumination; orientation; assessment.
verification D influences on curricular structure.
C Orientation; preparation; Answer: Option [A]
incubation; illumination; verification
D Orientation; preparation; 191 Which of the following is not a
illumination; incubation; verification diagnosable sleep disorder :
Answer: Option [C] A Somnambulism
B Somniloquy
188 Selective attention in vision and C Sleep terror
audition respectively have been D Insomnia
dubbed as Answer: Option [B]
A ‘optic’ and ‘haptic’
B ‘spotlight’ and ‘gateway’ 192 A field experiment at the Bronx
C ‘spatial’ and ‘acoustic’ Zoo illustrated the potential
D ‘central’ and ‘peripheral importance of _________ indicating
Answer: Option [B] that an individual has legitimate
authority. Fill in the blank from given
189 Which is not the part of “on the below.
job training” ? A Gender
A Orientation training B Uniforms

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C Age washing hands unnecessarily, he

D An authoritarian personality should wear a rubber band around
Answer: Option [D] his wrist and snap it everytime he
feels like washing his hands. What
193 Thinking is a complex set of therapy he is using ?
collaborations between __________ A Systematic desensitization
and _________representations and B Aversion therapy
processes. C Flooding
A Linguistic; semantic D Modelling
B Linguistic; verbal Answer: Option [B]
C Semantic; non-linguistic
D Linguistic; non-linguistic 197 The need for _______ produces
Answer: Option [D] active, controlling social behaviour
while need for _________ produces
194 Signal detection depends upon more passive, less controlling social
A motivation and expectations behaviour.
B signal intensity and noise A affiliation; self-esteem
C sensitivity and response criterion B confidence; intimacy
D absolute and relative thresholds C affiliation; intimacy
Answer: Option [C] D intimacy; affiliation
Answer: Option [C]
195 Which of the following does not
present with symptoms of mental 198 According to Triarchic Theory of
retardation ? Intelligence, arrange the correct
A Cri du chat syndrome functional sequence of
B Down’s syndrome metacomponents
C Fugue A Identification of problem →
D Trisomy-21 defining the givens, goals &
Answer: Option [C] obstacles → choosing appropriate
strategy → selection of lower order
196 Therapist suggested to Sunil that processes → selection of mental
while trying to give up the habit of representation → allocation of

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

mental resources → monitoring → B Preparation; incubation;

evaluation. illumination; orientation;
B Identification of problem → verification
defining the givens, goals & C Orientation; preparation;
obstacles → selection of lower order incubation; illumination; verification
processes → choosing appropriate D Orientation; preparation;
strategy → selecting a mental illumination; incubation; verification
representation → allocating mental Answer: Option [C]
resources → monitoring →
evaluation. 200 In which one of the following
C Identification of problem → scaling methods, Law of
choosing appropriate strategy → Comparative Judgement is used
defining givens, goals and obstacles clearly while computing scale values
→ allocating mental resources → ?
monitoring → selecting mental A Summated ratings
representation → evaluation B Equal appearing intervals
D Defining the givens, goals and C JND scales
obstacles → identification of D Paired Comparison
problem → selection of lower order Answer: Option [D]
processes → choosing appropriate
strategy → selecting a mental 201 The model of memory most
representation → allocating mental frequently cited consists of Short
resources → monitoring → Term Memory (STM) which serve(s)
evaluation as gateway to Long Term Memory
Answer: Option [B] (LTM). This model was propounded
by
199 Which is the correct sequence of A Ebbinghaus
the stages involved in creative B Craik and Lockhart
thinking ? C Tulving
A Preparation; orientation; D Atkinson and Shiffring
illumination; incubation; verification Answer: Option [D]

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202. The phenomenon of clinging to 205. What would be the multiple

one’s initial conceptions after the correlation between the job
basis on which they were formed efficiency and the three predictors
and had been discredited refers to : (M.B.A. marks, selection test scores,
A Belief bias and the evaluations scores at the
B Belief perseverance end of inhouse training) ?
C Over confidence A 0.50
D Framing decisions B 0.65
Answer: Option [B] C 0.75
D Inadequate data
203. Mechanistic and Cognitive Answer: Option [C]
approaches to motivation differ in
the extent to which ______ are 206. The b coefficient obtained in
invoked to account for the initiation, multiple regression is
direction, intensity and persistence A Partial correlation coefficient
of goal directed behaviour. B Correlation coefficient
A Dynamic traits C Regression coefficient
B Higher mental processes D Partial regression coefficient
C Drives Answer: Option [D]
D Instincts
Answer: Option [B] 207. Which one of the following
conclusion can be drawn on the
204. Which of the following is the basis of above paragraph ?
term for describing a child’s one A All the four predictors (M.B.A.
word utterances ? marks, selection test scores,
A Over extensions evaluation scores at the end of
B Under extensions inhouse training and communication
C Holophrases skills) are uncorrelated with each
D Telegraphic speech other.
Answer: Option [C] B Out of the four predictors, at least
some are correlated with each other.

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

C Communication skills scores are 210 Effective teaching may include

uncorrelated with other predictors. conceptual scaffolding, which is best
D The four predictors theoretically described by the following
appear to be correlated, but we statement :
cannot infer about their A introducing practice sessions after
intercorrelations from the data every module.
provided. B gradually fading support as
Answer: Option [B] student proficiency increases.
C punishing student for incorrect
208 Words learned under water are answers.
recalled : D encouraging brighter students to
A Better on land than under water help weaker students.
B Better above land (sky) than on Answer: Option [B]
land
C Better above land (sky) than under 211 A social worker, appointed to
water assist the psychiatrist, used to
D Better under water than on land administer and interpret Rorschach
Answer: Option [D] test. This is an
A ethically incorrect practice
209 Amit met with an accident and B ethically correct practice
later turned into impulsive, C ethically correct practice provided
irresponsible and less concerned the results are used only for
with the consequences of his diagnostic purpose.
actions. He must have suffered D ethically correct practice provided
damage in the results are kept confidential and
A Parietal lobe are used only for diagnostic purpose.
B Frontal lobe Answer: Option [A]
C Occipital lobe
D Temporal lobe 212 Arrange in sequence the stage of
Answer: Option [B] personality development according
to Rollo May

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

A Innocence → ordinary
consciousness of self → rebellion → 215. Perceived fairness of the
creative consciousness of self amount and rewards among
B Innocence → rebellion → ordinary individuals refers to ________ while
consciousness of self → creative perceived fairness of the ways used
consciousness of self for rewards and pays refers to
C Ordinary consciousness of self → _________.
innocence → rebellion → creative A Organizational justice, Distributive
consciousness of self justice
D Rebellion → innocence → ordinary B Equity, Organizational justice
consciousness of self → creative C Distributive justice; Procedural
consciousness of self justice
Answer: Option [B] D Procedural justice; Distributive
justice
213 The rapid change in Answer: Option [C]
performance as the size of
reinforcement in varied is called 216 Which of the following identity
A Crespi effect status describes the individual who
B Disequilibrium hypothesis has been exploring but not yet
C Premack principal committed to self chosen values and
D Programmed learning goals ?
Answer: Option [A] A Identity achievement
B Identity foreclosure
214 In Solomon Asch’s study on C Identity diffusion
conformity, subjects conformed to D Identity moratorium
the Group approximately what Answer: Option [D]
percent of time
A 25% 217 Scientific study of Creativity is
B 35% considered to be started by
C 45% A Galton
D over 50% B Guilford
Answer: Option [B] C Torrance

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

D Mednick Answer: Option [B

Answer: Option [B]
221. Job satisfaction is enhanced by
218 Sleep disorders can be tasks that are:
categorized as A Very easy to accomplish
A Paraphilias and Dysfunctions B Overwhelming and rewarding
B Insomnia and Hypersomnia C Unrelated to one’s personal needs
C Parasomnias and Dyssomnias D Challenging but not overwhelming
D Serotonergic and Dopaminergic Answer: Option [D]
Answer: Option [C]
222. Piaget’s stage for infancy is:
219 Which is the correct sequence of A Formal operation
the stages involved in creative B Preoperational thought
thinking ? C Sensory motor thoughts
A Preparation; orientation; D Concrete operations
illumination; incubation; verification Answer: Option [C]
B Preparation; incubation;
illumination; orientation; 223. When a researcher tests
verification several groups of people at the same
C Orientation; preparation; time each group at a different age,
incubation; illumination; verification he is conducting a(n) ______ study.
D Orientation; preparation; A Sequential
illumination; incubation; verification B Cross-sectional
Answer: Option [C] C Longitudinal
D Observational
220 Selective attention in vision and Answer: Option [B]
audition respectively have been
dubbed as 224. An individual becomes a
A ‘optic’ and ‘haptic’ member of social group through the
B ‘spotlight’ and ‘gateway’ process of:
C ‘spatial’ and ‘acoustic’ A Aging
D ‘central’ and ‘peripheral B Learning

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

C Maturation
D Socialization 228. The stage of prenatal
Answer: Option [D] development during which the
developing organism is most
225. The first two weeks of life are vulnerable to injury is the:
referred to as: A Embryonic stage
A Early childhood B Fetal stage
B The neonatal period C Germinal stage
C The period of infancy D Zygotic stage
D The preoperational stage Answer: Option [A]
Answer: Option [B]

226 It would be more accurate to 229 The current Stanford-Binet

say that maturation: Intelligence Test is descended from
A Can be delayed by illness or poor the test developed by Binet and
nutrition Simon:
B Is dramatically accelerated by A In early 1600s
good nutrition B In early 1800s
C Is not affected by any C In early 1900s
environmental factors because it is D None of the above
genetic Answer: In early 1900s
D Is greatly accelerated by good
health care and delayed by illness 230 The capacity to learn and adapt
Answer: Option [D] to the requirements for survival in
one’s culture is called:
227. Which of the following is part A Learning
of the psychosocial domain? B Emotion
A Memory C Intelligence
B Judgment D Abstraction
C Motor skills Answer: Intelligence
D Style of behaving
Answer: Option [D]

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231 Who told that mental Answer: The manifestation of

functioning involves two types of general intelligence in greater
abilities – an associative ability and a degree
cognitive ability?
A A. R. Jensen 234 Who introduced the term
B E. B. Titchener “Intelligence Quo¬tient” (I.Q.)?
C J. B. Watson A William Stern
D Wilhelm Wundt B R. B. Cattell
Answer: A. R. Jensen C A. R. Jensen
D E. L. Thorndike
232 Who viewed intelligence as an Answer: William Stern
attribute of the person like any
other attribute such as blood 235 The term “intelligence” is
pressure and temperature etc? derived from a Latin word, framed
A A. R. Jensen by Cicero to translate a Greek word
B Carl Spearman used by Aristotle to include:
C R. B. Cattell A Specific effective processes
D None of the above B All effective processes
Answer: A. R. Jensen C Specific cognitive processes
D All cognitive processes
233 According to Spearman, the Answer: All cognitive processes
capacity for activities like reading a
novel, speaking fluently, planning 236 The simultaneous existence of
the train route from a map etc. two opposed emotions, motivations
involve: or attitudes e.g. love- hate,
A Primary mental ability approach-avoidance is called:
B The manifestation of specific A Rationalization
intelli¬gence in greater degree B Narcissism
C Abstract level of intelligence C Instinct
D The manifestation of general D Ambivalence
intelligence in greater degree Answer: Ambivalence

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237 The proverbial story of Answer: Conscious mental activity of

milkmaid’s daughter is an illustration the indi¬vidual
of:
A Fantasy 240 Delusions can be classified into
B Creative Thinking two types and these are:
C Divergent Thinking A Transitory and permanent
D Dream B Direct and indirect
Answer: Fantasy C Grandeur and persecution
D None of the above
238 If we start visualising that we Answer: Grandeur and persecution
will go to heaven and start
experiencing all the pleasures 241 Some delusions are there which
therein, this would be: are brief or fleeting. These are
A Imagination called:
B Day-dreaming A Delusion of Persecution
C Dream B Chronic Delusions
D None of the above C Delusion of Grandeur
Answer: Day-dreaming D Transient Delusions
Answer: Transient Delusions
239 The difference between day-
dreams and fantasy is that the 242 Some delusions are there which
former are much more organised are very elaborate and many
and relate to the: completely engulf the individual.
A Subconscious mental activity of These are called:
the individual A Chronic or Systematic Delusions
B Unconscious mental activity of the B Transient Delusions
indi¬vidual C Delusion of Grandeur
C Conscious mental activity of the D Delusion of Persecution
indi¬vidual Answer: Chronic or Systematic
D Both conscious and unconscious Delusions
acti¬vities of the individual

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

243 “Sometimes an individual feet’s

that he is being harassed, 246 Self-condemnatory delusions
persecuted and plotted against by generally ref¬lect a need for:
everyone. He is obsessed with the A Affection
idea that everybody around is out to B Reward
get him, harm him, kill him and he is C Punishment
a victim of domestic, national and D None of the above
international conspiracies”. This is Answer: Punishment
an example of:
A Delusion of Persecution 247 Hypochondriasis is usually
B Systematic Delusions interpreted as an escape from life
C Transient Delusions difficulties:
D Delusion of Grandeur A By a flight into coma stage
Answer: Delusion of Persecution B By a flight into disease
C By a flight into unconscious stage
244 The ideas which were interfering D By a flight into dream
with the solution of the problem Answer: By a flight into disease
tend to fade in:
A Preparation Period 248 Jean Piaget was a/an:
B Evaluation Period A Russian Psychologist
C Incubation Period B English Psychologist
D None of the above C Swiss Psychologist
Answer: Incubation Period D German Psychologist
Answer: Swiss Psychologist
245 Hypochondriacal delusions are
concerned with an excessive 249 Jean Piaget used the term
preoccupation with imaginary: “Schemata” to refer to the cognitive
A Physical or Mental disease structures underlying organized
B Psychoses patterns of:
C Physical diseases A Behaviour
D Mental diseases B Experience
Answer: Physical or Mental disease C Temperament

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

D None of the above D None of the above

Answer: Behaviour Answer: Primary circular Reaction

250 In which development stage, 253 Children actively use trial-and-

according to Piaget, “Object error methods to learn more about
permanence” develops? the properties of objects in the
A Concrete operation period developmental stage of:
B Formal operation period A Coordination of secondary
C Preoperational Period schemata
D Sensorimotor Period B Primary circular Reactions
Answer: Sensorimotor Period C Tertiary circular Reactions
D Secondary circular Reactions
251 Piaget speaks of the “plane of Answer: Tertiary circular Reactions
action” in the sensorimotor phase
preceding and being essential for the 254 The major characteristic of the
later development of the: preope¬rational phase is the
A Plane of thought development of systems of
B Personality representation, such as language,
C Concept formation which Piaget calls the:
D Image A Symbolic function
Answer: Plane of thought B Explicit function
C Communicative cues
252 In which substage of D Implicit function
Sensorimotor Period, the infant Answer: Symbolic function
repeats and modifies actions which
initially may have occurred by 255 The child’s habit of attending to
chance and which the child finds to one salient aspect of a problem
be satisfying or pleasurable? neglecting other ones, thus
A Primary circular Reaction distorting reasoning is known as:
B Coordination of secondary A Centration
schemata B Syncretism
C Tertiary circular Reaction C Egocentrism

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

D Transductive reasoning 259 The concept of an automobile is:

Answer: Centration A A haphazard concept
B A disjunctive concept
256 The child’s cognitive structure C An image
reaches maturity during: D A conjuctive concept
A The period of formal operations Answer: A conjuctive concept
B Concrete operational period
C Sensorimotor period 260 The concepts which refer to
D Preoperational period relationship between two elements
Answer: The period of formal in a situation is known as:
operations A Relational Concepts
B Simple concepts
257 When we just start completely C Conjunctive Concepts
agreeing with some deduced results D None of the above
or principles and try to apply to Answer: Relational Concepts
particular cases, it is known as:
A Convergent Thinking 261. In which strategy in concept
B Inductive Reasoning learning, the “S” immediately jumps
C Divergent Thinking to the conclusion?
D Deductive Reasoning A Gambler’s approach
Answer: Deductive Reasoning B Conservative appraoch
C Wholist approach
258 One school of psychology D Partist approach
attempted to show that thinking Answer: Gambler’s approach
without the sensory images is
possible. What is the name of this 262 In “Conservative Approach”, in
school? the stra¬tegies in concept formation,
A Woozberg school the “S” (Sub¬ject) proceeds very
B Gestalt school cautiously and syste¬matically
C Behaviouristic school concentrating on:
D None of the above A Three features of the card at a
time

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

B Four features of the card at a time A A morphem

C One feature of the card at a time B A phonem
D None of the above C A concept
Answer: One feature of the card at a D An image
time Answer: A morphem

263 A German Psychologist, Karl 266 The range between the loudest
Duncker, first proposed the concept and the weakest sounds that an
of: individual can make is called:
A Implicit Speech A Dynamic range
B Subvocal talking B Sensory range
C Functional Fixity C Pitch range
D Realistic Thinking D None of the above
Answer: Functional Fixity Answer: Dynamic range

264 “Functional Fixedness” is an 267 The information processing

important factor in: theory empha¬sises the contribution
A Day Dreaming of the child rather than the role of
B Thinking reinforcement as emphasized by the:
C Problem Solving A Operant model
D None of the above B Insightful learning model
Answer: None of the above C Classical conditioning model
D Trial-and-Error model
265 Knowledge of ‘phonems’ is Answer: Operant model
essential for comprehending a
language, but the phonems 268 In 1860s, a French physician Paul
themselves do not form a unit of Broca showed that a lower part of
perception of a language. The reason the frontal lobe, a short distance
is that we never hear them one at a above and in the front of the left ear
time. What we actually hear is two was mainly responsible for the:
or three phonemes combined into a A Creativity
syllable called:

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

B Formation and development of

images 272: ——- is the process in which
C Control of spoken language detecting ,translating and
D Concept formation transmitting from external
Answer: Control of spoken language environment to brain…
a) adaptation
269 The language region in the lower b) selective attention
frontal lobe is known as: c) sensation
A Broca’s Area d) perception
B Sherrington’ Area e) a and b both
C Wernicke’s Area f) none of these
D None of the above Answer – C
Answer: Broca’s Area
273: Most common form of Mood
270 The general term for speech Disorder…
disorder due to brain damage is a) Bipolar I
known as: b) Bipolar II
A Aphasia c) Seasonal Affective Disorder
B Paresthesia d) Major Depressive Disorder
C Astasia-abasia e) a and c both
D Aphonia f) none of these
Answer: Aphasi Answer – D

271: which of the following controls 274: Which one option is not a
thyroid gland? compulsive behaviour with
a) metabolism Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
b) glucose absorption a) Tapping
c) emotions b) Hoarding
d) a and b c) Washing
e) b and c d) Checking
f) none of these e) c and d both
Answer – A f) none of these

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

Answer – A Answer – C

275: —— disorders is not more 278: Many celebrities said to have

common in female populations… experienced which type of somatic
a) AN disorder…
b) MDD a) Disorder
c) BPD b) Body Dysmorphic Dearealisation
d) SP Disorder
e) a and d both c) Hyperchondriasis
f) none of these d) Somatoform Disorder
Answer – C e) all of these
f) noe of these
276: Which one option is not Answer – C
commonly diagnosed in criminals?
a) Depersonalisation Disorder 279: Our general method for dealing
b) Narcissistic Personality Disorder with environment is…
c) Schizophrenia a) perceptual style
d) Anti-Social Personality Disorder b) cognitive style
e) a and d both c) personality perceptual style
f) none of these d) intelligence
Answer – C e) none of these
f) a and c both
277: Many celebrities said to have Answer – B
experienced which type of somatic
disorder… 280: The childs increasing skill at
a) Disorder using his muscles is because of…
b) Body Dysmorphic Dearealisation a) An opportunity to exercise
Disorder b) Pushing by parents
c) Hyperchondriasis c) Learning
d) Somatoform Disorder d) Maturation
e) all of these e) a and b
f) noe of these f) None of these

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

Answer – D
284. Which of the following is NOT a
281: psychological domain is… situation for which intelligence test
a) Style of behaving is useful?
b) Memory a. Assess weaknesses of a
c) Motor skills student in school
d) Judgment b. Help psychologists design
e) b an c both rehabilitation programmes for
f) None of these neuropsychological patients
Answer – A c. Find out the amount of future
earning of a person
282: Peoploe lost touch with reality , d. Help school psychologists plan
When they are… an educational intervention
a) Manic programme for students who
b) Neurotic struggle
c) Psychotic Answer:
d) Psychopathic c. Find out the amount of future
e) c and d both earning of a person
f) None of these
Answer – C 285. When examining criterion
validity of IQ, which of the following
283. ‘Importance’ of intelligence can is important?
be judged according to which of the a. The time of day when IQ was
following? measured
a. The perception of its existence b. The IQ test that was used
b. The use of ‘intelligence’ c. The psychologist who
c. Its function in achieving social administer the test
outcome that is valued by the d. Determining the direction of
society causality
d. All of the above Answer:
Answer: e. Determining the direction of
d. All of the above causality

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

b. less variance in their academic

286. Which of the following is least achievement than emotional
predicted by intelligence? intelligence
a. Academic success c. more variance in their
b. Physical height academic achievement than
c. Occupational status either their personality or
d. Family income emotional intelligence
Answer: d. close to zero variance in their
b. Physical height academic achievement
Answer:
287. In educational setting, it has c. more variance in their academic
been found that … achievement than either their
a. as grade level increases, personality or emotional intelligence
intelligence becomes more
important 289. Intelligence can predict
b. intelligence is negatively academic success …
correlated with diligence a. up until undergraduate degree
c. high intelligence level leads to qualification
higher academic achievement b. beyond undergraduate degree
d. IQ is only relevant when non- qualification
verbal tests are used c. in primary school only
Answer: d. in high school only
a. as grade level increases, Answer:
intelligence becomes more b. beyond undergraduate degree
important qualification

288. In a study of high school 290. Which of the following can be

students, intelligence explained … predicted by intelligence?
a. as much variance in their a. Job level attained
academic achievement as their b. Job-related training
personality performance
c. Actual job performance

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

d. All of the above c. among persons whose jobs

Answer: requiring abstract thinking skills
d. All of the above
293. A possible reason for why
291. In non-Western countries, and intelligence is predictive of job
excluding Australia and Japan, there performance is that…
is a vacuum of evidence for IQ a. intelligence relates to the
predicting job performance. What ability to handle complex
does this suggest? information and learn
a. Non-Western countries do not b. intelligence provide the
measure job performance person with a sense of
b. IQ is an idea of the Western confidence
world c. intelligent individuals get
c. Researchers do not study non- along well with their
Western countries supervisor who rates them
d. Job performance can only be favourably
measured through career d. all of the above
advancement Answer:
Answer: a. intelligence relates to the ability
b. IQ is an idea of the Western world to handle complex information and
learn
292. In terms of occupational types,
high IQ scores are often found … 294. Which of the following
a. among persons with physical statement is true of a study of US
jobs such as labourers military personnel reported by
b. equally across all job types Gottfredson (1997)?
c. among persons whose jobs a. There were many more high
requiring abstract thinking cognitive ability scorers who
skills have trouble completing their
d. among army recruits military training compared to
Answer: low scorers

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

b. There were as many high Answer:

cognitive ability scorers as low a. high intelligence leads the
scorers who have trouble individual to seek further
completing their military postgraduate training which in turn
training leads to highly valued and higher
c. Most of the high cognitive paid job.
ability scorers completed their
military training compared to 296. Which of the following are
the low scorers explanations offered for why
d. Most high cognitive ability childhood IQs are negatively
scorers completed their correlated with the risk of adult
military training without coronary heart disease?
complaining a. Disease prevention
Answer: mechanism is in operation
c. Most of the high cognitive ability such that higher intelligence is
scorers completed their military associated with healthier
training compared to the low scorers lifestyle
b. Disease management
295. The reason for why IQ would be mechanism is in operation
related to income is … such that intelligent
a. high intelligence leads the individuals can self-administer
individual to seek further medication better
postgraduate training which in c. Intelligence leads individuals
turn leads to highly valued and to avoid unhealthy
higher paid job. environment and hazardous
b. knowledge equals to money jobs which may damage
c. highly intelligent people are health
more likely to make d. All of the above
themselves appear successful Answer:
d. employers are more likely to d. All of the above
employ highly respected
people

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

297. Whilst cross-sectional studies b. low Extraversion and low

may hint that obesity leads to low Agreeableness
IQ, longitudinal studies where c. high Conscientiousness and
childhood IQ was measured before high Agreeableness
health indicators were measured d. high Conscientiousness and
later in adulthood showed that … low Agreeableness
a. obesity risks are not real Answer:
b. higher IQ increases the risk of c. high Conscientiousness and high
obesity Agreeableness
c. lower IQ increases the risk of
obesity 300. What combination of Big Five
d. IQ and obesity are not related personality characteristics is
Answer: associated with authoritarian
c. lower IQ increases the risk of tendencies?
obesity a. Low Agreeableness and high
Conscientiousness
298. The child’s increasing skill at b. Low Openness and high
using his muscles is due chiefly to: Conscientiousness
A Maturation c. High Neuroticism and low
B Learning Agreeableness
C Pushing by parents d. Low Openness and high
D An opportunity to exercise Neuroticism
Answer: Option [B] Answer:
b. Low Openness and high
299. In three-factor models of Conscientiousness
personality a ‘Constraint’ factor is
sometimes proposed. In Big Five 301. Which attachment style is
terms, ‘Constraint’ is best associated with showing anger and
understood as a combination of … upset during a discussion of a
a. low Extraversion and high relationship problem with one’s
Agreeableness partner and reduced love and
commitment toward them after it?

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

a. Secure a. Categorical personality types

b. Insecure are very rare
c. Avoidant b. Type A personality is an
d. Anxious/ambivalent either-or personality type
Answer: c. Research shows that the
d. Anxious/ambivalent Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
identifies true personality
302. Which of the following types
statements best describes the d. Most personality variation
‘indigenous approach’ to examining between people is not well
cultural variations in personality described by continuous
structure? dimensions
a. It employs indigenous people Answer:
as research assistants a. Categorical personality types are
b. It translates Western very rare
personality measures into
indigenous languages 304. Conditioned response may be
c. It starts with the personality eliminated by withdrawing
concepts and trait terms of the reinforcement. This is known as:
culture of interest A Extinction
d. It addresses the personality B Discrimination
structure of colonized peoples C Spontaneous recovery
Answer: D Stimulus generalization
c. It starts with the personality Answer: Option [A]
concepts and trait terms of the
culture of interest 305. Any stimulus that follows a
behavior and increases the
303. Which of the following likelihood that the behavior will be
statements best describes the repeated is called a:
current state of research on A Cue
personality types? B Punisher
C reinforcer

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 UNIT-3 Psychological testing MCQs 2020

D Situational stimulus
Answer: Option [C]

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