Fundaments of Psychology, Questionnaire Example

Question1

Psychological testing in its contemporary form began little over one hundred years back in laboratory experiments of sensory discrimination, motor proficiency, and reaction time. Francis Galton, who was a British genius, discovered the primary battery of tests, an atypical collection of sensory and motor actions. The tests were discovered for the reason of measuring brainpower. In occupational surroundings tests are implemented in staff selection and vocational regulation, in education they are significant for choice through examinations and classification of learning complexities, and in medical work, the psychological testing are used as adds-on to medical decision making (Lovler, Miller and Mclntire, 2010).

Question 2

When conducting a psychological assessment, clinicians need to have some information regarding the cultural identity of the patient, and the implementation of a cultural expert may be suitable so that biases and misdiagnosis are avoided, even if the evaluator and the patient share the same culture and customs (Lu, Lim and Mezzich, 1995). Culture may manipulate the way people believe and feel about themselves and others. Some people who appear socially accomplished to members of a specific culture may seem to be communally unskilled to members of a different culture.

Question 3

Test takers have a number of rights. One of them is that they should be treated with politeness and respect not considering their ethnicity. Another right is that test takers should be tested with procedures that meet certified principles and that are suitable to them, given the method in which the test outcomes will be used. Test takers should be informed before testing about the purposes of the test and the test’s nature. The test taker should know the extent of his or her result’s confidentiality (Lovler et al., 2010).

Question 4

Psychological tests allocate numbers to, and give in, arithmetic scores. However, the resulting figures may mean dissimilar things depending on the character of the extent of measurement. There are four primary degrees of measurement.

a). Nominal scale of measurement categorizes subjects on equally exclusive groups as in men-women.

b). Ordinal scale signifies position in the cluster and is graded according to first and second, which provides the array in which people are positioned but does not inform us how separate the people in different positions are, for instance as in grading by height or weight.

c). Interval level of measurement utilizes identical intervals like minutes, degrees in terms of temperature, amount of words remembered in a reminiscence test or percentage attained in an exam. There is no true zero in interval scales.

d). Ratio are interval ranges with an accurate zero point. Several measurements of physical characters like weight, height and time are regarded as ratio scales.

Interval and ratio scale of measurement give the maximum data when scaling a variable. A good number of psychological assessments give interval dimensions, hence allowing alteration and evaluation of scores, thus interval is the most commonly used scale in psychological tests (Lovler et al., 2010).

Question 5

We convert raw scores to standard scores because a raw score may not be understood very well devoid of understanding the probable points or the major probable score (Lovler et al., 2010). Conversion of raw score to standard score provides same data, but signifies the data slightly different. The advantage of converting raw scores to standard scores is because standard scores assist people make a more significant understanding of test scores. Another advantage is that standard scores help people make scores from dissimilar tests related.

Question 6

Standard deviations units are helpful with test scores because they provide hints of how close the whole set of information is to the average value. Information groups with less standard deviation units have firmly grouped, accurate information. Information groups with great standard deviations units have records stretch out over a broad array of values (Lovler et al., 2010).

Question 7

There are various qualities that make a good test from a statistical standpoint. A good test should be valid whereby the test generates a result that equals the objective for the work piece under test. A good test should be complete whereby it entails all the data required. The test executes all activities and gives all the information necessary. A good test should also be decisive whereby it entails all the data needed to automatically establish accomplishment or failure. Objectivity in a test is also important as it determines whether a test is unfair in interpreting its scale and in scoring the reactions (Lovler et al., 2010).

Question 8

Factors that affect intelligence include genetics and the surroundings. These two factors interact to determine the extent of how hereditary genetic material is expressed.

Question 9

The concepts of crystallized versus fluid intelligence is that they make up the worldwide ability to discover, reason and resolve difficulties that several people call cleverness. Both are corresponding in that some learning responsibilities can be mastered chiefly by practicing either of them (Cherry, 2012).

Question10

Different from traits, which are steady behaviors, states are short-term characteristics or feelings that rely on a person’s circumstance and intentions at a particular moment. Traits and states are important in testing since they determine a person’s personality.

Reference

Cherry, K. (2012). Fluid Intelligence vs. Crystallized Intelligence. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/fluid-crystal.htm

Lovler, R., Miller, L., & Mclntire, S. (2010). Foundations of Psychology Testing: A Practical Approach. London: Sage.

Lu, F. G., Lim, R., & Mezzich, J. E. (1995). Issues in the Assessment and Diagnosis of Culturally Diverse Individuals. Review of Psychiatry, Vol. 14, pp. 477-510.