Psychological Assessment -Process of using psychological tests, clinical interviews, behavioral observations,
and other assessment tools to gather data on an individual's cognitive, social, and
behavioral functioning for the purpose of description, classification, prediction, and
intervention
Examiner Qualifications -Level A: may be administered and interpreted by a non-psychologist
-Level B: require some technical knowledge of test construction and use, as well as
completion of supporting educational and psychological subjects
-Level C: should be administered only by individuals with at least an MA in
psychology and at least one year of supervised experience under a psychologist
Reliability vs Validity -Reliability: degree to which test scores are free from the effects of measurement
error
Validity: degree to which a test measures what it was designed to measure
Standardization -The examinee's responses, the apparatus, and the scoring have been fixed so the
scores collected at different times and places are fully comparable; any deviations
from standardized administration and scoring may result in invalid conclusions
-The test has been administered under standard conditions to a representative
sample for the purpose of establishing norms; the greater the discrepancy between
the examinee and the norm group, the less likely the test results will be valid
Types of Scoring -Norm-Referenced: comparison between an examinee's scores and the scores of
the norm group; percentile ranks, standard scores
-Criterion-Referenced: domain or content referenced; scores based on what the
examinee can do or knows with regard to clearly defined content; percent correct
-Self-Referenced: ipsative; intra-individual comparison of scores; relative strengths
or weaknesses
Behavioral Assessment -Focuses on overt and covert behaviors that occur in specific circumstances
-May utilize behavioral interviews, observation, cognitive assessment, or
psychophysiological measures
-Functional behavioral assessment (FBA): determines the purpose of a behavior by
identifying antecedents and consequences
Dynamic Assessment -Interactive approach and deliberate deviation from standardized procedures to
obtain additional information about the examinee
-Associated with educational assessment
-Testing the limits: involves providing examinees with additional cues, suggestions,
or feedback; ordinarily done after standardized administration
-Graduated prompting: giving the examinee a series of verbal prompts that are
graduated in terms of difficulty level
-Test-teach-retest: following the initial assessment with an intervention designed to
modify the examinee's performance, then re-assessing
Computer-Assisted Assessment -Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT): computer tailors the test to an individual
examinee by choosing subsequent items based on previous answers
-Increases precision and efficacy, as all examinees are tested with the same degree
of reliability and reduced testing time
-Computer-based interpretations should not be used to replaced clinical judgement
Actuarial vs Clinical Predictions -Actuarial: statistical; based on empirically validated relationship between test
results and specific criteria
-Clinical: based on the decision-maker's intuition, experience, and knowledge;
clinical judgement
-Research has found that actuarial method alone is more accurate than clinical
judgement alone
, Assessing Children -Interviews can be used to obtain reliable and valid data from children as young as
6
-Goals include establishing rapport and maintaining the child's cooperation, and can
be accomplished by using descriptive statements, reflections, and open-ended
questions; providing labeled praise; and avoiding critical statements and leading
questions
Assessing Members of Culturally Diverse Populations -Considerations include acculturation, identity, language proficiency, availability of
appropriate norms, cultural equivalence of content measured by the test, and
availability of more culturally appropriate alternatives
-There are no truly culture-fair or culture-free tests
-Research has found no consistent effect of match or mismatch between examiner
and examinee in terms of race, ethnicity, or culture
Self-Report -One of the most common data collection methods
-Advantages include quick production and scoring, and low cost
-Disadvantages can include weaker reliability and validity
Multi-Informant Report -Advantages include increased information about the client
-Disadvantages can include inconsistency in reports across various informants
Psychophysiological Measures -Used to observe physiological functions which can often describe the emotional
state of an individual
-Advantages include ability to analyze momentary experiences without intervening
in the interaction while it occurs
-Disadvantages can include monetary expense and that not every momentary
experience may be important
Direct Observation -Observational study; method of collecting evaluative information in which the
evaluator watches the participant in their usual environment to evaluate ongoing
behavior processes; can be overt or covert
-Structured: most appropriate when standardized information needs to be gathered
and results in quantitative data
-Unstructured: provides qualitative data
-Disadvantages can include participant and observer bias
Structured vs Unstructured Interview -Structured: fixed set of close questions; easier to replicate and test for reliability;
not as flexible and answers may lack detail
-Unstructured: more flexible; questions can be adapted as needed; generate a lot of
qualitative data; time consuming; interviewers need more training
Spearman's Two-Factor Theory of Intelligence -Proposed a general intellectual factor (g)
-Argued that performance on any cognitive task depends on g plus one or more
specific factors (s) unique to the task
Horn and Cattell's Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence Crystallized (Gc): acquired knowledge and skills; affected by educational and
cultural experiences; includes reading, numerical skill, and factual knowledge
Fluid (Gf): enables individuals to solve novel problems and perceive relations and
similarities; does not depend on specific instruction; relatively culture-free
-Crystalized intelligence increases until ~age 60, while fluid intelligence peaks in
late adolescence and then declines (related to declines in working memory and
processing speed)
and other assessment tools to gather data on an individual's cognitive, social, and
behavioral functioning for the purpose of description, classification, prediction, and
intervention
Examiner Qualifications -Level A: may be administered and interpreted by a non-psychologist
-Level B: require some technical knowledge of test construction and use, as well as
completion of supporting educational and psychological subjects
-Level C: should be administered only by individuals with at least an MA in
psychology and at least one year of supervised experience under a psychologist
Reliability vs Validity -Reliability: degree to which test scores are free from the effects of measurement
error
Validity: degree to which a test measures what it was designed to measure
Standardization -The examinee's responses, the apparatus, and the scoring have been fixed so the
scores collected at different times and places are fully comparable; any deviations
from standardized administration and scoring may result in invalid conclusions
-The test has been administered under standard conditions to a representative
sample for the purpose of establishing norms; the greater the discrepancy between
the examinee and the norm group, the less likely the test results will be valid
Types of Scoring -Norm-Referenced: comparison between an examinee's scores and the scores of
the norm group; percentile ranks, standard scores
-Criterion-Referenced: domain or content referenced; scores based on what the
examinee can do or knows with regard to clearly defined content; percent correct
-Self-Referenced: ipsative; intra-individual comparison of scores; relative strengths
or weaknesses
Behavioral Assessment -Focuses on overt and covert behaviors that occur in specific circumstances
-May utilize behavioral interviews, observation, cognitive assessment, or
psychophysiological measures
-Functional behavioral assessment (FBA): determines the purpose of a behavior by
identifying antecedents and consequences
Dynamic Assessment -Interactive approach and deliberate deviation from standardized procedures to
obtain additional information about the examinee
-Associated with educational assessment
-Testing the limits: involves providing examinees with additional cues, suggestions,
or feedback; ordinarily done after standardized administration
-Graduated prompting: giving the examinee a series of verbal prompts that are
graduated in terms of difficulty level
-Test-teach-retest: following the initial assessment with an intervention designed to
modify the examinee's performance, then re-assessing
Computer-Assisted Assessment -Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT): computer tailors the test to an individual
examinee by choosing subsequent items based on previous answers
-Increases precision and efficacy, as all examinees are tested with the same degree
of reliability and reduced testing time
-Computer-based interpretations should not be used to replaced clinical judgement
Actuarial vs Clinical Predictions -Actuarial: statistical; based on empirically validated relationship between test
results and specific criteria
-Clinical: based on the decision-maker's intuition, experience, and knowledge;
clinical judgement
-Research has found that actuarial method alone is more accurate than clinical
judgement alone
, Assessing Children -Interviews can be used to obtain reliable and valid data from children as young as
6
-Goals include establishing rapport and maintaining the child's cooperation, and can
be accomplished by using descriptive statements, reflections, and open-ended
questions; providing labeled praise; and avoiding critical statements and leading
questions
Assessing Members of Culturally Diverse Populations -Considerations include acculturation, identity, language proficiency, availability of
appropriate norms, cultural equivalence of content measured by the test, and
availability of more culturally appropriate alternatives
-There are no truly culture-fair or culture-free tests
-Research has found no consistent effect of match or mismatch between examiner
and examinee in terms of race, ethnicity, or culture
Self-Report -One of the most common data collection methods
-Advantages include quick production and scoring, and low cost
-Disadvantages can include weaker reliability and validity
Multi-Informant Report -Advantages include increased information about the client
-Disadvantages can include inconsistency in reports across various informants
Psychophysiological Measures -Used to observe physiological functions which can often describe the emotional
state of an individual
-Advantages include ability to analyze momentary experiences without intervening
in the interaction while it occurs
-Disadvantages can include monetary expense and that not every momentary
experience may be important
Direct Observation -Observational study; method of collecting evaluative information in which the
evaluator watches the participant in their usual environment to evaluate ongoing
behavior processes; can be overt or covert
-Structured: most appropriate when standardized information needs to be gathered
and results in quantitative data
-Unstructured: provides qualitative data
-Disadvantages can include participant and observer bias
Structured vs Unstructured Interview -Structured: fixed set of close questions; easier to replicate and test for reliability;
not as flexible and answers may lack detail
-Unstructured: more flexible; questions can be adapted as needed; generate a lot of
qualitative data; time consuming; interviewers need more training
Spearman's Two-Factor Theory of Intelligence -Proposed a general intellectual factor (g)
-Argued that performance on any cognitive task depends on g plus one or more
specific factors (s) unique to the task
Horn and Cattell's Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence Crystallized (Gc): acquired knowledge and skills; affected by educational and
cultural experiences; includes reading, numerical skill, and factual knowledge
Fluid (Gf): enables individuals to solve novel problems and perceive relations and
similarities; does not depend on specific instruction; relatively culture-free
-Crystalized intelligence increases until ~age 60, while fluid intelligence peaks in
late adolescence and then declines (related to declines in working memory and
processing speed)
