Chapter 1
Multiple Choice Questions
1. According to your textbook, why is it important to understand the foundations of
psychological testing?
A) Psychometrics are central to psychological research.
B) Sound tests facilitate high-quality decisions, and unsound tests facilitate low-quality
decisions.
C) The APA recommends that all students learn about psychological tests and
measures.
D) Some day you will encounter psychological testing on the job.
Ans: B
2. Psychological testing is best defined as
A) the process of administering, scoring, and interpreting psychological tests.
B) a way of measuring that uses psychometrics.
C) a diagnosis method used solely by educators and psychologists.
D) a process clinical psychologists use to diagnose mental disorders.
Ans: A
3. Psychological tests require a person to
A) complete a written test.
B) answer all test questions honestly.
C) correctly answer as many questions as possible.
D) perform a behavior.
Ans: D
4. What is a behavior?
A) A skill that is learned
B) An action that is either correct or incorrect
C) An observable and measurable action
D) An answer on a psychological test
Ans: C
5. Which one of the following statements is true about psychological tests?
A) They are always created by psychologists who understand how to interpret the test
taker's answers.
B) They require the test taker to perform a behavior so as to measure some personal
attribute, trait, or characteristic or to predict an outcome.
C) Information from psychological test results is used to make decisions; therefore,
these tests are regulated by federal and state governments.
D) Psychologists began developing standardized educational tests in the last quarter of
the 20th century, and these tests have become important indicators of academic
performance.
Ans: B
,6. Assessment centers require job applicants to
A) perform job-related tasks.
B) register and show their social security cards.
C) describe their work experience and future goals.
D) be 18 years or older.
Ans: A
7. The road portion of a driving test
A) is a measure of the skills needed to drive a car.
B) does not meet the criteria of a psychological test.
C) does not rely on observation of the test taker's behavior.
D) has nothing in common with written tests and exams.
Ans: A
8. The questions on two IQ tests may be quite different because
A) IQ tests are unique to each test taker.
B) test takers interpret the questions differently.
C) of how the test developer defines IQ.
D) as the tests have been updated their purposes have changed.
Ans: C
9. Emotional intelligence is defined by Gibbs as one's ability to
A) understand how and when to control one's own emotions and the emotions of
others.
B) perceive own and other's underlying feelings.
C) understand one’s own feelings and the feelings of others and to manage one’s
emotions.
D) to use one's own emotions to motivate others to perform.
Ans: C
10. A good test does what?
A) Measures what it claims to measure and measures it consistently
B) Provides useful information to the test taker and the test user
C) Helps psychologists and others expand their business
D) Efficiently and economical measures knowledge, skills, and abilities
Ans: A
11. What is a critique of a test?
A) A review of the test
B) A quality rating of the test
C) An estimate of the uses of the test
D) An analysis of the test
Ans: D
12. Which one of the following statements about the history of psychological testing is
false?
A) Some scholars believe that the use of psychological tests can be traced to 2200 bce
in Ancient China.
,B) Most scholars agree that serious research efforts on the use and usefulness of
psychological tests did not begin until the 20th century.
C) Organizations did not begin using psychological tests until after assessment centers
were developed during World War II.
D) Late in the 19th century, Alfred Binet founded the first experimental psychology
research laboratory in France.
Ans: C
13. What test Parisian school officials use to decide which children, no matter how hard
they tried, were unable to profit from regular school programs?
A) Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale
B) Binet–Simon Scale
C) The Personal Data Sheet
D) The Rorschach Inkblot Test
Ans: B
14. Binet's psychological tests were designed to evaluate
A) children.
B) personality traits.
C) Army recruits.
D) immigrants.
Ans: A
15. The Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale for adults provided
A) evaluations of applicants' job-related skills.
B) diagnoses of mental disorders.
C) scores on schizophrenia and depression scales.
D) an index of general mental ability.
Ans: D
16. During World War I, what test did the U.S. military design to help detect soldiers
who would not be able to handle the stress associated with combat?
A) Army Alpha test.
B) Army Beta test.
C) Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale.
D) Personal Data Sheet.
Ans: D
17. What type of tests are the Rorschach Inkblot Test and the Thematic Apperception
Test?
A) Projective tests
B) Clinical diagnostic tests
C) Intelligence tests
D) Emotional intelligence tests
Ans: A
18. What do vocational tests help to predict?
A) Whether a test taker will like a particular job
B) Wether an applicant will be successful in specific occupations
, C) Success in a manager or vice president role
D) How honest a test taker will be on the job
Ans: B
19. One of the most significant and controversial uses of psychological testing in the
21st century has been the result of what?
A) The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
B) Employment tests that discriminate against protected classes
C) High costs of administering psychological tests
D) Using projective tests with children
Ans: A
20. Which one of the following strategies have public schools across the nation
implemented in response to the NCLB Act of 2001 to improve school performance?
A) Training elementary teachers how to "teach the standardized tests"
B) Increasing the flexibility high-performing states and school districts have for
spending federal education dollars
C) Requiring parents to help improve failing schools rather than transferring their
children to a better school
D) Placing greater emphasis on children's math and reasoning skills in order to prepare
them for a job in science
Ans: B
21. Which one of the following is not a characteristic that all good tests have in
common?
A) Representatively samples the behaviors thought to measure an attribute or thought
to predict an outcome
B) Includes behavior samples obtained under standardized conditions
C) Has rules for scoring
D) Are 99.9% reliable and valid
Ans: D
22. Which one of the following strategies would provide the best measurement of a
student's musical skills?
A) Ask the student to perform a very long and difficult piece of music.
B) Ask the student to play a tune on several instruments that are unfamiliar to the
student.
C) Ask the student to play a portion of several pieces that are of different styles on
different instruments.
D) Ask the student to describe his or her musical background and level of skill.
Ans: C
23. Which one of the following factors in a testing situation is difficult to standardize?
A) Room temperature and lighting
B) Examinee experiences
C) Clarity of instructions given to test takers
D) Examiner attitude
Ans: B
Multiple Choice Questions
1. According to your textbook, why is it important to understand the foundations of
psychological testing?
A) Psychometrics are central to psychological research.
B) Sound tests facilitate high-quality decisions, and unsound tests facilitate low-quality
decisions.
C) The APA recommends that all students learn about psychological tests and
measures.
D) Some day you will encounter psychological testing on the job.
Ans: B
2. Psychological testing is best defined as
A) the process of administering, scoring, and interpreting psychological tests.
B) a way of measuring that uses psychometrics.
C) a diagnosis method used solely by educators and psychologists.
D) a process clinical psychologists use to diagnose mental disorders.
Ans: A
3. Psychological tests require a person to
A) complete a written test.
B) answer all test questions honestly.
C) correctly answer as many questions as possible.
D) perform a behavior.
Ans: D
4. What is a behavior?
A) A skill that is learned
B) An action that is either correct or incorrect
C) An observable and measurable action
D) An answer on a psychological test
Ans: C
5. Which one of the following statements is true about psychological tests?
A) They are always created by psychologists who understand how to interpret the test
taker's answers.
B) They require the test taker to perform a behavior so as to measure some personal
attribute, trait, or characteristic or to predict an outcome.
C) Information from psychological test results is used to make decisions; therefore,
these tests are regulated by federal and state governments.
D) Psychologists began developing standardized educational tests in the last quarter of
the 20th century, and these tests have become important indicators of academic
performance.
Ans: B
,6. Assessment centers require job applicants to
A) perform job-related tasks.
B) register and show their social security cards.
C) describe their work experience and future goals.
D) be 18 years or older.
Ans: A
7. The road portion of a driving test
A) is a measure of the skills needed to drive a car.
B) does not meet the criteria of a psychological test.
C) does not rely on observation of the test taker's behavior.
D) has nothing in common with written tests and exams.
Ans: A
8. The questions on two IQ tests may be quite different because
A) IQ tests are unique to each test taker.
B) test takers interpret the questions differently.
C) of how the test developer defines IQ.
D) as the tests have been updated their purposes have changed.
Ans: C
9. Emotional intelligence is defined by Gibbs as one's ability to
A) understand how and when to control one's own emotions and the emotions of
others.
B) perceive own and other's underlying feelings.
C) understand one’s own feelings and the feelings of others and to manage one’s
emotions.
D) to use one's own emotions to motivate others to perform.
Ans: C
10. A good test does what?
A) Measures what it claims to measure and measures it consistently
B) Provides useful information to the test taker and the test user
C) Helps psychologists and others expand their business
D) Efficiently and economical measures knowledge, skills, and abilities
Ans: A
11. What is a critique of a test?
A) A review of the test
B) A quality rating of the test
C) An estimate of the uses of the test
D) An analysis of the test
Ans: D
12. Which one of the following statements about the history of psychological testing is
false?
A) Some scholars believe that the use of psychological tests can be traced to 2200 bce
in Ancient China.
,B) Most scholars agree that serious research efforts on the use and usefulness of
psychological tests did not begin until the 20th century.
C) Organizations did not begin using psychological tests until after assessment centers
were developed during World War II.
D) Late in the 19th century, Alfred Binet founded the first experimental psychology
research laboratory in France.
Ans: C
13. What test Parisian school officials use to decide which children, no matter how hard
they tried, were unable to profit from regular school programs?
A) Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale
B) Binet–Simon Scale
C) The Personal Data Sheet
D) The Rorschach Inkblot Test
Ans: B
14. Binet's psychological tests were designed to evaluate
A) children.
B) personality traits.
C) Army recruits.
D) immigrants.
Ans: A
15. The Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale for adults provided
A) evaluations of applicants' job-related skills.
B) diagnoses of mental disorders.
C) scores on schizophrenia and depression scales.
D) an index of general mental ability.
Ans: D
16. During World War I, what test did the U.S. military design to help detect soldiers
who would not be able to handle the stress associated with combat?
A) Army Alpha test.
B) Army Beta test.
C) Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale.
D) Personal Data Sheet.
Ans: D
17. What type of tests are the Rorschach Inkblot Test and the Thematic Apperception
Test?
A) Projective tests
B) Clinical diagnostic tests
C) Intelligence tests
D) Emotional intelligence tests
Ans: A
18. What do vocational tests help to predict?
A) Whether a test taker will like a particular job
B) Wether an applicant will be successful in specific occupations
, C) Success in a manager or vice president role
D) How honest a test taker will be on the job
Ans: B
19. One of the most significant and controversial uses of psychological testing in the
21st century has been the result of what?
A) The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
B) Employment tests that discriminate against protected classes
C) High costs of administering psychological tests
D) Using projective tests with children
Ans: A
20. Which one of the following strategies have public schools across the nation
implemented in response to the NCLB Act of 2001 to improve school performance?
A) Training elementary teachers how to "teach the standardized tests"
B) Increasing the flexibility high-performing states and school districts have for
spending federal education dollars
C) Requiring parents to help improve failing schools rather than transferring their
children to a better school
D) Placing greater emphasis on children's math and reasoning skills in order to prepare
them for a job in science
Ans: B
21. Which one of the following is not a characteristic that all good tests have in
common?
A) Representatively samples the behaviors thought to measure an attribute or thought
to predict an outcome
B) Includes behavior samples obtained under standardized conditions
C) Has rules for scoring
D) Are 99.9% reliable and valid
Ans: D
22. Which one of the following strategies would provide the best measurement of a
student's musical skills?
A) Ask the student to perform a very long and difficult piece of music.
B) Ask the student to play a tune on several instruments that are unfamiliar to the
student.
C) Ask the student to play a portion of several pieces that are of different styles on
different instruments.
D) Ask the student to describe his or her musical background and level of skill.
Ans: C
23. Which one of the following factors in a testing situation is difficult to standardize?
A) Room temperature and lighting
B) Examinee experiences
C) Clarity of instructions given to test takers
D) Examiner attitude
Ans: B
