McGill PSYC 406 Psychological Tests Practice Test 1 (Units
1-7) - Questions with Correct Answers (Verified Update)
50 questions
1. Which best distinguishes psychological assessment from psychological testing?
A. Assessment always uses a single standardized test
B. Assessment integrates multiple sources of information to answer a referral question
C. Testing is broader than assessment
D. Assessment never uses scores
Correct Answer: B. Assessment integrates multiple sources of information to answer a
referral question
Rationale: A test is one tool; assessment combines tests, interviews, observations and records.
2. Alfred Binet's original purpose in developing his intelligence scale was to:
A. Select army recruits
B. Measure reaction time
C. Diagnose mental illness in adults
D. Identify schoolchildren who needed special educational help
Correct Answer: D. Identify schoolchildren who needed special educational help
Rationale: The 1905 Binet-Simon scale responded to a French request to identify children needing
special instruction.
3. The Army Beta test in World War I was designed for recruits who:
A. Were officers
B. Could not read English well
C. Had high school diplomas
D. Had brain injuries
Correct Answer: B. Could not read English well
Rationale: Army Beta was nonverbal; Army Alpha was the verbal group test.
4. A test with easy items and a strict time limit, where scores reflect how many items are
completed, is a:
A. Power test
B. Criterion-referenced test
C. Speed test
D. Projective test
Correct Answer: C. Speed test
Rationale: Speed tests measure rate of work rather than level of difficulty mastered.
5. A licensing exam that requires candidates to answer 75% of items correctly regardless of how
others perform uses:
A. Norm-referenced interpretation
B. Criterion-referenced interpretation
C. Percentile ranks
D. Stanines
Correct Answer: B. Criterion-referenced interpretation
Rationale: Performance is compared to a fixed standard, not to other examinees.
, 6. Under the CPA Canadian Code of Ethics, a psychologist who uses a test they have never been
trained on most directly violates the duty of:
A. Competence (part of Responsible Caring)
B. Responsibility to Society only
C. Test security
D. Informed consent
Correct Answer: A. Competence (part of Responsible Caring)
Rationale: Responsible Caring requires psychologists to practice within the limits of their competence.
7. Releasing actual test items and answer keys to a client's lawyer who is not a qualified
professional mainly threatens:
A. Test security and the validity of the test for future use
B. Inter-rater reliability
C. The standardization sample
D. Face validity
Correct Answer: A. Test security and the validity of the test for future use
Rationale: Exposed items can be coached or memorized, undermining the test.
8. Classifying people by diagnosis (e.g., depressed, anxious, none) uses which scale of
measurement?
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Interval
D. Ratio
Correct Answer: A. Nominal
Rationale: Nominal scales name categories without order.
9. A very difficult exam on which most students score low and a few score high produces a
distribution that is:
A. Negatively skewed
B. Normal
C. Positively skewed
D. Bimodal by definition
Correct Answer: C. Positively skewed
Rationale: Scores pile up at the low end with a tail extending to the right.
10. On a test with M = 80 and SD = 5, a raw score of 90 has a z-score of:
A. 1.0
B. 2.0
C. 0.5
D. 10.0
Correct Answer: B. 2.0
Rationale: z = (90 - 80) / 5 = 2.0.
11. A z-score of -0.5 converts to a T-score of:
A. 55
B. 40
C. 49.5
D. 45
Correct Answer: D. 45
Rationale: T = 50 + 10(-0.5) = 45.
1-7) - Questions with Correct Answers (Verified Update)
50 questions
1. Which best distinguishes psychological assessment from psychological testing?
A. Assessment always uses a single standardized test
B. Assessment integrates multiple sources of information to answer a referral question
C. Testing is broader than assessment
D. Assessment never uses scores
Correct Answer: B. Assessment integrates multiple sources of information to answer a
referral question
Rationale: A test is one tool; assessment combines tests, interviews, observations and records.
2. Alfred Binet's original purpose in developing his intelligence scale was to:
A. Select army recruits
B. Measure reaction time
C. Diagnose mental illness in adults
D. Identify schoolchildren who needed special educational help
Correct Answer: D. Identify schoolchildren who needed special educational help
Rationale: The 1905 Binet-Simon scale responded to a French request to identify children needing
special instruction.
3. The Army Beta test in World War I was designed for recruits who:
A. Were officers
B. Could not read English well
C. Had high school diplomas
D. Had brain injuries
Correct Answer: B. Could not read English well
Rationale: Army Beta was nonverbal; Army Alpha was the verbal group test.
4. A test with easy items and a strict time limit, where scores reflect how many items are
completed, is a:
A. Power test
B. Criterion-referenced test
C. Speed test
D. Projective test
Correct Answer: C. Speed test
Rationale: Speed tests measure rate of work rather than level of difficulty mastered.
5. A licensing exam that requires candidates to answer 75% of items correctly regardless of how
others perform uses:
A. Norm-referenced interpretation
B. Criterion-referenced interpretation
C. Percentile ranks
D. Stanines
Correct Answer: B. Criterion-referenced interpretation
Rationale: Performance is compared to a fixed standard, not to other examinees.
, 6. Under the CPA Canadian Code of Ethics, a psychologist who uses a test they have never been
trained on most directly violates the duty of:
A. Competence (part of Responsible Caring)
B. Responsibility to Society only
C. Test security
D. Informed consent
Correct Answer: A. Competence (part of Responsible Caring)
Rationale: Responsible Caring requires psychologists to practice within the limits of their competence.
7. Releasing actual test items and answer keys to a client's lawyer who is not a qualified
professional mainly threatens:
A. Test security and the validity of the test for future use
B. Inter-rater reliability
C. The standardization sample
D. Face validity
Correct Answer: A. Test security and the validity of the test for future use
Rationale: Exposed items can be coached or memorized, undermining the test.
8. Classifying people by diagnosis (e.g., depressed, anxious, none) uses which scale of
measurement?
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Interval
D. Ratio
Correct Answer: A. Nominal
Rationale: Nominal scales name categories without order.
9. A very difficult exam on which most students score low and a few score high produces a
distribution that is:
A. Negatively skewed
B. Normal
C. Positively skewed
D. Bimodal by definition
Correct Answer: C. Positively skewed
Rationale: Scores pile up at the low end with a tail extending to the right.
10. On a test with M = 80 and SD = 5, a raw score of 90 has a z-score of:
A. 1.0
B. 2.0
C. 0.5
D. 10.0
Correct Answer: B. 2.0
Rationale: z = (90 - 80) / 5 = 2.0.
11. A z-score of -0.5 converts to a T-score of:
A. 55
B. 40
C. 49.5
D. 45
Correct Answer: D. 45
Rationale: T = 50 + 10(-0.5) = 45.
