Chapter 2
Why is Psychological Testing Important?
Why is psychological testing important?
We use tests to make different types of important decisions
E.g.,
–
What grade to assign a student
–
Whether to hire a job candidate
–
If / what merit increase an employee will receive
–
What coaching advice to offer a business leader
Why is psychological testing
important?
Why is psychological testing important?
Individual decisions - decisions made by the person who takes the test
– E.g.,
Whether to drop a course
Where to apply for college
What to major in
What career to pursue
Institutional Decisions - decisions made by those other than the test taker
– E.g.,
Whether to admit you
Whether you will receive a scholarship
Whether you will be hired
What treatment plan to use
Institutional Decisions - Made using a Comparative method or Absolute method
– Comparative - comparing tests scores to see who has the best score
– Absolute - seeing who has the minimum score needed to qualify
Why is psychological testing important?
Who uses psychological tests and for what reasons?
Used
–
by variety of professionals
–
in variety of settings
–
for different purposes
Who uses psychological tests and for what reasons?
Educational Settings
–
to select, place, assess, and counsel students
Clinical Settings
–
for diagnosis, treatment, selection, and assessment of treatment outcomes
Organizational Settings
–
to make hiring decisions, placement decisions, to guide and assess training and development, and to evaluate worker performance
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
Psychological tests benefit people
However, testing is controversial
– Some stems from misunderstandings about the nature and use of psychological tests
– Some deeply rooted in ongoing debates
Ellis Island
Ellis Island
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
Largest and most deeply rooted controversy related to discrimination
Concern that tests unfairly discriminate against certain racial and economic groups
Results = qualified members being passed over for
admission to educational programs or not being hired
at the same rate as other groups
Group Differences in Ability
Psychological tests designed to measure differences among people.
Test scores that demonstrate differences among people may suggest that people are not created with the same basic abilities.
Biggest problem: Some ethnic groups obtain lower average scores on some psychological tests. On average African Americans score 15 points lower than whites on IQ tests.
Dispute is not whether differences occur but why they occur - environment vs. biology
Problems with Biology Argument
IQ scores are improving (called the Flynn effect), more so for African Americans than whites.
Victimization by stereotyping could affect test performance and grades.
Construct of race has no biological meaning
based on evidence from studies in population
genetics, the human genome and physical
anthropology.
Intelligence testing in education
Early 20thcentury – IQ tests used to place students in special academic and vocational-related programs
– Supported by those who believed intelligence primary based on heredity – Not supported by those who believed intelligence primarily based on
environment
1960’s - activist groups demanded schools abandon the use of intelligence tests
Continued efforts to eliminate intelligence testing failed
– placement of slow learners and handicapped children in the same classrooms as normal and gifted children slowed learning
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
Intelligence testing in the Army
WWI – Robert Yerkes promoted mental testing
Developed Army Alpha Beta Tests
– Measured native intellectual ability – First mental tests for group testing – Used to screen Army recruits for officer training – Army Alpha – developed for literate groups
– Army Beta – developed for those who could not read, write, speak English
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
The social and legal implications of
psychological testing
1994 -- The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (Herrnstein and Murray, 1994) published
– IQ extremely important, between 40% and 80% heritable – Related to school performance, jobs, income, crime, illegitimacy – Difference in average IQ scores between White and African-Americans is
likely attributable to genetic factors
1995 -- In response, APA published Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns
– Interpreted data differently
– Concluded that no one knows why the difference exists
– There is no support for the notion that the 15-point IQ difference between Black and White Americans is due to genetics
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
Aptitude testing and the U.S. Employment Service
1940s – United States Employment Service developed the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB)
–Multiple-aptitude test
–Developed to assist with career counseling and job referrals
GATB scores of minorities below other groups
Controversy surrounding number of African Americans and Hispanics being referred to employers
Amended Civil Rights Act made it illegal to use GATB scores in this way –National policy required giving the disadvantaged compensatory advantages
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
Solution from EEOC and court decisions
Within-group or race norming
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
From Referrals based on raw test scores or how scores compared to others in the
overall norm group
To Referrals based on ranking of scores by racial
or ethnic group
Employment services in 38 states used race norming
Psychologists claimed Within-Group Norming discriminated against Whites
1989 - National Research Council study supported norming
– Referrals should be based on GATB score and experience, skills, and education
Early 1990’s – Within-Group Norming outlawed
– Civil Rights Act of 1991 prohibited employers from adjusting scores based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin
– Not due to unfairness, but to pass Act
Declining use of GATB in U.S. due to portions being discriminatory
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
Aptitude testing in education
1970s - Decline in SAT scores
Concern about what students were learning in schools
ETS panel concluded decline due to
1. More students taking SAT, weaker academic records, more diverse backgrounds
2. Educational experience of students in late sixties / early seventies caused decreased performance on standardized tests
The social and legal implications of
psychological testing
Many oppose use of integrity tests, claiming
The social and legal implications of psychological testing
1.falsely classify some honest people as dishonest 2.invasion of privacy
3.different and more inhibiting effect on minorities
APA has reliability and validity concerns
–Publishers have little information regarding whether integrity tests actually predict honesty –1991 – APA urged organizations to not use integrity
tests when little validity information available
