CSS Psychology Psychological Assessment and Individual Differences Syllabus

Psychological Assessment and Individual Differences syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Psychological Assessment and Individual Differences in CSS Psychology, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Psychological Assessment

   8 topics

   • Attributes of Psychological Measures
   • Validity
   • Reliability
   • Item Analysis and Norms
   • Modern Test Theory
   • Selection and Training
   • Educational and Clinical Assessment
   • Ethical and Legal Issues in Assessment
2. 2

   Personality

   5 topics

   • Determinants of Personality
   • Factors in Development of Personality
   • Theoretical Perspectives
   • Personality Assessment and Techniques
   • Cross-Cultural Issues in Personality
3. 3

   Intelligence

   3 topics

   • Theories of Intelligence
   • Types of Intelligence (IQ, EQ)
   • Assessing Intelligence

Psychological Assessment and Individual Differences flashcards for CSS Psychology

24 of 50 cards from the Psychological Assessment and Individual Differences deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the difference between a psychological measure being a 'sign' versus a 'sample' of behavior?

   A sign treats test responses as an indicator of an underlying trait/construct (e.g., projective tests). A sample treats responses as a direct, representative slice of the behavior of interest (e.g., a typing test predicting typing performance).

2. Distinguish between maximal performance tests and typical performance tests.

   Maximal performance tests measure best possible ability (right/wrong answers; e.g., aptitude, achievement, intelligence tests). Typical performance tests measure what a person usually does (no right/wrong; e.g., personality, attitude, interest inventories).

3. What are the four levels (scales) of measurement and what does each permit?

   Nominal (categories/labels), Ordinal (rank order), Interval (equal intervals, arbitrary zero), and Ratio (equal intervals, true zero). Each higher level retains the properties of the ones below it.

4. Define a 'construct' in psychological measurement.

   A construct is a theoretical, unobservable attribute or trait (e.g., intelligence, anxiety, extraversion) that is inferred from observable behavior and operationally defined through a test.

5. What is validity in psychological testing?

   Validity is the degree to which a test measures what it claims to measure and the extent to which evidence supports the intended interpretations and uses of test scores. It is a property of inferences, not of the test itself.

6. Name and define the three traditional types of validity.

   Content validity (test items adequately sample the relevant domain), Criterion-related validity (test scores correlate with an outcome/criterion), and Construct validity (test measures the intended theoretical construct).

7. Differentiate concurrent validity from predictive validity.

   Both are criterion-related. Concurrent validity correlates test scores with a criterion measured at the same time. Predictive validity correlates test scores with a criterion measured in the future.

8. What is the difference between convergent and discriminant validity?

   Convergent validity: a measure correlates highly with other measures of the same construct. Discriminant (divergent) validity: a measure correlates weakly with measures of different/unrelated constructs. Both establish construct validity.

9. What is the multitrait-multimethod matrix used for?

   Developed by Campbell and Fiske (1959), it is a matrix used to evaluate construct validity by simultaneously assessing convergent and discriminant validity across multiple traits measured by multiple methods.

10. What is face validity and why is it not true validity?

    Face validity is the extent to which a test appears, on the surface, to measure what it claims. It is about appearance/acceptability to test-takers, not a statistical or scientific demonstration that the test is valid.

11. Define reliability in psychological testing.

    Reliability is the consistency, stability, and reproducibility of test scores across time, items, forms, or raters. It reflects the proportion of true-score variance relative to total observed variance.

12. State the classical test theory equation relating observed, true, and error scores.

    X = T + E, where X = observed score, T = true score, and E = random error. Reliability increases as error variance decreases relative to true-score variance.

13. Name the major methods of estimating reliability.

    Test-retest (stability over time), Parallel/alternate forms (equivalence), Split-half (internal consistency), Internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's alpha, KR-20/KR-21), and Inter-rater reliability.

14. What is the Spearman-Brown prophecy formula used for?

    It corrects/estimates the reliability of a full-length test from split-half reliability, adjusting for the fact that halving a test reduces its reliability. It can also predict reliability when test length is changed.

15. What is Cronbach's alpha and what does it measure?

    Cronbach's alpha is a coefficient of internal consistency reliability, estimating how closely related a set of items are as a group. It is suitable for items with multiple response options (e.g., Likert scales). Values range 0–1; .70+ is generally acceptable.

16. When are KR-20 and KR-21 formulas used?

    The Kuder-Richardson formulas estimate internal consistency reliability for tests with dichotomous (right/wrong, yes/no) items. KR-20 is general; KR-21 is a simpler approximation assuming all items have equal difficulty.

17. What is the Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) and its formula?

    SEM estimates the amount of error in an individual's observed score, used to build confidence intervals around true scores. Formula: SEM = SD × √(1 − reliability), where SD is the standard deviation of test scores.

18. What is the relationship between reliability and validity?

    Reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity. A test cannot be more valid than it is reliable; the maximum validity coefficient is the square root of the reliability coefficient. A test can be reliable yet invalid.

19. What is item difficulty (p) in item analysis and how is it calculated?

    Item difficulty (p) is the proportion of test-takers who answer an item correctly: p = (number correct) / (total respondents). Higher p means an easier item. For maximum discrimination, p around 0.50 is often ideal.

20. What is the item discrimination index (D)?

    D measures how well an item distinguishes high scorers from low scorers. D = (proportion correct in upper group) − (proportion correct in lower group). Values near +1.0 discriminate well; near 0 or negative items should be revised/discarded.

21. What is item-total correlation and what does it indicate?

    It is the correlation between performance on a single item and the total test score. A high positive correlation indicates the item measures the same construct as the test as a whole; low/negative values flag poor items.

22. What are norms in psychological testing?

    Norms are summary statistics (e.g., means, percentiles, standard scores) derived from a representative standardization sample, providing a framework to interpret an individual's score relative to a defined reference group.

23. Differentiate norm-referenced from criterion-referenced testing.

    Norm-referenced interpretation compares an individual's score to a norm group's performance (relative standing). Criterion-referenced interpretation compares a score to a fixed standard or mastery level (absolute performance).

24. What are percentile ranks?

    A percentile rank indicates the percentage of people in the norm group who scored at or below a given raw score. For example, a percentile rank of 80 means the person scored as well as or better than 80% of the reference group.

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