Types of Tests

10:44 PM |

1. Tests of Performance

Cronbach 1970 refers to this type of test as a "test of maximal performance" .
The defining feature of a performance test relates to the state of mind of the person taking the test.Performance tests are designed to assess what a person can do under the conditions represented by the testing situation.Standardized tests of mental ability refers to as intelligence tests are the best examples of this type of test.
Performance Testing covers a broad range of engineering or functional evaluations where a material, product, system, or person is not specified by detailed material or component specifications: rather, emphasis is on the final measurable performance characteristics.Performance testing can refer to the assessment of the performance of a human examinees. For example, a behind-the-wheel driving test is a performance test of whether a person is able to perform the functions of a competent driver of an automobile.

In the computer industry, software performance testing is used to determine the speed or effectiveness of a computer, network, software program or device. This process can involve quantitative tests done in a lab, such as measuring the response time or the number of MIPS (millions of instructions per second) at which a system functions. Qualitative attributes such as reliability, scalability and interoperability may also be evaluated. Performance testing is often done in conjunction with stress testing.The computer systems that have been used by the armed services in testing recruits.

2. Behavioral Observations

Many psychological tests involve observing the subject's behavior and responses in a particular context.Observation of typical performance or behavior are used in measuring a variety of attributes, ranging from social skills and friendship formation to job performance.Interviews including both clinical interviews and employment interviews can be thought of as behavior observation methods.Although an applicant may indeed try to "do his best" in an employment interview the task confronting that applicant is relatively unstructured and useful data may be obtained by observing the applicant's behavior in this potentially stressful .Systematic observations of behavior in naturalistic situations are particularly useful in assessing attributes such as social skills or adjustment.The behavior of a patient of a mental ward might be systematically observed and recorded in an effort to assess his or her responses to specific treatment.

This assignment will help you begin to think as a psychologist and note the ways that we think and write about people differently than does the lay public. Choose a fictional character from a movie or television show. If there is an interview in the segment you observe, use it for your report. If there isn't, you may use your imagination and describe an interview. If you do the latter, make sure that your "client" stays in character from the segment you observe to your interview. Include the following in your "report":

1. Demographic variables.

Include identifications of age, race, sex, marital status, etc. as appropriate. That is, I don't need you to tell me that your "client" is a "4-year-old unmarried female."

2. Referral source and reason.

You may need to use your imagination here. Is your "client" referred by parents, partner, court or self? Following a suicide attempt? because of depression? because of significant fighting with partner?

3. Relevant historical information.

You may deem outside information relevant and important to include, especially descriptions of history of the current problem (including onset and course), previous psychiatric history, and substance use and abuse. If you don't observe it, you should say something like the following, "Ms. Smith reports..." or "Mr. Brown denies..."

4. Brief physical description.

Especially include that which may put the client in some context. For example, your client may be seductively or slovenly dressed, skeletal or grossly obese, attractively groomed or with nails that have been bitten so short they are bleeding.

5. Cognitive functioning.

Include descriptions of intelligence (and the observations for this inference), cognitive preoccupations and delusions. Some of your conclusions may be by client's self-report, others from observations.

6. Affect and mood.

What is your client's mood like? Happy, sad, calm, joyful, excited, nervous? Include behavioral observations supporting this conclusion. Describe affective functioning (broad, restricted, flat, inappropriate) and briefly support your conclusion if you describe anything other than broad affect.

7. Behavior.

What is your client's behavior like during your observation? Comment on anything unusual (absence of eye contact, fidgeting, hair twirling, unusual seating in room). Note, however, strengths as well as problems. Include observations of the nature of the relationship you have with the client: cooperative, uncooperative, good, poor, etc.

8. Any other relevant information.

You may deem other kinds of information relevant and important to include, especially descriptions of history of the current problem (including onset and course), previous psychiatric history, and substance use and abuse. If you don't observe it, you should say something like the following, "Client reports..." or "Client denies..."

A good report is: (a) well-written; (b)brief and succinct (approximately two pages); (c) describes a range of functioning, not just the problem area; (d) describes potential problems accurately without making undocumented inferences; (e) recognizes contextual variables that may influence your observations; (f) empathic and respectful; and (g) includes a brief summary at the end of the paper. This is more difficult to do well the first time than you might think. Do not wait til the night before this paper is due to begin!!!

These are possibilities of interviews that you may use in your case observation. Remember, you don't need a movie with an interview, although it will often make this paper much easier. Possibilities include Agnes of God, Analyze this, Analyze that, Annie Hall, Awakenings, Beautiful mind, Clockwork orange, Couch therapy, Dead man walking, Deconstructing Harry, Don Juan de Marco, Donnie Darko, Don't say a word, Equus, Final analysis, Girl, interrupted, Good Will Hunting, Kiss the girls, Lovesick, Mad love, Made for each other, Miracle on 34th Street, Mumford, Mr. Jones, Nuts, One flew over the cuckoo's nest, Ordinary people, Patch Adams, Primal fear, Prince of tides, Shakespeare in love, Silence of the lambs, Sixth sense, Sybil, What about Bob, Whose life is it anyways?and Wit. There are also interesting (perhaps not good) examples of interviews on TV shows including Allie McBeal, Ellen, Sopranos and Home improvement.

An example of this project can be found here.

Some things to think about:

Use past tense to talk about things that have happened; use present tense to talk about things that are happening or that will continue. That is, "He was dressed casually in clothes appropriate for work," but "He is a 28-year-old male."

Use your clients' names. They are people, not objects. Instead of "The client said..." say "Ms. Jones was..." Refer to adults by a title and last name (e.g., Dr. White or Ms. Brown); this is more respectful and keeps us from forgetting that, although these are people who have run into problems, they are people first and foremost. Refer to children and teens by first name after identifying them by first and last name in your opening paragraph.

You may draw inferences -- in fact, you should -- but support your conclusions with observations. For example, "She was cooperative during the interview, responding to all questions and expanding on these."

Your first sentence in most paragraphs should generally be expanded on in later sentences:

Throughout the session, Ms. Jones' mood was depressed and her affect flat.She maintained little eye contact and, while cooperative in answering questions during the session, was largely unresponsive to emotional stimuli. All replies occurred after a long pause and had a hopeless and helpless feel to them. For example, in response to the question, "What would you like to be different," she said, "I don't know. What's the use?"

Note that the points in this paragraph develop your opening statement and support it. Contradictions and inconsistencies in behavior often make your conclusions richer.
While Mr. Pink was generally cooperative during the interview, when his family was mentioned he stood up and angrily stalked out of the room saying, "It wasn't like you think!"He calmed down rapidly and returned to the therapy room, but avoided questions about his family, as though he had not heard them.

Your conclusions and recommendations at the end of your paper should be well-supported by your observations and inferences within your paper.Do not recommend therapy unless you have identified a problem within your paper.We don't do therapy "just because..."

Guidelines for Behavioral Observations

Behavioral observations of students should:

1. Be systematic and take place in a variety of settings.
2. Be done by different IEP (Individualized Education Program) team members.
3. Provide a clear picture of the behavior using one or more of the following procedures:

Narrative recording that describes specific skills the student demonstrates, the types of directions the student responds to best, social interactions, and personal appearance.
Time sampling or interval recording that examines whether or not a specific behavior is occurring at predetermined intervals (for example, every 2 minutes).A disadvantage of time sampling is that it does not reflect the frequency of behaviors on an ongoing basis.
Event sampling that waits for a specific behavior to occur and then records the frequency and duration of the behavior.A disadvantage may be that the student fails to exhibit the targeted behavior, such as social interaction.
Rating scales that provide a more structured technique to observe and record behaviors.

3. Self-Reports

The final class of tests includes a variety of measures that ask the subject to report or describe his or her feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values, opinions or physical or mental state.Many personality inventories can be regarded as self-report tests.This category also includes a variety of surveys, questionnaires and polls.Self-reports are not necessarily taken at face value.
A number of measurement techniques contain features of both behavior observations and self-reports.For example interviews may include questions dealing with the respondent's thoughts. opinions or feelings; this is particularly true for clinical interviews.

A self-report inventory is a type of psychological test in which a person fills out a survey or questionnaire with or without the help of an investigator. Self-report inventories often ask direct questions about symptoms, behaviors, and personality traits associated with one or many mental disorders or personality types in order to easily gain insight into a patient's personality or illness. Most self-report inventories can be taken or administered within five to 15 minutes, although some, like the MMPI, can take up to three hours to fully complete.
A self report study is a type of survey, questionnaire, or poll in which respondents read the question and select a response by themselves without researcher interference.

Some problems of self report studies

The biggest problem with self-report inventories is that patients may exaggerate symptoms in order to make their situation seem worse, or they may under-report the severity or frequency of symptoms in order to minimize their problems. For this reason, self-report inventories should be used only for measuring for symptom change and severity and should never be solely used to diagnose a mental disorder. Clinical discretion is advised for all self-report inventories.

Many personality tests, such as the MMPI or the MBTI are designed to make it very difficult for a person to exaggerate traits and symptoms. However, these tests suffer from the inherent problems associated with personality theory and testing, in that personality is a fluid concept that can be difficult to define. Most personality inventories are based on a particular personality theory.

1. Unreliable answers