Problem: Testing is useful in any setting that requires objective information to make decisions about people. Educational and occupational testing are two broad areas that use testing extensively. You may have taken educational tests such as the GRE or SAT, and you have probably taken hundreds of classroom tests at this point in your education. Occupational testing can match people with jobs and careers or help select job candidates. Clinical and counseling psychology also use applied testing. Tests used by these types of psychologists can help people understand themselves better and can be used for personal guidance. In addition, tests can assist with mental health diagnosis and treatment planning.
Tests can be used to measure many different personal characteristics: intelligence, personality, skill or aptitude, psychopathology, and interest. Additionally, several tests can be used together as part of a test battery. An important aspect of testing is to understand which tests to use in a particular situation, in order to answer specific questions and make the best decisions.
Select three tests (one from each of three different categories, e.g., intelligence and vocational interest) from the list below. Research the tests you selected using the Mental Measurements Yearbook database in the Walden Library. Then consider how you might use each of these three tests in a specific context and why.
Intelligence Tests:
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th Edition (WAIS-IV)
Vocational Interest Tests:
Strong Interest Inventory
Test of Personality/Psychopathology:
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, 2 (MMPI-2)
Post a brief description of the three tests you selected. Then explain appropriate uses of these tests. Finally, describe how you might use each test in a specific context and provide a rationale for using each test in the context described. Need Assignment Help?
Be sure to support your postings with specific references to the Learning Resources.
References:
- Anastasi, A., & Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological testing Download Psychological testing (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
- Chapter 17, "Major Contexts of Current Test Use"
- Credit line: Psychological testing, 7th edition by Anastasi, A., & Urbina, S. Copyright 1997 by Prentice Hall. Reprinted by permission of Prentice Hall via the Copyright Clearance Center. Licensed in 2023.
- American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education. (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing
- Chapter 4, "Test Design and Development"
- Reckase, M. D. (1996). Test construction in the 1990s: Recent approaches every psychologist should know.
- Schwarz, N., & Oyserman, D. (2001). Asking questions about behavior: Cognition, communication, and questionnaire construction.American Journal of Evaluation , 22 (2), 127-160.
- Wiggins, J. S., & Pincus, A. L. (1992). Personality structure and assessment. Annual Review of Psychology, 43, 473-504.