Essentials of Psychological Testing (Essentials of Behavioral Science)
Susana Urbina
Language: English
Pages: 400
ISBN: 1118680480
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
An easy-to-understand overview of the key concepts of psychological testing
Fully updated and revised, the second edition of Essentials of Psychological Testing surveys the basic principles of psychometrics, succinctly presents the information needed to understand and evaluate tests, and introduces readers to the major contemporary reference works in the field.
This engaging, practical overview of the most relevant psychometric concepts and techniques provides the foundation necessary for advanced study in the field of psychological assessment. Each clear, well-organized chapter includes new examples and references, featuring callout boxes highlighting key concepts, bulleted points, and extensive illustrative material, as well as “Test Yourself” questions that help gauge and reinforce readers’ grasp of the information covered. The author’s extensive experience and deep understanding of the concepts presented are evident throughout the book, particularly when readers are reminded that tests are tools and that, like all tools, they have limitations.
Starting with a basic introduction to psychological tests, their historical development, and their uses, the book also covers the statistical procedures most frequently used in testing, the frames of reference for score interpretation, reliability, validity and test item considerations, as well as the latest guidelines for test selection, administration, scoring and reporting test results. Whether as an orientation for those new to the field, a refresher for those already acquainted with it, or as reference for seasoned clinicians, this book is an invaluable resource.
SUSANA URBINA, PHD, is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of North Florida, where she taught courses in psychological testing and assessment. A Diplomate of the American Board of Assessment Psychology and a licensed psychologist, Dr. Urbina practiced in the field of psychological assessment for over a decade. She coauthored the seventh edition of Psychological Testing with Anne Anastasi and has published numerous articles and reviews in the area of psychological testing.
proved to be particularly helpful in making both of these kinds of decisions, are described in the following sections. Tests of Special Skills and Aptitudes The success of the Army Alpha test stimulated interest in developing tests to select workers for different occupations. At the same time, applied psychologists had been working out and using a basic set of procedures that would justify the use of tests in occupational selection. Basically, the procedures involved (a) identifying the skills
Biodata Bivariate data: correlation and Pearson r and regression toward the mean and scatterplots and validity and Bivariate statistics Bluetooth Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAS) Bracken Basic Concept Scale Brain damage Buros, Oscar Buros Center for Testing (BC) Buros Institute of Mental Measurements (BI) CA. See Chronological age (CA) CAB. See Clerical Abilities Battery (CAB) Calendar time California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT): Q-interactive system Second Edition (CVLT-II) Campbell,
Figure C.1 Guide Cover Table of Contents Begin Reading Begin Reading Chapter 1 Pages ii iii iv v vi ix x xi xii xiii xiv 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121
computers and computer software in recent decades has greatly enhanced the ease with which factor analytic techniques—and other sophisticated methods of analysis of multivariate correlational data, such as multiple regression analyses—can be used to investigate latent variables (i.e., constructs) and the possible direct and indirect causal links or paths of influence among them. Structural Equation Modeling Techniques. One methodologically sophisticated set of procedures that can be used to test
the plausibility of hypothesized interrelationships among constructs as well as the relationships between constructs and the measures used to assess them is known as structural equation modeling (SEM). Applications of SEM, as indeed those of FA in general, go well beyond the derivation of evidence for the internal structure of a test. The essential idea of all SEM is to create one or more models—based on theories, previous findings, or prior exploratory analyses—of the relations among a set of