Psy Cal State Northridgeġ1 Terms Review: Independent and Dependent Variables

Age of people Temperature Intelligence Xenophobia Constant: One value in a given context. Variable: any condition, event, characteristic or attribute that can take on different values at different times or with different people. operationalized) Can be measured and studied.

intelligence Construct: A concept with scientific purpose (i.e. “An abstraction formed by generalization from particulars” Abstracts are hard to define E.g. The value of scientific research is completely dependent upon the degree to which the operationalizations are successful or valid. Measurement Note: that the degree to which the operationalization of the abstract concept actually reflects or mirrors the construct is the degree to which the operationalization can be said to be valid (more later). Measure or Operationalization of Intelligence IQ test Psy Cal State Northridge Measurement In psychology we are interested in either describing the distributions of and/or relationships among abstract concepts: e.g., Political conservatism Intelligence Neuroticism Aggression Psy Cal State Northridgeħ Measurement However, in most cases these constructs are abstractions that can often not be directly observed. It involves two major research tasks the construction of instruments and procedures for measurement the development and refinement of theoretical approaches to measurement Psy Cal State Northridge Psychometrics – field of study concerned with the theory and technique of educational and psychological measurement (Wikipedia) measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and personality traits. What are qualities of “good” test items? How can testing situations affect responses? What is an “IQ” anyway? Does IQ really measure intelligence? Should schools really care about my SAT? GRE? LSAT? MCAT? Psy Cal State NorthridgeĬan my reaction to some weird inkblot really say something about my personality? Can my response to a bunch of weird T/F questions really indicate that I have a psychopathology? All I want to do is help people, why do I need to submit them to all these torturous tests? Psy Cal State Northridge

What is a psychological test? Are there different kinds of psych tests? For what purposes are they used? Have psych tests ever been used on me? How do we know if a test is reliable? Valid? Statistics AGAIN? Psy Cal State Northridge Cal State Northridge 427 Andrew Ainsworth PhD

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