Testing in Clinical Psychology
Chapter V
What is a test?
 It is a systematic procedure for observing and describing a
person’s behaviour in a standard situation
 Tests present a set of planned stimuli (inkblots or true-false
questions) and ask the client to respond them in dome way
 The client’s reactions become the test results or scores, to be used
as samples, signs, or correlates in the clinician’s assessment
strategy
 Test data may lead to conservative, situation specific statements or
to sweeping, high-level inference
 In some ways tests are different than any other assessment devices:
 A test can be administered in private setting
 Client’s test response can be quantitatively compared to
statistical norms established by the responses of others
 Tests can be distributed in groups as well as individually
What do tests measure?
 Tests provide measures of everything from A to Z
 Some of the tests ask direct, specific questions (do you ever feel
discouraged?), while others ask for general directions to less
distinct stimuli (tell me what you see in this drawing?)
 Some have correct answers (what is a chicken?) while others probe
for opinions or preferences (I enjoy looking at flowers-T or F?)
 Some are presented in paper and pencil form, some are given
orally
 Some require verbal skills (what does analogy mean?) some ask the
client to perform various tasks (please trace the correct path
through this puzzle maze) and others combine verbal, numerical,
and performance items
 Many tests can be grouped into three categories:
 Intellectual or cognitive abilities
 Personality characteristics
 Attitudes, interests, preferences, and values
Test construction procedures
 Analytic Approach:
 Begin by asking “What are the qualities I want to measure?”, “How
do I define these qualities?”, and “What kind of tests and test items
would make sense for assessing these qualities
 This is a deductive approach to test construction
 Empirical Approach:
 Instead of deciding ahead of time what test content should be used
to measure a particular target, the tester lets the content “choose
itself ”
 Empirically driven testers are usually willing to employ items that
reliably discriminate among the target groups even though the
conceptual relevance of those items cannot always be explained
clearly
 Sequential System Approach:
 Combines aspects of the analytical and empirical techniques
 For example, testers who choose initial test items analytically
may then examine results statistically to determine which item
responses are, and are not, correlated with one another, which
items are too easy or too difficult, which items do and do not
discriminate. Groups of correlated items are then identified as
scales which are thought to be relatively pure measures of
certain dimensions of personality, mental ability, or the like
Standardization and score interpretation
 Standardization refers to consistency in administration and scoring
of a test
 The numbers that come from the standardization sample – means,
variances, percentages, and so on – are called norms
 Tests scores can also be interpreted based on a criterion
established by the tester rather than on a normative sample
 Tests scores can be interpreted by comparing only to himself or
herself. This is called ipsative measurement
Avoiding distortion in test scores
 Circumstances under which a test is given – temprature, noise,
presence of a stranger, etc. – can affect the results
 Some clients tend to respond in particular ways, which is called
response set, response style, and response bias (such as social
desirability)
 Minimizing the extraneous sources of variability:
 Developing clear, simple instructions
 Pilot testing
 Enlisting experts on test bias
 Building indicators of response bias
 Ethical Standards for Psychologists’ Use of Tests:
 Table 5.2, p. 170
 Competence
 Professional/scientific responsibility
 Integrity
 Respect for rights and dignity
 Concern for others’ welfare
 Social responsibility
 Access to test materials
 Criteria for Judging the Psychometric Quality of a Testing
 Table 5.4, p. 172
 Norms
 Internal consistency
 Test-retest reliability
 Inter-rater reliability
 Content validity
 Construct validity
 Generalization validity
 Clinical utility
Theories of Intelligence
 General intelligence model (g)
 Psychometric approach
 Intelligence as a global, general ability
 Multiple Specific Intelligences Models:
 Intelligence as a collection of relatively separate abilities
 Stenberg’s triarchic theory (three kinds of intelligence: analytical, creative,
practical)
 Gardner (8 frames of mind: verbal, mathematical, spatial, bodilykinaesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalistic
 Hierarchical and Factor Analytic Models
 Combination of the two
Test of Intellectual Functioning
 The Binet Scale:
 1905-1st version. 30 questions and tasks, including things like
wrapping a piece of candy, repeating numbers or sentences from
memory, etc.
 1908 revision, Binet tests were age graded, so younger children
were expected to pass earlier questions, and older children were
expected to pass the later ones
 1926 Stanford-Binet. Intelligence Quotient (Mental Age /
Chronological Test x 100)
 These categories are used: very superior, superior, high average,
average, low average, borderline, and mentally retarded ( mildly,
moderately, severely, and profoundly retarded)
 1960 edition. They changed the way IQ was derived. IQ tables in
which the formula’s results were corrected in light of mean and
variance IQs at each age level
 1986 edition. Within each subtest, the items are arranged in
increasing order of difficulty and their results are organised to
assess four major areas of intellectual functioning: verbal
reasoning, abstract/visual reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and
short-term memory
 Standard Age Score (SAS) is determined for each subtest by using
tables that convert raw scores to normalised standard scores with a
mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 8 for each age group
 The Wechsler Scale:
 Wechsler-Bellevue aimed at adults (aged 17 and older)
 It is a point scale (client receives credit for each correct answer
 Items were arranged in subtests based on similarity. Each subtest
contained increasingly difficult items
 The WB contained six verbal subtests (information,
comprehension, arithmetic, similarities, digit span, and
vocabulary) and five performance subtests (digit symbol, picture
completion, block design, picture arrangement, and object
assembly)
 WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale):
 6 verbal and 5 performance subtests
 Measure Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Full-Scale IQ
 The WAIS III:
 Extended age range (through age 89)
 Four new Index Scores (verbal comprehension, working memory,
perceptual organisation, and processing speed)
 Clinicians can obtain a multifaceted description of a person’s
cognitive strengths and weaknesses
 WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children):
 12 subtests (6 verbal and 6 performance) of which only 10 were
usually administered
 Not useful for very young kids (5 to 15)
 WPPSI (the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of
Intelligence) reached to 4 years old
 WPPSI-R reached to 3 years old
 WISC-R
 12 subtests (6 verbal and 6 performance) of which only 10 were
usually administered
 More representative content than WISC
 WISC III
 New items were added to replace outdated, culturally unfair, to
easy or too difficult
 Symbol Search subscale was added as a supplementary for the
Coding subtest
 Other Intelligence Tests:
 Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC):
 Children 2 ½ to 12 ½ years of age
 It defines the intelligence as the ability to solve new problems
(fluid intelligence) rather than knowledge of facts (crystallized
intelligence)
 Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery
 Both children and adults
 27 subtest cover cognitive ability, academic achievement, and
individual interests
 The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Revised
 The Porteus Maze Test
 The Raven’s Progressive Matrices
Aptitude and Achievement Tests
 The Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT)
 Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive Battery III
 Woodcock-Johnson Achievement Battery III
 Kaufman Test Educational Achievement (K-TEA)
 Wechsler Individual Assessment (WIAT)
Tests of Attitudes, Interests, Preferences
and Values
 The Strong-Campbell Interest Survey
 The Kuder Occupational Interest Survey
 Career Assessment Inventory
 These paper and pencil tests designed to assess client’s preferences for
various pursuits, occupations, academic subjects, recreational activities, and
people
 Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values: generalised life orientations
(theoretical, economic, aesthetic, social, political, and religious)
 Purpose-in-Life Test: humanistic value assessment scale
 Reinforcement Survey Schedule: a list of situations and activities that the
client rates in terms of desirability
Personality Tests
 Personality can be defined as the pattern of behavioural and psychological
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characteristics by which a person can be compared and contrast with other
people
Clinicians seek way to describe and understand consistencies and
inconsistencies in a given person, and also how people in general tend to
resemble and differ from one another
Theoretical approaches to personality varies
Objective Tests: present relatively clear, specific stimuli such as questions,
statements, or concepts to which the client responds with direct answers,
choices or ratings
Projective Tests: each individual’s personality will determine the way she
interprets things. Clients are asked to respond to ambiguous or
unstructured stimuli (inkblots, drawings, etc) and their responses are
interpreted as a reflection of both conscious and unconscious aspects of
their personality structure and dynamics
Objective Personality Tests
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Personal Data Sheet: is a first objective tests
The MMPI (the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory):
True-false-cannot say response style
When compared to “normals” members of various diagnostic groups
showed statistically different responses to many items
There are 10 clinical scales (Hypochondriasis, Depression, Conversion
Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviance, Masculinity-femininity, Paranoia,
Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia, Hypomania, Social Introversion), 4 validity
scales (?, L, F, K)
 Clinicians conduct profile analyses by comparing a client’s
MMPI scores with those of other clients:
a. Clinically: by recalling previous clients’ patterns
b. Statistically: by reference to books containing sample profiles
and the characteristics of the people who produced them
 The original MMPI was criticised for its outdated and
unrepresentative standardisation sample, for deficiencies in
its covarage of some aspects of mental disorders, for its oldfashioned items, and for the unreliability of some of its scales
 MMPI-2
 The CPI (The California Psychological Inventory):
 Broad-range, empirically constructed, objective personality test
 Developed to measure personality in the normal population
 Items are grouped into more diverse and positively oriented scales
(sociability, self-acceptance, responsibility, dominance, self-control, etc.)
and three validity scales
 Representative of standardisation sample
 Other Objective Personality Inventories:
 Personality Research Form (PRF), The Milton Clinical Multiaxial Inventory
(MCM-II), and the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
 Objective Tests Based on Factor Analysis:
 Aim is to determine the minimum number of traits or characteristics
 One approach is to examine how much different traits overlap with one
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another
FA is a mathematical procedure that helps to reduce the complexity of
many different traits by grouping them into clusters or factors based on
the pattern of correlations between the different traits
Cattel-16 PF (16 Personality Factors Questionnaire)
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (3 Basic Personality Factors –
Psychoticism, Introversion-Extraversion, and Emotional Stability)
Many studies resulted in 5-factor solutions
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Big-Five factors includes:
Neuroticism: a tendency to feel anxious, angry, and
depressed in many situations
Extraversion: a tendency to be assertive, active, and prefer
to be with other people
Openness: a quality indicating active imagination,
curiosity, and receptiveness to many experiences
Agreeableness: orientation toward positive, sympathetic,
helpful interactions with others
Conscientiousness: a tendency to be reliable and persistent
in pursuing goals
 Behavioural Tests:
 Fear Survey Schedule: list of objects, persons, situations that
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the client rates in terms of fearsomeness
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory
PTSD Symptom Scale
Beck depression Inventory
The Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist
The Bulimia Test-Revised
Projective Personality Tests
 The Rorschach Inkblot Test:
 A set of 10 coloured and black-and-white inkblots
 The client is shown 10 cards, one at a time and client asked what
she sees or what the blot could be
 The tester records all responses verbatim and takes about response
times, how the card was held as responses occurred, noticeable
emotional reactions, and other behaviours
 When she is done, tester goes back through the set of cards and
conducts an inquiry or systematic questioning of the client about
the characteristics of each blot
 Initial reactions and comments during the inquiry are coded
Example
 The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT):
 Consist of 30 drawings of people, objects, and landscapes
 Generally 10 of these cards (one of them blank) are administered
 Determined by the client’s age, sex, and by the clinician’s interest
 Tester shows each picture and ask the client to make up a story
about it, including what led up to the scene, what is now
happening, and what is going to happen
 Client is encouraged to say what the people in the drawings are
thinking and feeling
 For the blank card the respondents are asked to imagine a drawing,
describe it, and then construct a story about it
Example
 Analysis of the TAT can focus upon both the content and the
structure of TAT stories
 Content: what client describe, the people, the feelings, the
events, the outcomes.
 Structure: how client tells her story: logic, organisation, use
of language, the appearance of speech dysfluency, the
misunderstanding of instructions or stimuli in the drawing,
and obvious emotional arousal
 Some clinicians prefer TAT scoring systems that are relatively
unstructured. They develop an idiosyncratic combination of
principles derived from psychodynamic theory and their
clinical experience
 Incomplete Sentence Test:
 Ask clients to complete incomplete sentences
 How the client finishes the sentences reflect important personality
characteristics
 “I like…”, “My father,…”, “I secretly…” (Rotter Incomplete
Sentence Blank)
Example Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank
 1. I feel . . .hopeful about most things.
2. I regret . . .not being able to communicate with my ex-wife
3. Other people . . .are usually fair and honest.
4. I am best when . . .I'm at home with my family.
5. What bothers me is . . .the thought of losing contact with my children.
6. The happiest time . . .is when I'm spending time with my children.
7. I am afraid of . . .being separated from my children.
8. My father . . .is someone I can always talk to about things.
9. I dislike to . . .argue with my wife.
10. I failed . . .to understand my wife's needs.
11. At home . . .is one of the places I like best.
12. Boys . . .can be a challenge to keep up with!
13. My mother . . .always took care of her family.
14. I suffer . . .from trying too hard sometimes.
15. The future . . .seems uncertain right now.
16. Other kids . . .were my best friends when I was young.
17. My nerves are . . .somewhat unsettled lately.
18. Girls . . .were a mystery to me in High School.
19. My greatest worry is . . .not being able to see my kids.
 Projective Drawings:
 The client’s drawing serve as the basis for the clinician’s inference
about various aspects of client’s personality
 House-tree-person (HTP)
 Draw a Person Test (DAP)
 Bender-Gestalt (sometimes)
Example: Draw a Person (C. 7 years old)
The Psychometric Properties of Tests
 Reliability:
 In general reliability of psychological tests tend to be
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adequate but not uniformly so
Determining reliability of projective tests is problematic
because split-half, parallel form, and test-retest coefficients
often do not make sense with such instruments
The scoring of projective tests has traditionally been far more
subjective than for objective tests
Interrater reliabilities have tended to be low
More objective scoring systems for some of the projective
tests (such as Rorschach)
 Validity:
 Overall the validity of psychological tests has been less
impressive than their reliability
 For most tests the size of the discrepancy between the
reliability and validity is too great
 In general, the closer a test content or task are to the content
or task being assessed (i.e. the criterion) the higher the
validity will be
 Distortion of Test Scores:
 Non-standard data collection procedures
 Client’s motivation
 Structure of the items and response alternatives
 The testing circumstances
 Client’s tendency to respond in particular ways (i.e. response style, social
desirability bias, and response bias):
- Social desirability (responding in most socially acceptable way)
- Acquiescent response style (tendency to be agree with any self-descriptive
items)
 Other Client variables (culture, education, etc.)