Question 1

Although anecdotally promising, there is little research to support the use of therapeutic assessment.

Accepted Answer

Therapeutic assessment is supported by research indicating its effectiveness in various contexts, such as improving client self-understanding, treatment planning, and therapeutic outcomes.

Question 2

In assessment, all forms of validity can be said to be forms of:

Accepted Answer

All forms of validity are directly related to the extent to which an assessment measures what it is intended to measure or the extent to which it assesses the construct of interest. Therefore, all forms of validity can be considered forms of construct validity.

Question 3

Explain why positive and negative predictive power are often better measures of diagnostic efficiency than sensitive and specificity.

Accepted Answer

Positive and negative predictive power are often better measures of diagnostic efficiency than sensitivity and specificity because they take into account the prevalence of the condition being tested for in the population. Sensitivity and specificity only measure the accuracy of the test itself, without considering how likely it is for a person to actually have the condition in question.

Positive predictive power (PPP) measures the probability that a person has the condition given a positive test result, while negative predictive power (NPP) measures the probability that a person does not have the condition given a negative test result. These measures are more informative for clinicians and patients because they directly relate to the likelihood of having or not having the condition, which is ultimately what matters in a diagnostic setting.

Additionally, sensitivity and specificity can be influenced by the prevalence of the condition in the population. In contrast, PPP and NPP take prevalence into account, making them more reliable measures of diagnostic efficiency in real-world scenarios.

Overall, positive and negative predictive power provide a more practical and clinically relevant assessment of a diagnostic test's performance, making them better measures of diagnostic efficiency than sensitivity and specificity.

Question 4

You are interested in creating a new measure of introversion for graduate students in psychology. Describe the process of creating the measure and establishing initial reliability and validity.

Accepted Answer

The answer of You are interested in creating a new...

Question 5

On a measure of depression, a measure that reads "Are you depressed" might be said to have:

Accepted Answer

A measure that simply looks like it measures what it is intended to measure has high face validity. However, "Are you depressed" as a measure of depression does not have strong content validity, as it only asks one question and does not capture the complexity of the construct. It also does not have good criterion-related validity as it does not measure up against a gold standard measure of depression. Finally, it does not have concurrent validity as it does not correlate strongly with other measures of depression administered at the same time.

Question 6

Temporal consistency is measured through:

Accepted Answer

Temporal consistency refers to consistency over time or across different points in time. Test-retest reliability is the measure of how consistent the results of a test are over time, making it the best choice for measuring temporal consistency among the given options. Chronbach's alpha is used to measure internal consistency, split-half reliability measures consistency between two halves of a test, and interrater reliability measures consistency between different raters or observers.

Question 7

The MMPI was the first psychological test.

Accepted Answer

The MMPI was not the first psychological test. The first psychological test is considered to be the "reaction time" test developed by Francis Galton in the late 1800s. The MMPI was developed in the 1930s.

Question 8

Francis Gall is most commonly associated with what movement in the history of measurement?

Accepted Answer

Francis Gall is most commonly associated with phrenology, a pseudoscience that involved the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.

Question 9

Who is credited with creating the first modern personality test?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Who is credited with creating the first...

Question 10

What historical event spurred the creation of the Personal Data Sheet?

Accepted Answer

The creation of the Personal Data Sheet was spurred by World War I, as it was developed to help assess the personalities of soldiers.

Question 11

What method did Hathaway and McKinley use to develop the MMPI items?

Accepted Answer

Hathaway and McKinley used the criterion keying approach to develop the MMPI items, where items were chosen based on how well they distinguished between different groups of people (e.g., those with a specific diagnosis versus those without).

Question 12

Approximately what percentage of psychologists practice some personality assessment?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Approximately what percentage of psychologists practice some...

Quiz 1: Introducing Personality Assessment, Smith & Archer