Foundations of Psychological Testing

Foundations of Psychological Testing

A psychological test usually involves a systematic measure of a people’s behaviors to identify the difference between them. For instance, a psychological test can be used for children to measure their ability or academic achievement. This test helps the educator identify a developmental delay or learning disability in a child. However, it is important to consider the minority and majority groups when choosing a psychological testing tool to improve validity and avoid bias. This essay discusses the concepts of predictive bias, differential validity, and single group validity.

Predictive bias is when a specific group of individuals is given an examination to predict a particular criterion, but a substantial error occurs in at least one subgroup hence providing a different prediction. For example, a personality test is a unique tool used to predict a person’s performance (Reynolds et al., 2021). However, the most accurate and reliable results are obtained when a personality test is applied to individuals under 40. This situation can be considered a predictive bias because a personality test cannot be used to test the performance of individuals above 40 years. Therefore, it is expected that individuals from the two subgroups will score differently in the provided assessment.

Differential validity is considered a biased prediction of success against the minority group in a given population. For example, many believe that some tests, such as aptitude tests, should not be given to women among other minority groups because it is unfair (Broach, 2019). Employers usually provide these tests to all candidates, but individuals consider them unfair when given to minority and majority groups due to correlation coefficients difference. For instance, an aptitude test given to White Americans can give a correlation coefficient of 0.58, but a coefficient of 0.59 can be obtained if the same test is given to Hispanics. That difference indicates that the aptitude test was biased toward White Americans. Therefore, some individuals suggest that employees should consider minority and majority groups when giving aptitude tests to avoid discrimination.

Single group validity is when a test is considered valid for a subgroup of individuals but invalid for other subgroups or minority groups (Miller & Lovler, 2016). For example, in 2000, Florida introduced a law that indicated that all motorcyclists 21 years and above should not wear helmets provided they have a motorcycle insurance coverage of not less than $ 10 000 in case of an injury. All other motorcyclists under 21 years were required to wear helmets. Afterward, various studies were carried out to identify the effect of the law. Researchers found that the law led to motorcycle-related fatalities in Florida, especially for individuals aged 21 years and above (Notrica et al., 2020). This situation can be considered a single group validity because the law was only valid for motorcyclists 21 years and above, but it was invalid for motorcyclists below 21 years.

Conclusion

Psychologists suggest that all individuals have different behaviors, and only a psychological test can be used to identify those differences. However, choosing the most appropriate psychological testing tool that is fair to all individuals is recommended. Predictive bias, differential validity, and single group validity concepts can be used to explain the validity or bias of a psychological test. These concepts explain how particular practices favor the majority group and discriminate against the minority.

References

Broach, D. (2019). Innovative ATCS aptitude tests: Validity and utility of the radar vectoring aptitude test (RVAT). In 20th International Symposium on Aviation Psychology (Dayton, OH; Oregon State University). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dana-Broach/publication/337870478_Validity_Utility_of_the_Radar_Vectoring_Aptitude_Test/links/5defceee92851c8364736cc5/Validity-Utility-of-the-Radar-Vectoring-Aptitude-Test.pdf

Miller, L. A., & Lovler, R. L. (2016). Foundations of psychological testing: A practical approach. Sage Publications, Inc. https://doi.apa.org/record/2015-41493-000

Notrica, D. M., Sayrs, L. W., Krishna, N., Davenport, K. P., Jamshidi, R., & McMahon, L. (2020). Impact of helmet laws on motorcycle crash mortality rates. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 89(5), 962-970. https://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/Fulltext/2020/11000/Impact_of_helmet_laws_on_motorcycle_crash.18.aspx

Reynolds, C. R., Altmann, R. A., & Allen, D. N. (2021). The problem of bias in psychological assessment. In Mastering Modern Psychological Testing (pp. 573-613). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-59455-8_15