PSY 550 Midterm
Short Answers
The 25 questions below are worth 4 points each.
1. What is the key difference between psychological testing and psychological assess-

ment?
2. Name three estimates of a test’s inter-item consistency.

3. From the intelligence test data he gathered at Ellis Island, Henry Goddard concluded

that many of the people attempting to immigrate to the United States were “feebleminded.” What was this claim based on?
4. What do test developers do to address test-taker guessing?
5. In order to conduct research using human subjects, a university requires re-

searchers to complete an online ethics course and then correctly respond to all of
the items of the test on that material. What kind of test could this BEST be characterized as?

6. As compared to one-on-one and face-to-face assessments, what is one disadvan-

tage of CAPA?

7. According information presented in the modules, what are at least two characteris-

tics about psychological traits?

8. The U.S. Navy is highly selective when it comes to applications for Navy SEAL train-

ing. What kind of distribution of test scores on a Navy SEAL Qualifying and Screening Examination administered to a class of high school seniors would be expected to
yield?
9. Describe an anchor protocol.

10. What is a halo effect?

11. Why is a normal distribution of scores desirable?

12. Give an example of an incidental sample.

13. What kind of utility analysis is most likely to be utilized when the purpose is the an-

swer some finance-related question with a dollars-and-cents?

14. What need did the first group intelligence testing fulfill?

15. What is the relationship between test reliability and standard error of measurement?
16. Jana takes a personality test administered by the True Compatibility Dating Service.

According to the personalized, computerized personality profile that results, Jana
learns that her need for exhibitionism is much greater than her need for stability.
Since the test analyzes data only with regard to Jana, and no other client of the dating service, what kind of scoring was utilized?
17. What kinds of concerns or issues arise if accommodation is made for the purpose of

administering a test?

18. What is the ultimate purpose or end point of a utility analysis?

19. The directions for scoring a particular motor ability test instruct the examiner to “give

credit if the child holds his or her hands open most of the time.” Because what
constitutes “most of the time” is not specifically defined, directions such as these
could result in lowered reliability estimates for what kind of reliability?

20. Give an example of convergent evidence of construct validity.
21. What is coefficient alpha an expression of?
22. If someone tells you what their recently measured “IQ” is, what value is that person

most likely giving you?

23. You are interested in developing a test for social adjustment in a college fraternity or

sorority. You begin by interviewing persons who had graduated from college after
having been a member of a fraternity or sorority for at least two years. What stage of
test development are you in and what would you do next?
24. What factors affect the generalizability of findings from a particular test?

25. Describe the relationship between the cut score and the selection ratio.

Essay Questions
The essay questions below are worth 10 points each.
26. Identify at least three different tools of psychological assessment and review the

benefits and liabilities of utilizing these tools.

27. Consider issues of diversity reviewed thus far in the course. Identify and discuss the

issues of diversity related to psychological assessment and rights of test-takers with
someone of a different culture, language background, and ability.

28. Describe the forms and sources of error and how error contributes to reliability.

29. Part of test utility includes cut scores. Describe two kinds of cut scores, two ways

that cut scores are established, and at least two different problems that can arise
with cut scores.

30. Compare and contrast what makes a good test with what makes a good test item.

• Which is an example of a graded signal…

Your answer:
[removed] A sign that says “STOP” at the intersection at the bottom of a steep hill.
[removed] The sign for “help me” in Sign Language
[removed] Swearing
[removed] Visual or Auditory patterns that occur in sequence, like “C-O-M-E I-N.”
[removed] a sound that changes from soft to loud, like when she whispers “Who is it? and then yells “Get out!”

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• The English Language is …

Your answer:
[removed] a predicative combinative mode of communication
[removed] an expressive combinative mode of communication
[removed] a predicative graded mode of communication
[removed] an expressive graded mode of communication
[removed] a nominal combinative mode of communication

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• A sign is…

Your answer:
[removed] not important to survival
[removed] not exhibited by sub-humans, inanimate objects, or even professors
[removed] a substitute for a concept in the thought process
[removed] a call to action
[removed] arbitrarily associated with its referent

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• A symbol is…

Your answer:
[removed] a call to action
[removed] associated to it’s referent by an iconic bond
[removed] not typically important to survival
[removed] is associated to it’s referent by an cause and effect bond
[removed] exemplified by the a “foot print” in the sand.

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• Body Lanaguage is really…

Your answer:
[removed] nominal combinative
[removed] based on signals we call symbols
[removed] predicative combinative
[removed] expressive graded
[removed] unimportant to survival

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• Babbling is…

Your answer:
[removed] a communication that utililizes a signal called a symbol
[removed] species specific
[removed] not exhibited by children born deaf
[removed] exhibited by professors who are unsure of their lecture material (hint- maybe so but don’t select this option).
[removed] a nominal graded communication

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• Swearing is an example of….

Your answer:
[removed] Sign Language
[removed] an expresssive combinative communication
[removed] bad langauge
[removed] an expressive graded communication
[removed] body language

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• Which are examples of TYPES of SIGNALS

Your answer:
[removed] Predecative and Propositional
[removed] Expressive and emotional
[removed] Nominal and Expressive
[removed] Combinative and Nominal
[removed] Graded and Combinative

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• Which are examples of 3 different TYPES of MESSAGES

Your answer:
[removed] expressive, emotional and graded
[removed] Nominal, Expressive and Predicative
[removed] Nominal, graded and combinative
[removed] Predicative, Combinative and Language
[removed] Graded, Combinative and Nominal

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• Bees communicate by making…

Your answer:
[removed] honey
[removed] a buzzing sound with their lips
[removed] bee language
[removed] signs
[removed] symbols

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• The initial crying of a baby at birth and the pursuing few weeks is a communication that is…

Your answer:
[removed] predicative
[removed] unnecessary
[removed] expressive
[removed] symbolic
[removed] nominal

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• Which is not true of a symbol…

Your answer:
[removed] It is associated arbitrarily with it’s referent
[removed] It is part of a predicative combinative communication
[removed] It can be substituted for a concept in the thought process
[removed] It is a signal used in Body Language.
[removed] It can be discursive or presentational

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• Parrots…

Your answer:
[removed] are the only non-humans in addition to Apes that use language
[removed] use a nominal combinative mode of communication that involves learning
[removed] use a predicative combinative form of cummunication
[removed] are the only non-humans that use language
[removed] use a nominal combinative mode of communication that is genetically inherited

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• Cicadas…

Your answer:
[removed] use a nominal combinative form of communication
[removed] use a predicative graded form of communication
[removed] perform a dance to communicate symbolically about the location of trees
[removed] use an nominal graded form of communication
[removed] are taught to communicate by their parents

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• A person with severe left brain damage in the language areas may be able to do nothing EXCEPT…

Your answer:
[removed] read
[removed] swear
[removed] write
[removed] talk
[removed] understand speech

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• In Hocketrt’s 1960 essay, he wrote about the 13 ____________________ of language, which have been used to compare animal and human communication.

Your answer:
[removed] Speech Chains
[removed] Recursions
[removed] Channels
[removed] Transmissions
[removed] Design features

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• ___________________________ is the Term used to indicate that the communicator can talk about things that are distant in time and/or space.

Your answer:
[removed] Discreteness
[removed] Displacement
[removed] Arbitrariness
[removed] Productivity
[removed] Rapid fading

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• ________________________ is the use of syllable, word and phrase stress, along with pitch and loudness variations in our speech.

Your answer:
[removed] Specialization
[removed] Rapid fading
[removed] Syntax
[removed] Morphology
[removed] Suprasegmentals

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• This characteristic of communication removes communication barriers and is largely responsible for the unlimited exchange of information for both sexes of all ages.

Your answer:
[removed] Pragmatics
[removed] Interchangeability
[removed] Echolalia
[removed] Morphology
[removed] Learnability

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• Another way to describe “grammar’ or the grammatical rules and structures of language is.

Your answer:
[removed] Morphemes
[removed] Semantics
[removed] Syntax
[removed] Expressive language
[removed] Broadcast transmission

 

 

Week Three Practice Problems

 

Prepare a written response to the following questions.

 

Chapter 4

 

1. List the five steps of hypothesis testing, and explain the procedure and logic of each.

 

 

1. Based on the information given for the following studies, decide whether to reject the null hypothesis. Assume that all populations are normally distributed. For each, give:         

a.     The Z-score cutoff (or cutoffs) on the comparison distribution at which the null hypothesis should be rejected.

b.     The Z-score on the comparison distribution for the sample score.

c.     Your conclusion.

 

Study	µ	σ	Sample Score	p	Tails of Tests
A	5	1	7	0.05	1 (high predicted)
B	5	1	7	0.05	2
C	5	1	7	0.01	1 (High predicted)
D	5	1	7	0.01	2

 

 

1. A researcher predicts that listening to music while solving math problems will make a particular brain area more active. To test this, a research participant has her brain scanned while listening to music and solving math problems, and the brain area of interest has a percentage signal change of 58. From many previous studies with this same math problem’s procedure (but not listening to music), it is known that the signal change in this brain is normally distributed with a mean of 35 and a standard deviation of 10.

a.     Using the .01 level, what should the researcher conclude? Solve this problem explicity using all five steps of hypothesis testing, and illustrate your answer with a sketch showing the comparison distribution, the cutoff (or cutoffs), and the score of the sample on this distribution.

b.     Explain your answer to someone who has never had a course in statistics (but who is familiar with mean, standard deviation, and Z scores).

 

 

 

Copyright ©2013 by Pearson Education, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Used with permission.

 

 

 

For this assignment, analyze the information provided in any of the provided case vignettes and begin to formulate hypotheses based on the referral questions.

You can identify the referral question from the case vignette you choose. You might also consider the following referral questions in formulating your hypothesis:

• As a forensic psychology professional, what factors do you need to consider in your psychological testing for the forensic assessment report?
• What behavioral observations do you make about the client after reading the case vignette?
• What are your assessment options in working with the client?
• What standard and accepted psychological tests might you apply to your client in forensic settings?
• How will you recognize and evaluate your client’s offender behaviors associated with malingering and deception?
• What theoretical orientation do you want to use in this case?

Tasks:

In a 1- to 2-page Microsoft Word document, address the following:

• Describe the case scenario you have selected.
• Identify the reason for a referral.
• Identify the purpose of the forensic assessment and report.
• Present your impressions of the client.
• Describe your professional role and relationship with the court and the third party requesting the assessment or evaluation.
• Explain the hypotheses you have formulated.

Vignette is:

Case 2

Mr. P is a twenty-six-year-old single male charged with his fourth driving under the influence (DUI).

He was arrested while parked in his car in front of his apartment. His blood alcohol level was just over the

legal limit and he passed most of the sobriety tests given by the officer who arrested him. During the arrest, he stated that he had returned from a going-away party for a friend and was so tired he fell asleep in his car before he was able to make it into his apartment. He admitted to drinking that evening but denied with certainty that he was intoxicated. His story was convincing to the officer, but his previous history of DUIs warranted the arrest. Mr. P was pleasant and cooperative during the arrest and was taken into custody without incident. He was released the next day with a court date. He obtained legal defense and faced the judge with both fear that he would be incarcerated and confidence that he had a defensible case. Much to his surprise, the judge imposed a harsh sentence—ninety-day substance use treatment—at the corrections facility. Mr. P has never been incarcerated and faces losing his job if he spends ninety days in treatment. The judge did not show him any leniency or take into consideration his position in the community, his clean criminal background, or the eight-year time span between his last and present DUI charges. Mr. P disclosed to his lawyer that his father was an alcoholic and that there is a long history of alcohol and drug abuse in his family. He also indicated that his mother was schizophrenic and he was responsible for much of her care during his formative years. He became a successful operations manager for a software engineering company at an early age and is on the fast track to becoming a shareholder within the next two years if he maintains a clear record and follows company policy. He admitted to a bout of depression in college following the placement of his mother in a nursing home. He denied a history of depression prior to that point in time but admitted that his past circumstances likely made him susceptible to emotional difficulty. He began drinking at fourteen years of age to deal with the stress of his mother’s illness and his responsibility for her. His use increased during the one year in college when he was depressed. He received the initial two of his three previous DUIs on campus that year. His third DUI was the result of driving home after having a drink to celebrate passing a difficult examination. The police in his college town were known to make a high number of drunken driving arrests that were rarely fought in court. He believes that he was simply prey for the police and denied he was irresponsible with drinking and driving. Mr. P admitted to recent work stress that likely threatened his position and future with the company. He denied feeling depressed or the urge to use alcohol to reduce his stress.

Mr. P has been depressed and used alcohol excessively in the past when he faced stress and difficulty.

He also denies the seriousness of the charges against him. Determine what type of forensic assessment would be most appropriate for this case and discuss the rationale for your decision.

 

Your choices are:

•

Competency to stand trial

•

Substance abuse evaluation

•

Not guilty by reason of insanity