A Project for Developing Tests in a Psychological Testing and Measurement Course

According to the American Psychological Association ethical guidelines and federal regulations, psychology departments that require introductory psychology students to participate in research studies must also provide students with equitable alternatives to research participation, such as writing a paper. However, most students opt to participate in studies anyway. A possible explanation is that students may perceive writing a paper as a coercive alternative. In contradiction to this explanation, the vast majority of our participants indicated, when asked to assume that the paper and the experiment would be equally effortful, that they would choose the experiment anyway.

Section: Sample Core Questions I Developedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faculty Forum

2006

“…This article adds to a growing number of published teaching exercises that attempt to provide students with a practical understanding of the science of psychological measurement (Camac & Camac, 1993;Gentile, 2000;Hynan & Foster, 1997;Reinehr, 1991;Wesp & Eshun, 2005) and extends this literature by provid-ing practical guidelines for writing proper interview questions and conducting interviews. This article also illustrates the process of convergent validation across independent data sources (interview vs. questionnaire data), provides students with an applied understanding of a correlation coefficient, and addresses the factors that limit measurement validity.…”

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confidence: 99%

Convergent Validation of an Interview-Based Personality Assessment: A Laboratory Project

Friesen

Ellis

2008

This article describes a 2-session laboratory project in which students develop, conduct, and attempt to validate an interview-based personality assessment. In Session 1, students learn about effective interview procedures and then design and pilot-test an interview to assess 4 personality traits (emotionality, activity level, sociability, and impulsivity). Each student then assesses the personality of a participant using the interview along with a self-report measure that indexes the same 4 personality traits. In Session 2, students analyze the interview and questionnaire data and examine several topics concerning measurement validation, such as convergent validity, social desirability, and error. Test grades and student evaluations supported the pedagogical value of the project.When students embark on an education in psychology they quickly learn about the fundamental importance of reliability and validity of measurement.First-year psychology textbooks routinely introduce these topics (e.g., Passer & Smith, 2004;Santrock, 2005); however, textbook descriptions of these measurement concepts are of limited use in teaching students the practical implications of carrying out a validation study. The purpose of this article is to describe a two-session laboratory project (approximately 4 hr of class time) that provides students with practical experience in personality assessment and explores several issues surrounding measurement validity.This article adds to a growing number of published teaching exercises that attempt to provide students with a practical understanding of the science of psychological measurement (extends this literature by providing practical guidelines for writing proper interview questions and conducting interviews. This article also illustrates the process of convergent validation across independent data sources (interview vs. questionnaire data), provides students with an applied understanding of a correlation coefficient, and addresses the factors that limit measurement validity. With slight modifications, this project could be useful in a variety of courses including first-year introduction to psychology, personality or social psychology, research methods, and testing and measurement courses. Session 1: Designing an InterviewThe first laboratory session has five learning objectives. Students should (a) understand the basic goals of an open-ended interview, (b) identify and apply fundamental interviewing skills, (c) develop three interview questions to assess one of four personality traits, (d) conduct pilot testing of the interview questions, and (e) finalize the interview procedure based on feedback from the pilot interviews. Students also complete a self-report measure of four personality traits-emotionality, activity level, sociability, and impulsivity-using Buss and Plomin's (1975) EASI-III questionnaire.The laboratory session opens with an interactive exercise designed to foster students' critical thinking about interviewing. We use an abbreviated version of Evans and colleagues'

“…In a similar project described by Hynan and Foster (1997), undergraduates in a psychological measurement class assessed reliability and construct validity of a test students designed and administered in class. Students made positive comments about the exercise and suggested that it helped them understand test development.…”

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confidence: 99%

Teaching the Principles of Test Validation in Introductory Psychology

Wesp

Eshun

2005

We describe a simple classroom activity that demonstrated the process of assessing predictive validity. We assessed changes in student understanding of the process, confidence in psychological testing, and enjoyment in participating in the exercise. Students who completed the activity performed better on a test question about validity and reported more confidence in testing. Students reported they enjoyed the exercise and that the activity provided them with a better understanding of the test development process.