Module- 5

Measuring Human Behaviour

MEASUREMENT
Measurement is the assignment of scores to individuals so that the scores represent
some characteristic of the individuals.
In research, it consists of assigning numbers to empirical events, objects or
properties, or activities in compliance with a set of rules.

Mapping Rules: A scheme for assigning numbers or symbols to represent aspects of

the event being measured

PROPERTIES OF MEASUREMENT SCALES

1. IDENTITY or CLASSIFICATION:
Each value on the measurement scale has a unique meaning- IDENTITY.
Numbers are used to group or sort responses – CLASSIFICATION.
2. MAGNITUDE or ORDER:
Values on the measurement scale have an ordered relationship with one another.
i.e., some values are larger, and some are smaller, so the numbers are
ordered according to magnitude.
3. EQUAL INTERVAL:
Scale units along the scale are equal to one another.

e.g., the difference between 1 and 2 would be equal to the difference between 11 and
12.
4. ABSOLUTE ZERO:
The scale has a true zero point, below which no values exist.

SCALES OF MEASUREMENT
1. Nominal: the data can only be
categorized
2. Ordinal: the data can be categorized
and ranked
3. Interval: the data can be categorized,
ranked, and evenly spaced
4. Ratio: the data can be categorized,
ranked, evenly spaced, and has a natural zero.
1) NOMINAL
 Nominal variables can be placed into categories.
  These don’t have a numeric value and so cannot be added, subtracted, divided, or
multiplied.
 These also have no order, and the nominal scale of measurement only satisfies the
identity property of measurement.

2) ORDINAL
 The ordinal scale contains things that you can place in order.
 It measures a variable in terms of magnitude or rank.
 Ordinal scales tell us relative order but give us no information regarding differences
between the categories.
 The ordinal scale has the property of both identity and magnitude.

3) INTERVAL
 An interval scale has ordered numbers with meaningful divisions, and the
magnitude between the consecutive intervals is equal.
 Interval scales do not have a true zero
i.e., In Celsius, 0 degrees does not mean the absence of heat.

4) RATIO
 The ratio scale of measurement is similar to the interval scale with a major
difference: zero is meaningful (no numbers exist below zero).
 Ratio scales have all the characteristics of the nominal, ordinal, and interval scales.
 A true zero means an absence of the variable of interest.

How you analyze your data

will vary depending on the scale of measurement.
The complexity and precision of the level of measurement varies from low (nominal)
to high (ratio)
The same variable can be measured at different levels
Example: Variable of income at an ordinal or ratio level.

QUESTIONS
1. Sweet, salty, and spicy: ________ Scale.
2. Very Sweet, sweet, very salty, salty, very spicy, a spicy: _______Scale.
3. A researcher collects demographic data from her participants. She asks
participants for their city of birth: ________ Scale.
 ASSESSMENT
“Assessment is the process of collecting information to identify, analyze, evaluate
and address issues, attributes, problems.”
Assessment is the collection of relevant information that may be relied on for making
decisions” Fenton (1996)
The primary goal of assessment is to evaluate a person’s current and future
functioning.
Psychological assessment is a process of testing that uses a combination of
techniques to help arrive at some hypotheses about a person and their behavior,
personality, and capabilities.
Assessment methods include observation, interviews, psychological tests like
projective techniques, performance tests, and situational tests.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST
“A psychological test is a systematic procedure for observing a person’s behavior or
performance, describing it with the aid of a numerical scale or category system.”
A ‘test’ is defined as a series of questions based on which
A some information is sought.
psychologica A psychological test is one of the data sources used within
l test is the assessment process.
essentially Such a measurement may be either quantitative or
qualitative.
an objective
The purpose of a psychological test is twofold.
and 1. it attempts to compare the same individual on two or
standardized more two aspects of a trait
measure of a 2. two or more two persons may be compared on the
same trait.
sample of
behavior Characteristics of a good
from which psychological test
predictions For a test to be scientifically sound, it must possess the
are made. following characteristics.
 i. OBJECTIVITY
A test must have the trait of objectivity,
i.e., The test should be free from subjective elements—judgment regarding
the ability, skill, knowledge, trait, or potentiality to be measured and evaluated.
Objectivity here relates to two aspects of the test—
1) the objectivity of the items
The items should be phrased in such a manner that they are interpreted exactly the
same way by all those who take the test. To ensure this, items must have uniformity
of order of presentation (that is, either ascending or descending order).
2) the objectivity of the scoring system.
The test’s scoring method should be standard so that complete uniformity can be
maintained when the test is scored by different experts at different times.

ii. RELIABILITY
Reliability here refers to the self-correlation of the test.
i.e., the extent to which the results obtained is consistent when the test is
administered once or more than once on the same sample with a reasonable time
gap.
Index of internal consistency- Consistency in results obtained in a single
administration
Index of temporal consistency- Consistency in results obtained upon testing and
retesting

iii. VALIDITY
It indicates the extent to which the test measures what it intends to measure when
compared with some outside independent criterion.
i.e., it is the correlation of the test with some outside criterion.
Validity explains to us whether the test fulfills the objective of its development.
The validity of the test is dependent upon the reliability because a test that yields
inconsistent results (poor reliability) are ordinarily not expected to correlate with
some outside independent criterion.

iv. NORM
 A test must also be guided by certain norms.
Norms refer to the average performance of a representative sample on a given test.
 There are four common types of norms— age norms, grade norms, percentile
norms, and standard score norms.
 Depending upon the purpose and use, a test constructor prepares any of these
norms for his test.
 Norms indicate not only the average performance of the population but also the
relative frequency of deviation above and below the average.
 Norms help interpret the scores- Represent a typical level of performance for a
particular group and provide us a “context” or “frame of reference,” which allows
us to interpret the results meaningfully.
 Norms are usually presented in the form of tables with
1) descriptive statistics— such as means to show average
 2) standard deviations to show variability
3) frequency distributions summarize the performance of the group or
groups in question.

v. PRACTICABILITY
A test must also be practicable from the point of view of the time taken in its
completion length, scoring, etc.
i.e., the test should not be lengthy, and the scoring method must not be difficult
nor one which highly specialized persons can only do.

Difference between Testing and Assessment

The terms testing and assessment are often confused.

ASSESSMENT
The basic goal of assessment is to evaluate a person in terms of current and future
functioning.
In the assessment process, behaviors are classified into different categories measured
against a normative standard.

TEST
Tests, on the other hand, are used in assessment processes.
However, not all assessment techniques are tests.
An assessment technique is called a test only when its procedure for administration,
scoring, and interpretation is standardized, there is a standardization sample, and
there is evidence for its reliability and validity.

Classification of the test

 BASED ON NORMS
Based on the norms, we can divide tests into-
a) Development Norms in Criterion Referenced tests.
 Developmental norms indicate how far the individual has progressed along the
normal development path.
 Criterion-referenced tests: compare a person’s knowledge or skills against a
predetermined standard such as learning goal, performance level, or other criteria
e.g., Level of children’s growth, Reading-writing ability at different ages, Mental age
norms
A criterion-referenced test is a style of test that uses scores to generate a
statement about the behavior that can be expected of a person with that score.
 They use “cut scores” to place students into categories such as “basic,”
“proficient,” and “advanced.”

b) Within-group Norms in Norm-Referenced tests.

  Within-group norms- the individual performance is evaluated in terms of the
performance of the nearly comparable group.
e.g., Same school, class grades
 Such norms help compare the individual’s performance with the most nearly
comparable standardized group’s performance.
 Norm-referenced measures compare a person’s knowledge/ skills/ performance
to the norm groups.
 Within-norm is represented as Percentile scores, Standard Scores
e.g., Academic screeners and interim assessments, College entrance exams, and IQ
tests.

 BASED ON TIME
We can classify tests as whether they emphasize the time limit or not.
Depending on the assessment goals and time constraints, tests are categorized as
speed and power.
The concept of the Speed vs. Power Test is one of the ways of differentiating
psychometric or educational assessments.

a) SPEED TEST.
 Speed tests are those with time limits set; unreasonably short time, hence Less
chance to complete the test
e.g., Stanford Binet, WAIS
 But the items are comparatively easy or equal in difficulty
 Expected to answer as many questions as possible
 Total score is usually computed as the number of questions answered correctly
when a time limit is met
 Speed tests, generally, reveal how rapidly, i.e., with what speed, the examinees
can respond within a given time limit.
 Most of the clerical aptitude tests belong to this same category.
 Differences in scores are mainly attributed to individual differences in speed rather
than knowledge.

b) POWER TEST.
 A power test has a generous time limit so that most examinees can attempt every
item.
 Intention is to check ability or mastery of a topic - how much knowledge or
information the examinees have.
e.g., Raven’s Progressive Matrices
 Usually, such tests have items generally arranged in increasing order of difficulties.
 Most intelligence tests and aptitude tests belong to the category of power tests.
 The total score is usually computed as the number of questions answered correctly.
 Differences in scores are mainly attributed to individual differences in knowledge
rather than speed.
  BASED ON ADMINISTRATIVE CONDITIONS
Tests have been classified based on administrative conditions into two types.
1) INDIVIDUAL TEST.
 Individual tests are administered to one person at a time, and the researcher
remains seated before the test taker (face to face) and notes down the responses.
Eg. Stanford Binet, TAT, Wechsler Intelligence Scales
 School psychologists and counselors often use individual tests to motivate children
and observe their responses.
 The test can be oral or written.
 It requires the examiner's constant attention.
 Advantage: can be administered in illiterate
 Disadvantage: Time-consuming

2) GROUP TEST.
 Group tests can be used to administer to a large number of people at the same
time
e.g., Placement exams, educational examinations
 Instructions are written on the test; it is read by the test taker who answers the
questions
 Researcher also dictates the instructions before the start of the test.
 Answers in mostly MCQ format
 Advantage: Less time-consuming and economical
 Disadvantage: Participant may not be motivated to give the answer or might fake
it

 BASED ON THE NATURE OR CONTENT OF THE ITEMS

Based on the criterion of the nature or contents of items, a test may be classified
based on the nature of the items or the contents used therein. Important types of the
test based on this criterion are:
a) VERBAL TEST.
 A verbal test is one whose items emphasize reading, writing, and oral expression
as the primary mode of communication.
  Herein, instructions are printed or written.
 These are read by the examinees, and accordingly, items are answered.
e.g., Stanford Binet, Verbal Group Test
 Verbal tests are also called paper—pencil tests because the examinee has to write
on paper while answering the test items.
 It can be only administered to the literate

b) NONVERBAL TEST.
 Nonverbal tests partially eliminate the role of language by using symbolic materials
like pictures, figures, etc.
e.g., Raven Progressive Matrices
 Such tests use language in instruction, but in items, they don't use language.
 Test is conducted with the help of figures and symbols. – so it can be administered
one at a time
 It reduces cultural bias
 Nonverbal tests are commonly used with young children to assess the nonverbal
aspects of intelligence, such as spatial perception.

c) PERFORMANCE TEST.
 Performance tests require the examinees to perform a task rather than answer
some questions.
e.g., Bhattia’s Battery, DAP, Koh’s Block Design Test
 Such tests prohibit the use of language in items – behavioral responses/task
 Occasionally, oral language is used to give instruction, or the instruction may also
be given through gesture and pantomime.
 Some tests require examinees to assemble a puzzle, place pictures in a correct
sequence, place pages on the boards as rapidly as possible, point to a missing part
of the picture, etc.
 One feature of performance tests is that they are usually administered individually
so that the examiner can count the errors committed by the examinee or the
student and assess how long it takes him to complete the given task.
 The common feature of all performance tests is their emphasis on the examinee’s
ability to perform a task rather than answer some questions.

 BASED ON OBJECTIVE/PURPOSE
Tests are also classified in terms of their objectives or purposes. Based on this
criterion, tests are usually classified as
a) INTELLIGENCE TEST.
 Intelligence tests intend to assess the level of intelligence present in the examinee.
i.e., reasoning and problem-solving abilities
 It also assesses the person’s ability to relate to a foreign environment.
e.g., Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Wechsler Intelligence Scale

b) APTITUDE TEST.
 Aptitude tests assess the potential or performance of a person.
 the capacity to acquire competence or skill through training.
e.g., Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT), Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT)

c) ACHIEVEMENT & ABILITY TEST.

 Achievement tests assess what the persons have acquired in the given area as a
function of some training or learning.
 It measures what you have accomplished in the past and what you can
demonstrate in the present.
e.g., California Achievement Test, School Ability Test

d) PERSONALITY TEST.
 Personality tests assess the type and traits of the individual’s personality.
 Designed to systematically elicit information about a person's motivations,
preferences, interests, emotional make-up, and style of interacting with people and
situations.
 These tests are used for clinical purposes
e.g., 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, DISC personality test

e) BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT.
 Structured study and analysis of a person's behavior using various methods like
interviews, direct supervision, and self-observation.
 It refers to observing, explaining, and predicting human behavior.
e.g., BDI/BAI: Beck Depression Inventory/ Beck Anxiety Inventory

f) INTEREST INVENTORIES.
Measures a person's preferences and level of an individual's interest in specific fields
or activities.
e.g., Strong Interest Inventory,
RIASEC- Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional

g) NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST.
Neuropsychological tests are the tests that are used in the assessment of persons
with known or suspected brain dysfunction.
These kinds of tests are conducted to check the proper cognitive functioning of the
brain - reading, language usage, attention, learning, processing speed, reasoning,
remembering, problem-solving, mood and personality, and more.
e.g., CANTAB, Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological

h) ASSESSMENT AND INTERVIEWING.

e.g., Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Millon Clinical Multiaxial
Inventory (MCMI*)

Tests used for children

i) Bayley test.
 Used to identify children with developmental delays, assist in intervention planning,
and chart progress
 it is designed to assess five domains: cognitive, language, motor, social-
emotional, and adaptive
  It involves interaction between the child and examiner and observations in a series
of tasks.
 the tasks range from basic responses to more complex responses.

j) Fagan test.
 It evaluates an infant's intelligence through their visual perception skills
 First available test that predicts later intellectual performance for infants with an
acceptable level of accuracy
 BASED ON SCORING
Based on scoring, tests are classified into two types-
a) OBJECTIVE TEST.
 Objective tests are those whose items are scored by competent examiners or
observers so that no scope for subjective judgment or opinion exists, and thus, the
scoring remains unambiguous.
e.g., Tests with multiple-choice, true-false, and matching items.
 In such items, the problem and its answer are given along with the distractor.
 The problem is known as the stem of the item.
 A distractor answer is similar to the correct answer but is not actually the correct
one.
 Such tests are also known as new-type tests or limited-answer tests.

b) SUBJECTIVE TEST.
 Subjective tests are tests whose items are scored by competent examiners or
observers in a way in which there exists some scope for subjective judgment and
opinion.
 As a consequence, some elements of vagueness and ambiguity remain in their
scoring
 These are also called essay tests.
 Such tests are intended to assess an examinee’s ability to organize a
comprehensive answer, recall and select important information, and present the
same logically and effectively.
 Since the examinee is free to write and organize the answer in these tests, they are
also known as free-answer tests.

 BASED ON STANDARDIZATION
Tests are also classified based on standardization
a) STANDARDIZED TEST.
 Standardized tests are those subjected to the procedure of standardization.
  Standardized tests must be administered and scored under standard and uniform
testing conditions so that the results obtained from different samples can
legitimately be compared.
 Items of standardized tests are fixed and not modifiable.

b) TEACHER-MADE TEST.
 Teacher-made tests are constructed by teachers for use largely within their
classrooms.
 The effectiveness of such tests depends upon the teacher’s skill and knowledge of
test construction.
 items may come from any curriculum area and may be modified according to the
teacher's will.

Uses of psychological test

Psychological tests are widely used for many purposes.

i. To measure differences between and within individuals

1. Tests can be used to compare the same individual on two or more than two
aspects of a trait
2. Tests used to compare two or more than two persons on the same trait.
One of the earliest problems that stimulated the development of psychological tests
was identifying mentally retarded persons.
To this day, detecting intellectual deficiencies remains an important application of
certain types of psychological tests.

ii. In classification:
 Psychological tests are popularly used in making classification of persons,
i.e., assigning the persons to one category rather than another.
 There are different classification types, each emphasizing a particular purpose
categorization- placement, screening, certification, and Selection.

iii. In diagnosis and planning for treatment:

 Psychological tests play a significant role in making diagnoses and planning
treatment.
 Intelligence tests are considered important for the diagnosis of mentally retarded
children.
 When a child is diagnosed as mentally retarded or having a learning disability,
planning for his treatment is accordingly done so that the maximum help can be
rendered.

iv. In self-knowledge:
 Psychological tests are also useful in providing self-knowledge to the test takers to
the extent that such knowledge tends to change their career path.
 Every administration of a psychological test gives feedback to the test takers
regarding the level of trait/ability being assessed.

v. In the evaluation programs:

  Psychological tests are often used to evaluate various types of educational and
social programs.
 In schools and colleges, different types of programs for improving academic
achievement are carried out, and the persons want to know about their impact.

vi. In research:
 Psychological tests are Very useful in research.
 They are frequently used in both theoretical and applied research.

Limitations of psychological test

Some of the important limitations are as under:
1. Psychological tests represent an invasion of privacy:
If they are used without the permission of the testees to obtain personal and sensitive
information.
2. Psychological tests permanently categorize the persons:
Based on the performance of psychological tests, the examinees are given specific
categories like mentally retarded, gifted, brain-damaged, etc.,
3. Psychological tests measure only limited and beneficial aspects of
behavior:
It is said that psychological tests cannot measure the most important human traits.
They force the examinees to decide based on superficial and relatively unimportant
criteria.
4. Psychological tests create anxiety:
Generally, it has been reported that when the assessment is done through
psychological tests, the examinees feel anxious, affecting their performances.
5. Psychological tests penalize bright and creative examinees:
Psychological tests are insensitive to atypical and creative responses. Such responses
should be given more credit, thus providing discrimination against the talented
examinees.

Ethical issues in psychological testing

The American Psychological Association (APA) officially adopted a set of standards and
rules to maintain the proper uses and applications of psychological testing.
The current version, called Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
conduct, consists of a preamble and six general principles guiding psychologists
toward their profession's highest ideals.
It also provides eight ethical standards with enforceable rules for psychologists
working in different contexts.
The major ethical or moral issues relating to psychological testing are-
1.Issues of human rights:
 Today, the field of psychological testing has been heavily influenced by the
recognition of various types of human rights.
 Persons who don’t want to subject themselves to testing should not and ethically
can't be forced to accept this.
  The subjects have the right to know their test scores, interpretations, and the
basis of any decisions affecting their lives.
 They also have the right to know who will have access to psychological testing
data.
 Test interpreters are ethically obligated to protect these human rights, whereas
potential test takers are responsible for demanding their rights.
2.Issue of labeling:
 Based on psychological testing, a person is labeled or diagnosed with a certain
psychiatric disorder.
 This labeling has many harmful effects.
 Labelling can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy
 Labelling can stigmatize a person for life and affect one’s access to help.

 Therefore, labelling will stigmatize not only persons but also lower stress tolerance
and make treatment difficult.

3.Issues of invasion of privacy:

 When people respond to items of psychological tests, they have little idea of what
is being revealed by their responses but somehow feel that their privacy has been
invaded. Such a feeling is detrimental to people.
 Psychological tests have a minimal and pinpointed aim, and they can't invade the
privacy of the persons.
 Psychologists are ethical and even legally bound to maintain confidentiality. They
don't reveal more than any needed for their purpose.

4.Issues of divided loyalties:

 This is one of the vital issues of psychological testing is the divided loyalty between
the test taker and test result asker
 A psychologist has to face a conflict, which arises when the individual's welfare
is put at odds on the one hand and that of the institution that employs the
psychologist on the other.

A psychologist has to maintain test security at any cost, but also he must not violate
the person's right to know the basis of an adverse decision.
 5.Responsibility of test constructors and test users:
 Ethical issues also put some responsibilities on test constructors, developers, and
test users.
 The test constructor is responsible for providing all the necessary information-
provide a test manual that may clearly state the appropriate use of the test,
including data relating to reliability, validity, and norms, and specify the scoring
and administration standards.
 Some responsibilities lie with test users, too - test users must possess sufficient
knowledge to understand the basic principles underlying the test construction and
supporting research of any test they administer.

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