Psychological test Notes

Question –Discuss the characteristics of psychological test.

ANSWER – Characteristics of psychological test are –

1. Objectivity: An examination should have the merits of objectiveness, that is, it should be free from the subjective element in order to have a complete reciprocal agreement between the experts about the meaning of objects and the score of the test. The object’s objectivity means that objects should be displayed in such a way that they are interpreted by all those people who take the test. Objectivity of scoring means that the scoring method of testing should be a standard so that the full uniformity can be maintained by various experts at different times.
2. Standardized procedure: An essential feature of any psychological test. A test is considered standardized if the process of administering it is identical to one tester and the other has settings. Standardization depends on the ability of the tester to some degree. The test manual has been ensured by the framework of clear cut instructions for the administration of the test.
3. Sample of Behavior: A test targets a well-defined and finite behavior or domain known as sample of behaviors due to obstacles involved in extensive testing.
4. Benchmark: See the average performance of a representative sample on a given test. Normal is a statistical standard based on a large sample number so that a person’s score can be compared to other people in a defined group. A score on psychological testing is not a complete score. This is relative to an ideal group. A given score should be compared to scores of standard group members.
5. Behaviorality: A test should be neither practical in terms of its time, length, scoring, etc. In other words, the test should not be long and the scoring method should not be difficult and should not be the only one. To be done by very specific individuals.
6. Reliability: Reliability means the consistency of a test that makes it trustworthy. It is simply said, if a test gives similar results on different occasions then it is considered to be reliable. For example, if you take a test of intelligence on a child and find it genius and repeat the test after two months and the child is still scoring in the same category, then the test will be considered as reliable.
7. Validity: The test should actually be measured what is designed to measure it. Validity is most often done to assess how the test score is in accordance with some criterion – it shows some behavior, individual achievement or attributes.