|


  
O

  
‡   is the field of study concerned
with the theory and technique of educational and
psychological measurement, which includes the
measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes,
and personality traits. The field is primarily
concerned with the study of measurement
instruments such as questionnaires and tests.
‡ Francis Galton is often referred to as the father of
psychometrics, having devised and included
mental tests among his anthropometric measures.
 O
 

‡ A test can be described as an objective, systematic

and standardised measure of a sample of
behaviour.
‡ Objective: every observer of an event would
produce an identical account of what took
place.
‡ Systematic: a methodical and consistent
approach to understanding an event.
‡ Standardised: observations of an event are
made in a prescribed manner.
    
‡ A test is also different from an assessment:
‡ Assessment refers to the entire process of
collating information about individuals and
subsequently using it to make predictions
‡ Tests represent only one source of information
within the assessment process
‡ E.g. spelling is one aspect of writing, and so to
assess it we would use a spelling test, whereas
to gauge up someone¶s general writing ability
we would have to assess the entire process
(spelling, style, grammar, punctuation etc.).
  
   

‡ Two types of psychological tests are used by

personnel selection practitioners:
‡ Tests of cognitive ability:
‡ Cognitive assessment tests attempt to
measure an individual¶s ability to process
information from their environment
‡ Tests of personality measures:
‡ Personality measures are more concerned
with people's dispositions to behave in
certain ways in certain situations.
   
Cognitive ability tests fall into two categories in
terms of administration of the test:
‡ Individually administered tests
‡ Group administered tests.
‡ Three different types of cognitive tests
(collectively known as maximum performance
tests):
‡ Speed, power and knowledge tests.
   
‡ Personality tests are concerned with attempting to
measure people¶s characteristics or traits.
‡ There are two forms of personality test:
‡ Objective personality tests:
‡ Individuals are asked to rate their own
actions or feelings in set situations, e.g.
MBTI
‡ Projective tests:
‡ Individuals are asked to formulate an
unstructured response to some form of
ambiguous stimuli, e.g. Rorschach ink-blot
test (Rorschach, 1921).
 O
 
  
  

‡ 
 !"#

 !#

‡ "#$%"#&
'"#
‡ 
  %
!
%%
‡ ! 

'

‡  "#%
#
#
‡ %% 
("
#%

‡ !
!")%
 


  O 

‡ POLYST
‡ STUIRT
‡ EQBOOT
‡ XCALIBRE
‡ WINSTEPS
‡ WINGEN
‡ PARAM-3PL
  $
  
   
 

‡ Yahoo
‡ TCS
‡ NEWGEN
‡ KEANE INDIA LTD
‡ MECON
‡ VIRTUSA
‡ PATNI
 *    
$
  O 
  

‡ They lead to judgements that are likely to be more valid

than judgements made by other means.
‡ Cost Effective Technique
-They are likely to lead to considerable cost-benefits in
the long term. Whether it be for selection of new staff or
development of existing staff, the expenses involved in
psychometric assessment are minimal when compared with
the costs of high-turn over, under-performance or
misdeployment of staff.
  

‡ Providing feedback to all participants is time consuming but essential.

‡ Some participants may be uneasy about taking tests.
‡ Tests do not measure everything, so they need to be part of a bigger
process.
‡ Tests can be faked and learned, so they can sometimes give a false
picture of an individual.
‡ Tests provide a snapshot rather than the whole picture.
   
  
 

÷



÷ 

÷
 ÷ 



   

   
‡ Three essential criteria for a good psychometric test :
‡ reliability, validity and standardisation.
‡ Test standardisation ensures that the conditions are as
similar as possible for all individuals who are given the
test.
‡ Standardisation also ensures that no matter who gives the
test and scores it, the results should be the same.
   +
‡ A test must measure the same thing in the
same way every time someone takes it.
‡ There are four types of test reliability:
‡ Internal consistency reliability ± all the
parts of your test questionnaire are
reliable throughout
‡ Test±retest reliability ± the test remains
valid over time.
‡ Alternate forms Reliability
‡ Split half Reliability
  
‡ There are four types of test validity:
‡ Face validity: does your test appear to measure
what it purports to measure?
‡ Concurrent validity: does your test of honesty
correlate with existing standardised tests of
honesty?
‡ Predictive validity: do the results of your test
predict future behaviour?
‡ Construct validity: if all our hypotheses about
the test variable (construct) are supported then
we have a high degree of construct validity.
 O
  $ 

   
‡ To assist in the selection process.
‡ To help predict future performance.
‡ The tests are economical to use in terms of gaining a lot of
information quickly and cheaply.
‡ They add an objectivity and fairness to decision making.
‡ They provide additional information for development.
‡ They help to ensure the right person for the right job.
‡ They help us to understand ourselves.
‡ They help people to identify development needs, increase
job satisfaction, stay longer
PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS(PERSONALITY)

PERSONALITY TESTS

OBJECTIVE PROJECTIVE
THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC
PERSONALITY INVENTORY (MMPI)

‡ The original MMPI inventory was published

in 1953 by Starke Hathaway and J.C.
McKinley
‡ Designed to assess and diagnose mental
disorders in University of Minnesota
Hospitals - became one of the most widely
distributed and used measure of
psychopathology both domestically and
internationally
*    
,-./

‡ Raymond Cattell (1949, 1982)

‡ Unique development: Cattell and colleagues
surveyed all English language words descriptive of
personality
‡ Followed up with factor analyses, yielding 16 r



factors of personality and four  


factors
‡ Multiple forms, can be used as a component of the

       
 to simultaneously
assess personality and pathology
‡ 187 items rated on a 3-point Likert scale
‡ Psychometric properties: large, stratified normative
sample, excellent reliability (internal consistency)
and validity (construct)
 
  ,-012/

‡ 462 true/false items grouped into 20 scales

‡ Target population: adolescents and adults
‡ Scores are used to interpret an examinee¶s
position within a three-dimensional construct of
personality (interpersonal orientation, normative
perspective, and level of realization)
‡ Very little psychometric data exists to validate
this measure, but recent factor analyses
suggest that the 20 scales of the CPI map onto
four major personality dimensions (i.e.
extraversion, control, flexibility, and
consensuality)
 +

It is the most widely used psychological

instrument for career planning, career
counseling, employee training, team building
efforts and personal development
There are four mutually exclusive pairs of
Myers Briggs personality types.
1- Extroverts vs. Introverts (EI)
2- Sensing vs. Intuitive (SN)
3- Thinking vs. Feeling (TF)
4- Judgers vs. Perceivers (JP)
  ($ 
3&4)5
In a group/ team
On my own
*'  6&"# 5
Choose the job that is stable and financially secure
Choose the job that offers variety/ travel, although slightly
unstable/ insecure
*
#7""
##8"5
Stable - not affected by mood swings often
Varied - my response can vary according to the mood I am in
at the time
*7
5
Understand my feelings; I spend a lot of time looking inward
Move onward; I don't spend much time reflecting/ looking
inward
‡
 $+  

‡ !9" !
‡ ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ and ESFJ personality types. This group
is called guardian or duty seeker.
‡ "' 4!
‡ INTJ, INTP, ENTJ and ENTP personality types. They are
considered analytical personality types. They are also
called rational or knowledge seekers.
"'#!INFJ, INFP, ENFJ and ENFP
personality types. They are termed as idealists or ideal
seekers.
‡ !'
‡ ISTP, ISFP, ESTP and ESFP personality types. In
temperament types they are collectively called the artisan
or action seekers.
 9
‡ Introvert, sensing and well structured logical decision
maker.
‡ They prefer facts, traditions, family life and peaceful
environment.
‡ Follow rules and regulations very carefully.
‡ Go along instructions and policies very well.
‡ Dislike novelties and dismiss abstract ideas which have no
practical application.
‡ They love to plan things before starting them. Once they
start they try to complete the tasks within the deadlines.
They can sacrifice their pleasure for work.
‡ Military Officers, Judiciary, Police Officers, Management
Officers, Income Tax Officers, Accounts Officers, Audit
Officers, Information Officers, Business Administrators,
Business Executives, Human Resource Managers,
Lawyers, Medicine Practitioners, Computer programmers
and analysts, Biologists, Pharmacists, Real Estate Agents
 

:+ 

‡ Developed by Hermann Rorschach, 1921

‡ Consists of 5 black and white symmetrical
inkblots, 2 red and grey inkblots, and 3
multicolored inkblots
‡ Examinees are presented each card and asked to
express and describe everything they see in the
images they are shown
‡ Responses are coded and compared with
diagnostic patterns (e.g., emotionality, movement,
anxiety, etc.) for clinical subgroups
Psychometric properties: attempts have
been made to improve the psychometric
properties of this measure
‡ Holtzman technique: Utilizes 45
inkblots, demonstrates moderate inter-
scorer reliability and predictive validity
‡ Exner scoring system: Standardized
scoring and interpretive system, has
increased the promise of improved
reliability and validity


 

    

‡ Developed by Henry Murray, 1943

‡ Examinees are presented a series of picture cards
(usually depicting human action and/or interaction)
and are asked to tell a brief story about each card
‡ Responses are coded along dimensions measuring
constructs such as needs, emotions, conflicts,
attitudes, etc.
‡ Psychometric properties: little to no data exist
supporting the reliability or validity of this measure

    
       
+:
‡ Developed by Julian Rotter et al., 1947
‡ Derived from the work of Ebbinghaus that had been
completed in the early 20th century
‡ Originally designed for use in the military, later
adapted for use with college students and adults
‡ Unique application: unlike the Rorschach and TAT,
this measure was intended only to screen for
emotional maladjustment
‡ Semi-structured measure of 40 items (sentence
stems) that can be administered individually or in a
group setting
‡ Yields a total score that captures emotional
adjustment and the content of individual responses
for more subjective clinical interpretation
 O;;  
‡ Developed by Karen Machover, 1949
‡ Examinees are asked to draw two figures, which
are thought to represent projections of the
examinee¶s impulses, desires, anxieties, etc.
‡ The first task requires the examinee to draw a
figure
‡ The second task requires the examinee to draw
a figure of the opposite sex
‡ The examiner records key aspects of each drawing
(e.g., order of body parts drawn, prominence or
absence of features, expression, etc.)
‡ Psychometric properties: newer scoring procedures
have established preliminary data on reliability, but
little to no empirical evidence exists to validate this
measure
   $  ,/

The DAT measures aptitudes in 5 different areas

‡ Verbal reasoning
‡ Numerical Ability
‡ Abstract Reasoning
‡ Mechanical Reasoning
‡ Spatial Aptitude
  $

‡ Tests are here to stay and their use by organizations will

grow. As users it is therefore your responsibility to ensure
the tests you use are professionally developed, supplied by
a reputable supplier and fit for the purpose. Test users also
have a personal responsibility to be appropriately trained to
understand psychometric tests in general as well as having
specific training in the tests used.