PYC4807 - Exam Questions & Answers.

PYC4807 - Exam Q&A. PYC4807 - Psychological Assessment. Psychometric intelligence implies that we use mainly standardized psychological tests to measure levels of functioning on psychologically define constructs. According to the psychometric view, intelligence is defined as ‘what intelligence tests measure’, which seems to be a confusing way to define a construct. These measures make use of various types of items and the assumption is that the ability to display the type of behaviour needed to work with this items reflects some form of intelligent behaviour. It is always important to remember that all these measures base their final scores on a limited sample of behaviour of the people being assessed. Focus is on the structure of intelligence. Intelligence is an unobservable (or latent) trait and its nature is inferred from observable behaviour, namely test performance. Different Downloaded by: NikkiD | Distribution of this document is illegal S - The study-notes marketplace PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT – PYC4807 12 Jacqui Stoneley theories propose different factors that underlie intelligence. Individuals are compared in terms of their performance in intelligence tests. By means of factor-analysis the underlying (or latent) traits inherent to this performance, are identified and interpreted. Tests based on these theories provide an indication of general ability and specific abilities. Performance on these tests tends to correlate well with academic performance, resulting in predictive validity in an educational context. However, these tests do not provide for contextual factors and the fact that differences in performance may be attributable to differences in educational and socio-economic opportunities. Answer (b): Spearman was the first person to suggest that the single general factor (g) could be used to explain differences between individuals. This view is based on the fact that different measures of cognitive ability correlate positively with each other, indicating that they measure some shared ability or construct. Even when multiple factors are identified, second-order factor analysis usually indicates some underlying general factor. On the other hand, factors specific to a particular activity can also be identified and are known as specific factors (s). As a result we have the well-known two factor theory of intelligence that allows for both a general factor )g) and a specific factor (s). Thurstone, however was the main proponent of the multiple-factor theory. He identified 7 primary mental abilities, namely verbal comprehension, general reasoning, word fluency, memory, number, spatial, and perceptual speed abilities. Although there was a lively debate between supporters of the one-factor theory of intelligence and supporters of the multiple-factor theory, Eysenck (1988) pointed out that the proponents of these two opposing theories of intelligence were eventually forced to agree on a similar view of the structure of intelligence. The JSAIS, SSAIS-R and the WAIS-III are all measures of general cognitive functioning. These measures typically consist of a number of verbal and nonverbal subtests that together provide an indication of general intelligence. If a more comprehensive picture of an individual's functioning is required, performance on the different subtests can also be analysed. These measures aim to measure as many intelligence related mental abilities as possible (multiple-factors) and to measure the general factor of intelligence (Spearman’s g factor). Downloaded by: NikkiD | Distribution of this document is illegal S - The study-notes marketplace PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT – PYC4807 13 Jacqui Stoneley Answer: 1 Answer: 2 Downloaded by: NikkiD | Distribution of this document is illegal S - The study-notes marketplace PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT – PYC4807 14 Jacqui Stoneley Answer: 3 Answer: 3 Answer: 1 Downloaded by: NikkiD | Distribution of this document is illegal S - The study-notes marketplace PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT – PYC4807 15 Jacqui Stoneley Answer: 4 Answer: 3 Answer: 4 Downloaded by: NikkiD | Distribution of this document is illegal S - The study-notes marketplace PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT – PYC4807 16 Jacqui Stoneley Answer: 4 Answer: 1 Answer: 4 Downloaded by: NikkiD | Distribution of this document is illegal S - The study-notes marketplace PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT – PYC4807