PSYC39H3 Chapter 1: Chapter 1,2,3,4
Document Summary
A test is a measurement device or a technique used to quantify behaviour, or aid in the understanding and prediction of behaviour: ex. A test measures only a sample of behaviour, and error is always associated with a sampling process. Test scores are not perfect measures of a behaviour or characteristic. An item is a specific stimulus to which a person responds overtly (can be scored or evaluated: ex. Graded, counted, specific questions or problems that make up a test. A psychological (educational) test: set of items that are designed to measure characteristics of human beings that pertain to behaviour: overt behaviours are observable activity. How often someone engages in that behaviour: covert behaviours cannot be directly observed. Scales relate raw scores on test items to some defined theoretical or empirical distribution. Test scores may also be related to the state or the specific condition or status, of an individual.