Psychometrics

For information regarding the parapsychology phenomenon of distance knowledge, see psychometry.

Instruments and procedures

The first psychometric instruments were designed to measure the concept of intelligence. The best known historical approach involves the Stanford-Binet IQ test, developed originally by the French Psychologist Alfred Binet. Contrary to a fairly widespread misconcoption, there is no compelling evidence that it is possible to measure innate intelligence through such instruments, in the sense of an innate learning capacity unaffected by experience, nor was this the original intention when they were developed. Nevertheless, IQ tests are useful tools for various purposes. An alternative conception of intelligence is that cognitive facilities within individuals are a manifestation of a general component, or general intelligence factor, as well as cognitive capacity specific to a given domain.

Related Topics:
Intelligence - Stanford-Binet IQ test - Alfred Binet - General intelligence factor

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Psychometrics is applied widely in educational assessment to measure abilities in domains such as reading, writing, and mathematics. The main approaches in applying tests in these domains have been Classical Test Theory and the more modern Item Response Theory and Rasch measurement models. These modern approaches permit joint scaling of persons and assessment items, which provides a basis for mapping of developmental continua by allowing descriptions of the skills displayed at various points along a continuum. Such approaches provide powerful information regarding the nature of developmental growth within various domains.

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Another major focus in psychometrics have been on personality testing. There have been a range of theoretical approaches to conceptualising and measuring personality. Some of the better known instruments include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Attitudes have also been studied extensively in psychometrics. A common approach to the measurement of attitudes is the use of the Likert scale. An alternative approach involves the application of unfolding measurement models, the most general being the Hyperbolic Cosine Model (Andrich & Luo, 1993).

Related Topics:
Personality - Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - Likert scale

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