Discussion Questions

What is the modern day significance of the competitive testing for civil service jobs that existed in ancient China?

Galton is viewed as one of the most influential figures in the history of the field of psychological measurement. Why?

Discuss the relationship between a particular culture's views of the etiology and treatment of abnormal behavior and its psychological assessment procedures.

Discuss the impact of culture, including verbal and nonverbal communication and standards for evaluation, on the psychological assessment process. Share any experiences you might have had personally or examples others have experienced during which cultural factors might have impacted the results.

If you were applying for a job as a research assistant with the Department of Psychology, would you want to have the employment decision based solely on the interview? Behavioral observation? Written test? Which? All? Why? What issues related to possible bias based on group membership would need to be addressed?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the truth-in-testing legislation to you as a test taker? As a test user?

Do you believe that you have had firsthand experience with unethical and improper testing procedures? Why? What action might have prevented them?

"Necessity is the mother of invention." How does this statement relate to the development of intelligence and personality tests in Europe and in America in the early part of the century?

"There ought to be a law..." Let's play "The Sentence Completion Game" - - what legislation would you like to see passed with respect to psychological testing?

Discuss the use of psychological tests at Ellis Island. For what purpose were they administered? Was this an example of psychological testing or psychological assessment? What legal and ethical implications/questions did this testing raise?

Why is it important to have published Standards for educational and psychological tests? What are some of the abuses that the Standards are intended to prevent?

Review the "Everyday Psychometrics" section on Expert Testimony. What is the meaning of the Daubert Standard, the Joiner, and Kumho cases for the admissibility of psychological evidence (including the results of psychological assessment) into evidence? How would this relate to psychological measurement concepts such as reliability and validity?

What do students believe to be reasonable qualifications for test users? Discuss those developed by the APA Science Directorate in Test User Qualifications: A Data-Based Approach to Promoting Good Test Use ($7 and available from APA Science Directorate, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002).

Refer to the chapter's Close-up on "Life or Death Psychological Assessment". What is the relationship of "death with dignity competency evaluations" specified in Oregon's Death with Dignity Act to psychological assessment? Summarize the arguments of the supporters of this Act and its critics. How does a "death-with-dignity competency evaluation" relate to the professional ethics of associations such as the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association? What are the dilemmas this law creates for clinical psychologists and psychiatrists?