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Casual Articles - The Fallibility of Psychological Testing
Machining techniques are used widely in the automotive industry for manufacturing different automobile components such as outer body sheets, internal components, and windscreens. Automobiles are produced in an assembly line that requires the same type of components for producing them in large volumes. Different components are prefabricated using machining processes and transferred to the assembly line for final production.One of the most common automotive machining techniques in use today is known as wire electrical discharge machining (EDM). Wire electric discharge machining (EDM) uses a wire electrode that travels through the conductive work piece. The electrically charged wire is monitored by a Computer Numerically Controlled system (CNC).Wire EDM removes a material from the work piece by spark erosion. During this process, the wire never touches the conductive work piece. The electrically charged wire leaves a path on th
11. Test Copyrights
It is an offence to copy tests that have been copyrighted. They can only be used after the necessary permission is obtained from the designers. Otherwise this illegal copying may lead to lack of standardization in Test conditions and poor control of materials.
12. Test feedback
Often times the guidelines for feedback are not followed by the Users. The British Psychological Society has set out the following guidelines for written and oral feedback:
• Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any reports are appropriate for the level of understanding of the recipients.
• Make clear that the test data represent just one source of information and should always be considered in conjunction with other information.
• Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighted in relation to other information about the people being assessed.
• Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate to the context of the assessment.
• When appropriate, provide third parties with information on how results may be used to inform their decisions.
•
Learning how to work with recruiters is an important part of helping recruiters to help you. Over the past couple of years there is a trend expressing itself in the behavior of job candidates towards the recruiters they work with. That trend is a tendency towards playing both ends against the middle; telling the recruiter what they want to hear in order to gain the value of their -- usually free -- services.Most recruiters work for and get paid by their employer clients, not job prospect candidates. Understanding that jobseekers are often eager to find new employment that matches their requirements, they will most times actively pursue job positions on their own as they work with recruiters. No problem. The problems arise when candidates work with recruiters then report to the recruiter only what they want the recruiter to hear, often times even if the report is not exactly true. That gives an advantage to the job candidate to work
The International body that sets guidelines for testing is the International Test Commission ( ITC ) which stipulates guidelines for adaptation and usage of tests. ITC has issued guidelines to cover the following –
Professional and ethical standards in testing
Rights of the test candidate and other parties involved in the testing process
Choice and evaluation of alternative tests
Test administration, scoring and interpretation
Report writing and feedback.
ITC has defined competence in test usage as, “ A Competent test user will use tests appropriately, professionally and in an ethical manner, paying due regard to the needs and rights of those involved in the testing process, the reasons for testing, and the broader context in which the testing takes place.”
There are many reasons why a test can be fallible –
1. Inappropriate usage of Tests
The norms for which the tests have been designed have to be considered carefully. They cannot be administered to a population that is different from the norm population ( Norm Population for example could be, adolescents, Senior Executives; norms could be based on age, occupation, gender, economic status etc. ). That is, a test designed for adolescents cannot be administered on Senior Executives and vice versa because the results of such administration would be faulty.
2. Culture Fair Testing
Another common flaw is in the usage of tests which are not culture fair. Many psychological tests have been designed for the western population and can be used appropriately only in that culture. Unfortunately many of these tests are used on the Indian population giving rise to faulty conclusions.
3. Design of Test
The psychological test can only be designed by professionals qualified in psychometrics. Many a time lay people design tests using the help of information accessed through the internet or sometimes even from their own common sense. Such tests are not valid.
4. Validation of tests
Every test that has been designed has to be validated. The process of validation would involve administering the test on a large population over a period of time before it is certified as ‘ready for use’. This cannot be done from tests that are fabricated overnight.
5. Downloaded Tests
Often tests are downloaded from the Internet and are used for purposes other than for which they have been designed. For example, a personality test being used to test the Emotional Intelligence or Team Skills of a person.
6. Wrong Customization
Sometimes the items of a test are changed to suit the user. In such instances the test cannot give valid results. For example an item ( a question / statement in the test ) would state – “ Do you usually date on weekends ?” , could be changed to “ Do you socialize on weekends? ” to fit the Indian scenario. The results of the test with such changed ‘items’will not be not valid.
7. Test Administration
The test administration should be systematically standardized, i.e., the test should be administered under exactly the same conditions to all users. This means that the actual test environment, the instructions, the timing and the materials are the same on every test occasion. Before administering the test the user must consider the following guidelines –
• What is the purpose of testing?
• What outcomes will be achieved through testing?
• Why are these specific tests being used?
• Why are these tests relevant to the outcomes being sought?
• What evidence is there that these tests are appropriate for the people who are to be assessed?
8. Confidentiality of Test Results
All results of tests must be maintained by the administrator in strict confidence. Revealing the results could lead to unfair discrimination in the workplace. This happens when a test used for selection is disadvantageous to certain ‘groups’ within the organization. In the US, the use of IQ tests in employee selection has been prohibited. This was due to the lack of confidentiality maintained by the administrators which resulted in employees being unfairly discriminated. At present any psychometric test has to be administered with utmost care and after the requisite permissions is obtained.
To ensure confidentiality, the following guidelines should be considered:
1. Ensure that test materials are kept securely
2. Ensure secure storage of and control access to test materials.
3. Respect copyright law and agreements that exist with respect to a test including any prohibitions on the copying or transmission of materials in electronic or other forms to other people, whether qualified or otherwise.
4. Protect the integrity of the test by not coaching individuals on actual test materials or other practice materials that might unfairly influence their test performance.
5. Ensure that test techniques are not described publicly in such a way that their usefulness is impaired.
9. Competence of Test Administrator and Interpreter
The personnel administering the tests have to be strict in following the instructions stipulated by the test designers. The interpretations too have to be done by qualified personnel who are psychologists.
10. Limitation of tests
The tests are ‘limited’ for the purposes for which they have been designed. For a holistic assessment of an individual, it is required that the test results are supplemented by information from interviews and group discussions. In addition the test results are not valid after eighteen months of its administration.
11. Test Copyrights
It is an offence to copy tests that have been copyrighted. They can only be used after the necessary permission is obtained from the designers. Otherwise this illegal copying may lead to lack of standardization in Test conditions and poor control of materials.
12. Test feedback
Often times the guidelines for feedback are not followed by the Users. The British Psychological Society has set out the following guidelines for written and oral feedback:
• Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any reports are appropriate for the level of understanding of the recipients.
• Make clear that the test data represent just one source of information and should always be considered in conjunction with other information.
• Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighted in relation to other information about the people being assessed.
• Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate to the context of the assessment.
• When appropriate, provide third parties with information on how results may be used to inform their decisions.
•
Often when receiving a job offer, candidates are eager to sign on the dotted line. Maybe they've been with out work for awhile, maybe it is an increase in pay, or maybe it is simply a better commute.It is important to remember though, that the most important time in salary negotiations are those early meetings. Be prepared and act confident, it can mean a huge difference in your future lifestyle.Here is some advice to help you land not just the gig, but the salary that you dream of :)Give a RangeThe general rule of thumb in negotiations is that the first person to name a number loses. Unfortunately, most people know this and it can quickly lead to nonproductive encounters. If you are in a position where you are expected to name a number, give the range that you are comfortable with. Research salaries in
2. Culture Fair Testing
Another common flaw is in the usage of tests which are not culture fair. Many psychological tests have been designed for the western population and can be used appropriately only in that culture. Unfortunately many of these tests are used on the Indian population giving rise to faulty conclusions.
3. Design of Test
The psychological test can only be designed by professionals qualified in psychometrics. Many a time lay people design tests using the help of information accessed through the internet or sometimes even from their own common sense. Such tests are not valid.
4. Validation of tests
Every test that has been designed has to be validated. The process of validation would involve administering the test on a large population over a period of time before it is certified as ‘ready for use’. This cannot be done from tests that are fabricated overnight.
5. Downloaded Tests
Often tests are downloaded from the Internet and are used for purposes other than for which they have been designed. For example, a personality test being used to test the Emotional Intelligence or Team Skills of a person.
6. Wrong Customization
Sometimes the items of a test are changed to suit the user. In such instances the test cannot give valid results. For example an item ( a question / statement in the test ) would state – “ Do you usually date on weekends ?” , could be changed to “ Do you socialize on weekends? ” to fit the Indian scenario. The results of the test with such changed ‘items’will not be not valid.
7. Test Administration
The test administration should be systematically standardized, i.e., the test should be administered under exactly the same conditions to all users. This means that the actual test environment, the instructions, the timing and the materials are the same on every test occasion. Before administering the test the user must consider the following guidelines –
• What is the purpose of testing?
• What outcomes will be achieved through testing?
• Why are these specific tests being used?
• Why are these tests relevant to the outcomes being sought?
• What evidence is there that these tests are appropriate for the people who are to be assessed?
8. Confidentiality of Test Results
All results of tests must be maintained by the administrator in strict confidence. Revealing the results could lead to unfair discrimination in the workplace. This happens when a test used for selection is disadvantageous to certain ‘groups’ within the organization. In the US, the use of IQ tests in employee selection has been prohibited. This was due to the lack of confidentiality maintained by the administrators which resulted in employees being unfairly discriminated. At present any psychometric test has to be administered with utmost care and after the requisite permissions is obtained.
To ensure confidentiality, the following guidelines should be considered:
1. Ensure that test materials are kept securely
2. Ensure secure storage of and control access to test materials.
3. Respect copyright law and agreements that exist with respect to a test including any prohibitions on the copying or transmission of materials in electronic or other forms to other people, whether qualified or otherwise.
4. Protect the integrity of the test by not coaching individuals on actual test materials or other practice materials that might unfairly influence their test performance.
5. Ensure that test techniques are not described publicly in such a way that their usefulness is impaired.
9. Competence of Test Administrator and Interpreter
The personnel administering the tests have to be strict in following the instructions stipulated by the test designers. The interpretations too have to be done by qualified personnel who are psychologists.
10. Limitation of tests
The tests are ‘limited’ for the purposes for which they have been designed. For a holistic assessment of an individual, it is required that the test results are supplemented by information from interviews and group discussions. In addition the test results are not valid after eighteen months of its administration.
11. Test Copyrights
It is an offence to copy tests that have been copyrighted. They can only be used after the necessary permission is obtained from the designers. Otherwise this illegal copying may lead to lack of standardization in Test conditions and poor control of materials.
12. Test feedback
Often times the guidelines for feedback are not followed by the Users. The British Psychological Society has set out the following guidelines for written and oral feedback:
• Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any reports are appropriate for the level of understanding of the recipients.
• Make clear that the test data represent just one source of information and should always be considered in conjunction with other information.
• Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighted in relation to other information about the people being assessed.
• Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate to the context of the assessment.
• When appropriate, provide third parties with information on how results may be used to inform their decisions.
•
“I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.” E.V. Lucas1. Have an agenda. Start out with an agenda handed out to the appropriate people at least 72 hours in advance, listing time, date, and place of meeting.2. Set ground rules. Let everyone know at the beginning of the meeting that you specifically plan to stick with the allotted time frames and topics in the agenda. This is the key to running meetings that don't go overtime and yet get results. Also, if the meeting is short, sweet, and productive, it will positively affect people's attitudes about future meetings.3. Appoint a timekeeper. Make an announcement ahead of time stating exactly how many minutes each person is given to speak or share ideas. Appoint an individual as timekeeper and literally give that person a “timer” that goes off if someone runs overtime. This is beneficial in brainstorm
6. Wrong Customization
Sometimes the items of a test are changed to suit the user. In such instances the test cannot give valid results. For example an item ( a question / statement in the test ) would state – “ Do you usually date on weekends ?” , could be changed to “ Do you socialize on weekends? ” to fit the Indian scenario. The results of the test with such changed ‘items’will not be not valid.
7. Test Administration
The test administration should be systematically standardized, i.e., the test should be administered under exactly the same conditions to all users. This means that the actual test environment, the instructions, the timing and the materials are the same on every test occasion. Before administering the test the user must consider the following guidelines –
• What is the purpose of testing?
• What outcomes will be achieved through testing?
• Why are these specific tests being used?
• Why are these tests relevant to the outcomes being sought?
• What evidence is there that these tests are appropriate for the people who are to be assessed?
8. Confidentiality of Test Results
All results of tests must be maintained by the administrator in strict confidence. Revealing the results could lead to unfair discrimination in the workplace. This happens when a test used for selection is disadvantageous to certain ‘groups’ within the organization. In the US, the use of IQ tests in employee selection has been prohibited. This was due to the lack of confidentiality maintained by the administrators which resulted in employees being unfairly discriminated. At present any psychometric test has to be administered with utmost care and after the requisite permissions is obtained.
To ensure confidentiality, the following guidelines should be considered:
1. Ensure that test materials are kept securely
2. Ensure secure storage of and control access to test materials.
3. Respect copyright law and agreements that exist with respect to a test including any prohibitions on the copying or transmission of materials in electronic or other forms to other people, whether qualified or otherwise.
4. Protect the integrity of the test by not coaching individuals on actual test materials or other practice materials that might unfairly influence their test performance.
5. Ensure that test techniques are not described publicly in such a way that their usefulness is impaired.
9. Competence of Test Administrator and Interpreter
The personnel administering the tests have to be strict in following the instructions stipulated by the test designers. The interpretations too have to be done by qualified personnel who are psychologists.
10. Limitation of tests
The tests are ‘limited’ for the purposes for which they have been designed. For a holistic assessment of an individual, it is required that the test results are supplemented by information from interviews and group discussions. In addition the test results are not valid after eighteen months of its administration.
11. Test Copyrights
It is an offence to copy tests that have been copyrighted. They can only be used after the necessary permission is obtained from the designers. Otherwise this illegal copying may lead to lack of standardization in Test conditions and poor control of materials.
12. Test feedback
Often times the guidelines for feedback are not followed by the Users. The British Psychological Society has set out the following guidelines for written and oral feedback:
• Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any reports are appropriate for the level of understanding of the recipients.
• Make clear that the test data represent just one source of information and should always be considered in conjunction with other information.
• Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighted in relation to other information about the people being assessed.
• Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate to the context of the assessment.
• When appropriate, provide third parties with information on how results may be used to inform their decisions.
•
The future of your business may become may depend on 6 little growth secrets that many businesses have used in the past though not in a matter that creates rapid growth. So how do you create quicker revenue or profit growth with your business?The days of just helping your customers with solutions to their problems is becoming a redundant saying, it is almost a given. What if you could do something else that they would not expect? What if you could show them "The FUTURE of their business". How can you do that you say? Well there are 6 little steps that can assist you in doing this.Why are these steps important, bottom-line, they will make you MORE MONEY, more PROFIT and save you TIME. Nothing is more important than a business owner's time, just ASK them.Here they are:1. Understand new technologies and how they can simplify your business by creating reports that you can analyze. This is huge, and as software beco
To ensure confidentiality, the following guidelines should be considered:
1. Ensure that test materials are kept securely
2. Ensure secure storage of and control access to test materials.
3. Respect copyright law and agreements that exist with respect to a test including any prohibitions on the copying or transmission of materials in electronic or other forms to other people, whether qualified or otherwise.
4. Protect the integrity of the test by not coaching individuals on actual test materials or other practice materials that might unfairly influence their test performance.
5. Ensure that test techniques are not described publicly in such a way that their usefulness is impaired.
9. Competence of Test Administrator and Interpreter
The personnel administering the tests have to be strict in following the instructions stipulated by the test designers. The interpretations too have to be done by qualified personnel who are psychologists.
10. Limitation of tests
The tests are ‘limited’ for the purposes for which they have been designed. For a holistic assessment of an individual, it is required that the test results are supplemented by information from interviews and group discussions. In addition the test results are not valid after eighteen months of its administration.
11. Test Copyrights
It is an offence to copy tests that have been copyrighted. They can only be used after the necessary permission is obtained from the designers. Otherwise this illegal copying may lead to lack of standardization in Test conditions and poor control of materials.
12. Test feedback
Often times the guidelines for feedback are not followed by the Users. The British Psychological Society has set out the following guidelines for written and oral feedback:
• Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any reports are appropriate for the level of understanding of the recipients.
• Make clear that the test data represent just one source of information and should always be considered in conjunction with other information.
• Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighted in relation to other information about the people being assessed.
• Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate to the context of the assessment.
• When appropriate, provide third parties with information on how results may be used to inform their decisions.
•
Wearing a nametag 24-7-365 for six straight years represents a simple, yet powerful business idea: make the mundane memorable.I’m still surprised more organizations don’t embrace this. It’s not our corporate policy. It violates our company’s handbook. We don’t want to do anything risky.Come on. That’s garbage!Businesses NEED to be doing this stuff. Because when companies can find a way to make the mundane memorable, fives things happen:1) Customers start talking 2) Employees have more fun 3) The brand lives and breathes in a new way 4) Uniqueness shines through 5) Loyalty skyrocketsQuikTrip is the perfect example of this. I fill up at QT whenever possible (ahem, loyalty), just to hear the cashier say, “Hurry back!”That’s what they say. In every transaction.Not “Have a nice day.” Not “Thank you, come again.”T
11. Test Copyrights
It is an offence to copy tests that have been copyrighted. They can only be used after the necessary permission is obtained from the designers. Otherwise this illegal copying may lead to lack of standardization in Test conditions and poor control of materials.
12. Test feedback
Often times the guidelines for feedback are not followed by the Users. The British Psychological Society has set out the following guidelines for written and oral feedback:
• Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any reports are appropriate for the level of understanding of the recipients.
• Make clear that the test data represent just one source of information and should always be considered in conjunction with other information.
• Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighted in relation to other information about the people being assessed.
• Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate to the context of the assessment.
• When appropriate, provide third parties with information on how results may be used to inform their decisions.
• Explain and support the use of test results used to classify people into categories (e.g. for diagnostic purposes or for job selection).
• Include within written reports a clear summary, and when relevant, specific recommendations.
• Present oral feedback to test takers in a constructive and supportive manner.
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