Assignment: measure a trait

Assignment: measure a trait

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Assignment: Determine whether you want to measure a trait, ability, emotional state, disorder, interest, attitude, or other construct:

Test and Measurement Assignment

Most tests are constructed to assess whichever phenomenon in a summative manner. Nevertheless, it is also worth noting that those tests that are easiest to construct becomes the most difficult to grade. But the inverse is also true since time taken in the construction of the assessment will save on the time required during grading. Additionally, psychological testing has for a long time been known to be a tedious process (Morgan, 2002). For instance, a client may walk in and describe symptoms similar to those of depression. However, he may be having some other complications whose symptoms are similar to depression. Therefore, psychological assessment or test is pivotal in prescribing diagnosis to a client. For the sake of this study, personality test will be conducted. Personality tests are used to measure the traits of the personality of an individual. More importantly, the test are used for clinical purposes. Today, there are three major types of personality tests conducted on patients including Thematic Apperception Test, Rorschach or Inkblot test and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory or MMPI. For the purpose of this study, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) will be carried out. TAT is an important test since it measures different areas of psychological functioning. According to Cherry (2018), TAT is a projective test that involves the description of an ambiguous scene by the patient. Therefore, the test is pivotal in measuring memory, cognitive abilities and problem-solving abilities. Furthermore, the test is conducted with the purpose of learning more about the thoughts, motives and concerns of an individual. As stated by Morgan (2002), one of the best practices to conduct this test is by showing them ambiguous pictures and asking them to describe what they see in the scene. As a result, their thoughts and feelings are obtained through their description of the vague scenes.

Test Specifications Template

Determine whether you want to measure a trait, ability, emotional state, disorder, interest, attitude, or other construct:

Ability, such as musical skill, writing skill, intelligence, or reading comprehension,
Personality Trait, such as extroversion, creativity, or deviousness,
Disorder, such as anxiety, depression, or psychotic thought disorder,
Emotion, such as happiness or anger,
Attitude, such as authoritarianism or prejudice,
Interest, such as career-related interests.

Other: ____________________________

Describe the specific construct you want to measure in a word or two: ____________________

Now describe the construct using several sentences. What behaviors are associated with the construct? Does it include more than one quality or dimension?

Describe your process for initially generating items. Will you interview experts? Review textbooks or journal articles? Look at diagnostic criteria in the DSM?

Think about the format and phrasing of your items. For instance, some tests use first-person statements, such as “I enjoy swimming,” while others use questions, such as “Do you enjoy swimming?” Other tests might use single-word prompts, such as “Swimming,” and ask for the test-taker to rate this and other words on a scale of 1–5 in order to indicate the degree of interest or enjoyment. Some tests use pictures rather than words, and some are administered to an informant other than the client, such as a parent or work supervisor.

Think about the response format for your items. Yes/No responses or a Likert scale are popular for personality tests. If you use a Likert scale, consider how many response options there will be and whether your scale will have a neutral midpoint. Multiple-choice is a format that is familiar in academic tests. (Some tests use open-ended responses, but this is difficult to score and too complex for this exercise.)

Now write one typical item for your test, demonstrating your item and response format:

How many items will your initial test include? Keep in mind that you need to create about twice as many test items initially, because you will discard about half of them during your item analysis. __________

References

Cherry, K. (2018). What Is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)? Very Well Minded.  Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-thematic-apperception-test- tat-2795588

Morgan, W. (2002). Origin and History of the Earliest Thematic Apperception test. Journal of  Personality Assessment. 79 (3): 422–445. :10.1207/s15327752jpa7903_03