Psychological Testing Questions and Answers

Q: Item characteristic curve theory (ICC) is also known as :

Item characteristic curve theory is also known as latent trait theory.Item response theory models the probability of a correct answer to an item as a function of an unobserved (latent) trait, usually written theta. The S-shaped graph of that probability against theta is the item characteristic curve, and its shape is fixed by item parameters such as difficulty, discrimination and guessing. Because everything is referred to an underlying trait that cannot be observed directly, the approach was first called latent trait theory, and also ICC theory.The standard models assume a single trait, so 'multidimensional trait theory' is wrong. Test standardisation and construct validation are procedures used in test construction, not other names for this model.

Q: Which of the following is the most appropriate description of a psychological test ?

The most appropriate description is a standardized measure of a sample of behaviour.Anne Anastasi's well-known definition is that a psychological test is essentially an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behaviour. A test samples behaviour, because it can observe only a limited set of responses, and it is standardized, because administration and scoring are uniform so that scores can be compared.'A measure of a sample of behaviour' leaves out standardization. Many tests are not self-report measures, for example ability and performance tests, and tests are not limited to conscious behaviour, since projective tests aim at material outside awareness.

Q: Stanine scores are used for the interpretation of ..........

Stanine scores are used to interpret interindividual differences.A stanine ('standard nine') is a normalised standard score on a nine-point scale with a mean of 5 and a standard deviation of about 2. It places a person's score within the distribution of the norm group, so it tells how one individual compares with others: an interindividual comparison.Stanines are not used to trace developmental change within one person over time. They are not limited to personality tests or to ability tests: they are widely used for achievement and aptitude tests as well, so the two options with 'only' are wrong.

Q: To study the unidimensionality of a test which of the following could be appropriate ?

Among the options, the appropriate one is alpha reliability.A unidimensional test measures a single attribute, so its items should correlate with one another. Cronbach's alpha is an index of internal consistency, the degree to which all the items hang together. A strong alpha is consistent with a single common dimension. Factor analysis is the more rigorous check, but of the methods listed only alpha looks at the relationships among the items within the test.Test-retest reliability measures stability over time and alternate-form reliability the equivalence of two forms; both compare whole-test scores and say nothing about the structure of the items. Correlating the test with another test is evidence of validity, not of unidimensionality.

Q: Which among the following subtests are not the part of WAIS IV ?(1) Visual puzzles(2) Figure weights(3) Picture arrangement(4) Object assembly

The subtests not in WAIS-IV are (3) and (4) only: picture arrangement and object assembly.The fourth edition of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (2008) dropped Picture Arrangement and Object Assembly, which had been part of the earlier editions' performance scale, partly to reduce the weight of motor speed. It introduced three new subtests: Visual Puzzles and Figure Weights, which belong to the Perceptual Reasoning Index, and Cancellation.Since visual puzzles (1) and figure weights (2) are new WAIS-IV subtests, every option naming either of them as missing from the scale is wrong.

Q: Situational tests are basically a measure of ................ behaviour.

The keyed answer is problem solving behaviour.Situational tests place the person in a lifelike situation and observe what he or she actually does. The assessment programmes of the US Office of Strategic Services in the Second World War, for example, set candidates practical tasks such as getting a group across a stream with limited equipment or directing helpers to build a structure. These tasks present a problem and the assessors watch how it is tackled, which is why situational tests are described as measures of problem solving behaviour.They observe overt behaviour, so they are not measures of subconscious or unconscious processes, which are the target of projective techniques. They are also not self-reports, since the person's own account is exactly what they replace.

Q: Compared to speed test, a distinguishing feature of power test is ........ .

The distinguishing feature of a power test is that its overall difficulty level is very high.A pure power test gives enough time for everyone to attempt every item; what separates test takers is how far they can go on items of steeply rising difficulty, and it usually includes items too hard for anyone to solve. A pure speed test is the reverse: its items are uniformly easy, and scores depend on how many a person finishes in a short time limit.Penalising wrong answers (a correction for guessing) can be used with either kind of test. A speed test, not a power test, normally has more items than anyone can finish. Reverse scoring belongs to attitude and personality scales with negatively worded items.

Q: The calculation of mental age basically involves :

Mental age rests on the procedure and logic of developmental norms.Developmental (age) norms show the typical performance of children at successive ages. A child's mental age is the age whose typical performance his or her score matches: a child who passes the items typically passed by eight-year-olds has a mental age of 8, whatever the chronological age. Binet's scales were built this way.Within-group norms, such as percentiles and standard scores, compare a person with others of the same age instead of placing him on an age scale. Grade equivalents compare achievement across school grades, and comparing gender differences on an item is a question of item bias, not of mental age.

Q: "Norms are the average performance of standardized sample". This statement is true for which type of tests ?(I) Personality test(II) Aptitude test(III) Achievement test

The statement holds for (II) and (III) only, aptitude and achievement tests.Aptitude and achievement tests are tests of maximum performance: each item has a right answer, and the norm is literally the average performance of the standardisation sample, against which a person's score is read.Personality tests also have norms, but they measure typical behaviour, how a person usually feels or acts, not performance; there is no better or worse score in the same sense. That is why the key excludes (I), and with it the options '(I) only' and '(I), (II) and (III)'. '(II) only' leaves out achievement tests, which are normed in exactly the same way as aptitude tests.

Q: Which of the following statement/s is/are true about the item analysis ?(I) It involves qualitative analysis of test items(II) It improves the validity of the test.

Both statements are true, so the answer is Both (I) and (II).Item analysis has a qualitative side and a quantitative side. Qualitatively, items are reviewed for content, clarity and form, for example checking that each item fits the test's specification and is free of ambiguity or bias (I). Quantitatively, each item's difficulty and discrimination indices and the behaviour of its distractors are computed.The point of the exercise is a better test: by revising or dropping items that are too easy, too hard or poorly discriminating, item analysis improves the test's reliability and validity (II). So neither statement alone is the full answer, and 'neither' is wrong.

41.

Item characteristic curve theory (ICC) is also known as :

A.Latent trait theory
B.Multidimensional trait theory
C.Test Standardization theory
D.Construct validation theory

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: A

Item characteristic curve theory is also known as latent trait theory.

Item response theory models the probability of a correct answer to an item as a function of an unobserved (latent) trait, usually written theta. The S-shaped graph of that probability against theta is the item characteristic curve, and its shape is fixed by item parameters such as difficulty, discrimination and guessing. Because everything is referred to an underlying trait that cannot be observed directly, the approach was first called latent trait theory, and also ICC theory.

The standard models assume a single trait, so 'multidimensional trait theory' is wrong. Test standardisation and construct validation are procedures used in test construction, not other names for this model.

Discuss in Forum

42.

Which of the following is the most appropriate description of a psychological test ?

A.It is a self report measure
B.It is a measure of conscious behaviour
C.It is a measure of sample of behaviour
D.It is a standardized measure of a sample of behaviour

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: D

The most appropriate description is a standardized measure of a sample of behaviour.

Anne Anastasi's well-known definition is that a psychological test is essentially an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behaviour. A test samples behaviour, because it can observe only a limited set of responses, and it is standardized, because administration and scoring are uniform so that scores can be compared.

'A measure of a sample of behaviour' leaves out standardization. Many tests are not self-report measures, for example ability and performance tests, and tests are not limited to conscious behaviour, since projective tests aim at material outside awareness.

Discuss in Forum

43.

Stanine scores are used for the interpretation of ..........

A.Interindividual differences
B.Developmental changes within an individual
C.Normative scores of personality test only
D.Individual differences in ability test only

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: A

Stanine scores are used to interpret interindividual differences.

A stanine ('standard nine') is a normalised standard score on a nine-point scale with a mean of 5 and a standard deviation of about 2. It places a person's score within the distribution of the norm group, so it tells how one individual compares with others: an interindividual comparison.

Stanines are not used to trace developmental change within one person over time. They are not limited to personality tests or to ability tests: they are widely used for achievement and aptitude tests as well, so the two options with 'only' are wrong.

Discuss in Forum

44.

To study the unidimensionality of a test which of the following could be appropriate ?

A.Test-retest reliability
B.Alpha reliability
C.Alternate form reliability
D.Correlating the test with another test

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: B

Among the options, the appropriate one is alpha reliability.

A unidimensional test measures a single attribute, so its items should correlate with one another. Cronbach's alpha is an index of internal consistency, the degree to which all the items hang together. A strong alpha is consistent with a single common dimension. Factor analysis is the more rigorous check, but of the methods listed only alpha looks at the relationships among the items within the test.

Test-retest reliability measures stability over time and alternate-form reliability the equivalence of two forms; both compare whole-test scores and say nothing about the structure of the items. Correlating the test with another test is evidence of validity, not of unidimensionality.

Discuss in Forum

45.

Which among the following subtests are not the part of WAIS IV ?

(1) Visual puzzles
(2) Figure weights
(3) Picture arrangement
(4) Object assembly

A.Both (1) and (3) only
B.(2) and (3) only
C.(3) and (4) only
D.(1) and (4) only

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: C

The subtests not in WAIS-IV are (3) and (4) only: picture arrangement and object assembly.

The fourth edition of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (2008) dropped Picture Arrangement and Object Assembly, which had been part of the earlier editions' performance scale, partly to reduce the weight of motor speed. It introduced three new subtests: Visual Puzzles and Figure Weights, which belong to the Perceptual Reasoning Index, and Cancellation.

Since visual puzzles (1) and figure weights (2) are new WAIS-IV subtests, every option naming either of them as missing from the scale is wrong.

Discuss in Forum

46.

Situational tests are basically a measure of ................ behaviour.

A.Sub-conscious
B.Unconscious
C.Self-report of conflict
D.Problem solving

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: D

The keyed answer is problem solving behaviour.

Situational tests place the person in a lifelike situation and observe what he or she actually does. The assessment programmes of the US Office of Strategic Services in the Second World War, for example, set candidates practical tasks such as getting a group across a stream with limited equipment or directing helpers to build a structure. These tasks present a problem and the assessors watch how it is tackled, which is why situational tests are described as measures of problem solving behaviour.

They observe overt behaviour, so they are not measures of subconscious or unconscious processes, which are the target of projective techniques. They are also not self-reports, since the person's own account is exactly what they replace.

Discuss in Forum

47.

Compared to speed test, a distinguishing feature of power test is ........ .

A.Overall difficulty level of the test is very high
B.Test takers are penalized for wrong answers
C.Number of test items are more than the speed test
D.Reverse scoring procedure is used in calculating the final score

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: A

The distinguishing feature of a power test is that its overall difficulty level is very high.

A pure power test gives enough time for everyone to attempt every item; what separates test takers is how far they can go on items of steeply rising difficulty, and it usually includes items too hard for anyone to solve. A pure speed test is the reverse: its items are uniformly easy, and scores depend on how many a person finishes in a short time limit.

Penalising wrong answers (a correction for guessing) can be used with either kind of test. A speed test, not a power test, normally has more items than anyone can finish. Reverse scoring belongs to attitude and personality scales with negatively worded items.

Discuss in Forum

48.

The calculation of mental age basically involves :

A.Procedure and logic of developmental norms
B.Procedure and logic of within group norms
C.Comparison of gradewise performance variation
D.Comparison of gender differences on an item in a test

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: A

Mental age rests on the procedure and logic of developmental norms.

Developmental (age) norms show the typical performance of children at successive ages. A child's mental age is the age whose typical performance his or her score matches: a child who passes the items typically passed by eight-year-olds has a mental age of 8, whatever the chronological age. Binet's scales were built this way.

Within-group norms, such as percentiles and standard scores, compare a person with others of the same age instead of placing him on an age scale. Grade equivalents compare achievement across school grades, and comparing gender differences on an item is a question of item bias, not of mental age.

Discuss in Forum

49.

"Norms are the average performance of standardized sample". This statement is true for which type of tests ?

(I) Personality test
(II) Aptitude test
(III) Achievement test

A.(I) only
B.(II) only
C.(II) and (III) only
D.(I), (II) and (III)

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: C

The statement holds for (II) and (III) only, aptitude and achievement tests.

Aptitude and achievement tests are tests of maximum performance: each item has a right answer, and the norm is literally the average performance of the standardisation sample, against which a person's score is read.

Personality tests also have norms, but they measure typical behaviour, how a person usually feels or acts, not performance; there is no better or worse score in the same sense. That is why the key excludes (I), and with it the options '(I) only' and '(I), (II) and (III)'. '(II) only' leaves out achievement tests, which are normed in exactly the same way as aptitude tests.

Discuss in Forum

50.

Which of the following statement/s is/are true about the item analysis ?

(I) It involves qualitative analysis of test items
(II) It improves the validity of the test.

A.(I) only
B.(II) only
C.Both (I) and (II)
D.Neither (I) nor (II)

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: C

Both statements are true, so the answer is Both (I) and (II).

Item analysis has a qualitative side and a quantitative side. Qualitatively, items are reviewed for content, clarity and form, for example checking that each item fits the test's specification and is free of ambiguity or bias (I). Quantitatively, each item's difficulty and discrimination indices and the behaviour of its distractors are computed.

The point of the exercise is a better test: by revising or dropping items that are too easy, too hard or poorly discriminating, item analysis improves the test's reliability and validity (II). So neither statement alone is the full answer, and 'neither' is wrong.

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