Personality Tests and Assessments (Psychology Revivals)


Book Description

Originally published in 1953 this book provided the first comprehensive account of methods of personality assessment by a British author. It starts with a short survey of personality theory, pointing out the difficulties in any method of testing or assessment. Next it describes the weaknesses of the common interview method. (Throughout the emphasis is on methods which are usable in educational or vocational guidance and selection, not on methods which are mainly of scientific interest.) Thereafter it takes up each main type of technique – tests based on physique or psychological measures, on expressive movement such as gestures and handwriting, tests of behaviour (including War Office Selection Board ‘house party’ methods), ratings and rating scales, questionnaires, and so-called projective techniques. The evidence for or against each test or method is surveyed and numerous references provided for relevant literature. Illustrative excerpts are given of many of the more promising tests, and some pictorial illustrations. British work in this field at the time is covered completely, and an attempt is made to provide a fair summary of the main contributions of American and other psychologists of the day.







Personality Assessment


Book Description

Originally published in 1964, the aim of this book was to analyse the psychological processes involved in understanding personality, and to consider how the psychologist could help in making more accurate assessments. Professor Vernon discusses in detail the scientific status of psychoanalytic and other ‘depth’ theories of motivation, the value of different types of psychotherapeutic treatment and counselling, the influence of upbringing on the development of personality, and the effectiveness of projective techniques. He also examines the reasons for the highly variable results obtained with personality tests and questionnaires. As well as providing a balanced review of theories of personality and of various types of test, this work made a fresh contribution to developing improved techniques of assessment.




A Handbook of Test Construction (Psychology Revivals)


Book Description

Psychological tests provide reliable and objective standards by which individuals can be evaluated in education and employment. Therefore accurate judgements must depend on the reliability and quality of the tests themselves. Originally published in 1986, this handbook by an internationally acknowledged expert provided an introductory and comprehensive treatment of the business of constructing good tests. Paul Kline shows how to construct a test and then to check that it is working well. Covering most kinds of tests, including computer presented tests of the time, Rasch scaling and tailored testing, this title offers: a clear introduction to this complex field; a glossary of specialist terms; an explanation of the objective of reliability; step-by-step guidance through the statistical procedures; a description of the techniques used in constructing and standardizing tests; guidelines with examples for writing the test items; computer programs for many of the techniques. Although the computer testing will inevitably have moved on, students on courses in occupational, educational and clinical psychology, as well as in psychological testing itself, would still find this a valuable source of information, guidance and clear explanation.




International Histories of Psychological Assessment


Book Description

This book brings together expert research on the history of psychological assessment across the continents and spanning over 50 countries.




Personality (Psychology Revivals)


Book Description

Originally published in 1983 and written in the tradition of the British School of Psychology, Spearman, Burt, Eysenck, Cattell, this book from a well-known author was exceptional at the time in its attempt to wed quantification and psychological theory in the study of personality. The student is presented with a discussion of the different methods of measuring personality and the various findings which have been made. The results are then discussed in the light of psychological theories of personality and here the author stresses the need for a theory with a properly quantified bias. However, the emphasis on findings from measurement and not the measurement itself makes the book psychological, truly about personality and not simply another text on psychological measurement.




A Handbook of Test Construction (Psychology Revivals)


Book Description

Psychological tests provide reliable and objective standards by which individuals can be evaluated in education and employment. Therefore accurate judgements must depend on the reliability and quality of the tests themselves. Originally published in 1986, this handbook by an internationally acknowledged expert provided an introductory and comprehensive treatment of the business of constructing good tests. Paul Kline shows how to construct a test and then to check that it is working well. Covering most kinds of tests, including computer presented tests of the time, Rasch scaling and tailored testing, this title offers: a clear introduction to this complex field; a glossary of specialist terms; an explanation of the objective of reliability; step-by-step guidance through the statistical procedures; a description of the techniques used in constructing and standardizing tests; guidelines with examples for writing the test items; computer programs for many of the techniques. Although the computer testing will inevitably have moved on, students on courses in occupational, educational and clinical psychology, as well as in psychological testing itself, would still find this a valuable source of information, guidance and clear explanation.




Selective Mutism (Psychology Revivals)


Book Description

Originally published in 1981, this title was designed to present a comprehensive review of research on, and treatment of selective mutism. It represents the only systematic overview of research and treatment procedures on this behavioral problem at the time. In many respects the literature on selective mutism clearly presents the differences in assessment and treatment between the intrapsychic (or psychodynamic) and behavioral approaches to deviant behaviour. The title presents an overview of the two major therapeutic approaches of human behaviour within the context of treating selective mutism.




Assessment and Testing


Book Description

Originally published in 1972, there were many ‘classics’ dealing with assessment and testing on the market at the time, but most of these left the inexperienced reader bewildered in the early stages, because of their size and insufficient explanation of the many technical terms used. There were a distinct lack of books which gave students in Colleges of Education dealing with psychology for the first time a simple explanation of basic terms in assessment and testing, and which introduced them briefly to the different types of tests available. Assessment and Testing aimed to fill this large gap. It looks at such key psychological terms as ‘sample’, ‘objectivity’, ‘subjectivity’, and such basic statistical terms such as ‘mean’, ‘standard deviation’, and ‘normal curve of distribution’. Because it assumes that the reader has no knowledge of such terms, it gives careful and simply illustrated explanations of each. In the same way, in simple language, with any technical terms explained and illustrated, it explains intelligence and personality tests, questionnaires, sociometric measures, projection techniques, and other areas of assessment and testing which every practising teacher will meet. The book aims to be essentially practical. It is appreciated all the time that the readers are those who will teach children. It is designed to provide a solid foundation upon which the reader can build later to augment his own experience of identifying children’s particular needs.




The Cult of Personality Testing


Book Description

Award-winning psychology writer Annie Paul delivers a scathing exposé on the history and effects of personality tests. Millions of people worldwide take personality tests each year to direct their education, to decide on a career, to determine if they'll be hired, to join the armed forces, and to settle legal disputes. Yet, according to award-winning psychology writer Annie Murphy Paul, the sheer number of tests administered obscures a simple fact: they don't work. Most personality tests are seriously flawed, and sometimes unequivocally wrong. They fail the field's own standards of validity and reliability. They ask intrusive questions. They produce descriptions of people that are nothing like human beings as they actually are: complicated, contradictory, changeable across time and place. The Cult Of Personality Testing documents, for the first time, the disturbing consequences of these tests. Children are being labeled in limiting ways. Businesses and the government are wasting hundreds of millions of dollars every year, only to make ill-informed decisions about hiring and firing. Job seekers are having their privacy invaded and their rights trampled, and our judicial system is being undermined by faulty evidence. Paul's eye-opening chronicle reveals the fascinating history behind a lucrative and largely unregulated business. Captivating, insightful, and sometimes shocking, The Cult Of Personality Testing offers an exhilarating trip into the human mind and heart.