Historical Background; Cultural, Legal, Ethical Considerations

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Historical Background Cultural, Legal, Ethical
Considerations
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19th Century Psychology

• Wundt-Lab based-experimental psych
• Emphasized commonality among people
• Search for general description of reaction time,
  attention span, perceptiona
• Galton
• Influence of Darwin and emphasis on individual
  differences and heredity
• 1884 Anthropometric Lab measured grip strength,
  memory of form, color discrimination
• Pioneer of correlation

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19th Century Psychology (cont.)

• Cattell
• Student of Wundt, but interested in individual
  differences
• Concept of mental testing
• Instrumental in bringing the idea of psych
  testing to the U.S.

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Early 20th Century

• 1904 Binet Simon
• Charge from French education authorities
• 1916 Terman Stanford-Binet
• 1917-18 Army Alpha Beta
• Personal Data Sheet/Woodworth
• 1921 Rorschach
• 1939 Wechsler Wechsler-Bellevue Scale

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Controversies

• Use with Immigrants
• Eugenics the Feebleminded
• Test bias Bias in Testing in the Education
  System
• E.g., Diana v. California, Larry P. v. Riles
• Bias in Hiring
• Griggs v. Duke Power

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Remedies

• More representative norm samples
• Legislation
• E.g., IDEA, EEOC from Civil Rights Act of 1964

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Recent Controversies

• Charges of ethnic gender bias in SAT similar
  tests
• Standards accountability emphasis in public
  schools
• High-stakes testing
• Computerized testing

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Protection of the Public/Ethical Considerations

• Professional Associations Ethics
• E.g., APA, NASP
• APA Standards for Educational Psychological
  Testing
• Test-user Qualifications
• Level A Administered with aid of manual and
  general orientation (achievement proficiency
  tests)
• Level B Some technical knowledge required
  (aptitude tests, adjustment inventories)
• Level C substantial training required (IQ
  projectives)

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Rights of testtakers

• Right to informed consent
• Right to be informed of test findings
• Right not to have privacy invaded
• Right to have the least stigmatizing label
• Right to have findings held confidential