Page 385 - Understanding Psychology

Psychology Projects
1. Characteristics of Psychological Tests Ask one of your academic teachers if you can spend some time after class talking about how he or she makes up a test. How does the teacher decide the number and type of questions? Does the teacher consider the validity or reliability of the test? How is the test scored? Present your findings in a written report.
2. Intelligence Testing Research various intelli- gence tests. Determine the criteria used to mea- sure intelligence. Report your findings in a chart.
3. Achievement and Personality Tests In recent years, controversies have surrounded the use of achievement tests and personality tests. Research newspapers and magazines to find articles that explain these controversies. Summarize them in a short paper. Include your opinion of the arguments involved.
4. Personality Testing Contact the human resources department of a business in your community. Find out what criteria the company uses for hiring employees. Specifically, find out if the company uses personality tests or interviews to help in the hiring and what kinds of tests are used. Report your findings in a presentation.
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Technology Activity
In recent years, take-at-home com-
Assessment
Building Skills
Identifying Cause-and-Effect Relationships
Review the cartoon below, then answer the questions that follow.
1. Which person shown in the cartoon is the “brains of this outfit”?
2. How does this cartoonist illustrate the characters’ intellects?
3. What assumptions are being made by the cartoonist?
puterized IQ tests have become increasingly popular. Search the Internet to find examples of these kinds of tests. Also, find out about intelligence tests offered on CD-ROMs that parents can administer to their children. Evaluate the pros
and cons of using these kinds of intelligence tests.
Psychology Journal
Reread your journal entry about selecting the
best teaching prospect from among a group of applicants. Devise a test to use in your assessment. Consider and list in your journal the behaviors you most want to evaluate in the applicants.
See the Skills Handbook, page 624,
for an explanation of identifying cause-and-effect relationships.
Practice and assess key social studies skills with Glencoe Skillbuilder Interactive Workbook CD-ROM,
Level 2.
Chapter
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Psychological Testing 371