The fallibility of psychological tests

Psychological testing has become rampant in all industries, even more so in

the case of Information Technology companies, BPOs and ITES. Thesis

The tests are used to ‘cast’ profiles of personality and competence.

descriptions that would help companies hire the “right” candidate.

The Human Resources department of most organizations is responsible for

the administration of psychometric tests.

The international body that establishes the guidelines for testing is the

International Testing Commission (ITC) which provides guidelines for

adaptation and use of tests. ITC has published guidelines to cover the

following –

Professional and ethical standards in testing

Rights of the candidate to the test and other parties involved in the test.

process

Choice and evaluation of alternative tests

Administration, scoring and interpretation test

Drafting of reports and comments.

ITC has defined test use proficiency as “A competent test user

use the evidence appropriately, professionally and ethically,

paying due attention to the needs and rights of those who participate in the

testing process, the reasons for testing, and the broader context in

in which the tests are performed “.

There are many reasons why a test can be fallible:

1. Inappropriate use of tests

The standards for which the tests are designed must be observed.

carefully. They cannot be administered to a population that is

different from the normal population (the normal population, for example, might

be, teenagers, senior executives; norms may be based on age,

occupation, gender, economic situation, etc. ). That is, a test designed

for teenagers cannot be administered to senior executives and vice

and vice versa because the results of said administration would be wrong.

2. Cultural fair tests

Another common flaw is the use of tests that are not culturally fair.

Many psychological tests have been designed for the western population.

and it can be used appropriately only in that culture. Unfortunately many

of these tests are used in the Indian population leading to errors

conclusions.

3. Test design

The psychological test can only be designed by qualified professionals

in psychometrics. Laypeople often design tests with the help of

information accessed through the Internet or sometimes even from your

own common sense. Such tests are not valid.

4. Test validation

Every test that has been designed must be validated. The process of

validation would involve administering the test in a large population

for a period of time before it is certified as ‘ready to use’. This

it cannot be made from tests that are manufactured overnight.

5. Downloaded tests

Tests are often downloaded from the Internet and used for

other than what they were designed for. For example, a

personality test used to assess emotional or computer intelligence

Skills of a person.

6. Incorrect customization

Sometimes the elements of a test are changed to suit the user. Such

cases where the test cannot give valid results. For example, an item (a

question / statement in test) would say:

“Do you usually date on the weekends?” , could be changed to

“Do you socialize on the weekends?”

to suit the Indian scene. The test results with such changes

‘articles’ will not be valid.

7. Test administration

The administration of the test should be systematically standardized, that is, the

The test must be administered under exactly the same conditions to all

users. This means that the actual test environment, instructions,

time and materials are the same on each test occasion.

Before administering the test, the user should consider the following

guidelines –

o What is the purpose of the tests?

o What results will be achieved through the tests?

o Why are these specific tests used?

o Why are these tests relevant to the desired results?

o What evidence is there that these tests are appropriate for people

Who will be evaluated?

8. Confidentiality of test results

All test results must be kept by the administrator strictly

confidence. Revealing the results could lead to unfair discrimination

in the workplace. This happens when a test used for selection is

disadvantageous for certain ‘groups’ within the organization. In the USA,

The use of IQ tests in employee selection is prohibited. This was

due to lack of confidentiality maintained by administrators

which resulted in unfair discrimination of employees. In the present

Any psychometric test should be administered with great care and after

the necessary permits are obtained.

To ensure confidentiality, the following guidelines should be

considered:

1. Make sure test materials are stored safely

2. Ensure safe storage and control access to test materials.

3. Respect copyright law and agreements that exist regarding

evidence, including prohibitions on the copying or transmission of

materials in electronic or other form to others, whether

qualified or not.

4. Protect the integrity of the test by failing to advise individuals on

actual test materials or other practice materials that could unfairly

influence your test performance.

5. Make sure testing techniques are not publicly described in such a way

that its usefulness suffers.

9. Competence of the administrator and interpreter of the test

The personnel administering the tests must be strict in following up

instructions stipulated by test designers. The interpretations too

It must be carried out by qualified personnel who are psychologists.

10. Limitation of evidence

The tests are ‘limited’ for the purposes for which they have been

designed. For a holistic assessment of an individual, it requires

that the test results are supplemented with information from interviews

and group discussions. Also, the test results are invalid after

eighteen months of his administration.

11. Proof of copyright

It is a crime to copy copyrighted evidence. They can only

be used after obtaining the necessary permission from the designers.

Otherwise, this illegal copying may lead to a lack of standardization in

Test conditions and poor control of materials.

12. Feedback test

Users often do not follow the guidelines for feedback.

The British Psychological Society has established the following guidelines

for written and oral comments:

o Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any report

appropriate to the level of understanding of the recipients.

o Clarify that the test data represents only one source of information

and should always be considered in conjunction with other information.

o Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighed in

relationship with other information about the people evaluated.

o Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate for the

context of the assessment.

o Where appropriate, provide third parties with information on how

the results can be used to inform your decisions.

o Explain and support the use of test results that are used to classify people.

into categories (for example, for diagnostic purposes or for job selection).

o Include in written reports a clear summary and, where relevant,

specific recommendations.

o Present oral comments to examinees in a constructive and supportive manner.

conduct.