Examiner & Situational variables in Testing

The key factors influencing psychological testing and results.
​1. Influence of Sex and Experience of the Examiner

 

  

​     Research into whether the physical or professional characteristics of the examiner (such as gender or years of experience) affect test scores has yielded contradictory and inconclusive results.
​General Finding: Most studies suggest that the examiner’s sex and experience make little to no significant difference in scores.
​Exceptions: While some isolated studies show effects (e.g., female examiners eliciting higher IQ scores), they are often contradicted by other research.
​    While usually negligible, examiner characteristics might impact scores in specific, isolated instances.

​2. Effects of Coaching on Test Results

​Coaching involves extra practice, reviewing fundamental concepts, and learning optimal test-taking strategies.
​Impact on Scores: Coaching can significantly improve scores on "coachable" aptitude tests.
​The Problem for Developers: Coaching can "inflate" scores, meaning the result no longer accurately reflects the examinee’s true ability, which invalidates the test norms.

​Socioeconomic Concern: High-cost private coaching creates an unfair advantage for wealthy students.
​The Solution: Many testing programs (like the GRE) now provide free sample materials to everyone to level the playing field.

​3. Issues in Scoring
​This section distinguishes between errors in group-administered tests versus individual tests.
​Group Tests: These are usually machine-scored (multiple-choice), which is highly objective. However, errors occur if the examinee uses the wrong pencil or fails to darken bubbles properly.
​Individual Tests: These are more prone to human error because the examiner must make scoring judgments, add columns of numbers, and use conversion tables.
​Clerical Errors: Simple administrative or mathematical mistakes occur more frequently than many psychologists admit and can have "disastrous effects."
​4. Test-Taking Motivation and Test Anxiety
​The internal state of the testee is a major "extraneous" variable that can distort results.
​Motivation: Examinees may lack the drive to do well or may even malinger (intentionally perform poorly or fake mental illness) to avoid prosecution or gain benefits.
​Malingering Detection: Psychometricians look for:
​A clear motivation to be deceitful.
​Test patterns that are suspicious compared to known facts about the person.
​5. Test Anxiety
​   Test anxiety involves the phenomenological, physiological, and behavioral responses to the fear of failure.
​Performance Correlation: There is a clear negative correlation between high test anxiety and achievement/IQ scores.
​The "Chicken or Egg" Problem: It is unclear if anxiety causes poor performance, or if a history of poor performance causes the anxiety.
​Exacerbating Factors: Narrow time limits and high-pressure situations significantly worsen the performance of anxious individuals.
​6. Motivational Levels of the Examinee
​  Standardized test results assume the subject is performing honestly and to the best of their ability.
​Faking Good/Bad: While rare, some individuals "fake bad" on personality or ability tests to seek rehabilitation benefits or avoid criminal responsibility.
​Cultural & Social Factors: Motivation varies across different ethnic and socioeconomic groups. For example, some groups may manifest suspicion, fear, or "cynical indifference" toward the testing process based on past frustrations in school.