Analysis of validity and reliability of intelligence assessments

Analysis of validity and reliability of intelligence assessments Measuring intelligence has always been a pragmatic thing to do (Wilhelm Engle, 2005). Most people find it hard to be rational in measuring their intelligence. As a common usage, intelligence is attested quantifiably by understanding the admissibility of a degree (Bartholomew, 2004) In other words, there can be no way that intelligence would be perfectly quantified. Only the nearness or the relative distance can be the mode of measuring ones intelligence. David Wechsler (Bartholomew, 2004) defines intelligence as the aggregate ability of an individual to have a rational thinking, a purposive act, and an effective dealing with his environment. Some writers however define intelligence negatively. That is, the doing away of tests. It is important to differentiate between intelligence quotient (IQ) and intelligence itself. IQ does not simply refer to the quantity of intelligence a person has, rather it refers to the relative standing of an individual with regard to his performance in an intelligence test as compared to others who took the same test (Zastrow Kirst-Ashman, 2007). When intelligence is measured in terms of a numerical result (i.e. I.Q. is 140), we cannot be sure that we are really talking about intelligence since there is a substitution of precision for vagueness (Govier, 2009). The original purpose of intelligence test was primarily to identify the least capable students that are finding it hard to learn from ordinary schooling (Kalat, 2010). However, it was later used to determine who among the students excel and during entrance examinations in universities. It is seemingly difficult if not impossible to devise a test that would truly measure the innate intelligence without being bias culturally. Innate ability cannot be measured if cultural bias exists (Young, 2006). Bias refers to the existence of nuisance factors that makes it difficult to compare the intelligence tests results across different cultural groups (Prifitera et al. 2008). There are three kinds of cultural biases in intelligence tests vis-a-viz construct bias, method bias, and differential item functioning (Lovler, Miller, McIntire, 2010). Construct bias occurs when there are different systems of meaning from culture to culture. For instance, a good daughter in a country might have a different characteristic in another country. Method bias occurs when the procedure of the test vary from different cultures such as when in a certain country, participants are used to input data electronically while in another country, participants are used to answering manually through paper s. Differential item functioning or item bias occurs when there is a great gap in the test scores of the participants in different cultures who have relatively the same abilities. For example, different regional groups might have different scores in a history test regarding their home country even if all of them are familiar with its history. In order to eliminate cultural biases in intelligence tests, culture-free tests became a demand. As the name imply this test attempt to eliminate cultural and educational differences (Haselbauer, 2006). The most common mediums used in this test are pictures or images which assess spatial capabilities of the participants such as visualization and perception. The validity of the tests is equally important as the reliability of the test. Validity is challenged when a participant in the test cannot communicate in the language used in the test (Rhodes, 2005). Critics of IQ tests argue that the differences in IQ scores are attributable to the orientation of the test makers such as their experiences, vocabulary and language, and lifestyles (Weiten, 2008). Construct-related validity refers to the extent which the test instrument can capture the details it is designed to measure (Sternberg, 2010). Methods To be able to determine the validity of intelligence tests particularly on the way it is constructed, this paper will investigate whether validity of tests vary between English speakers and non-English speakers. The kind of test that will be used is PSYGAT which focuses mainly on the verbal capability of the participant. This will be conducted after the participants have taken the Queendom test and Culture Fair IQ test. Participants will be composed of a total number of 337 from which 269 (79.8%) are females and 68 (20.2%) are males. The sex standard deviation for the participants with English-speaking backgrounds (ESB) will be 0.407 while those with non-English speaking background (NESB) will be 0.389. After getting the result of the test, it will be analyzed based on age. The age standard deviation for ESBs will be 7.514 while for NESBs it is 7.627. Ages range from 19-55 for ESBs and 19-62 for NESBs. Aim This study aims to determine if PSYGAT is internally reliable when a group of participants with English-speaking backgrounds and non-English speaking backgrounds are compared. An initial hypothesis for this study is that PSYGAT will be a reliable means of intelligence computation vis-a-viz significant convergent validity in the same way as the Queendom and Culture Fair IQ tests. However, between ESB and NESB, it is hypothesized that they will differ in terms of reliability and validity. Results Item Analysis Upon checking for internal consistency of data using Cronbachs alpha, it can be assessed that results were reliable, especially as most of the generated alpha were higher than 80 percent. The following are reliability statistics with their corresponding Cronbachs alpha  [1]  : Reliability of data for overall sample for all 55 questions Reliability Statistics Cronbachs Alpha .898 Reliability of data for overall sample for the 25 best discriminating questions Reliability Statistics Cronbachs Alpha .848 Reliability of the data for ESB group for the 25 best discriminating questions Reliability Statistics Cronbachs Alpha .851 Reliability of the ESB for all 55 questions Reliability Statistics Cronbachs Alpha .901 Reliability of the data for NESB group for the 25 best discriminating questions Reliability Statistics Cronbachs Alpha .841 Reliability of the NESB group for all 55 questions Reliability Statistics Cronbachs Alpha .889 Validity of PSYGAT In order to test the validity of PSYGAT, the correlation scores of the PSYGAT (total scores) on each of the Queendom tests were obtained using SPSS. Correlations (for all sample) Total Queendom Verbal Adjusted Total Pearson Correlation 1 .466** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 337 337 Queendom Verbal Adjusted Pearson Correlation .466** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 337 337 Queendom Culture Fair IQ Pearson Correlation .098 -.283** Sig. (2-tailed) .073 .000 N 337 337 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Correlations for ESB Group Total Queendom Verbal Adjusted Total Pearson Correlation 1 .433** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 244 244 Queendom Verbal Adjusted Pearson Correlation .433** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 244 244 Queendom Culture Fair IQ Pearson Correlation .067 -.341** Sig. (2-tailed) .295 .000 N 244 244 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Correlations for NESB group Total Queendom Verbal Adjusted Total Pearson Correlation 1 .567** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 93 93 Queendom Verbal Adjusted Pearson Correlation .567** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 93 93 Queendom Culture Fair IQ Pearson Correlation .238* .011 Sig. (2-tailed) .022 .918 N 93 93 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Assessment of Differences between ESB and NESB groups in terms of reliability and validity By splitting the data according to its background (i.e., ESB and NESB group), the following correlations were obtained: Correlations English Queendom Culture Fair IQ english speakiing background Queendom Culture Fair IQ Pearson Correlation 1 Sig. (2-tailed) N 244 Queendom Verbal Adjusted Pearson Correlation -.341** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 244 non english speaking background Queendom Culture Fair IQ Pearson Correlation 1 Sig. (2-tailed) N 93 Queendom Verbal Adjusted Pearson Correlation .011 Sig. (2-tailed) .918 N 93 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). The observed z value will be obtained using the following formula: where: rESB= -0.341 NESB = 244 rNESB= 0.011 NNESB = 93 Transforming the correlation coefficient to their corresponding z values, zESB = -0.355 zNESB = 0.011 Using the values above, the following observed z value was obtained: Z = -2.96 To evaluate the observed z value, the obtained value must not be between -1.96 and +1.96 to conclude a statistical difference between the two correlation coefficients. From this, it can be assessed that there is a statistical difference between the 2 correlation coefficients, due to the fact that the observed z value does not fall between -1.96 and +1.96. Discussion and Conclusions Many researchers have argued that the measurement of intelligence through IQ tests is no doubt based on the culture to which the individual belongs to. In an attempt to assess the reliability and the construct validity of the PSYGAT a verbal assessment developed by Psychology students in 1998 344 Psychology students were tasked to complete three tests which comprises of two Queendom tests (verbal adjusted and culture fair test) and the PSYGAT. The results of the PSYGAT were then analysed for internal validity. Construst validity of PSYGAT was also examined by analyzing the test scores alongside the Queendom tests. The hypothesis that the PSYGAT test would show significant internal reliability and construct validity as it was analysed alongside the other two tests was supported. Significant correlations were also found in the results for Queendom Verbal Adjusted and the PSYGAT for English speaking background group. Upon computation of observed z values, it was also concluded that th ere were statistical differences between the ESB and NESB correlation coefficients. Thus, it can be further assessed that PSYGAT can be used validly for verbal intelligence assessments, although, further research is recommended for its use in culture fair factors. One limitation though of this study is the fact that participants were all university students, specifically Psychology students. Perhaps, there is a need for further research that will involve a much diverse population, considering that participants in this study can be considered as well-educated. Despite their non-English speaking background, it can also be assumed that perhaps are also well-versed in the English language. Another limitation is also the fact that the tests used the English language as the first language in the assessments. Such factor may pose limitations for specific ethnic groups whose first language is not English. It can be considered that future researches be conducted that will be more culture sensitive and be conducted using the first language of the specific ethnic group. References Bartholomew, D. J. (2004). Measuring intelligence: facts and fallacies: Cambridge University Press Govier, T. (2009). A practical study of argument (7th ed.): Cengage Learning. Haselbauer, N. (2006). The everything test your IQ book: discover your true intelligence: Everything Books. Kalat, J. W. (2010). Introduction to psychology (9th ed.): Cengage Learning. Lovler, R. L., Miller, L. A., McIntire, S. A. (2010). Foundations of psychological testing: a practical approach (3rd ed.): SAGE. Prifitera, A., Saklofske, D. H., Weiss, L. G. (2008). WISC-IV clinical assessment and intervention: practical resources for the mental health professional (2nd ed.): Elsevier. Rhodes, R. L., Ochoa, S. H. Ortiz, S. O. (2005). Assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students: a practical guide: Guilford Press. Weiten, W. (2008). Psychology: Themes and variations (8th ed.): Cengage Learning. Wilhelm, O. Engle, R. W. (2005). Handbook of understanding and measuring intelligence: SAGE. Young, E. M. (2010). Dealing with the cultural bias in intelligence testing: culture free and culture fair iq tests. Retrieved 29 April 2011 from: . Zastrow, C Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2007). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (7th ed.): Cengage Learning.

Stephen Leacocks Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich :: Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich Essays

Stephen Leacock's Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich    Jonathan Swift has suggested that "Satire is a sort of Glass, wherein Beholders do generally discover every body's Face their own; which is the chief reason...that so few are offended with it."   Richard Garnett suggests that, "Without humour, satire is invictive; without literary form, [and] it is mere clownish jeering." (Encyclopaedia Britannica 14th ed. vol. 20 p. 5). Whereas Swift's statement suggests that people are not offended by satire because readers identify the character's faults with their own faults; Garnett suggests that humour is the key element that does not make satire offensive. With any satire someone is bound to be offended, but the technique the author uses can change something offensive into something embarrassing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stephen Leacock's Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich is a nonthreatening, humorous, and revealing satire of the moral faults of upper class society. The satire acts as a moral instrument to expose the effect money can have on religion, government, and anything within its touch. Writing about such topics is hard to do without offending people. Leacock's technique combines money with humour, and accompanies his moral message with ironic characters; their exaggerated actions, and a constant comical tone to prevent readers from being offended.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leacock's utopian world is filled with humorous labels that represent the "Plutonian's" personalities. "Ourselves Monthly"; a magazine for the modern self-centered, is a Plutonian favourite. To fill their idle days, the Plutonian women are in an endless search for trends in literature and religion. Without the distractions of club luncheons and trying to achieve the "Higher Indifference", the women would have to do something productive. Readers that identify themselves with the class of people the Plutonians represent would be embarrassed rather than offended by Leacock's satirical portrayal of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "The Yahi-Bahi Oriental Society" exaggerates the stupidity of the Plutonians to a point where the reader laughs at the character's misfortunes. The con men give ridiculous prophecies such as "Many things are yet to happen before others begin." (Leacock 87), and eventually take their money and jewelry. The exaggeration increases the humour while the moral message is displayed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The characters of the novel are ironic in the sence that they percieve themselves as being the pinicle of society, yet Leacock makes the look like fools. For someone who prides themself on being an expert on just about everything, Mr. Lucullus Fyshe's (as slimmy and cold as his name represents) perceptions are proven false. Mr. Fyshe makes hypocratic statments about ruling class tyranny, while barking down the neck of a poor waiter for serving cold asparagus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leacock exposes the whole Plutonian buisness world to be

My Life-Changing Decision

MY LIFE CHANGING DECISION ROSS BROWN ENGL 1301-270 SUSAN ROBBINS 4/2/2013 It was the beginning of spring about two years ago- a wet and gloomy day. I was thirty two years old, strung out on meth and homeless. Headed back to prison for the third time, I was faced with a life changing decision, â€Å"do I turn myself in† or â€Å"do I keep running and take my chances†. It was a decision that would affect the ones I love the most, my children. As I sat in the woods behind a run down, drug infested motel, I closed my eyes and all I could see were the tears in my kids eyes every time they came to see me in prison.The ones that depended on me for love and security, were now sad and scared of me. They were as lost as I was. Thoughts began to run through my head, â€Å"have I failed my children as a father†, â€Å"do I want them to go down the same path I went down† or â€Å"do I want to give them a future and a father to be proud of†. Living the life style I lived for ten years, taught me not to trust people. Especially authority figures. So the thought of turning myself in didn’t sound like a good idea to me at the time. It left me puzzled and scared.I could keep running, but the past ten years had been nothing but a continoues cycle that always landed me back in prison and left my children without a father. I’ve always been known for taking chances. Turning myself in would require taking the biggest chance of my life, trusting an authority figure and the system that I thought had already failed me. My Pastor had always told me â€Å"recovery has to start somewhere son†. At that moment, with my children in mind, I had made my decision. I was going to turn myself in.As I opened my eyes, tears streaming down my face, the day seemed to turn from wet and gloomy, to calm and clear. I picked up my phone and made the call. I was to turn myself in to the authorities within two weeks. On April 20,2011 I walked into the F ederal Halfway House. I was tired, physically and mentally. I did not know what to expect or what was expected of me. They gave me three meals a day and a hard mat to sleep on. They provided transportation and the opportunity to become stable, if you wanted it. I wanted it bad! It would require a lot of effort and determination to make it through the system successfully.Not many ex felons make it. They looked at me as another statistic when I first arrived. You only have a certain amount of time to get a job and start your recovery. I struggled, nobody wanted to hire a recovering ex con. I was starting to think I was not going to make it. I was at the end of the dead line, they were wanting go ahead and send me back to prison. On the very last day the phone rang, it was Bill Orr with Gym Bleacher Boards. He asked me to come in right away for an interview. I had to get permission from the job coordinator in order for that to happen.He was not wanting to give me this last chance at ge tting a job. Then out of nowhere my case worker, Ms. Woodson, showed up and said â€Å" just give him this one last chance before you send him back†. When I arrived at Gym Bleacher Boards, I was nervous and had mixed emotions about everything. As I sat there waiting on my interview with Bill, I said a little prayer to myself, â€Å" Lord, please let me get this job, not for me, but for my children†. Bill came out of his office and called me in and I was up front about everything.By the time the interview was over, we were talking as if we had known each other for years. Then he looked over at me and said, â€Å" Ross, everybody deserves a second chance at life, you are hired†. Within two months I was able to get my own place and out of the Federal Halfway House. Now, two years later I got my family back, a good job, and a set of nine month old twin daughters. As I look back on the day I made my decision, I realize I took a chance that changed my life. Now, I am able to give my children a future and a father to be proud of.

Free Essays on The End Of Innocence

were comforting, but not exactly what I wanted to hear. I mean, this was it. This was the day that is supposed to pay off for the 13 years of school one had to endure. Maybe I was just making a big deal out of nothing. The time after breakfast and before the ceremony was like blur. No sooner had I finished my omelet, then it was almost time for me to get to the school. As I drove to campus, I remembered some of the fun times my friends and I had. The lunches in the cafeteria, the teachers we all loved to hate, the basketball state championship. All of these memories hit me like a ton of bricks. It made the feeling that was festering inside me worse. It was over; these times were gone now, forever. After graduation, everything would be different. I could not look forward to going back to school the next year with all the same people I was used to. Everybody was taking different paths. Everybody was starting their life in the real world. I dismis... Free Essays on The End Of Innocence Free Essays on The End Of Innocence High school graduation is a day that many people look back on with pride and satisfaction. It is a day that marks a major accomplishment in many lives. I wish that day had felt like an accomplishment for me. The day had started out ok. All the seniors had to report to the football field early that morning for practice. The sun was unusually strong for that time of day. After two hours of baking out there, we were dismissed. I met up with one of my friends and we made plans to go out for breakfast. I remember thinking it was funny how she showed up to practice in her pj’s. We went over to the IHOP by her grandmother’s house, she ordered the smiley face pancakes, and I had an omelet. I had been having a weird feeling about graduation and I wanted to know if maybe she felt the same. I asked if she was scared, and I will always remember her answer. â€Å"Of course I’m scared, everybody is. This is a big step on the road of life. It’s the end of an era, and of our innocence.† Her words were comforting, but not exactly what I wanted to hear. I mean, this was it. This was the day that is supposed to pay off for the 13 years of school one had to endure. Maybe I was just making a big deal out of nothing. The time after breakfast and before the ceremony was like blur. No sooner had I finished my omelet, then it was almost time for me to get to the school. As I drove to campus, I remembered some of the fun times my friends and I had. The lunches in the cafeteria, the teachers we all loved to hate, the basketball state championship. All of these memories hit me like a ton of bricks. It made the feeling that was festering inside me worse. It was over; these times were gone now, forever. After graduation, everything would be different. I could not look forward to going back to school the next year with all the same people I was used to. Everybody was taking different paths. Everybody was starting their life in the real world. I dismis...

Lights! Camera! Action! Marin Luther and Reformation

Lights! Camera! Action! Marin Luther and Reformation Is Martin Luther due all the credit given him for the genesis of the Reformation? Perhaps, but one has to look at a few other factors that certainly set the stage for Luther. Hardly ever does one person come along and, without any preparation, change the cultural traditions let alone a whole world.Sometimes a leader is just lucky; the timing is right. For Martin Luther to reform religion it took a bit more than just luck. It took intelligence, skillfulness, and education. Martin Luther had all three of these and the luck of timing. There were, however, some people and events that set the stage for Luther and the reformation movement. The humanistic movement was one, very important factor.Humanism already had strong, healthy roots in Western Europe and was the philosophy under which Martin Luther studied. It could be said that this movement was the true ignition of reformation although without Luther to fan its flames, reformation would have taken many more years to become the fire th at burned through Catholicism with a vengeance.Martin Luther, commemorated on February 18 Evangel...Aside from the humanist movement there were a few men: John Wiclif, Jan Hus, and Erasmus would play important roles in the very beginning before Martin Luther‚s time. Between these three men: biblical translations, teachings that the bible was for the individual, questioning authority, ridicule of the gross misconduct and improprieties of the papacy, and martyrdom can be found. (Greer 409-412) These acts are not to be ignored when contemplating the foundation of reformation.With the acts of these three men, all the props on Martin Luther‚s stage were in place. The bible became accessible to all members of the congregation, and reading it was strongly encouraged. Erasmus showed that the papacy was not only to be wrong, but ridiculously so.

Antigon as a Leader Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Antigon as a Leader - Article Example This essay stresses that leaders do differ from managers, considering the convictions of most scholars who have studies the differences between leaders and managers. Leaders are involved in strategic management, just as the managers. However, leaders exhibit this aspect of strategic management in their behavior as well. Another difference between leaders and managers is evident in the way these relate with people and perceptions toward work. While managers exhibit high interaction with people, leaders are considered loners with great visions. Managers also use people to get goals and visions achieved. In addition, leaders are more charismatic and empathic than managers, since these will prioritize the needs of the people at their expense. This paper makes a conclusion that in the struggle for liberation from the Apartheid rule, Mandela’s party, the ANC, adopted an approach of violence, even though previously the party had advocated for a peaceful approach. Mandela admitted to his party adopting a violence approach from the previously held peaceful policy. In his view, the peaceful approach adopted by the ANC earlier on had failed, since it did not put an end to apartheid rule. This decision to adopt violence is justified. If the ANC had not turned to violence, the whites would have never addressed the concerns of the blacks through their peaceful approach. Secondly, violence was the only option left, since all other democratic options had been closed down in the country’s legislation by the whites.

Managers learn better through experience. Theory has nothing to offer Essay - 2

Managers learn better through experience. Theory has nothing to offer - Essay Example Since management as a separate discipline was established, managers have been taught in a classroom setting where most of their learning has been theoretical. Theoretical learning for managers has been ineffective due to several reasons. One of the reasons is that theoretical learning does not take into account the diversity the types of organizations that managers are required to manage (Papamarcos, 2005, p327). In the field of management, there is a wide range of organizations with different needs in terms of management styles. This perspective is not captured in theoretical management training, which has the effect of making managers apply the same techniques in management therefore leading to failure of the organizations to meet their objectives. For instance, the expertise that is required from a manager that manages technology professionals will be different from the expertise that is needed by a manager in a political organization. This is because a manager in a political orga nization will be required to have conflict handling techniques, which may not be, require of his counterpart in a technology firm since there are minimal conflicts. Leaning through theories involves using the thoughts of other people to run organizations (Mazutis & Slawinski, 2008, p444). This weakness of using theory in managers’ training is the therefore in the pattern of the managers thinking or his way of doing things which may antagonise the theory that he is supposed to use. In turn, this will mean that the manager will not give the optimal productivity that he is capable of since he has been limited by the theory. In addition, using theory limits the managers to be innovative in new and more effective ways of managing the organization that will improve its performance; this is as a result of the manager being required to follow what the theory says. For instance, a manager may have been taught that the best way to manage the employees in an organization is by being ens uring his or her commands are followed, however, the employees may perform better if they are given a democratic space to air their views on ways which they think would help to increase the productivity of the organization. Training managers theoretically may entail using theories that were applicable in the past but which may not be effective currently (Vince, 2011, p340). The global organizational environment has been changing everyday due to advances in technology and changes in global business patterns such as globalization. Due to these dynamics in the organizational environment, the processes of running the organizations have been changing making it hard to use previous techniques to run organizations in the current environment. For instance, previously any meetings that the manager had with his or her juniors involved physical presence, which meant managers, had to travel a lot especially in the organizations that had several branches. However, with the coming of teleconferen cing, the manager is able to attend meetings with other employees in different locations without being physically present. Due to the challenges that leaning through theory presents to the managers, it has been widely acknowledged that leaning through experience would work best to ensure the knowledge that