Assumptions underlying psychological testing

Tests purporting to reflect the learning aptitudes of school children differ much more than generally is recognized. However, error in assesing such learning aptitude inheres much more in the users of the tests than in the tests themselves. Assumptions fundamental to such assessment, or even testing, are considered. It is particularly important that the assessor, or tester, constantly be sensitive to the nature of the relationship between the psychological demands of test items or tests and the learning demands confronting the child. Even tests that generally are grossly or crudely used often can yield psychoeducationally meaninful information if their results are differentially perceived in terms of the light they throw on the psychological operations fundamental to learning, “process,” as contrasted with that thrown on the results of the functioning of such operations, “product.”     

Does the pot melt, boil, or brew? Black children and white assessment procedures

The experiences Black youths bring to school with them constitute a distinctive, viable culture. Their subsequent performance in educational and psychological testing situations cannot be assessed adequately without consideration of their particular attitudes, perceptions, and behavioral patterns, for all of these are determined by a kind of cultural conditioning which differs, in some fundamental ways, from mainstream Americans. Several of the social and psychological characteristics of Black culture are discussed. Included are Blacks' attitudes toward whites, systems of time allocations, expressions of identity, attitudes toward learning, dissemination of information among Blacks, Black learning styles and maturation processes. Each is discussed further in terms of its manifestation in a testing or assessment situation; how it conflicts with the assessor's orientations and expectations; and how distorted, unreliable evaluations result from the failure of assessors to consider implications of cultural relativism in interpreting Black behavior.     

Humane reproduction

Discusses social, economic, and humane considerations in population control. Mental health aspects of controlled fertility are considered in relation to the family's psychosocial and material resources, the effects of reproduction on the individual the family, and community, and the advantages and disadvantages of controlled reproduction. A distinction between family planning and population control is outlined. It is suggested that there is hardly a single more effective tool for preventing psychological disorders than the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. Analyses of educational and medical services and methods of birth control are presented. A comprehensive neighborhood health station, which would consolidate these services, is suggested. It is concluded that humane programs of reproduction would lead to a reconciliation of biological drives with a responsible concern for the quality of life.     

Validating a selection test,a predictive probability approach

The problem of inferring the validity of a selection test (x) as a predictor of some criterion (y) when completexy data are not available is investigated. The basic approach is to construct the predictive probability distribution of the unobservedy scores and then derive interval estimates of the least squares regression weights, the difference in averagey scores for selected and unselected cases, and the residual variance in predictingy fromx. Further, an approximation to the predictive distribution of the squared correlation betweenx andy in a future group is derived.     

Psychotherapy and the locus of control

Underlying various actions of both the therapist and the patient are expectations about the measure to which an individual's experiences are the product of powerful external forces or of the person's own actions and decisions. While most of our anthropological theories support the notion that a person's experience is subject to an external locus of control, neither that view nor the opposite emphasizing freedom and autonomy is adequate for the therapeutic enterprise. THere are elements of truth in both positions that ned to be incorporated in therapeutic expectations if the enterprise is to proceed in an orderly fashion.     

儿童运用归纳法概括句组内词语能力的实验研究

本研究的目的是探讨儿童概括词语能力的发展问题。实验材料是9组分别有一、二或三个词语(“因素”)的句子,要求被试概括这些句组。被试是9至12岁以及8.5岁的小学生,每个年龄组有30人,共计150名小学生。 实验结果表明:儿童概括词语能力的发展并不与年龄的增长完全一致,在速度和等级方面其发展是不同的。在8.5-9岁以及11-12岁两个年龄组间差异是显著的,而在其他的年龄组,这种能力的发展是缓慢的。每个年龄组概括的广度也是不同的。     

彩色电视记忆肤色宽容度的实验研究

一、前 言 在彩电的色再现中,有关肤色宽容度的问题,早在五十年代初就被人们注意了。观众对再现的肤色的评价是凭他们的记忆或印象来评定的。人们对一些常见物体的颜色特别是肤色的记忆,又往往带有一定的倾向性。因此,所谓记忆肤色往往也就是优选肤色或喜     

生理心理学三十年

本文对我国生理心理学研究的三十年作了阶段性的历史回顾。并讨论了若干主要收获、经验教训及一点展望。     

关于儿童部分与整体关系认知发展的实验研究 Ⅰ 4—7岁儿童类和数的包含

部分与整体的关系是逻辑关系。儿童对部分与整体关系的认知标志着逻辑思维的发展。 类和数的包含同是部分与整体的关系。它们的区别在于总类与其子类之间的关系是从属的关系,其所包含的元素是依据共同属性结合起来的;数的各元素可以说都处于同等地位,总数比它的部分含有更多的元素。