Is DAP reliable and valid?

Draw-A-Person (DAP) test originated from the Draw-A-Man test, which was created by Goodenough to assess children’s mental…

Perceptions of Parents Scale (POPS)

The Perceptions of Parents Scale is a branch of the large base of research done by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan on…

To fake or not to fake ADHD?

Apparently, it is easy to fake ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and get prescribed Adderall only by spending 5 minutes on Google and reading the symptoms. For those of you not familiar with ADHD, it is characterized by disorganization, lack of focus, having a hard…

A Future Determined By One College Scholastic Ability Test

Women or men inside- an evaluation of BSRI test

Are Siblings Polar Opposites?

Not only do my brother and I not look anything alike, but our personalities could not be anymore different. My parents often joke that one of us must have been adopted! I had my brother fill out the Big 5 Personality Test and compared them with mine. The results did not shock…

ADHD Diagnosis and its Vulnerability to Malingering

It is no secret that school has become increasingly competitive over the past few decades. While most…

The Job Interview: Actually Quite Valid

With the semester coming to an end and the summer on the horizon, I’ve found myself thinking quite a lot about the series of job interviews I will have to go through in the next month or two. Why do I have to sit through these meetings? What does my favourite…

The Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory (FFNI)

According to Oxford Dictionaries, the word ‘narcissism’ means “excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one’s physical appearance”. The term itself is originated from Greek mythology, where Narcissus, the son of the river god Cephissus and nymph Liriope, fell in love with…

“WEIRD” Samples

Over the past three years at McGill, as a Psychology major, I’ve had many chances to earn compensation by participating in a psychology study. There are multiple ways for undergraduates to participate in studies, either for extra credit or for monetary compensation. This encourages the students to…

The Benefits of Writing my Finals in my Pyjamas

When context and mood may affect results on achievement tests

Measuring Academic Self-Control: challenges I encountered and why it matters

The Psychology of Handwriting

Flipping through the pages on my old high school notebooks, I realized how much my handwriting has changed in the last five years. It made me wonder if this change was directly linked to the development of my personality. Through further digging, I found a multitude of online…

“Do you want a high school diploma? Pass the Literacy Test!”

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Reminiscing to my first day of middle school, all I can remember is sitting outside at a picnic table, hearing two older boys speaking about issues with graduating due to a certain test. My…

The Widespread Use of the Wechsler IQ Scale: Dangerous or Beneficial?

One of the most prominent tests used to test general intelligence is the Wechsler IQ Scale, which has been adapted to various age-dependent populations: the WAIS-IV for adults (16–90.11 years of age), the…

I Choose You: HR & Standardized Testing Scores

The Imitation Game

Alan Turing’s name is one that has recently rung a lot of bells in the ears of a community that, for the longest time, sort…

Overdiagnosing & Overprescribing Children with ADHD

Today, it is very common that kids today are being diagnosed with ADHD; it has become the most extensively studied pediatric mental health disorder, with constant controversy and debate occurring (Goldman). Hyperactivity in children was…

Anna Freud & you Ideal Martial Artist (pt. II)

My Love for the Multiple Mini Interview

For those of us who have complained about the seemingly poor predictive validity of school grades to actual career-related knowledge (I am guilty), the MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) has been a solution sent from heaven. The Multiple Mini Interview is an…

The Promise of Neuroimaging in Psychiatric Diagnosis

“Psychiatrists remain the only medical…

Why Do I always respond ‘Neutral’? And is that really a response at all?

These questions were brought to mind by the test development project in this class. During this project I, and many of my classmates, decided to use a Likert scale as part of our test. When I began to fill out my classmates’ tests, I found that when the…

Can You Imagine(-ative play)?: A Journey Through the Autism Diagnostic Observational Schedule (ADOS)

Does a High IQ Lead to Success?

Intelligence tests are one of the most popular and most researched tests. They include a broad variety of tasks with the goal of estimating a person’s general intellectual level. Standardized intelligence tests, such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales or the Wechsler…

Leadership and narcissistic personality traits

As the 2016 presidential elections are currently underway in the United States, many are still shocked at the progress and dominance of Donald Trump’s campaign in the Republican party’s nomination race. At first, many thought it was a joke. Then…

You Think You Have Limited Willpower or You Actually Do?

The Foundations of Construct Validity

Since the mention of construct and construct validity in this course I have become interested in the origins of these…

Dissociative Identity Disorder and Miss Dorsett

Can I have Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder?

Have you ever felt that you couldn’t sit in your place when you should and had urge to get up and do something else? Or have you felt that you couldn’t focus on one activity at a time and could be easily distracted by small things…

Testing Artificial Intelligence

I’ve always been intrigued by Artificial Intelligence (AI), the idea that something inhuman, something…

Are MMIs suitable for all medical school applicants?

The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) was developed by the Michael DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster…

Pre-Graduation Blues

Three years later, I know that hyperactivity is not required in an ADHD diagnosis, anhedonia is a symptom of depression…

Tester’s Remorse

What happens when you write a psychological test assessing a specific construct, only to find that you score the worst at what it assesses?

Browse, sleep, caffeine, repeat

We all know the drill: turn the lights off, hop into bed, shut your ey-, I mean, grab your phone. Cell phones are probably one of the most agreed upon distractors from a goodnight’s rest, yet most us have them charging within arms reach once we hit the sack, an all too…

It’s raining cats and dogs

We’ve all heard the saying: “I’m a dog person” or “I’m a cat person”, but what does that really mean? (Apart from the fact that a dog person is better than a cat person, of course.)

Are the eyes windows to our minds?

Applications of eye tracking in psychology

The range of technologies applied to study the brain and behavior has evolved drastically in the past two decades. Almost any journal in the field of experimental…

We Are Sorry, You Are Not Suited For The Job

Francisco was a brilliant young man. His dream was to become an entrepreneur and to start his own marketing…

The ethical limits of psychological testing

It is common practice in Canada, and many other countries, to have candidates for sex reassignment surgery undergo psychological testing in order to prove they are fit for the surgery. Is this an ethical use of psychological tests?

Guilty as Labeled — Can we Count on Expert Witnesses?

Why the scoring of psychological tests isn’t helpful in posing a clinical diagnosis

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the tool used by clinicians and other healthcare providers or related parties for the classification of mental…

Multiple Mini Interviews: A New Frontier in Ability Testing

Kaplan, Princeton Review, Prep101 — with the rise of test prep companies and courses oriented on acing interviews, it is becoming increasingly difficult in modern day society to accurately assess an individual’s potential. Many…

Between Diagnoses

I have a close friend who’s frustrated with her psychologists and psychiatrists. She’s been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and ADHD. Those are four separate diagnoses, and three of them came with three different prescriptions. However…

You spend 30 minutes writing and rewriting a three-sentence email. You get back a class test, and you believe you…

Imported vs. Indigenously Developed Personality Tests

The Results Are In: Psychological Testing Up Close and Personal

Okay, since we’re almost at the end of the term, I’ll admit it: I was a bit hesitant going into PSYC 406. See, I’m one of the few students coming from a non-Psych background (Pharmacology represent!) and I wasn’t sure if a whole course on psychological testing…

‘Creepy’ Scottish Wellbeing test — child protection or human rights violation?

A Scottish standardized test designed by the government to assess schoolchildren’s wellbeing has come to the attention of many UK newspapers and magazines, including the dailymail.co.uk, who…

When you don’t know what to do, become a School Teacher

IMPLICIT ASSOCIATION TEST

The implicit association test, is a rather new measure that scores peoples strength of associations between concepts and different evaluations and/or stereotypes. This test has gained popularity with social psychologists because it claims to shed insight into our implicit social…

Don’t let your personality stop you

Personality tests are used by many to get insight into their behaviour. Some people take the results as interesting and insightful and move on. On the other hand there are some people who try to use this information to make major decisions in their lives such as what program to apply for…

Lie Detection: Guilty or Innocent?

The use of the polygraph to detect deception among subjects has been largely debated on throughout the years. “Is it more of a myth than it is a reality?” I definitely don’t have the intention to answer this controversial question nor do I feel like it’s necessary to…

Creating a Test for a Psychological Construct is No Easy Task

For my test project, I created a test for the psychological construct sexual orientation. Just…

The Horrifying Feeling of Test Anxiety

… and how to get rid of it.

Having to write tests in school, be it at the elementary school level, or at the university level is stressful and anxiety inducing, and also as it seems, very difficult to avoid. An article…

“Laughter is the Best Medicine”: The Psychometrics of Humour

Testing for autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects about 1 in 68 children and can have a profound impact on a person’s quality of life. As of such, it is important to correctly diagnose those who are on the autism spectrum and to conduct further research on this disorder. Currently, the “golden standards”…

Ridding The World of Misdiagnosed ADHD

Walking into a doctor or psychologist’s office and getting a prescription for ADHD or ADD these days has become a piece of cake. Simply mentioning a few of the symptoms, such as “inattention to detail,” “hard time paying attention in class,” “distracted easily”…

Why are Millenials so difficult to poll?!?

Bernie Sanders winning the Michigan primary was a surprise to everyone who is actually paid to predict that kind of thing.
Literally every poll and survey conducted showed Hillary leading by more-than-a-small margin, with Sanders trailing by between 20…

The SAT is changing! What’s the deal with that?!

Willpower, the Key to Success

We all have experienced busy and stressful days in McGill, especially exam times. In those crazy time of the year, small changes can happen but go unnoticed. Think carefully, is resisting Facebook, Instagram, etc. harder during those days? Is it harder to keep up your good…

Importance of Psychology in Advertising

One of the most prominent reasons why I chose to major in Psychology has been how relatable it is to people. I consider myself someone who enjoys both the presence of people and learning about people’s different experiences. Another aspect that fascinated me…

Rating Scales and Objective Measures

Rating scales and objective measures of attention have been used to assess individuals with deficits of attention. Among the objective assessments, computerized tests that measure sustained attention and vigilance are the most popular for assessing ADHD, such as…

Taking Testing Too Far?

As I was sipping my morning brew and browsing through global news articles, I stumbled across a curious headline: “Orwellian…

Why Is Measuring Pain Such a Painful Task?

Pain is the number one reason people visit their doctor. Pain can be a nuisance, it can be debilitating, it can be life-threatening. There is a whole set of adjectives to describe different pain sensations and a whole set of self-report tests for…

Career Tests?

We have all heard many stories about a high-school student who followed the career path suggested by the results of a career test, and ended up having to make big, inconvenient changes later. However, there have also been many people who said they learned a great deal about themselves through the use of…

WHY THOSE EXTRA 5 MINUTES ARE IMPORTANT: WHAT YOU WEAR MAY CHANGE HOW PEOPLE HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.

Anxiety and What to do About It

Spring Break has come and gone. For university students this means that end of semester is looming and…

With an increasing number of individuals seeking mental health care and insufficient specialized personnel available many patients find themselves in their family doctor’s office. Studies show that 74% of people seeking help for depression(1), for example, will book an appointment with their family doctor first. With little time allocated to each…

New and Improved SAT

I never took the SAT. Though I was curious enough about my score to sign up to take the test, that curiosity did not…

Canada is the 6th happiest country in the world, but are you happy?

The UN has recently released the 2016 World Happiness Report, the 4th report after having recognized in its Assembly Resolution A/RES/66/281 in 2012 that “the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal”…

What If Psychological Disorder Tests Were Administered Regularly?

The only test that I was made to do so far has been a career test in high school. It was mandatory, to be filled out by everyone in the class. Then there are the standardized tests that people are made to take in order to get into a university. While these are…

My experience as a participant in a cognition study

In the past two years, I have been volunteering as participant in different studies and this has allowed me to experience first-hand some of the…