Routine Psychological Testing of the Individual Is Not Valid
Cristiano Mauro Assis Gomes, Jhonys de Araujo1, Elizabeth do Nascimento2
1Laboratory for Cognitive Architecture Mapping, Department of Psychology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Psychological Reports
|July 1, 2018
Summary
Current psychological testing methods are invalid because they incorrectly apply population data to individuals. This study questions routine psychological assessments and explores alternative intraindividual approaches for more accurate individual testing.
Area of Science:
- Psychological Measurement
- Methodology
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Current routine psychological testing relies on population-level data for individual inferences.
- This practice is widely accepted but lacks methodological validation.
- Concerns exist regarding the generalizability of group statistics to individual cases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assert the invalidity of current routine psychological testing for individuals.
- To identify the root cause of invalidity in psychological assessments.
- To explore alternative approaches for valid individual assessment.
Main Methods:
- Review of theoretical concepts: ergodicity, Birkhoff's theorem, and Molenaar's manifesto.
- Critique of the direct transposition of population estimations to individual inferences.
- Analysis of a common psychological testing application to demonstrate invalidity.
Main Results:
- The direct transposition of population data to individual inferences is fundamentally invalid.
- This practice is identified as the primary reason for the invalidity of routine psychological testing.
- An illustrative example highlights the flaws in current individual assessment practices.
Conclusions:
- Current routine psychological testing practices are not valid for individual assessment.
- The intraindividual (within-person) approach offers potential for valid individual testing.
- Further research into novel methodological propositions is needed to address these validity issues.
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