7610 | Psychology homework help.
Answer to the next discussions and include a question. (100 words)
POST 1- Cailin Abrahams Cailin Abrahams’ Discussion Answer to u05d1COLLAPSE
- Determine which one is preferential for responding to questions about a test’s fairness.
- Identify at least two advantages and two disadvantages in using each theory, citing appropriate American Educational Research Association (AERA) standards from your readings.
- Defend your preference in terms of the methods used within each theory and how they apply to concepts of fairness across groups. Essentially, how does it best address test fairness?
- Describe how advances in technology are improving the process of test development and inclusion of appropriate items.
Cohen and Swerklik (2017) define fairness in terms of psychometric properties as the “extent to which a test is used in an impartial, just, and equitable way” (pp. 197). When applying this definition of fairness to the classical test score theory (CTT) and the item response theory (IRT) one theory seems more fair than the other. IRT seems more fair in determining cut scores because it accounts for the difference in functioning of different items across groups of people and their relationship with the construct (AERA, 2014). This idea of differential item functioning (DIF) is a major advantage of IRT in terms of the test’s fairness. Another advantage of IRT is that because the emphasis is put on equating scores through differing sets of items the tests can be shorter and more reliable (Embretson, 2004).
The item mapping method and the bookmark method are both methods of developing a cut score in which expert judges determine at what level of difficulty would someone need to be proficient at to deem them competent in their understanding of a construct (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2017). The subjectivity of IRT revolves around this level of difficulty and not how someone would respond to the items on the test. IRT does have some disadvantages that are present in their possible floor and ceiling effects and how to train the experts (Cohen & Swerklik, 2017). IRT is a new method of determining cut scores and shows much promise but there are still many tests that utilize CTT.
The CTT method is popular due to its statistical applications and option of smaller sample sizes in determining the appropriate cut scores. The fixed cut scores derived from Angoff and Known Group method are based on the performance on all items on the test. A group of experts decide at what score a person would “pass” or be considering obtaining a certain trait of attribute. The subjectivity of how someone should answer these items leads to the disadvantage of low inter-rater reliability and how different populations should respond to these test items (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2017). There are also issues with small sample sizes due to constituting the range of the trait being measured within the sample size, for example, how anxious does a person have to be in order to be diagnosed with high anxiety and how do different populations affect that range. Overall, CTT can be a useful method of determining cut scores but there are disadvantages that account for its low reliability and therefore should be used cautiously.
POST 2- Karissa Williams Unit 5 Discussion 1COLLAPSE
In the text, Cohen and Swerdlik (2018) specified that it is not the test that is not fair, but how it is used to make the information unfair. The Item Response Theory (IRT) was the test model I felt would be most preferential for responding to questions about fairness. For this, this seems to be the best because it does not discriminate against individuals with different characteristics and is meant to include two different responses so as not to be confusing-true-false, correct-incorrect, or yes-no. Item difficulty makes sense because in its context, it is fairly clear how challenging the item in question is: discrimination on items is a little more complicated.
Item discrimination is a measure between high-scoring participants and low-scoring people, with a typical distribution illuminating about 27% of upper and lower scores, and all about discrimination between high-scoring participants and low scoring participants. In other words, it is supposed to filter out who really understands their material, so a score here that is too low means it was incorrect for high scoring participants and that means an issue with the object. When things are too basic, balance is important, which is an obvious problem for measuring skills. However, if items fall short on the scale of item discrimination, that is a little less apparent and still a concern.
They will confuse the test taker if questions are not well formulated and test results will not reliably show successful knowledge of the subject matter. IRT has a few benefits, but what makes it an amazing advantage is undoubtedly the way they structured the test by using just two responses. It can be so confusing to have four or more different answers to choose from when taking a test, particularly when those answers are like other answers and it becomes confusing as to which one would be most suitable to choose. There is a probability of making a measurement error with respect to the Classical Test Theory (CTT), which is a significant drawback of the test (Cohen & Swedlik, 2018). We are continually developing the technologies around us as the years go by. We are enhancing test production by improving technology. Tests have really evolved in recent decades and will continue to do so as long as technology progresses.
References:
Cohen, R. J. & Swerdlik M., E. (2018). Psychological Testing and Assessment: An Introduction to Tests and Measurements (9th Edition). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
PSY7708
POST 1-
3 hours agoKimberlee Johnston unit 5 dicussionCOLLAPSE
Positive and negative reinforcement are two types of reinforcement used to strengthen a behavior in future events (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2020). In the analysis of behavior, positive means to add something and negative means to take something away. Both types of reinforcement increase future behaviors.
Negative reinforcement is often misunderstood as a punishment or aversive reinforcement. In the science of behavior analysis, negative reinforcement is defined as the removal of a stimulus (usually something aversive) after the occurrence of a behavior which increases the likelihood that that behavior will occur again in future events (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2020).
This misconception probably exists because the term negative. Humans are conditioned to automatically assume that negative equals aversive or bad. It most cases this is true. In the science of ABA, however, negative just means to take away something.
Three-Term Contingency Format: Negative Reinforcement
- Austin completed all his chores on Monday without being asked. His parents said that since he did them without being asked, he could skip his Tuesday chores.
- Tammy dislikes having dirty hands. Tammy and her friends made mud pies with their hands. She took a shower and all the mud washed away. The mud washing away serves as a negative reinforcement.
These are examples of negative reinforcement because the desired behavior is being reinforced by taking away an aversive activity/item. The desired behavior is likely to increase in future events.
Three-Term Contingency Format: Positive Reinforcement
- Brianna sat on the toilet. Brianna urinated in the toilet. Brianna was given chocolate milk for using the toilet.
- James ate his Brussel sprouts at dinner. James was given a giant slice of cheesecake for eating his Brussel sprouts. Now James eats all his veggies and receives edibles as a reinforcement.
- Steve does all his chores each week. At the end of the week his mother buys him a $10 Fortnite game card.
These are examples of positive reinforcement because a stimulus was added to increase the probability of the desired behavior occurring in the future.
POST 2-
14 hours agoCassita Cain Unit 5 DiscussionCOLLAPSE
The common misconception of the term negative reinforcement is that it is used as a form of punishment. The science of behavior analysis says that it is used to remove an aversive stimulus. In my opinion the misconceptions because of the term negative and how our natural environments and teachings throughout our lives. The key part for behavior analysis is the word reinforcement. Simply put, reinforcement seeks to increase a wanted behavior and the term negative is used in a since of taking away the “trigger” for behavior.
One example of negative reinforcement is when I had the habit of misplacing my keys whenever I came home. The behavior that I wanted to remove was not placing my keys in a place where I would know where they were. The antecedent in this situation is using my key to open the door to get in the house. The behavior was placing them different places throughout the house. The consequence was that I would not know where to find them the next morning. Therefore, making me aggravated, late, and off schedule for the morning. The correction was adding a key holder at the door and placing the keys on the holder when entering the house.
Another example of negative reinforcement is when a child has the behavior of hitting to get a desired item. The antecedent is the desire to receive item. The behavior you want to remove is the hitting. The negative reinforcement is not receiving the item. The final example of negative reinforcement is removing the behavior of being late for work. The negative reinforcement would be docking the employees time for being late and a decrease in the pay. Due to negative reinforcement the employee now reports to work on time.
An example of positive reinforcement is increasing the behavior of my dog going to the door to indicate when he has to use the restroom. The antecedent would be him going to the door and sitting. The behavior would be him using the restroom outside. The positive reinforcement or consequences would be him receiving a award for therefore increasing the behavior. Another example of positive reinforcement is wanting to increase the number of times client or programs a client completes each session. By adding a token board and giving praise when he completes a task followed by a reward we can increase the behavior of completing requested task. The antecedent would the prompt, the behavior would be the client performing the task. The consequence would be receiving a token and completing his token board. The positive reinforcement in this situation is receiving the reward for completing the token board. The final example of positive reinforecement is adding the behavior of a child using the bathroom on the potty. The antecenent stimulus would be the urge to go to the restroom. The behavior would be using the potty. The consequence and positive reinforcement would be the child receiving praise or reward for going to the bathroom.
Cassita Cain Masters of Psychology/ABA
References:
References:
Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E., & Heward, W.L. (2020). Applied behavioral analysis (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson
Miltenberger, R. G. (2016). Behavior modification: Principles and procedures (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.