Pedagosko i psiholosko testiranje i procjenjivanje spadaju među najvažnije doprinose znanosti o ponasanju nasem drustvu i pružaju temeljna i znacajna poboljsanja u odnosu na ranije postupke. Iako se ne može ustvrditi da su svi testovi dovoljno usavrseni niti da su sva testiranja razborita i korisna, postoji velika kolicina informacija koje ukazuju na ucinkovitost kvalitetnih instrumenata u onim situacijama u kojima je njihovo koristenje potkrijepljeno validacijskim podacima. Pravilna upotreba testova može dovesti do boljih odluka o pojedincima i programima nego sto bi to bio slucaj bez njihovog koristenja, a također i ukazati na put za siri i pravedniji pristup obrazovanju i zaposljavanju. Međutim, losa upotreba testova može dovesti do zamjetne stete nanesene ispitanicima i drugim sudionicima u procesu donosenja odluka na temelju testovnih podataka. Cilj Standarda je promoviranje kvalitetne i eticne upotrebe testova te uspostavljanje osnovice za ocjenu kvalitete postupaka testiranja. Svrha objavljivanja Standarda je uspostavljanje kriterija za evaluaciju testova, provedbe testiranja i posljedica upotrebe testova. Iako bi evaluacija prikladnosti testa ili njegove primjene trebala ovisiti prvenstveno o strucnim misljenjima, Standardi pružaju okvir koji osigurava obuhvacanje svih relevantnih pitanja. Bilo bi poželjno da svi autori, sponzori, nakladnici i korisnici profesionalnih testova usvoje Standarde te da poticu druge da ih također prihvate.

Standards for educational and psychological testing

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/5/110/206.full.pdf

The american psychological association.

Psychopathy is characterized by diverse indicators. Clinical accounts have emphasized 3 distinct facets: interpersonal, affective, and behavioral. Research using the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R), however, has emphasized a 2-factor model. A review of the literature on the PCL-R and related measures of psychopathy, together with confirmatory factor analysis of PCL-R data from North American participants, indicates that the 2-factor model cannot be sustained. A 3-factor hierarchical model was developed in which a coherent superordinate factor, Psychopathy, is underpinned by 3 factors: Arrogant and Deceitful Interpersonal Style, Deficient Affective Experience, and Impulsive and Irresponsible Behavioral Style. The model was cross-validated on North American and Scottish PCL-R data, Psychopathy Screening Version data, and data derived from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) antisocial personality disorder field trial.

Refining the construct of psychopathy: towards a hierarchical model.

In this review, we focus on two major influences on current conceptualizations of psychopathy: one clinical, with its origins largely in the early case studies of Cleckley, and the other empirical, the result of widespread use of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) for assessment purposes. Some investigators assert that the PCL-R, ostensibly based on Cleckley’s work, has “drifted” from the construct described in his Clinical Profile. We evaluate this profile, note its basis in an unrepresentative sample of patients, and suggest that its literal and uncritical acceptance by the research community has become problematical. We also argue that the idea of construct “drift” is irrelevant to current conceptualizations of psychopathy, which are better informed by the extensive empirical research on the integration of structural, genetic, developmental, personality, and neurobiological research findings than by rigid adherence to early clinical formulations. We offer some suggestions for future research on psychopathy.

/pdf/psychopathy-as-a-clinical-and-empirical-construct-p5m0vb2xxj.pdf

Psychopathy as a clinical and empirical construct.

The current paper reviews research suggesting that the presence of a callous and unemotional interpersonal style designates an important subgroup of antisocial and aggressive youth. Specifically, callous-unemotional (CU) traits (e.g., lack of guilt, absence of empathy, callous use of others) seem to be relatively stable across childhood and adolescence and they designate a group of youth with a particularly severe, aggressive, and stable pattern of antisocial behavior. Further, antisocial youth with CU traits show a number of distinct emotional, cognitive, and personality characteristics compared to other antisocial youth. These characteristics of youth with CU traits have important implications for causal models of antisocial and aggressive behavior, for methods used to study antisocial youth, and for assessing and treating antisocial and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01862.x

Research Review: The importance of callous‐unemotional traits for developmental models of aggressive and antisocial behavior

BACKGROUND
Actuarial risk assessment instruments (ARAIs) estimate the probability that individuals will engage in future violence.


AIMS
To evaluate the ;margins of error' at the group and individual level for risk estimates made using ARAIs.


METHOD
An established statistical method was used to construct 95% CI for group and individual risk estimates made using two popular ARAIs.


RESULTS
The 95% CI were large for risk estimates at the group level; at the individual level, they were so high as to render risk estimates virtually meaningless.


CONCLUSIONS
The ARAIs cannot be used to estimate an individual's risk for future violence with any reasonable degree of certainty and should be used with great caution or not at all. In theory, reasonably precise group estimates could be made using ARAIs if developers used very large construction samples and if the tests included few score categories with extreme risk estimates.

/pdf/evaluating-the-margins-of-error-of-group-v-individual-1a1xceyuuq.pdf

Evaluating the 'margins of error' of group v. individual predictions of violence

Background Actuarial risk assessment instruments (ARAIs) estimate the probability that individuals will engage in future violence.

Aims To evaluate the `margins of error' at the group and individual level for risk estimates made using ARAIs.

Method An established statistical method was used to construct 95% CI for group and individual risk estimates made using two popular ARAIs.

Results The 95% CI were large for risk estimates at the group level; at the individual level, they were so high as to render risk estimates virtually meaningless.

Conclusions The ARAIs cannot be used to estimate an individual's risk for future violence with any reasonable degree of certainty and should be used with great caution or not at all. In theory, reasonably precise group estimates could be made using ARAIs if developers used very large construction samples and if the tests included few score categories with extreme risk estimates.

/pdf/precision-of-actuarial-risk-assessment-instruments-tuqamegxy3.pdf

Precision of actuarial risk assessment instruments: evaluating the 'margins of error' of group v. individual predictions of violence.

A survey of clinical views suggests that the significance of antisocial and socially deviant behavior in the diagnosis of psychopathic personality disorder is unclear. To investigate this issue, we evaluated Psychopathy Checklist-Revised ratings (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) using structural equation modeling. One model, referred to as the measurement model, included PCL-R ratings related to antisocial behavior as primary symptoms of psychopathy; a second, referred to as the causal model, included the same PCL-R ratings as secondary symptoms or consequences. Compared to the measurement models, the causal model included more PCL-R items, was more parsimonious, and had equal or superior fit indices. These findings suggest that antisocial behavior is best viewed as a secondary symptom or consequence of psychopathy, In addition, the findings have important implications for future research and clinical-forensic practice, especially concerning the assessment of risk for criminality and violence.

Reconstructing psychopathy: clarifying the significance of antisocial and socially deviant behavior in the diagnosis of psychopathic personality disorder.

The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is an important measure in both applied and research settings. Evidence for its validity is mostly derived from male Caucasian participants. PCL-R ratings of 359 Caucasian and 356 African American participants were compared using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item response theory (lRn analyses. Previous research has indicated that 13 items of the PCL-R can be described by a 3-factor hierarchical modeL This model was replicated in this sample. No cross-group difference in factor structure could be found using CFA; the structure of psychopathy is the same in both groups. IRT methods indicated significant but small differences in the performance of 5 of the 20 PCL-R items. No significant differential test functioning was found, indicating that the item differences canceled each other out. It is concluded that the PCL-R can be used, in an unbiased way, with African American participants.

/pdf/psychopathy-and-ethnicity-structural-item-and-test-2wvwi20a4r.pdf

Psychopathy and ethnicity: structural, item, and test generalizability of the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R) in Caucasian and African American Participants.

Christine Michie

Papers

Refining the construct of psychopathy: towards a hierarchical model.

Evaluating the 'margins of error' of group v. individual predictions of violence

Precision of actuarial risk assessment instruments: evaluating the 'margins of error' of group v. individual predictions of violence.

Reconstructing psychopathy: clarifying the significance of antisocial and socially deviant behavior in the diagnosis of psychopathic personality disorder.

Psychopathy and ethnicity: structural, item, and test generalizability of the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R) in Caucasian and African American Participants.