A Guide to Mental Testing
- Author:
Cattell, M.A., 15.be., rn.D., Director ot School Psychological Service and Clinic, Leicester. University of London Press. 7/6. Since the publication of Burt’s ” Mental and Scholastic Tests ” in 1921, the scope of mental measurement has extended beyond the spheres of intelligence and educational achievement. Theoretical and experimental advances have given rise to new techniques and to the invention of a multitude of new tests. The time was ripe for a new survey of available test material.
It is not surprising that 1936 has seen the publication of two such surveys, first ” The Testing of Intelligence,” edited by Hamley (a misleading title, since almost every sphere of measurable mental activity is covered), and, a few months later, Cattell’s ” Guide to Mental Testing” The two books invite comparison. ” The Testing of Intelligence ” gives more space to the critical consideration of theories of mental measurement and to detailed accounts of research. Each section is contributed by a specialist. Cattell’s “Guide to Mental Testing” has a somewhat different focus. Its aim is ” to provide (1) A handbook, which shall contain between its covers sufficient instructions, test materials and norms to aid the experimenter in assessing the principal aspects of personality so far as made accessible to exact examination. (2) A guide to most other available tests of any value, with brief comments on their origin, validity and source of publication.” The aim is primarily a practical one, to put into the hands of psychologists engaged in educational, clinical and vocational testing the information and the material, that they need.
Dr Cattell is singularly well equipped by his own researches into the measurement of both cognitive abilities and temperamental traits, and by his wide experience in the application of tests to provide just such a handbook for the practising psychologist, incidentally providing at the same time an excellent work of references for those engaged in research. Over 250 tests are introduced, many of them in full detail. Thus, we find the actual material, with full instructions and norms, given for the Midland Educational Tests, Retentivity and Word-Association Tests, Tests of Interest, Temperament and Disposition. Drawing scales, rating scales and questionnaires are also given in full. The critical selection of the tests, the notes on standardisation, the introductory paragraphs to each chapter indicating the present position of research, and the appendix dealing with mathematical formulae combine to make the book a valuable guide to the psychologist rather than a mere handbook for the psychometrist.
There is little occasion for adverse criticism. In later editions it may be possible to avoid an apparent contradiction in the section on tests of Dexterity. We read that ” Cox’s results show definitely that the order of skill obtained on dexterity tests with unpractised subjects remains essentially unchanged after any period of practice,” while a few lines below, it is stated that ” any of these tests may be invalidated by practice.”
It will no doubt surprise most psychologists to fine Gesell’s Norms of Development and the Merrill-Palmer Tests classed as ” Paper Tests,” for paper and pencil play a minimal part in these tests, while apparatus predominates. Again, there seems little justification for placing the Binet-Simon Tests, which are largely verbal, amongst the Performance Tests These are, of course, minor matters of arrangement, that in no way affect the value of the book.
We cannot lay this ” Guide to Mental Testing ” aside without being aware that the Educational Psychologist engaged in Child Guidance Work will find in it a challenge, and one that cannot easily be ignored. In his final chapter Cattell points out that ” successful diagnosis, estimation or selection depends partly on skilful and accurate testing, but even more upon a wise choice of tests having regard to the particular physical or sensory defects, education, and temperamental make-up suspected in the individual to be tested.” The test material available in most Child Guidance Clinics is very limited. It consists for the most part in tests sanctified by long usage rather than in those warranted by scientific progress. Dr Cattell shows how a wise selection of approved tests can give a fuller and more accurate picture of a child’s mental make-up than is possible, if the clinical equipment is limited ,as is usually the case for children of school age, to the Binet-Simon Tests supplemented by a few Performance Tests. Will Child Guidance Clinics persist indefinitely in the old ways of testing or will they be able to overcome inertia and timidity, and take advantage of the researches of the last ten years? Constance Simmins
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