Science

The limitations and risks with psychometric testing

Some tests that are supposed to shed light on our personalities or intelligence may actually reinforce stereotypes and miss important qualities

Many employers are relying less on grades and more on virtual reality and advanced psychometric testing when hiring college graduates. Photograph: iStock

Stuart Mathieson
Thu Mar 14 2024 - 06:00

With low unemployment and plenty of vacancies, the Irish job market remains tight. Firms are struggling to fill roles with appropriately skilled staff. If you have applied for a job recently, or your employer is upskilling, there’s a decent chance that you took some form of psychometric test. These generally look at your preferences in areas such as communication and workstyle and, if used carefully, can be a helpful way of understanding your relationship with the working environment.

Some tests are more prescriptive. The Myers-Briggs test assigns those who take it to one of 16 four-letter personality types based on binaries such as introverted and extroverted or thinking and feeling. Results include Visionary (ENTP) and Mastermind (INTJ) and are often used to guide people toward careers that suit their personalities. However, its designers, Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, had no formal training in psychology and based their methods on the now-discredited personality types of Carl Jung.

Myers-Briggs types are notable in that both the type names and the characteristics that they supposedly measure are affirmative. There is no bully type, nor measurement of selfishness. This no doubt contributes to their popularity; people will rarely complain when told that they have an incredibly rare personality type that they share with Martin Luther King. The history of psychometric testing shows that it hasn’t always been used so positively.

The theoretical basis of psychometrics lies in the eugenic thought of Francis Galton, cousin to Charles Darwin. Galton developed a series of approaches to quantify the differences between people, including differential psychology, which was influential in promoting the concept of personality types, and mental tests of cognitive function, which spurred an interest in the psychometrics of intelligence.

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In 1904, psychologist Alfred Binet was commissioned by the French government to identify schoolchildren who needed remedial teaching. Binet and his colleague Theodore Simon developed the first widely used intelligence test, a scale that assessed reasoning, concentration and memory among children. The same year, the Carnegie Institution’s Station for Experimental Evolution opened in New York state, aiming to “investigate and report on heredity in the human race, and emphasise the value of superior blood and the menace to society of inferior blood”.

The Station for Experimental Evolution studied the links between heredity and undesirable personality traits such as insanity, criminality and alcoholism, reflecting a widely held belief that science could solve all social ills. By 1916, the Stanford-Binet scale had been adapted for American use by psychologist Lewis Terman. This work popularised IQ testing in the United States. But Terman’s views were influenced by eugenics, and his research reinforced biases about race and intelligence.

IQ tests were soon used to restrict immigration from countries whose citizens were deemed to have lower intelligence. In California, they were used both at the Mexican border and internally. American eugenic thought had often focused on black and Asian populations. However, as Alexandra Minna Stern’s Eugenic Nation shows, Latinos were considered legally white, and so California turned to hereditary IQ. California’s 1917 sterilisation act targeted “mental disease which may have been inherited and is likely to be transmitted to descendants”. At least 20,000 were sterilised up to the 1950s.

In the context of race, IQ testing has been used to perpetuate stereotypes and justify unequal treatment. African Americans and other minority groups have historically scored lower on average on IQ tests compared with white Americans. However, critics argue these differences are not due to inherent differences in intelligence, but rather to factors such as cultural bias in test questions, socioeconomic disparities and unequal access to education and opportunities. Furthermore, research has shown that stereotype threat – the fear of confirming negative stereotypes about one’s racial group – can negatively impact test performance, further exacerbating disparities in scores.

Psychologist David Wechsler developed a series of intelligence tests known as the Wechsler Intelligence Scales, starting with the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale in 1939. Unlike earlier tests, Wechsler’s scales provided separate scores for different aspects of intelligence, such as verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children are still widely used.

IQ tests have faced criticism over the years, primarily due to concerns about cultural bias, the use of intelligence as a single, fixed trait, and the potential for misuse, particularly in perpetuating stereotypes and inequalities. Critics contend intelligence is multifaceted and influenced by factors beyond what traditional IQ tests measure.

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California has a notable history regarding IQ testing and race. One significant example is use of IQ tests in the landmark court case of Larry P vs Wilson Riles in 1979. This case challenged the use of IQ tests to place African American children in classes for the mentally retarded in California state schools. The plaintiffs argued the tests were culturally biased and not an accurate measure of the children’s abilities. They presented evidence showing African American children consistently scored lower on IQ tests compared with white children, which they attributed to cultural and socioeconomic factors rather than innate intelligence.

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Ultimately, the court ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, finding IQ tests were biased and ordered the California Department of Education to stop using IQ tests to place African American children in classes for the mentally retarded. This decision has had broader implications for the use of IQ tests in education and beyond.

California has been at the forefront of efforts to address issues of diversity and equity in education, including reforms aimed at reducing disparities in academic achievement and opportunities. These efforts have included initiatives to provide additional support and resources to schools serving disadvantaged communities and to promote culturally responsive teaching practices.

Stuart Mathieson is research manager at InterTradeIreland

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