California Psychological Inventory

“Psychological Testing Using the ___________” (the instrument you select)

NOTICE***(Due Sunday by midnight at the end of week 3)

  • This month you are to write a 1200-word research paper on psychological testing using one of the following instruments: California Psychological Inventory, 16 Personality Factors or the MMPI.
  • This paper is worth 15% of your grade.
  • Please use the APA format and cite at least four (4) sources. Take time to review the APA video posted in the Getting Started area of the course.
Assignment Requirements (Use as a checklist):

You will select one of the above testing instruments:

  • CPI
  • 16PF
  • MMPI

and research and discuss the following aspects of the test:

  1. Development and Description
  2. Uses
  3. What does it measure
  4. Strengths
  5. Weaknesses
  6. Reliability
  7. Validity
  8. Administration

* There will be a 20 pt penalty for writing less than 1200 words on this assignment.

Suggested Outline

  • Name on top right corner of page
  • Title centered 4 spaces under name
  • Introduction – 1st paragraph.

State thesis: purpose of paper. This is the last sentence of your introduction. (E.g., “Since families play such a major role in our lives, it is very important to understand the theories and systems at work within them.”)

  • Body – 2nd thru 6th or 8th paragraphs ( as needed)
  • Conclusion – Last paragraph
  1. Restate your thesis or the purpose of your paper
  2. Write about why this is important
  3. Remember to make the conclusion similar in length to the other paragraphs

Many students write a one or two sentence conclusion. Do not do that.

Grading Rubric for Final Project

Item DescriptionPercent
Correct definition of Concepts10%
Statement of main points and thesis in introduction5%
Properly indented paragraphs5%
Content in introduction5%
Content in body40%
Content in conclusion5%
Balance – paragraphs similar in length – about 150 words5%
Organization – followed format (intro, body, conclusion)5%
Spelling10%
Grammar10%
Total100%
  • There will be a 10pt. penalty for each day the assignment is late. It is due Sunday, by midnight, of week 3.
  • There will be a 100 pt. penalty for plagiarizing. This means a 0. If in doubt, cite, cite, cite.

Answer preview

Weaknesses of the California Psychological Inventory

One of the identified weaknesses associated with the CPI is the fact that it fails to take into account certain variables that might affect the test scores (Jones & Peskin, 2017). People from poor economic backgrounds and those from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds suffer the most due to this limitation. Whenever they take part in an evaluation that uses this mechanism, most of them get low scores on almost all testing parameters. Another weakness of the CPI is the lack of sufficient information regarding its validity (Jones & Peskin, 2017). Even though the reliability of the test scores is generally beyond reproach, there is little information that can be used to ascertain their validity.

[1452 Words]

California Psychological Inventory
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