1st Edition

The New Psychometrics Science, Psychology and Measurement

By Paul Kline Copyright 1999

    Many psychological factors are little more than statistical descriptions of particular sets of data and have no real significance. Paul Kline uses his long and extensive knowledge of psychological measurement to argue that truly scientific forms of measurement could be developed to create a new psychometrics. This would transform the basis of psychology and change it from a social science to a pure science.

    PART 1: Scientific Method, Scientific Measurement and Psychometrics. Scientific Method, Realism, Truth and Psychology. Scientific Measurement in Psychometrics and Measurement in the Natural Sciences. Factor Analysis and Psychometric Measurement. Multivariate Analyses and Test Construction: Other Methods. Summary, Conclusions and Overview of Part 1. PART 2: The New Psychometrics: The Scientific Measurement of Personality and Ability. Intelligence and Ability. Primary Factors, Cognitive Speed and New Measures of Intelligence. Problems in the Measurement of Personality and Motivation. Personality Structure and Scientific Measurement. The New sychometrics: Principles and Theory. References. Name Index. Subject Index.

    Biography

    Paul Kline

    'This is a remarkable book by a remarkable author. It is also slim, clearly written and presented, but so full of implications for the future continuance of individual differences research, that it is at once mandatory reading for any student or faculty member who claims to be studying individual differences in the manner of an investigative scientist.' - Tom O'Connor, Institute of Psychiatry, Personality and Individual Differences

    'It is important reading for those who use psychological tests for real-life purposes ... As usual, Kline succeeds in making the issues clear and interesting ... I think that this is one of the most important books that he has written in recent years. It deserves to be widely read, particularly by practitioners.' - Colin Cooper, Queen's University Belfast, British Journal of Psychiatry

    'One cannot fail to be impressed by the simplicity and clarity of the argument. Its implications for future research cannot be over-emphasised and has already ignited controversy in the field of individual differences ... This is a book that will fundamentally change the way we pursue psychological investigation - buy it and hear Kline's message.' - Cathal McCrory, Queen's University Belfast, British Journal of Educational Psychology