On General Laws and the Meaning of Measurement in Psychology

TLDR

Psychometric methods have faced criticism for being group‑centric, with Skinner and Zubin arguing that behavior and abnormal psychology require individual‑based statistical approaches. The paper aims to develop individual‑centered statistical methods to address this gap. The author presents three models for reactions to attainment and intelligence tests.

Abstract

Abstract : Lately the statistical methods of psychometrics have been severely criticized in psychological quarters. Thus Skinner [1] maintains that if order is to be found in human and animal behavior, then it should be extracted from investigations into individuals, and that psychometric methods are inadequate for such purposes since they deal with groups of individuals. And as regards abnormal psychology Zubin [2] states: Recourse must be had to individual statistics, treating each patient as a separate universe. Unfortunately, present day statistical methods are entirely group-centered, so that there is a real need for developing individual-centered statistics. In a recently published book [3] I have developed three models for reactions to certain attainment tests and intelligence tests.