Dear Tipsters,
I find the voting thread very relevant to psychology and the case
can serve in the classroom. I refer to the issue of standardization
in testing - i.e., the requirement that when people answer a
questionnaire, they should do so under conditions that are as
uniform as possible. I did not realize that the ballot form and way
of responding varied across the U.S. In Canada, as far as I know,
voting slips for federal elections are the same everywhere (and we
write a mark in the appropriate circle opposite a name).
There is a literature in psychology on the design of questionnaires.
This includes such questions as format. So I see the issue as
relevant to the issue of standardization (everyone tested in the same
way) and of removing ambiguity. To achieve the latter, instructions
and visual layout should be simple and clear. Didn't Chelsea Clinton
pop back out of the booth to ask how to work the machine?!
One of my testing students today pointed out that any little
ambiguity could be of greater consequence if people had to answer
many questions. I believe that many voters in the U.S. (I do not know
about Florida) had a large number of issues to consider and vote on.
Furthermore, if people take voting seriously, they may also be fairly
aroused and anxious going into the booth. Ambiguities may be
exaggerated under these conditions. There is also a literature on the
relationship between anxiety and accuracy on tests.
By the way, Samelson (1977) makes the interesting point that one of
the problems in the mass "intelligence" testing of army recruits in
WWI was that many did not understand instructions, leading to serious
errors in estimating their true scores.
Sincerely,
Stuart
Samelson, F. (1977). World War I intelligence testing and the
development of psychology. Journal of the History of the Behavioral
Sciences, 13, 271-282.
___________________________________________________
Stuart J. McKelvie, Ph.D., Phone: (819)822-9600
Department of Psychology, Extension 2402
Bishop's University, Fax: (819)822-9661
3 Route 108 East,
Lennoxville, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Quebec J1M 1Z7,
Canada.
Bishop's University Psychology Department Web Page:
http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
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