Anne Anastasi facts for kids

Anne Anastasi (born December 19, 1908 – died May 4, 2001) was an American psychologist. She is famous for her important work in psychometrics. This is the science of measuring mental abilities and traits.

Her well-known book, Psychological Testing, is still a key text today. In it, she stressed the importance of understanding the person taking the test. She also highlighted the responsibilities of those giving the tests. Anastasi believed testers should look beyond just the scores. They should also consider a person's background. This helps them understand their results better.

People called Anastasi the "test guru." She focused on using psychological tests correctly. She helped us understand how our environment and experiences shape our minds. Her writings explained how to create and use psychological tests properly. Anastasi believed tests only show what a person knows at that moment. They don't fully explain why someone got a certain score. She also said that skills depend on the situation. Anastasi always emphasized that testers must choose, give, and score tests carefully.

In 1972, she became president of the American Psychological Association (APA). She was only the third woman to hold this position. She received many awards for her work. These included the Gold Medal from the American Psychological Foundation in 1984. In 1987, she was given the National Medal of Science.

Early Life and Education

Anne Anastasi was born on December 19, 1908, in New York City. Her parents were Anthony Anastasi and Theresa Gaudiosi Anastasi. Her father passed away when she was a baby. She grew up with her mother, her mother's brother, and her grandmother. Her mother, Theresa, worked for an Italian newspaper to support the family.

Anne was taught at home by her grandmother until sixth grade. After short times in public and private schools, she entered Barnard College at age 15. She was interested in math and psychology. She earned her bachelor's degree from Barnard College in 1928. She then completed her PhD at Columbia University in 1930.

Anastasi began teaching at Barnard College in 1930. She stayed there until 1939. From 1939 to 1947, she worked at Queens College, City University of New York. She became the head of the psychology department there. She then moved to Fordham University in 1947. She worked there until 1979, also serving as department chair from 1968 to 1974. She retired as a full professor in 1979.

In 1933, Anastasi married John Porter Foley, Jr. He was also a psychologist. The next year, she had a health issue. She received treatment that made her unable to have children. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, she and her husband had to work in different cities. She was in New York, and he was in Washington, D.C.

Anne Anastasi passed away in New York on May 4, 2001.

Understanding Differences in People

In 1937, Anastasi published her first book, Differential Psychology. This nearly 900-page book was a groundbreaking work. She defined it as "the scientific study of differences between groups."

Her definition included differences based on race and ethnicity. It also covered differences related to age, education, family, gender, religion, and social class. Her way of studying culture and differences was seen as very clear and simple. It brought together many ideas that are still studied today.

Anastasi also looked at the challenges of studying group differences. She saw how these challenges were misused in the 1930s by Nazi "race science." Anastasi strongly criticized this work. She called it "incomplete and one-sided at its best, and fantastic and mythical at its worst." Because of these problems and the terrible things the Nazis did, differential psychology almost disappeared as a field. By 1954, Anastasi herself had shifted her focus. She moved from studying group differences to studying differences between individuals.

Anastasi published three editions of Differential Psychology. These were in 1937, 1949, and 1958. In 1985, the American Psychological Foundation called it a "classic" book. They praised its "clarity, comprehensiveness, and synthesis."

Psychological Testing

Why Tests Are Misunderstood

In 1983, Anastasi wrote an essay called "What Do Intelligence Tests Measure?" She wanted to correct wrong ideas about aptitude and personality tests. Anastasi noted that the "testing boom" of the 1920s led to the term IQ being widely used and often misunderstood. She explained that people started to think IQ meant intelligence was inherited. They thought it stayed the same throughout life and couldn't change.

However, Anastasi stressed that psychometric scores only show what a person knows right now. She warned against using these tests to predict the future too strongly. Scores only show how well someone has learned certain knowledge and skills for a specific test. What a person can achieve later depends on their current knowledge and future experiences. So, Anastasi argued against using tests to label people permanently. Tests measure specific types of knowledge and don't show how intelligence can grow over time.

Anastasi also thought it was important to understand the culture where a test was made. She said, "No intelligence test can be culture free, because human intelligence is not culture free." This means that the first step in making an intelligence test for a culture is to figure out what knowledge is valued in that culture.

How Tests Are Made and Used

Anastasi mainly used existing ways to test individual and group abilities. She also used self-report inventories and ways to measure interests and attitudes. She followed key rules of norms, reliability, validity, and item analysis.

Her essay "Psychological Testing: Basic Concepts and Common Misconceptions" explains her ideas. Anastasi emphasized that to judge any psychological test, the tester must know its main features. This is especially true for norms, validity, and reliability. She believed understanding statistics was vital to understanding test results.

Anastasi had a different view on criterion-referenced tests. These tests measure if someone has mastered a specific skill. She thought they could be combined with norm-referenced tests. Norm-referenced tests compare a person's score to others. Combining them gives a more complete picture of a person's test performance. For example, the Stanford Diagnostic Test for reading and math does this. It checks specific subject mastery by using both types of interpretations.

Anastasi knew there are many types of test reliability. Reliability means a test gives consistent results. She said that for standardized tests, many differences in reliability can be reduced. This is done by controlling things like the testing room, how testers interact with test-takers, instructions, and time limits.

At the time, people thought there were three kinds of validity: content validity, criterion validity, and construct validity. Validity means a test measures what it's supposed to measure. Anastasi believed there were many more ways to make a test valid. The process starts by defining what the test should measure. It ends by checking the scores against real-life situations using statistics.

Aptitude vs. Achievement Tests

In her book Psychological Testing: Basic Concepts and Common Misconceptions, Anastasi explained the differences between types of tests. She focused on two main differences between aptitude tests and achievement tests. These are how the tests are used and how specific the experiences are that form the test.

Achievement tests check what you know right now. For example, SAT Subject Tests measure specific school subjects. Aptitude tests can predict how well you might do in the future. For example, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales aptitude tests are based on a wide range of general knowledge.

Anastasi's Main Idea

Anastasi believed that abilities and intelligence change with experience. She also thought that culture shapes what intelligence means. This idea guided how she approached psychological testing. She stressed that tests should be chosen and used carefully. Their cultural fit and limits must be considered. She highlighted that tests serve specific purposes in society. These include placing students in schools or jobs, or checking for learning difficulties.

Criticism of Her Work

The first edition of Psychological Testing in 1955 faced some criticism. Critics said it only looked at individual differences in test results. It didn't fully recognize that tests also measure "occasional differences." In a later edition, Anastasi and her co-author Susana Urbina suggested a solution. They said that combining information from several similar tests could give more accurate results. Each test would focus on one specific trait or part of what is being measured.

Legacy

The APA Division 5, which focuses on quantitative and qualitative methods, gives out the Anne Anastasi Dissertation Award. This award honors her important contributions to the field.