Psychometrics and Cognitive Research: Contradictions and Possibility for Cooperation

Abstract

The article considered several issues of the relationships between cognitive psychology and psychometrics. Cognitive psychology has mainly developed within experimental paradigm in psychology, whereas psychometrics has developed within a different paradigm – assessment of individual differences and correlational studies. In the article it has been considered a brief history of the development of relationships between experimental studies and psychometrics, from the end of 19th century to the present. The historical view allows understanding problems in the use of experimental tasks for assessing individual differences and obstacles to the widespread of use psychometric models in experimental studies. Several recommendations are proposed to improve the accuracy of measurements of individual differences in cognitive abilities and processes, from psychometric perspectives.

Keywords

• psychometrics
• cognitive psychology
• experimental psychology
• reliability
• individual differences
• analysis of reaction time
• inhibitory function