Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology (EPPP) Practice Test

Raising the cutoff score for a predictor from 130 to 150 is likely to decrease the number of false positives. A false positive occurs when an individual is incorrectly identified as having a trait or condition when they do not. By increasing the cutoff score, the criterion for being identified as a positive case becomes more stringent. As a result, fewer individuals who do not actually meet the criteria will be incorrectly classified as positive. This shift often leads to a reduction in the number of cases that were previously classified as positive at the lower cutoff but do not truly belong to the group being identified. This adjustment in the cutoff score typically does not lead to an increase in true positives, as the higher threshold may result in some individuals who actually possess the trait or condition being classified as negative instead. Hence, while false positives decrease, there may be a corresponding increase in false negatives, but the question specifically addresses the effect on false positives. The other options suggest outcomes that do not align with the conceptual understanding of how cutoff scores function. For instance, increasing true positives is generally not associated with raising cutoff scores, as the more stringent criteria could potentially exclude some true cases. Similarly, increasing both true positives and true negatives or decreasing both false positives and false negatives