PSYCHOLOGICAL

ASSESSMENT
(PSYC 106)

MODULE I
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT

Lesson 1. Basic Concepts in

Psychological
Assessment

Lesson 2. Historical Foundations

of Psychological
Assessment

Lesson 3 The Psychological Test

Lesson 4 Ethical Considerations

in Psychological
Assessment

Lesson 5 The Interview

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MODULE I

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

INTRODUCTION

This module will guide you in familiarizing and mastering the

concepts of and the difference between psychological testing and
assessment. The principles and roots of psychological assessment will be
tackled. This will also highlight the ethical considerations in psychological
assessment and its importance to educational, industrial, clinical situations.

OBJECTIVES

After studying the module, you should be able to:

1. compare and contrast psychological testing and assessment

2. trace the historical foundations of psychological assessment
3. reason based on the ethical considerations in psychological
assessment
4. explain the assumptions of psychological testing and assessment

DIRECTIONS/ MODULE ORGANIZER

There are four lessons in the module. Read and internalize each
lesson then respond to the exercises/activities to find out how much you
have learned from it. Work on these exercises scholarly and submit your
output to your tutor or to the Humanities and Social Sciences Department.

In case you encounter difficulty, discuss this with your tutor during
the face-to-face meeting. If not contact your tutor at the Humanities and
Social Sciences Department.

Good luck and happy reading!!!

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Lesson 1

Basic Concepts in Psychological Assessment

You may have heard of Psychological testing and Psychological

assessment. It may sound the same but both has different meaning and
purpose. For example, a person is interested about his IQ and he was given
an intelligence test, or a person feels “uneasy” for days and went to a
practitioner who asked a lot of questions, gives test and asks permission to
know about his lifestyle. Which of the two situations is most probably
psychological testing and psychological assessment? A lightning strikes in
your mind? Well, this lesson will pinpoint some of the markers that separate
the two concepts in terms of its use.
Psychological Assessment is the gathering and integrating psychology
related data for the purpose of making psychological evaluation that is
accomplished through the use of tools such as tests, interviews, case
studies, behavioral observation, and specially designed apparatuses and
measurement procedures.
It is different from Psychological testing. Psychological testing is the
process of measuring psychology-related variables by means of devices or
procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior. It is the process of
administering, scoring, and interpreting psychological test.
In this case, you can already answer the question which of the two
situations is a process called psychological testing and which is
assessment... You are right! The one who is interested about his IQ
underwent a process called psychological testing because when you look
into a person’s IQ, you use a device called “intelligence test” or “IQ test”
which yields a test score which means something (don’t worry, these terms
will be discussed on the next lessons).
On the other hand, the other person underwent psychological
assessment. Since there might be several factors for being “uneasy” or if
being “uneasy” may mean something different for the person being
assessed, the practitioner may use several tools/devices/instruments other
than tests, evaluate and analyze results, so that the practitioner will be
able to come up with a sound and systematic judgment to what does this
“uneasiness” really means.
Sounds interesting? To give you a more technical feel about these two
concepts, the table below is summarized for you to see the difference

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between Psychological assessment and testing in terms of objective,

process, role of evaluator, skill of evaluator and their outcomes.
Assessment Testing
Objective Typically, to answer Typically to obtain some
question, solve problem, or gauge, usually numerical in
arrive at a decision through nature, with regard to an
the use of tools of evaluation ability or attribute.
Process Individualized Individualized or grouped
Role of Key in the choice of tests May be substituted
Evaluator
Skill of educated selection of tools of Technician-like skills in
Evaluator evaluation, skill in terms of the
evaluation, and thought standardization of the test
organization and integration
of data

Outcome Logical problem solving Yields a test score or series

approach that brings to bear of test scores.
many source of data designed
to shed light to referral
question.

Still confused? If you haven’t experienced reaching for the help of a

psychology professional, I bet, you have some hospital experience. The
process is almost the same in a hospital. You have the doctor who
“assesses” you and a medical technologist who “tests” you by the use of
laboratory equipment.
To make it all clear, I will state an example. Suppose you have
difficulty urinating and a fever. You went to the hospital to consult a
doctor. As you arrive, you will not be talking to a doctor immediately. First,
you will be filling up a form asking for your personal profile like of course,
your name, age, birthdate, address, etc. Then, your vital signs (eg:
temperature by the use of a thermometer says 39 degrees Celsius, blood
pressure by the sphygmomanometer is 120/80 and weight by the weighing
scale 50 kilograms) will be checked and recorded accordingly. After,
another hospital staff will be asking you “why are you here?” or “what is the
reason you went here for a check-up?” As you report that you have the
symptoms, then you will be lead to another room, where the doctor, who
specializes on the symptoms that you feel, is in.
The same will likely to happen when you feel sad for days and
decided to visit a psychologist. You will be filling up probably a form for
your initial records. Some institutions will probably be also recording your

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vital signs such as blood pressure and weight and will ask you several
questions about the reason you visited the clinic.
It does not end there. The psychologist may ask you about the
symptoms you feel (eg. when it started, how worse, etc) Initially, you, or
the practitioner may have thought you have depression. However, the she
cannot diagnose yet without confirming it. She may then refer you to
another practitioner, who is called a psychometrician to check a sample of
your behavior (just like a medical technologist to test your urine if a doctor
suspects you have a urinary tract infection) If the tests says you have high
levels of depressive symptoms, then the hunch of the psychologist may be
right. However, it will take analytical skills to confirm it through other
methods.
What happens in the hospital is almost the same with the process of
psychological assessment, however, with psychology-related issues. With the
hospital situation narrated just recently, we can say that the doctor is the
psychologist (the practitioner who diagnoses using different tools like
interviews, observations, portfolios, psychological testing and other client
records and gives treatment for psychological issues and disorders). The
medical technologist who acts like a psychometrician (the practitioner who
administers and scores psychological test variables). To sum it up,
psychological testing is just a part of a more complex psychological
assessment. The significance of psychological assessment is to have a proper
basis for a more efficient and effective psychological treatment.

FORMS OF ASSESSMENT
 Therapeutic Psychological Assessment – Through the process of
assessment, the client gains insight about the disorder and later on
develops psychological wellness.
 Collaborative Psychological Assessment – the client helps the clinician
to uncover the disorder.
 Dynamic Assessment – follows the process (1) evaluation, (2)
therapy/intervention, and (3) evaluation. (ABA Design)

THINK!
Complete the table on the next page. Identify the differences and
similarities of psychological testing and assessment by referring on
the first column. This is a 25 points activity.

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SIMILARITY DIFFERENCE
Psychological Psychological
Testing Assessment
Person Responsible

Nature of Clients

Outcome

Nature of the
Process

Tools used

Skills used

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The Tools of Psychological Assessment

The Test-A test may be defined simply as a measuring device or procedure.

 The Interview - typically involves more than talk. If the interview is
conducted face-to-face, then the interviewer is probably taking note
of not only the content of what is said but also the way it is being
said.
 The Portfolio - work products—whether retained on paper, canvas, fi
lm, video, audio, or some other medium—constitute what is called a
portfolio.
 Case History Data - Case history data refers to records, transcripts,
and other accounts in written, pictorial, or other form that preserve
archival information, official and informal accounts, and other data
and items relevant to an assessee.
 Behavioral Observation - Behavioral observation is often used as a
diagnostic aid in various settings such as inpatient facilities,
behavioral research laboratories, and classrooms.
 Role-Play Tests - A role-play test is a tool of assessment wherein
assesses are directed to act as if they were in a particular situation.

THINK!
Directions: Answer the following questions. Write your answer in
the space provided.

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Psychological tests?

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2. Imagine your Psychologist supervisor assigned you to gather

behavioral information from a child who is not verbally
responsive. Which of the tools above will you use to effectively
acquire information about the child?
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