LESSON 1:

INTRODUCTION TO
PSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTING AND
ASSESSMENT
OBJECTIVES
1. Determine what psychological testing and assessment are.

2. Assess how psychological testing and assessment started

3. Reflect on the significance of psychological testing and

assessment in understanding human behavior
ROOTS OF
CONTEMPORARY
PSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTING AND
ASSESSMENT
 WHERE, WHEN AND
HOW IT STARTED?
•1905: Alfred Binet and colleague published a test designed to help place
Paris schoolchildren in appropriate classes.

• Within a decade, an English version of test is prepared in schools in US

•1917: World War I – need a test to screen large numbers of recruits quickly for
emotional and intellectual problems
•WWII: the military would depend even more on psychological tests to screen
recruits for service. Following the war, more and more tests purporting to
measure an ever-widening array of psychological variables were developed and
used.

•There were tests to measure not only intelligence but also personality, aspects
of brain functioning, performance at work, and many other aspects of
psychological and social functioning.
PSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTING VS.
ASSESSMENT
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING &
ASSESSMENT: DEFINITION
Testing
- was the term used to
refer to everything from
the administration of a
test (as in “Testing in
progress”) to the
interpretation of a test
score (“The testing
indicated that . . .”).
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PSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTING & ASSESSMENT:
DEFINITION

However, by World War II a

semantic distinction
between testing and a more
inclusive term, assessment,
began to emerge.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING &
ASSESSMENT: DEFINITION
Psychological assessment
- the gathering and integration
of psychology - related data
for the purpose of making a
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.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTING & ASSESSMENT:
DEFINITION

Psychological testing
- process of measuring
psychology-related variables
by means of devices or
procedures designed to obtain
a sample of behavior
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THE PROCESS OF
ASSESSMENT
THE PROCESS OF ASSESSMENT
1.Begins with a
referral
“Can this child function in a regular
classroom?”;
“Is this defendant competent to stand
trial?”; 2. The assessor may
“How well can this employee be meet with the
expected to perform if promoted to an
executive position
assessee or others
before the formal
assessment in order
to clarify aspects of
the reason for referral.
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THE PROCESS OF ASSESSMENT
3. The assessor prepares
f o r th e a s s e s s m e nt b y
s e l e c t i n g th e t o o l s o f
a s s e s s m e nt t o b e u s e d

4. Formal
assessment will
begin upon selecting
the assessment tools

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THE PROCESS OF ASSESSMENT

5. After the assessment, the assessor

writes a report of the findings that is
designed to answer the referral
question. More feedback sessions
with the assessee and/or interested
third parties (such as the assessee’s
parents and the referring professional)
may also be scheduled.

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APPROACHES IN
ASSESSMENT
• Collaborative Psychological Assessment
- Assessor and assessee work as “partners”
- Aka therapeutic psychological assessment

• Dynamic Assessment
- Interactive, changing, or varying in nature
- Usually employed in education setting

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TOOLS OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT
TEST
• a measurement device or technique
used to quantify behavior or aid in the
understanding and prediction of
behavior
• Item - a specific stimulus to which a
person responds overtly; this response
can be scored or evaluated

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TYPES OF TEST

Ability Test
1. Achievement - previous learning
2. Aptitude - the potential for learning or
acquiring a specific skill
3. Intelligence - a person’s general potential
to solve problems, adapt to changing
circumstances, think abstractly, and profit
from experience

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PERSONALITY TEST - related to
the overt and
❑Structured (Objective) - Provides a covert
self-report statement to which the
person responds “True” or “False,”
dispositions
“Yes” or “No.” of the
individual
❑Projective - Provides an ambiguous
test stimulus; response requirements
are unclear

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INTERVIEW
Face to Face
• Taking note of both verbal and non-verbal
behavior
• Taking note of the way that the interviewee
is dressed

✓However, face to face contact is not

always possible and interviews may be
conducted in other formats

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PORTFOLIO

Work products
whether retained on papers, canvas, film,
audio, or some medium

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CASE HISTORY DATA/CASE STUDY
• Refers to records, transcripts, or other
accounts in written, pictorial, or other
form that preserves archival information,
official and informal accounts, and other
data and items relevant to an assessee
• Shed light on an individual’s past and
current adjustment as well as on events
and circumstances that may have
contributed to any changes in
adjustment
• Useful in making judgments in futures
class placements (educational)

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ROLE PLAY TEST
A tool of assessment wherein assessees
are directed to act as if they were in a
particular situation

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COMPUTERS AS TOOLS
- Provides fast administration, scoring
and interpretation
1. CAPA (Computer Assisted
Psychological Assessment): Provides
assistance to TEST USER
2. CAT (Computer Adaptive
Testing): Ability to tailor test takers’
ability or test taking patterns

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OTHER TOOLS
• Video
• Medical Health Procedures

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PARTIES IN THE
ASSESSMENT
TEST DEVELOPER
❑ Create test or other methods of
assessment
❑Bring a wide array of backgrounds
and interest

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TEST USER
❑ Clinicians, counselors, school
psychologists, human resources
personnel, consumer psychologists,
experimental psychologists, and
social psychologists
❑ The one who will conduct tests

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TEST TAKER
❑ The subject of an assessment or an
observation
❑ Aka Assessee

Psychological Autopsy
❑ Reconstruction of deceased
individuals’ psychological profile

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SOCIETY AT LARGE
❑ As society evolves and as the need
to measure different psychological
variables emerges, test developers
respond by devising new tests

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OTHER PARTIES
❑ People who solely responsibility is
the marketing and sales of test
❑ Academicians who review test and
evaluate their psychometric
soundness

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TYPES OF SETTINGS
WHERE ASSESSMENT
CONDUCTED
TYPES OF SETTING
E d u c a t i o n a l S et t i n g
- H e l p i d e n t i f y c h i l d re n w h o
may have special needs
- P rov i d e s a c h i e v e m e n t
test, whic h evaluated
a c c o m p l i s h me n t , o r t h e
d e g re e o f l e a r n i n g h a s
t a ke n p l a c e
- I n fo r ma l E v a l u a t i o n –
t y p i c a l l y n o n - s y s t e ma t i c
a s s e s s me n t t h a t l e a d s t o
t h e fo r ma t i o n o f a n o p i n i o n
or attitude
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TYPES OF SETTING
C l i n i ca l S et t i n g
- He l p s c re e n t o d i ag nos e b e h avi or p roble ms
- I n t e l l i g en c e t e s t , p e r so n al it y t e s t e t c .
- I NDI VI DUAL I ZED
- Group t e s t i n g i s u s e d p r i mari l y fo r
S CREENI NG

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TYPES OF SETTING
Counseling
- U l t i ma t e o b j ec t i ve i s t h e i mproveme nt o f t h e
a s s e s s e e i n t e r ms o f a d j us t men t , p ro duc t i vi t y
o r s o me re l ate d v a r i ab le

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TYPES OF SETTING
Geriatric
- F o r o l d ag e
- Ul t i ma te g o a l i s t o p rovi de g o o d q u a l it y o f
l i fe

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TYPES OF SETTING
B u s i n e s s / M i l it a r y
- De c i s i on ma k i ng a b out t h e c a re er s o f
p e r s onn el

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TYPES OF SETTING
G o v e r n m e nt a l a n d O r ga n iz a t i o n a l
- Gov er nme nt al l i c e ns i ng, c e r t i f i ca t i on , o r
g e n e r al c re d en ti al i ng o f p ro fes si o n als

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TYPES OF SETTING
O th e r S et t i n g s
- Co ur t Tr i al s
- He a l t h Ps y c h o l og y

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REFERENCE
SOURCES
 Reference Volumes Journal Articles
REFERENCE SOURCES • Updated PERIODICALLY • May contain REVIEW of
• Provides detailed the test, updated or
information for each test independent studies of
Test Catalogues Test Manuals listed its psychometric
• Most readily accessible • Detailed information soundness
• Usually contain ONLY a concerning the
BRIEF DESCRIPTION of development of test
the test and seldom • CONTAINS TECHNICAL
contain the kind of INFORMATION Online Database Other Sources
detailed technical • Requires credential
information before purchasing • ONLINE WEBSITE • School library
• The catalogue’s contains a number of
OBJECTIVE IS TO SELL other sources that
THE TEST
may be used to
acquire information
about tests and test-
related topics

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