Definition of Psychological Test/Assessment

Psychological assessment is the process of evaluating an individual’s mental health and

behavioral functioning through the use of standardized tests, observations, and other
methods. It is typically conducted by a mental health professional, such as a
psychologist or psychiatric nurse practitioner, and is used to diagnose mental health
conditions, determine appropriate treatment options, and measure progress in
treatment.

Most broadly, psychological evaluation involves an objective manner in which one’s

“psychological functioning” is assessed. An “objective” way of testing involves
comparing one’s responses to standardized measures (in which every respondent is
given the same measure or responds to tests that are administered in the same way) to
normative group (usually based on the person’s age) to see how well they are
functioning compared to their age peers. (Think of the standardized testing that students
complete in school or with college preparatory examinations such as the ACT or SAT.)
“Psychological functioning” is also a broad label, since many different abilities are
assumed within this. More specifically, when people refer to “psychological functioning,”
it helps to understand if they are referring to intellectual abilities and some other
cognitive skills (such as attention), emotional functioning, and/or personality
characteristics.

There are different types of evaluations that can be pursued, depending on the purpose
of the testing.

Psychoeducational evaluation
First, a psychoeducational evaluation is one in which the patient typically undergoes
testing for a learning-based disorder. Often, this testing centers around intellectual
testing and academic achievement measures (such as tasks involving math, reading,
and written language). Comparisons are then made between one’s intellectual abilities
and his or her academic skills; if there is a large discrepancy between one’s intellectual
skills and academic skills in any particular area (in which the academic ability is
significantly lower than what would be expected for the patient’s intellectual abilities),
this helps form the basis of diagnosing a specific learning disorder.

Psychoeducational evaluations are often performed within schools when there is a

concern about a child having a cognitive or learning-based disorder that is interfering
with their learning. These types of evaluations are also often done “privately,” meaning
that individuals pursue these evaluations in a clinical (i.e., not academic) setting with a
licensed psychologist. Often, other measures (such as classroom observations or
parent and teacher questionnaires of observations of behaviors or emotional
functioning) may be included in these types of evaluations. Though school
psychologists cannot diagnose specific disorders (such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder), what matters most is that regardless of the testing setting, the findings help
guide interventions and/or accommodations that can be implemented into a 504 Plan or
into a more formal, Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

Emotional and/or personality functioning evaluation

Some may seek evaluations to help understand a patient’s emotional and/or personality
functioning, especially because the testing helps learn about the individual in a more
comprehensive way in a shorter amount of time (instead of over several therapy
sessions). Results from these measures can help with recommendations for mental
health treatment, such as with use of medications and/or for therapy (such as which
strategies can be most helpful to teach the patient). Findings can also help guide other
 referrals, such as to other specialists (such as a psychiatrist or a neurologist).
Depending on the age of the patient, these measures may include questionnaires that
are only completed by the patient themselves (this is particularly the case among adult
patients).

Assessments in children
When assessing a child, parents often complete questionnaires that ask about what
they observe (behaviorally and emotionally) in their child. When the patient is an
adolescent, it is more common that a combination of emotional and personality
questionnaires are included that involve the adolescent responding to self-report
measures and the parent(s) or primary caregiver(s) responding to their own measures
involving observations of the child. Parent or caregiver responses are particularly helpful
(and often necessary) when assessing children and adolescents, as most children and
many adolescents lack enough insight or awareness into their difficulties, and often
parents are the ones to observe problems or concerns first. These evaluations are
conducted in clinical settings such as outpatient practices and sometimes inpatient
hospitals in which obtaining such information is necessary to guide a clinician’s
diagnostic impressions and treatment recommendations.

Neuropsychological evaluation
Another type of psychological assessment is a neuropsychological evaluation that helps
measure more detailed aspects of cognitive functioning, such as executive functioning
abilities (i.e., one’s ability to plan, organize, and inhibit cognitive, emotional, and
behavioral responses), attention, learning, memory, and even motor coordination and/or
strength. Individuals who specialize in these types of assessments are required to have
completed more thorough post-doctoral training. Often times, referrals may come from
physicians or therapists who are concerned about a patient’s functioning in these areas,
whether it be related to a neurological condition (such as a seizure disorder, a head
injury, or dementia) or to a psychiatric disorder (in which it is common for mood states
or anxiety to negatively affect one’s cognitive functioning). Neuropsychological
assessments are most often conducted in medical-based settings. Yet, they can also be
conducted when a more comprehensive evaluation is sought after (such as
in psychiatric residential settings). When this is the case, a neuropsychological
assessment battery can capture one’s functioning more globally with measures of
intelligence, academic achievement, neurocognitive abilities, and personality and
emotional functioning.

Importance of Psychological Testing

 Psychological assessment is important because it can help identify mental health

conditions and other issues that may be impacting an individual’s thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors.
 It can provide a more complete understanding of an individual’s strengths and
weaknesses, which can be useful in making decisions about treatment and support.
 Psychological assessment can help diagnose conditions such as depression, anxiety,
bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), among others.
 It can also be used to assess an individual’s cognitive abilities, such as memory,
problem-solving skills, and intellectual functioning.
 Psychological assessment can help identify the underlying causes of an individual’s
symptoms and provide a basis for developing a treatment plan that is tailored to their
needs.
 It can also be used to monitor an individual’s progress in treatment and make any
necessary adjustments.
 Psychological assessment can help individuals and their families better understand the
nature of their struggles and the options available for addressing them.
A final consideration for any kind of psychological assessment is this: while testing is
often sought after to diagnose a condition or to understand one’s possible difficulties in
any area of functioning, it is also important to learn what someone’s strengths are.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses relative to their own abilities; it is helpful to
inform individuals from testing of what their strengths are and how to use these to
compensate for any documented weaknesses they may have. Information helps
empower people to develop and grow, and results obtained from psychological
assessment can help people be more informed as to how to proceed with utilizing their
cognitive and/or emotional strengths to help improve their mental health overall.

Characteristics of a Psychological Test

1. Validity:
The first important characteristic of a good test is validity. The test must really measure
what it has been designed to measure. Validity is often assessed by exploring how the
test scores correspond to some criteria, that is same behavior, personal
accomplishment or characteristic that reflects the attribute that the test designed to
gauge. Assessing the validity of any test requires careful selection of appropriate
criterion measure and that reasonable people may disagree as to which criterion
measure is best. This is equally true of intelligence test. Reasonable people may
disagree as to whether the best criterion measure of intelligence in school grades,
teacher ratings or some other measures. If we are to check on the validity of a test, we
must settle on one or more criterion measures of the attribute that the test is designed
to test. Once the criterion measures have been identified people scores on the
measures can be compared to their scores on the test and the degree of
correspondence can be examined for what it tells us about the validity of
the test.

2. Reliability:
A good test should be highly reliable. This means that the test should give similar
results even though different testers administrate it, different people scores in
different forms of the test are given and the same person takes that test at two or
more different times. Reliability is usually checked by comparing different sets of
scores. In actual practice, psychological tests are never perfectly reliable. One reason is
that changes do occur in individuals over time; for example, a person who scores low in
her group at an initial testing may develop new skills that rise her to a higher position in
the group at the time of the second testing. Despite such real changes, the best
intelligence test usually yields reliability correlation coefficient of 90 or higher (where
1.00), indicates perfect correspondence and 0.00 indicates number correspondence
Whatever.

3. Objectivity:
By objectivity of a measuring instrument is meant for the degree to which equally
competent users get the same results. This presupposes subjective factor. A test is
objective when it makes for the elimination of the
scorer’s personal opinion bias judgment. The recognition of the quality objectivity in
a test has been largely responsible for the development of
an aroused and objective type tests. Objective-based tests measure or evaluate the
entire human development in three domains that is cognitive, affective and
psychomotor. As the name itself indicates they are based on particular objective of
teaching and evaluating. They provide proper direction, and thus streamline the whole
process of evaluation. These tests are all comprehensives.
4. Norms:
In addition to reliability and validity good test needs norms. Norms are sets of score
obtained by whom the test is intended. The scores obtained by these groups provide a
basic for interpreting any individual score.

Types of psychological tests commonly

used in each categoty
Type Tests and Measures

Measure behaviors, emotions, attitude, and behavioral and

environmental characteristics
Personality tests
Test names: Basic Personality Inventory (BPI), 16 Personality
Factor Questionnaire

Measure respondents’ intellectual interests, achievements, and

cognitive abilities
Achievement tests
Test names: Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery,
Kaufman Test of Education Achievement (K-TEA)

Measure views of respondents based on how much they agree or

Attitude tests disagree with a statement
Test names: Likert Scale, Thurstone Scale

Measure capabilities, skill sets, and projection of future success

Aptitude tests
Test names: Visual Reasoning Test, Abstract Reasoning Test

Measure emotional responses such as anger, sadness, happiness,

Emotional Intelligence and impulsivity
tests Test names: Mayor-Salovey-Caruso El Test (MSCEIT),
Emotional and Social Competence Inventory

Measure mental/developmental learning disabilities

Intelligence tests Test names: Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Wechsler
Adult Intelligence Scale, Universal Nonverbal Intelligence

Measure cognitive abilities like memory, language, and executive

Neuropsychological functioning
tests Test names: Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety
Inventory, Ammons Quick Test

Measure feedback from external influences to identify unrealized

emotions/conflicts
Projective tests
Test names: Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Apperception Test
(TAT)

Observation (direct) Measure immediate observable behavior; performed in a

tests laboratory, clinical, or natural setting
Historical Antecedents of Modern Testing

The first large-scale tests may have been part of the imperial
examination system in China. The tests, an early form of psychological
testing, assessed candidates based on their proficiency in topics such as civil
law and fiscal policies. Early tests of intelligence were made for
entertainment rather than analysis. Modern mental testing began in France
in the 19th century. It contributed to identifying individuals with intellectual
disabilities for the purpose of humanely providing them with an alternative
form of education.
Englishman Francis Galton coined the terms psychometrics and eugenics. He
developed a method for measuring intelligence based on nonverbal sensory-
motor tests. The test was initially popular but was abandoned. In 1905
French psychologists Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon published the Échelle
métrique de l'Intelligence (Metric Scale of Intelligence), known in English-
speaking countries as the Binet–Simon test. The test focused heavily on
verbal ability. Binet and Simon intended that the test be used to aid in
identifying schoolchildren who were intellectually challenged, which in turn
would pave the way for providing the children with professional help. The
Binet-Simon test became the foundation for the later-developed Stanford–
Binet Intelligence Scales.
The origins of personality testing date back to the 18th and 19th centuries,
when phrenology was the basis for assessing personality characteristics.
Phrenology, a pseudoscience, involved assessing personality by way of skull
measurement. Early pseudoscientific techniques eventually gave way to
empirical methods. One of the earliest modern personality tests was
the Woodworth Personal Data Sheet, a self-report inventory developed
during World War I to be used by the United States Army for the purpose of
screening potential soldiers for mental health problems and identifying
victims of shell shock (the instrument was completed too late to be used for
the purposes it was designed for). The Woodworth Inventory, however,
became the forerunner of many later personality tests and scales.