Psychological Assessment & testing
Lecture # 1
Dr. Wizra Chaudhary
Department of Professional Psychology
Bahria University, Islamabad Campus
Psychological assessment
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is a series of tests conducted by a psychologist, to gather information about
how people think, feel, behave and react. The findings are used to develop
a report of the person’s abilities and behavior—known as a psychological
report—which is then used as a basis to make recommendations for the
individual’s treatment.
Psychological assessments and reports are used in other fields as well—
like in the case of career planning for young adults or in the job application
process to determine how well an applicant will fit into the open role.
The procedures used to create an assessment are:
Interviews
Observation
Psychological assessment
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Written assessment
Consultation with other mental health professionals
Formal psychological tests
Psychological assessment is also used in other fields, like:
Education—to assess a student’s ability to learn, and progress in the
classroom
Legal system—to assess the mental health status of a person
Psychological Testing
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A psychological test is used to measure an individual’s different abilities,
such as their aptitude in a particular field, cognitive functions like memory
and spatial recognition, or even traits like introvertedness. These tests are
based on scientifically tested psychological theories.
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psychological test is a systematic procedure for observing a person’s
behavior or performance, describing
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The format of a test can vary from pencil and paper tasks to computer-based
ones. They include activities such as puzzle-solving, drawing, logic problem
solving, and memory games.
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Mostly tests are used as a way of measuring differences between people or
differences in the same person over time, with the aid of a numerical scale
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Some tests also use techniques—known as projective techniques—which aim to access the
unconscious. In these instances, the subject’s responses are analyzed through psychological
interpretation and more complex algorithms than the non-projective techniques mentioned above.
For example, the Rorschach test, popularly known as the ink-blot test can provide insight into the
person’s personality and emotional functioning.
Psychological tests may also involve observing someone’s interactions and behavior. Based on
the result of the test, an inference will be drawn about the individual’s inherent abilities and
potential.
Definition of a Test
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A test is a standardized procedure for sampling
behavior and describing it with categories or scores.
What do psychological tests
measure?
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Psychological testing covers a number of different areas:
Mental health assessment
Adaptive behavior assessments
Aptitude testing
Cognitive testing
Educational/achievement testing
Forensic psychological testing
Neuropsychological testing
Personality assessment
Most tests possess these defining
features:
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Standardized procedure
Behavior sample
Scores or categories
Norms or standards
Prediction of non test behavior
Types
Psychological testing covers a number of different
areas:
 Intelligence Tests
 Aptitude Tests
 Achievement Tests
 Creativity Tests
 Personality Tests
 Interest Inventories
 Behavioral Procedures
 Neuropsychological Tests
Intelligence Tests
Intelligence tests are psychological tests that are designed
to measure a variety of mental functions, such as
reasoning, comprehension, and judgment.
Aptitude Tests
Measure the capability for a relatively specific task or type
of skill; aptitude tests are, in effect, a narrow form of
ability testing.
Aptitude tests are often used to predict success in an
occupation, training course, or educational endeavor, such
as SAT.
Achievement Tests
Measure a person’s degree of learning, success, or
accomplishment in a subject or task. One instrument may
serve both purposes, acting as an aptitude test to forecast
future performance and an achievement test to monitor
past learning.
Creativity Tests
Assess novel, original thinking and the capacity to find
unusual or unexpected solutions, especially for vaguely
defined problems.
Educators were especially impressed that creativity tests
required divergent thinking and convergent thinking.
Personality Tests
Measure the traits, qualities, or behaviors that determine
a person’s individuality; such tests include checklists,
inventories, and projective techniques such as sentence
completions and inkblots.
Interest Inventories
Measure an individual’s preference for certain activities or
topics and thereby help determine occupational choice.
For example, if the examinee has the same interests as
successful and satisfied accountants, it is thought likely
that he or she would enjoy the work of an accountant.
Behavioral Procedure
Objectively describe and count the frequency of a
behavior, identifying the antecedents and consequences
of the behavior.
The assumption is that behavior is best understood in
terms of clearly defined characteristics such as frequency,
duration, antecedents, and consequences.
Neuropsychological Tests
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Measure cognitive, sensory, perceptual, and motor
performance to determine the extent, locus, and
behavioral consequences of brain damage.
Uses of Testing
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Classification
Diagnosis and treatment planning
Self-knowledge
Program evaluation
Research
Classification
Assigning a person to one category rather than another.
Placement, screening, certification, and selection
Diagnosis and treatment planning
Diagnosis consists of two interlinked tasks: determining the
nature and source of a person’s abnormal behavior, and
classifying the behavior pattern within an accepted diagnostic
system. Diagnosis should be more than mere classification,
more than the assignment of a label.
Self-knowledge
Psychological tests also can supply a potent source of selfknowledge. In some cases, the feedback a person receives
from psychological tests can change a career path or
otherwise alter a person’s life course.
Program evaluation
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Educational program evaluation and social program
evaluation
Research : Collecting the data from psychological tests to
check the research hypothesis.
Standardized Procedure
A test is considered to be standardized if the procedures
for administering it are uniform from one examiner and
setting to another.
For example Take the “digit span” test, the directions are
 to present the number at constant rate
 to keep a neutral facial expression when examiner
records subjects’ answer
Scores or Categories
“Whatever
exists at all exists in some amount.”
(Thorndike).
the psychometric viewpoint is that tests measure
individual differences in traits that exist in some vague
sense of the word. The purpose of the testing is to
estimate the amount of the trait or quality possessed by
an individual.
Norms or Standards
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An examinee’s test score is usually interpreted by
comparing it with the scores obtained by others on the
same test. For this purpose, test developers typically
provide norms.
Further Readings
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Gregory, R. J. (2004). Psychological testing: History, principles,
and applications. Allyn & Bacon.
Question for Discussion
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Do you think psychological tests are helpful to measure
the behavior of people in the current situation?
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Do you think that psychological test helps to determine
the exact nature and extent of a person's mental state?
Thank You