Psychological Testing

Though psychological testing might be something that may scare you, it is a unique innovative tool that psychologists use to diagnose and guide their clients to an appropriate treatment method.

Now let us understand in-depth.

What is Psychological Testing?

Psychological testing or assessments are quite similar to medical tests; just like when a patient has certain symptoms, a doctor may ask to get some blood reports or X-rays done.  Similarly, psychologists use psychological testing as well as other assessments to measure and observe a particular behaviour of an individual and prescribe a proper treatment plan for them.

Psychologists use psychological testing as well as other assessments for a number of reasons that includes

1. For children who are facing difficulty in school-related to learning or mental adjustments.
2. Also, tests can be done for understanding skills like reaction time, memory capacity etc.

These tests are really important as it helps to understand the cause of the particular disease.  So, if a person is having any problems related to work or school or in any kind of personal relationship, they will consult a psychologist in this case.  Hence a psychologist can use psychological testing and other types of assessment tools to understand the type of issue a person is facing.

It may be related to issues of anger management, interpersonal skills or any kind of personality traits issue that might be contributing to the problem.  Also, there is a certain other psychological exam that helps a psychologist to understand whether the particular person is facing any issues related to depression or anxiety.

Sometimes just through conversation with the client, psychologists may not understand the root of the problem.  For example, if a child has just started going to school and he or she is facing certain troubles.  Now, this may be a simple reading problem or any complex problem like dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Psychological testing and various psychological exams help a psychologist to understand the root cause of the problem and figure out the perfect treatment option for the person. 

Psychological Tests and Assessments

Psychologist tests and exams though separate but are interrelated components of psychological testing/ These type of tools are used by psychologists for diagnosis as well as prescribing treatment plan

Psychological testing generally involves the use of formal tests like questionnaires or of checklists.  Also, they are also described as “norm-referenced” tests.  This means that these tests are also standardised so that test-takers are evaluated in such a way that it doesn’t change according to the location or who is taking the test.

Let us take an example.  So, there is a norm referenced test being used to judge the reading abilities of a child.  So, in this case, the test would help rank the child’s ability compared to other children of a similar age group.

Hence with deliberation and through research norm referenced tests were created by researchers and psychologists.  This helps in measuring a particular trait or a type of disorder.

On the other hand, a psychological assessment includes various components like norm-referenced psychological exams, informal tests, medical or school record, or surveys and other observational data. 

So let us take an example.  There are certain assessments that can be used to determine if a particular individual has a particular disorder or  is suffering from a specific brain injury.  It can also be used to understand whether the person has good leadership capability or has a team-building capacity. 

Since you now understand about psychological testing, let us understand

Types of psychological tests are there

Psychologists use different types of testing methods to understand various issues, including emotional intelligence, mental aptitude, neurological functioning, and other types of issues.

• Personality Tests: These measures various types of behavioural as well as environmental characteristics like behaviours, emotions etc.  Some of the tests are the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI) and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
• Achievement Tests: These are used to measure intellectual interest, achievement, and cognitive abilities.  Some of the tests are the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery and the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (K-TEA).

• Attitude Tests: These are used to measure the view of respondents based on how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement.  Some of the tests are the Likert scale and the Thurstone scale.

• Aptitude Tests: These tests are used to measure different capabilities, skill sets, projections, and future success.  Some of the tests for measuring aptitude are the visual reasoning test and the abstract reasoning test.

• Emotional Intelligence Tests: These are used to measure emotional responses like anger, sadness, impulsivity, and happiness.  Some of the tests to measure emotional intelligence are the Mayer Salovey Caruso EI test (MSCEIT), Emotional and Social Competency Inventory. 

• Intelligence Tests: These are used to measure mental and learning developmental disabilities.  Some of the tests to measure intelligence are the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test and Universal Nonverbal Intelligence.

• Neuropsychological Tests: These are used for measuring cognitive abilities like that of memory language.  Some of the tests to measure neuropsychological tests are beck depression inventory, beck anxiety etc.

• Projective Tests: These are used to measure feedback from external influences to identify unrealized conflicts.  Some of the tests to measure are Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and Rorschach Inkblot Test.

Since you now know about different psychological exams, you might question

Is Psychological Testing Really Needed?

As per the American Psychiatric Association’s recommendations, the following symptoms indicate that a person requires psychological testing.  Some of them are as follows.

1. Social Withdrawal
2. Enhanced Nervousness
3. Mood Changes or Swings
4. Difficulty in Comprehending Tasks
5. Drastic Change in sleeping or eating disorders.

If any of these symptoms are noted, then the person should immediately consult a psychologist for the same.

Conclusion

Hopefully, through this guide, you understood about psychological testing, the different psychological exams and assessments and the reason why psychological testing is needed/