Psychological Assessment

Meaning, Imporatnce and Tools

 Definition of Psychological Assessment

• The gathering and integration of psychology-related data for the purpose of

making a psychological evaluation,accomplished through the use of tools
such as tests, interviews, case studies, behavioral observation and specially
designed apparatuses and measurement procedures.

• According to APA (1999) “A psychological assessment is a comprehensive

examination undertaken to answer specific question about a client’s
psychological functioning during a particular time interval or to predict a
client’s psychological functioning in the future.”
 Definition, Types and Goals of Assessment
• Assessment is a process in which collecting, analyzing, organizing
information about a client to make and inform decision. It involves planning,
collecting and communicating the information.

• Types of Assessment Clinical Assessment Psychological Assessment

Educational Assessment Functional Assessment Behavioral
Assessment

• Goals of Assessment • Initial screening and diagnosis. • Differential

diagnosis. • Evaluating current performance and intervention. • Monitoring
intervention effectiveness. • Making decision for termination of intervention.
 Tests and Assessments
• Tests and assessments are two separate but related components of a
psychological evaluation. Psychologists use both types of tools to help them
arrive at a diagnosis and a treatment plan.

• Testing involves the use of formal tests such as questionnaires or checklists.

These are often described as “norm-referenced” tests.
• That simply means the tests have been standardized so that test-takers are
evaluated in a similar way, no matter where they live or who administers the
test.
• A norm-referenced test of a child’s reading abilities, for example, may rank
that child’s ability compared to other children of similar age or grade level.
Norm-referenced tests have been developed and evaluated by researchers
and proven to be effective for measuring a particular trait or disorder.
• A psychological assessment can include numerous components such as
norm-referenced psychological tests, informal tests and surveys, interview
information, school or medical records, medical evaluation, and observational
data.
• A psychologist determines what information to use based on the specific
questions being asked.
• For example, assessments can be used to determine if a person has a
learning disorder, is competent to stand trial, or has a traumatic brain injury.
• They can also be used to determine if a person would be a good manager or
how well they may work with a team.
 Nature and Goal of Psychological Assessmen t

• 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.

• To better understand a person's strengths and weaknesses, identify potential

problems with cognitions, emotional reactivity, and make recommendations
for treatment/remediation.
 Why is Psychological Assessment Important?
• 1. Allows us to make important decisions about people.
• e.g. Early School Placement, College Entrance Decisions, Military Job
Selections
• 2. Allows us to describe & understand behavior
• 3. Measures personal attributes
• 4. Measures performance
• 5. Saves time
• 6. Most economical
• 7. It’s Scientific
 Definition of Psychological Testing

• Psychological Testing is the measurement of human mental processes and

psychological characteristics.
• Psychological testing, also called psychometrics, the systematic use of tests
to quantify psychophysical behaviour, abilities, and problems and to make
predictions about psychological performance.

• Psychological tests are written, visual, or verbal evaluations administered to

assess the cognitive and emotional functioning of children and adults.
• The word “test” refers to any means used to elicit responses to which human
behaviour in other contexts can be related.
• When intended to predict relatively distant future behaviour (e.g., success in
school), such a device is called an aptitude test.
• When used to evaluate the individual’s present academic or vocational skill, it
may be called an achievement test.
• In such settings as guidance offices, mental-health clinics, and psychiatric
hospitals, tests of ability and personality may be helpful in the diagnosis and
detection of troublesome behaviour.
• Industry and government alike have been prodigious users of tests for
selecting workers.
• Research workers often rely on tests to translate theoretical concepts (e.g.,
intelligence) into experimentally useful measures.
 Basic Concepts of Psychological Testing
• 1. Measurement refers to the assignment or designating of numbers to
object or events according to a specific set of rules. Using of measuring
system such as meter or centimeter. Each measuring system uses slightly
different set of rules for assigning numbers, which is standardized, meaning
everyone uses the system in the same manner yielding different results.

• Four different scales of measurement can be used: the nominal, ordinal,

interval and ratio. each scale represents a different way of assigning
numbers, communicate a different type of information and allow us to use
different arithmetic operations.
• 2. Evaluation is a process of summarizing the results of tests and assigning
meaning based on value analysis. It determine whether a student’s test score
is superior, above average, average, dull or poor.
• 3. Psychologial Measurement and Evaluation
• A scientific way of assigning numbers or events according to prescribe set of
rules and the accurate appraisal of individuals in terms of intelligence ,
aptitude, interest, personality and social behavior based on the test results.
• 4. Test is the measurement tool used to identify the mental capability,
personality characteristics, behavior and academic proficiency of an
individual.
• 5. Test Items this refers to specific statement to which an individual’s overt
behavioral respose can be scored, interpreted and evaluated. The tests are
composed of items that can be classiefied, checked graded and counted.
• 6. Neuropsychological Test this refers to test and procedures with proven
sensitivity to the effects of brain damage.
• 7. Psychological Testing this refers to use of psychological and educational
tests which are essntially objective and standardized that measures persons
behavior.
• 8. Battery Test this refers to the administration of series of psychological
tests, the results of which are integrated into a single score interpretation.
• 9. Standardized Test this refers to the test subjected to thorough validation
processes such as trying out and analysis, provides time limits, instructions,
scoring standards, undergo reliability and validity process and establishing
norms.
•
 Purposes of Psychological testing

• To assess a variety of mental abilities and attributes, including achievement

and ability, personality, and neurological functioning.

• For children, academic achievement, ability, and intelligence tests may be

used as tools in school placement, in determining the presence of a learning
disability or a developmental delay , in identifying giftedness, or in tracking
intellectual development. Intelligence testing may also be used with teens
and young adults to determine vocational ability (e.g., in career counseling).

• Personality tests are administered for a wide variety of reasons, from

diagnosing psychopathology (e.g., personality disorder, depressive disorder)
to screening job candidates. They may be used in an educational setting to
determine personality strengths and weaknesses.
 Uses of Psychological Testing

• The main uses of psychological tests are to evaluate individual differences or

variations between individuals or reactions of the same individual on different
occasions.
• It can measure individual differences in ability and personality.
• It represents to collect and provide objective data that can be used with
subjective impressions to make better, more defensive decisions
( educational, employment or clinical decisions).
• Through the use of psychological tests, we could determine the mental
capacity and personality of an applicant, employee, student and place them
in proper perspective.
• And we can devise and administer a series of psychological tests for
evaluating mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed persons.
 Other Uses of Psychological Tests

• It is easier to get information from test than by clinical interview. 

• They assist in clinical diagnosis example: Rorschach inkblot test.
• Information from tests are more scientifically consistent than clinical
interview.
• They assist in the formulation of psychopathology and identification of areas
of stress and conflict.
• Example: Thematic Apperception Test 
• They help to determine the nature of deficit present.
• Example: cognitive neuropsychological assessments
 Need for Psychological Test

• 1. Identifies weaknesses and strength

• 2. Supports individualized lesson plans
• 3. Enables placement decisions
• 4. Monitors progress
• 5. Identifying disabilities
• 6. Helping the administrative and academic works
• 7. Vocational ability
 Principles of Psychological Testing
• Principles of psychological testing consist of all the basic concepts and
fundamental ideas that underlie all psychological tests. These include the
basic statistical concepts that provide the foundation for understanding the
psychological tests, the reliabiltiy and validity.While the fundamental idea of
testing concerns of how a test is developed and constructed.

• Principles of Individual Differences

• The major objective of psychological and educational tests is to assess
individual differences. Such test measure individual differences in skills,
cognitive abilities and personality. The task differences may be attributed to
actual differences among individuals in their capabilities or typical behaviors.
 Uses in Various Settings
• School Setting
• 1. Classification of children for school instruction
• 2. Diagnosis of academic failures
• 3. Educational and vocational counseling
• 4. Admission of new students
• 5. Discover learning disabilities of students
• 6. Improve and enhance learning and instructional process
• 7. Understand individual differences
• 8. Help judge an individual’s progress
• 9. Enhance the effectiveness of counseling
• 10. Enhance self-understanding and personal development
• Industrial Setting
• 1. Selection of qualified applicants
• 2. Promotion of employees
• 3. Training of employees
• 4. Classifications/ transfer of employees
• 5. Coaching/counseling
• 6. Help management in planning a good training program
• 7. Help management in evaluating the effectiveness of the performance
appraisal program
•
• Clinical Setting
• 1. Detection of intellectual deficiences
• 2. Examination of emotionally disturbed individual
• 3. Counseling for emotional stability and effective interpersonal relationship
• 4. Marriage counseling
• 5. Identify emotional disturbances, delinquency and other behavioral
deviations.
• 6. Guide the psychologists in providing remedial measures
• Research
• 1. Identify the psychological traits
• 2. Determine the nature and extent of individual differences
• 3. Determine the strengths and weaknesses of certain psychological testing
program
• 4. Psychological testing program
• 5. Help employees in the solution of a wide range of organizational problems
 Characteristics of Good Psychological Test
• 1. Standardized
• 2. Objectivity
• 3. Reliability
• 4. Validity
• 5. Norms
• 6. Practicability

• 1.Standardized. This implies uniformity of procedures in administering and

scoring of the test.
• 2. Objectivity. The test should be free from subjective—judgement regarding
the ability, skill, knowledge, trait or potentiality to be measured and evaluated.
• 3. Reliability.This refers to the extent to which they obtained results are
consistent or reliable.
• When the test is administered on the same sample for more than once with a
reasonable gap of time, a reliable test will yield same scores. It means the
test is trustworthy.
• 4. Validity. It refers to extent to which the test measures what it intends to
measure. For example, when an intelligent test is developed to assess the
level of intelligence, it should assess the intelligence of the person, not other
factors.
• Validity explains us whether the test fulfills the objective of its development.
• 5. Norms. It refers to the average performance of a representative sample on
a given test. It gives a picture of average standard of a particular sample in a
particular aspect. Norms are the standard scores, developed by the person
who develops test. The future users of the test can compare their scores with
norms to know the level of their sample.
• 6. Practicability: The test must be practicable in- time required for completion,
the length, number of items or questions, scoring, etc. The test should not be
too lengthy and difficult to answer as well as scoring.
• Scorability easy to score, tests results should be easily available.
• Interpretability properly interpreted by qualified examiner who is authorized
to handle such instruments and useful to make sound decisions.
• Economical intends to use the tests, important and necessary.
• Basic Principles and topics of
Psychometrics and Psychological
Assessment
 Psychometrics
• 1. Psychometrics Psycho Greek “Psyche” Mind Mental Dimension Metric to
measure, to quantify.
• Psychometrics the branch of psychology that deals with design,
administration and interpretation of quantitative test for measurement of
psychological variables such as intelligence, aptitude and personality traits.

• GOAL: Estimate your number of mind’s dimension

• Psychological Measurement: Computing/ scoring an individual’s
psychological test result.
• Psychological Assessment: Making sense of numbers

• End Product: Psychological Report

 Types of Psychological Tests
• There are two broad categories to classify the psychological tests.
• 1. On the basis of test construction and administration
• 1. Individual and group tests 2. Speed and power tests 3. Computer-assisted
tests 4. Paper and pencil and performance tests 

• 2. On the basis of test of knowledge, skills and abilities

• 1. Achievement tests 2. Aptitude tests 3. Intelligence tests and cognitive
ability tests 4. Interest tests 5. Neuropsychological tests 6. Occupational tests
7. Personality tests 8. Specific clinical tests
 On the basis of test construction and administration

• ADMINISTRATION Individual vs Group tests

• Computer Assisted tests

• Speed Test has fixed time limit, designed to measure a test taker’s speed of
performance and they often contain very simple questions.
• Power Test No time limit but contain - difficult items, designed to measure
test taker’s knowledge, regardless of speed.
• Paper & Pencil vs Performance Tests
• Paper & Pencil Test -Questions are in printed form and answers are recorded
on answer sheet.
• Performance Test -Performing a series of mechanical operations than by
having them answer questions about the nature of these operations.
 On the basis of test of knowledge, skills and abilities
• Intelligent Test Generally timed Moderate pressure leads to best performance Maybe verbal
or non verbal Achievement test Measures past learning Examples: NEAT, NSAT

• Aptitude Test Measures future learning Potential in a Field Main Question: Do you have the
pre-requisite skills for a certain field? Achievement test Measures past learning Examples:
NEAT, NSAT

• Personality Test Measures person’s quality of (E.M.I.A.B) Emotional; Motivational;

Interpersonal; Attitudinal; and Behavioral characteristics Generally not timed Non-objective in
nature

• Performance Test Test that measures psychological skills in a paper and pencil format.
• What is given?—-Laboratory Task
• Main Question: How efficient a person in a given task?
• TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS: BEHAVIOR MEASURED

• Cognitive Ability
• Interests
• Aptitudes
• Motor Ability
• Personality
• Cognitive Ability -Also known as Intelligence Tests; relates mostly to educational material
• Interest Inventories -Of greater value in vocational guidance and counseling
• Aptitudes -Measure the skills required by a job
• Motor Ability -Involves muscular coordination, finger dexterity or precise eye- hand
coordination
• Personality -Most controversial type of test; divided into two approaches:
• 1.Self-report Inventories - Presents examinees with variety of items that deal with specific
situations, symptoms or feelings wherein they indicate how well each item describes them or
how much they agree with them
• 2.Projective Techniques - Presents an individual with ambiguous stimuli
• Self Report Instruments - Participant is asked to report his or her feelings, attitudes, beliefs,
values. When self-report makes sense: Self-report relies upon the test taker’s awareness
and honesty. It is the best method to measure internal states.
• Achievement & Ability tests 1. STANFORD-BINET INTELLIGENCE SCALES
• Devised in 1916 by Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman.
• Consisting of questions and short tasks arranged from easy to difficult, the
Stanford- Binet scale measures a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal skills.
 Its fifteen tests are divided into  verbal reasoning  quantitative
reasoning  abstract/visual reasoning  short-term memory

• Binet Scale of Human Intelligence IQ Over 140 Genius or Near-Genius/

Gifted 120 – 139 Very Superior 110 – 119 Superior 90 – 109 Average or
Normal 80 – 89 Dull Normal 70 – 79 Borderline Deficiency/Mild 50 – 69
Moron /Moderate 20 – 49 Imbecile /Severe Below 20 Idiot/ Profound
• WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALES:- David "Wex" Wechsler (January 12, 1896 – May 2,
1981). Include both verbal and non- verbal tests. Verbal tests include,  Vocabulary 
Information  Comprehension  Arithmetic  Similarities  Digit span
• Performance tests include, Digit symbols Picture completion Block design Picture
arrangement Object assembly(jigsaw)
• Verbal Intelligence test  Information : A persons level of general knowledge 
Comprehension : How well you can understand questions and grasp concepts. 
Arithmetic : A persons mathematical abilities.  Similarities : Measures abstract thought. 
Digit Span : Measures attention span.  Vocabulary : How many word meanings you know.
• Performance Intelligence Test  Digit Symbol : Mental flexibility with random symbols. 
Picture Completion : Ability to notice differences between two similar pictures.
• Block Design : Mentally construct printed designs in your head. 
• Picture Arrangement : Arrange pictures in a logical order. 
• Object Assembly : Place the correct part in relationship to a whole.
 Types: WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALES
• 1.The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence (WPPSI)
• 2.The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) 
• 3. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
• WAIS-R Testing kit 
• Testing Booklet  Story Cards  Puzzle Pieces Block Design
• WAIS-R Block Design
 PERSONALITY TESTS
• Personality tests and inventories evaluate the thoughts, emotions, attitudes,
and behavioral traits that comprise personality.  The results of these tests
determine an individual's personality strengths and weaknesses, and may
identify certain disturbances in personality, or psychopathology
• 1. PERSONALITY INVENTORY  Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory  Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI )  The California
Psychological Inventory (CPI)  Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (or
16PF)  The Eyesenck Personality Inventory
• 2. PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES  Rorschach inkblot test, Thematic
Apperception Test (TAT),  Sentence completion test,  Create drawings
(Draw a person test) or complete a story.
• 3. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
• 4. RATING SCALES
 PERSONALITY INVENTORY
• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 

• Developed in the late 1930’s by psychologist Starke R. Hathaway and

psychiatrist J.C. McKinley at the University of Minnesota. 
• The most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests.
• Developed to identify emotional disorders.
• This is one of the most frequently used personality tests in mental health.
• The test is used by trained professionals to assist in identifying personality
structure and psychopathology.  consists of 567 statements that the test
taker has to mark as “true,” “false,” or “cannot say.”  Answers are scored
according to how they correspond with those given by persons with various
psychological disorders, including depression, hysteria, paranoia,
psychopathic deviancy, and schizophrenia.
• Copyrighted by the University of Minnesota. It is appropriate for use with
adults 18 and over. The current MMPI-2 has 567 items, all true-or-false
format, and usually takes between 1 and 2 hours to complete depending on
reading level.
• Most commonly used by mental health professionals to assess and diagnose
mental illness. Has been utilized in other fields outside of clinical
psychology. The test is often used in legal cases, including criminal defense
and custody disputes.
• 2. Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI )  It has been designed for
adults (18 years and older) who have a minimum of an eighth-grade reading
level.
• It is one of the few self-report tests that focus on personality disorders along
with symptoms that are associated with these disorders.
• The current version, the MCMI-III, is composed of 175 items that are scored
to produce 28 scales divided into following categories:  Modifying Indices,
 Clinical Personality Patterns,  Severe Personality Pathology  Clinical
Syndromes  Severe Syndromes
• 3. The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) It assesses  Traits
(including dominance, responsibility, self- acceptance)  Socialization 
Traits relevant to academic achievement.  Personality Research Form
(PRF)  The Neuroticism Extroversion Openness Personality Inventory,
Revised (NEO-PIR)
• THE EYESENCK PERSONALITY INVENTORY  Short questionnaire which
can be completed in 10 to 20 minutes.  It assesses two dimensions of
personality: Introversion versus Extroversion, and Neuroticism versus
Emotional stability.  The EPI includes a subset of questions that comprises
a Social Desirability Scale (Lie Scale):
 PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
• Involve asking subjects to interpret or fill in visual stimuli, complete
sentences, or report what associations particular words bring to mind. 
Because of the leeway provided by the tests, subjects project their own
personalities onto the stimulus, often revealing personal conflicts,
motivations, coping styles, and other characteristics.
• 1. Rorschach inkblot test Created in the 1920s by Swiss psychologist
Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922). It consists of a series of 10 cards, each
containing a complicated inkblot. Some are in black and white, some in color.
Subjects are asked to describe what they see in each card.
• The scores are based on several parameters: 1) what part of the blot a
person focuses on 2) what particular details determine the response; 3) the
content of the responses (what objects, persons, or situations they involve);
4) the frequency with which a particular response has been given by previous
test takers
• 2. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)  Introduced at Harvard University in
1935 by Henry Murray.  Test takers look at a series of up to 20 pictures of
people in a variety of recognizable settings and construct a story about what
is happening in each one. They are asked to describe not only what is
happening at the moment shown in the picture but also what events led up to
the present situation and what the characters are thinking and feeling.
• Its adherents assert that the TAT taps a subject's unconscious to reveal
repressed aspects of personality, motives and needs for achievement, power
and intimacy, and problem-solving abilities.
• The subject is asked to tell as dramatic a story as they can for each picture
presented, including the following: ? what has led up to the event shown ?
what is happening at the moment ? what the characters are feeling and
thinking ? what the outcome of the story was?
 Thematic Apperception Test Procedure

• Some Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) cards  There are 31 picture cards
in the standard form of the TAT . Some of the cards show male figures, some
female, some both male and female figures, some of ambiguous gender,
some adults, some children, and some show no human figures at all.  One
card is completely blank
• USES OF TAT  Individual assessments for employment in fields requiring a
high degree such as law enforcement, military leadership positions. 
• For diagnosis in order to match psychotherapy best suited to patients
personalities.
• Forensic purposes in evaluating the motivations and general attitudes of
persons accused of violent crimes.
• Research into specific aspects of human personality, most often needs for
achievement, fears of failure, hostility.
 SENTENCE COMPLETION TEST
• A projective test used widely by clinicians and psychologists to explore the
needs, inner conflicts, fantasies, attitudes, aspirations, adjustment difficulties,
and sexual abuse in the children and adolescents.

• Specifically for children or adolescents.  Subjects are asked to complete

sentences with such open-ended beginnings as “I wish . . .” or “My
mother . . .” 
• Same sentence beginnings are shown to different test takers.
• There are no norms for comparing their answers to those of previous
subjects.
 Uses of Sentence Completion Test Method
• 1. Assess psychological characteristics
• 2. Construct formal measures of intelligence By: Herman Ebbinghaus, 1987
• 3. Could contribute to assessing personality characteristics as well as
intellectual functioning originated with some observations. (Carl Jung, 1916)

• “Say the first word that comes to your mind.”

• Can be phrased to evoke persons attitude towards specific individual.

• Example: Mother __________
• Perspective on particular events and circumstances in their lives.
• Example: In school __________
 Three Types of Data
• 1. Structural - consist of such objective response characteristic.
• 2. Behavioral– manner in which people work on the sentence completion task,
• 3. Thematic – provides a rich array of clues to their underlying feelings and attitudes and
concern. (e.g.: total time required to complete the te (e.g.: careful or careless)
 Sack’s Sentence Completion Test
• A 60-item test that asks respondents to complete 60 questions with the first
thing that comes to mind across four areas: Family, Sex, Interpersonal
Relationship and Self- concept.
• Interpretation Guide:2 - SEVERELY DISTURBED. Appears to require
conflicts in this area. 1 - MIDLY DISTURBED. Has emotional conflict in this
area but appears able to handle them without therapeutic aid. 0 - NO
SIGNIFICANT disturbance rated in this area. X - UNKNOWN, Insufficient
evidence
• 12. Interpretation Guide: Attitude towards Own Ability (2, 7, 32 and 47) 2 =
feels completely incomplete and hopeless 1 = feels he has a specific ability
but tends to fear difficulty 0 = confident on his ability to overcome.
 RATING SCALES
• Instruments used to assess the magnitude or severity of a psychological
construct or disorder. Aid in research and clinical practice such data are
important for evaluation, decision making, documentation and/or analysis.
• Common rating scales in psychiatry 1. For the assessment of general mental
health: 1. Golberg general health questionnaire(GHQ) 2. Subjective wellbeing
inventory (SWBI)  For the assessment of anxiety :- 1. Hamilton anxiety
rating scale (HARC), 2. Covi anxiety scale
• 2. For the assessment of depression :- 1. Hamilton depression rating scale
(HDRS), 2. Beck depression Inventory(BDI)  For the assessment of
mania :- 1. Young’s mania rating scale, 2. Bech- Rafaelson mania scale
• 3. For the assessment of schizophrenia :- 1. Brief psychiatric rating scale, 2.
Scale for assessment of positive symptoms and scale for assessment of
negative symptoms.
 NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
• Assessment of the neurological deficit.  Predicts the possible organic
psychopathology.  Identification of intact neurological functioning  help in
the process of neuro-rehabilitation (Cognitive retraining).  Evaluation and
comparison of various treatment options and its perceived efficacy. 
Progressive evaluation and formulation of differential diagnosis. 
Developmental progression of the milestones.  Tackling the mental
developmental delay, and taking necessary actions on time.

• Examples: Luria- Nebraska battery  Halsted- Reitan battery  Michigan

neuropsychological battery  Shipley Institute of Living Scale  NIMHANS
neuropsychological battery.
 Major Categories of the Psychological Tests
• Intelligence Tests: These of course measure the level of intelligence present
in the individual. It also assesses the person’s ability to relate to its foreign
environment. Some of the well-known and widely used tests of this category
are,
•  Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
•  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
•  Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
• Personality Tests: - These tests measure the type and traits of the individual’s
personality. These tests are used for clinical purposes. Examples of some
commonly known attitude tests are as follows,
•  Rorschach or Inkblot test
•  Thematic Apperception Test
•  Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory or MMPI
• Attitude Tests The individual’s attitude towards the environment, other people
or places is judged in this kind of test. Some common examples are
•  Likert Scale
•  Thurstone Scale
• Neuro-psychology Tests usually conducted when an individual has suffered a
traumatic stress or injury. To check the proper cognitive functioning
• of the brain, these kinds of tests are conducted. Some typical examples of
these tests include:
•  Benton Visual Retention Test
•  Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
•  Halstead Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery
• Achievement Tests: measure the ability to comprehend a specific topic; for
example, mathematics. You can read through the following cases:
• Peabody Individual Achievement Test
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
• Aptitude Tests: measure the potential of performance in a person. Examples
are Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and Bloomberg Aptitude Test
• These were some of the different types of psychological tests that are
commonly used for measurement of mental abilities and cognitive abilities.
They can either be used as assessments for screening at corporate or
educational institutes, or they can be used for clinical purposes to diagnose
the issue and then to prescribe the best possible treatment for the
psychological problem.
 Tools of psychological assessment
• Tools of psychological assessment
• ⦿ Test ⦿ Interview
• ⦿ Behavioral Observation
• ⦿ Portfolio
• ⦿ Case History data
• ⦿ Role-play Tests
• ⦿ Computer
• ⦿ Unstructured methods 18.
• Testing Activities of Psychologists Clinical Psychologists - e.g. Assessment of
Intelligence, Assessment of Psychopathology Counseling Psychologists e.g.
Career Interest Inventories, Skill Assessment School Psychologists e.g.
Assessment of Academic progress, Readiness for School, Social Adjustment
I/O Psychologists - e.g. Managerial potential, Training Needs, Leadership
Potential Neuropsychologists - e.g., Assessment of Brain Damage,
neurological impairments. Forensic Psychology - intersection between law
and psychology --needed for legal determinations e.g. Assessment for risk,
competency to stand trial, child custody
• THANK YOU