Psychological Testing Psychological Tests Are an Important

Psychological Testing Psychological tests are an important aspect of clinical psychology. Psychological tests are normally administered by professional psychologists as a way of learning fact on how people function or in predicting their future. The paper will look at the definition of the term test, give a description of the major categories of tests while identifying the major uses and users of these tests. There will also be comparing and contrasting the concepts of validity and reliability and a discussion of how they affect the psychological testing field.

Definition of tests A test or examination is defined as an assessment aimed at measuring the knowledge, aptitude, skill, physical fitness or classification in other different topics. Tests can be administered orally, by use of a paper, computer or in the confinement of a specific area which requires the person taking the test to physically perform a specific set of skills. Tests are usually varied in terms of rigor, style and general requirements.

Tests can be standardized which means that they are administered and scored in a manner that is consistent or standardized which means that they are flexible in format and scope varying in significance and difficulty. Major categories of tests Psychological tests evaluate individuals thoughts, abilities and characteristics Psychological tests can be broadly categorized into various groups. Psychological tests are administered and interpreted psychologists since psychopathology, academic courses and supervision in psychological testing form an integral part of doctoral degree in clinical psychology.

These tests have been developed by psychologists that are renowned. The various categories of psychological tests include; Achievement tests- These types of tests are usually seen in employment or education setting. They are aimed at measuring how much an individual knows on a topic. This means that they are aimed at finding out the achieved knowledge such as spelling or mathematics or how much capacity one has. Aptitude tests are designed for the purpose of indicating a person's aptitude or talent in a particular area.

These tests work through the assessment of the degree to which individuals already have requisite skills or knowledge that are needed .an example of this test is this SAT that high school students take before they are admitted to colleges. They are aimed at assessing an individual's aptitude for the college level of work (Dority, 2011).

Intelligence tests - are meant for measuring an individual's intelligence or the basic ability of understanding the world around a person, understand how it functions and apply the knowledge so as to enhance an individual quality of life .intelligence is therefore termed as a measure of potential and not a measure of what an individual has learned. Personality tests are aimed at measuring an individual basic personality style.

They measure the personality characteristics of individuals .These tests are mostly used in forensic or research settings so that they help in clinical diagnoses. The different tests measure different characteristics according to the personality theory. Two well-known personality tests are Minnesota Multiphasic personality inventory or the revised MMPI-2 which is made up of seven hundred yes or no questions. The other personality test is Rorschach which comprises of several inkblot cards. One is supposed to describe the images and feelings experienced when one looks at the blots.

Personality tests can either be objective or projective. Objective tests contain specific questions that are answered by selecting a set of alternatives either true or false. On the other hand projective tests use a stimulus that is ambiguous into which tests take presumably the meaning of projects (Dority, 2011). Neuropsychological tests are aimed at measuring any deficiencies that exist in cognitive functioning. This includes an individual's ability to think, speak reason and so on which might result from brain damage, brain injury or stroke.

Reliability and validity There are various important properties of psychological test which are reliability, validity and standardization. Psychological tests are termed as valid if they measure what is meant to be measured. Validity means that something is accurate.in research validity has to do with how strong a measurement is and to what extent it does what it does. For instance an intelligence test is valid in that it measures intelligence only and not any other variable like knowledge.

Another example is that a psychological test which is meant to measure depression really measures happiness would be termed as having low validity. Reliability on the other hand means that a psychological test is reliable to the extent that it lads to the generation of similar results when an individual is tested under the same conditions repeatedly. reliability is the dependandabilty of something. Validity and reliability are two different aspects.

The difference between the two is that reliability is inclined more towards the consistency of measurement while validity focuses mainly on the strength of.