- As per the nature of psychological tests in terms of standardized and non-testing method of testing
- As per the functions of psychological tests such as intelligence tests, personality tests, interest inventories, aptitude tests, etc.
Psychological Assesment
Psychological assessment is a process of testing that uses a combination of techniques to help arrive at some hypotheses about a person and their behavior, personality, and capabilities. Psychological assessment is also referred to as psychological testing or performing a psychological battery on a person. Psychological testing is nearly always performed by a licensed psychologist, or a psychology trainee (such as an intern). Psychologists are the only profession that is expertly trained to perform and interpret psychological tests.
A standardized psychological test is a task or set of tasks given under standard, set conditions. It is designed to assess some aspect of a person’s knowledge, skill or personality. A psychological test provides a scale of measurement for consistent individual differences regarding some psychological concept and serves to line up people according to that concept.
What are Psychological Assessments?
Psychological Assessments or Psychological Tests are verbal or written tests formed to evaluate a person’s behaviour. Many types of Psychological tests help people understand various dynamics of the human being. It helps us understand why someone is good at something, while the other is good at another. However, Humans are complex beings which can’t be defined and classified under certain branches. The subjective nature of humans and individual differences has quite often raised criticism in psychological testing.
The classification of the types of psychological tests is as follows:
Characteristics of Psychological Tests
Here are the key characteristics of Psychological Tests:
1. Reliability: The psychological assessment/test must produce the same result no matter when it’s taken.
2. Validity: The psychological test must measure what it’s been created to assess.
3. Objectivity: The assessment must be free from any personal bias for its scoring, interpretation of scoring or administration.
4. Standardization: The test must be standardized in terms of its place, material and time for the assessment as well as its environment.