Basics in Psychological Testing

Psychological Testing
Definition
• Psychological tests are written,
visual, or verbal evaluations
administered to assess the cognitive
and emotional functioning of children
and adults
Purpose
• Psychological tests are used
to assess a variety of mental
abilities and attributes,
including achievement and
ability, personality, and
neurological functioning.
Neuropsychological Tests
• Patients who have experienced a
traumatic brain injury, brain damage,
or organic neurological problems (for
example, dementia) are
administered neuropsychological
tests to assess their level of
functioning and identify areas of
mental impairment.
• They may also be used to
evaluate the progress of a patient
who has undergone treatment or
rehabilitation for a neurological
injury or illness. In addition,
certain neuropsychological
measures may be used to screen
children for developmental delays
and/or learning disabilities.
Precautions
• Psychological testing requires a
clinically trained examiner. All
psychological tests should be
administered, scored, and
interpreted by a trained
professional, preferably a
psychologist or psychiatrist with
expertise in the appropriate area.
• Cultural and language differences
in the test subject may affect test
performance and may result in
inaccurate test results. The test
administrator should be informed
before psychological testing
begins if the test taker is not
fluent in English and/or belongs to
a minority culture. In addition, the
subject's motivation and motives
may also affect test results.
Achievement and Ability Tests
• Achievement and ability tests are
designed to measure the level of an
individual's intellectual functioning
and cognitive ability. Most
achievement and ability tests are
standardized, meaning that norms
were established during the design
phase of the test by administering
the test to a large representative
sample of the test population..
• Achievement and ability tests follow a
uniform testing protocol, or procedure
(i.e., test instructions, test conditions,
and scoring procedures) and their
scores can be interpreted in relation
to established norms. Common
achievement and ability tests include
the Wechsler intelligence test
(WISC-III and WAIS) and the
Stanford-Binet intelligence scales
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. Tests such as
the Minnesota multiphasic personality
inventory MMPI-2) and the Millon clinical
multiaxial Inventory III (MMPI-III), are used to
screen individuals for specific
psychopathologies or emotional problems.
• Another type of personality test is the
projective personality assessment. A
projective test asks a subject to interpret
some ambiguous stimuli, such as a series
of inkblots. The subject's responses provide
insight into his or her thought processes
and personality traits. For example, the
Rorschach inkblot test and the Holtzman
ink blot test (HIT) use a series of inkblots
that the test subject is asked to identify.
Preparation
• Prior to the administration of any
psychological test, the administrator should
provide the test subject with information on
the nature of the test and its intended use,
complete standardized instructions for
taking the test (including any time limits
and penalties for incorrect responses), and
information on the confidentiality of the
results. After these disclosures are made,
informed consent should be obtained from
the test subject before testing begins
(except in cases of legally mandated
testing, where consent is not required of
the subject).
Normal Results
• All psychological and neuropsychological
assessments should be administered, scored,
and interpreted by a trained professional.
When interpreting test results for test
subjects, the test administrator will review
with subjects: what the test evaluates, its
precision in evaluation, any margins of error
involved in scoring, and what the individual
scores mean in the context of overall test
norms and the background of the test subject.
Writing the Report
• When writing a report, the
interviewer needs to make the report
clear, concise and easy to
understand. It is important to keep in
mind not to dazzle the reader with
one’s brilliance, overuse
psychological jargon or use a
patronizing tone.
Writing the Report
• Clients generally have access to their
records if they choose to review
them. Having these in mind, try to
write the report so that the client or
parent can understand it. Harvey
(1997) offers the following
suggestions to make a report more
readable:
Writing the Report
• Shorten sentence lengths.
• Minimize the number of difficult words.
• Reduce the use of jargon.
• Reduce the use of acronyms.
• Omit passive verbs.
• Increase the use of subheadings
Writing the Report
• Other points you might consider in
writing the report include the
following (Drummond, 2004; Ownby,
1997; Mertens, 1996):
Writing the Report
• Describe behaviors that are
representative of client issues.
• Be non-judgmental.
• Only label when it is necessary and
valuable to do so for the client’s well
being.
• Don’t be afraid to take a stand if you feel
strongly that the information warrants it
(e.g. the information leads to believe a
client is in danger of harming self).
• Point out both strengths and weaknesses
of the client.
Writing the Report
• Although report formats can vary
dramatically, often they will include
the following sections:
Writing the Report
• demographic information
• presenting problem or reason for
referral
• family background
• significant medical/counseling
history
• substance use and abuse
• educational and vocational history
Writing the Report
• educational and vocational history
• other pertinent information
• mental status
• assessment results
• diagnosis
• summary and conclusions
• recommendations
ETHICAL ISSUES
• Sources of Ethical Decisions
– Code of Ethics and Standards of
Practice(1995)
– Standards for Educational and
Psychological Testing (1999)
– Ethical Principles of Psychologists and
Code of Conduct (2002)
– Responsibilities of Users of Standardized
tests (2003a)
Ethics in Testing
• Who is responsible for Appropriate
Use?
– Counselors/Psychologist
– Test publishers
The Rights of Testtakers
• Invasion of Privacy
–Two Major Points to Consider to Avoid
Invasion of Privacy
 1.Informed consent
 nature of information being
collected
 purpose of test
 2.Relevance
 based on logic
• Rights to Results
– Explain the assessment process
– Explain the results

• Best interest of the test taker
• Understandable to client (consider language,
age)
• Right to Confidentiality
– Client/ Test taker for adults

– Parents and guardians for minors
– Secure test records
– Secure test contents and questions
•Right to the Least Stigmatizing Label
 Categories should be chosen carefully

and described precisely
 Diagnostic categories need to incorporate

contextual factors such as client’s
cultural and socioeconomic
experiences

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Psychological Testing

– Explain the assessment process

– Explain the results

– Client/ Test taker for adults

 Categories should be chosen carefully

 Diagnostic categories need to incorporate

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