Psychological evaluations are mostly conducted using a combination of procedures that include the following: direct observations, interviews, and the use of various standardized tests for the purpose of gaining a better understanding of the person being evaluated. These evaluations are conducted for a broad array of contexts and purposes.
The use of standardized tests is unique to psychologists. No other professionals are trained to conceptualize, develop, administer, and interpret psychological tests except psychologists. However, some individuals who are not psychologists might be trained to give specific psychological tests for specific purposes. Some trainors, for instance, might use a specific personality test as one of the tools they use in their workshops and seminars.
There are many kinds of psychological tests, but these can be divided into two general categories, which are as follows: aptitude tests and personality tests. Aptitude tests are the ones used to evaluate a person’s abilities or level of mastery in a specific skill area. This includes IQ tests and achievements tests mostly used in schools. Proficiency tests in specific skill areas also fall in the same category. Personality tests include tools that attempt at understanding certain traits and characteristics of the person.
Standardized tests are called such not only because they are administered and interpreted in much the same way every time they are used, but also because they went through a rigorous process of development. Most, if not all, the time, there is a sound and well accepted theory in understanding people that underlie these tests. The tests are often developed over a period of years, when they are tested with various groups of individuals to prove consistent results across a reasonably long period of time. The theory that was used to develop the scale is also somewhat proven when the tests go through various procedures that reasonably guarantee that they measure what they claim to measure.
Psychologists are trained to understand the principles underlying these tests and the way they have been developed. This basic understanding aids the professional to approximate an understanding of a person given a particular context and purpose.
Hi Dr. Boboy,
ReplyDeleteI think I understood the gist of your post. When it comes to statistics, I think a lot of people has misconceptions about what psychological test measures and what it doesn't. For instance, the age old equation of IQ with success at the work place.
I believe that psychological testing has its place in the clinical setting. Not simply only because it offers an economical solution to problems. But because a lot of times, people can't really articulate why they feel how they feel or what really is their problem. Taking a leaf out of the pop psych book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, when people are asked to justify/articulate why they like a particular product in a focus group, the rankings for the particular study does not correlate at all with the rankings when participants are simply asked to rank the products according to preference.
I think that's the beauty of statistics and testing - of being able to tell things that people can't articulate/verbalize in normal circumstances, more importantly so in psychological settings like where you're in.
I think this would be an interesting area to explore further and I would like to hear more about your thoughts on this.
Thank you for the post.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, some findings from research using statistical methods reveal suprising, even counter-intuitive, results. So, we do need to validate our impressions with more objective measures, and I guess this is also one of the roles of using standardized tests.
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