Introduction to Psychological Testing Essay

Introduction

Psychological tests are techniques or processes that are used in assessing as well as evaluating information one gives to whoever is examining him or her. This marks the origination of its name, which is psychological evaluation (Kaplan, 2005). Whoever is being evaluated gives correspondence in form of solutions verbal or written. The accuracy of a psychological test will depend mostly on answers or questions.

Types of psychological tests

1. Achievement and Aptitude Tests

Is commonly practiced in educational as well as employment set ups, since they tend to measure the scope of understanding of a given knowledge. Most educational institutions incorporate this kind of test within its system. For instance during the new enrollment in schools; where new students are interviewed on their competence and possession of the set standard of that particular institution.

Achievement and aptitude tests are usually observed in the educational or service background. This kind of tests, therefore try to gauge either on how much an individual is acquainted with about a definite subject (Kline, 2005). This test therefore, entails that an individual requires to be tested on what achievements in terms of knowledge one has maybe in mathematics or spelling. Also on how much of ability an individual has this is an individuals’ ability in mastering a matter in an exact region, such as mechanical associations.

2. Intelligence Test

Measures ones intelligence ability of an individual, which a better knowledge of the general world surrounding him or her. Intelligence tend to measure ones potential and not what has been acquired or learned as its in the achievement test, this make it call for it being autonomous from culture. While designing this tests it becomes hard to make it be free fro culture-this is its weakness (Kaplan, 2005).

There are also the intelligence tests that put more effort in measuring your intelligence. That is, your basic aptitude for an individual to appreciate the humanity around you, incorporate its performance, and applies this knowledge to enhance the eminence of a person’s life. Therefore this enables an individual to profit by mistake without being murdered by it. Therefore, intelligence is a gauge of a latent, not a gauge of what a person has learned in terms of the achievement examination.

c) Neuropsychological test

This is a psychological test which endeavor to assess the inefficiency in cognitive functioning, for instance ones ability to think, speak as well as to reason, that could have started as a given class of brain injury (Kline, 2005). The test is commonly used in institution for mentally challenged people or special school for students with special cases.

Psychological tests are in most cases undertaken or administered by psychologists or counselors who have qualified or trained in that field.

Some of the considerations these tests were created for include;

1. Easy of getting information

Psychological information give easy access of the necessary knowledge required as compared to some techniques of measuring evaluation of information like clinical interviews.

2. Consistency of information

The information from psychological tests is very consistent hence can be easily be relied upon in decision making or psychological healing.

3. It’s hard to avoid lying in psychological tests as compared to the clinical one.

Some test may have some technicalities into process of evaluation hence making it hard to assess a lie.

Validity and reliability

A major let down by psychological test regards their capabilities of measuring what they are expected to evaluate.

Validity

Is a measure of the accuracy as well as the usefulness of a given tests. Under psychological tests we have several kind of validity measure that are used to assess the accuracy of a test being put in use (Van Mieghem, 2006). They include;

1. Construct validity

This the capabilities of a test to assess the psychological make like student depression.

2. Content validity

This refers to ability of a test to model satisfactorily a wide scope of a variety of constructs.

3. Criterion-related validity

This is the capacity of a test to forecast individuals’ performance on something. Before admitting a student, the teachers can predict whether the student will be successful or not.

Reliability

This is the ability of a test giving similar and accurate results throughout a given test. For example solving a mathematical problem, gives similar solutions to the question no matter the method used.

1. Test-retest reliability

This is a reliability test of various departments which give similar results.

2. Internal-consistency reliability

Test how objects tend to be similar with one another.

Conclusion

Therefore, by examining the performance of a child from a number of outlooks including personality, Teacher, and Parent, it helps one get an unprejudiced representation that is even more absolute (Van Mieghem, 2006). The different types of psychological tests are of great importance to the parents and their children especially those who are in schools. Therefore, this implies that the children need attention from those who especially understand different disabilities which children are likely to encounter while they are still gaining knowledge in their learning institutions.

References

1. Kaplan, R.M. & Saccuzzo, D.P. (2005). Psychological Testing: Principles, applications, And issues. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth
2. Kline, J.B. (2005). Psychological testing: a practical approach to design and evaluation. Calif.: Sage Publications.
3. Van Mieghem, P. (2006). Performance analysis of communications networks. New York: Cambridge University Press.