Psychological Testing
Introduction to Psychological Testing
Mark Dombeck, Ph.D.image by Brendan DeBrincat (lic)Welcome to our Psychological Assessment topic center. Psychological Assessment is a sub-field of Clinical Psychology specializing in the measurement of human abilities, traits and characteristics. Primarily, psychologists use tests to measure personality characteristics, intelligence and cognitive (e.g., thinking, attention, memory) characteristics
There are literally hundreds of psychological tests in existence. The best known among these are several tests of intelligence yielding the IQ score (the Stanford-Binet, and the Weschler tests). These and other similar tests are commonly used to classify people into mentally retarded, learning disabled, normal and gifted categories for school purposes.
Another well known set of tests are the Rorschach Ink Blot Test, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), which are examples of two very different sorts of personality tests. The Rorschach test involves making sense out of people?s spontaneous verbal responses to ambiguous ink blot pictures. The MMPI, in contrast, involves making sense out of a persons? response to a large true or false answer questionnaire. The Rorschach test is ?projective? in that it is designed to make clear exactly how the test subject goes about making sense out of (projecting meaning onto) the ink blots. The MMPI is ?objective? in that conclusions drawn from it are based on rigorous scientific studies of how thousands of people have responded to the same set of true or false questions.
The field of Neuropsychology exists to assess the relationships between brain and behavior, especially when the brain is damaged. Neuropsychologists use specialized tests that measure memory, learning, attention, intelligence, concentration, etc. to demonstrate that brain damage has indeed occurred even when that damage may be too slight and mild to have resulted in something visible on an MRI, CT or X-ray scan.
Resources
-
Articles
- Introduction to Psychological Testing
- Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
- Stanford-Binet IQ Test
- Raven's Progressive Matrices
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
- Big Five Personality Traits
- Rorschach Inkblot Test
- Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
- Neuropsychological Tests
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Global Assessment of Functioning
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- Neuroimaging (Brain Imaging)
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
-
Questions and Answers
- What is Neuroticism?
- IS ADHD CAUSING HIM TO FAIL?
- identification of mental disorder
- response appreciated..
- i need help with my sister
- seperation anxiety disorder or environment?
- Blood tests
- Help with ADD
- night fears
- my little sister
-
7 more
- How to live with a depressed person
- Am I bipolar?
- Good 14 Year Old Boy becomes freshman and falls apart
- Do I have adult ADD?
- Fantasy land for attention
- child psychological disorder
- performance
-
Links
- [6] Associations
- [4] Information
- [6] Journals
- [2] Assessment
- [5] Services
- [1] Videos
-
Videos
- Rorschach & Freudians
Topics
-
Related Topic Centers
- Psychotherapy
- Mental Health Professions
- Treatments & Interventions
-
Addictions
-
Aging & Elder Care
-
Assessments & Interventions
-
Career & Workplace
-
Emotional Well-Being
-
Life Issues
-
Parenting & Child Care
-
Abuse
-
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
-
Adoption
-
Autism
-
Child & Adolescent Development: Overview
-
Child & Adolescent Development: Puberty
-
Child Development & Parenting: Early (3-7)
-
Child Development & Parenting: Infants (0-2)
-
Child Development & Parenting: Middle (8-11)
-
Child Development & Parenting:Adolescence (12-24)
-
Child Development Theory: Adolescence (12-24)
-
Child Development Theory: Middle Childhood (8-11)
-
Childhood Mental Disorders and Illnesses
-
Childhood Special Education
-
Divorce
-
Family & Relationship Issues
-
Intellectual Disabilities
-
Learning Disorders
-
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
-
Parenting
-
Self Esteem
-
-
Psychological Disorders
-
Anxiety Disorders
-
Bipolar Disorder
-
Conversion Disorders
-
Depression: Depression & Related Conditions
-
Dissociative Disorders
-
Domestic Violence and Rape
-
Eating Disorders
-
Impulse Control Disorders
-
Intellectual Disabilities
-
Mental Disorders
-
Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
-
Personality Disorders
-
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
-
Schizophrenia
-
Sexual Disorders
-
Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders
-
Suicide
-
Tourettes and other Tic Disorders
-