What Is a Psychological Test?

A psychological test is tool used to evaluate psychological, emotional, cognitive or behavioral abilities and functioning. They can be standardized and used to assess large groups of people, or they can be individualized and require assessment by a professional. So many different psychological tests are available -- some accessible to anyone, others only to professionals -- that it would be impossible to list them all. However, these tests tend to fall in a few broad categories.

Uses

• Psychological tests are not just for professionals in the mental health field trying to assess patients. They are widely used in education to assess achievement and learning disabilities, in the military and other organizations to determine fitness to lead or perform certain duties, and in business to examine whether job applicants have the right personality and aptitude for the job.

IQ and Achievement Tests

• Intelligence quotient, or IQ, tests purport to measure a person's underlying intelligence, while achievement tests attempt to measure how that intelligence has been put to use. The most frequently used tests are the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler intelligence tests (WISC-II and WAIS). These tests are standardized so that individual scores can be rated against a larger group of peers.

Personality Tests

• Tests designed to assess personality types rely on categorizing individual traits. They are based on innate temperament and preferred ways of thinking and behaving that develop over time. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) are two of the best known and most frequently used personality tests. The MBTI test evaluates four pairs of characteristics: extroversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving. The different characteristics can be combined to create 16 different types. The MMPI-2 was designed to test personality for the purpose of identifying different psychological disorders such as depression, paranoia and mood disorder. Another type of personality test is called the DISC assessment. It assesses qualities based on dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness.

Diagnostic Tests

• These tests are structured tools used to measure mental functioning. They are administered by a mental health professional and are designed to be objective and measurable so that an accurate psychiatric diagnosis can be determined. There are many different tests used to assess the emotional, behavioral and cognitive issues that define psychiatric disorders.

Test Types

• Psychological evaluations can be projective, objective or direct observation tests.

  Projective tests are also called self-reporting measures. They are open-ended, allowing the people being tested to give whatever responses they choose. The best example of this type is the Rorschach test, in which ink blots are shown and the participants say what they think the blots look like.

  Objective tests follow a specific format, in which participants must choose true/false or multiple choice answers.

  Direct observation tests are psychological assessments that allow a professional to observe the patient's behavior and interaction with others in the classroom, at home, or in a professional office. The observations may be done directly or they may use video recordings.