Psychological testing
Psychological testing refers to the administration of psychological tests.[1] Psychological tests are administered or scored by trained evaluators.[1] A person's responses are evaluated according to carefully prescribed guidelines. Scores are thought to reflect individual or group differences in the construct the test purports to measure.[1] The science behind psychological testing is psychometrics.[1][2]
Psychological tests[edit]
According to Anastasi and Urbina, psychological tests involve observations made on a "carefully chosen sample [emphasis authors] of an individual's behavior."[1] A psychological test is often designed to measure unobserved constructs, also known as latent variables. Psychological tests can include a series of tasks, problems to solve, and characteristics (e.g., behaviors, symptoms) the presence of which the respondent affirms/denies to varying degrees. Psychological tests can include questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaire- and interview-based scales typically differ from psychoeducational tests, which ask for a respondent's maximum performance. Questionnaire- and interview-based scales, by contrast, ask for the respondent's typical behavior.[3] Symptom and attitude tests are more often called scales. A useful psychological test/scale must be both valid, i.e., show evidence that the test or scale measures what it is purported to measure,[1][4]) and reliable, i.e., show evidence of consistency across items and raters and over time, etc.
It is important that people who are equal on the measured construct (e.g., mathematics ability, depression) have an approximately equal probability of answering a test item accurately or acknowledging the presence of a symptom.[5] An example of an item on a mathematics test that might be used in the United Kingdom but not the United States could be the following: "In a football match two players get a red card; how many players are left on the pitch?" This item requires knowledge of football (soccer) to be answered correctly, not just mathematical ability. Thus, group membership can influence the probability of correctly answering items, as encapsulated in the concept of differential item functioning. Often tests are constructed for a specific population and the nature of that population should be taken into account when administering tests outside that population. A test should be invariant between relevant subgroups (e.g., demographic groups) within a larger population.[6] For example, for a test to be used in the United Kingdom, the test and its items should have approximately the same meaning for British males and females. That invariance does not necessarily apply to similar groups in another population, such as males and females in the United States or between populations, for example, the populations of the UK and the US. In test construction, it is important to establish invariance at least for the subgroups of the population of interest.[6]
Psychological assessment is similar to psychological testing but usually involves a more comprehensive assessment of the individual. According to the American Psychological Association, psychological assessment involves the collection and integration of data for the purpose of evaluating an individual’s "behavior, abilities, and other characteristics."[7] Each assessment is a process that involves integrating information from multiple sources, such as personality inventories, ability tests, symptom scales, interest inventories, and attitude scales, as well as information from personal interviews. Collateral information can also be collected from occupational records or medical histories; information can also be obtained from parents, spouses, teachers, friends, or past therapists or physicians. One or more psychological tests are sources of information used within the process of assessment. Many psychologists conduct assessments when providing services. Psychological assessment is a complex, detailed, in-depth process. Examples of assessments include providing a diagnosis,[7] identifying a learning disability in schoolchildren,[8] determining if a defendant is mentally competent,[9][10] and selecting job applicants.[11]
Test security[edit]
Many psychological and psychoeducational tests are not available to the public. Test publishers put restrictions on who has access to the test. Psychology licensing boards also restrict access to the tests used in licensing psychologists.[102][103] Test publishers hold that both copyright and professional ethics require them to protect the tests. Publishers sell tests only to people who have proved their educational and professional qualifications. Purchasers are legally bound not to give test answers or the tests themselves to members of the public unless permitted by the publisher.[104]
The International Test Commission (ITC), an international association of national psychological societies and test publishers, publishes the International Guidelines for Test Use, which prescribes measures to take to "protect the integrity" of the tests by not publicly describing test techniques and by not "coaching individuals" so that they "might unfairly influence their test performance."[105]