Psychological testing

Assessments that measure characteristics, abilities, and skills related to mental functioning.


Devices for assessing aspects of mental and emotional functioning. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health workers use psychological tests to learn information that may not emerge from interviewing or observing people and to compare them with others. The more than 500 tests in current use fall into five basic categories. Projective tests ask people to respond to purposely ambiguous or unstructured material. An example is the inkblot or Rorschach test. Projective tests are so vague that people reveal information about themselves in responding. Self-report tests consist of statements that people judge as characteristic or uncharacteristic of themselves, thereby revealing their emotions, beliefs, and personalities. Psychophysiological tests measure physical responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension as indicators of psychological state, such as anxiety or sexual arousal. Neuropsychological tests reveal possible impairment of mental processes, such as memory loss, that may not be discovered in physical examination, X rays, or similar tests. Intelligence tests measure a person’s intellectual capacity.


 


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