Psychological testing involves administering tests to assess individual’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to intellectual functioning, educational functioning, and personality functioning.
Psychological tests may be used for a number of reasons such as evaluating a person’s ability to function in certain areas within school or work settings, assessing job applicants, discovering any disabilities, and assisting courts with issues such as child custody or competency to stand trial. These types of tests help provide consistent information that is not subjective, making it easier to directly compare the results with others.
The Most Common Tests Used in a Psychological Evaluation Include:
- Aptitude or Achievement tests tend to be used more in education or work settings because they measure how much knowledge one has achieved about a topic such as spelling or geography, or they measure how much capacity, or aptitude, one has to learn material about certain subject areas.
- Neuropsychological tests measure deficits in cognition, behavior or emotional functions such as the ability to speak, think, or reason, and do so in relation to brain function.
- Personality tests measure basic personality styles, which are often used for helping with clinical diagnoses. Examples of personalities tests are the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory-Second Edition (MMPI-2), Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory – 3rd Edition (MCMI-III), Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI).
- Intelligence or IQ testing, unlike achievement tests, measures potential for knowledge and understanding rather than what a person learned specifically. These tests attempt to measure intelligence, or a person’s ability to understand the world, take in how it functions, and use that knowledge for improvement.
To learn more or get in contact with us at the Atlanta Behavioral Consultants, please call Dr. Drutman at 770.910.9135.