A Comprehensive Guide to Psychological Assessment

There is much curiosity about psychological assessments, their use, and how they can help. Of course, these questions have different answers based on the nature of the referral question and the setting in which you seek the test.

What is Psychological Assessment?

Psychological assessment is the procedure of evaluating a person’s behavioural functioning and mental health using observations, standardised tests, etc. Typically, it is conducted by mental health professionals such as psychiatrists and psychologists. It helps diagnose mental health conditions, determine suitable options for treatment and measure progress due to treatment.

In broad terms, psychological assessments are objective ways to assess psychological functioning. Objective ways involve the comparison of one’s responses to standardised measures. Psychological functioning is a broad label because several different abilities are counted in this. Specifically, it refers to intellectual abilities, cognitive skills, emotional functions and personality features.

Psychological assessments are never focused on a single number or test score. All persons have a range of competencies that can be judged through many measures. The psychologist evaluates the competencies and limitations of a person, and the latter reports these helpfully and objectively. An assessment report will not only point out weaknesses identified in tests but also the individual’s strengths.

Core Principles Psychological Tests

Following are some core principles that are the foundation of psychological tests:

• Tests feature samples of behaviour.
• They do not reveal capacities and traits directly but permit inferences to conclude about the patient.
• Tests must be valid and reliable.
• Scores of tests may be influenced by temporary states of stress, anxiety or fatigue; damage to the brain; by anomalies in personality.
• Results of tests should be interpreted as per the primary language, cultural background etc., of the subject.
• The results of tests depend on the motivation and cooperation of the subject.
• Tests intending to measure the same ability might generate various scores related to the ability.
• Results of tests should not be interpreted in isolation but only in relation to information on case history and other behavioural data.

Psychological assessments are powerful tools, but their effectiveness is based on the knowledge and skill of the person conducting the administration and interpreting the test. If used with caution and wisdom, psychological assessments can aid a subject in learning more about themselves and garner valuable insights. But if not used correctly, psychological testing can mislead a person and cause harm.

Uses of Psychological Tests

Psychological assessments can help with the following:

• Clarify diagnosis
• Differentiate tough diagnoses where there is a mix of symptoms like Hypomania and ADHD.
• Identify intellectual gifts or strengths.
• Identify quickly any maladaptive coping methods or interpersonal patterns.
• Recognise underlying issues which cause psychological symptoms.
• Highlight cognitive or personality strengths to help the subject identify their best career.
• Understand tough therapy dynamics that lead to ceased treatment.
• Obtain objective results to help manage medication.
• While the therapy begins, the psychologist creates a list of objectives based on difficulties unearthed by testing.
• Gain home or school-based services.
• Discount organic causes of neurological issues or dysfunction that impact life.
• Determine the best kind of treatment as per the personality of the client.

Procedure for Creating Psychological Tests

Procedures for the creation of psychological tests are: 

1. a) Interviews, 
2. b) observation 
3. c) written evaluation 
4. d) consulting with other professionals in mental health, and 
5. e) formal psychological tests.

Measures of Psychological Tests

Psychological assessments cover a wide area:

• Assessment of mental health

This includes information regarding the subject’s current mental health status, family history and medical history. This assessment helps to diagnose if there are any existing issues of mental health and determine a suitable treatment.

• Assessment of adaptive behaviour

This measures the subject’s practical and social skills to determine their ability to function in daily life. It is typically conducted along with cognitive tests.

• Aptitude testing

This tests the ability of the person to conduct various types of tasks. It helps to identify areas where a person is the strongest. Also, it helps to determine the right career path for a subject.

• Cognitive testing

Cognitive assessment measure a person’s cognitive abilities, such as memory, comprehension, vocabulary, reasoning and problem-solving. They are typically referred to as IQ or Intelligence tests. They are used in the educational field to determine the potential and strengths of a subject.

• Educational testing

It is conducted to test how much a subject has advanced in mastering a specific subject like reading or maths. It is typically conducted in colleges and schools.

• Forensic testing

It is utilised in the legal field to know whether a subject can commit a crime he is accused of.

• Personality test

This test focuses on the personality traits of a subject. It measures the introversion/ extroversion of subjects and their reaction to varying situations in life.

• Neuropsychological testing

It analyses the way the brain of a subject works to check for any functional problems.

In sum, treatment for mental health does not need long-term contact or guesswork to discover the deep dynamics of personality. Instead, it is enough for a great psychological test to improve treatment outcomes, identify undiscovered weaknesses and strengths and drive forward the process of therapeutics.