Briefly define psychological assessment.
Psychological assessment guides are created by psychology professionals to provide the public with accurate and authoritative information appropriate for their current needs. Information available to the public about psychological testing and assessment varies widely depending on the professional creating it, the purpose of the assessment, and the intended audience. When professionals effectively educate the public on the how, what, and why behind assessments and the strengths and limitations of commonly used instruments, potential clients are in a better position to be informed users of assessment products and services. The Assessment Guides developed in this course will be designed to provide the lay public with accurate and culturally relevant information to aid them in making informed decisions about psychological testing. Students will develop their Guides with the goal of educating readers to be informed participants in the assessment process.
There is no required template for the development of the Assessment Guide. Students are encouraged to be creative while maintaining the professional appearance of their work. The Guide must be reader-friendly (sixth- to ninth-grade reading level) and easy to navigate, and it must include a combination of text, images, and graphics to engage readers in the information provided. Throughout their Guides, students will provide useful examples and definitions as well as questions readers should ask their practitioners. To ensure accuracy, students are expected to use only scholarly and peer-reviewed sources for the information in the development of their Guides.
Students will begin their Guides with a general overview of assessment, reasons for assessment referrals, and the importance of the role of each individual in the process. Within each of the remaining sections, students will describe the types of assessments that their readers may encounter, the purposes of each type of assessment, the different skills and abilities the instruments measure, the most valid and reliable uses of the measures, and limitations of the measures. A brief section will be included to describe the assessment process, the types of professionals who conduct the assessments, and what to expect during the assessment meetings.
The Assessment Guide must include the following sections:
Table of Contents (Portrait orientation must be used for the page layout of this section.)
In this one-page section, students must list the following subsections and categories of assessments.
- Introduction and Overview
- Tests of Intelligence
- Tests of Achievement
- Tests of Ability
- Neuropsychological Testing
- Personality Testing
- Industrial, Occupational, and Career Assessment
- Forensic Assessment
- Special Topics (student’s choice)
- References
Section 1: Introduction and Overview (Portrait or landscape orientation may be used for the page layout of this section.)
Students will begin their Guides with a general overview of assessment. In this two-page section, students will briefly address the major aspects of the assessment process. Students are encouraged to develop creative titles for these topics that effectively communicate the meanings to the intended audience.
- Definition of a Test (e.g., What is a Test?)
- Briefly define psychological assessment.
- Types of Tests
- Identify the major categories of psychological assessment.
- Reliability and Validity
- Briefly define the concepts of reliability and validity as they apply to psychological assessment.
- Role of testing and assessment in the diagnostic process
- Briefly explain role of assessment in diagnosis.
- Professionals Who Administer Tests
- Briefly describe the types of professionals involved in various assessment processes.
- Culture and Testing
- Briefly describe issues of cultural diversity as it applies to psychological assessment.
Categories of Assessment (Portrait or landscape orientation may be used for the page layout of this section.)
For each of the following, students will create a two-page information sheet or pamphlet to be included in the Assessment Guide. For each category of assessment, students will include the required content listed in the PSY640 Content for Testing Pamphlets and Information Sheets (Links to an external site.). Be sure to reference the content requirements (Links to an external site.) prior to completing each of the information sheets on the following categories of assessment.
- Tests of Intelligence
- Tests of Achievement
- Tests of Ability
- Neuropsychological Testing
- Personality Testing
- Industrial, Occupational, and Career Assessment
- Forensic Assessment
- Special Topics (Students will specify which topic they selected for this pamphlet or information sheet. Additional instructions are noted below.)
Special Topics (Student’s Choice)
In addition to the required seven categories of assessment listed above, students will develop an eighth information sheet or pamphlet that includes information targeted either at a specific population or about a specific issue related to psychological assessment not covered in one of the previous sections. Students may choose from one of the following categories:
- Testing Preschool-Aged Children
- Testing Elementary School-Aged Children
- Testing Adolescents
- Testing Geriatric Patients
- Testing First Generation Immigrants
- Testing in Rural Communities
- Testing English Language Learners
- Testing Individuals Who Are (Select one: Deaf, Blind, Quadriplegic)
- Testing Individuals Who Are Incarcerated
- Testing for Competency to Stand Trial
- Testing in Child Custody Cases
References (Portrait orientation must be used for the page layout of this section.)
Include a separate reference section that is formatted according to APA style. The reference list must consist entirely of scholarly sources. For the purposes of this assignment, assessment manuals, the course textbook, chapters from graduate-level textbooks, chapters from professional books, and peer-reviewed journal articles may be used as resource material. A minimum of 16 unique scholarly sources including a minimum of 12 peer-reviewed articles published within the last 10 years. The bulleted list of credible professional and/or educational online resources required for each assessment area will not count toward these totals.
Attention Students: The Masters of Arts in Psychology program is utilizing the Pathbrite portfolio tool as a repository for student scholarly work in the form of signature assignments completed within the program. After receiving feedback for this Assessment Guide, please implement any changes recommended by the instructor, go to Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)and upload the revised Assessment Guide to the portfolio. (Use the Pathbrite Quick-Start Guide (Links to an external site.)to create an account if you do not already have one.) The upload of signature assignments will take place after completing each course. Be certain to upload revised signature assignments throughout the program as the portfolio and its contents will be used in other courses and may be used by individual students as a professional resource tool. See the Pathbrite (Links to an external site.) website for information and further instructions on using this portfolio tool.
The Assessment Guide
- Must be 18 pages in length (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style.
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of guide
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
- Must use at least 16 scholarly sources, including a minimum of 12 peer-reviewed articles.
- Must document all sources in APA style.
- Must include a separate reference page that is formatted according to APA style.
- Must incorporate at least three different methods of presenting information (e.g., text, graphics, images, original cartoons).
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Running head: PHYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT GUIDE
1
Psychological Assessment Guide
Student’s Name
Course Name and Number
Instructor’s Name
Date
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Psychological Assessment Guide
Table of Contents
Table of Contents Introduc�on and Overview 2
Tests of Intelligence 4
Development of Intelligence Tests 4
Types of Intelligence Tests 5
Significance of Intelligence Tes�ng 5
Tests of Achievement 6
Survey Test Ba�eries 7
Single Survey Tests 7
Prognos�c Tests 7
Diagnos�c Tests 8
Significance of Tests of Achievement 8
Tests of Ability 9
Significance of the Tests of Ability 10
Applica�on of the Tests of Ability 10
Neuropsychological Tes�ng 11
Significance of The Neuropsychological Evaluation 11
Collec�on of Diagnos�c Informa�on 11
Assessment of Treatment Response 12
Differen�al Diagnos�c Informa�on 12
Personality Tes�ng 12
Myer Briggs Type Indicator 13
Holtzman Inkblot Technique 13
Revised Neo Personality Inventory 13
Enneagram Test 14
Hexaco Personality Inventory 14
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Applica�on of Personality Tests 14
Industrial, Occupa�onal and Career Assessment 14
Introduc�on and Types of Assessment Methods for Career, Occupa�on and Industrial Work 14
Significance of Career Assessment 15
Forensic Assessment 16
Differences Between Forensic and Therapeu�c Psychological Assessments 16
Special Topics 17
Tes�ng Adolescents 17
Tes�ng Elementary School-Aged Children 18
Conclusion 18
References 19
Introduction and Overview
A psychological test is usually a set of verbal or written evaluations questions that are used
in the assessment of mental ability and emotional functioning in people. Psychological assessment
is an evaluation method administered by skilled professionals systematically to their patients in
order to make precise projections on the psychological performance of the patient. This is achieved
through observation of the cognitive behaviors and mental abilities. There are various types of
psychological tests that can be administered by the profession in a psychological evaluation
process. This include; tests of intelligence, tests of ability, tests of achievement, personality tests
and neuropsychological tests. Psychological professionals utilize various psychological assessment
which are divide into four major categories, namely; clinical assessment, behavioral assessment,
personality assessment and assessment of Intellectual Functioning (Framingham, 2018). Clinical
assessment is primarily conducted to gather relevant and useful information required the
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professional in subsequent evaluation processes. The IQ assessment involves measuring the
general intelligence of the patient using theoretical methods.
Reliability refers to the stability and consistency of the scale measurement, translating to
how it can give consistent results conducted on different times of evaluation (Bannigan & Watson,
2009). Validity refers to the accuracy given by the evaluation scale, that is, the measure of a scale
in measuring what it is precisely intended for in the psychological assessments (Eric, 2014).
Reliability and validity are both essential aspects of psychometrics and can largely influence the
psychological evaluation results. Psychological assessment is a form of accountability for the
psychology profession to the other involved parties especially since it plays a significant role in the
determination of psychological intervention to be used in the subsequent processes. Psychological
assessments play a pivotal role in the identification of psychological issues, evaluation of patients,
planning of appropriate psychological interventions and delivery of information to the patients or
other concerned persons.
The psychological tests that are required in the evaluation of psychological wellness are
mostly effective if administered by a professional. Some of the professionals that are allowed by
law and ability to administer these tests are; licensed psychologists, counselors, psychiatrist, clinical
social workers and psychiatric nurses. Licensed professionals have the skills and experience
required in the administration of tests and interpretation of the results (Framingham, 2018). This is
imperative for the correct diagnosis of the patient which is key in determination of the intervention
methods to be applied in the treatment of the psychology patient. The health professional that is
involved in the administration of the evaluation tests might not be the same one to deliver the
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treatment methods required by the patient. In this case, they remain in a better position to
refer the patient to another professional able to meet the psychological treatment requirement of the
patient.
Psychological testing tends to be efficient in cross-cultural settings due to the elimination of
bias and provision of objective results of the constructs being measured. Cultural bias is a statistical
error that can undermine the validity of the tests being conducted. The means of the sampling of
the psychological behaviors and the sort of questions administered can vary across cultures due to
the diverse beliefs and customs being practiced. The alterations made due to the culture-biasness
may affect the results derived from the evaluation process. There are various factors that affect
cross-cultural psychology, such as, the methods of evaluating tests, period taken for the adaptation
of tests made for cross-cultural use and bias that comes with cross-culture administration of
evaluation tests. Already established are numerous reliable steps that can be implemented to be able
to scale up the validity of the tests being administered.
Tests of Intelligence
Development of Intelligence Tests
Before the early eighteenth century, intelligence was primarily measured by simple
observation of an individual’s behavior that would be dictated by a person’s judgement. There are
two most-widely utilized intelligence tests that include; Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, the
Wechsler Scales and the Raven’s Progressive Matrices (Sternberg, 2015). The Stanford Binet test
was first introduced at Stanford University in the early eighteenth century by a psychologist named
Lewis Terman. It was first designed to be administered on kids focusing mainly on their verbal
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abilities. The results were used in the diagnosis of learning deficiencies and developmental
rate in young children. Around 1939 there was a psychologist known as David Wechsler that
developed an IQ test that was referred to as the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale. It was a
generally a combination of earlier intelligence tests that had been conducted in the late nineteenth
century and some of which were being used in the World War I where he had been working with
the veterans. The name of the test was later converted to the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.
The current Wechsler and Stanford-Binet intelligence tests have gone through a series of scientific
modifications in the last century. New models of intelligence testing have incorporated factors that
go past the conventional IQ testing although the main principles used in the IQ level identification
have only changed slightly.
Types of Intelligence Tests
Tests of intelligence are specifically designed for the measure of mental functions.
Intelligence is abstract and can be affected by several factors like; environment, genetics and socio-
economic status. Successful intelligence is however believed to be composed of cognitive abilities
like creativity which enables one to form new ideas with ease, analytical ability which helps in the
evaluation of ideas and practicality abilities that helps in the incorporation of ideas into practice.
There are various types of intelligence tests such as; musical, spatial, logical-mathematical,
existential, verbal-linguistic and interpersonal intelligence tests. There are various methods used for
the measure of intelligence. The most utilized and standardized test is the ‘intelligence quotient’ test
which assesses various capabilities of an individual in regards to mental state.
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Scales are the most utilized in
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psychology for the measure of human intelligence (Reynolds, 1998). The tests offer best
results when administered by a professional due to the dynamics of the operation of the devices
used and interpretation of the results given by the tests. They require a vast knowledge of statistics,
research literature and measurement theory knowledge. They can be administered to an individual
or a group of people. Group intelligence tests are however not common due to their abuse and the
limited information offered by the individuals affecting the final score.
Significance of Intelligence Testing
There exist differing controversies surrounding the measure of human intelligence due to its
abstract nature and the fact that most modern psychologists argue that IQ represents only a fraction
of a person’s intelligence levels (Roberts, et, al., 2001). However, intelligence testing is still widely
accepted and utilized for diverse purposes. The primary objective of intelligence testing remains to
be able to establish a person’s logical, critical and problem-solving skills which are useful in the
determination of the person’s position in the intelligence developmental scale. Standardized
intelligence testing can help in promotion of equality as the results can be used in the admission of
students due to their cognitive abilities according to the tests administered. Intelligence testing can
also be helpful in identification and guidance on the way to assist children that might be
experiencing learning challenges; without which they might fail to get the effective help from their
tutors. There have been cases where Intelligence tests have been used in the administration of
disability benefits form the Social Security Administration. Also, in the justice systems, intelligence
tests have been conducted mainly in courts for the determination of the suitability of the defendant
mentally before their participation in trial. Despite the challenges that have been accompanied in
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the testing and interpretation of intelligence results, it is still a powerful psychology method
that is widely accepted and acceptable.
Tests of Achievement
Tests of achievement are conducted by trained personnel to be able to determine a person’s
skills, knowledge and expertise level. Tests of achievements are modelled in a way similar to the
tests of intelligence; only that they concentrate on a person’s abilities. There are various types of
tests of achievement that are standardized. These are; survey test batteries, single survey tests,
prognostic tests and diagnostic tests.
Survey Test Batteries
This type of test involves a set of subject-matter tests that are prepared to be administered to
certain group of students. The administration of these types of tests to people is aimed at
determining their specific position in a group in accordance to their strengths and weaknesses. The
test is used to establish the standing position of the persons taking them on various areas. These
tests are standardized and for all the participants to ensure validity in the direct comparison of the
achievements of each participant (Sternberg, et, al., 2014). These tests have been widely used and
accepted and they are recognized as the most detailed and standardized way of testing
achievement.
Single Survey Tests