Psychological tests and instruments are created and used primarily by psychologists who have training and experience in the field of psychometrics. This field of study focuses on the measurement of personality traits, knowledge, abilities and attitudes. Psychologists can gather information necessary for understanding a psychological problem and recommending a course of treatment through the use of instruments such as questionnaires, inventories and tests.
Reliability and Validity of Tests
For an instrument to be of value it must be reliable and valid. Reliability refers to the instrument's ability to measure something consistently, and validity refers to the instrument's ability to measure what it claims to measure. Reliability, for example, is shown when an instrument gives the same results when tested on the same individual more than one time (called test-retest reliability). Validity is established when research on the results of the test show that the instrument is measuring what it claims to measure.
Test Quality
Both reliability and validity must be high for the test to gather accurate information. An instrument is said to have good quality when both its reliability and validity are high. A test could consistently measure something (high reliability) but not measure what it was constructed to measure (low validity). For example, a test claims to measure anxiety and gives consistent results, but when researchers investigate they discover that it measures fear instead of anxiety. Although the test has high reliability, it is actually measuring fear and is therefore low quality.
Test Selection
When a psychologist wishes to use a psychological test to assist you, selection of the specific test is of central importance. The psychologist will determine the best test for you based on several factors. These factors include looking at who the test was designed to be used on--gender, age and cultural background are some of the most important variables. The psychologist will also look at the instrument's quality and the potential for bias in some populations.
Test Administration, Scoring and Communicating Results
The way in which an instrument is administered can have a subtle effect on the results. For this reason, psychologists have specialized training, and instruments come with specific rules for administering the test. The environment and how the psychologist talks to each of her clients about how to take the test will be exactly the same. The psychologist will also have a standard way of scoring the test (for example through a computer program), and will score every test in the exact same way. Communicating the results to the test-taker is of central importance. For the results to have the intended effect of increasing understanding of the problem and making recommendations, the psychologist must be skilled at interpreting the results within the context of these two goals.
References
- "Psychological Testing and Assessment"; Ronald Jay Cohen & Mark Swerdlik; 2009
- "Psychological Testing: Principles, Applications and Issues"; Robert M. Kaplan and Dennis P. Saccuzzo; 2008
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