Definition of psychological test

Measurement of personal characteristics and mental health

The psychological test, also known as the psychological test, is an experimental instrument used to measure or evaluate a specific psychological characteristic, mental health or those essential and general traits that mark and distinguish the personality of a person.

These types of tests can and are usually applied in different contexts and with the most diverse purposes: by a company that is in the search for specific personnel to fill a vacant position, to determine someone's vocational orientation, adaptation needs of children on the school, among others.

The importance of being carried out by qualified professionals

Meanwhile, these tests must be carried out by specialized professionals, that is, psychologists, Psychopedagogues, people who have studies in the field will be able to specify them since they have the knowledge needed to do so. In any case, we must emphasize that on some occasions they are carried out by people who do not have of this knowledge with which the results obtained must be considered with the reservations of the case.

The professionals of the psychology They have in their favor the disposition of the knowledge of the typical conflicts, traumas and the ways of reacting that people have Faced with certain facts, therefore, in the requisition of the test they may be used to identify, rule out personality disorders, for example.

Now, it is important that we emphasize that the professionals who carry out the tests, as well as the requisition, are the least intrusive possible so that this does not affect the comfort of the patient or the person who is subjected to the test.

How are the tests carried out?

The individual behavior that the test items provoke will be evaluated by comparing them, either statistics or qualitatively with that of other individuals who are subjected to the same test, being able to arrive through this experimental method to a certain classification of the subject or subjects in question. And likewise, that specific behavior that the individual observes when faced with a certain reagent must represent as faithfully as possible the functioning that this subject would have in certain daily situations in which the capacity that is being evaluated is put into actual execution.

Types of psychological tests

There are two types of psychological tests, Psychometric and Projective.
The former measure and assign a value to a certain quality or psychological process, such as intelligence, memory, attention, cognitive performance and verbal comprehension, among others. They are aimed at activities of evaluation and selection, such would be the case of job interviews. Almost always, when one applies for a job position, in addition to being evaluated in terms of experience and knowledge, it will be submitted to a psychological test to determine if he meets the psychological characteristics that the position in question demand. Many companies make use of these tests to guarantee the hiring of personnel who are normal in psychic matter and of course avoid future surprises by hiring people who have a problem psychological.

Also, psychometric tests are used at the request of clinical diagnosis. Your organization, understanding, administration, interpretation and even correction are usually standardized and objective.

And the Projective Tests, on the other hand, are registered within what is known as the dynamic current of Psychology. They start from a hypothesis less structured than the previous ones and that will test the individuality of each individual's response in order to infer her personality traits. This type of test is usually more used in clinical, forensic and children's settings.

Traditionally and also to avoid falling into serious errors due to lack of professionalism, it is that conducting psychological tests is mostly reserved for psychologists, although, as we have already pointed out lines above, in some legislations they allow them to be carried out by professionals not received in Psychology but with the due training of a psychologist before carrying them out or leaving the interpretation and correction tasks to them. the same.

Now, we must emphasize that although psychological tests are a very important and fundamental resource in the contexts mentioned above, because As we said, they allow to achieve an intimate knowledge of the people evaluated, they are not entirely sufficient to explain very intimate aspects by example.