Psychological Disorders Screening Project - Essay Example

Psychological Disorder Screening Project (your school) Psychological Disorder Screening Project Although not one method of assessing personality is considered perfect, taking personality tests such as the ones we recently had gives several advantages to the test taker. For one, these tests provide a better understanding of one’s self in terms of the traits, characteristics and states which make up personality – defined as the “relatively stable and distinctive patterns of behavior that characterize an individual and his or her reactions to the environment” (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2001, p. 405). The results from a properly administered test can provide truthful insights about a person, which in turn could be valuable in helping him or her deal with emotional conflicts, in guiding him or her as to the choice of a course or vocation, or in assisting the individual to land a job (“Personality Testing”, n.d.).

When we speak of personality disorders which Millon defines as the ways by which an “individual deals with dependency needs (as cited in Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2001, p. 435), psychological screening tests designed to assess such can help professionals identify the syndrome and thereby prescribe appropriate interventions. There are variables that may have serious effects on the test-taking process. One such variable is the test-taker him/herself. Kaplan and Sacuzzo (2001) point that a subject’s motivation, anxiety, physical health and even hormonal levels can significantly affect test performance.

When I took the test, I believe I was in a normal state, i.e., neither nervous nor sickly which reflected in the average results I got from the tests. Any and all information gathered from psychological tests may be used in a variety of ways. As mentioned earlier in this paper, personality tests help an individual increase his self-awareness. It can also be used for counseling, job or educational program assignment (“Why Personality Tests are Important”, n.d.), and in the assessment and/or improvement of one’s psychological wellness (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2001).

References Counselling People. (n.d.) Personality Testing. Retrieved from http://www.counsellingpeople.org/Personality_Testing.aspx Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D.P. (2001). Psychological Testing (5th ed.). Singapore: Thomson Learning Asia. Why Personality Tests are Important. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://instantpersonalitytest.us/Personality-Ebook/Why.pdf