Foundations of Psychological Testing - Assignment Example

? Clinical Psychology Clinical Psychology Irrational behavior and poor performance are just some of the vast amounts of negative attributes that students may develop while in the school system. It is imperative to understand that the treatment for these behaviors varies over a wide range. However, prescription medication should come as the last way to solve this menace. The most important aspect is to question oneself the reason the student behaves in a particular nature and what are the present optimal means for the resolution of the problem. One of the best ways to resolve this problem is through the application of clinical psychology where the student undergoes various tests to identify the cause of the issue at hand. Clinical psychology gains definition as a field of science that incorporates the understanding of various psychological negative behaviors based on clinical analysis. The purpose of using this method in identification of the problem is to assist in the quickest manner of resolution and save the patient from repeated use of prescription drugs that affect the body systems in many other ways. For the gain of optimal results, the interaction between the student and the psychologists should appear smooth for clear portrayal of information. There are various clinical psychology techniques identified in the comprehension of a phenomenon (Schultz, 2010). The first set of tests to carry out is the intelligence and achievement test. The tests are very valid having received acclamation from the American Psychological Association and having helped many people, both adults and children deal with dysfunctional behavior. These tests are categorized into different groups in an effort to gain further understanding of the irrational behavior witnessed in candidates. The present test in this category is the IQ test otherwise known as the Intelligence Quotient test. This test is tailored in a manner through which the person under review can be assessed for the performance of the cognitive part of the brain. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) in this case of a nine year student is the most efficient as the person is still a child (Kaplan & Sacuzzo, 2009). This test is very imperative for the parent and the psychologist to understand the level of intelligence that the student bears. There are very many sub-tests in this major test and these include normal schooling tests such as vocabulary use, word reasoning and comprehension. There is also the other subtest that is non-educational but involves the craving of the mind such as the block design where children are meant to build structures using blocks. There is also the picture puzzle where the kid is supposed to make up a clear picture from a rather disorganized set of picture pieces. The Stanford- Binet Intelligence Scale is one other scale that can be applied towards the kid while carrying out the IQ test. The advantage of this test as compared to the Wechsler tests is that it offers a more precise score in terms of the IQ of the person under review. The tests involved in this model involve the carrying out of as simple tasks as the first one. The tasks involve the general knowledge that the child bears of objects and the educational knowledge (Kaplan & Sacuzzo, 2009). For the general knowledge, the questioning involves objects or issues in their day-to-day lives. As for the educational concept, various issues and ideas taught in class over a specified amount of time are incorporated. The combination of these two categories offers the clinical psychologist a figure known as the mental age of the child. The mental age of the child divided by the actual age and then multiplied by 100 offers the percentage of Intelligence that the child bears. The other forms of tests to carry out are personality tests that aim at identifying particular behavior and feelings that an individual bears. These tests are divided into two comprehensive categories that are projective tests and objective tests. Focusing on the latter, they further branch into two tests that are Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI). The MMPI is very common in the field of clinical psychology and practitioners often use it in the recognition of the personality composition of the individual under review. The MMPI was the initial form of tests applied towards the resolution of mental problems in the earlier days of inception. However, improvements have been made on the model and the contemporary applied method is the MMPI-2 (Schultz, 2010). The various tests involved in this method of clinical psychology involve the understanding of why a particular person carries out particular activities and whether they gain a sense of satisfaction. This is very important in the development of the mind and the understanding of the characteristics of a person. The results then taken and compared against the normal conditions and behaviors that a person is supposed to uphold and then the average behavior put alongside a scale to identify the personality behavior of a person. There is also the MCMI scale that is used to identify the psychopathology of a given individual depending on the area of growth and the environment as a whole. The personality of the person is reviewed to identify the various problems that the kid suffers from and then this is gauged alongside the personality scale. The scale runs from the lowest that is that called paranoid to the highest level known as schizoid (Schultz, 2010). This scale is one of the most efficient ways of identifying the problems that the student may be experiencing. In the passive category, there is the application of the Rorschach inkblot test. This is one of the most interesting and engaging tests in clinical psychology. Many of the practitioners use it to understand the emotional side of the characters. One of the widely recognized test in this is where the practitioner invites another person and asks the one under review to get seated next to each other with the one not being reviewed behind the candidate. A deck of inked cards get presented to the subject and then withdrawn and given to the tester. The tester then offers the cards back in a systematic manner that may leave the subject confused. The psychologist to understand the behavior and adaptation of the person uses the reactions and the questions that the subject brings out (Kaplan & Sacuzzo, 2009). As witnessed from the various tests carried out in clinical psychology, they are not difficult and all that is required is the willingness and participation of the subject. The tests are very healthy as compared to the use of prescription drugs. It is certain that prescription drugs may not always assist in the curing of the child, however, the use of clinical psychology can go a long way in problem resolution. References Kaplan, R. and Sacuzzo, D. (2009). Psychological Testing: Principles, Applications and Issues (7th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Publishers Schultz, P. (2010). Foundations of Psychological Testing. New York: McGraw Hill Publishers. Read More