Psychological testing - Essay Example

 Psychological testing Introduction For a long time, psychology has employed scientific research to measure aspects of human personality and behavior. As such, various scales of psychological assessment have been developed to precisely and objectively measure these aspects. Due to skills acquired through training, the use of these tests in diagnosis and therapy should be left for licensed psychologists. These tests could be used in the assessment of memory functioning, personality traits, intellectual ability, pathological psychological issues, relationship conflicts, motivational factors and stress issues. It identifies not only the weaknesses of a person but also the strengths and would take between ninety minutes to a whole day. Psychological testing involves a myriad of tests. These research-based tests assess aspects of the psychological make-up of a person. It would be important to note that these tests do not share same research evidence. They have been primarily categorized into four; clinical interview, behavioral assessment, personality assessment and intellectual functioning assessment. Other types of tests also exist for use in specific situations such as work counseling, aptitude and career planning. A psychologist conducting personality assessment aims at gaining insight into the personality of an individual. Various factors determine personality and include environmental, genetic and social. There are two types of personality tests; these are objective and projective tests (Framingham, 2011). History The period between 1890 and 1905, referred to as the “laboratory period” saw early researchers develop experimental methods which resulted into tests used in measuring the responses of individuals (Coon & Mitterer, 2010). These methods gradually gained fame in psychological spheres. Projective tests came into use due to the emergence of Freud’s psychodynamic theories. Initially, word association technique was used which spread further in 1920s with Herman Rorschach’s publication of the test bearing his name. The word processing technique involved the examinee responding to various stimulus words where the first word to come to mind would be said. This caused uproar among psychodynamic theorists who claimed that it brought out psychic contents which were unconscious to individual. Purpose The theory behind projective test is that when a person is asked a question, the answer would be socially determined and consciously formulated. As such, they would not reflect the unconscious attitudes of the respondent. The respondent could neither consciously recognize deep seated motivation nor express it verbally as desired by the questioner. Projective tests aim at influencing subjects to express their deeper thoughts than those that can be got by asking explicit questions. These tests do not have a structure and are intentionally vague so that the odds revealed by the response of one’s perception of the world would be enhanced. The possible responses with these tests are broad hence their difficulty in standardization and evaluation according to Trull (2005). Within ten years, Rorschach (1884 – 1922), a Swiss psychiatrist developed a ten-image test where five images were black and the other five were white, resembling inkblots. The subject would then be asked if the blots were similar and the content of the answer used to determine the personality of the individual. This would later be refined so as to consider other aspects apart from content such as responding to whether the objects were in motion or whether they pointed to a shade or color. Projective tests find out how an individual would respond to images, words and ambiguous scenes. It determines how people would project their personality unconsciously in the presence of ambiguous stimuli. Word association method has been replaced by sentence completion, where the examinee completes sentence stems, despite the debate on its categorization as a projective test. While in Harvard, Henry A. Murray came up with another test referred to as Thematic Appreciation Test, TAT. In this test, the subject would tell a story about thirty pictures, giving the introduction, body and conclusion. TAT is meant to give deeper insight into conscious aspects of the personality of the subject, particularly interpersonal relationships and incorporates two elements, namely; the examinee’s response which is storytelling and the material which includes picture cards. According to the TAT manual, 20 cards should be used, with the first half of the cards showing realistic scenes and the other half showing bizarre pictures. This test has been criticized for its invalidity due to the subjectivity of its interpretation. Supportive theories Murray was psychodynamic and did not prescribe to a particular school of psychoanalytic thought. TAT is based on Murray’s theory of personality. Central to this theory are needs drive and motivation in individuals and presses which are considered as objects in the environment of an individual. Needs and presses interact, what Murray referred to as “thema,” which is apperceived in cases where the subject recognizes and responds to stimulus material due to its deeper significance (Ebstein, 2006). The subject’s interpretation is based on the assumption that the hero’s attributes indicate the subject’s motivational or needs tendencies in personality and the circumstances surrounding the subject is an indication of the forces in the experienced world of the examinee. Other tests include draw-a-person test where the subject would be required to draw a person so as to interpret the shape, size and complexity of the drawing; animal metaphor test where the subject is supposed to come up with a story and its interpretation; and picture arrangement test where the subject arranges 3 pictures in 25 sets in a way that would make personal sense. Projective tests support the argument of psychoanalytic theory that explains the behavior of humans due to interaction with various personality components. Sigmund Freud, the founder and proponent of this school of thought argued that psychic energy and human behavior are directly related. It is based on unconscious, dynamic psychological conflicts (Coon, & Mitterer, 2010). Personality is argued to be a result of the interaction of the id, ego and superego. Similarly, humanistic personality theories which aim at changing the view of psychology from environmental conditioning and baser motives to how personal experiences affect growth potential could explain these tests. These theories use questionnaires to assess personality in seeking to understand the subjective personal experience of humans in therapy as observed by Ebstein (2006). Application Projective tests have been widely employed in various professions from marketing to clinical therapy. TAT has found use in marketing qualitative research where it has been widely used to determine the relationship between brands and the emotions they provoke. Projective techniques have been used in advertising to evaluate people’s response to advertisements. In business management, the tests have been employed in determining achievement and motivation among workers. They could also be used to assess how people adopt innovation in sociology and study cultural meaning in anthropology. However, in these non-psychology disciplines, the responses from various individuals would be grouped for analysis unlike in psychology where the response of an individual would be solely analyzed. Projective tests are widely used in therapeutic settings where therapists use the test to get qualitative information on their patients. It is effective in this situation as it enables one to figure out the reason for a troubled person and could play a significant role in diagnosing mental disorders. Clark also points out to the significance of projective tests in counseling as it enhances understanding of clients, building rapport and planning for the appropriate treatment (2008). Early recollections, sentence completion technique and human figure drawings are common techniques though Rorschach, TAT and related tests could be used by counselors with professional skills on the same. Conclusion Whatever the choice of test, it should measure what was intended. Features unique to projective tests include unstructured tasks, ambiguous directions and unlimited response. This open-endedness has greatly contributed to controversies on the merit of this instrument. Its subjectivity calls for the evaluator to employ own clinical judgment so as to come up with a conclusion. The evaluator should therefore acquire the appropriate skills before using this technique. Despite these tests being criticized for modest validity and reliability, they still remain popular among most clinicians. Reference Clark, A. J. (2008). Projective Techniques in the Counseling Process. Last updated 17 February, 2010. Retrieved 9 December, 2011 from http://www.healthyplace.com Coon, D., & Mitterer, J. O. (2010). Psychology: A Journey. Cengage Learning. 421 – 428. Ebstein, R. P. (2006). The Molecular Genetic Architecture of Human Personality: Beyond Self Report Questionnaires. Molecular Psychiatry, 11 (5), 427–445 Framingham, J. (2011). Types of Psychological Testing. Psych Central. Retrieved 10 December, 2011 from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/types-of-psychological-testing/ Trull, T. (Ed.). (2005). Personality assessment. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, Inc. Read More