Psychological Testing Movement/Economic Influences - Essay Example

Economic Influences “The first psychological test of mental potentials was developed by Alfred Binet” (Schultz, 2011, p. 167). It later became a movement referred to as Psychological Testing Movement. Among the events that took place during the movement include the United States joined World War1, women worked in the applied fields, and racial differences were evidenced in the intelligence sector. The recruiting of the army called for involvement of highly trained person to administer the test; a staff of 40 psychologists who required heavy payments was formed to conduct the test(Schultz, 2011).

The testing of the immigrant populations also led to the use of a lot of money in testing the IQ of all races in the U.S. as well as barring Africans from carrying out top economic activities. In working as clinicians and psychologists, women advanced the application of the psychological tests. However, their efforts were unrecognized resulting to their low contribution to the growth of the economy(Schultz, 2011). As a result of the movement, psychologists manage to evaluate an individual through many diverse methods.

Currently, the psychologists evaluate competencies as well as limitations of persons with much ease. The movement also led to the psychological testing to be used in full medical examination so as to rule out medical, disease as well as organic materials that may result to symptoms(Schultz, 2011). As a result of the movement, norm-referenced tests are used in assessing the intelligence, adaptive behavior as well as arithmetic and spelling abilities of a person. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator used in evaluating how a person thinks and relates to other people, and Public Safety Employment Tests used in determining the safety of individuals in working environment are also as a result of the movement.

ReferenceSchultz, D. (2011). A History of Modern Psychology. New York: Cengage Learning.