Psychological Assessment: A Comprehensive Guide to Types, Methods, and Applications

Posted on May 20, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology

Introduction and History of Psychological Assessment

  • Characteristics of psychological tests
  • History of psychological testing, dating back to ancient China
  • Key figures in the development of intelligence and personality tests

Reliability and Validity in Psychological Assessment

Reliability

  • Definition and importance of reliability
  • Types of reliability: coefficient alpha, inter-rater reliability, split-half reliability, test-retest reliability, parallel forms reliability
  • Factors affecting reliability

Validity

  • Definition and importance of validity
  • Types of validity: construct validity, predictive validity, concurrent validity, content validity, incremental validity
  • Factors affecting validity

Steps in Test Construction

  • Test specification and research question
  • Scoring procedures
  • Formulation of test items
  • Item analysis for reliability and validity
  • Test revision, cross-validation, and standardization

Intelligence Assessment

  • Key theories of intelligence: Spearman’s g factor, Thurstone’s primary mental abilities, Vernon’s hierarchical model, Guilford’s 120 factors, Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory
  • Major intelligence tests: Binet-Simon Scale, Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children, Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
  • Fluid and crystallized intelligence
  • Gf-Gc theory of intelligence

Personality Assessment

  • Paradigms of personality assessment: psychoanalytic, interpersonal, personological, multivariate, social-cognitive, positive psychology
  • Major personality tests: NEO Personality Inventory, IPIP-NEO, Big Five personality traits
  • Eclectic approaches to personality assessment

Forensic Assessment

  • Differences between forensic and therapeutic assessment
  • Types of forensic assessments: competency assessment, mental state assessment, risk assessment, assessment of dangerousness, custody evaluation, malingering

Educational Assessment

  • Formative vs. summative assessment
  • Achievement vs. aptitude tests
  • Group-administered achievement tests: NAPLAN, PISA, PSLE
  • Individually-administered achievement tests: Weschler Individual Achievement Tests, Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
  • Behavior rating scales: Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, Conners-3 ADHD, Conners Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scale, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales

Clinical Assessment

  • Mental status examination
  • Subtests of the WAIS-IV
  • Health measures: MMPI-2 RF, Personality Assessment Inventory, Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory, Ways of Coping Scale, COPE, Social Support Scale, SF-36, Nottingham Health Profile, DASS, Beck Depression Inventory, State Trait Anxiety Inventory

Neuropsychological Assessment

  • Commonly assessed functions: sensory functions, attention, memory and learning, language, visuospatial function, executive functions
  • Major neuropsychological assessments: Halstead-Reitan Battery, Luria-Nebraska Battery, WMS-IV, Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System battery, Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, California Verbal Learning Test

Organizational Psychology

  • Performance appraisal: rating scales, rank ordering employees
  • Work attitudes: job satisfaction, commitment, justice
  • Personnel selection: general mental ability tests, integrity tests, interviews, biodata, work samples, job knowledge peer ratings, assessment centers
  • Vocational interest: Holland’s hexagonal model of vocational interest, self-directed search, strong interest inventory