INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
Psychological testing is a scientific and systematic process used to assess an individual’s
abilities, behaviour, personality, and emotions. It provides a structured method to understand
human differences and helps psychologists in diagnosis, planning interventions, and guiding
educational or career decisions.
A psychological test is an instrument designed to measure unobserved or latent traits, such as
intelligence, personality, or aptitude. Psychological tests typically consist of a series of tasks,
questions, or problems that the respondent has to complete. These tests provide quantitative
scores that can be compared with established norms to evaluate an individual’s performance.
Principles of Psychological Testing
1. Standardization
● All procedures and steps are conducted consistently and under the same environment for
all participants.
● Ensures that differences in scores reflect true individual differences rather than variations
in testing conditions.
2. Objectivity
● Scoring is designed to minimize subjective judgement and biases.
● Ensures that results are fair, consistent, and comparable for each test taker.
3. Test Norms
● Refers to the average scores obtained by a large representative group.
● Provides a frame of reference to interpret an individual’s performance relative to others.
4. Reliability
● The test should produce consistent results across multiple administrations or different
examiners.
○ Types of Reliability:
