Types of psychological tests: their functions and characteristics

These tools are widely used in psychology and Human Resources to evaluate people.

Within psychology, the evaluation of the mental state of the subject who comes for consultation or who requires our services is a necessary and essential element.

Psychology professionals have a series of tools to carry out this evaluation, among them are different types of psychological tests.

Psychological test: concept

A psychological test is considered to be any test, method or instrument used in order to evaluate or measure one or more of the different one or more of the different characteristics that are part of the psyche of the individual. Psychological tests are based on observable behavior and on the expression of the subjectivity of the person being tested in order to infer the characteristics and mental state of the subject, being necessary a later analysis in order to extract information with clinical significance.

Psychological tests try, as far as possible, to ensure that the information that the information obtained through their realization is valid and reliable, trying to reflect what is beingThey try to ensure that they reflect what they are intended to measure (let us not forget that psychological characteristics are constructs that are not directly observable) and that they can be replicated by other professionals (i.e., that the information obtained by one person about a subject can be obtained by another professional if he/she performs the same measurement).

Likewise, the scores obtained have to be transformed in order to have a meaning, being generally compared either with the average obtained by representative samples of the population, with one's own previous performance or with a criterion established beforehand.

Based on this concept, numerous types of psychological tests have been formulated, created according to different criteria and with different objectives. following different criteria and with different objectives.

Dimensions and types of derived psychological tests

When conducting a psychological test there are numerous aspects that we have to take into account when assessing what type of information we want to obtain and how we are going to get it.

Some of the main dimensions to be evaluated are the following.

1. Level of structuring

The different types of psychological tests can vary enormously depending on whether the information is requested in a more or less concise manner or whether the examinee is given more or less freedom to express him/herself.

This aspect is fundamental in order to obtain the information.. Having a very structured test will allow to obtain short and concise answers, directing the evaluation to the most relevant aspects. However, a great deal of relevant information that could help to better adjust and understand the subject's mental state may be lost.

In this sense, we can find unstructured types of psychological tests (in which the content of the evaluation varies according to the subject's answers), semi-structured (in which, although freedom of response is offered and the questions vary according to the information that is reflected, an attempt is made to follow a more or less predefined script) or structured (in which, although the answers given are taken into account, the evaluation follows a predefined course).

Level of voluntariness

By voluntariness we mean the degree to which the subject has control over the response given. response. For example, if an electroencephalogram is performed, the subject has no control over which response is given, whereas in some tests the individual can decide the type of response he/she gives.

Level of masking

Masking is understood as the extent to which the subject knows the purpose of the test being administered and/or the connotations of the answers. and/or the connotations of their answers. In this sense, tests can be masked (as for example the Rorschach test, in which the individual does not know what his answers mean) or unmasked.

4. Level of objectivity

The level of objectivity of the data refers to the degree to which the answers are derived from the subjectivity of the patient or are empirical and visible data. In this sense we can find different types of psychological tests, objective tests and subjective testsHowever, all measuring instruments can be evaluated in this sense.

According to the number of persons evaluated

When we think of a psychological evaluation we generally imagine a situation in which a person is being analyzed by a professional, usually in the clinical or human resources field.

However, whether in these or other contexts, it is often possible to make a joint it is often possible to make a joint evaluation of several individuals, or even an evaluation of a group as such.or even an evaluation of a group as such. Thus we can find:

1. individual tests

These are those types of psychological tests in which the characteristics or performance of a single individual are evaluated. the characteristics or performance of a single subject. They are usually tests that require a certain level of specialization to be carried out, and provide a lot of information about the same individual. It also allows the establishment of a relationship with the evaluator that may allow the latter to see and analyze various aspects that may or may not be included in the test.

2. Group tests

Group tests are those that are performed in a group. They usually require less training for their application than individual tests. Although they they save time and moneyThe results of the assessment of the individual usually involve a certain loss of information about the individual and make it very difficult for a psychologist or evaluator to assess the individual.

Depending on the content

Tests can also be classified according to what type of mental content they are used to evaluate. In this sense we can find the following types of psychological tests.

1. Intelligence Test

Intellectual capacity is one of the aspects that have been evaluated the most throughout history. With its use it is intended to discover the potential and the ability to and capacity to adapt and to use different strategies, together with the capacity to store andThe ability to store and use one's own mental resources is evaluated with these tests.

2. Aptitude test

But mental capacities are not limited only to intelligence, there are many other characteristics that allow our behaviors to be more or less effective in one or several areas. Especially applied in personnel selectionThese types of tests reflect the ability in specific aspects of reality and allow predicting the effectiveness and performance of the subject.

3. Personality tests

People tend to behave and see the world in a certain way, a pattern that we acquire partly by inheritance and partly according to our experiences throughout development. Measuring these patterns of behaviorThe study of the behavior, beliefs, emotions and thought allows us to get an idea of the way of being of the person being evaluated, as well as the way he or she tends to see or act in the world.

4. Psychopathology tests

The presence of mental problems and even disorders is an increasingly frequent element in today's society. Diagnosing these problems allows us to guide the individual regarding different measures and treatments to be applied in order to solve the difficulties he/she suffers from.

5. Neuropsychological tests

This type of psychological tests are used in order to help to determine the mental and perceptual state of an individualThey are usually applied to subjects who have suffered an injury of some kind. Therefore, the purpose for which they are designed is the extent of possible damage to different types of mental processes.

6. Developmental/aging test

This type of test is used to assess the degree to which an individual develops over the life cycle. develops throughout the life cycleThe presence of alterations and comparing the degree of development in relation to the norm.

7. Test of interests/professional vocation

They are based on the analysis of the subject's preferences, allowing their orientation towards certain goals or objectives.. They are usually applied to young people who are in their adolescence or post-adolescence and who need to be oriented to decide their educational path.

Depending on the performance criterion

Another fundamental aspect when carrying out a test is to take into account how it is going to be evaluated. In this aspect we can find two main types of psychological tests.

1. Maximal performance test

Peak performance tests aim to evaluate a person's maximum potential in a psychological characteristic or aspect. For this reason, the efficiency of the individual is taken into account, being relevant the time it takes to finish a task. and evaluating the measured characteristic in terms of its correctness and speed. Objective and sometimes psychometric techniques tend to use this type of criterion, as in intelligence or neuropsychological tests.

2. Typical performance tests

This type of test is characterized because it seeks to evaluate the performance or typical characteristics of the subject in certain tasks or aspects, i.e. what is usual and everyday for the individual. The time it takes to perform the required task is not of interest or significant per se. Within this group subjective and projective techniques are usually found.techniques, which evaluate aspects such as personality.

Pervin's classification

Taking into account all the above aspects, several authors have generated throughout history different classifications of the types of psychological tests. One of the most widespread and accepted classifications is that of Pervinwhich considers the existence of the following categories.

Psychometric tests

Psychometric tests are those used to measure in the measurement of specific characteristics of the psyche, such as intelligence or intelligence tests.such as intelligence or aptitude tests. It is one of the types of psychological tests that considers that individuals will answer honestly, applying unmasked tests, in which the answers are voluntarily controlled by the subject.

They are highly structuredand are frequently used both in the clinic and in areas such as work and education.

Objective tests

Highly structured, this type of tests and tests are based on physiological correlates are based on physiological correlates in order to measure a certain element. Because of this, the answers given are not voluntary and cannot be modified. However, the purpose of the test is usually clear, so it would be considered unmasked. Different instruments and devices are used for the recording of the individual's responses, not depending on the evaluator for the recording per se. Typical examples of objective tests are the polygraph or biofeedback.

Within the objective tests we can find:

• Cognitive tests. They evaluate aspects such as attention, concentration or perception.
• Motor tests. They evaluate the execution of muscular responses to various stimuli.
• Psychophysiological tests. They evaluate the relationship between behavior and physiology in aspects such as breathing, Heart rate, temperature, sexual response or digestion.

3. Subjective tests

This is the most common type of psychological test when measuring aspects of personality and experiences of the subject based on self-verbalizations or self-descriptions provided by the subject according to a series of items. Voluntary response, the individual may attempt to falsify the information provided, although in order to detectHowever, in order to detect such attempts, different reliability scales are usually applied. They are usually semi-structured and adapted to the objective or to the specific item to be measured.

4. Projective tests

Subjective tests are usually used to analyze the deeper aspects and personality traits of the individual. This is the least structured type of psychological test, not restricting in any way the response given by the person being analyzed and all the subject's answers have a valid meaning that must be analyzed and evaluated.

These responses are subjective, since they represent the subject's internal represent the internal world of the subject in question. The individual in question does not know the sense or meaning of his answers, being one of the types of masked psychological tests. Each answer and aspect represented is important, but it only makes sense and can only be given significance in relation to the whole.

The main problem of this type of test lies in the wide freedom of possible answers and the the wide freedom of possible answers and the low level of standardization of these answers. The same answer can be interpreted from different points of view, depending on the method of interpretation used.

Within the subjective tests we can find different typologies. Specifically, the following stand out:

• Structural tests. In these tests the patient must make sense of and organize visual material. One of the most famous is the Rorschach Test.
• Thematic tests. It is asked to narrate a story from the material presented in sheets (the TAT or Thematic Apperception Test is usually the best known).
• Expressive tests. The subject is asked to draw a specific element (one of the best known is the HTC, a test in which the subject is asked to draw a person, a house and a tree).
• Constructive tests. The individual is asked to build a specific element with the pieces provided (the Imaginary Village Test is a good example of this).
• Associative tests. In this type of projective psychological tests, the person is asked to associate a word (either orally or in writing) to another word or stimulus provided. The Word Association Test is one of the most commonly used.
• Refractory tests. It is based on the analysis of personality from the products of the subject's activity, such as his writing.

Bibliographical references:

• Buela-Casal, G. and Sierra, J.C. (1997). Manual de evaluación psicológica. Siglo XXI: Madrid.

• Cohen, R.J. & Swerdlik, M.E. (2002). Psychological testing and assessment. McGraw-Hill: Madrid.

• Sanz, L.J. & Alvarez, C.A. (2012). Evaluation in Clinical Psychology. Manual CEDE de Preparación PIR. 05. CEDE: Madrid.