Psychological Testing

Psychological testing
Psychological testing which is also called psychometrics refers to the systematic use of tests to quantify psychophysical behavior, abilities, and problems and to makepredictions about psychological performance. It is characterized by the use of samples of behavior in order to measure psychological constructs, such as cognitive and emotional functioning, about a givenindividual.
These measures are often compiled into statistical tables that allow the evaluator to compare the behavior of the individual being tested to the responses of a norm group.
There aredifferent types of psychological tests:
Achievement and aptitude tests: these are usually used in educational or employment settings, and they attempt to measure either how much you know about a certaintopic
Intelligence tests: these attempt to measure your intelligence—that is, your basic ability to understand the world around you, assimilate its functioning, and apply this knowledge to enhance thequality of your life.
Neuropsychological tests: they measure deficits in cognitive functioning (e.g: your ability to think, speak, reason, etc.)
Occupational tests: attempt to match your interestswith the interests of persons in known careers.
Personality tests: these are used to measure the basic personality style and they are used in research or to help with clinical diagnoses (e.g: MMPI,Rorschach test, etc.)
Some of the main reasons psychological tests were created for are:
It’s easier to get information from tests than by clinical interview
The information from tests is morescientifically consistent than the information from a clinical interview.
It’s harder to get away with lying on a test than in a clinical interview.

References
Adkins C. Dorothy, Fiske W. Donald.Psychological Testing. Retrieved April 14th from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/481664/psychological-testing
Raymond Lloyd Richmond, (2011). Psychological Testing. A guide to Psychology and...