What is a psychological test? A psychological test is a test that is used as instrument to measure or evaluate psychological characteristics of people, or the most general traits of an individual’s personality. In this way you can understand a person’s behavior and why this behavior occurs.
There are no two people on the planet who are exactly the same in terms of character and personality. People may look alike and have points in common, but the reality is that there will always be some point in our personality that differentiates us from others. That is what makes us unique and unmatched. Therefore, tests can help us understand in depth different psychological aspects of a person. Next, we will see what types of psychological tests there is.
According to their characteristics, we can differentiate the following 25 types of psychological tests:
- standardized tests
- Non-standardized tests
- Verbal tests
- non-verbal tests
- Maximum level test
- Typical behavior test
- Power test
- speed test
- Mixed tests (speed and power)
- Individual tests
- Collective tests
- screening test
- Diagnostic tests
- Self-administered tests
- heteroadministered tests
- Psychometric tests
- Inteligence test
- Performance test
- Aptitude test
- Personality test
- Neuropsychological tests
- Psychopathological tests
- Projective tests
- School performance test
- Vocational tests
Psychological tests are of different types depending on the combination of the following characteristics:
According to its construction
Depending on the way in which they have been constructed, we find two types of psychological tests:
- Standardized tests: It means it has gone through a standardization process, that is, it has been tested in a population with a normal distribution with the aim of making the test valid, reliable and accurate.
- Non-standardized tests: They are less rigorous.
According to the stimulus
Depending on the stimulus offered by the tests, we can differentiate two types of psychological tests:
- Verbal tests: They offer verbal information, whether written or oral. Therefore, the test items are formulated through phrases, words, etc.
- Non-verbal tests: The items or tests do not have verbal instructions, but rather graphic, tactile, etc. These types of tests are very useful for measuring characteristics of people who have language impairment. In this way, it is possible to evaluate characteristics without language problems influencing the score. For example, the Non-Verbal Intelligence Test-4 (TONI-4) allows evaluating general intelligence through problem solving, free of linguistic factors that affect the performance of subjects with problems in this area.
According to the content of the test
Depending on whether the aim is to assess the maximum performance or habitual characteristics of the person, we find two different types of psychological tests:
- Maximum level test: In these tests there is usually a correct answer and the person’s performance in a psychological area is evaluated to know their capacity. For example, the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) memory test assesses memory capacity performance.
- Typical behavior test: They do not have a correct answer, but instead aim to obtain information from the person, such as habits, skills, interests, opinions, etc. For example, personality tests, such as .
According to the time
Depending on whether time is delimited or not, we find these two types of psychological tests:
- Power test: In these tests there is no time limit.
- Speed test: The time is previously established. For example, the d2 attention test, in which you must mark each letter d that has two lines, having 20 seconds for each line.
- Mixed tests: They combine characteristics of power and speed tests.
Depending on the form of administration
Depending on how the tests can be applied, two main types of psychological tests are distinguished:
- Individual tests: They are administered to a single person.
- Collective tests: It is possible to apply them to groups or to several people at the same time.
According to its function
Depending on the function of the test and what its results allow us to know, we find these types of psychological tests:
- Screening test: They are the ones that are usually carried out first, because they are more general, with the aim of detecting relevant information.
- Diagnostic tests: They are more specific and are usually used to corroborate previously detected information.
According to the administration person
- Self-administered tests: They are tests that a person can perform on their own.
- Heteroadministered tests: These tests are applied by a professional.
Taking into account the previous characteristics that tests can have, when combining them, we obtain different types of tests. The most common types of psychological tests are:
1. Psychometric tests
Psychometric tests are those tests that attempt to establish a determined value to a psychological qualityso in this case what the tests would do is measure various aspects within a scale of values such as: intelligence quotient (IQ), attention, memory, reading comprehension, etc.
The purpose of this type of test is to evaluate and/or select and, in many cases, divide the population according to their abilities, something that is used in schools to know which students have the best academic performance and also in job interviews, to know who are the best candidates for the position. There are different types of psychometric tests. Sometimes, psychometric tests are also used in the clinical setting to make a diagnosis.
2. Intelligence test
Intelligence tests used to measure IQ, however, currently there are also and . Intelligence tests are maximum level tests, they usually have a correct answer since they aim to know the ability level of the person being evaluated. The most widely used is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS).
3. Performance test
While intelligence tests measure general intellectual ability, performance tests evaluate a specific ability or set of abilities.
4. School performance test
School achievement tests are academic tests that are used to know the level of school performance of a boy or girl. Typically, the results are compared to normal scores for the age range. In this way, it is possible to know if a child’s school performance is within or outside of normality depending on his or her age.
5. Aptitude test
Aptitude tests measure one or more intellectual or psychological abilities. That is, the natural ability or abilities that a person presents.
6. Personality test
Personality tests are instruments through which it is intended to collect information about a person’s personality. That is, your usual way of thinking, feeling and behaving. They are used in various contexts: both in and in work and organizational psychology.
7. Neuropsychological tests
Neuropsychological tests evaluate the person’s cognitive state. They are used when there is suspicion of cognitive impairment, for example, in cases of brain damage or suspected dementia. The most widely used neuropsychological test is the mini-mental state examination (MMSE).
8. Psychopathological tests
Psychopathological tests are those that evaluate the predisposition or the presence of some psychological problem or disorder. The items of these tests usually evaluate the presence or absence of characteristic symptoms of one or more psychopathologies. Since psychopathological tests can determine both the presence of symptoms of general psychological distress and the presence of symptoms of a specific psychological disorder.
Some of the best-known psychopathological tests are the (BDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Questionnaire (STAI).
8. Projective tests
Projective tests, on the other hand, are less structured tests that test individuality through the open answer of each individual in order to know the personality traits, characteristics, beliefs, thoughts, etc. Projective psychological tests are more used in children’s, clinical and even forensic settings. There are different types of projective tests:
- Structural projective tests: They consist of defining what is seen in abstract visual material, such as spots. As an example of this type of test, we find the well-known .
- Associative projective tests: in which information is obtained from the person through their responses associated with the stimuli presented to them. The word association test is the best known of this type.
- Thematic projective tests: whose mission is to explain a story based on the stimuli presented. For example, thematic apperception tests.
- Graphic projective tests: They study characteristics of the person through the analysis of their drawing, such as in the .
9. Vocational tests
Finally, vocational psychological tests are typical behavioral tests, since they do not have a single correct answer. The objective of this type of test is to know the traits, preferences, abilities, etc., of a person. Using this information, the aim is to guide the person towards the professions or studies that correspond to their personality, their tastes and their abilities. Like for example, this one.