Essentials of Psychological Testing
Chapter One
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTS AND THEIR USES
The first and most general meaning of the term test listed in the dictionary
is "a critical examination, observation, or evaluation." Its closest synonym
is trial. The word critical, in turn, is defined as "relating to ... a turning
point or specially important juncture" (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary,
1995). No wonder, then, that when the term psychological appears in front of the
word test, the resulting phrase acquires a somewhat threatening connotation. Psychological
tests are often used to evaluate individuals at some turning point or significant
juncture in their lives. Yet, in the eyes of many people, tests seem to be
trials on which too much depends and about which they know all too little. To a
large extent, the purpose of this book is to give readers enough information about
psychological tests and testing to remove their threatening connotations and to
provide the means whereby consumers of psychological tests can gain more
knowledge about their specific uses.
Thousands of instruments can accurately be called psychological tests. Many more
usurp the label either exp ... read full excerpt from Essentials of Psychological Testing ebook
