psychological test(redirected from Psychological testing)
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psychological testa test of an individual's level of achievement or aptitude. There are two main types of test:
- achievement test: this tests an individual's acquired knowledge and skills, for example a driving test;
- aptitude test: this tests fundamental abilities or aptitudes, such as mental ability (for example, an intelligence test) or perceptual abilities.
Whereas (a) is used to determine what skills an individual already possesses, the purpose of (b) is to discover his or her capacity to acquire new skills in future. Tests of both types are often utilized in RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION. Achievement tests can be used to verify information that a candidate has submitted in his application, and aptitude tests can be used to gauge how individuals will respond to new challenges and hence to provide a degree of prediction of future work performance. See PERSONALITY INVENTORY.