W. W. Norton & Company | The Personality Puzzle, 4th ed.

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Chapter 5: Personality Assessment I: Personality Testing and Its Consequences

Visit the web sites of a few of the major test developers (see links below). Note the variety of psychological tests that are available for use by psychologists and individuals in related fields. Notice how much they cost to purchase. In order to administer a test, at minimum, the psychologist must purchase test booklets, answer sheets (if required), and a test manual (covers how to administer the test; what cut-points to use to make certain diagnoses—how low or high does a score need to be before we call it "abnormal"—called norms; how the test was developed and validated; what kinds of behavior the test can predict, etc.). Most psychological tests are inexpensive to obtain. However, if you went to a psychologist for an assessment and evaluation you will pay several hundred dollars, even more than $1,000 for their services. When you pay for a psychological assessment and evaluation, you are paying for the psychologist's time and expertise in the interpretation of your test score.

Some psychological tests require extensive training and practice administering before using with clients (e.g., most intelligence tests; click here to learn more about the WAIS). Anyone who attempts to purchase a psychological test must meet minimum qualification levels (click here for a description of one test publisher's qualification levels; you will notice that with a BA/BS in psychology or related fields, and in some cases an undergraduate course in psychological testing, you can be granted permission to obtain and administer many tests). Go ahead, explore these sites:

CPP, Inc Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.

Harcourt Assessment Harcourt Assessment, Inc. (PsychCorp)

MHS Multi-Health Systems, Inc.

PAR Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

Pearson Assessments Pearson Education, Inc.

Pro-ed Psychological Products Pro-ed, Inc.

Western Psychological Services Western Psychological Services

Here is an example of an empirically keyed test: The Minnesota Multiphasic Psychological Inventory (MMPI) (click on this link: http://www.pearsonassessments.com/tests/mmpi_2.htm)

Here is an example of a rationally keyed test: The NEO-Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) (click on this link: http://www3.parinc.com/products/product.aspx?Productid=NEO-PI-R)

You can also take a minute to discover that many psychological tests are not published for sale. They can be obtained at no cost from your local college or university library! Examples of these tests include:

Oliver John's Big 5 Inventory (BFI):
John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five Trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and
theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory
and research (2nd ed.) (pp. 102-138). New York: Guilford Press.

The Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS):
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures
of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
54, 1063-1070.

The original version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI):
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961) An inventory for measuring
depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561-571.

In the case of these scales, it is assumed that the individual obtaining and using the scale will ensure that he or she has the right to administer and interpret psychological tests in their state although the laws vary substantially from state to state (generally speaking, it is illegal to practice without a license). Furthermore, in the case of these scales, it is the responsibility of the test user (rather than the publisher) to ensure that the test has demonstrated adequate psychometric properties and has proper norms for interpretation. For this reason, these scales are used more frequently in research settings than in applied, clinical settings.

Visit the American Psychological Association web site and learn about the Joint Committee on Testing Practices, a group of experts on psychological testing that meet to improve the use of psychological and educational tests when drawing conclusions or making decisions about people. This wide range of individuals represents all of the stakeholders in the process of developing, obtaining, and administering psychological tests:

http://www.apa.org/science/jctpweb.html

The standards that test developers and test users are mandated to follow are detailed in a book, "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" (1999), which can be purchased from the American Psychological Association or the American Educational Research Association.

JCTP Sponsoring Associations (which now include: ACA, AERA, APA, ASHA, NASP, NATD, and NCME)

American Counseling Association (ACA)

American Educational Research Association (AERA)

American Psychological Association (APA)

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

National Association of Test Directors (NATD)

National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME)