To be meaningfully employed for either research or clinical activities, psychological tests must possess adequate reliability and validity. The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is an example of a test developed with a construct validation approach. The construct validation methodology is considered the most sophisticated strategy for test development. In addition, if theoretically important items do not differentiate between the two groups, this finding may lead to a revision in the theory. Items that successfully differentiate between groups and that meet other psychometric criteria (i.e., they have adequate internal consistency) are retained for the scale. Within this framework, a large pool of items is written to reflect a theoretical construct (e.g., impulsivity) and then these items are tested to determine if they actually differentiate subjects who are expected to differ on the construct (impulsive vs. The construct validation method combines aspects from both the rational and the empirical test construction methodologies. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is an example of test developed using this method. The items, which successfully differentiate one group from another, are organized together to form a scale without regard to their thematic content. The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) is an example of a test that was originally developed using primarily rational test construction.Д®mpirically guided test construction uses a large number of items (called an item pool) and statistical methods to determine which items differentiate between well-defined groups of subjects (a process termed empirical keying). Scales are developed to operationalize the important features of a theory. Rational test construction relies on a theory of personality or psychopathology (e.g., the cognitive theory of depression) to guide item selection and scale construction. Three general test development strategies are available to guide test construction: rational, empirical, and construct validation methods. PSYCHOMETRICS: THE SCIENCE OF TEST DEVELOPMENT Issues relating to the ordering of psychological testing and the integration of information from an assessment report into the treatment process will also be presented. This will be accomplished by reviewing the methods used to construct valid psychological instruments, the major categories of psychological tests (including detailed examples of each category), and the application of these instruments in clinical assessment. 1 This chapter will provide a detailed review of what a psychological assessment comprises and discuss the potential benefits of an assessment consultation. This is unfortunate given the evidence that psychological tests generally produce reliability and validity coefficients similar to many routine diagnostic medical tests. To a considerable extent, psychological assessment consultations are underutilized in the current mental heath care environment. Psychological assessment is a consultation procedure that can greatly enhance cliniciansвЂ™ understanding of their patients and facilitate the treatment process.

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