Test Types & Purposes
This type of test helps determine overall IQ and cognitive strengths/weaknesses.
WAIS-IV
After testing, you should always provide this to the patient.
Feedback session or summary
This test is commonly used for determining personality characteristics.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
This test screens for cognitive impairment and is used in dementia evaluations.
MoCA
The first step in referring for testing is to clarify this.
Referral Question
You’d use this self-report measure to assess depression severity.
BDI-II
When discussing results, you should avoid this to prevent misunderstanding.
Technical jargon
This test is often used in a diagnostic battery to provide additional insight into personality features and treatment recommendations.
Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI)
On the WAIS-IV, this index reflects processing speed.
Processing Speed Index (PSI)
True or false: testing can be therapeutic in itself.
True (especially via feedback)
This test helps detect effort or malingering in examinees.
TOMM
Integrating test data with this is crucial for accurate diagnosis.
Clinical history and observation
This projective test presents ambiguous inkblots.
Rorschach
This index reflects working memory on the WAIS-IV.
Working Memory Index (WMI)
A good testing referral should focus on this instead of “ruling out everything.”
Specific clinical question
This assessment helps evaluate ADHD symptoms in adults and children.
Conners-4
One key reason to provide feedback to caregivers or families is this.
Improving support and treatment adherence
This inventory provides insight into emotional regulation, aggression, and interpersonal style.
Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)
This index on the WAIS-IV measures verbal reasoning, concept formation, and understanding of language.
Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)
When you suspect ADHD, this type of testing helps confirm diagnosis and rule out mimics.
neuropsychological testing
This comprehensive battery evaluates attention, memory, language, and visuospatial skills after brain injury.
Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)
or neuropsych battery :)
The ultimate purpose of psychological testing in clinical practice is this.
Informing diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient care.
When interpreting personality test results, this is a key risk if you rely solely on test scores without clinical context.
Misdiagnosis or over-pathologizing the patient.
This WAIS-IV index assesses nonverbal reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and problem-solving.
Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)
When integrating results, psychiatrists should use testing data to inform these two aspects of care.
Diagnosis and treatment planning