General Psychology Articles

Article / Updated 07-10-2023

Any number of different disciplines are involved in mental illness treatment and working with people with mental disorders. Psychological testing, however, is considered the sole domain of psychologists. Although some professionals, including school counselors and learning disability specialists, conduct psychological testing, their testing is limited in scope and to a specific problem. Psychologists are thoroughly trained in all aspects of psychological testing and are the primary professionals in this area. Testing formats include surveys, pencil-and-paper tests, exercises and activities (like putting a puzzle together), interviews, and observation. Psychological testing focuses on the subject matter of psychology, behavior, and mental processes. Intelligence tests Intelligence tests may be the most frequently administered type of psychological test. They measure a broad range of intellectual and cognitive abilities and often provide a general measure of intelligence, which is sometimes called an IQ — intelligence quotient. Intelligence tests are used in a wide variety of settings and applications. They can be used for diagnostic purposes to identify disabilities and cognitive disorders. They’re commonly used in academic and school settings. Intelligence tests have been around since the beginning of psychology as an established science, dating back to the work of Wilhelm Wundt — one of the founders of psychology — in the early 20th century. The most commonly used tests of intelligence are the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th Edition, for adults, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th Edition, for children. Each of these tests contains several subtests designed to measure specific aspects of intelligence, such as attention, general knowledge, visual organization, and comprehension. Both tests provide individual scores for each subtest and an overall score representing overall intelligence. Neuropsychological and cognitive tests Although not a new field, tests of neuropsychological functioning and cognitive ability, related specifically to brain functioning, are rapidly becoming a standard part of a psychologist’s testing toolset. Neuropsychological tests have traditionally been used to augment neurological exams and brain imaging techniques (such as MRIs, CT scans, and PET scans) but they’re being used more widely now in psychoeducational testing and other clinical testing situations. The technology of scanning techniques picks up on the presence of brain damage, but neuropsychological tests serve as a more precise measure of the actual functional impairments an individual may suffer from. Scans say, “Yep, there’s damage!” Neuropsychological tests say, “. . . and here’s the cognitive problem related to it.” Neuropsychological testing is used in hospitals, clinics, private practices, and other places where psychologists work with patients who are suspected of neuropsychological impairment. People suffering head trauma, developmental disorder, or other insults to the brain may need a thorough neuropsychological examination. A popular neuropsychological test is a collection of tests called a test battery. The Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery includes tests that measure neuropsychological constructs, such as memory, attention and concentration, language ability, motor skills, auditory skill, and planning. Completing the battery requires several hours, and it’s never done in one sitting. However, when conducted by a competent professional, the testing can yield a tremendous amount of helpful information. Many neuropsychological instruments are available; some are comprehensive, like the Halstead-Reitan, and some are designed to measure a specific function such as language or attention. A neuropsychological evaluation is conducted using a comprehensive instrument or a collection of individual instruments to create a profile of neuropsychological strengths and weaknesses. The following areas of neuropsychological functioning are typically assessed: Executive Functions: Focusing, planning, organizing, monitoring, inhibiting, and self-regulating Communication and Language: Perceiving, receiving, and expressing self with language and nonverbal communication Memory: Auditory memory, visual memory, working memory, and long-term memory Sensorimotor Functions: Sensory and motor functions, including hearing, touch, smell, and fine and gross muscle movements Visual-Spatial Functions: Visual perception, visual motor coordination, visual scanning, and perceptual reasoning Speed and Efficiency: How fast and how efficient thinking is

Article / Updated 07-10-2023

Psychological tests are part of the entire psychological assessment process. Assessment is a set of scientific procedures used to measure and evaluate an individual’s behavior and mental processes. Psychologist Anne Anastasi (1908–2001), a past president of the American Psychological Association, defines a psychological test as an objective, standardized sample of behavior or mental processes. Nearly all topics in psychology can be measured with a test. Clinical tests Clinical psychologists (psychologists who work with mental disorders and abnormal behavior) typically use clinical testing as a way to clarify diagnoses and assess the scope and nature of a person’s or family’s disturbance and dysfunction. Specific tests are designed to assess the extent to which a patient may or may not be experiencing the symptoms of a particular disorder. These are diagnostic tests. Behavioral and adaptive functioning tests are two types of clinical tests that determine how well a person is doing in her everyday life and whether she exhibits specific problem behaviors. A common instrument used with children is the Child Behavior Checklist, which assesses the extent of a child’s behavior problems. Another commonly used clinical test is the Conner’s Parent Rating Scale, which detects attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. In addition to disorder-specific inventories and tests, a wide variety of tests designed for other purposes lend themselves to the diagnostic process. Intelligence tests are designed to measure intelligence, but they can also show signs of cognitive dysfunction and learning disabilities. Personality tests are designed to measure personality, but they can also provide helpful insight to the types of psychological problems an individual is experiencing. Educational and achievement tests Educational and achievement tests measure an individual’s current level of academic competence. Glen Aylward, chair of the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, identifies three major purposes of this type of testing: Identify students who need special instruction. Identify the nature of a student’s difficulties in order to rule out learning disabilities. Assist in educational planning and approach to instruction. A typical educational/achievement test assesses the most common areas of school activity: reading, mathematics, spelling, and writing skills. Some tests include other areas such as science and social studies. A popular achievement test in use today is the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery, Revised. The test consists of nine subtests, measuring the standard areas of instruction but in more detail (mathematics is broken down into calculation and applied problems, for example). When a student has a hard time in school, it’s not unusual to administer an achievement test. Sometimes, students have a difficult time because they have a learning disability. Part of identifying a learning disability is assessing the student’s achievement level. Other times, a student struggles because of non-academic difficulties including emotional problems, substance abuse, or family issues. An achievement test sometimes helps to tease out these non-academic problems. Personality tests Personality tests measure many different things, not just personality. Numerous tests are designed to measure emotion, motivation, and interpersonal skills as well as specific aspects of personality, according to the given theory on which a test is based. Most personality tests are known as self-reports. With self-reports, the person answering questions about herself, typically in a pencil-and-paper format, provides the information. Personality tests are usually developed with a particular theory of personality in mind. A test may measure id, ego, or superego issues, for example, if it originates from a Freudian view of personality development. MMPI-2 Perhaps the most widely used personality test in the United States is the MMPI-2, The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, 2nd Edition. Almost all American psychologists are trained to use the MMPI-2, which is considered to be a very reliable and valid instrument. A patient’s results from a MMPI-2 test provide rich information about the presence of psychopathology and level of severity, if present. The test’s results also reveal information about the emotional, behavioral, and social functioning of the test taker. A lot of psychologists use the MMPI-2 as a way to check the accuracy of their observations and diagnoses. The MMPI-2 test consists of 567 individual items and produces a score on nine clinical categories or scales. If a score is over a specific cutoff, it usually gets the attention of the psychologist administering the test. Psychologists consider such scores to be of clinical significance. The MMPI-2 covers a wide variety of areas, including depression, physical complaints, anger, social contact, anxiety, and energy level. Projective personality tests Projective personality tests are a unique breed of test. When most people think of psychological testing, these kinds of tests come readily to mind. The stereotype involves sitting across from a psychologist, looking at a card with smeared ink or a picture of somebody doing something on it, and answering questions like “What do you see here?” (You can take a free, mock personality test at here.) Projective personality tests are based on the projective hypothesis, which states that when presented with ambiguous stimuli, people project parts of themselves and their psychological functioning that they may not reveal if asked directly The idea is that many people can’t exactly describe what’s going on mentally and emotionally because of psychological defense mechanisms. Projective tests get past the defenses and penetrate the deep recesses of the psyche. Perhaps the most popular projective personality test and maybe even the most popular psychological test of all time is the Rorschach Inkblot Test (RIT). The RIT consists of ten cards, each with its own standard inkblot figure. None of these inkblots are a picture or representation of anything. They were created by simply pouring ink onto a sheet of paper and folding it in half. The only meaning and structure the cards have are provided by the projections of the test taker himself.

Article / Updated 07-10-2023

Cognitive psychologists use the information processing model to explain cognition. This model assumes that human cognition is a lot like a computer and the way the human brain works is by processing information through a series of stages: Perception: Input stage. People need to encode information from the world in order to process it and then respond to it appropriately. In part, perception is guided by experience, which changes the way people see the world. If information is attended to, it’s transferred from perception to memory. Memory: Storage center. Information is stored in long-term memory and processed and used by short-term memory. All knowledge is stored in long-term memory. Thinking: A high-level cognitive function. Information from perception and memory is used to make decisions, to reason and to make deductions. Language: A high-level output stage of cognition. Often, the results of thinking need to be acted upon in terms of speaking or writing. The information processing model of cognition shows how information enters and leaves the mind.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 07-03-2023

Everyone feels special from time to time. Maybe you finally get that promotion you’ve had your eye on at work, or your closest friends surprise you with a birthday bash. But narcissists feel uniquely special all the time and expect to be treated accordingly. This unfounded belief in their own superiority often creates distressing conflict in personal and/or professional relationships. Narcissism is a set of personality traits that lie on a continuum. In other words, some people are a little bit narcissistic while others are very much so and may be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). When you’re dealing with a narcissist, it can be helpful to recognize the common tactics narcissists use and distance yourself from them to preserve your own emotional well-being.

Article / Updated 08-08-2022

In Sigmund Freud's model of the human personality, each of us behaves according to these three key elements: Id: The seat of our impulses Ego: Negotiates with the id, pleases the superego Superego: Keeps us on the straight and narrow Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis in psychology, would have been a great Hollywood screenwriter. His "story" of personality is one of desire, power, control, and freedom. The plot is complex and the characters compete. Our personalities represent a drama of sorts, acted out in our minds. "You" are a product of how these competing mental forces and structures interact. The ancient Greeks thought that all people were actors in the drama of the gods above. For Freud, we are simply actors in the drama of our minds, pushed by desire, pulled by conscience. Underneath the surface, our personalities represent the power struggles going on deep within us. The id, ego, and superego each have their own idea of what the outcome of this drama should be. Their struggles are fueled by powerful motives, and each one is out for itself. I want, therefore I am The initial structural component and first character in Freud's drama of personality is the id. Have you ever felt overpowered by an incredibly strong urge, impulse, or desire? A new car, sexual desire, a dream job? The answer is probably a resounding "Yes!" Where does such desire come from? According to Freud, desire comes from the part of your personality called the id, located in the expanses of our mind. So look around, and look deep within. Look at your co-workers, look at your boss. It's in all of us, even the quiet elderly man at the bus stop. Underneath that quiet, grandfatherly demeanor lurks a seething cauldron of desire. The id contains all of our most basic animal and primitive impulses that demand satisfaction. It's the Mr. Hyde emerging from the restrained Dr. Jekyll. It's that little devil that sits on your shoulder, whispering temptations and spurring you on. Whenever you see a selfish, spoiled child in the grocery store demanding a toy and throwing a tantrum if he doesn't get his way, you'll know that's the id in action! The id is a type of "container" that holds our desires. Relentlessly driven by a force Freud called the libido, the collective energy of life's instincts and will to survive, the id must be satisfied! We're all born with the id in full force. It's unregulated and untouched by the constraints of the world outside of our minds. When a baby gets hungry, does she sit quietly and wait until someone remembers to feed her? Anyone who's ever gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to feed a baby knows the answer to that. But don't give the id a bad rap. Where would you be without desire? Your desire pushes you through life; it leads you to seek the things you need to survive. Without it we'd die, or at the very least, we'd be really boring. So keep in mind that a large part of your personality consists of your desires and your attempts to satisfy them. Enter the ego Wouldn't it be nice if you could get everything you wanted, whenever and however you wanted it? Unfortunately, most of us know otherwise. We all know how frustrating it can be when a desire goes unmet or gets stifled. Well, you can blame your ego for that. The ego is Freud's second mental apparatus of personality. The ego's main function is to mediate between the id's demands and the external world around us — reality, in other words. Does the Rolling Stones' song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" come to mind? So far, it seems that, if it wasn't for reality, we would be a lot more satisfied. Even though the ego finds itself in conflict with the id, satisfaction is not abandoned. The ego is like a sports agent for a really talented athlete. Even though the athlete may demand a multimillion-dollar contract, the agent reminds him that he could price himself out of a job. So the ego negotiates with the id in order to get it what it wants without costing it too much in the long run. The ego accomplishes this important task by converting, diverting, and transforming the powerful forces of the id into more useful and realistic modes of satisfaction. It attempts to harness the id's power, regulating it in order to achieve satisfaction despite the limits of reality. The final judgment As if the ego's job wasn't hard enough, playing referee between the id and reality, its performance is under constant scrutiny by a relentless judge, the superego. While the ego negotiates with the id, trying to prevent another tantrum, the superego judges the performance. Superego is another name for your conscience. It expects your ego to be strong and effective in its struggles against the libido's force. Usually, our conscience comes from our parents or a parental figure. As we grow, we internalize their standards, those same standards that make us feel so guilty when we tell a lie or cheat on our taxes. But does everyone have a conscience? There are certain people throughout history who have committed such horrible acts of violence that we sometimes wonder if they are void of conscience. How can serial killers such as Ted Bundy or Wayne Williams commit such horrible crimes? A strong bet is that they lack the basic capacity to feel guilt, so nothing really prevents them from acting out their violent fantasies. A famous psychiatrist once said that evil men do what good men only dream of.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-27-2022

Being a successful athlete is about more than just physical strength and agility — your mind plays a key part in your winning performance. You can use sports psychology techniques to build confidence and improve your focus. Sports psychology isn’t limited to athletes — as a coach, you can use sports psychology to help your athletes achieve their goals.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-19-2022

Your dreams are trying to tell you something. If you can interpret your dreams, they offer you greater self-awareness, knowledge, and success. Don't overlook the details in your dreams — messages may be lurking there. Keep a dream diary to uncover themes and insight in your dreams. Study the meanings of common dreams, because they represent situations most people experience at some point in life.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-28-2022

Cognitive psychology is the study of all things to do with thinking. It’s the part of psychology that covers perception, attention, memory, knowledge, thinking, reasoning, decision-making and language. To study it, cognitive psychologists develop ingenious experiments that manipulate a small part of the cognitive system.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-14-2022

In positive psychology, science tries to answer questions about what makes people happy, what a good life is, and how to increase life satisfaction. This Cheat Sheet gives you some ways in which you can make positive psychology work for you.

Article / Updated 12-29-2021

Lying is a deliberate attempt to mislead someone verbally or by conveying a false impression through body language. Cognitive psychologists are particularly interested in lying, because it’s a special kind of thought process: unusually, it’s not designed to communicate truthfully with other people. Normal thought and communication is based on trying to provide accurate information (for example, a textbook wouldn’t be much good if it was designed not to tell the truth). This difference makes lying an unusual process. People lie at least twice a day and in approximately one-fifth of all interactions lasting more than ten minutes. Men and women lie an equal amount, but women are slightly better at detecting lying (at least among their same-sex friends). Some people are more likely to lie than others (such as the manipulative and Machiavellian) and some are better at lying than others (the physically attractive and self-confident). Certain groups of people tend not to lie, such as people with a sense of social responsibility and those suffering from depression. Understanding the cognitive psychology of lying Although lying is quite frequent, cognitive psychologists have found that it’s a challenging process that demands a great deal of cognitive resources. Research consistently shows that lying takes longer than telling the truth — honest! The reason is that lying involves two stages: the decision to lie and then the construction of the lie. When someone asks a question to which a person may respond with a lie, the truth is more "active" in the mind of the liar than the lie (unless it’s a highly practiced lie — "We won’t raise taxes or cut benefits!"). Therefore, if the person decides to lie, he must suppress the truth, which requires cognitive effort. He must then search his memory to produce a lie, using logic to construct a believable one; he also requires a theory of mind (that is, he has to understand how someone else may see the world). Neuroscientists have discovered that when people are lying, different parts of the brain are active compared to when they’re recalling truthful events. Typically, when people are lying their pre-frontal cortex displays activity, which is the same brain region involved in high-level reasoning. Developing the ability to lie Given that lying depends on the liar’s theory of mind and his pre-frontal cortex, it’s no wonder that the ability to lie develops with age. The temptation resistance paradigm is a typical experiment employed to test children’s fibbing abilities. They’re left alone in a room with a tempting item (such as a chocolate cake or a toy) that the experimenter tells them not to touch. Most young children (under 4 years of age) can’t inhibit the behavior and they touch the object. When asked whether they touched the object, young children can’t verbalize a convincing lie — they’re too creative and may accidentally indicate the truth in their lie (for example, "a mysterious man entered the room and touched it"). This indicates that young children are less able to lie verbally than adults. The ability to lie develops in parallel with executive functions and theory of mind, and it tends to occur earlier than the ability to construct and maintain a believable lie. From about 7 years of age, children are able to maintain a lie. Lying in the animal kingdom Until relatively recent, biologists believed that animals were unable to lie. Work by psychologists, however, shows that many animal species can lie. In one example, researchers partially hid a grapefruit in a chimpanzee enclosure. They then showed the chimpanzees the empty grapefruit box. The chimpanzees were excited and went in search of the grapefruits as a group. They displayed no obvious detection of the grapefruit. But later in the day, one of the chimpanzees (when alone) went straight to where the grapefruit was buried, dug it up and ate it. Clearly it had seen the fruit earlier but didn’t want to reveal that it knew the location, because the others would try to steal it. Apes trained to use sign language, and who are tested in a similar way as the temptation resistance paradigm, lie in a similar manner to young children. In one classic example, a gorilla was told not to eat a particular fruit, and then the experimenter left the room. The gorilla promptly ate the fruit. When the experimenter returned, the gorilla denied eating the fruit. The limitations of the gorilla’s language mean that researchers will never know whether the gorilla could construct a believable lie as to what happened to the fruit, but it was clearly able to lie about eating it.