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3. Interest
is an individual�s preference for
engaging in one or more specific
activities relative to others. Assessment
of interests of students may help to
decide what subjects or courses they
can pursue comfortably and with
pleasure. Knowledge of interests helps
us in making choices that promote life
satisfaction and performance on jobs.
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
4. Personality refers to relatively enduring
characteristics of a person that make
her or him distinct from others.
Personality tests try to assess an
individual�s unique characteristics, e.g.
whether one is dominant or submissive,
outgoing or withdrawn, moody or
emotionally stable, etc. Personality
assessment helps us to explain an
individual�s behaviour and predict how
she/he will behave in future.
5. Values are enduring beliefs about an
ideal mode of behaviour. A person
having a value sets a standard for
guiding her/his actions in life and also
for judging others. In value assessment,
we try to determine the dominant
values of a person (e.g., political,
religious, social or economic).
Assessment Methods
Several methods are used for psychological
assessment. You have learnt about some
of these methods in Class XI. Let us recall
their key features.
� Psychological Test is an objective
and standardised measure of an
individual�s mental and/or behavioural
characteristics. Objective tests have
been developed to measure all the
dimensions of psychological attributes
(e.g., intelligence, aptitude, etc.)
described above. These tests are widely
used for the purposes of clinical
diagnosis, guidance, personnel
selection, placement, and training.
Besides objective tests, psychologists
have also developed certain projective
tests, especially for the assessment of
personality.
� Interview involves seeking information
from a person on a one-to-one basis. You
may see it being used when a
counsellor interacts with a client, a
salesperson makes a door-to-door
survey regarding the usefulness of a
particular product, an employer selects
employees for her/his organisation, or a
journalist interviews important people
on issues of national and international
importance.
� Case Study is an in-depth study of the
individual in terms of her/his
psychological attributes, psychological
history in the context of her/his
psychosocial and physical environment.
Case studies are widely used by
clinical psychologists. Case analyses of
the lives of great people can also be
highly illuminating for those willing to
learn from their life experiences.
Case studies are based on data
generated by different methods, e.g.
interview, observation, questionnaire,
psychological tests, etc.
� Observation involves employing
systematic, organised, and objective
procedures to record behavioural
phenomena occurring naturally in real
time. Certain phenomena such as
mother-child interactions can be easily
studied through observation. The major
problems with observational methods
are that the observer has little control
over the situation and the reports may
suffer from subjective interpretations of
the observer.
� Self-Report is a method in which a
person provides factual information
about herself/himself and/or opinions,
beliefs, etc. that s/he holds. Such
information may be obtained by
using an interview schedule or a
questionnaire, a psychological test, or
a personal diary.
INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence is a key construct employed to
know how individuals differ from one
another. It also provides an understanding
of how people adapt their behaviour
according to the environment they live in.
In this section, you will read about
intelligence in its various forms.
Psychological notion of intelligence is
quite different from the common sensical
notion of intelligence. If you watch an
intelligent person, you are likely to see in
her/him attributes like mental alertness,
ready wit, quickness in learning, and
ability to understand relationships. The
Oxford Dictionary explains intelligence as
the power of perceiving, learning,
understanding, and knowing. Early
intelligence theorists also used these
attributes in defining intelligence. Alfred
Binet was one of the first psychologists
who worked on intelligence. He defined
intelligence as the ability to judge well,
understand well, and reason well.
Wechsler, whose intelligence tests are most
widely used, understood intelligence in
terms of its functionality, i.e. its value for
adaptation to environment. He defined it as
the global and aggregate capacity of an
individual to think rationally, act
purposefully, and to deal effectively with
her/his environment. Other psychologists,
such as Gardner and Sternberg have
suggested that an intelligent individual not
only adapts to the environment, but also
actively modifies or shapes it. You will be
able to understand the concept of
intelligence and how it has evolved, when
we discuss some important theories of
intelligence.
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AKHAND PRATAP SINGH
