Industrial and Occupational Testing

Psychological tests are used in career counseling as well as in hiring and promotion decisions. The purpose of tests for occupational selection can vary from fitness for duty in law enforcement settings, assessing leadership styles and capability, and aspects of personality of employees for certain types or levels of employment. The use of assessment in career counseling can include an evaluation of the client’s occupational interests as well as an evaluation of their aptitude for the skills required in various occupations. There is a lot of debate about whether using these types of psychological tests is fair in these types of decisions. It also begs the question of whether using group-based norms in testing or the overall assessment process is accurate and fair. Part of the reasons for these debates is because these types of tests can potentially have significant and long-lasting consequences for the individual related to his or her career when a test is used to select or place the employee.