Objective test is a psychological test that measure an individual's characteristics in a way that is independent of rater bias or the examiner's own beliefs, usually by the administration of a bank of questions that are marked and compared against exacting scoring mechanisms that are completely standardized, much in the same examinations are administered. Objective tests are often contrasted with projective tests, which are sensitive to rater or examiner beliefs. They can also be contrasted with projective tests which are based on Freudian Psychology (Psychoanalysis), and seek to expose the unconscious perceptions of people. Objective tests tend to be more reliable and valid than projective tests, however they are still subject to the willingness of the subject to be open about his/her personality and as such can sometimes be badly representative of the true personality of the subject. Projective tests purportedly expose certain aspects of the personality of individuals that are impossible to measure by means of an objective test, and are much more reliable at uncovering "protected" or unconscious personality traits or features.

An objective test is built by following a rigorous protocol which includes the following steps:

• Making decisions on nature, goal, target population, power.
• Creating a bank of questions.
• Estimating the validity of the questions, by means of statistical procedures and/or judgement of experts in the field.
• Designing a format of application (a clear, easy-to-answer questionnaire, or an interview, etc.).
• Detecting which questions are better in terms of discrimination, clarity, ease of response, upon application on a pilot sample.
• Applying a revised questionnaire or interview to a sample.
• Use appropriate statistical procedures to establish norms for the test.

[edit] See also

• Situational judgement test
• Employment testing
• Projective test
• Psychological testing
• Sexological testing

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