How can a psychologist reduce the risk of error when he makes a diagnosis or when he takes a decision? Can the use of tests contribute to reduce the number of similar errors? When can a test be defined an instrument of measurement of psychological features and what kind of properties should it possess? The authors of this book try to answer these questions and offer the readers a handbook for the evaluation of the qualities of a test and necessary indications to understand the manuals which accompany every psychological test. The book is intended for psychology students and above all for those psychologists who are compelled to choose and use a test and want to obtain scientifically valid and socially useful information.

Contents: Introduction. - 1. Why testing? - 2. A brief history of testing. - 3. Psychometrics, or what do tests really measure. - 4. Classification of tests. - 5. Tests administration. - 6. Interpreting test scores. - 7. Reliability. - 8. Validity. - 9. The paradox of the projective techniques. - 10. Tests and different cultures. - 11. Practical guide-lines to the choice of a test. - References. - Glossary.

Luigi Pedrabissi teaches Testing Theory and Techniques at the University of Padua.

Massimo Santinello teaches Psychology at the University of Padua.