The Psychology of Executive Coaching, 2nd Edition

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Assessment

Whatever exists at all, exists in some amount and can be measured.

—Edward L. Thorndike (1918, p. 16)

There is one essential area where psychologists have a clear edge over all other kinds of consultants: psychological testing and assessment.

Testing is central to the professional identity of psychologists, and to some extent it represents psychology’s historic core competency. Psychologists in the 1950s and 1960s often defined themselves as psychometricians, and psychological testing was their single important professional activity. Among mental health providers, only psychologists are formally trained to conduct and interpret psychological testing and assessments. Psychologists study testing in school, receive supervision in ...