A<unk>  is a method of assessing human<unk>  constructs. Most<unk>  assessment instruments (despite being loosely referred to as<unk> s") are in fact introspective (i.e., subjective) self-report questionnaire (Q-data, in terms of LOTS data) measures or reports from life records (L-data) such as rating scales. Attempts to construct actual performance<unk> s of<unk>  have been very limited even though Raymond Cattell with his colleague Frank Warburton compiled a list of over 2000 separate objective<unk> s that could be used in constructing objective<unk> s. One exception however, was the Objective-Analytic<unk>  Battery, a performance<unk>  designed to quantitatively measure 10 factor-analytically discerned<unk>  trait dimensions. A major problem with both L-data and Q-data methods is that because of item transparency, rating scales and self-report questionnaires are highly susceptible to motivational and response distortion ranging all the way from lack of adequate self-insight (or biased perceptions of others) to downright dissimulation (faking good/faking bad) depending on the reason/motivation for the assessment being undertaken. The first<unk>  assessment measures were developed in the 1920s and were intended to ease the process of personnel selection, particularly in the armed forces. Since these early efforts, a wide variety of<unk>  scales and questionnaires have been developed, including the Minnesota Multiphasic<unk>  Inventory (MMPI), the Sixteen<unk>  Factor Questionnaire (16PF), the Comrey<unk>  Scales (CPS), among many others. Although popular especially among personnel consultants, the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has numerous psychometric deficiencies. More recently, a number of instruments based on the Five Factor Model of<unk>  have been constructed such as the Revised NEO<unk>  Inventory. However, the Big Five and related Five Factor Model have been challenged for accounting for less than two-thirds of the known trait variance in the normal<unk>  sphere alone. Estimates of how much the<unk>  assessment industry in the US is worth range anywhere from $2 and $4 billion a year (as of 2013).<unk>  assessment is used in wide a range of contexts, including individual and relationship counseling, clinical psychology, forensic psychology, school psychology, career counseling, employment<unk> ing, occupational health and safety and customer relationship management.
Personality test
Rating scales for depression
Quality of Life in Depression Scale
The Mood and Feelings Questionnaire
Integrated cognitive assessment
Pain scale
Holmes and Rahe stress scale
Abbreviated mental test score