Psychotechnical Tests: What Are They Used For?

Although psychotechnical tests are common in any selection process, it is always appropriate to train ourselves in this type of exercise to improve our cognitive abilities.

Psychotechnical tests are used – among other contexts and purposes – in the selection processes of companies, as well as in selective tests. There are those who fear them and there are those who love to solve those problems of logical or spatial reasoning. Be that as it may, its function always has the same objective: to detect aptitudes in the person, as well as their abilities and psychological profile.

This type of structured test is not without criticism. We are all clear that when it comes to measuring any type of dimension or psychological characteristic, it is always appropriate to make use of various techniques and various resources to obtain a wider range of information.

These tests do not offer more than a score and a first approach to see if the competencies shown by that person are adequate or not to the basic needs of a position. However, later these data will be contrasted with more scales and criteria in order to carry out a more comprehensive and accurate assessment.

Thus, selective tests such as raven matrices, verbal or mechanical aptitude tests, stand as quick filters that any human resources department uses for this first phase when recruiting the most suitable candidates. This is followed by a personal interview.

Likewise, if there is something that a large number of opponents are undoubtedly carrying out at this very moment, it is to train in this type of psychotechnical tests in order to obtain a high score in those early stages of the selection processes. They are, so to speak, that previous challenge that must be overcome in order to pass to the next selective test.

Psychotechnical tests: purpose and fields of application

Psychotechnical tests consist of multiple choice questionnaires. The purpose is to choose an option among several possible answers quickly and correctly. With these tests, companies or any social organism, you can obtain information about the personality as well as any cognitive area that you want to measure: attention, memory, problem solving, verbal or spatial skills …

Likewise, it is important to consider three aspects when evaluating psychotechnical tests: speed, correctness, and number of errors. On the other hand, studies such as the one carried out at the University of Toulouse affect an important fact that we cannot ignore. This type of test must be evaluated by specialized personnel.

Let’s see below in which areas they are usually used on a day-to-day basis.

Scope of application

Selective processes in the workplace.
Educational field: in order to assess the intellectual capacities of students, their evolution as well as their vocational preferences.
Clinical setting. Psychotechnical tests are part of the usual work of the clinical psychologist, where they do not assess only personality styles or skills. These resources are also necessary to make diagnoses, assess the presence or not of psychological disorders, dementias, etc.
Driver’s licenses and gun licenses. Psychotechnical tests are essential in these areas. With them we assess the attention skills, reaction capacity or visuospatial aptitude in drivers or if the person who aspires to possess a weapon is suitable or not to use them.

Types of psychotechnical tests

We have all ever gone through a selective process where those psychotechnical tests made us live a moment of tension or challenge. It should be said, however, that there are many people who daily train in these types of exercises as healthy as they are recommended for mere pleasure.

It is a way to keep our cognitive processes up to date, to exercise attention, memory, spatial flexibility, verbal skills, etc. At our fingertips we have, for example, suitable games in any app on our mobiles and even free access tests on the Internet.

Let’s now see what types of psychotechnical tests are the most frequently used:

Raven's progressive matrix test, example of psychotechnical tests

Verbal aptitude test

They measure the ability to understand and express concepts through words.
There are exercises in spelling, synonyms and antonyms, verbal comprehension, incomplete sentences, spelling rules …

Numerical aptitude test

These types of psychotechnical tests measure the ability to understand and work with number operations.
We can find from the classic problems, as well as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, fractions,
powers, roots, percentages, equations …

Spatial aptitude test

The special aptitude tests are undoubtedly the most interesting. They invite us to differentiate shapes, volumes, distances, positions in space …
Incomplete figures, puzzles, figures that we must mentally rotate to understand their situation, etc. usually appear.

Abstract reasoning test

In this type of test , the ability of the person to observe and organize the information in a logical way is analyzed.
We must therefore allow our deductive gifts to emerge by observing series of letters, figures, cards or coins to give correct answers.

Attention and retention test

This type of test is very common in selection processes for jobs in which attention is very important. They can be factories or any type of industry where operators need to be attentive in their task.
These tests therefore measure the ability to be attentive while performing a repetitive and monotonous task. For this, exercises of visual memory, reading memory, reading numbers or words and then reproducing them usually appear …

How can I successfully pass a psychotechnical test?

As we have pointed out previously, there are many people who usually train in this type of competition, either out of personal interest or because they have a selection process ahead of them. The ideal, therefore, is to get a large battery of tests and carry out ourselves at home, learning from mistakes and, in turn, performing them in the shortest possible time.

Also, it never hurts to follow these simple tips.

Just as we train ourselves to perform these types of tests effectively, we must learn to control and manage our anxiety in the selective test.
We will calmly read the instructions, follow the examiner’s rules, and make sure we don’t skip any worksheets in the exercise.
Analyze the examples offered in each exercise. Do not go ahead assuming that you already know how to do it.

Time is important. So if we get stuck on one question, we will move on to the next, leaving the more complex ones for last.
After the test is complete, review it.
Remember that these types of psychotechnical tests are guided by logic. Use common sense.

To conclude, given that these types of tests are becoming more common, it is never too much to familiarize ourselves with them. Whether we have a selection process ahead of us or not, it is always healthy and beneficial to train this type of competition.