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Humanistic Testing and Assessment

Douglas A. MacDonald, PhD

Humanistic psychology’s tradition of controversy regarding the worth of psychological testing and assessment is reviewed. Assessment is defined as a process involving qualitative professional judgments integrating information from various sources and necessarily guiding all professional activities, whether performed explicitly or implicitly. Testing, as delineated from assessment, is just one potential source of assessment input that may provide formally gathered qualitative and/or quantitative information. Arguments against testing and assessment as legitimate activities within humanistic psychological practice are countered, concluding that testing and assessment can be congruent with humanistic ideals when focused on growth, subjectivity, agency, the centrality of the role of both the assessor and client as coparticipants, and a view of the person as a whole with inherent value.

Key Words: testing • assessment • humanistic • psychometric

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