Psychological Tests vs. Experiments

A psychological test is a standardized, objective tool used to quantitatively measure specific

mental or behavioral characteristics such as abilities, personality traits, or emotional states.

An experiment in psychology is a controlled study in which the researcher manipulates one

or more variables to test a hypothesis and establish cause‑and‑effect relationships. A psychological

test is a systematic procedure for observing a sample of behaviour and describing it with the help of

a numerical scale or category system, following uniform instructions and scoring so that

results are comparable across individuals. The main difference is that a test measures existing characteristics

(e.g., intelligence, anxiety level) whereas an experiment manipulates an independent variable