Excessive use of drugs or alcohol. A psychological test is a systematic method for gaining information about a person, allowing for comparison with a larger group of people. For example, an intelligence test allows for the measurement of the ability to learn new information. The score allows for the comparison of that person's ability with a large number of others on whom the test was developed. Psychological tests which measure personality variables strive to gain information about underlying traits such as assertiveness, interpersonal awareness, extroversion and so on.
Some tests also focus on detecting pathology, such as paranoia, depression, or alcohol abuse.
None of the commonly used psychological tests for screening police applicants evaluate racial bias. Thus, there has been a widespread belief that psychological appraisal is unable to detect racial bias. Fortunately, this is not the case. The Institute for Forensic Psychology has developed a system for selecting police officer applicants over the last 25 years. It is now being used by over 350 jurisdictions in the United States as well as the Northern Territory Police.