failed psychological testing

[youngbaker]

I just got some bad news that I had failed my psychological testing with an agency here in Washington. Does anybody have any idea what causes someone to fail a psych test? I'm not crazy (at least I don't think I am) and I consider myself to have a good personality. Any feedback would be appreciated as right now I am completely floored that I fail the psych. I can't believe it. Thanks.

[JSS1284]

What was your psych. test like.. For mine we had about a 400 question packet, and then had an interview with a psychologist to go over the answers and what not. My guess is that if you only took the written part, your answers weren't consistent. They word things very tricky but expect you to answer the same way.

[nadster011]

dont sweat it. the mmpi, which i assume is the one you took, is subject to interpretation.. i failed mine and was informed by the dr, that i failed because i showed deception in the areas of respect of authority figures, and he also told me i tend to not be easily upset or bothered. he informed me that those are a bad combo because i could be being reprimanded by a sergeant and i wouldnt respect what he has to say because i struggle with authority figures, and i wouldnt be bothered by what he had to say because im not easily upset.(currently been a reserve for 4yrs, no reprimands, never been called to ia). after hearing this i informed the dr that i was a current reserve with same dpt, in which i had to take same mmpi to get on as a reserve 2 years prior...the dr.'s response was"huh, i dont know what to say". point is you could take it again tomorrow and probably pass it. keep trying..it'll happen if its suppose to be.

[jnhdrac]

I applied for a job several years ago and was told by the hiring manager that there were "issues" in my psych interview and I would probably not get the job. His boss then reviewed the matter, reinterviewed me, and I some how got the job. They were hiring about 30 people at that time, and I think they thought they were one over so they were going to get rid of me. As it turned out, they were 1 short and needed the body so they gave me the job. It was a 1 year contract job, and the rest of the contract was without incident.

[youngbaker]

The test I took consisted of a 434 true/false questions and about 200 other questions that were multiple choice. After that I met with the Dr. for about 15 minutes and he just went over some of my background questions and some of the answers I gave and a couple of the questions that he had an issue with. The questions were " Are you hard on yourself?", I said I strongly agree and I explained to him it is because I expect a lot out of myself, so when I fail, I tend to not be very pleased with myself. The other question he seemed to have an issue with I marked incorrectly and told him that and he noted that fact. I honestly was very confident that I had passed. I was completely floored when I was told that I had failed. I was really looking forward to working for this department and it's a shame it isn't going to happen. I am still in shock and unfortunately I am unable to appeal the results also. I wish they would tell me why I failed. All I get is the standard, " We can't share that information with you". I want to know what they think is wrong with me. Thanks for the words of encouragement and personal examples.

[Kieth M.]

No idea on what would cause you to fail. If torturing small animals, setting fires and wetting the bed weren't in your listed hobbies as a youth, then again, no idea.

I see you're employed. Hopefully, that job comes with health insurance. The next hopefully is, that that health insurance has mental health benefits, too.

For what it's worth - Why not go see a psychotherapist for a few sessions. Bounce some ideas off the wall and see what turns up. The Doc, likely, won't be able to tell you what caused you to fail, but talking things out may help you uncover, discover, and discard any bad habits you may not even be aware you have.

[LPI]

They are looking for you to agree one way or the other with one of their extreme statements.

Example: When you walk down the sidewalk, do you try to miss all of the cracks? (Something like that.) They will put questions like that in different parts of the test, rephrasing it in different ways.

So if you consistently "strongly agree" with this type of question you can start to give the appearance of someone with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) for example.

[grumpyirishman]

Does anybody have any idea what causes someone to fail a psych test? I'm not crazy (at least I don't think I am) .

Always the last to know... :rolleyes:

[JDCOP]

Well, if you answer the serious ones like people stalking you or feel like killing people answer the appropriate way showing your not a psyco. But dont over do the personal questions because when they ask you about them they know all the tricks about lying. I missed one question on mine by accident. They grilled me for like 20 minutes on why I missed it and if it was intentional. But alot of people fail the first usually because they listen to other officers telling them to just lie and stay neutral on questions