Reflections of personality functioning in psychological testing of disadvantaged three to five year olds.
Psychological assessment with preschool children provides a unique opportunity to observe developmental conflicts before the defensive organization of the personality is fully formed. Specific sub-tests of the WPPSI and Merrill-Palmer Scales have been observed to evoke behavioral expression of phase-specific conflicts. Clinical observations of a disadvantaged inner-city population suggest that what is being tested is the child's experience with adults in the sphere of object relations, and not cognitive functioning per se.
D001010:Anxiety, Separation / Q000209:etiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D010551:Personality; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation