General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Should the United States have a standard Psychological Test [View all]Gravitycollapse
(8,155 posts)If you're referring to tests that measure cognitive impairment in the supposedly underdeveloped or the older, my original argument still stands. I might just expand it to cover ageism as well.
These tests are trying to measure something that is qualitative. You might be able to make very vague claims about someone's cognitive abilities under very stringent conditions, but you won't be able to extrapolate those claims into something like performance as President. It just simply doesn't work that way.
Theoretical assumptions about what is "normal" psychological or cognitive function invariably come from institutionalized power. Want to maintain the patriarchy? Pathologize women. Want to maintain white supremacy? Pathologize POCs. Want to maintain capitalism? Pathologize poverty.
Now, you might counter by saying that the cognitive tests you're interested in only measure "severe" cognitive impairments like dementia. I guarantee to you that the introduction of such strict and narrow cognitive tests into the political fold will lead to broader usage of things like IQ tests to predict performance in public office.