Psychological Tests

Nathan Johnson has landed in one of the longest unemployment lines in Los Angeles. Just another face in the crowd, Johnson is here because he's hoping to get a job as, yes, just another face in the crowd. But the crowd keeps getting bigger every day. The lobby at Central Casting is so packed it seems impossible that one more person could squeeze through the door. Johnson, 30, handsome and elegant in a crisp, white shirt, has been waiting to sign up for an hour.

The group left behind farewell letters, personal documents and cash and took off into the night on a mysterious religious trip. After relatives reported them missing, authorities began a 22-hour search using horses, helicopters and patrols to comb the sprawling desert terrain around Palmdale as satellite trucks from national news outlets moved in. Two scenarios loomed large, one unthinkable: a suicide pact that included eight children, inspired by...

A man alleged to be the "remorseful robber," a nickname given him by police because he sometimes returned cash or valuables to his victims, was ordered Friday to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Ronald Sykes, 29, of Eagle Rock, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in San Fernando Superior Court to 39 counts of robbery and one count of kidnaping in connection with a robbery. Superior Court Judge Meredith C. Taylor ordered Sykes to return to court Feb. 6 with results of the testing.

Just think of how much emotional pain could be avoided if humans knew just when to exit a romantic relationship? Knowing whether to break up or stay together is a wrenching question that often lacks an easy answer. Until now, that is. Researchers at the University of Rochester say they have devised a test to tell if a relationship is going to fall apart. The test involves uncovering what people really -- meaning really -- think of or feel about their partners. Previous studies show people are often unable or reluctant to express their true feelings about their partners.

Maria Bailey has been interested in a law-enforcement career from the time a police officer spoke to her eighth-grade civics class nearly 25 years ago. But for years, police agencies would not even accept Bailey's application because of her small frame--she stood 5 feet, 2 inches and weighed slightly more than 100 pounds.

The wandering Bell Gardens police officer who told authorities he blacked out last week and regained consciousness 12 hours, and two counties, later has been undergoing psychological tests to determine what caused his curious desert pilgrimage, authorities said Tuesday. Officer David Larimore, 35, who disappeared in a patrol car early Friday, was picked up unharmed later that day in Victorville--a Mojave Desert city 28 miles north of San Bernardino--after a massive search by authorities.

Getting a psychological evaluation of your teen-ager can be a landmark event. Typically, it's the pivot between a long stretch of trouble and a new course of working on solutions. While good things may come from it, it's also apt to be stressful, confusing and maybe painful. Especially when dealing with teen-agers, who can be frustrating and at times unfathomable, parents may have their doubts about whether such testing is needed. When is it necessary?

John Rocker was ordered by baseball to undergo psychological tests before deciding whether to punish the outspoken Atlanta Braves' reliever for remarks he made disparaging gays, minorities and immigrants. Commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday he will wait for the evaluation before deciding on any disciplinary action. "Mr. Rocker's recent remarks made to a national magazine reporter were reprehensible and completely inexcusable," Selig said in a statement.

A former Target Stores security guard filed a suit Thursday accusing the retailer of violating his right to privacy under the state Constitution by requiring him to take a psychological test as a condition of employment. The suit is one of the nation's first legal challenges of psychological testing in the workplace, a growing employee-screening practice.

An 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting a Porter Ranch pizzeria manager during a 1993 robbery was ordered Monday to undergo psychological evaluation to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial. Dusty Tyrone Castillo's attorney, Jenny Scovis, said her client "is psychotic" and that a psychologist she retained could not interview him because of his condition.

Nathan Johnson has landed in one of the longest unemployment lines in Los Angeles. Just another face in the crowd, Johnson is here because he's hoping to get a job as, yes, just another face in the crowd. But the crowd keeps getting bigger every day. The lobby at Central Casting is so packed it seems impossible that one more person could squeeze through the door. Johnson, 30, handsome and elegant in a crisp, white shirt, has been waiting to sign up for an hour.

On your mark, get set, test! The NFL opens its annual scouting combine today at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, when the first wave of 332 invited college players arrives to begin its battery of physical, medical and psychological tests for the league's 32 teams. Players are tested in groups according to their position, and typically stay three days. The workouts are closed to the public and the media, but draw coaches, general managers and scouts from every NFL team.

NASA announced a review of its screening process Wednesday after the arrest of astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak this week in Florida on charges of assault and attempted murder. Under the space agency's recruitment process, astronaut candidates undergo a battery of behavioral tests and are interviewed by a psychologist and a psychiatrist before being selected. Only 0.7% of candidates are chosen.

Lonely after his wife of 46 years died in 2000, Roger Moore, 75, tried Internet dating but quickly grew tired of prospective dates' self-promotional profiles. The "on-line meat market," as he called it, consisted primarily of details such as would-be dates' hair and eye color and their affinities for sunset walks on the beach. The descriptions were short on the things that mattered: personality, character and shared values. So when Moore heard a radio advertisement for Eharmony.

Commercial pilots say only a few of their colleagues are signing up to carry guns in the cockpit because the Bush administration has made it harder than necessary to participate. The Transportation Security Administration initially opposed the program, then reluctantly endorsed it when it was clear Congress was behind it.

Have you ever felt alone? Do you sometimes think no one understands you? Have you ever thought you were a little, well, crazy? Do you have Internet access? If so, you might want to log on to Queendom.com, a Web site that offers hundreds of psychological tests, the results of which will either confirm or dispel your worst fears. Have you ever called directory information from the living room to avoid getting the phone book from the kitchen? You probably should take the couch potato test.

Have you ever felt alone? Do you sometimes think no one understands you? Have you ever thought you were a little, well, crazy? Do you have Internet access? If so, you might want to log on to Queendom.com, a Web site that offers hundreds of psychological tests, the results of which will either confirm or dispel your worst fears. Have you ever called directory information from the living room to avoid getting the phone book from the kitchen? You probably should take the couch potato test.

In the first ruling of its kind in California, a state appeals court has prohibited an employer from requiring job applicants to take psychological tests, finding that personal questions about religion and sexual orientation violate the right to privacy. In the decision, the three-judge panel also held that state law prohibits private employers from discriminating against homosexuals. Some state officials, including Gov. Pete Wilson, had already concluded that the law bars such bias.

Scientists have adapted a standard psychological test that detects underlying prejudices to delve into the minds of psychopathic murderers. Serial killers can be adept at lying and deception, and may turn on the charm to confuse their interrogators. But researchers at Cardiff University in Wales say their test reveals implicit beliefs.

Plastic surgeons call them "red flag" clients: the struggling actor who's sure his eyes are a millimeter too close together, or his chin a shade too weak; the college student who swears her mouth is slightly off center, her complexion uneven. They fret compulsively over physical flaws that others barely notice. "These people imagine themselves to be ugly, and no matter what you do to help them they are unsatisfied," said Dr. Barry Weintraub, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon.