Discipline, subjectivity and personality: an analysis of the manuals of four psychological tests

The administration of psychological tests is highly regulated. Test manuals prescribe the instructions to the test subject, the time the test should t ake, where it should take place, whether and hen; the test administrator sh ould answer questions from the test subject, and other aspects of the testi ng situation. Through the manual, the behaviour of test administrator and t est Subject is disciplined so that the subject may become measurable. The m anuals of four tests are analysed, and the disciplinary mechanisms that ope rate in the administration of these tests are described. Attention is then given to the question whether the discipline of the test is repressive or p roductive. It is concluded that test manuals, while being central to the pr oduction of a psychological subject, also articulate an excess subjectivity in the measures they prescribe to exclude it from the resting situation.