Digital Psychometrics: An Emerging Paradigm for Psychological Assessment

Advancements in digital technologies are revolutionising psychometric assessment, shifting it from traditional paper-and-pencil methods to advanced multimodal digital evaluations. This review attempts to explore the possibilities and methods of psychometric assessment by integrating data from personal digital devices, online social media activities, passive behavioural sensing, and neurotechnology. The rich source of multimodal information can be further integrated with artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, the Internet of Things (IoT), and immersive techniques such as virtual reality to provide a holistic and context-specific profile of human behaviour and psychological functioning. Such an integrated multimodal data-driven approach provides ways for digital trait mining (DTM) by involving large-scale digital data related to human behaviour in cyberspace, digital devices, and wearable neuro-sensors. The digital footprints deciphered through DTM are capable of providing moment-by-moment quantified patterns of psychosocial behaviour, which can represent the human phenotype in situ within a context to map the digital phenotype of the individual. Digital phenotyping of human behaviour can offer more holistic, contextually sensitive and ecologically valid interpretation of personality and cognitive processes compared to conventional psychometric tools. DTM-based digital phenotyping has the potential for real-time psychological assessment. However, the methodological rigour required for DTM should provide a higher level of data validity, contextual reliability, and measurement invariability. The operational fairness of multimodal data-driven systems is also a critical issue that must be addressed in the context of data security, privacy invasion, and reproducible workflow in digital phenotyping. Another important aspect of DTM is the indispensable role of human expertise in interpreting and comprehending the outcomes. To ensure a higher level of professional ethics, fair use, and wider acceptance of advanced psychometric assessment approach, a balance should be maintained in combining technological innovation with human expertise, having multidisciplinary understandings.