The purpose of a functional diagnosis (from ancient
Greek ‘diagnostikos,’ meaning to be able to distinguish)
is to assess the capacity of psychological processes.
Different from other types of psychological diagnostics,
the main aim is not to identify characteristic traits of a
person, but rather the functionality of psychological processes related to specific task requirements. As of
today, most of the diagnostic development work has
been on cognitive and executive functions. The main
areas are performance assessments of working memory
capacity, perception, concentration, and visual-spatial
perception, but also movement performance such as
tapping tests. Two major task types may be distinguished:
Speed tests require completing a task in a set
period of time, whereas power tests items progressively
increase in difficulty until the task cannot be mastered
any more. A better performance represents a better
functionality in this specific domain. Standardized
paper and pencil tests, computer assisted tests, and
increasingly electrophysiological methods and functional
magnetic resonance imaging are used.
In the context of competitive sport, the main aim of
functional diagnostics is to identify specific areas where
an intervention might make a difference in the sport
performance. To this end, a task analysis is required to
select adequate measures and indicators rather than running
a screening of all possible tests. For example,
focused attention in archery may need a different type
of concentration than returning a tennis serve.
