What is "ipsative"

a. 1 (context psychology English) denoting a measure that forces an individual to choose among multiple desirable options. 2 (context education English) comparing a measure of an individual against that individual's previous assessments.

Ipsative (; Latin: ipse, "of the self") is a descriptor used in psychology to indicate a specific type of measure in which respondents compare two or more desirable options and pick the one that is most preferred (sometimes called a "forced choice" scale). This is contrasted with measures that use Likert-type scales, in which respondents choose the score (e.g. 1 to 5) which best represents the degree to which they agree with a given statement (see also Norm-referenced test). "Ipsative Comparisons" are also sometimes used in standardized testing to compare significant differences in subtest scores.