Historical, Cultural, and Legal/Ethical Considerations in Psychometrics

These flashcards cover key historical, legal, and ethical concepts in psychological assessment, including patient rights and regulatory standards.

Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ODDA)

Legislation allowing patients with a terminal diagnosis of $6$ months or less to request lethal medication, requiring psychological evaluations to ensure competence and rule out psychiatric disorders causing impaired judgment.

Computer-assisted psychological assessment (CAPA)

The use of digital technology for test administration, scoring, and interpretation, though it raises concerns regarding software access and equivalence to traditional paper formats.

Informed consent

A testtaker's right to understand the purpose of an evaluation, how data will be used, and who will receive findings, provided in a language they can comprehend.

MacCAT-T

The MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Treatment, a structured interview based on four components used to evaluate a person's competency to provide informed consent.

Privileged information

Information protected by law from disclosure in legal proceedings, such as communications within the psychologist-client relationship.

Confidentiality

The legal and ethical duty of professionals to protect client communications and safeguard test data outside of judicial settings.

Duty to warn

An obligation established by the Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California ($1974$) case, requiring clinicians to alert endangered third parties of potential peril.

Least stigmatizing label

The standard that psychological results should be reported using terminology that minimizes negative social impact or personal embarrassment.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of $1996$, which provides federal privacy standards for medical records and specific protections for psychotherapy notes.

Jaffee v. Redmond ($1996$)

A U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed patient-psychotherapist communications are privileged within federal courts.

APA Guidelines

Aspirational professional documents, such as those for TGNC people, intended to assist professionals in providing appropriate and informed services.

APA Standards

Mandatory rules of conduct that psychologists must follow, distinguishing them from more flexible professional guidelines.

Iverson v. Frandsen ($1956$)

A legal case involving a libel suit over psychological labeling that highlighted the importance of using less stigmatizing terms in professional reports.