M2 - Psychological Assessment

Bases of Assessments

all oral and written opinions and conclusions made by psychologists be based on information and techniques grounded in the scientific and professional knowledge bases of professional psychology

Scientific and professional bases

• psychologists are obligated to base their recommendations, reports, and diagnostic or evaluative statements on techniques supported by the scientific and professional standards of the field

• opinions on individuals’ psychological characteristics be drawn after an adequate examination is conducted on the basis of assessment procedures and tools that are consistent with the objective of the testing

Limits of assessment results

when limitations to the reliability and validity of the assessment procedures and tools are found, psychologists should appropriately limit the nature and extent of their conclusions and recommendations

Use of Assessments

psychologists administer, adapt, score, and interpret and use psychological testing in the manner and purpose for which tests were designed to be used as indicated by research

Test selection and usage

• should have adequate knowledge of the theoretical bases and empirical evidence that support the validity and reliability of the tests or assessments; standardized administration and scoring procedures; approaches to interpreting the results; and the populations for which the assessment was normed and designed

• should keep themselves updated on the most recent versions of the tests and assessments they commonly use

Testing and Language

psychologists select tests that are appropriate to be used with the language preferences and levels of competence of the individuals or groups being assessed

Testing across different populations

strive to establish fair and equal access to and benefit of psychological contributions for all individuals and populations

Informed Consent in Assessments

before administrating tests, obtain informed consent that includes an explanation of the nature and purpose of the assessment, fees, involvement of third parties (e.g. referral source) and limits of confidentiality

Nature and purpose of assessment

explain how results will be used, the administration process, and possible benefits and risks or consequences of being assessed

Confidentiality and release of information

refers to a professional standard that requires psychologists to maintain the privacy of any assessment information unless disclosure is permitted or requested by examinees through a release of information

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

responsible for effectively protecting the confidentiality and security of the information contained in these databases

Language and use of interpretation services

• responsibility to provide informed consent in the language of the examinee or at a language proficiency level that an examinee can reasonably understand

• may enlist the services of an interpreter when working with examinees who have limited English proficiency

Release of test data

patients have the right to access, inspect, and receive copies of their medical and billing records on their request for the release of this information

Do test materials need to be released?

No, test materials do not need to be released pursuant to a client or patient request for test data because test materials are protected by copyright laws, and inappropriate release of such test materials is legally considered a breach of trade secrets

Potential misuse of test data

• explain the potential for test data to be misused if the people interpreting the test data do not have the proper qualifications to do so

• may refrain from releasing test data to the examinees or others if the release may result in substantial harm resulting from misuse or misinterpretation of the test data

Interpretation of multiple sources

• psychologist’s responsibility to ensure that his or her interpretations or test/assessment results are useful and relevant to the purpose of the assessment and take into account various test factors

• base interpretations on multiple sources of data, including behavioral observations, examinee background information and other assessments

Automated interpretations

computer-generated interpretations are not sophisticated enough to take into account examinees’ unique characteristics and test-taking contexts

Assessment by unqualified people

psychologists are obligated to ensure that testing is carried out by qualified individuals within the scope of their competence as indicated by their education and training background and past experiences

Obsolete tests and outdated test results

psychologists are prohibited from basing their decisions and recommendations on test data that are outdated and from tests that are obsolete

Explaining assessment results

tailor their level of communication to recipients’ personal characteristics (educational and linguistic backgrounds, level of knowledge of psychological testing, and possible emotional reactions to the assessment results)

Maintaining test security

• obligated to maintain the security of test materials

• examines don’t have the right to access test materials for reasons of threats to validity and copyright protection

• test materials should be stored in a secure location

Inappropriate content

test content are based on the experiences of the majority and are unfamiliar to the minority, affecting their responses and scores

Inappropriate standardization samples

minority is not proportionately represented in the norming sample

Language bias

the examiner/and or test is using language that the client is not proficient with, contributing to miscommunication and lowering test scores

Measurement of different construct

tests could be measuring a construct based on the culture of majority, which makes the test not valid for minority examinees

Distinct aptitude and personality

groups may possess distinct types of characteristics. Creating psychological tests should begin with different definitions for majority and minority groups

Functional equivalence

• Does the construct of interest function similarly in different groups?

• some behaviors (i.e. averting eye contact) function differently for different cultures (i.e. respect, shame, timidity)

Conceptual equivalence

Do the items of the test have the same meaning and familiarity for the groups it is tested on?

Linguistic equivalence

Do words used in the test have the same linguistic meaning for different groups?

Psychometric equivalence

Do tests measure the same thing for different groups?

Contextual equivalence

Is the construct assessed similarly for different groups?

Testing equivalence

Are the conditions of testing the same for different groups?