Assessment Final
Nonmalficence
"do no harm"
ego-syntonic
(adjective) - denotes aspects of a person's thoughts, impulses, attitudes, and/or behaviors that are felt to be acceptable and consistent with the self-concept
Cross Cultural Issues in Assessment
- Codes and standards help us 1. understand the cultural bias inherent in tests, 2. know when a test should not be used because of bias, and 3. know what to do when test does not predict well for minorities
things to consider when assessing for cross-cultural fairness
- assume all tests hold some bias - be in touch w/ own biases/prejudices - only use tests shown to be constructed using sound research procedures - only use tests that have good validity & reliability - know there are times when it's appropriate to test & when it's not - know how to choose good tests relevant to situation at hand - know how to administer, score & interpret tests w/ cultural context of client - view assessment as holistic process; whenever possible and reasonable, include interviews, formal, and informal testing - know & consider implications testing may have for client - advocate for clients when tests shown to be biased - treat people humanely during assessment process • Laws have impacted on assessment relative to cross-cultural issues • There have been great changes made on the construction of assessment instruments (test worthiness)
Making ethical decisions
- ethical codes can be limiting in ability to guide practitioner who is faced w/ ethical dilemma - law trumps a code
Privileged communication laws
- legal right to maintain privacy of conversation; therapist-patient, attorney-client, doctor-patient, clergy-penitent, husband-wife, etc. clinicians goal of law is to encourage client to engage in convos w/o fear that clinician will reveal contents of convo; ensures privacy & efficacy of couns. rel. priv. belongs to client & only client can waive privilege *in TX. counselors don't have Priv. Comm.
Edward Thorndike
1 of pioneers of modern-day educational/psychological assessment; early researcher of vocational assessment. Examined the interests of 100 students as they progressed from elementary school through college.
Corey, Corey, and Callanan's (2003) Model (problem solving/ethical dilemma model)
1. Identify problem 2. Identify potential issues involved 3. Review relevant ethical guidelines 4. Know relevant laws and regulations 5. Obtain consultation* - colleague/Insurance provider 6. Consider possible courses of action 7. List consequences of various decisions 8. Decide best course of action. 9. McAlister's #9- Document!
Jaffee v. Redmond
1996 ruling upheld right to privileged comm.; bolstered right of all licensed therapists to have privileged communication
Army Alpha
1st modern group test used during WWI to screen new recruits; due to foreign-born recruits and reading issues Army Beta was created and used form boards/mazes. group tests of cog. ability were usually usually mult. choice & T/F given to groups simultaneously (to do it faster)
Level A tests
4th grade reading level - educational achievement test; tests administers, scored, & interpreted by non-psychologist
Kitchener's Moral Model
6 critical moral principles 1 should consider when making difficult ethical decisions.
Justice/Fairness
= & fair treatment to all clients
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
= ratio of mental age/chronological age
Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA)
Accommodations must be made for individuals with disabilities who take tests for employment o Testing must be relevant to job in question o bans discrimination in employment, public services & public transportation/accommodations & telecommunications 4 ppl w/ disabilities
Invasion of privacy
All tests do this to some degree; minimize by obtaining informed consent; highlight importance of clients understanding how privacy might be infringed upon; sensed if client's give informed consent, have real choice in accepting/refusing testing, and know limits of confidentiality
Carl Perkins Act
Assures rights of select disenfranchised groups to access vocational assessment, counseling, placement & training - serves special populations: individuals w/ disabilities, economically disadvantaged families - foster children, ppl in non-traditinonal fields, single parents+ single pregnant women, displaced homemakers & ppl w/ limited Eng. proficiency
Provision of Favorable Conditions
Counselors provide an appropriate environment for the administration of assessments (e.g., privacy, comfort, freedom from distraction).
Limits of Competence
Counselors use only those testing and assessment services for which they have been trained and are competent. Counselors using technology-assisted test interpretations are trained in the construct being measured and the specific instrument being used prior to using its technology-based application. Counselors take reasonable measures to ensure the proper use of assessment techniques by persons under their supervision.
James Bryant Conant
Developed Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT); - to equalize educational opportunities (but tests have often been used to separate classes)
Edward Strong
Developed one of the first widely used interest inventories. Strong Vocational Interest Blank (used in conjunction with multiple aptitude tests as part of career counseling)
Referral Information
If a client is referred to a third party for assessment, the counselor provides specific referral questions and sufficient objective data about the client to ensure that appropriate assessment instruments are utilized.
Informal Assessment Procedures
Instruments user created and designed for particular testing situation.
APA
Introduced the first diagnostic and statistical manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1952
test security
Keep integrity of test content; don't duplicate tests or change info w/o publisher's permission
Cross-cultural sensitivity
Know potential biases of assessment procedures when selecting, administering, and interpreting assessments; be aware of attending to effects of age, color, cultural identity, disability, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation & SES status
Frank Parsons
Leader of vocational counseling - seen as process of (1) acquiring self-knowledge, (2) acquiring knowledge of world of work & (3) finding suitable match thru process called "true reasoning" - to find true vocational match
Level C tests
Master's Degree & specialized training; skills to administer & interpret test
Ethical codes
Professional guidelines for appropriate behavior - includes APA and ACA; certain codes specifically choose appropriate instruments- test worthiness - reliability, validity, cross-cultural fairness & practicality
test administration
Properly administer as they were standardized *standardized tests follow instructions exactly - if not, can invalidate test results
Can standardized projective techniques be utilized by therapists? / what are some examples of one's that can't be?
Some they can do, but some they can't, such as Holtzman Inkblot Test, the Thematic Apperception Test, the Children's Apperception Test, and the Senior Apperception Test.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Testing for federally funded programs must be a reflection of individual's ability, not disability • can be related to interfering w/ ADLs (Activities of Daily Living—eating, walking, school work, etc.) • can't deny qualified ppl oppy. to participate in/benefit from federally funded programs, services, or other benefits; deny access to programs, services, benefits, or opts to participate as result of physical barriers; deny emp. oppys - hiring, promotion, training, fringe benefits
Civil Rights Acts (1964 and amendments)
Tests used for employment or promotion must be shown to be suitable and valid for the job in question; can't have one person take one version of the test and give someone else a more rigorous version
test scoring & interpretation
When scoring and interpret understanding limitations of test info, results should always be couched in terms that reflect any potential problems w/ test interpretation; reflect on how test-worthiness may affect results
assessment
a broad array of evaluative procedures that yield info about a person (multiple assessment procedures should always be considered) o can include Clinical interview, informal assessment (observation, rating scales, classification methods, environmental assessment, records and personal documents, and performance based assessment), personality tests (objective tests, projective tests, and interest inventories), achievement tests & aptitude tests
bimodal
a distribution w/ 2 most frequently occurring scores
sample
a group of units selected from the larger population
statistic
a quality calculated from a sample
tests
a subset of assessment techniques that yield scores based on the gathering of collective data (e.g. finding the sum of correct items on a MC exam)
standardized test
a test that is administered according to a specific regimented structure and procedure in directions, time, method, and scoring such that each individual score can be compared to a norm group
parameter
a value, usually unknown which represents a certain population
kurtosis
amount of peakedness
Lewis Terman
analyzed & methodically gathered extensive normative data on Binet and Simon's scale from 100s of children in CA; made # of revisions to Binet & Simon scale; later became known as Stanford-Binet 1st to use intelligent quotient (IQ)
population
any ENTIRE collection of people, animals, books, widgets, etc.
G.S. Hall
became mentor to other great Amer. psychs; founder & 1st pres. of APA in 1892
release of test data
can be misused; only release to individuals who have the right to the data and won't misuse it - generally only given to ppl who can adequately interpret data • Use signed release form
epigenetics
changes that are caused by mechanisms other than DNA [environmental factors]
Alfred Binet
commissioned by Ministry of Public Ed. in Paris to construct test to assist in integrating "subnormal" children into schools. - created 1st modern intelligence test.
Level B tests
completed Master's level course & course in assessment/appraisal; appropriate advanced coursework in psychology/related (Statistics/Counseling); technical knowledge of test construction/use
forensic evaluations
completed by forensic health evaluators & forensic psychologists. MHPs can be certified by Nat'l Board of Forensic Evaluators • Civil- child custody, civil commitment, deprivation of parental rights, divorce mediation, employment litigation, guardianship, personal injury, testamentary capacity, harassment & discrimination • Criminal: juvenile waiver & sentencing, competence to stand trial, to be sentence & to waive Miranda rights, insanity defense, diminished capacity , sentencing , evaluation of violence risk
ego-dystonic
denotes aspects of a person's thoughts, impulses, attitudes, and/or behaviors that are felt to be repugnant, unacceptable, or inconsistent w/ self-concept
Wilhelm Wundt
developed 1 of the 1st psychological laboratories - "new domain of science" - used exp. research - studied reaction time of hearing, sight, & other senses in resp. to stimuli
Henry Murray
developed Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) number pictures and create a story about the situation.
General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB)
developed by U.S employment services to measure multiple aptitudes.
Emil Kraeplin
developed early word association test to study schizophrenia - classification of mental diseases
Hernan Rorschach
developed famous Rorschach Inkblot test
J.B Miner
developed one of the first group interest inventories
Proper Diagnosis
diagnoses have delicate nature; codes emphasize important role professionals play when deciding which assessment tehniques to use in forming diagnosis for mental disorder & ramifications of making such a diagnosis
James McKeen Cattell
doctoral student under Wundt, greatly inspired by Galton - became 1 of earliest Amer. psychs to use stats concepts in understanding the person - "mental tests" examined individual diff. (memory span & reaction time)
Informed Consent
ensures clients obtain info about nature & purpose of all aspects of assessment process & for clients to give permission to be assessed • sometimes doesn't need to be obtained- when implied (achievement test in schools), or testing mandated by courts (e.g., custody battles)
Confidentiality
ethical guideline to protect client info—critical part of assessment process & follows similar guidelines to how one would keep info confidential in therapeutic relationship
summative
evaluation @ the end of a course, project, or time period in order to make judgments and produce grades or scores
jean esquirol
examined how lang. ability of individuals w/ intellectual disabilities was related to intelligence. Seen as having condition called "idiocy," these ppl were viewed as having intellectual deficits as compared to "normal" person-- forerunner of verbal IQ
Sir Francis Galton
examined relationship of sensory motor responses to intelligence -- spurred development of correlation coefficient
delusion
false belief
hallucination
false perception (sensory which may be visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory)
Woodworth's Personal Data Sheet
first modern personality inventory-used during WW1 (susceptibility to mental problems) early model for Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
nomothetic
generalizable, quantitative, applicable to a class or group, objective means of describing category or type of test instrument
Fidelity (loyalty)
maintaining trust, keeping convos confidential in couns. rel. & being committed to client
norms
method of understanding test scores in which the score is compared to a group of other scores so that comparisons can be made for age, grade, %-ile, etc.
environmental assessment
naturalistic assessment or observation which takes place in the client's home-school-or work setting
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) and PL94-142
o Children 2 to 21 suspected of having disability must be tested at school's expense; every child entitled to free & appropriate education o Child Study Team: Individuals Education Plan (IEP) - should address services and how they can be provided o must be taught w/in least restrictive env.
The Buckley Amendment (FERPA) - Family Education Rights & Privacy Act of 1974
o People have right to educational records, including test records o applies to almost all schools that receive federal funds (K-12, higher ed. institutions) (U.S. Dept of Education, N.D.A). o sign release for parents to see grades o gives right to parents of students or students themselves @ ages 18+ beyond HS to review records; have right to challenge incorrect/misleading records, can request hearing if school decides not to change records
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
o Restricts info shared without client consent o Allows clients access to their records except for process notes used in counseling
central limit theorem
o mathematical assumption that for populations or data sets numbering 30 or more, the distribution of traits will approach a normal distribution
item response theory
o theory & practice of analyzing each individual item for its ability to discriminate- each has discriminating power for each item o example-- 2 items for Beck Depression Inventory are more powerful than others
When can one reveal confidential information?
o varies by state, but generally: ¬ if client is in danger of harming him/herself/others ¬ client is minor/legally incompetent & parents/guardians have right to info about them ¬ client asks you to break confidentiality (e.g., testimony in court) ¬ defend oneself against charges filed by client ¬ if you are asked by court to break confidentiality & privileged communication doesn't exist (priv. com = when statute ensuring clients that information shared is confidential) ¬ to reveal info. about client to clerical help, colleagues, or supervisor 4 client's benefit ¬ written agreement from client to reveal info to specified sources (test report requested by court) - may inform law enforcement or medical personnel - also - be cautious about what you can write in reports, as it can carry a lot of weight
regression to the mean
phenomenon that if a variable is extreme on its first measurement, it will tend to be closer to the average on its second measurement
Robert Yerkes
president of APA, chairman of committee that developed Army Alpha
Beneficence
promoting good of society/client's well-being
Autonomy
protecting independence, self-determination, & freedom of choice of clients
competence in using tests
require adequate knowledge & training in administering an instrument
*responding to records
respond to record requests in 15 days & respond EVERY time they request; can't let request lapse
What should a licensee do prior to administering a test?
shall make known to clients the purposes and explicit use to be made of the test as a part of a professional counseling relationship.
neuropsychology
study of brain function as it relates to behavior
eugenics
study of methods of improving the quality of the human race, esp. by selective breeding
idiographic
subjective, qualitative, in depth, gestalt-like, single case as descriptive term for a category or type of test [house-tree-person]
Eduouard Seguin
suggested that prognosis regarding intellectual deficits in children was worse if such deficits were associated w/ psych. probs. developed form board to increase patients' motor control & sensory discrimination & to compare children & ppl w/ severe int. deficits to avg. children @ diff age groups forerunner of performance IQ
formative
term coined in the late 1960's to describe the process of evaluation DURING a process to inform feedback & to inform instruction and what has been learned
coefficient of determination
the commonality that accounts for the relationship btwn 2 variables/shared variance-- which is determined by SQUARING THE CORRELATION COEFFICIENT
classic test theory
theory set forth by Charles Spearman in 1904 that assumes that measurement error is inherent in every test & that a true score lies btwn observed score & +/- measurement error. - more error = larger window [less reliable]
ipsative
to compare to self through to repeated evaluations or giving same assessment/or same instrument more than once
goal attainment scaling
tool used when specific goals are jointly set by client & counselor which specifies time & expected outcome
veracity
truthful & genuine
Standards in assessment
used to further ethical application of assessment techniques
Carl Jung
used word association to identify mental illness, presented a list of 156 words that subjects respond to as quickly as possible.
outlier
value that lies far from other scores in data set
Testing as a Holistic Process
• A good & thorough assessment involves a number of different kinds of instruments • Assessment is only a snapshot in time • People change over their lifespan • Be cautious- "A corpse can have a normal blood count, " Dr. F. Crites.
Freedom of Information Act
• Allows access to federal records. States have adopted similar laws.
Accreditation bodies
• assist in setting curriculum standards - APA, Nat'l Association of School Psychologists (NASP) & Council for the Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
