Issues in Psychological Testing Worksheet

Issues in Psychological Testing Worksheet

Using the text for this course, the University Library, the Internet, and/or other resources answer the following questions.  Your response to each question should be at least 200 words in length.

1.     What are at least two ethical issues associated with psychological testing?  What impact do these issues have on the field of psychological testing?

One of the major ethical issues associated with psychological testing is informed consent to the assessment. This is an assurance of proper communication between the psychologist and the client throughout the entire testing process. Researchers must ensure that all barriers of communication are satisfied before consent can be recognized. Psychologists must ensure that the client is properly informed, and educated regarding the purpose of the test, how long the test is expected to take, and all procedures used in the test completely, and also understands the direct act of giving consent (American Psychology Association, 2010). If the client is unable to legally provide consent, for example, the client is disabled, or under age, the parent or legal guardian of he individual is responsible for providing the required consent for testing; the psychologist is responsible in this case to ensure the parent or legal guardian is fully informed (Hogan, 2007). The purpose of informed consent is to create a binding contract between the researcher and his or her clients. Clients are also able to withdraw consent at any time during the testing process (Hogan, 2007).

According to Hogan (2007) confidentiality is another major concern associated with psychological testing. This concern is addressed by ethic codes that prohibit a psychologist from engaging in discussion or making reference to an individual’s test results outside the appropriate area of communication (Hogan, 2007). The ethic code also stipulates that a psychologist must retain patient records in an efficient, effective, and secured environment to ensure any information is not compromised. The only exception to the code of confidentiality is when a direct threat or harm to self or others is present (Hogan, 2007).

These issues impact psychological testing because the lack of conduct codes, and ethical practices, the field of psychology would be placed under scrutiny as an unreliable practice. This would negatively impact individuals seeking treatment from a mental health professional, and would devastate the moral and professional structure of patient care in the mental health field.

2.     What are at least two legal issues associated with psychological testing?  How do these issues affect the field of psychological testing?

A major legal issue that psychologists face is ensuring appropriate accommodations is met in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The ADA stipulates that necessary accommodations must be made available for any person who is unable to conform to normal testing environments or protocols (Hogan, 2007).  Included in this stipulation is providing alternatives for hearing or visually impaired individuals, and providing alternative physical accommodations for ease of access to facilities for physically disabled individuals (EEOC, n.d.). Psychologists must take care while ensuring reasonable accommodations are made for these individuals without creating an environment that produces an unfair advantage over other clients (Hogan, 2007).

Discrimination is another major concern because of the idea that some methods used for testing purposes may infringe on the rights of individuals from a particular race, or with religious, or sexual preferences, and gender identities under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991 (EEOC, 2009). Under the federal antidiscrimination laws, psychologists are prohibited from the application of tests, or any other variance of selection that may result in a discriminatory process, produce an unfair advantage, or adversely impacts individuals based on any of the known criteria of federal laws (Hogan, 2007).

These two issues reflect two major concerns not only for psychologists, but also for society in general. In the field of psychology, both patients and those employed in the field must be able to receive proper accommodations and equal treatment under the law. Because psychology is a science of understanding human thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors, these two laws are a primary concern for those working with a wide variety of differences.

3.     Which court case do you feel has had the largest impact on the field of psychological testing?  Why?

I believe that three court cases equally influenced the field of psychological testing. These cases, Larry P. v Riles, PASE v. Hannon, and Crawford v. Honig produced a combined illustration of discriminatory practices in testing, and the diagnosis of mental retardation or learning disabilities. These cases also illustrated the need for proper testing measures, and the understanding of the basic principles of intelligence, and the tools used to determine intelligence levels of individuals. The final illustration was the bias, which by today’s standards would seem extremely primitive (Hogan, 2007)

I believe that these three cases each outlined flaws, biases, and improper processes used in testing individual levels of intelligence, which also influences test development for other aspects of psychology like mental competency assessments, behavioral assessments, and attitude assessments. Biases that influence a singular aspect of a particular field produce high levels of exposure to other aspects of the field, and place the entire practice into question; hence damaging credibility. In order for psychological testing to be viewed as a practice that employs the highest level of integrity, laws and various codes of conduct must be applied as a safeguard. This does not infer that those who practice psychology approach their processes with any form of bias, but it does infer that the potential is evident.

References

EEOC. (n.d.). Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/1990s/ada.html

 EEOC. (2009). Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions and Answers. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/qanda.html

 American Psychology Association. (2010). ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

Hogan, T.P. (2007). Psychological testing: A practical introduction (2nd ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.