Sections 9.01-9.03
What is the first thing a clinical psychologist does before giving someone a psychological assessment?
Obtain informed consent and explain the purpose of the assessment, confidentiality, and how the results will be used.
“Test data” refers to raw & scaled score , client/patient responses to test questions and psychologists’ notes + recording concerning patient statements/behaviors during those exams. Which ethic code is this referring to?
What is ethic code: 9.04
This code stops psychologists from basing their intervention decisions or recommendations on tests and measures that are obsolete and not useful for the current purpose.
What is 9.08?
A psychologist gives a client test results but never explains what the scores mean. Which ethical guideline is involved?
9.10 — Explaining Assessment Results.
This specific standard requires psychologists to base the opinions in their reports and recommendations on information that can be supported with their findings from the assessment.
What is 9.01?
A school psychologist administers an English-language intelligence test to a student who primarily speaks Spanish, despite the student's limited English proficiency. The psychologist then labels the student as having a learning disability based on the results. Which ethical code does this violate?
9.02: The assessment was not appropriate for the student’s language abilities, making the results potentially invalid and unreliable.
Psychologist who develop test and other assessment techniques use appropriate psychometric procedures and current scientific or professional knowledge for test design, standardization, validation, reduction or elimination of bias, and recommendations for use. Which ethic code is this referring to?
What is ethic code 9.05?
A psychologist allows his undergraduate student to administer and interpret a complex personality battery to a client without any direct supervision or training. Which ethical code is being violated?
What is 9.07 (Assessment by Unqualified Persons)?
To help a friend study for a grad school exam, a psychologist allows them to take home a WAIS-V kit. This psychologist has failed to follow which ethics code?
What is 9.11 (Maintaining Test Security)?
When interpreting assessment results, Including automated Interpretations, psychologist take into account the purpose of the assessment as well as the various test factors (test-taking abilities, situational, personal or cultural differences).
What is ethic code 9.06?
A clinical psychologist writes a custody evaluation recommending that a parent should not receive custody after only reading court documents and speaking briefly with one parent. The psychologist never interviews or evaluates the other parent or the child. Which ethical principle does this violate and why?
9.01: The psychologist made conclusions without conducting an adequate examination or gathering sufficient information to support the recommendations.
A psychologist administers a high-stakes cognitive assessment to a graduate school applicant despite the client reporting severe test anxiety and difficulty functioning during early morning testing. The client appears visibly anxious and struggles throughout the assessment, yet the psychologist interprets the results as fully valid and submits the report without noting how anxiety, fatigue, or testing conditions may have affected performance.
What is 9.06: When interpreting assessment results, psychologists consider the purpose of the assessment and factors such as test-taking ability, situational influences, and personal or cultural differences that may affect performance.
Psychologists who offer scoring services to other professionals must accurately describe the purpose, norms, validity, and reliability of the procedures. Which ethical code is this?
What is 9.09?
A psychologist rushes out of the office due to a family emergency and accidentally leaves a test booklet and scoring materials unsecured on her desk. Later, a client waiting nearby is able to view the materials, compromising the security and integrity of the assessment instruments.
What is ethic code 9.11 Maintaining test security
Psychologist do not promote the use of psychological assessment techniques by unqualified persons, except when such Is conducted for training purposes with appropriate supervision. Which ethics code is this?
A clinical psychologist administers a personality assessment to a client during intake but does not explain why the test is being used, how the results will be shared, or the limits of confidentiality. The client later discovers the results were included in a report sent to another provider. Which ethical principle does this violate & why?
9.03: The client was not properly informed about the purpose of the assessment, confidentiality, or third-party involvement before testing
A psychologist administers an academic assessment to a high-school student. Later that day, the student’s sibling arrives to pick them up from the testing center and casually asks about the results. Without obtaining the student’s written consent or a signed Release of Information (ROI), the psychologist shares details about the student’s scores and diagnostic impressions with the sibling.
What is 9.04: Psychologist must refrain from releasing test data to protect the client from har/misuse/misrepresentation of the data or the test.
A psychologist is scheduled to administer a psychological assessment to a client when they suddenly experience a family emergency and have to leave the office unexpectedly. Wanting to avoid canceling the appointment, the psychologist calls a close friend who is not a licensed psychologist or trained assessment professional. The friend has previously volunteered as a practice participant for the assessment and insists they know how to administer it because they have watched the psychologist conduct the test multiple times and have read parts of the administration manual. The psychologist allows the friend to administer portions of the assessment independently while the psychologist is away.
What is ethics code 9.07: Psychologist do not promote the use of psychological assessment techniques by unqualified persons, except when such Is conduted for training purposes with appropriate supervision.
A psychologist uses an automated online scoring service to interpret a client’s personality assessment. After receiving the computer-generated report, the psychologist simply places the results in the client’s file without ever discussing them with the client. Months later, the client discovers concerning statements in the report that were never explained. Which ethical principle has been violated & why?
9.10: Even when outside or automated scoring services are used, psychologists are still responsible for ensuring assessment results are explained appropriately.
A psychologist conducted a child custody evaluation and decides to use a personality test that has only been validated for adult populations. When writing the report, the psychologist did not mention that the test's validity for children has not been established. This omission is a violation of what standard?
What is 9.02?
A clinical psychologist conducts a forensic evaluation for the court using only old medical records and never informs the individual being evaluated about the purpose of the assessment or how the findings will be used in court. Does this violate more than 1 ethical principle? Which one(s) & Why?
9.01: Conclusions were based on limited information without adequate examination.
9.03: The individual was not properly informed about the assessment process or its intended use.
A school psychologist develops a new screening tool intended to identify anxiety in middle school students. She creates the questionnaire using items she personally believes “sound right” based on her years of experience, but she does not pilot the measure with diverse student populations or examine whether the items function differently across racial, cultural, or language groups. After administering the test to several schools, she notices that English language learners consistently score in the “high anxiety” range, yet she continues recommending the tool for district-wide use without additional validation studies or revisions. She also publishes promotional material claiming the assessment is “highly accurate” despite limited reliability and validity data.
What is ethic code 9.05: Psychologist who develop test and other assessment techniques use appropriate psychometric procedures and curent scientific or profesional knowledge for test design, standardization, validation, reduction or elimination of bias, and recommendations for use.
A clinical psychologist uses an AI service to score and interpret a client's personality test. AI has a glitch and miscalculates a scale, leading to an incorrect diagnosis in the final report. The psychologist argues they are not ethically liable for the error because they used a common AI service with proven validity. Is this ethical?
9.09 (c) says psychologists "retain responsibility for the appropriate application, interpretation, and use of assessment instruments"
A psychologist is hired by a major company to conduct security screenings for job candidates. One candidate, after completing the battery, asked for their results and how they were interpreted. Dr. Vance refuses to give it to them because of the fact that the corporate contract prohibits the disclosure of results to the individual. However, the psychologist did not inform the candidate of this restriction during the initial intake. Is this ethical?
What is no?
9.10 acknowledges that it is okay for companies not to provide test results ONLY IF it has been clearly explained to the person beforehand
A candidate applying for a high-level security position is denied the job based on a psychological evaluation. When the candidate demands a meeting to understand their scores and the psychologist's reasoning, the psychologist refuses to provide any explanation or feedback. Is this ethical?
What is yes?
9.10 says it is ethical to withhold an explanation of the results if it were explicitly explained beforehand