Introduction of Psychological Assessment:

Psychological assessment is a process of testing that uses a combination of techniques to help arrive at some hypotheses about a person and their behavior, and capabilities. Psychological assessment is also referred to as , or performing a psychological battery on a person. Psychological testing is nearly always performed by a licensed , or a trainee (such as an intern). are the only profession that is expertly trained to perform and interpret psychological tests.

Psychological assessment should never be performed in a vacuum. A part of a thorough assessment of an individual is that they also undergo a full medical examination, to rule out the possibilities of a medical, disease or organic cause for the individual’s symptoms. It’s often helpful to have this done first, before psychological testing (as it may make psychological testing moot).

4 Components of Psychological Assessment Norm-Referenced Tests A standardized psychological test is a task or set of tasks given under standard, set conditions. It is designed to assess some aspect of a person’s knowledge, skill or personality. A psychological test provides a scale of measurement for consistent individual differences regarding some psychological concept and serves to line up people according to that concept.

Tests can be thought of as yardsticks, but they are less efficient and reliable than actual yardsticks. A test yields one or more objectively obtained quantitative scores so that, as much as possible, each person is assessed in the same way. The intent is to provide a fair and equitable comparison among test takers.

Norm-references psychological tests are standardized on a clearly defined group, termed the norm group, and scaled so that each individual score reflects a rank within the norm group. Norm-referenced tests have been developed to assess many areas, including ; reading, arithmetic, and spelling abilities; visual-motor skills; gross and fine motor skills; and adaptive behavior. Psychologists have a choice of many well-standardized and psychometrically sound tests with which to evaluate an individual. Norm-referenced tests have several benefits over non-norm-referenced tests. They provide valuable information about a person’s level of functioning in the areas covered by the tests. They relatively little time to administer, permitting a sampling of behavior within a few hours. Each appraisal can provide a wealth of information that would be unavailable to even the most skilled observer who did not use testing.

Finally, norm-referenced tests also provide an index for evaluating change in many different aspects of the child’s physical and social world.

Interviews Valuable information is gained through interviewing. When it’s for a child, interviews are conducted not only the child, but the parents, teachers and other individuals familiar with the child. Interviews are more open and less structured than formal testing and give those being interviewed an opportunity to convey information in their own words.

A formal clinical interview is often conducted with the individual before the start of any psychological assessment or testing. This interview can last anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes, and includes questions about the individual’s personal and childhood history, recent life experiences, work and school history, and background.

Observations Observations of the person being referred in their natural setting — especially if it’s a child — can provide additional valuable assessment information. In the case of a child, how do they behave in school settings, at home, and in the neighborhood? Does the teacher treat them differently than other children? How do their friends react to them?

The answers to these and similar questions can give a better picture of a child and the settings in which they function. It can also help the professional conducting the assessment better formulate treatment recommendations. Informal Assessment Standardized norm-referenced tests may at times need to be supplemented with more informal assessment procedures, as such as projective tests or even career-testing or teacher-made tests. For example, in the case of a child, it may be valuable to obtain language samples from the child, test the child’s ability to profit from systematic cues, and evaluate the child’s reading skills under various conditions.

The realm of informal assessment is vast, but informal testing must be used more cautiously since the scientific validity of the assessment is less known.

* * *

Psychologists seek to take the information gathered from psychological assessment and weave it into a comprehensive and complete picture of the person being tested. Recommendations are based on all the assessment results and from discussion with peers, family, and others who may shed light on the person’s behavior in different settings. For instance, in children, information must be obtained from parents and teachers in order for psychological assessment to be considered complete and relevant to the child. Major discrepancies among the findings must be resolved before any diagnostic decisions or recommendations for treatment are made.

Psychological assessment is never focused on a single test score or number. Every person has a range of competencies that can be evaluated through a number of methods. A psychologist is there to evaluate the competencies as well as the limitations of the person, and report on them in an objective but helpful manner. A psychological assessment report will not only note weaknesses found in testing, but also the individual’s strengths.

Psychological tests[edit]

A psychological test is an instrument designed to measure unobserved constructs, also known as latent variables. Psychological tests are typically, but not necessarily, a series of tasks or problems that the respondent has to solve. Psychological tests can strongly resemble , which are also designed to measure unobserved constructs, but differ in that psychological tests ask for a respondent's maximum performance whereas a asks for the respondent's typical performance.[2] A useful psychological test must be both valid (i.e., there is evidence to support the specified interpretation of the test results[3]) and reliable (i.e., internally consistent or give consistent results over time, across raters, etc.).

It is important that people who are equal on the measured construct also have an equal probability of answering the test items accurately .[4] For example, an item on a mathematics test could be "In a soccer match two players get a red card; how many players are left in the end?"; however, this item also requires knowledge of soccer to be answered correctly, not just mathematical ability. Group membership can also influence the chance of correctly answering items (differential item functioning). Often tests are constructed for a specific population, and this should be taken into account when administering tests. If a test is invariant to some group difference (e.g. gender) in one population (e.g. England) it does not automatically mean that it is also invariant in another population (e.g. Japan).

Psychological assessment is similar to psychological testing but usually involves a more comprehensive assessment of the individual. Psychological assessment is a process that involves checking the integration of information from multiple sources, such as tests of normal and abnormal personality, tests of ability or intelligence, tests of interests or attitudes, as well as information from personal interviews. Collateral information is also collected about personal, occupational, or medical history, such as from records or from interviews with parents, spouses, teachers, or previous therapists or physicians. A psychological test is one of the sources of data used within the process of assessment; usually more than one test is used. Many psychologists do some level of assessment when providing services to clients or patients, and may use for example, simple checklists to osis for treatment settings; to assess a particular area of functioning or disability often for school settings; to help select type of treatment or to assess treatment outcomes; to help courts decide issues such as child custody or competency to stand trial; or to help assess job applicants or employees and provide career development counseling or training.[5]

History

Physiognomy was used to assess personality traits based on an individual's outer appearance.

The first large-scale tests may have been examinations that were part of the imperial examination system in China. The test, an early form of psychological testing, assessed candidates based on their proficiency in topics such as civil law and fiscal policies. [6] Other early tests of intelligence were made for entertainment rather than analysis.[7] Modern mental testing began in France in the 19th century. It contributed to separating mental retardation from mental illness and reducing the neglect, torture, and ridicule heaped on both groups.[8]

Englishman coined the terms and , and developed a method for measuring intelligence based on nonverbal sensory-motor tests. It was initially popular, but was abandoned after the discovery that it had no relationship to outcomes such as college grades.[8][9] French psychologist , together with psychologists Victor Henri and Théodore Simon, after about 15 years of development, published the Binet-Simon test in 1905, which focused on verbal abilities. It was intended to identify mental retardation in school children.[8]

The origins of personality testing date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when personality was assessed through , the measurement of the skull, and physiognomy, which assessed personality based on a person's outer appearances.[10] These early pseudoscientific techniques were eventually replaced with more empirical methods in the 20th century. One of the earliest modern personality tests was the Woolworth Personality Data Sheet, a -report inventory developed for World War I and used for the psychiatric screening of new draftees.[10]

Principles

Proper psychological testing is conducted after vigorous research and development in contrast to quick web-based or magazine questionnaires that say "Find out your Personality Color," or "What's your Inner Age?" Proper psychological testing consists of the following:

 Standardization - All procedures and steps must be conducted with consistency and under the same environment to achieve the same testing performance from those being tested.  Objectivity - Scoring such that subjective judgments and are minimized, with results for each test taker obtained in the same way.  Test Norms - The average test score within a large group of people where the performance of one individual can be compared to the results of others by establishing a point of comparison or frame of reference.  Reliability - Obtaining the same result after multiple testing.  Validity - The type of test being administered must measure what it is intended to measure.[11]

Interpreting scores

Psychological tests, like many measurements of human characteristics, can be interpreted in a norm-referenced or criterion-referenced manner. Norms are statistical representations of a population. A norm-referenced score interpretation compares an individual's results on the test with the statistical representation of the population. In practice, rather than testing a population, a representative sample or group is tested. This provides a group norm or set of norms. One representation of norms is the Bell curve (also called "normal curve"). Norms are available for standardized psychological tests, allowing for an understanding of how an individual's scores compare with the group norms. Norm referenced scores are typically reported on the standard score (z) scale or a rescaling of it.

A criterion-referenced interpretation of a test score compares an individual's performance to some criterion other than performance of other individuals. For example, the generic school test typically provides a score in reference to a subject domain; a student might score 80% on a geography test. Criterion-referenced score interpretations are generally more applicable to achievement tests rather than psychological tests.

Often, test scores can be interpreted in both ways; answering 80% of the questions correctly on a geography test could place a student at the 84th percentile (that is, the student performed better than 83% of the class and worse than 16% of the classmates), or a standard score of 1.0 or even 2.0.

Types

There are several broad categories of psychological tests:

IQ/achievement tests

IQ tests purport to be measures of intelligence, while achievement tests are measures of the use and level of development of use of the ability. IQ (or cognitive) tests and achievement tests are common norm-referenced tests. In these types of tests, a series of tasks is presented to the person being evaluated, and the person's responses are graded according to carefully prescribed guidelines. After the test is completed, the results can be compiled and compared to the responses of a norm group, usually composed of people at the same age or grade level as the person being evaluated. IQ tests which contain a series of tasks typically divide the tasks into verbal (relying on the use of language) and performance, or non-verbal (relying on eye–hand types of tasks, or use of symbols or objects). Examples of verbal IQ test tasks are vocabulary and information (answering general knowledge questions). Non-verbal examples are timed completion of puzzles (object assembly) and identifying images which fit a pattern (matrix reasoning).

IQ tests (e.g., WAIS-IV, WISC-V, Cattell Culture Fair III, Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities-IV, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales V) and academic achievement tests (e.g. WIAT, WRAT, Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-III) are designed to be administered to either an individual (by a trained evaluator) or to a group of people (paper and pencil tests). The individually administered tests tend to be more comprehensive, more reliable, more valid and generally to have better psychometric characteristics than group- administered tests. However, individually administered tests are more expensive to administer because of the need for a trained administrator (psychologist, school psychologist, or psychometrician).

Public safety employment tests

Vocations within the public safety field (i.e., fire service, law enforcement, corrections, emergency medical services) often require Industrial and Organizational Psychology tests for initial employment and advancement throughout the ranks. The National Firefighter Selection Inventory - NFSI, the National Criminal Justice Officer Selection Inventory - NCJOSI, and the Integrity Inventory are prominent examples of these tests.

Attitude tests

Attitude test assess an individual's feelings about an event, person, or object. Attitude scales are used in marketing to determine individual (and group) preferences for brands, or items. Typically attitude tests use either a Thurstone scale, or to measure specific items. Neuropsychological tests

These tests consist of specifically designed tasks used to measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular structure or pathway. Neuropsychological tests can be used in a clinical context to assess impairment after an injury or illness known to affect neurocognitive functioning. When used in research, these tests can be used to contrast neuropsychological abilities across experimental groups.

Infant and Preschool Assessment

Due to the fact that infants and preschool aged children have limited capacities of communication, psychologists are unable to use traditional tests to assess them. Therefore, many tests have been designed just for children ages birth to around six years of age. These tests usually vary with age respectively from assessments of reflexes and developmental milestones, to sensory and motor skills, language skills, and simple cognitive skills.

Common tests for this age group are split into categories: Infant Ability, Preschool Intelligence, and School Readiness. Common infant ability tests include: Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS) which measures the developmental progress of infants, Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) which tests newborn behavior, reflexes, and responses, Ordinal Scales of Psychological Development (OSPD) which assesses infant intellectual abilities, and Bayley-III which tests mental ability and motor skills.

Common preschool intelligence tests include: McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) which is similar to an infant IQ test, Differential Ability Scales (DAS) which can be used to test for learning disability, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III (WPPSI-III) and Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales for Early Childhood which could be seen as infant versions of IQ tests, and Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII) which tests recognition memory.

Finally, some common school readiness tests are: Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-III (DIAL-III) which assesses motor, cognitive, and language skills, Denver II which tests motor, social, and language skills, and Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME) which is a measure of the extent to which a child's home environment facilitates school readiness. Infant and preschool assessments, since they do not predict later childhood nor abilities, are mainly useful for testing if a child is experiencing developmental delay or disabilities. They are also useful for testing individual intelligence and ability, and, as aforementioned, there are some specifically designed to test school readiness and determine which children may struggle more in school.

Personality tests

Psychological measures of personality are often described as either objective tests or projective tests. The terms "objective test" and "" have recently come under criticism in the Journal of Personality Assessment. The more descriptive "rating scale or self-report measures" and "free response measures" are suggested, rather than the terms "objective tests" and "projective tests," respectively.

Objective tests (Rating scale or self-report measure)

Objective tests have a restricted response format, such as allowing for true or false answers or rating using an ordinal scale. Prominent examples of objective personality tests include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-IV, [12] Child Behavior Checklist,[13] [14] and the Beck Depression Inventory.[15] Objective personality tests can be designed for use in business for potential employees, such as the NEO-PI, the 16PF, and the OPQ (Occupational Personality Questionnaire), all of which are based on the Big Five taxonomy. The Big Five, or Five Factor Model of normal personality, has gained acceptance since the early 1990s when some influential meta-analyses (e.g., Barrick & Mount 1991) found consistent relationships between the Big Five personality factors and important criterion variables.

Another based upon the Five Factor Model is the Five Factor Personality Inventory – Children (FFPI-C.).[16]

Projective tests (Free response measures)

Projective tests allow for a freer type of response. An example of this would be the , in which a person states what each of ten ink blots might be.

Projective testing became a growth industry in the first half of the 1900s, with doubts about the theoretical assumptions behind projective testing arising in the second half of the 1900s. [17] Some projective tests are used less often today because they are more time consuming to administer and because the reliability and validity are controversial.

As improved sampling and statistical methods developed, much controversy regarding the utility and validity of projective testing has occurred. The use of clinical judgement rather than norms and statistics to evaluate people's characteristics has raised criticism that projectives are deficient and unreliable (results are too dissimilar each time a test is given to the same person). However, as more objective scoring and interpretive systems supported by more rigorous scientific research have emerged, many practitioners continue to rely on projective testing. Projective tests may be useful in creating inferences to follow up with other methods. The most widely used scoring system for the Rorschach is the Exner system of scoring.[18] Another common projective test is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), [19] which is often scored with Westen's Social and Object Relations Scales[20] and Phebe Cramer's Defense Mechanisms Manual.[21] Both "rating scale" and "free response" measures are used in contemporary clinical practice, with a trend toward the former.

Other projective tests include the House-Tree-Person test, the Animal Metaphor Test.

Sexological tests

The number of tests specifically meant for the field of sexology is quite limited. The field of sexology provides different devices in order to examine the various aspects of the discomfort, problem or dysfunction, regardless of whether they are individual or relational ones.

Direct observation tests

Although most psychological tests are "rating scale" or "free response" measures, psychological assessment may also involve the observation of people as they complete activities. This type of assessment is usually conducted with in a laboratory, home or with children in a classroom. The purpose may be clinical, such as to establish a pre- intervention baseline of a child's hyperactive or aggressive classroom behaviors or to observe the nature of a parent-child interaction in order to understand a relational disorder. Direct observation procedures are also used in research, for example to study the relationship between intrapsychic variables and specific target behaviors, or to explore sequences of behavioral interaction.

The Parent-Child Interaction Assessment-II (PCIA)[22] is an example of a direct observation procedure that is used with school-age children and parents. The parents and children are video recorded playing at a make-believe zoo. The Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment[23] is used to study parents and young children and involves a feeding and a puzzle task. The MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB)[24] is used to elicit narratives from children. The Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System-II[25] tracks the extent to which children follow the commands of parents and vice versa and is well suited to the study of children with Oppositional Defiant Disorders and their parents.

Interest tests

Psychological tests to assess a person's interests and preferences. These tests are used primarily for career counseling. Interest tests include items about daily activities from among which applicants select their preferences. The rationale is that if a person exhibits the same pattern of interests and preferences as people who are successful in a given occupation, then the chances are high that the person taking the test will find satisfaction in that occupation. A widely used interest test is the Strong Interest Inventory, which is used in career assessment, career counseling, and educational guidance.

Aptitude tests

Psychological tests measure specific abilities, such as clerical, perceptual, numerical, or spatial aptitude. Sometimes these tests must be specially designed for a particular job, but there are also tests available that measure general clerical and mechanical aptitudes, or even general learning ability. An example of an occupational aptitude test is the Minnesota Clerical Test, which measures the perceptual speed and accuracy required to perform various clerical duties. Other widely used aptitude tests include Careerscope, the Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT), which assess verbal reasoning, numerical ability, abstract Reasoning, clerical speed and accuracy, mechanical reasoning, space relations, spelling and language usage. Another widely used test of aptitudes is the Wonderlic Test. These aptitudes are believed to be related to specific occupations and are used for career guidance as well as selection and recruitment.[26] Biographical Information Blank

The Biographical Information Blanks or BIB is a paper-and-pencil form that includes items that ask about detailed personal and work history. It is used to aid in the hiring of employees by matching the backgrounds of individuals to requirements of the job.

Types of Psychological Testing, Scale and Battery

Psychological testing — also called psychological assessment — is the foundation of how psychologists better understand a person and their behavior. It is a process of problem solving for many professionals — to try and determine the core components of a person’s psychological or problems, personality, IQ, or some other component. It is also a process that helps identifies not just weaknesses of a person, but also their strengths.

Psychological testing measures an individual’s performance at a specific point in time — right now. Psychologists talk about a person’s “present functioning” in terms of their test data. Therefore psychological tests can’t predict future or innate potential.

Psychological testing is not a single test or even a single type of test. It encompasses a whole body of dozens of research-backed tests and procedures of assessing specific aspects of a person’s psychological makeup. Some tests are used to determine IQ, others are used for personality, and still others for something else. Since so many different tests are available, it’s important to note that not all of them share the same research evidence for their use — some tests have a strong evidence base while others do not.

Psychological assessment is something that’s typically done in a formal manner only by a licensed psychologist (the actual testing may sometimes be administered by a psychology intern or trainee studying to become a psychologist). Depending upon what kind of testing is being done, it can last anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to a full day. Testing is usually done in a psychologist’s office and consists largely of paper-and-pencil tests (nowadays often administered on a computer for ease-of-use).

Psychological testing is divided into four primary types:

. Clinical Interview . Assessment of (IQ) . Personality Assessment . Behavioral Assessment

In addition to these primary types of psychological assessment, other kinds of psychological tests are available for specific areas, such as aptitude or achievement in school, career or work counseling, management skills, and career planning. The Clinical Interview The clinical interview is a core component of any psychological testing. Some people know the clinical interview as an “intake interview”, “admission interview” or “diagnostic interview” (although technically these are often very different things). Clinical interviews typically last from 1 to 2 hours in length, and occur most often in a clinician’s office. Many types of mental health professionals can conduct a clinical interview — psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, amongst others.

The clinical interview is an opportunity for the professional to gather important background and family data about the person. Think of it as an information-gathering session for the professional’s benefit (but ultimately for your benefit). You may have to recall or review a lot of your life and personal history with the professional, who will often ask specific questions about various stages in your life.

Some components of the clinical interview have now become computerized, meaning you will answer a series of questions on a computer in the clinician’s office instead of talking directly to a person. This is most often done for basic demographic information, but can also include structured diagnostic interview questions to help the clinicians formulate an initial diagnostic impression.

Before any formal psychological testing is done, a clinical interview is nearly always conducted (even if the person has already gone through one with a different professional). Psychologists conducting the testing will often want to form their own clinical impressions, which can be best done through a direct interview with the person.

Assessment of Intellectual Functioning (IQ) Your IQ — intellectual quotient — is a theoretical construct of a measure of general intelligence. It’s important to note that IQ tests do not measure actual intelligence — they measure what we believe might be important components of intelligence.

There are two primary measures used to test a person’s intellectual functions — intelligence tests and neuropsychological assessment. Intelligence tests are the more common type administered and include the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler scales. Neuropsychological assessment — which can take up to 2 days to administer — is a far more extensive form of assessment. It is focused not just on testing for intelligence, but also on determining all of the cognitive strengths and deficits of the person. Neuropsychological assessment is most usually done with people who have suffered some sort of brain damage, dysfunction or some kind of organic brain problem, just as having a brain hemorrhage.

The most commonly administered IQ test is called the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale— Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). It generally takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to administer, and is appropriate for any individual aged 16 or older to take. (Children can be administered an IQ test especially designed for them called the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition, or the WISC-IV.)

The WAIS-IV is divided into four major scales to arrive at what’s called a “full scale IQ.” Each scale is further divided into a number of mandatory and optional (also called supplemental) subtests. The mandatory subtests are necessary to arrive at a person’s full scale IQ. The supplemental subtests provide additional, valuable information about a person’s cognitive abilities.

Verbal Comprehension Scale

. Similarities . Vocabulary . Information . Supplemental Subtest: Comprehension

Perceptual Reasoning Scale

. Block Design . Matrix Reasoning . Visual Puzzles . Supplemental Subtests: Picture Completion; Figure Weights (16-69) only

Working Memory Scale . Digit Span . Arithmetic . Supplemental Subtest: Letter-Number Sequencing (16-69 only)

Processing Speed Scale

. Symbol Search . Coding . Supplemental Subtest: Cancellation (16-69 only)

As you can surmise from the names of some of the scales of the test, measuring IQ isn’t just answering questions about information or vocabulary. Because some of the subtests require physical manipulation of objects, the Wechsler is tapping into many different components of a person’s brain and thought processes (including the creative). For this reason and others, online IQ tests are not equivalent to real IQ tests given by a psychologist.

Ethical Standards in Psychological Testing There are ethical standards in testing psychology due to the unique involvement of observing and conducting research on human subjects. When dealing with people and sensitive (and/or private) information, it is mandated that specific procedures are implemented to ensure researchers are not only protecting the integrity of the work, but are protecting the participants involved. There are ethical codes for psychology, domestically and abroad, that are predicated on testing standards specific to the codes of conduct (Leach & Oakland, 2007). This brings value to ethical standards and the willingness for participants to want to be involved in experiments. It is understood that any psychological test conducted, the findings will not be disclosed to other individuals and/or companies that are not involved in the process (McIntire & Miller, 2007).

Next, ethical codes are useful because it is important for researchers to be clear on what they plan to do with the results. When I conducted research for my doctoral dissertation, I interviewed a sensitive population. It was very important that they know that not only would they remain anonymous (optional), it would be clear on what I would do with the information after it had been analyze, interpreted, and produced results. This was a determining factor with some deciding whether to move forward with the interview. Ethical principles mandate that the participant knows exactly what a researcher’s intentions are with the data collected, how it will be stored, and its use after the research/experiment is completed.

Sometimes it can be challenging to avoid some ethical issues and that is protocol should be in place to mitigate violations as much as possible. For example, and privacy issues played an important role in my research, based on the topic, the controversy of the acquisition [F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program], and the costs that affected American taxpayers. I developed appendices that mitigated unethical behavior within the interviews and ensured privacy would be maintain by controlling interviews in specific locations where it was only the participant and myself.

Three guidelines that related to using online testing in practice would be:

 Resolving Ethical Issues  Human relations

 Privacy & Confidentiality

Resolving Ethical Issues.It is important that ethical issues are resolved before moving forward. When I was conducted my research, I tried to think about all possible ethical issues that could become a problem. For example, I was active duty Air Force at the time, worked at the Pentagon, was a student, and my research was on the United States’ largest acquisition to date: The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. And guess who the program belonged to? Department of Defense (the Pentagon). I had to conduct “research” for the research on how working in the Pentagon for multiple Defense Secretaries would not present bias, disclose any sensitive and/or classified information, or show favoritism to my research. Also, there were laws involved on what I could discuss and how I could represent my research to the public. The Department of Defense had its own ethical standards I had to follow, in conjunction with the University’s standards. What made it difficult was that most of my coordination was completed online and I had to have additional protocol to protect the flow of information via the Internet. This was especially important to ensure there were not any conflicts with ethics, laws, and regulations between both agencies (American Psychological Association [APA], 2018). I am sure the same applies for the psychological field when it comes to online testing.

Human Relations. Most of my interviews were in-person, but a few were conducted telephonically. This was somewhat challenging because I interviewed people who were considered “special or protected” populations. For those that I conducted via the Internet, I ensured security specialists made sure lines were cleared to mitigate infiltration (sounds more serious than what it was). Having them sign a statement, ensuring total privacy and no disclosure to third parties was nerve-wracking, if something happened that was beyond my control. However, it is important that researchers take the utmost steps in ensuring that their participants and others involved in the research are not harmed (APA, 2018).

Privacy and Confidentiality. This is one I considered to be the most important since all coordination was online and there were so many challenges that could have come to fruition if I did not do my job of covering all bases to protect my participants, the University, and myself. Maintaining confidentially was key. I ensured all correspondence was with the participant and one immediate staff member (since they were responsible for scheduling and practically the individual’s entire professional life). I ensured all correspondences were labeled “FOUO” (For Official Use Only) to understand there was sensitive, but not classified information within the emails because there was an obligation to protect the participant’s information (APA, 2018). I had all participants sign thoroughly-written confidentiality agreements and disclosure agreements (Informed Consent). And because all my interviews were recorded, I had them sign separate agreements for recording information and how those recordings would be handled (disposed of) after the study was completed.

All the elements presented are relevant because it deals with ethical standards of how researchers should conduct themselves, have sound protocol to protect their participants, and protect confidential information. My research was an example of working in a “multiple relationship” capacity and I am sure this is especially relevant in psychology, if psychologists are conducting studies with their colleagues or other individuals, which can impose some type of conflict. For example, if a psychologist is working a project with his/her superior, there are two relationships: supervisor and subordinate and collaborative researchers. APA states a psychologist should refrain from such a relationship if the collaboration “impairs the psychologist’s objectivity, competence, or effectiveness in performing his or her functions as a psychologist, or otherwise exploits or harm to the person with whom the professional relationship exists” (2018, para. 7). If this is not the cause, then there should not be any conflicts.

I believe it is a very situation between ethical standards and cyber issues, especially in sensitive fields, dealing with human subjects. As I stated in my initial post, there were additional issues I had to consider when working with my interviewees, based on having to interact with additional people and all correspondence was completed via Email and the Internet.

As for the psychological field, I believe the ethical standards hold up to cybersecurity initiatives as much as those who implement and enforces such standards. As McAlaney, Thackray, and Taylor state (2016) online communications are as good as those understanding the relationship of trust, interdependence, and the sharing information within a virtual world. Breaching the concept of trust is when problems arise within the psychological field and those in the profession could potentially deal with hackers infiltrating systems to obtain sensitive and personnel information. The ethical standards I mentioned are an amalgamation of characteristics on how those should handle people and their information. Human relations are an especially important, and it is dependent upon the organizations to ensure there are methods in place to protect patients, their information, and enforce privacy and confidentially laws that not only relate to the privacy rights under HIPAA, but those rights patients have when participating in experiments and research studies. Resolving ethical issues in the cyber world through appropriate training and situational awareness is beneficial. I know most fields require this training so those who deal with ethical issues, it is recommended. Additionally, organizations should be held accountable for their IT departments to ensure they have the most innovative systems and security software programs to mitigate cyber hackings and other security breaches.

Psychologists may:

- Disclose private information without consent in order to protect the patient or the public from serious harm — if, for example, a client discusses plans to attempt suicide or harm another person.

- Are required to report ongoing domestic violence, abuse or neglect of children, the elderly or people with disabilities. (However, if an adult discloses that he or she was abused as a child, the psychologist typically isn't bound to report that abuse, unless there are other children continuing to be abused.)

- May release information if they receive a court order. That might happen if a person's mental health came into question during legal proceedings (American Psychological Association, 2018).

If an assessment is called into question, the issue needs to be rectified to not only protect the participants involved, but to protect the integrity of the study. The American Psychological Association discusses 10 ways to avoid ethical issues (2018). Protecting confidential information, respecting people's autonomy, and document are what I found to be the most significant in mitigating ethical issues. I believe all ethical issues are important in a study, but there are some, in my opinion, that are more significant others when dealing with human subjects. It's all about protecting their interests and protecting the establishment that is responsible for one's study. If there's consistent violations, that mitigate credibility and in turn, the researcher can lose credibility to publish work that may be significant to the field.

PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORT WRITING

Writing up Psychological Investigations Through using this website, you have learned about, referred to, and evaluated research studies. These research studies are generally presented to the scientific community as a journal article. Most journal articles follow a standard format. This is similar to the way you may have written up experiments in other sciences.

In research report there are usually six sub-sections: (1) Abstract: This is always written last because it is a very brief summary:  Include a one sentence summary, giving the topic to be studied. This may include the hypothesis and some brief theoretical background research, for example the name of the researchers whose work you have replicated.  Describe the participants, number used and how they were selected.  Describe the method and design used and any questionnaires etc. you employed.  State your major findings, which should include a mention of the statistics used the observed and critical values and whether or not your results were found to be significant, including the level of significance  Briefly summarise what your study shows, the conclusion of your findings and any implications it may have. State whether the experimental or null hypothesis has been accepted/ rejected.  This should be around 150 words. (2) Introduction: This tells everyone why the study is being carried out and the commentary should form a ‘funnel’ of information. First, there is broad coverage of all the background research with appropriate evaluative comments: “Asch (1951) found…but Crutchfield (1955) showed…” Once the general research has been covered, the focus becomes much narrower finishing with the main researcher/research area you are hoping to support/refute. This then leads to the aims and hypothesis/hypotheses (i.e. experimental and null hypotheses) being stated.

(3) Method: Method – this section is split into sub-sections:

(1) Design:

 What is the experimental method that has been used?  Why?  Experimental Design type – independent groups, repeated measures, matched pairs? Justify?  What is the IV, DV? These should be operationalised.  Any potential EVs?  How will these EVs be overcome?  Ethical issues? Strategies to overcome these ethical issues (2) Participants:

 Who is the target population? – Age/socio-economic status, gender, etc.  What sampling technique has been used? Why?  Details of participants that have been used? Do they have certain characteristics  How have participants been allocated to conditions (3) Materials:

 Description of all equipment used and how to use it (essential for replication)  materials for participants should be in the appendix (4) Procedure:

 This is a step-by-step guide of how the study was carried out – when, where, how  Instructions to participants must be standardised to allow replication  Lengthy sets of instructions and instructions to participants should be in the appendix (4) Results: This section contains:

 A summary of the data. All raw data and calculations are put in the appendix.  This generally starts with a section of descriptive statistics measures of central tendency and dispersion.  Summary tables, which should be clearly labelled and referred to in the text, e.g., “Table One shows that…” Graphical representations of the data must also be clear and properly labelled and referred to in the text, e.g., “It can be seen from Figure 1 that…”  Once the summary statistics have been explained, there should be an analysis of the results of any inferential tests, including observed values, how these relate to the critical table value, significance level and whether the test was one- or two-tailed.  This section finishes with the rejection or acceptance of the null hypothesis. (5) Discussion: This sounds like a repeat of the results section, but here you need to state what you’ve found in terms of psychology rather than in statistical terms, in particular relate your findings to your hypotheses. Mention the strength of your findings, for example were they significant and at what level. If your hypothesis was one tailed and your results have gone in the opposite direction this needs to be indicated. If you have any additional findings to report, other than those relating to the hypotheses then they too can be included. All studies have flaws, so anything that went wrong or the limitations of the study are discussed together with suggestions for how it could be improved if it were to be repeated. Suggestions for alternative studies and future research are also explored. The discussion ends with a paragraph summing up what was found and assessing the implications of the study and any conclusions that can be drawn from it.

(6) Referencing (Harvard Referencing): References should contain details of all the research covered in a psychological report. It is not sufficient to simply list the books used.

What you should do: Look through your report and include a reference every researcher mentioned. A reference should include; the name of the researcher, the date the research was published, the title of the book/journal, where the book was published (or what journal the article was published in), the edition number of the book/volume of the journal article, the page numbers used.

Example: Paivio, A., Madigan, S.A. (1970). Noun imagery and frequency in paired-associate and free learning recall. Canadian Journal of Psychology. 24, pp353-361.

Other Rules – Make sure that the references are placed in alphabetical order.

Exam Tip: In the exam, the types of questions you could expect relating to report writing include; defining what information you would find in each section of the report, in addition, on the old specification, questions linked to report writing have included; writing up a method section, results section and designing a piece of research. In addition, in the exam, you may get asked to write; a consent form, debriefing sheet or a set of standardised instructions. Writing a Consent Form for a Psychological Report – Remember the mnemonic TAPCHIPS Your consent form should include the following;

(1) Title of the Project: (2) Aim of the study? (3) Procedure – What will I be asked to do if I take part? You should give a brief description of what the participants will have to do if they decide to consent to take part in the study (i.e. complete a 15-minute memory test etc…)

(4) Will your data be kept Confidential? Explain how you will make sure that all personal details will be kept confidential.

(5) Do I Have to take part? Explain to the participant that they don’t have to take part in the study, explain about their right to withdraw.

(6) Information? Where can I obtained further information if I need it? Provide the participant with the contact details of the key researchers carrying out the study.

(7) Participant responses to the following questions: Have you received enough information about the study? YES/NO

Do you consent for your data to be used in this study and retained for use in other studies? YES/ NO

Do you understand that you do not need to take part in the study and that you can; withdraw your participation at any time without reason or detriment? YES/NO

(8) Signature from the participant and the researcher: will need to be acquired at the bottom of the consent form. Writing a set of Standardised Instructions for a Psychological Investigation When writing a set of standardised instructions, it is essential that you include:

1. Enough information to allow for replication of the study 2. You must write the instructions so that they can simply be read out by the researcher to the participants.

3. You should welcome the participants to the study.

4. Thank the participants for giving their consent to take part.

5. Explain to the participants what will happen in the study, what they will be expected to do (step by step), how long the task/specific parts of the task will take to complete.

6. Remind participants that they have the right to withdraw throughout the study.

7. Ask that participants at the end if they have any questions

8. Check that the participants are still happy to proceed with the study.

Writing a Debriefing Form for a Psychological Report This is the form that you should complete with your participants at the end of the study to ensure that they are happy with the way the study has been conducted, to explain to them the true nature of the study, to confirm consent and to give them the researcher’s contact details in case they want to ask any further questions.

 Thank the participants for taking part in the study.  Outline the true aims of the research (what were the participants expected to do? What happened in each of the different conditions?)  Explain what you were looking to find.  Explain how the data will be used now and in the future.  Remind the participants that they have the right to withdraw now and after the study.  Thank participants once again for taking part.  Remind the participant of the researcher(s) contact details.

Designing Research One of the questions that you may get asked in the exam is to design a piece of research. The best way to go about this is to include similar information to what you would when writing up the method section of a psychological report. Things to Consider… (1) Design:

 What is the experimental method/non-experimental method will you use? (Lab, field, natural experiment? Questionnaire (open/closed questions?), Interviews (structured, unstructured, semi-structured?), Observation).  Why? (does this method allow a great deal of control? Is it in a natural setting and would show behaviour reflective of real life? Would it allow participants to remain anonymous and therefore, they are more likely to tell the truth/act in a realistic way? Does the method avoid demand characteristics?)  Experimental Design type ( independent groups, repeated measures, matched pairs? Justify you choice?)  What is the IV, DV? These should be operationalised (how are you going to measure these variables?)  Any potential EVs? (Participant variables, experimenter effects, demand characteristics, situational variables?)  How will these EVs be overcome? (Are you going to out some control mechanisms in place? Are you going to use standardised instructions? Double or single blind? Will the experimental design that you are using help to overcome EVs?)  Ethical issues? (What are the potential ethical issues and what strategies are you going to use to overcome these ethical issues?) (2) Participants:

 Who is the target population? – Age/socio-economic status, gender, etc.  What sampling technique has been used? Why?  Details of participants that have been used? Do they have certain characteristics  How have participants been allocated to conditions (have you used random allocation? Why have you adopted this technique? (3) Materials:

 Description of all equipment used and how to use it (essential for replication) (4) Procedure:

 This is a step-by-step guide of how the study was carried out – from beginning to end, how you are going to carry out the study.

4) Results: This section contains:

 A summary of the data. All raw data and calculations are put in the appendix.  This generally starts with a section of descriptive statistics measures of central tendency and dispersion.  Summary tables, which should be clearly labelled and referred to in the text, e.g., “Table One shows that…” Graphical representations of the data must also be clear and properly labelled and referred to in the text, e.g., “It can be seen from Figure 1 that…”  Once the summary statistics have been explained, there should be an analysis of the results of any inferential tests, including observed values, how these relate to the critical table value, significance level and whether the test was one- or two-tailed.  This section finishes with the rejection or acceptance of the null hypothesis. (5) Discussion: This sounds like a repeat of the results section, but here you need to state what you’ve found in terms of psychology rather than in statistical terms, in particular relate your findings to your hypotheses. Mention the strength of your findings, for example were they significant and at what level. If your hypothesis was one tailed and your results have gone in the opposite direction this needs to be indicated. If you have any additional findings to report, other than those relating to the hypotheses then they too can be included. All studies have flaws, so anything that went wrong or the limitations of the study are discussed together with suggestions for how it could be improved if it were to be repeated. Suggestions for alternative studies and future research are also explored. The discussion ends with a paragraph summing up what was found and assessing the implications of the study and any conclusions that can be drawn from it.

(6) Referencing (Harvard Referencing): References should contain details of all the research covered in a psychological report. It is not sufficient to simply list the books used.

What you should do: Look through your report and include a reference every researcher mentioned. A reference should include; the name of the researcher, the date the research was published, the title of the book/journal, where the book was published (or what journal the article was published in), the edition number of the book/volume of the journal article, the page numbers used.

Example: Paivio, A., Madigan, S.A. (1970). Noun imagery and frequency in paired-associate and free learning recall. Canadian Journal of Psychology. 24, pp353-361.

Other Rules – Make sure that the references are placed in alphabetical order.