Chapter 5: Assessment: Overview
Chapter 5 – Assessment: Overview
Chapter Overview
The next five chapters in the text focus on assessment. Assessment is a part of
our everyday lives. We are assessed to some degree at work, at school, by our
friends, by our family, and possibly even by our pets! Yet, clinical assessment is
much different, as it is a formal, decision-making process that includes a great
deal of information gathering. When we assess a patient for the first time, we
gather not just the presenting symptoms, but the pertinent medical, social,
psychiatric, work, sexual, and family histories as well. We may need to
corroborate certain elements with a patient’s family or friends, especially if the
patient is a poor historian. Clinical assessment is not just another skill to be
taught. This is where art and science come into play. Anyone can read off a
checklist, but it is the skillful clinician who can “think on their feet” and probe,
paraphrase, and extract the necessary information that separates an average
assessment from a great assessment. We do not make excellent diagnosticians
of our students. Our students have these skills or they do not. However, it is our
job to perfect their skills and abilities.
Chapter Contents

Introduction

Psychological Assessment


The Purposes of Psychological Assessment
Psychological Testing

Assessment Versus Testing

Psychometric Considerations

Testing Practices in Clinical Psychology

Evidence-Based Assessment

Ethical Considerations

Summary and Conclusions
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Chapter 5: Assessment: Overview
Learning Objectives
1. What is psychological assessment?
2. What are the recommendations for a model curriculum for clinical
psychology assessment?
3. What are the core competencies in psychological assessment?
4. Define the purposes of psychological assessment?
5. Discuss the difference between assessment-focused versus interventionfocused services.
6. Discuss how assessment formulates diagnosis.
7. Discuss how assessment aids in prognosis.
8. Discuss how assessment plays a role in treatment planning.
9. How does assessment monitor the impact of treatment?
10. What are psychological tests?
11. What is difference between assessment and testing?
12. Why is standardization crucial for a psychological test?
13. Discuss the importance of reliability and validity.
14. What are the various forms of reliability?
15. What are the various forms of validity?
16. How is a test normed?
17. What are the most commonly used tests?
18. What are the ethical considerations in psychological testing and
assessment?
Up for Discussion
1. Besides clinical practice, where might we employ psychological
assessment and testing?
2. In what instances would psychological assessment not be useful?
3. Why is psychological assessment and testing often used in some child
custody evaluations?
4. How can assessments be abused or misused?
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Chapter 5: Assessment: Overview
5. Why would insurance companies prefer a psychologist to provide formal
assessment results rather than his or her own clinical opinion?
6. What is the difference between specificity versus sensitivity?
7. Why is sensitivity and specificity important in the design of a psychological
test or assessment?
8. How would a state or county facility use psychological assessments and
tests? Consider continued stays, discharge planning, etc.
9. Why is psychological testing on the internet flawed?
10. If a test is not standardized, what are the major problems with
administering the test?
11. Can a test have reliability but not validity?
12. Can we administer a test normed in one country and then administer it to
a different country? Why or why not?
13. What are the limits of confidentiality for a psychologist? When can he or
she break confidentiality?
14. Should we only rely on psychological testing and assessment for
diagnosis? Why or why not?
Out-of-Class Activities
1. Have students consider and write up all of the ways psychological tests
and assessments can be biased. Have them discuss how to control for
these biases.
2. Ask students to consider why a psychological test normed in the United
States and given to immigrants entering the U.S. would not be
appropriate, even if translated into the respective foreign language.
3. Divide students into three to five teams, depending on your class size.
You may also assign individually. Each of the teams or the individual
would be presented with a real or mock case and would be instructed to
research which psychological tests they would want to incorporate into
their treatment plan and the tests they would use for follow-up
assessment. The following week the teams would discuss in class or the
individual would hand in their write-up.
4. Have students search for psychological tests on the internet. Have them
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Chapter 5: Assessment: Overview
present the pros and cons of the test, noting also the limitations and
psychometric properties. Have students discuss the norms, reliability, and
validity of the test and compare to another non-internet-based test. Have
them note the differences.
5. Have students consider what they would do if they had a patient disclose
homicidal or suicidal ideation during a diagnostic or follow-up
assessment? Students should review the Tarasoff vs. the Regents of the
University of California case regarding the duty to disclose. They should
discuss their own obligations, feelings, and their legal, ethical, and moral
considerations of disclosure.
Web Links
The Buros Center for Testing provides listings of tests and test reviews:
http://www.unl.edu/buros
There are several websites with information on screening for psychological
problems. For example:
National Alcohol Screening Day:
http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/events/national-alcohol-screeningday.aspx
National Depression Screening Day:
http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/events/national-depression-screeningday.aspx
Self-screening for anxiety and depression, offered by Freedom From Fear:
http://www.freedomfromfear.org/screenrm.asp
Western Psychological Services (WPS) is a leading publisher of tests, books,
software, and therapy tools for professionals in psychology, education, and allied
fields.
http://www.wpspublish.com/
This is the Web site for the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test by Riverside
Publishing.
http://www.riverpub.com/products/sb5/index.html
This is the Web site for Multi-Health Systems, Inc. (MHS), publishers of such
tests as the Conners' Rating Scales-Revised, the Children's Depression
Inventory, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, the Hare Psychopathy
Checklist-Revised 2nd Edition, and the Test of Memory Malingering.
http://www.mhs.com/
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Chapter 5: Assessment: Overview
This is the Web site for Pearson Assessments. Here you will find such tests as
the MMPI-2, the various Wechsler Intelligence Scales, and the Beck Depression
Inventory 2.
http://www.pearsonassessments.com/
Video Suggestions
Critical thinking & assessment (Video, color, 82 min.). Introduces the
fundamental logic of all assessment, discusses the common features,
advantages, and disadvantages of available critical thinking tests, demonstrates
how a testing program can be devised, and explains the theory of teaching
students how to assess each other's work. Center for Critical Thinking & Moral
Critique in concert with Sonoma State University Foundation for Critical Thinking,
1996.
Assessment (Video, color, 22 min.) Reviews the addiction assessment process.
Examines adult and adolescent assessment tools such as the addiction severity
index, the problem-oriented screening instrument, the adolescent problem
severity index, and the personal experience inventory. 1994. Issembert
Productions: a presentation of CSR, Incorporated.
Emotional intelligence (Video, color, 70 min.) Discusses the five basic emotional
competencies - self-awareness, managing emotions, motivation, empathy and
social skills. Explains how to have more success in life as a partner, a parent and
on the job. WETA, Washington, DC, produced in association with the Consortium
for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, Rutgers University; PBS
home video 1998.
Suggested Readings
Barnett, J. E., & Johnson, W. B. (2008). Ethics desk reference for psychologists.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Schroeder, C. S. & Gordon, B. N. (2002). Assessment and Treatment of
Childhood Problems: 2nd Edition: A Clinician’s Guide. The Guilford Press.
Vingerhoets, A (2001). Assessment in Behavioral Medicine. Routledge.
White, A. (1999). How to Identify Suicidal People: A Systematic Approach to
Risk Assessment, Charles Press Publishers
Groth-Marnat, G. (2003). Handbook of psychological assessment (4th ed.).
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
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Chapter 5: Assessment: Overview
Hersen, M. (Ed.). (2004). The comprehensive handbook of psychological
assessment (Vols. 1–4). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Hogan, T. P. (2007). Psychological testing: A practical introduction (2nd ed.).
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Hunsley, J., & Mash, E. J. (Eds.). (2008). A guide to assessments that work. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Rush, A.J., First, M.B., Blacker, B. (2008). Handbook of Psychiatric Measures:
2nd Edition. American Psychiatric Publishing.
Sajatovic, M. & Ramirez, L.F. (2003). Rating Scales in Mental Health: 2nd
Edition. LexiComp.
Lezak, M.D., Howieson, D.B, and Loring, D.W., (2009). Neuropsychological
Assessment: 4th Edition. Oxford University Press.
Strauss, E., Sherman, E.M.S., & Spreen, O. (2006). A Compendium of
Neuropsychological Tests: 3rd Edition. Oxford University Press.
Loewenthal, K.M. (2001). An Introduction to Psychological Tests and Scales: 2nd
Edition. Psychology Press, Taylor and Francis Group.
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