• Body of ethics: body of principles of right, proper or good conduct
• To the extent that a code of professional ethics is recognised and accepted by members of a profession, it defines the standard of care expected of members of that profession.
• Standard of care: level at which the average, reasonable and prudent professional would provide diagnostic or therapeutic services under the same or similar conditions
Concerns of the public
• Assessment enterprise not understood well by public
• Concern about use of psychological tests first became widespread in the aftermath of WW1
• extent of public concern about psychological assessment is reflected in the extensive involvement of the government in many aspects of the assessment process in recent decades
Legislation
• Minimum competency testing programs: formal testing programs designed to be used in decisions regarding various aspects of students’ education.
• Truth-in-testing legislation: primary objective of these laws to give testtakers a way to learn the criteria to which they are being judged
• Public has been quick to label a test as unfair and discriminatory regardless of its utility
• Those who advocate several of achievement standards obtain nothing of lasting value by eliminating valid tests
• Lowering standards amounts to hindering progress while providing only the illusion of progress Litigation
• Psychologist acting as expert witness
Concerns of the profession
• Collaboration between the APA and National Education Association led to the development of rather detailed testing standards and guidelines that would be periodically updated in future years.
• Expressions of concern about the quality of tests being administered
Test-user qualifications
• Ethical standards for the distribution of psychological tests and diagnostic aids
• This report defined there levels of test in terms of the degree to which the test’s use required knowledge of testing and psychology
– Level A: tests that can be adequately administered, scored and interpreted with the aid of the manual and a general orientation to the kind of institution or organisation in which one is working.
– Level B: Tests that require some technical knowledge of test construction and use and of supporting psychological and educational fields
– Level C: Tests that require substantial understanding of testing and supporting psychological fields together with supervised experience in the use of these devices
Testing people with disabilities
• transform test into form ready for administration to individual with disability
Computerised test administration, scoring, and interpretation
• Computer assisted psychological assessment (CAPA) has become the norm
• Convenient
• Major issues
– Access to test administration, scoring and interpretation software: software may be copied and duplicated
– Comparability of pencil and paper and computerised versions of tests
– Value of computerised test interpretations
– Unprofessional, unregulated “psychological testing” online
Rights of testtakers
Right of informed consent
• have a right to know why they are being evaluated, how the test data will be used, and what (if any) information will be released to whom
• With full knowledge of such information, testtakers give their informed consent to be tested
• must be in a language testtaker can understand
• Competency in providing informed consent has been broken down into several components:
– Being able to evidence a choice as to whether one wants to participate
– Demonstrating a factual understanding of the issues
– being able to reason about the facts of a study, treatment, or whatever it is to which consent is sought
– Appreciating the nature of the situation
• Issue: extent to which persons diagnosed with psychopathology may be incompetent to provide informed consent — > impairment
• If a testtaker is incapable of providing an informed consent to testing, such consent may be obtained from a parent or legal representative
• Must be in written form
• Written form should specify
– (1) general purpose of the testing
– (2) specific reason it is being undertaken in the present case
– (3) general type of instruments to be administered
• One grey area with respect to the testtaker’s right of fully informed consent before testing involves research and experimental situations where in the examinee’s complete disclosure of all facts pertinent to the testing might contaminate the test data
• in some cases, deception is used to create situations that occur very rarely —> debriefing after test
• (1) do not use deception unless it is absolutely necessary, (2) do not use deception at all if it will cause participants emotional distress, (3) fully debrief participants
Right to be informed of test findings
• Giving realistic information about test performance to examinees is not only ethically and legally mandated, but may be useful from a therapeutic perspective as well.
• Testtakers have aright be be informed, in language they can understand, of the nature of the findings with respect to a test they have taken
• lThey are also entitled to know what recommendations are being made as a consequence of the test data
• If the test results, findings, or recommendations made on the basis of test data are voided for any reason (such as irregularities in the test administration), testtakers have the right to know that as well
• Because of the possibility of untoward consequences of providing individuals with information about themselves – ability, lack of ability, personality, values – the communication of results of a psychological test is a most important part of the evaluation process.
• With sensitivity to the situation, the test user will inform the testtaker (and the parent or leal rep of both) of the purpose of the test, the meaning of the score relative to those of other testtakers, and the possible limitations and margins of error of the test.
• Counseling offered
The right to privacy and confidentiality
• Privilege in psychologist-client relationship
• Psychs who are parties of such relationships have a legal and ethical duty to keep their clients’ communications confidential
• Privilege in psychologist-client relationship belongs to the client, not the psychologist
• The competent client can direct the psychologist to disclose information to some third part (e.g. attorney), and the psychologist is obligated to make the disclosure
• In some rare instances, the psych may be ethically (if not legally) compelled to disclose information if that information will prevent harm either to the client or some endangered third party
• Test users must take reasonable precautions to safeguard test records
The right to the least stigmatising label
• Least stigmatising label should always be assigned when reporting test results