Testing Ethical and Legal Issues, as well as Multicultural Considerations
1st Discussion Question
Ethical and Legal Concerns
The Importance of Ethical and Legal Testing Standards
The goal of testing is to gather relevant information about a person. Like many other professions, psychology is governed by laws and ethical standards. Laws govern who can conduct tests, in which settings, and with which clients. Furthermore, in the assessment field, many policies and procedures govern who can be tested, under what conditions, for what reasons, and who is qualified to administer and interpret the assessments (APA, 2011). However, despite the controls in the assessment area, there is still a great deal of room for professional judgment on these issues. The professionals are ultimately responsible for their own conduct decisions. Ethical standards are the foundation for appropriate and professional behaviour when there are no laws, policies, or procedures—codes of ethics outline guidelines for professional behaviour standards. Professional counsellors must be familiar with and adhere to these standards to provide high-quality, professional deductions from specific tests. To guide professionals in this field, the APA developed the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA, 2010).
Competent Test Use Requires Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Competency is a level of performance that is expected to integrate knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment. In response to concerns that doctoral programs were providing incomplete statistics and measurement training, the APA has focused on the qualifications of professionals who use psychological tests. The American Psychological Association defines test users as “the combination of knowledge skills, abilities, training, experience, and, where appropriate, practice credentials” considered desirable for the responsible use of psychological tests (Turner, DeMers, Fox, & Reed, 2001, p. 1100). Psychometric and knowledge measurement competencies (descriptive statistics, reliability and measurement error, validity and meaning of test scores, normative interpretation of tests, and test administration procedures); ethnic, racial, cultural, gender, age, and linguistic variables; testing individuals with disabilities; and supervised experience are some of the competencies required for competent test use.
Turner, DeMers, Fox, and Reed (2001, p. 1100) identified psychometric and measurement knowledge as one of the key competencies a test user should have. They add that this included knowing descriptive statistics; a command of reliability and measurement errors (issues of test score reliability and measurement errors as they relate to the test being used); knowledge of validity and meaning of test scores, normative interpretation of test scores; and the ability to conduct normative analyses of test scores.
Test Taker Information, Test Scores, and Test Interpretation Confidentiality and Privacy Standards
The American Psychological Association’s ethical principles and code of conduct (APA, 2010) devote some standards to privacy and confidentiality, test scores, and test interpretation. Informed consent is one of the standards (Standard 9.03). This standard states that psychologists can obtain informed consent from clients about the nature of the assessment, fees, the role of third parties, and confidentiality limits. However, in some cases, such as when testing is required by law, informed consent may not be required. In terms of test scores, standard 9.04 directs psychologists on how to handle and release test data. It assumes that psychologists only provide test data, defined as item responses, scale scores, and notes, to clients or anyone specified in the client release document. It should be noted that psychologists may choose not to release test data in order to protect clients or others from harm or data misuse. In case of a client release, the psychologist may only release data as required by law or court order.
Psychologists are guided by standard 9.06 when it comes to testing interpretation. When interpreting test results, they are instructed to consider the purpose of the assessment and any contextual factors related to the test and the test taker that may affect the accuracy or direction of the interpretation.
The Most Important Duty of a Test User
I believe that the test user’s most important and primary responsibility is to maintain the highest level of professionalism throughout the administration of the test, as well as the subsequent use and dissemination of the results. I believe it is critical that the test user maintain the highest level of confidentiality and that the test taker is at ease and unconcerned about the information he will provide to the psychologist.
Question 2 in the Discussion
Multicultural Testing Considerations
Introduction
Considerations of variables such as ethnic, racial, cultural, age, and linguistic variables, according to Turner, DeMers, Fox, and Reed (2001, p. 1102), play an important role in influencing the psychological test to be used. The American Psychology Association (1990) recognized the significance of these differences. It established guidelines for providers of psychological services to diverse populations based on cultural, ethnic, and linguistic differences, stating that psychologists needed to understand these differences to provide appropriate psychological services.
Discussion and Analysis of the Article
The Hispanic population is the group I have chosen for this assignment. The article “Detection of Malingering in a Spanish Population Using Three Specific Malingering Tests” was written by Vilar-Lopez et al. (2007, pp. 379-388). The article emphasizes the importance of using different tests in different population groups. According to the authors, studies conducted on the employment neuro-psychological test in ethnic groups that were not planned or designed have revealed variations in performance related to differences in cultural background. They studied a Spanish population using the Victoria Symptom Validity Test (VSVT), Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM), and Analog Malingerers (AN) in groups with post-concussion syndrome (PCS) and Analog Malingerers (AN), which they considered to be the most applicable and appropriate for a Hispanic population. The author discovered that these tests appeared to work properly in the Spanish population.
When Choosing a Specific Test, Administering a Test, and Interpreting Test Scores for this Population
Individual scores based on tests ostensibly measuring and gauging the same construct in different cultures cannot be taken at face value. The effect of cultural backgrounds on measuring the individual psychological construct must be investigated to facilitate measurement adjustment to make them more meaningful and applicable to the specific culture and obtain corresponding or comparable measures across different cultures.
Vijver and Phalet (2004) identified the importance of considering factors when selecting a test to administer to a specific population group. They claim that the difficulty in assessing multicultural groups stems from the possibility of outcomes being dependent on the level of adjustment. That is, it is possible that a Western instrument of filial piety did not apply well among recent immigrants but becomes more applicable and appropriate as that population group’s level of adjustment increased. The most important factors to address for the article population choice, the Hispanic population, would be language factors and the length of their stay in the country if they are immigrants.
Language is an important consideration. There is usually a requirement for multiple language versions of tests, questionnaires, and surveys. A test written in English cannot be expected to produce a reliable measure of a similar construct in a Spanish population. It should be revised and made available in different languages to allow for the same starting point for the Spanish and English candidates to finish the test.
It is also critical to avoid various bias strategies during test administration and score administration. This can include construct bias, method bias, a combination of construct and method bias, and item bias.
Conclusion
To summarize, the diversity of the population presents a challenge to test users to be more keen and sensitive to differences in the target group, as failure to do so will result in data findings that are not reflective of the true situation. As a result, the test user may make analyses and conclusions that are not only incorrect and incorrect but also conclusions that may have a negative and severe impact on the test takers.
References
The American Psychological Association. (1990). Guidelines for Psychological Service Providers to Ethnic, Linguistic, and Culturally Diverse Populations American Psychology Association, http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/policy/provider-guidelines.aspx (accessed August 2, 2014).
APA. (2010). Psychologists’ Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct Retrieved from the American Psychological Association on August 2, 2014: http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx? item=2
APA. (2011). Testing and evaluation American Psychological Association, http://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/index.aspx (accessed August 2, 2014).
S. M. Turner, S. T. DeMers, R. H. Fox, and M. G. Reed (2001). An Executive Summary of the APA’s Guidelines for Test User Qualification. 1099-1113 in American Psychologist(56).
F. R. van de Vijver and K. Phalet (2004). Acculturation and Assessment in Multicultural Groups INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, 53(2), 215-236. August 2 2014, retrieved
R. Vilar-Lopez, S. S. Ramajo, M. Gomez-Ro, A. Verdejo-Garca, J. M. Llamas, and M. Perez-Garcia (2007, March). Malingering Detection in a Spanish Population Using Three Specific Malingering Tests 379-388 in Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 22(3). http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887617707000194 (accessed August 2, 2014).