[WLOs: 1, 2, 3] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4]
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read the following:
- Behind Closed Doors: Assessing Individuals from Diverse Backgrounds
- Methodological Issues in Assessment Research with Ethnic Minorities
Additionally, review the following from Week 1:
- Section 9: Assessment on the webpage Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
- APA Guidelines for Psychological Assessment and Evaluation
In addition to the resources listed above, research four peer-reviewed articles in the University of Arizona Global Campus Library that were published within the last 15 years, including a minimum of one article for each of your two chosen topics from the list below.
In this assignment you will choose two general topics of interest to you related to psychological assessment from the list below.
- Assessments for adults with emotional or behavioral disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression, PTSD, personality disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance abuse disorders)
- Assessments for children or adolescents with emotional or behavioral disorders
- Assessments for children or adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., intellectual disability, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, learning disorders)
- Assessments for gifted and talented children or adolescents
- Assessments for individuals with neurocognitive disorders (e.g., due to delirium, Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, or other medical conditions)
- Assessments for individuals with hearing or visual impairments
- Assessments for individuals seeking career counseling
- Assessments for presurgical evaluations
- Assessments for legal cases (e.g., child custody evaluations, insanity defense, death penalty, risk assessment for parole board hearings)
- Assessments for program evaluation
To successfully complete this assignment, organize your paper in the following manner using each of the headings provided below in boldface.
Introduction
Compose an introduction that describes the role of assessment in arenas you selected (e.g., diagnosis and treatment, demonstrating the effectiveness of an intervention program, legal/forensic cases). End your introduction with a clear thesis statement.
Test Comparisons
In this section,
- Compare at least two psychological tests for each of the two topics chosen.
- Be sure to reference your researched articles.
- Differentiate tests that have strong psychometric support from those that have weak psychometric support for each of the topics you selected.
- Be specific about the names of the tests, publication years, what the tests measure, and common uses of the tests. Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of each test.
- Note: It is common for there to be a delay between the time a test publisher updates a test and the time the textbook and other authors can update their information about the new version of the test. Be sure to do online research to make sure you are discussing the most current versions of the tests you write about. If there is a newer version than the version discussed in the textbook or other readings, recommend the newest version.
Ethical Issues
In this section,
- Analyze ethical challenges related to testing vulnerable populations (e.g., minor children, individuals who are charged with a crime or are incarcerated, individuals with compromised cognitive functioning).
- Discuss any ethical challenges that pertain to testing individuals from diverse social and cultural backgrounds.
- Discuss the importance of considering the context of psychological assessment when interpreting findings for forensic purposes or use with other vulnerable populations.
Recommendations for Competent Assessment Practices
In this section,
- Recommend how to (a) minimize test bias, (b) improve the validity of assessments, and (c) develop methods to account for measurement error in psychological testing.
- Describe how professionals should report assessment findings when they suspect the validity of obtained test results is compromised.
Conclusions
Conclude by briefly discussing where additional research is needed to improve the reliability and validity of tests in the three areas you selected.
Make sure that your conclusion meets guidelines as described in the University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center’s resource Introductions & Conclusions.