*CHAPTER 1: PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
AND ASSESSMENT
 -Roots can be found in early twentieth
century in France 1905
 -Alfred Binet published a test designed to
help place Paris school
children
- WW1, military used the test to screen large
numbers of recruits
quickly for intellectual and emotional problems
 -WW2, military depend more on tests to
screen recruits for service
*PSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
DEFINITION
-Gathering & integration of psychology-related
data for the purpose of making a psychological
evaluation with accompany of tools.
-Process of measuring psychology-related
variables by means of devices/procedures
designed to obtain a sample of behavior
*OBJECTIVE
-To answer a referral question,solve problem or
arrive at a decision thru the use of tools of
evaluation
-To obtain some gauge, usually numerical in
nature
*PROCESS
-Typically individualizedTesting may be
individualized or group
*ROLE OF
EVALUATOR
-Key in the process of selecting tests as well as
in drawing conclusions
-Tester is not key into the process; may be
substituted
*SKILL OF
EVALUATIOR
Typically requires an educated selection, skill
in evaluation
-Requires technician-like skills
*OUTCOME
-Entail logical problem-solvingapproach to
answer the referral ques.
-Typically yields a test score
*3 FORMS OF ASSESSMENT:
1. COLLABORATIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT – assessor and
assesse work as partners from initial contact
through final feedback
2. THERAPEUTIC PSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT – self-discovery and
new understandings are encouraged throughout
the assessment
process
3. DYNAMIC PSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT – follows a model (a)
evaluation (b) intervention (a) evaluation. -
Provide a means for
evaluating how the assesse processes or
benefits from some type of
intervention during the course of evaluation.
Tools of Psychological Assessment
A. The Test (a measuring device or procedure)
1. psychological test: a device or procedure
designed to measure
variables related to psychology (intelligence,
personality,
aptitude, interests, attitudes, or values)
2. format: refers to the form, plan, structure,
arrangement, and
layout of test items as well as to related
considerations such as
time limits.
a) also referred to as the form in which a test is
administered (pen and paper, computer, etc)
Computers can generate scenerios.
b) term is also used to denote the form or
structure of
other evaluative tools, and processes, such as
the
guidelines for creating a portfolio work sample
3. Ways That tests differ from one another:
a) administrative procedures
(1) some test administers have an active
knowledge
(a) some test administration
involves demonstration of
tasks
(b) usually one-on-one
(c) trained observation of
assessee’s performance
2) some test administers don’t even have to
be present
(a) usually administered to larger
groups
(b) test takers complete tasks
independently
b) Scoring and interpretation procedures
(1) score: a code or summary statement,
usually (but not necessarily) numerical in
nature, that reflects an evaluation of
performance on a test, task, interview, or
some other sample of behavior
(2) scoring: process of assigning such
evaluative codes/ statements to
performance on tests, tasks, interviews,
or other behavior samples.
(3) different types of score:
(a) cut score: reference point, usually numerical,
derived by judgement and used to divide a set of
data into two or more classifications.
(i) sometimes reached without any formal
method: in order to “eyeball”, teachers
who decide what is passing and what is
failing.
(4) who scores it
(a) self-scored by testtaker
(b) computer
(c) trained examiner
c) psychometric soundness/ technical quality
(1) psychometrics:the science of
psychological measurement.(a) referring to to how
consistently and how accurately a psychological
test measures what it purports to
measure.
(2) utility: refers to the usefulness or
practical value that a test or other tool of
assessment has for a particular purpose.
B. The Interview: method of gathering
information through direct
communication involving reciprocal exchange
1. interviewer in face-to-face is taking note of
a) verbal language
b) nonverbal language
(1) body language movements
(2) facial expressions in response to interviewer
(3) the extent of eye contact
(4) apparent willingness to cooperate
c) how they are dressed
(1) neat vs sloppy vs inappropriate
2. interviewer over the phone taking note of
a) changes in the interviewee’s voice pitch
b) long pauses
c) signs of emotion in response
3. ways that interviews differ:
a) length, purpose, and nature.
b) in order to help make diagnostic, treatment,
selection, etc
4. panel interview
a) an interview conducted with one interviewee
with
more than one interviewer
C. The Portfolio
1. files of work products: paper, canvas, film, video,
audio, etc
2. samples of ones abilities and accomplishments
D. Case History Data: records, transcripts, and
other accounts in written,
pictorial or other form that preserve archival
information, official and
informal accounts, and other data and items
relevant to assessee
1. sheds light on an individual's past and current
adjustment as well as on events and circumstances
that may have contributed to any changes in
adjustment
2. provides information about neuropsychological
functioning prior to the occurrence of a trauma or
other event that results
in a deficit.
3. insight into current academic and behavioral
standing
4. useful in making judgments for future class
placements
5. Case history Study: a report or illustrative
account concerning
person or an event that was compiled on the basis
of case history data
a) might shed light on how one individual’s
personality
and particular set of environmental conditions
combined to produce a successful world leader.
b) groupthink: work on a social psychological
phenomenon: contains rich case history material on
collective decision making that did not always
result
in the best decisions.
E. Behavioral Observation: monitoring the
actions of others or oneself by
visual or electronic means while recording
quantitative and/or qualitative
information regarding those actions.
1. often used as a diagnostic aid in various settings:
inpatient
facilities, behavioral research laboratories,
classrooms.
2. naturalistic observation: behavioral observation
that takes
place in a naturally occurring setting (as opposed to
a research
laboratory) for the purpose of evaluation and
information-
gathering.
3. in practice tends to be used most frequently by
researchers in
settings such as classrooms, clinics, prisons, etc.
F. Role- Play Tests
1. role play: acting an improvised or partially
improvised part in a
simulated situation.
2. role-play test: tool of assessment wherein
assessees are
directed to act as if they were in a particular
situation. Assessees
are then evaluated with regard to their expressed
thoughts, behaviors, abilities, etc
G. Computers as tools
1. local processing: on site computerized scoring,
interpretation, or other conversion of raw test data;
contrast w/ CP and teleprocessing
2. central processing: computerized scoring,
interpretation, or other conversion of raw data that
is physically transported from the same or other test
sites; contrast w/ LP and teleprocessing.
3. teleprocessing: computerized scoring,
interpretation, or other conversion of raw test data
sent over telephone lines by modem from a test site
to a central location for computer processing.
contrast with CP and LP
4. simple score report: a type of scoring report that
provides only a listing of scores
5. extended scoring report: a type of scoring report
that provides a listing of scores AND statistical
data.
ff. interpretive report: a formal or official
computer-generated
account of test performance presented in both
numeric and
narrative form and including an explanation of the
findings;
a) the three varieties of interpretive report are
(1) descriptive
(2) screening
(3) consultative
b) some contain relatively little interpretation and
simply call attention to certain high, low, or unusual
scores that needed to be focused on.
c) consultative report: A type of interpretive report
designed to provide expert and detailed analysis of
test data that mimics the work of an expert
consultant.
d) integrative report: a form of interpretive report of
psychological assessment, usually computer-
generated, in which data from behavioral, medical,
administrative, and/or other sources are integrated
7. CAPA: computer assisted psychological
assessment. (assistance to the test user not the test
taker)
a) enables test developers to create
psychometrically
sound tests using complex mathematical procedures
and calculations.
b) enables test users the construction of tailor-made
test with built-in scoring and interpretive
capabilities.
c) Pros:
(1) test administrators have greater access to
potential test users because of the global
reach of the internet.
(2) scoring and interpretation of test data
tend to be quicker than for paper-and-
pencil tests
(3) costs associated with internet testing tend to be
lower than costs associated with
paper-and-pencil tests
(4) the internet facilitates the testing of otherwise
isolated populations, as well as people with
disabilities for whom getting to a test center might
prove as a hardship.
(5) greener: conserves paper, shipping materials etc.
d) Cons:
(1) test client integrity
(a) refers to the verification of the identity of the
test taker when a test is administered online
(b) also refers to the sometimes varying interests of
the test taker vs that of the test administrator. The
test taker might have access to notes, aids, internet
resources etc.
(c) internet testing is only testing, not assessment
8. CAT: computerized adaptive testing: an
interactive, computer- administered test taking
process wherein items presented to the test taker are
based in part on the test taker's performance on
previous items
a) EX: on a computerized test of academic abilities,
the computer might be programmed to switch from
testing math skills to English skills after three
consecutive failures on math items.
H. Other tools
1. DVD- how would you respond to the events that
take place in the video
a) sexual harassment in the workplace
b) respond to various types of emergencies
c) diagnosis/treatment plan for clients on videotape
2. thermometers, biofeedback, etc
TEST DEVELOPER
 They are the one who create tests.
 They conceive, prepare, and develop tests. They
also find a way to
disseminate their tests, by publishing them either
commercially or
through professional publications such as books or
periodicals.
TEST USER
 They select or decide to take a specific test off
the shelf and use it for
some purpose. They may also participate in other
roles, e.g., as
examiners or scorers.
TEST TAKER
 Anyone who is the subject of an assessment
 Test taker may vary on a continuum with respect
to numerous
variables including:
o The amount of anxiety they experience & the
degree to
which the test anxiety might affect the results
o The extent to which they understand & agree with
the
rationale of the assessment
o Their capacity & willingness to cooperate
o Amount of physical pain/emotional distress they
are
experiencing
o Amount of physical discomfort
o Extent to which they are alert & wide awake
o Extent to which they are predisposed to agreeing
or
disagreeing when presented with stimulus
o The extent to which they have received prior
coaching
o May attribute to portraying themselves in a good
light
 Psychological autopsy – reconstruction of a
deceased individual’s
psychological profile on the basis of archival
records, artifacts, &
interviews previously conducted with the deceased
assesee
TYPES OF SETTINGS
 EDUCATIONAL SETTING
o achievement test: evaluation of accomplishments
or the degree of learning that has taken place,
usually with regard to an academic area.
o diagnosis: a description or conclusion reached on
the basisof evidence and opinion though a process
of distinguishing the nature of something and ruling
out alternative conclusions.
o diagnostic test: a tool used to make a diagnosis,
usually to identify areas of deficit to be targeted for
intervention
o informal evaluation: A typically non systematic,
relatively brief, and “off the record” assessment
leading to the formation of an opinion or attitude,
conducted by any person in any way for any reason,
in an unofficial context and not subject to the same
ethics or standards as evaluation by a professiomal
 CLINICAL SETTING
o these tools are used to help screen for or diagnose
behavior problems
o group testing is used primarily for screening:
identifying
those individuals who require further diagnostic
evaluation.
 REFERENCE SOURCES
COUNSELING SETTING
o schools,prisons, and governmental or privately
owned institutions
o ultimate objective: the improvement of the
assessee in terms of adjustment, productivity, or
some related variable.
GERIATRIC SETTING
o quality of life: in psychological assesment, an
evaluation of variables such as perceived
stress,lonliness, sources of satisfaction, personal
values, quality of living conditions, and quality of
friendships and other social support.
 BUSINESS AND MILITARY SETTINGS
 GOVERNMENTAL AND
ORGANIZATIONAL CREDENTIALING
How are Assessments Conducted?
 protocol: the form or sheet or booklet on which a
tes ttaker’s responses are entered.
o term might also be used to refer to a description
of a set of test- or assessment- related procedures,
as in the sentence, “the examiner dutifully followed
the complete protocol for the stress interview”
 rapport: working relationship between the
examiner and the examinee
ASSESSEMENT OF PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITITES
 Define who requires alternate assessement, how
such assessment are to be conducted and how
meaningful inferences are to be drawn from the
data derived from such assessment
 Accommodation – adaptation of a test, procedure
or situation or the
substitution of one test for another to make the
assessment more suitable for an assesee with
exceptional needs.
 Translate it into Braillee and administere in that
form.
 Alternate assessment – evaluative or diagnostic
procedure or process
that varies from the usual, customary, or
standardized way a
measurement is derived either by virtue of some
special accommodation made to the assesee by
means of alternative methods
 Consider these four variables on which of many
different types of
accommodation should be employed:
o The capabilities of the assesse
o The purpose of the assessment
o The meaning attached to test scores
o The capabilities of the assessor
 TEST CATALOUGES – contains brief
description of the test
 TEST MANUALS – detailed information
 REFERENCE VOLUMES – one stop
shopping, provides detailed information for each
test listed, including test publisher, author, purpose,
intended test population and test administration
time
 JOURNAL ARTICLES – contain reviews of
the test
 ONLINE DATABASES – most widely used
bibliographic databases
TYPES OF TESTS
 INDIVIDUAL TEST – those given to only one
person at a time
 GROUP TEST – administered to more than one
person at a time by single examiner
 ABILITY TESTS:
o ACHIEVEMENT TESTS – refers to previous
learning (ex. Spelling)
o APTITUDE/PROGNOSTIC – refers to the
potential for learning or acquiring a specific skill
o INTELLIGENCE TESTS – refers to a person’s
general potential to solve problems
 PERSONALITY TESTS: refers to overt and
covert dispositions
o OBJECTIVE/STRUCTURED TESTS –
usually self-report, require the subject to choose
between two or more alternative responses
o PROJECTIVE/UNSTRUCTURED TESTS –
refers to all possible uses, applications and
underlying concepts of psychological and
educational test
CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL, CULTURAL
AND LEGAL/ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE19TH
CENTURY
 Tests and testing programs first came into being
in China
 Testing was instituted as a means of selecting
who, of many applicants would obtain government
jobs (Civil service)
 The job applicants are tested on proficiency in
endeavors such as
music, archery, knowledge and skill etc.
GRECO-ROMAN WRITINGS (Middle Ages)
 World of evilness
 Deficiency in some bodily fluid as a factor
believed to influence personality
 Hippocrates and Galen
RENAISSANCE
 Christian von Wolff – anticipated psychology
as a science and
psychological measurement as a specialty within
that science
CHARLES DARWIN AND INDIVIDUAL
DIFFERENCES
 Tests designed to measure these individual
differences in ability and personality among people
 “Origin of Species” chance variation in species
would be selected or rejected by nature according to
adaptivity and survival value.“survival of the
fittest”
FRANCIS GALTON
 Explore and quantify individual differences
between people.
 Classify people “according to their natural gifts”
 Displayed the first anthropometric laboratory
KARL PEARSON
 Developed the product moment correlation
technique.
 His work can be traced directly from Galton
WILHEM MAX WUNDT
 First experimental psychology laboratory in
University of Leipzig
 Focuses more on relating to how people were
similar, not different
from each other.
JAMES MCKEEN CATELL
 Individual differences in reaction time
 Coined the term mental test
CHARLES SPEARMAN
 Originating the concept of test reliability as well
as building the mathematical framework for the
statistical technique of factor analysis
VICTOR HENRI
 Frenchman who collaborated with Binet on
papers suggesting how mental tests could be used to
measure higher mental processes
EMIL KRAEPELIN
 Early experimenter of word association
technique as a formal test
LIGHTNER WITMER
 “Little known founder of clinical psychology”
 Founded the first psychological clinic in the U.S.
PSYCHE CATELL
 Daughter of James Cattell
 Cattel Infant Intelligence Scale (CIIS) &
Measurement of Intelligence in
Infants and Young Children
RAYMOND CATTELL
 Believed in lexical approach to defining
personality which examines
human languages for descriptors of personality
dimensions
20thCENTURY
- Birth of the first formal tests of intelligence
- Testing shifted to be of more understandable
relevance/meaning
A. THE MEASUREMENT OF
INTELLIGENCE
o Binet created first intelligence to test to identify
mentally retarded school children in Paris
(individual)
o Binet-Simon Test has been revised over again
o Group intelligence tests emerged with need to
screen intellect of WWI recruits
o David Wechsler – designed a test to measure
adult intelligence test for him Intelligence is a
global capacity of the individual to act
purposefully, to think rationally and to deal
effectively with his environment.
 Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale 
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test – was revised
several times and extended the age range of
testakers from young children through senior
adulthood.
B. THE MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY
o Field of psychology was being too test oriented
o Clinical psychology was synonymous to mental
testing
o ROBERT WOODWORTH – develop a measure
of adjustment and emotional stability that could be
administered quickly and efficiently to groups of
recruits
 To disguise the true purpose of the test,
questionnaire was labeled as Personal Data
Sheet
 He called it Woodworth Psychoneurotic
Inventory – first widely used self-report test of
personality
o Self-report test:
 Advantages:
 Respondents best qualified
 Disadvantages:
 Poor insight into self
 One might honestly believe something about self
that isn’t true
 Unwillingness to report seemingly negative
qualities
o Projective test: individual is assumed to project
onto some
ambiguous stimulus (inkblot, photo, etc.) his or her
own
unique needs, fears, hopes, and motivations
 Ex.) Rorschack inkblot
o C. THE ACADEMIC AND APPLIED
TRADITIONS
Culture and Assessment
Culture: ‘the socially transmitted behavior patterns,
beliefs, and products of work f a particular
population, community, or group of people’
Evolving Interest in Culture-Related Issues
Goddard tested immigrants and found most to
be feebleminded
-invalid; overestimated mental deficiency, even in
native English-speakers
Lead to nature-nurture debate about what
intelligence tests actually measure
Needed to “isolate” the cultural variable
Culture-specific tests: tests designed for use with
ppl from one culture, but not from another-
minorities still scored abnormally low
ex.) loaf of bread vs. tortillas
today tests undergo many steps to ensure its
suitable for said nation
-take testtakers reactions into account
Some Issues Regarding Culture and Assessment
 Verbal Communication
o Examiner and examinee must speak the same
language
o Especially tricky with infrequently used
vocabulary or
unusual idioms employed
o Translator may lose nuances of translation or give
unintentional hints toward more desirable answer
o Also requires understanding of culture
 Nonverbal Communication and Behavior
o Different between cultures
o Ex.) meaning of not making eye contact
o Body movement could even have physical cause
o Psychoanalysis: Freud’s theory of personality and
psychological treatment which stated that symbolic
significance is assigned to many nonverbal acts.
o Timing tests in cultures not obsessed with speed
o Lack of speaking could be reverence for elders
 Standards of Evaluation
o Acceptable roles for women differ throughout
culture
o “judgments as to who might be the best
employee,
manager, or leader may differ as a function of
culture, as
might judgments regarding intelligence, wisdom,
courage,
and other psychological variables”
o must ask ‘how appropriate are the norms or other
standards that will be used to make this evaluation’
Tests and Group Membership
 ex.) must be 5’4” to be police officer- excludes
cultures with short
stature
 ex.) Jewish lifestyle not well suited for corporate
America
 affirmative action: voluntary and mandatory
efforts to combat
discrimination and promote equal opportunity in
education and employment for all Psychology,
tests, and public policy
Legal and Ethical Condiseration
Code of professional ethics: defines the standard
of care expected of members of a given profession.
The Concerns of the Public
 Beginning in world war I, fear that tests were
only testing the ability to take tests
 Legislation
o Minimum competency testing programs: formal
testing programs designed to be used in decisions
regarding various aspects of students’ educations
o Truth-in-testing legislation: state laws to provide
testtakers with a means of learning the criteria by
which they are being judged
 Litigation
o Daubert ruling made federal judges the
gatekeepers to determining what expert testimony is
admitted
o This overrode the Frye policy which only
admitted scientific testimony that had won general
acceptance in the scientific community.
The Concerns of the Profession
 Test-user qualifications
o Who should be allowed to use psych tests
o Level A: tests or aids that can adequately be
administered,
scored, and interpreted with the aid of the manual
and a general orientation to the kind of institution or
organization in which one is working
o Level B: tests or aids that require some technical
knowledge of test construction and use and of
supporting
psychological and educational fields
o Level C: tests and aids requiring substantial
understanding of testing and supporting psych
fields with experience
 Testing people with disabilities
o Difficulty in transforming the test into a form that
can be taken by testtaker
o Transferring responses to be scorable
o Meaningfully interpreting the test data
 Computerized test administration, scoring, and
interpretation
o simple, convenient
o easily copied, duplicated
o insufficient research to compare it to
pencil-and-paper versions
o value of computer interpretation is
questionable
o unprofessional, unregulated “psychological
testing” online
The Rights of Testtakers
 the right of informed consent
o right to know why they are being
evaluated, how test datam will be used and
what information will be released to whom
o may be obtained by parent or legal representative
o must be in written form:
 general purpose of the testing
 the specific reason it is being undertaken
 general type of instruments to be administered
o revealing this information before the test can
contaminate the results
o deception only used if absolutely necessary
o don’t use deception if it will cause emotional
distress/
o fully debrief participants
 The right to be informed of test findings
o Formerly test administrators told to give
participants only positive information
o No realistic information is required
o Tell test takers as little as possible about the
nature of their performance on a particular test. So
that the examinee would leave the test session
feeling pleased and statisfied.
o Test takers have the right also to know what
recommendations are being made as a consequence
of the test data
 The right to privacy and confidentiality
o Private right: “recognizes the freedom of the
individual to pick and choose for himself the time,
circumstances, and particularly the extent to which
he wishes to share or withhold from others his
attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and opinions”
o Privileged information: information protected
by law from being disclosed in legal proceeding.
Protects clients
from disclosure in judicial proceedings. Privilege
belongs to
the client not the psychologist.
o Confidentiality: concerns matters of
communication outside the courtroom
 Safekeeping of test data: It is not a good policy
to maintain all records in perpetuity
 The right to the least stigmatizing label
o The standards advise that the least stigmatizing
labels should always be assigned when reporting
test results.
LECTURE II: THE STATISTICAL
FOUNDATIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT
 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
- Methods of organizing, summarizing, and
presentingdata in an informative way.
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
- A decision, estimate, prediction, or generalization
about a population based on a sample.
 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
1. Mean- the average value of the distribution
2. Variance- a measure of the spread of the scores
in a distribution (dispersion)
- the larger the variance, the further the
individual cases are from the mean.
3. Standard Deviation- a measure of the average
amount the scores in a distribution deviate from the
mean.
- the more widely the scores are spread,
the larger the standard deviation.
* Collect data- e.g. Survey
* Present data- e.g. Tables and graphs
* Characterize data- e.g. Sample mean
 SKEWNESS- a measure to what extent a
distribution of values deviates from symmetry
around the mean.
1. A value of zero (0) represents a symmetric or
evenly balanced distribution.
2. A positive skewness indicates a greater number
of smaller values.
3. A negative skewness indicates a greater number
of larger values
4. A skewness between ∓ 1.0 considered execellent
for most psychometric properties, but a value
between is in many cases also acceptable,
depending on your particular application
 K
U
R
T
O
S
I
S
-
refers to the peakness of the distribution
1. Kurtosis value near zero (0)- indicates shape
close to normal (mesokurtic)
2. Positive value for the kurtosis- indicates a
distribution more peaked than the normal
(leptokurtic)
3. Negative kurtosis- indicates a shape flatter than
the normal (platykurtic)
4. Extreme negative kurtosis ( e.g. <- 5.0)-
indicates a distriburion where more of the values
are in tails of the distribution than around the mean.
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
1. INVOLVES
- Estimation
- Hypothesis Testing
2. PURPOSE
- Make decision about population characteristics
 KEY TERMS
1. POPULATION- individuals of interest
- inclusion/exclusion criteria
- all of the persons that possess a specified
set of characteristics
2. SAMPLE- portion of population
- some but not all of the persons in a
population
3. PARAMETER- summary measure about the
population
4. STATISTICS- summary measure about sample
 VARIABLES
1. INDEPENDENT VARIABLE- Presumed to
affect oe cause dependent variables
2. DEPENDENT VARIABLE- Presumed to be
affected by (caused by) independent variable
 IDENTIFYING INDEPENDENT AND
DEPENDENT VARIABLES
1. DEPENDNET VARIABLES- a variable that
forms the focus of research, and depends on another
(the independent or explanatory) variable.
2. INDEPENDENT VARIABLE- used to explain
or predict a result or outcome on the dependent
variable.
3. INTERVENING VARIABLE- a hypothetical
internal state, used to explain relationship between
two observed variables
 TYPES OF DATA
 VARIABLES
1. Quantitative- continuous
A. Ratio- e.g. Age, Annual income
B. Interval- e.g. 36-38 degrees, Likert Scale
2. Qualitative- categorical, discreet, continuous
A. Ordinal- e.g. Social class
B. Nominal- e.g. Gender, Ethnicity
 LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
- The level of measurement refers to the
relationship among the values that are assigned to
the attributes for a variable.
- Helps you decide how to interpret the data from
that variable.
- Helps you decide what statistical analysis that
were assigned.
 NOMINAL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
- In nominal measurement the numerical values just
“name” the attribute uniquely.
- No ordering of the cases is implied.
 ORDINAL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
- In ordinal measurement, the attibutes can be rank-
ordered.
- Here, distances between attributes do not have any
meaning.
- E.g. On a survey, you might code Educational
attainment as:
0= less than HS
1= Some HS
2= HS Diploma
3= Some College
4= College Degree
5= Post College
- In this measurement, higher numbers mean more
education. But is the distance from 0 to 1 same as 3
to 4? Ofcourse, not. The interval between values is
not interpretable in an ordinal measure.
 INTERVAL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
- In interval measurement, when we measure
temperature (in Fahrenheit), the distance from 30-
40 is same as distance from 70-80.
- The interval between values is interpretable.
Because of this, it makes sense to compute an
average of an interval variable, where it doesn’t
make sense to do so for ordinal scales.
 RATIO LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
- In ratio measurement, there is always as absolute
zero that is meaningful. This means that you can
construct a meaningful fraction (or ratio) with a
ratio variable.
- Weight is a ratio variable
- Most “count” variables are ratio, for example, the
number of clients in past six months.
 DIFFERENT WAYS TO MEASURE THE K. Examples- Attitude scales
SAME VARIABLE L. Properties- Identity, magnitude, equal intervals
M. Mathematical operations- Rank order, add,
Question subtract, average
NOMINAL Are you Yes or No N. Types of data- Sacle
currently in O. Types of Comparison- A is the three units
pain? more/less than B
4. RATIO
How would Sharp P. Examples- Length of stay, Income, Age
you Dull Q. Properties- Identity, magnitude, equal intervals,
characterize the Throbbing true zero
type of pain? R. Mathematical operations- Rank order, add,
ORDINAL How bad is Mild subtract, average, multiply, divide
your pain right Moderate S. Types of data- Scores
now? Severe T. Types of Comparison- A is twice as large/small
as B
Compared with
yesterday, is  STATISTICAL SIGNIFANCE
the pain less 1. Probability ρ - identifies the likelihood that a
severe, about particular outcome may have occured by chance
the same, or 2. ρ=.01 level of significance- there is a 1 in 100
more severe? probability that the difference happened by chance,
and a 99 in 100 probability that the discrepancy in
scores is reliable finding.
* INTERVAL/ RATIO
This scale asks the person in pain to assign a
number from 0-10, to the severity of the pain.  NULL HYPOTHESIS
- No difference between two groups
- No correlation exists between two variables

 REJECTING THE NULL HYPOTHESIS

- Saying that a difference exists between two
groups
- Saying that a correlation exists between two
variables

 LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
1. NOMINAL
A. Examples- Names of activities,locations, gender
B. Properties- Identity (equivalence)
C. Mathematical operations- Count (frequency)
D. Types of data- Nominal
E. Types of Comparison- A is not equal/ equal to B
2. ORDINAL
F. Examples- Ranks, preferences
G. Properties- Identity (magnitude)
H. Mathematical operations- Rank order
I. Types of data- Ranks
J. Types of Comparison- A is less than/ greater than
3. INTERVAL
 LECTURE III: TESTING IN THE  BLOOM’S TAXONOMY OVERVIEW
EDUCATIONAL SETTING
COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE PSYCHOMOTOR
 THE COGNITIVE DOMAIN Recall Recieve Imitation (copy)
1. Thinking (awareness)
2. Reasoning Understand Respond Manipulation
3. Imagining (react) (follow instruction)
4. Deciding Apply (use) Value Develop Precision
5. Analyzing (understand
and act)
 THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN Analyse Organize Articulation
1. Feelings (stracture/elem personal value (combine integrate
2. Emotions ents) system related skills
3. Opinions Synthesize Internalize Naturalization
4. Values (create/build) value system (automate,become
5. Beliefs (adopt expert)
6. Attitudes behaviour
7. Interests )
Evaluate
 AFFECTIVE OBJECTIVES (assess,judge
 Receiving- the lowest level; the student in relational
passively pays attention. Without this level, no terms)
learning can occur.
 Responding- the student actively participates  TAXONOMY OF EDUCATIONAL
in the learning process, not only attends to a OBJECTIVES (BLOOM, 1956)
stimulus, the student also reacts in some way. 1. Knowledge- Memorizing verbatim information.
 Valuing- the student attaches a value to an Being able to remember, but not necessarily fully
object, phenomenon, or piece of information. understanding the material.
 Organizing- the student put together different 2. Comprehension- Restating in your own words;
values, information, and ideas and paraphrasing, summarizing, translating.
accommodate them within his/her own schema; 3. Application- Using information to solve
comparing, relating and elaborating on what problems; transfering abstract or theoretical ideas to
has been learned. practical situations. Identifying connections and
 Characterizing- the student has held a relationships and how they apply.
particular value or belief that now exerts 4. Analysis- Identifying components; determining
influence on his/her behaviour so that it can arrangement, logic, and semantics.
becomes a characteristics. 5. Synthesis- Combining information to form a
unique product, requires creativity and originaality.
 THE PSYCHOMOTOR DOMAIN 6. Evaluation- Making decisions and supporting
1. Skill-based views; requires understanding of values.
2. Student will produce a product
3. Evaluation is performance or psychomotor skill-  KNOWLEDGE LEVEL
based. - The student is expected to store and remember
4. The content that is needed to be known to information.
perform the skill may still be in the cognitive - Ex. List all sectores represented in the lower
domain, and should be treated accordingly. house through the party list system.
- Sample behavioral terms: label, outline, define,
list, reproduce, describe

 APPLICATION LEVEL
- The student is expected to apply abstract and
learned material in a new concrete situations.
- Ex. Prepare your statement of assets and liabilities
- Sample behavioral terms: solve, prepare, make,
compute, demonstrate, operate, modify
 ANALYSIS LEVEL
- The student is required to analyze information in
order to identify causes, to reach conclusions, or to
find supporting evidence.
- Ex. Will GMA really be able to bring the country
out of the current financial crisis? Why do you say
so?
- Sample behavioral term: identify motives or
causes, determine evidence, analyze, draw
conclusions, support, why
 SYNTHESIS LEVEL
- The student is expected to put parts together, to
form a new whole which is something unique.
- Design and construct a poster to communicate
three views concerning energy conservation on
campus.
- Sample behavioral terms: categorize, rewrite,
compile, summarize, compose, plan, devise
 EVALUATION LEVEL
- The student is expected to make judgements about
the value of material.
- Ex. Critique and appraise another student’s paper
concerning Philippines 2010 on the basis of the
paper’s organization.
- Sample behavioral terms: evaluate, compare,
conclude, interpret, justify, support, contrast
 REVISED BLOOM’S TAXONOMY (RBT)
- Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001
- RBT has change in three broad categories:
1. Terminology
2. Structure
3. Emphasis
 THE NEW TERMS ARE DEFINED AS:
1. Remembering- retrieveing, recognizing, and
recalling relevant knowledge from long-term
memory.
2. Understanding- constructing meaning from oral,
written, and graphic messages through interpreting,
exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring,
comparing, and explaining.
3. Applying- carrying out or using a procedure
yhrough executing, or implementing.
4. Analyzing- breaking material into constituent
parts determining how the parts relate to one
another and to an overall structure or purpose
through differentiating, organizing, and attributing.
5. Evaluating- making judgements based on
criteria and standareds through checking and
critiquing.
6. Creating- putting elements together to form a
coherent or functional whole; recognizing elements
into a new pattern or structure through generating,
planning, or producing.
 EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
1. Set up teaching-learning objectives
2. Applying teaching methods and strategies
3. Measure learning = observe + quantify (TEST)
 USES OF TEST
1. Selection
2. Placement
3. Remedian
4. Feedback
A. Norm- referenced or criterion-referenced
5. Motivation
6. Program
A. Formative or Summative evaluation
7. Theory development
 TEST CAN BE A MEASURE OF…
1. Optimal performance- achievement and
aptitude
2. Typical performance- personality tests, tests of
values, attitudes
 WHAT IS AN ACHIEVEMENT TEST? - Performance goal orientations have been further
- A measuring device that quantifies a sample differentiated into performance-approach and
behavior or performance as a training or instruction. performance-avoidance goals.
1. PERFORMANCE-APPROACH- goals represent
 WHAT IS AN APTITUDE TEST? individuals motivated to outperform others and
- A measuring device that quantifies a sample demonstrate their superiority.
behavior indicative of potential for achievement. 2. PERFORMANCE-AVOIDANCE- goal
orientation refers to those who are motivated to
 CLASSROOM TEST AS A COGNITIVE avoid negative judgements and appearing inferior to
MEASURE others.
- It is a test that measures what has been learned as
a result of instruction.  ACHIEVEMENT GOALS
- It is a test that teachers usually give to student MASTERY PERFORMANCE
after they undergo an instructional program GOAL GOAL
- It measures what students have learned from an Focus on Focus on
educational experience. mastery of outperforming
learning others
 ACHIEVEMENT GOALS Approach - Learn from - Errors indicative
- Elliot and McGregor, 2001 Focus errors of failure
- Goal orientations refer to the reasons or purposes - Judge - Judge
for engaging in learning activities and explaining performance performance based
individual’s different ways of approaching and based on on normative
responding to achievement situations. standards of standards of being
- The two most basic goal orientations are mastery self- the best performer
and performance goals (Ames and Archer, 1988) improvement
- Different researchers refer these goals with the and progress
following terms: learning and performance goals Focus on Focus on avoiding
(Elliot and Dweck, 1988), task-involved and ego- avoiding not failure
involved goals ( Nicholls, 1984), and task-focused mastering
and ability-focused goals (Maehr and Midgley, the task
1991) Avoidance - Errors - Errors indicative
Focus indicative of of failure
 MASTERY GOAL ORIENTATION failure - Judge
- A mastery goal orientation is defined as a focus on - Judge performance based
mastering new skills, trying to gain increased performance on normative
understanding and improving competence. based on standards of not
- Students adopting mastery goals define success in standards of being the worst
terms of improvement and learning. not being performer
- Some researchers have further distinguished wrong
mastery-approach and mastery-avoidance.
1. MASTER-APPROACH - goals are related to  PROCASTINATION
attempts to improve knowledge, skills, and - Solomon, L.J., & Rothblum, E.D. (1984).
learning. Academic Procastination: Frequency and cognitive-
2. MASTER-AVOIDANCE- goals represents a behavioral correlates, Journal of Counseling
focus on avoiding misunderstanding or the failure Psychology, 31(4), 503-509
to master a task.  Section I: Assessment of the tendency to
procastinate in six academic areas:
 PERFORMACE GOAL ORIENTATION - Writing a term paper
- A performance goal orientation focuses on doing - Studying for an exam
better than others and demonstrating competence, - Keeping up weekly reading assignments
for example, by striving to best others, using social - Performing administrative tasks
comparative standards to make judements about - Attending meetings
their abilities while seeking favorable judgement - Performing academic tasks in general
from others.
 Spcifically, participants asks to rate the
degree to which:
- They procastinante in that area ( 1= never
procastinate to 5= always procastinate)
- Procastination in that area is a problem for
them ( 1= not at all problem to 5= always a
problem)
- They want to decrease their procastination in
that area ( 1= do not want to decrease to 5=
definitely want to decrease).
 REASONS FOR PROCASTINATION
 Section II: Participants are given a
procastination scenario and asked to identify
which of the 13 reasons they would
procastinate in that scenario.
- Evaluation anxiety
- Perfectionism
- Difficulty making decisions
- Dependency and help seeking
- Aversiveness of the task and low frustration
tolerance
-Lack of self-confidence
- Laziness
- Lack of assertion
- Tendency to feel overwhelmed and poorly
manage time
- Rebellion against control
- Risk-taking
- Peer influence
 SCORING
- Scores on a 5-point Likert type scale (a=1 to e=5)
are summed for each academic task (scores range
from 2-10) and across the six areas of academic
functioning (ranging from 12-60).
- Scores on reasons for procastination and interest
in changing are summed as separate scales. A total
score can be obtained by summing all subscribe
scores.
 Areas of Procastination
- For each of the following activities, please rate the
degree to which you delay mor procastinate.
A. Rate each item on an “a” to “e” scale
according to how often you wait until the last
minute to do each item.
B. Then indicate on an “a” to “e” scale degree
to ehich you feel procastination on that task is a
problem.
C. Finally, indicate on an “a” to “e” scale the
degree to which you would like to decrease
your tendency to procastinate on each task.
 ACADEMIC ENTITLEMENT
- Psychological entitlement can be seen on many
levels and multiple organizations; however
academic entitlement is specific to academics and
includes the belief by students that they should
expect academic success without putting in the
work for that success. ( Boswell, 2012; Ciani,
Summers, & Easter, 2008; Jeffries, Barclay, &
Stolte, 2014; Kopp & Finney, 2013)
- Entitlement has been described as a perception of
deservingness that may not be justified ( Fisk,
2010).
- There are some serious implications with
academic entitlement, including overly assertive
student behaviors; compromising university
policies; and dissatisfaction by other students, staff,
faculty, and administrators. ( Boswell, 2012;
Chowning & Campbell, 2009; Kopp & Finney,
2013)
 SCALE
- 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree)
- The higher the mean, the higher the level of
academic entitlement
 Reverse score (x) = max (x) + 1 - x
 Where max (x) is the maximum possible value
for x. In our case, max(x) is 7 because the
Likert scale only when up to 7.
 To reverse score, we take 7+1=8, and subtract
our score from that.
 TESTING AS A PROFESSION
- The field of psychological testing has grown
rapidly and thousands of these tests are now
commercially produced and distributed.
- In addition to standardized tests, hundreds of
unpublished test materials became available.
- These tests, which are cited in professional
journals and books, have been used in countries
throughout the world.
 SOURCES OF INFORMATION
- Information concerning psychological tests and
other assessment instruments can be found at the
Web sites and in that distribute tests.
- Many of the companies that distribure tests also
publish multiple testing catalogs.
- Development and validation studies of these tests
are also published in a number of professionals
journals.
 TEST CLASSIFICATION
- Test may be classified according to:
1. Their content
2. How they were constructed
3. What they were designed to measure or be used
for
4. How they are administered, scored, and
interpreted.
 STANDARDIZED AND NON-
STANDARDIZED TESTS
- A standardized test is constructed by professional
test makers and administered to a representative
sample of people from the population for which the
test is intended.
- It has fixed procedures for administration and
scoring that are constant across examinees, thus
providing all examinees with an nequal opportunity
to respond to the questions or items according to
their abilities or inclinations.
- Standardized test usually have norms. These
consist of various types of converted scores
computed from the scores obtained by a test
standardized group, a sample of people like those
for whom the test is intended.
- Norms serve as a basis for interpreting the scores
of people who subsequently take the test.
- Nonstandardized classroom tests are typically
constructed in an informal manner by teachers.
 SPEED VS. POWER TEST
SPEED TEST POWER TEST
- A pure speed test - The time limits on a
consists of many easy power test are ample for
items, but the time limits most examinees, but it
are very strict and contains more difficult
almost no one finishes in items than those found
the allotted time. on a speed test.
 OBJECTIVE VS. NONOBJECTIVE TEST
OBJECTIVE TEST NONOBJECTIVE
TEST
- An objective test has - Scoring essay tests and
fixed, precise scoring certain types of
standards and can be personality test is ver
scored by a clerk. subjective and different
scorers may obtain
different results.
 TEST MAY ALSO BE CLASSIFIED
ACCORDING TO THE KIND OF
MATERIAL OR THE TYPE OF TASK
PRESENTED TO EXAMINEES
 VERBAL OR LANGUAGE TESTS- Tests
that require oral or written responses.
 NONVERBAL TESTS OR
PERFORMANCE TESTS- Those that require
examinees to point the correct answers,
construct something, or otherwise manipulate
the test materaials ( diagrams, puzzles, placing
blocks into holes, etc. )
 COGNITIVE VS. AFFECTIVE TESTS
 Cognitive tests attempt to quantify the
processes and products of mental activity and
may be classified as measures of achievement
and aptitude.
1. An achievement test, which assesses
knowledge of some academic subject or occupation,
focuses on the examinee’s past behavior (what
he/she has already learned or accomplished)
2. An aptitude test focuses on future behavior,
what a person is capable of learning with
appropriate training.
 TESTS USED MOST OFTEN BY
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS AND
NEUROPSYCHOLOGISTS ( Aiken and
Groth-Marnat, 2006)
1. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised
(WAIS-R)
2. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI) I and II
3. Wechsler Intelligence Test Scale for Children-
Revised (WISC-R and III)
4. Rorschach Inkblot Test
5. Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test
6. Thematic Appreception Test (TAT)
7. Wide Range Achievement Test-R & III
8. House-Tree-Person Projective Technique
9. Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised
10. Back Depression Inventory, Million Clinical
Multiaxial Inventory
 PURPOSES OF TESTS
1. Psychological tests are administered in a wide
range of settings
2. The purposes of psychological testing today are
to evaluate: behavior, cognitive abilities,
personality traits, and other individual and group
characteristics to assist in making judgements,
predictions, and decisions about people.
 USES OF TESTS
1. Screen people for jobs and educational and
training programs.
2. Classify and place people in educational and
employment contexts
3. Counsel and guide individuals for educational,
vocational, and personal counseling purposes.
4. Retain or dismiss, promote, and rotate students or
employees in educational and training programs
and in on-the-job situations.
 LECTURE IV:
 SCORING AND INTERPRETING TESTS
- Scoring errors can affect how a test score is
interpreted.
- Interpreting scores can involve relating score to a
performance level or compairing it to the scores of
the standardizing or norming group.
- The test maker has certain responsibilities in
making clear to the examiner how the test is to be
scored.
- The examiner has specific responsibilities to
ensure that the test is scored correctly.
- Depending on the type of test score, some system
is used to give meaning to the score.
 MODELS OF SCORING
1. CUMULATIVE MODELS
- Assume that the number of items endorsed or
reponded to that match tje key represent the degree
of the construct or trait the test measured.
- The higher the score, the greater the degree of the
construct present
- Many achievement, aptitude, and personality tests
are based on this model.
- These tests often involve differential weighing of
items before summing the items. (e.g. individual IQ
Test such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
children and the Wechsler Adult Intellegence Scale)
2. CLASS MODEL
- Used to categorize individuals for the purpose
of description or prediction.
- Criterion-referenced and mastery tests fall
within this category.
- Responses may be added to compute a score,
but are used only to determine whether the person
falls in the appropriate category.
- Many licensure and certification examinations
use this model.
3. IPSATIVE MODEL
- The test taker’s scores on various scales within
the test are compared to each other and yield a
profile of the individual.
- Certain personality, interests, and value tests
utilize this model.
- The individual ranks the responses internally
and the ranks cannot be treated normatively.
 SCORING ALTERNATE AND
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
- The scorer uses a scoring rubric to a certain
types of tests.
- Sometimes scorer find that there is more than
one possible answer to a question. In this case,
examiners need the general criteria as well as a
list of alternate acceptable responses.
- They must check for consistency in scoring. At
least two readers score each paper; if there are
discrepancies, the paper is checked by a third
reviewer.
 CRITERION- AND NORM-REFERENCED
INTERPRETATION
- Raw scores have to be translated into some
frame of reference to give meaning to the test
results.
- Overall, the examiner has to ask two questions
about test scores:
1. What is the nature of the score itself: What
type of scoring or scalling procedures were used
to arrive at the score?
2. What type of system is going to be used to
interpret the score?
 CRITERION-REFERENCED
INTERPRETATION
- Tests should measure how well students meet
instructional objectives.
- A student’s performance is compared to
established criteria rather than to the performance
of other students.
- The criteria reflect a student’s performance based
on expected learning competencies.
- The percentage of correct answers is most widely
used in reporting the results of criterion-referenced
tests.
 NORM-REFERENCED
INTERPRETATION
- We compare an individual’s test perfromance to
that of some other, larger group.
- Sometimes, it is important for the examiner to be
able to differentiate among test takers or to
discriminate among individuals on the domain
being measured.
- It can be express in general in terms of the relative
position of the individual within the group.
- Percentiles and standard scores can be used to
express the individual’s position.
 MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATION - Percentile ranks are one of most widely used
- Curves with different means, same standard methods to express the relative position of the test
deviation. taker on a norm-referenced test.
- Percentiles have limitations, being based on an
ordinal scale, with units not being equal on all parts
of the scale, and they can’t be subjected to
parametric statistical analysis.
- As result, we often have to use something else.
2. STANDARD SCORES
- Unlike percentiles, standard scores involve
measurement of an interval scale and their norms
represent scores having means and standard
deviations chosen for their usefulness.
- They are scores gained from a measure which can
be referenced to the normal distribution, and are
 PROPERTIES OF NORMAL then said to be normalized.
DISTRIBUTION - The principal types include z scores, T scores,
sten, and stanine scores. Norms are usually
expressed in terms of either these or percentile
 ranks.
E  STANDARDIZED SCORES
- The z score is the most basic of all standard scores
and we can use it to calculate others.
- It is based on the assumption of a standard normal
curve from which the properties of all other normal
curves can be calculated.
- A standardized score measures how many
standard deviations a value is from the mean.
- By definition, the standard curve has a mean of
zero and a standard deviation of one. Whenever we
use z scores. Any score alongthis scale is then said
to be a z score.
MPIRICAL RULE * WHY IS THIS NAMED Z YOU ASK?
- Apparently, this is because it is an abbreviation
for “ zero plus or minus 1 “
- Because of the values chosen, it is easy to convert
from any other normal curve to the standard z
curve. (we subtract the mean and divide by the
standard deviation, SD)
- Doing this suggests that the mean becomes 0 and
that one SD coverts to value 1, two SDs convert to
value 2, and so on. At one SD to the left of the
mean the value becomes -1, and two SDs to the left
become -2.
- As figure 1 shows, at three SDs below the mean
have -3, at two SDs below we have -2, at one below
we have -1, at two above we have +2, and at three
above we have +3.
- The new values are the z scores. In accordance
with its definition, for example, a z score of +1.5 is
1.5 SDs abpve the mean.

 STANDARDIZATION
1. PERCENTILES
THE DISTRIBUTION BASED UPON Z
SCORE


F

60 and two up to is at 70. These can be calculated

using the formula:

(10 X TEST SCORE − X )

ORMULA FOR CALCULATING A RAW T=50+ (σ)
SCORE TO STANDARDIZED SCORE
- Where, σ is the standard deviation and the X is
the mean.
- If someone has a raw score of 36, and the scale
- With T scores often being rounded to the nearest
has a mean of 25 and an SD of 8, then:
whole number, they form quite a simple scale
1. Subtract the mean from the score, so 36-
which is widely used. It seems to be the best scale
25=11;
for most purposes.
2. Divide this value by the standard deviation,
so 11 divide 8 = 1.375, which is then the score.
 STEN SCORES
- Standard Ten (or just sten for simplicity) scores
 CONVERT Z SCORE TO RAW SCORE
are widely used, especially in the assessment of
individual differences in personality traits, because
they provided the scale most preffered by Cattell in
designing the original 16PF.
- As they go from 1 to 10, the mid-point of 5.5 is
the mean value on the scale, although scores of 0.5
- This process provides a simple linear
and 10.5 can occassionally be obtained in
transformation of raw scores to their equivalent z
constructing profiles and need to be marked as 1
scores and the result is that the mean and SD of the
and 10 on the scale.
scores are different from the original, although the
- Dividing the normal curve into 10 scores, the sten
shapes of the two distributions are the same.
scale is simple and seems to have an appropriate
- It is important to note that if the distribution of the
level of sensitivity in discriminating between trait
raw scores is skewed in any way, then the z score
scores. It has a SD of 2.0, so a range of two SDs
distribution may be just as skewed.
below the mean occurs at value 1.5 and two above
at 9.5.
 T SCORE
- Stens are useful when giving feedback to people
- These provide a scale having a mean of 50 and a
because they seem comfortable with a simple 1 to
standard deviation of 10. ( Hence the name)
10 scale.
- T scores have a range from about 20 to 8-, within
the range of three SDs either side of the mean. One
 STANINE SCORES
SD below the mean of 50 lies at value of 40, two
- Stanine scores or “ standard of nine “, form a scale
below at 30; one SD above the mean is at T score of
which goes from 1 to 9.
- They are a variation of the sten, dividing the
normal curve into nine scores and having a SD of
2.0, although the mean this time is set at 5 on the
scale.
- Once again, scores off the ends can be obtained
sometimes in constructing profiles. A range of two
SDs below the mean occurs at 1 on the scale and
two above at 9. This scale has been widely used in
the past, although its use has declined over the
years.
 DIFFERENT STANDARD SCORES ARE
USEFUL FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES
- Percentiles remain more popular because they are
easy to compute and understand, but it is worth
knowing that other scales exist: for example,
WAIS-III subtests use scales having a mean of 10
and a SD of 3, while its scale for Verbal,
Performance and Full-Scale IQ scores have a mean
of 100 and an SD of 15 (as do other Intelligence
tests).
- Norm tables are also vary, depending on each
publisher’s approach. Some provide tables enabling
just a conversion from raw score to percentile,
while others give tables which also include a
translation to z, T and sten, and in some instances,
stanine scores.
- It is mostly a simple matter of reading across from
the raw score to other scores made available and
occassionally to the grading system of A to E.
- Norms obtained from percentiles can be converted
to z scores using the normal curve table ( Table 1)
and then converting these to the other standard
scores. Atahe benefit of doing this is that the
standard scores are normally distributed.
- The downside however is that each can vary
depending upon sample size, creating a significant
disadvantage if this is small.
- Some test-takers appear to have a preference for
normalized standardized scores. This seems to be
sensible in the case of intelligence test as
intelligence is thought to be normally distributed
among people at large, but should only be used
when there is a large sample andd a reasonable
theoretical prospect of representative distribution.
 CONVERTING RAW SCORES TO
STANDARD SCORES
To convert a z score To convert a sten score
into a sten back to z score
- Multiply the z score by - Subtract 5.5 from the
2 sten score
- Add 5.5 - Divide 2
- Round to the nearest
whole number
- Values greater than 10
are coded as 10; values
less than 1 are coded by
1.
To convert a z score To connvert a T score
into a T score back to the z score
- Multiply the z score by - Subtract 50 from the T
10 score
- Add 50 - Divide by 10
- Round to the nearest
whole number
- Values greater than
100 are coded as 100;
values less than 1 are
coded as 1
 STANDARD SCORES IN PRACTICE
- In most areas of applied practice,it is necessary to
have a good understanding of the properties of the
normal curve and standard scores so as to take care
when interpreting extremely low or high
assessments scores.
- This interpretation will depend on the
characteristics of the standardization samples used:
they will need to be large, well-constructed, and
have an approximate normal distribution, especially
all the extremes.
- Interpreting someone’s score may not be
legitimate if the standardization sample is skewed.
While it may suggest that someone is suffering
from an impairment, the value may give a false
sense of accuracy and of comparison with others.
- Other than skewness, other forms of non-
normality can also occur, such multi-modality or a
uniform distribution.
- Multi-modality happens when there is more than
one ‘peak’ in a distribution (like a mountain range),
having two modes. Measuring the same attribute in
two clearly distinct groups might account for this.
- The other two forms occur whre there is a curve
having no or just a slight peak, together with a
similar frequency across all of the scores.
- In this cases, standard scores may be inaccurate
and cannot be adequately interpreted. It would be
wiser to base interpretation on percentile scores
only.
- In such circumstances, it is advisable to for users
to seek a description of any non-normality from the
publisher, as well as any techniques used to create
standardized scores and their justification.
Percentile conversions based on an uncorrected
distribution should be available as an alternative
option.
 A NORMAL CURVE IS LINKED TO Z
SCORES, T SCORES, PERCENTILES,
STENS, AND STANINES
the inspection of normal curve tables, they will
become normalized score.
- Z scores from the basis of other measurement
scores, althoughbthey are not so user-friendly.
- Extreme scores will need careful consideration in
practice, especially when the standardization
sample has a non-normal distribution.

 AGE NORMS
- Age equivalent scores are norm-
referenced scores.
- We can compare an individual’s
typically do at that age.
- Some examine intraindividual
comparisons (e.g. individual’s mental
age with his/her chronological age)

 LECTURE V:

 WHAT IS AN INTAKE
INTERVIEW?
 A NEAT SUMMARY OF STANDARD - The psychologist gets a bird’s eye view of clients
SCORES WOULD BE: and their background through the initial assessment.
Name Mean SD - With the information ascertained, the psychologist
Z Score 0 1 The basis will be able to see the forest, not just the tree, and
of other will have the wide-range lens to view the entire
scales vista of client’s life.
T Score 50 10 Usually - This will help beginning
limited to a psychometrician/psychologists feel competent in
range from conducting the intake interview.
20-80
Stens 5.5 2 Standard  STEP BY STEP PSYCHOLOGIST-
ten i.e. 1 to CLIENT DIALOG
10 scales 1. Initiate the interview
Stanines 5 2 Standard 2. Determine the presenting problem
nine i.e. 1 3. Take the history of the problem
to 9 scales 4. Learn about attempted solutions
IQ 100 15 The 5. Check other issues and emotional concerns
common 6. Discover relational dynamics in the family of
intelligence origin
scale 7. Take the family’s mental health history
8. Take notes on personal resources and strength
9. Help clients set positive and spcific goals
10. Final summarization and explanation

- Standard scores ( z scores, T scores, sten, or

stanine scores) involve measurement on interval
scales and norms based upon them are chosen for
their usefulness.
- When these calculated from test scores they may
be as skewed as the original distribution, but if they
are converted to z scores using percentiles through
 IMPORTANCE OF AN INTAKE
INTERVIEW
- It describes the bases/foundation necessary to
conduct the initial/further assessment
- A client’s first interaction with a
psychologist/psychometrician is through the intake
interview.
- The intake interview will not be the only
assessment through which professional obtain
essential information about clients.
- Rather, it serves as te starting point of a
continuous process to obtain vital information about
the client.
 PURPOSE OF CONDUCTING INTAKE
INTERVIEW (Chen and Giblin, 2018)
- The general goal of the intake is to get as much
information from clients as possible before offering
treatment to them.
- An hour spent in the initial assessment can save
several hours of bottleneck in the course of
theraphy.
- The intake interview necessitates a “ cool head,
warm heart” style.
1. Warm heart- empathic responses blended
with questions.
2. Cool head- objective assessment regarding
the nature of the client’s issues.
 CONDUCTING AN INTAKE INTERVIEW
TO AN ATHLETE (Nicholls, 2017)
- This provides coaches with information regarding
how they can establish the psychological needs of
an athlete, so that an appropriate intervention can be
devised.
- Information is provided on: what is an intake
interview; the purpose of intake interviews; the
intake interview guide; encouraging athletes to
open up; listening; verbal and non-verbal strategies
that coaches can employ; and what to expect;
impression management strategies that athletes may
use.
- Coaches may only spend a relative short time
speaking to athletes individually. As such, intake
interview allows the coach to spend a longer period
chatting to his or her athlete and is important
because it determines how receptive an athlete will
be in terms of receiving psychological support.
- Before a coach can help an athlete it is important
that he or she understands the problem from the
athlete’s perspective. The coach can ask more
probing questions to gather information on the
possible influences and consequences.
 CLINICAL INTERVIEWING ( Sommers-
Flanagan, 2015)
- There is a unique emphasis on both the scientific
basis and interpersonal aspects of mental health
interviewing.
- It guides clinicians through elementary listening
and counseling skills onward to more advanced,
complex clinical assessment processes, such as
intake interviewing, mental status examination, and
suicide assessment.
- The process requires confidence, competence, and
sensitivity on the part pf the clinicians/psychologist.
- Clinical interviewing skills look like different
environments and with a range of clients.
- Effective interviewing skills will serve to support
your career for decades to come, and will help you
to accurately diagnose your clients while earning
their trust and creating an environment in which
they feel safe and open to discussion.
- There is a structured protocol for conducting a
face-to-face, telephone, or video
conferencing/skype mental status examination
interview.
- There is a need to discern a valuable resource that
will lead you through the art of interviewing diverse
clients.
 CONDUCTING AN EFFECTIVE
MENTAL STATUS EXAM
- Gathering client information and performing
initial assessments, while vital to effective
treatment planning, can easily turn into a dry
procedure that may adversely affect the therapeutic
relationship,
- Be able to ask questions that can be organized into
the 9 domains of mental status exam in a way that is
empathic and collaborative, byuilding rapport and
laying the foundation for a strong therapeutic bond.
 INTAKE INTERVIEW WITH COUPLES
(Worthington, 1991)
- Couples should be assessed according to
commitment satisfaction, and complicating factors.
- Commitment depends on satisfaction plus
investments in the relationship minus alternatives to
the relationship.
- Satisfaction depends on closeness (intimacy),
communication, conflict resolution, cognitions, and
confessions.
 THE ASSESSMENT INTERVIEW AND
CASE HISTORY GENERAL
CONSIDERATIONS ( Groth-Mamat, 2009)
1. Behavioral interviews are relatively structured
because they are directed towards obtaining specific
information that would help design strategies based
on altering external conditions.
2. Different interviewing styles and strategies work
well with some clients but may relatively
ineffective with others.
3. The goal of a diagnostic interview is to develop a
specific diagnosis, usually based on the multiaxial
DSM-IV model (Sommers-Flanagan, 2003).
Developing a diagnosis follows process in which
the clinician develops diagnostic clues, considers
these un relation to diagnostic criteria.
 INTERVIEW GUIDELINES
- Because clients vary regarding their personal
characteristics ( age, educational, level, degree of
cooperation) and type of presenting problem
( childhood difficulties, legal problems, psychosis),
the questions necessarily need to vary from person
to person.
- Any series of questions should not be followed
rigidly but with a certain degree of flexibility, to
allow exploring unique but relevant areas that arise
during the interview.
 AVOIDANCE OF “WHY” QUESTIONS
- It is best to avoid “why” questions because they
are likely to increase client’s defensiveness.
- A “why” question typically sounds accusatory or
critical and thus forces the client to account for his
or her behavior.
- Clients are likely to become intellectual in this
situation, thereby separating themselves from the
emotions.
- An alternative approach is to preface the question
with either “What is your understanding of…” or “
How did it occur that..” rather than “why”. These
options are more likely to result in a description
rather than a justification and to keep clients more
oriented in their emotions.
 LECTURE VI: BEHAVIORAL
OBSERVATION
 OBSERVATIONAL TECHNIQUES
- Observational techniques are used in many types
of settings.
- Workers in the helping professions use
observational techniques to assess client behavior in
play theraphy, socio-drama. Psychodrama,
stimulated experiences, role-conferences, and
interviews.
- The procedures vary considerably. Observation
can focus on specific behaviors that are objective
and observable or on general, overall behavior or
adjustments.
- Observations can be a one-shot affair or a
sampling over a longer span of time. The observers
can use rating or record forms, observation
schedules, or devices such as a voice recorder,
video equipment, or computers to record the data.
 TEST BEHAVIOR AND
OBSERVATIONAL SCALES
- Rating scales, anecdotal records, ranking scales,
sociometric tests, client-kept records, checklists and
self-appraisal scales are some of the varied
recording methods used.
- A variety of scales may be included as part of a
testing package.
 CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS
- The examiner may also want to observe the client
in learning, performung, or social situations.
- Observations may be focused on a specific
observable behavior, such as time on task, or may
cover a wide variety of behaviors, such as effective,
cognitive, psychomotore, and social.
- The examiner might use a checklist whether a
behavior was present or document anecdotal
records of typical behavior.
- Clinical observation is an extremely valuable tool
on working with ver young childrean or with clients
who have mental or emotional disabilities.
 SELF-OBSERVATIONS
- Shapiro and Cole (1993) state that the simplest
and mosr common method for collecting self-
monitored data is to have the client record
occurences of the targeted behavior.
- The data can be summarized over time and
frequency rates complied. Sometimes the client is
asked to tally the number of incidences of the
targeted behavior in time units.
- A psychologist is often helped in interpreting a
case study by an autobiography, diary, journal.
Letters, themes, stories, and poems,
- Aiken (1985) states that most people spend quite
a bit of time observing themselves. He cautions that
self-observations are likely to be more biased than
the observations made by others (p. 325). However,
individuals can be trained to be more objective and
sytematic in self-observation.
- They can be trained to keep of their thinking,
actions, and feelings. Because data are recorded by
the individual, periodic checks for accuracy might
be necessary. Often the data is checked against
ratings by others.
- Autobiographies are used to provide insight into
individual behavior, attitudes, and personality
dimensions.
- Psychologists can specify a certain format or
allow individuals to arrange their thoughts however
they want.
- Although autobiographies are used to provide
insight into personality dynamics and conflicts,
psychologists should interpret the data in light of
other available information.
 PROBLEMS IN OBSERVATION
-Sometimes breakdowns happen in the tracking and
recording of observations. Barrios ( 1993) identified
four such problems.
1. The first is lack of a clear definition of the
construct to be observed. To prevent this, the
definition needs to be more precise, concrete, and
observable.
2. A second problem is the demands of the scale.
Sometimes the observer has to record too many
behaviors. The validity and realibility of the
observations can be increased if the number of
behaviors, complexity of the coding, or duration of
the observation is decreased.
3. The third breakdown is caused by distractions.
Occasionally some external or internal event diverts
the observer’s attention and focus. This could be
eliminated or reduced by imposing greater structure
on the observation, changing the milieu of the
observation, or, in some cases, changing the
observer.
4. Mistreatment is the last type of breakdown.
Sometimes observers are not treated with dignity
and respect, and greater appreciation ufor the
observers. They should be praised when they do a
good job.
 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
- The observer may want to focus on a single-
incident or on all client behavior in a given period.
The records needed depend on the purpose of the
observations. The observer might take notes, record
the observations, or use a checklist, rating scale or
behavior tallying or charting procedure.
A. Decisions beforehand include the following:
1. Who will be obseved
2. What will observed
3. Where the observation will take place
4. When the observation will take place
5. How the observation will be recorded
 ANECDOTAL RECORDS
- One method of recording is the anecdotal record,
which is a good way to gather information about a
client’s social adjustment. Anecdotal records are
brief accounts of behavior that are recorded in a log
or on index cards. An anecdote is written
description of an ibserved event.
- The following information should be included:
1. Name of individual observed
2. Name of observer
3. Date and time of observation
4. Location of the observation
5. Anecdote
6. Context
7. Interpretation
 PROCEDURAL SUGGESTIONS FOR
RECORDING BEHAVIORAL
ANECDOTES
1. Focus on a single specific incident
2. Be brief but complete
3. Use objective behavioral descriptions
4. Use phrases rather than sentences as long as the
phrases are understandable
5. List the behaviors in in the sequence in which
they occured
6. Evaluate what you have written. Is it a good
snapshot of behavior?
7. Include direct quotations whenever possible and
significant
8. Record both positive and negative statements
 ANECDOTAL RECORD
- An advantage of the anecdotal record is that it
does not depend upon the individual’s capacity to
communicate with the observer. In addition, this
approach uses natural settings to observe behavior,
and the systematic collection of such information
can help in the understanding of a client’s behavior.
- The major disadvantages are the time and
expenses of observation, the time it takes to write
down the verbal description, and the questionable
objectivity and reliability of the records.
 BEHAVIOR TALLYING AND
CHARTING
- Many times the easiest way to record certain
behaviors is tallying their occurences.
- Sometimes concern centers around the number of
times a behavior occurs, as is the case in
educational envirinments where precision teaching
or behavior modification efforts are taking place.
- The focus can be on the frequency of behavior and
also on the duration of a behavior.
 CHECKLISTS
- Checklists are a way to record the presence or
absence of specific behaviors in a given situation.
- A checklist normally consists of statements about
expected behaviors. The observer checks yes or not
to indicate whether the behavior occured.
 RATING SCALES
- Rating scales provide a standardized format for
the collection of data, ensuring systematic and
comprehensive converge of the behavior in
question ( Piacentini, 1993)
- The structured format reduces subjectivity and
increases reliability. Dependence on the rater’s
experience and day-to-day variability are
minimized.
 REMEMBER
- Raters need to be trained to increase the reability
of the ratings.
- The scales need to be well constructed and have
the proper format ( Aiken, 2000).
- Raters need to be aware of the various rating
errors.
 GUIDELINES FOR OBSERVATION
1. Be objective. Be aware of personal biases and
prejudices.
2. Be aware of the halo error-the tendency to be
influenced by your impression of an individual or
by an exeptional trait.Such influenced can be a
source of bias.
3. Recognize personal response tendencies-perhaps
rating everyone high (generosity error) or low
(severity error),or in the middle(central tendency
error.Be alert to only positive or only negative
observations
4. Focus on relevant behaviors.Attend to only the
assigned behaviors the checklist or rating scale.
5. Be unobtrusive as possible.
6. Observe more than once; the more observations,
the better the chance of getting a complete and
accurate picture.
7. Have more than one person observe to permit
comparison of results.
8. Train observers and have practice sessions in
what behaviors are to be observed and how they are
to be recorded.
 LECTURE VII: PSYCHOLOGICAL
REPORT: AN END PRODUCT OF
ASSESSMENT
 PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORT
- The psychological report is the end product of
assessment.
- It represents the clinician’s efforts to integrate the
assessment data into a functional whole so that the
information can help the client solve problems and
make decisions.
Even the best tests are Doing this requires
useless unless the data clinicians to give not
from them is expained in merely test results but
a manner that is relevant also to interact with their
and clear, and meets the data in a way that makes
needs of the client and their conclusions useful
referral source. in answering the referral
question, making
decisions and helping to
solve problems.
- An evaluation can be written in several possible
ways.
- The manner of presentation used depends on the
purpose for which the report is intended as well as
on the individual style and orientation of the
practitioner.
- The format is merely a suggested outline that
follows common and traditional guidelines. It
includes methods for elaborating on essential areas
such as the referral question, behavioral
observations, relevant history, impressions
(interpretations), and recommendations.
- This format is especially appropriate for
evaluations that are problem oriented and that offer
specific prescriptions for change.
- Additional alternatives for organizing the report
are to use a letter format, give only the summary
and recommendations, focus on a specific problem,
summarize the results test by test, write directly to
the client, or provide client descriptions around a
particular theory of personality.
 SHOTGUN REPORT
- One general style to avoid is sometimes referred
to as a shotgun report ( Tallent, 1993)
- A shotgun report provides a wide variety of
often-fragmented descriptions in the hope that some
useful information can be be found within.
- The shotgun approach is usually vague,
stereotyped, and over-inclusive. The
recommendations for treatment are often neither
specific nor practical.
 - The most frequent reason for a shotgun report
is a referral question that is too general, vague, and
therefore, poorly understood.
 CASE-FOCUSED REPORT
- In contrast, the “case-focused” report centers on
the specific problems outlined by the referring
person.
- It reveals unique aspects of the client and
provides specific accurate descriptions rather than
portraying stereotypes that may also be overly
“theory linked” or “test linked”.
- Furthermore, the recommendations for
treatment are both specific and practical.
- The general approach of the case-focused
report is not much what is to be known but rather
why different types of information are important for
the purpose of the report.
 PRINCIPLES IN CREATING A CASE-
FOCUSED REPORT
1. The report should be integrated rather than
organized around disparate portions of test data.
- The clinician should describe a person rather
than merely reporting test data.
2. The recommendations in a case-focused report
need to directly relate to what specifically can be
done for this client in his or her particular
ebvironment.
- They mayn apply to areas such as
occupational choice, psychotheraphy, institutional
programs, or additional evaluation.
3. In certain types of referrals, however, especially
clients self-referred for psychotheraphy, an
important goal may be to help them increase their
level of personal insight.
- In these cases, a wider description of the
client that includes a number of different topics
might be more appropriate than the narrower,
problem-solving approach.
4. There should be a focus on that which
differentiates one person from another.
- Making these differentiations means avoiding
discussions of what is average about the client
and emphasizing instead what stands out and is
unique to this individual.
5. Case-focused reports also frequently
deemphasize diagnosis and etiology. There is,
rather, a focus on current descriptions of the person
that are tied to specific behaviors.
- In certain cases, especially in amedical
setting, the clinician may still need to provide
diagnoses in addition to behaviorally oriented
descriptions.
6. A case-focused report should be written with an
awareness of the point of view of an intended
readers.
- Appreciating the reader’s perspective includes
taking into consideration their level of
expertise, their theoretical or professional
orientation, the decisions they are facing, and
the possible interpretations they are likely to
make of the information.
 GENERAL GUIDELINES
1. Length
- The typical psychological report is betwwen 5 and
7 single-spaced pages (Groth-Mamat, 2006)
A. The length can vary substantially based on the
purpose of the report, context, and expectations of
the referral source.
B. In medical contexts, a 2-page report is common.
This parallels the format of many physician reports
that are a similar length.
C. In contrast, loegal contexts often require reports
that are from 7 to 10 pages because of the greater
need for documentation combined with more
extensive referral questions.
- It is not the unusual for a psychologist serving as
an expert witness to not only evaluate a client, but
also anticipate and defend him or herself against
rebuttals as well as comment on reports made by
other mental health professionals.
- The more kmoderate (and frequent) 5 to 7 page
report is particularly prevalent in psychological,
educational, and vocational contexts. Although this
length is fairly typical in clinical practice, one of
the most frequent complaints related to
psychological reports is that they are too long.
( Brenner, 2003)
2. Style
- The style or “flavor” of a report is influenced
primarily by the training and orientation of the
examiner.
- The clinician can choose from four general report-
writing approaches: literary, clinical, scientific, and
professional. ( Ownby, 1997; Tallent, 1993).
 LITERARY APPROACH
-The literary approach uses everyday language and
is creative and often dramatic.
-Although it can effectively capture a reader’s
attention and provide colorful descriptions, it is
often imprecise and prone to exaggeration.
 CLINICAL APPROACH
-The clinical approach focuses on the pathological
dimensions of a person. It describes the client’s
abnormal features, defenses, dynamics involved in
maladjustment, and typical reactions to stress.
-The strength of the clinical approach is that it
provides information about areas in need of change
and alerts a potential practitioner to likely
difficulties during the course of treatment.
-However, such a report tends to be one-sided in
that may omit important strengths of the person.
- Such a maladjustments bias is a frequent difficulty
in clinical psychology and results in a distorted,
unrealistic view of the client.
- Although most clinical reports should describe a
person’s problem areas should be given appropriate
emphasis in the context of the client’s relevant
strengths and resources.
 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH
- The scientific approach to report writing
emphasizes normative comparisons, tends to be
more academic, and, to a lesser extent, relates to the
nature of a client’s pathology.
- The scientific style differs from the other two
approaches discussed chiefly in its reference to
concepts, theories, and data.
- It looks at and describes findings in an objective,
factual manner. Thus, there might be frequent
references to test data, normative comparisons,
probability statements, and cutoff scores to be used
for decision making.
- A scientific approach is likely to discuss the
person by addressing different, often, isolated,
segments of personality. Thus, areas such as a
client’s cognitive, perceptual, and motivational
abilities may be described as discrete and often
unrelated functions.
 PROFESSIONAL STYLE
- Ownby (1997) stresses that the most important
style to use in report writing is what he refers to as
professional style. This style is characterized by
short words that are in common usage and that have
precise meanings.
- Grmmatically, writers should use a variety of
sentence constructions and lengths to maintain the
reader’s interest.
- The paragraphs should be short and should ficus
on a single concept. Similar concepts should be
located close to one another in the report.
- Whereas Hollis and Donna (1979) urge writers to
use short words, short sentences, and short
paragraphs, the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association (5th ed., 2005)
recommends varying the lengths of sentences and
paragraphs. The result should bev a report that
combines accuracy, clarity, integration, and
readability.
3. Presenting test interpretations
- Reports should organize the information around
specific domains, such as coping style, memory,
personality, or interpersonal relations. This
approach is comprehensive, indicates the client’s
strengths and weaknesses, and typically gives the
reader a good feel for thev person as a whole.
- Some reports present test by test, one at a time
(WAIS-IV, Bender, MMPI-2, etc.). This approach
clarifies the source of the data and enables the
reader to understand more clearly how the clinician
made his or her inferences.
- The existing literature is unanimous in
discouraging a test-by-test style and, instead,
strongly recommends an integrated case-focused
problem-solving style.
4. Topics
- Clinicians may decide the domains to discuss in
their reports. These topics serve as conceptual tools
that enable report writers to give form and direction
to the information the are trying to communicate.
- The three most common topics are likely to be
related to three domains: cognitive functioning,
emotional functioning (affect/mood) and
interpersonal relations.
- Additional topics include personalstrengths,
vocational aptitudes, suicidal potential, defenses
areas of conflict, behavior under stress,
impulsiveness, or sexuality. Often an adequate
case-focused report can be developed by describing
just a few of these topics.
5. Deciding what to include
- The generalpurpose of a psychological evaluation
is to provide information that will be most helpful
in responding to the referral question and meeting
the needs of the client.
- The clinician must strike a balance between
providing too much infornmation and providing too
little, and between being too cold and being too
dramatic. As a rule, information should be included
only if it serves to address the referral question and
increase understanding of the client.
- For example, descriptions of aclient’s appearance
should be oriented toward areas such as his or her
level of anxiety or resistance. A client might be
described as hesitant in his or her approach to tasks
and as saying something like “Why do I have to
take all these tests anyway?”. If the person was
dressed in bizarre clothes and his hair is unkempt or
dyed purple, this information might also be quite
important to include. Generally, however,
information regarding the types of clothing the
person is wearing or color of his or her eyes or hair
is not relevant.
- The basic guidelines for deciding what to include
in a report relate to the needs of the referral setting,
backgroundof the readers, purpose of testing,
relative usefulness of the information, and whether
the information describes unique characteristics of
the person.
- After these general guidelines have been
considered, the next step is to focus on and organize
the information derived from the tests.
- For example, if a general review of aspects of
personality is the purpose of the report, a clinician
can look at each test to determins what information
it can provide.
- A further general rule is that information should
focus on the client’s unique method of
psychological functioning. A reader is concerned
not so much with how the client is similar to the
average person as in what ways he or she is
different. A common error in psychological reports
is the inclusion of generalized statements that are
vague, they could apply to the majority of the
population. These vague, generalized statements are
likely to be unconditionally acceoted as applying to
a person even though they are randomly selected.
- After the data, conclusions, and recommendations
have been outlined, the next step is to decide on the
manner in which to present them.
- Doing this involves clear communication about
the relative degree of emphasis of the results, type
of report, proper use of terminology, and the extent
to which the raw data will be discussed.
6. Emphasis
- Careful consideration should be given to the
appropriate emphasis of conclusions, particularly
when indicating the relative intensity of client’s
behavior.
- General summaries may be given, such as “this
client’s level of depression is characteristic of
inpatient populations”, or the relative intensity of
certain aspects of a client’s disorder may be more
specifically discussed.
- To continue with the example of depression, a
clinician may discuss the client’s cognitive self-
criticisms, degree of slowed behavior, extent of
social support, level of social skills, or suicidal
potential.
- In addition to discussing and giving the
appropriate degree of emphasis is to a client’s
pathology, his or her psychological strengths need
to be compared with his or her relative weaknesses.
7. Use of raw data
- It is crucial to stress that the purpose of providing
raw data and behavioral descriptions is to enrich
and illustrate topic and not to enable the reader to
follow the clinician’s line of reasoning or document
the inferences that have been made.
- In developing inferences, clinicians must draw on
a wide variety of data. They cannot possibly discuss
all the patterns, configurations, and relationships
they used to come to their conclusions. Any attempt
to do so would necessarily be overly detailed,
cumbersome, and incomplete. Statements such as “
in consideing the pattern of elevated scales 4 and 9
on the MMPI, it is safe to conclude…” are
unnecessary and rarely contribute to a report’s
overall usefulnesss.
- In certain types of reports, such as those for legal
purposes, it might be helpful to include some raw
data, not so much to repeat the thinking process of
the clinician but more to substantiate that the
inferences are data based, to provide a point of
reference for discussing the results, and to indicate
what assessment procedures were used.
- When writing the impressions and interpretation
section, a report writer should genrally avoid
adhering too closely to the the raw data.
- For certain purposes, it may be useful to include
raw data or even to describe the tests themselves.
8. Terminology
- Several arguments have been made in determining
whether to use technical or nontechnical language
in psychosocial reports. It might be argued that
technical terminology is precise and economical
, increases the credibility of the writer, and can
communicate concepts that are impossible to
convey through nontechnical language.
- However, a number of potential difficulties are
often encountered with the use of technical
language. One of the more frequent problems
involves the varying backgrounds and levels of
sophistication of the persons reding the report. The
most frequent readers of reports include teachers,
administrators, judges, attorneys, psychiatrists, non-
psychiatric physicians, and social workers.
Increasingly, the clients themselves have access to
and read the reports. Thus, many, if not most,
consumers of reports do not have the necessary
background to interpret technical terminology
accurately.
- These examples show how to translate technical
concepts Into basic English:
1. "Hostility toward the father figure' becomes the
patient is so fearful and suspicious of people in
positions of authority that he automatically assumes
an aggressive attitude toward them, being sure that
swift retaliations will follow. He doesn't give such
people an opportunity to demonstrate their real
characteristics since he assumes, they are all alike.
2. "The patient projects extensively" becomes 'the
patient has the tendency to attribute to other people
feelings and ideas originating within himself
regardless of how these other people might feel
3. 'The defenses the patient uses are ..." becomes
the methods characteristically employed by the
patient for reducing anxiety are..
4. "Empathy" becomes the patient can understand
and sympathize with the remings of others, since
she finds a relatively easy to put herself in their
place…
- The general principle involved in the preceding
examples is to translate high-level abstract terms
into basic English that provides useful, concrete
behavioral descriptions.
- Ownby (1997) recommends combining any
conclusion or generalization with specific behaviors
or test observations. Recommendations should also
be directly linked with the relevant
behaviors/generalizations, either in the same place
or in the recommendations section.
- For example, instead of saying a client is
'depressed", a writer might state. The client's
behavior, which included self-criticism and
occasional crying, suggested he was depressed.
Linking generalizations with clear concrete
descriptions tends to create reports that are
perceived to be relatively credible and persuasive
9. Content overload
- There are no specific rules to follow In
determining how much Information to include in a
report. A general guideline is to estimate how much
Information a reader can realistically be expected to
assimilate. If too many details are given, the
information may begin to become poorly defined
and vague and therefore, lack impact or usefulness.
- When clinicians are confronted with a great
variety of data from which to choose, they should
not attempt to include it all. A statement such as.
The client's relative strengths are in abstract
reasoning, general fund of knowledge, short-term
memory, attention span, and mathematical
computation is likely to overload the reader with
too many details.
- The clinician should instead adequately develop
each of the various points and focus on the areas
that are most relevant to the purpose of the report
10. Feedback
- The change toward providing feedback to clients
has been motivated by several factors.
1. Regulations have supported a growing list of
consumer rights. Induding the right to various types
of information.
2. It might be perceived as a violation If the client
did not receive feedback regarding the results of
testing after he or she had been subjected to several
hours of assessment. Even the most secure of
clients might easily feel uncomfortable knowing a
report with highly personal information might be
circulated and used by persons in power to make
decsions about his or her future such practices
could understandably result in a suspicious and
irritation on the part of the public.
3. Examiners cannot safety assume that the original
referral source will provide feedback to the client.
Even the referral source does provide feedback,
there is no guarantee that the informaton will be
provided in an appropriate manner. Thus, the
responsibly for providing feedback is ultimately on
the clinician.
4. There is increasing evidence that providing
clients with test feedback can result in significant
therapeutic benefits
- The rationale for allowing the dient actually to
read the report is that doing so enables the client to
experience the product of assessment in a direct
manner. I also enables a practitioner lo explain any
areas that are unclear.
- A significant difficulty is that ardient might
misinterpret various portons of the report,
especially IQ scores and diagnosis. For this reason,
most clinicians paraphrase and elaborate on
selected portions of the report. This method
increases the likelihood that clients will readily
understand the most important material and will not
be overloaded with too much content.
- Initially, the rationale for assessments should be
explained and any misconceptions should be
corrected. One particularly important
misconception is that sometimes clients mistakenly
fear that the purpose of assessment is to evaluate
their sanity.
 INFORMED CONSENT
- Prior to beginning a personality assessment,
examiners are ethically and legally obliged to
obtain informed consent from the person who is to
be examined.
 FORMAT FOR A PSYCHOLOGICAL
REPORT

Name:
Age (Date of birth):
Sex:
Nationality:
Name of Examiner:
Case No:
Admission Date:
Referred by:
I. Referral Question
II. Evaluation Procedures
III. Behavioral Observations
IV. Background Information (relevant history)
V. Test results
VI. Impressions and interpretations
VII. Summary and Recommendations
 REFERAL QUESTION
- Briefly describe client along with short decription
of the presenting problem. Specify the rationale for
assessment and the specific questions that need to
be answered.
 EVALUATION PROCEDURES
- List names of tests (with abbreviations), type of
interview, all persons interviewed, and any records
reviewed (medical, educational, occupational,
psychiatric, legal, etc. )
 BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS
- Describe the appearnce and behavior of the
examinee during the examination. What behaviors
on the part of the examinee were symptomatic of
physical, cognitive, or affective conditions or
characteristics? Describe the examinee’s
characteristics , his or her approach to the tasks,
level of motivation, emotionality, ability to focus on
the task, and any other factors that might have
influenced the results of the examination. State the
extent to which the results are a valid assessment.
 TEST RESULTS
- A simple listing of test scores. Note that this
section is often omitted.
 INTERPRETATION AND IMPRESSION
- This is the main body of the report. It can be
organized around many topics depending on the
referral question. The most frequent topics
( domains ) relate to intellectual level, emotional
functioning, interpersonal patterns, and client
strengths. Be as specific as possible in interpreting
the results , describe the person (not merely test
scores) use everyday language, give examples,
avoid technical jargon. All information should be
carefully integrated, rather than presented test by
test.
 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION
- Briefly summarize the main conclusions. Briefly
answer each referral question. This is sometimes
done by numbering or bulleting the major points or
answers to the referralmquestions. What
recommendations are warranted by assessment?
These may include additional psychological
assessment (be specific), neurological or other
medical examinations, counseling or
psychotheraphy, special class placement and
training, vocational rehabiltation, and
institutionalization.
 DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL
MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS
(DSM-5)
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Schizophrenia Spectrum and other Psychotic
Disorders
-Bipolar and Related Disorders
- Depressive Disorders
- Anxiety Disorders
- Obssessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
- Trauma-and-Stressor-Related Disorders
- Dissociative Disorders
- Somatic Symptoms and Related Disorders
- Feeding and Eating Disorders
- Elimination Disorders
- Sleep-Wake Disorders
- Sexual Dysfunctions
- Gender Dysphoria
 REFERRAL QUESTION
- The Referal Question section provides a brief
description of the client and a statement of the
general reason for conducting the evaluation. In
particular, this section should include a brief
description of the nature of the problem. If this
section is adequately completed, it should give an
initial focus to the report by orienting the reader to
what follows and to the types of issues that are
addressed.
- This section should begin with a brief, orienting
sentence that includes essential information about
the client (Mr. John Doe is a 35-year-old Fiipimo
American, married male with a high school
education who presents with complaints of
depression and anxiety" Such a sentence clearly and
succinctiy introduces the client.
- A prerequisite for this section is that the cinician
had developed an adequate clarification of the
referal question. The purpose of testing should be
stated in a precise and problem- oriented manner.
Thus, phrases suchi as the client was referred for a
psychological evaluation or as a requirement for a
class project are inadequate because they lack focus
and precision t is helpful to include both the specitic
purpose of the evaluaton and the decisions facing
the referral source,
 Examples of possible reasons for referral
- Intellectual evaluation: routine (intellectually
disabled (retarded), gifted.
- Differential diagnosis, Such as the relative
presence of psychological difficulties (i.e.,
memory problems caused by depression) versus
organic impairment (i.e., memory problems because
of the early stages ot Azheimer's disease).
- Assessment of the nature and extemt of brain
damage.
- Evaluation as a component of, and to prowide
recommendations for vocational counseling.
- Evaluation of appropriateness for possible
dificulties encountered in, and optimal approach to
psychotherapy.
- Personal insight regarding difficulties with
interpersonal relationships.
- Evaluation as an aid in client placement.
 II. EVALUATION PROCEDURES
- The report section that deals with evaluation
procedures simply lists the tests and other
evaluation procedures used but does not include the
actual test results. Usually full test names are
incuded along with their abbreviations. Later in the
report, the abbreviations can be used, but the initial
inclusion of the entire name provides a reference
for readers who may not be familiar with test
abbreviations.
- For legal evaluations or other occasions in which
precise details of evaluation are essential, it is
importance include the date on which different tests
were administered and the length of time required
to complete each one. For most routine evaluations
however, this degree of detail is not recommended.
- It may also be important to include whether a
clinical interview or mental status examination was
given and, if so, the degree of interview structure
and the amount of time reguired for the interview or
examination
- Evaluation procedures may not necessarily be
restricted to testing and interviews with the client.
Often evaluation includes a review of relevant
records, such as medical reports, nursing notes,
military records, police records, previous
psychological or psychiatric reports, or educational
records.
- Additional material might come from interviews
with individuals Such as spouses, children, parents,
friends, employers, physicians, lawyers, social
workers, or teachers. If any of these SOurces are
used, their dates and, if relevant, who wrote them
should be included. This section might end with a
statement. Summarizing the total time required for
the evaluation.
 III. BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS
- A description of the client's behaviorsjcan provide
insight into his or her problem and may be a
significant source of data to contim, modify, or
question the test-related interpretations. These
observations can be related to a clients appearance,
general behavioral observations, or examiner-client
interaction.
- Descriptions should generally be tied to specific
behaviors and should not representa clinician's
inferences.
- For example, instead of making the inference that
the client was "depressed" it is preferable to state
that "her speech was slow and she frequently made
self-critical statements such as Tm not smart
enough to get that one nght.
- Relevant behavioral observations made during the
interviews include physical appearance, behavior
toward the task and examiner, and degree of
cooperativeness. A description of the client's
physical appearance should focus on any unusual
teatures relating to tacial expressions, clothes, body
type, mannerisms, and movements. It is especially
important to note any contradictions, such as a 14-
year-old boy who acts more like an 18-year-old or a
person who appears dirty and disheveled but has an
excellent vocabulary and high level of verbal
fluency.
- The behaviors the client expresses toward the test
material and the examiner often provide a
significant source of infomation. These may include
behaviors that reflect the person's level of affect,
manifest anxiety, presence of depression, or degree
of hostility. The client's role may be as an active
participant or generally passive and submissive; he
or she may be very much concerned with his or her
performance or relatively indiferent. The client's
method of problem solving is often a crucial area to
note, and it may range from careful and methodical
to impulsive and disorganized. It is also important
to pay attention to any unusual verbalizations that
the client makes about the test material. The level
of cooperation expressed by the client should be a
factor in assessing the validity of test results. Level
of cooperation is especially important for
intelligence and ability tests, because a prerequisite
is that the lient be alert and attentive, and put forth
his or her best effort. It may also be important to
note events before testing, such as situational crises,
previous night's sleep, or use of medication.
- If there are situational factors that may modify or
bring into question the test's validity, they should be
noted with statements such as "The test results
should be viewed with caution because.. . "or The
degree of maladjustment indicated on the test scores
may represent an exaggeration of the client's usual
level of functioning due to conditions surrounding
the test administration." Often the most important
way to determine test validity in relationship to the
client is through a careful look at the client's
behaviors relating to the tests and his or her life
situation before testing.
- Behavioral observation usually should be kept
concise, specific, and relevant. If a descriptions
does not allow for some insight about the person or
demonstrate his or her uniqueness, it should not be
included. Thus, if a behavior is normal or average,
it is usually not important to discuss other than
briefly mention that the person had, for example, an
average level of cooperation, alertness, or anxiety.
The focus, then should be on those client behaviors
that create a unique impression. This section
usually not exceeded one paragraph. However, in
some instances, there may be considerable relevant
information that would require two or three
paragraphs. The relative importance of this section
in relation to the overall report can be quite varied.
Sometimes behavioral observations can be almost
as important as the test results; at otherb times, the
description might consist of a few minor
observations.
- Clinicians who prefer behavioral assessment
procedures might wish to emphasize the Behavioral
Observation section by providing more in-depth
descriptions of relevant antecedents. In addition,
consequent events surrounding the problem
behavior itself might be evaluated in relationship to
their onset, duration, frequency, and intensity.
Specific strategies of behavioral assessment include
narrative descriptions, interval recording , event
recording, ratings recordings, and self-report
inventories.
- Some examiners may wish to summarize
information from a Mental Status Examination in
the Behavioral Observations section. In these cases,
there is necessarily a movement away from
concrete descriptions of behaviors to inferences
about these behaviors. For example, a clinician may
infer, based on behavioral observations, that the
client was oriented to time and place. Additional
categories might include verbalizations,
psychomotor activity, affect, thought
processes/contents, and insight judgment.
- Another exception to adhering closely to concrete
behavioral descriptions is that, at the end of the
Behavioral Observations section, it is customary
and appropriate to include a statement indicating
the validity of the assessment procedures. For
example, it might be something like: "Given the
consistency and detail of the client's responses, the
client's responses, the client's high level of
motivation, and validity indicators on the MMP1-2,
the assessment appears to be an accurate assessment
of this person's current level of functioning."
 IV. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
(also referred to as Relevant History)
- The write-up of a client's background information
should include aspects of the person's history that
are relevant to the problem the person is
confronting and to the interpretation of the test
results. The history, along with the referral
question, should also place the problem and the test
results into the proper context. In accomplishing
these goals, the clinician does not need to include a
long, involved chronology with a large number of
details but ratheř should be as succinct as possible.
- Some practitioners even urge that the background
information section be kept to one concise
paragraph, particularly in medical settings, where
there is considerable emphasis on conciseness. In
selecting which areas to include and which to
exclude, a clinician must continually evaluate these
areas in relationship to the overall purpose of the
report. It is difficult to specify precise rules because
each individual is different.
- Furthermore, each clinician's own personal and
theoretical orientation alters the types of
information he or she feels are significant. Whereas
one clinician may primarily describe interpersonal
relationships, another may focus on intrapsychic
variables, birth order, early childhood events, or
details about the client's current situation and
environment. The key Is to maintain a fiexible
onentation so that the interviewer is aware of the
most significant elements in the client's life. In
general, the end product should include a good
history of the problem along with areas such as
important life events, family dynamics, work
history, personal interests, daily activities, and past
and present interpersonal relationships.
- When describing a client's background, it is
important to specify where the information came
from (The client reported that. ). This is particularly
essential when there may be some question
regarding the truth of the client's self-reports or
when the history has been obtained from multiple
sources.
- Usually a history begins with a brief summary of
the client's general background. This can be
followed by sections describing family background,
personal history, medical history, history of the
problem, and current life situation.
- The extent to which a clinician decides to pursue
and discuss a client's family background is subject
to a great degree of variability. The primary
purpose of such information is to help determine
causal factors, what variables might help maintain
relevant behaviors, and the extent to which the
family should be used as either a focus of systemic
intervention or as social Support At a minimum, a
brief description of the client's parents is waranted;
this description may include whether they are
separated/divorced and alive/deceased, and their
socio economic level, occupation, cultural
bakground, and health status.
- Sometimes it is important to include information
about the emotional and medical backgrounds of
parents and close relatives, because certain
disorders occur with greater frequency in some
families than in the overall population. A
description of the general atmosphere of the family
is often helpful, including the client's characteristic
feelings toward family members and perceptions of
their relationships with each other. Descriptions of
common family activities and whether the family
lived in an urban or a rural environment might also
be included. If one or both parents died while the
client was young, the clinician can still discuss the
speculations the client has about his or her parent(s)
and can describe the significant persons for the
client as he or she was grOwing up.
- The client's personal history can include
information from infancy, early childhood,
adolescence, and adulthood. Each stage has typical
areas to investigate and problems to be aware of.
- The infomation from infancy usually either
represents vague recollections or is secondhand
infomation derived from parents or relatives. Thus,
it may be subject to a great deal of exaggeration and
fabrication. If possible, it may be helpful to have
details verified by additional sources, such as
through direct questioning of parents or
examination developmental limestones may all be
important areas to discuss. Often it is important to
include a client's early medical history since
physical and psychological difficulties can be
closely linked. medical records. The degree of
contact with parents, family atmosphere, and
- The most sigificant tasks during childhood are the
development of peer relationships and adjustment
to school.
What was the quality of the client's early
friendships?
How much timo did the client spend with others?
Were there any fights or rebelious acting out?
Was the client basicaly a loner, or did he or she
have a large number of friends?
Did the porson join clubs and have group activities,
hobbies, or extra-curricular interests?
- In the academic area, it may be of interest to note
the usual grades, best or worst subjects, and
whether the client skipped or repeated grades.
Furthermore, what was his or her relationship with
parents, and did the parents restrict activities or
allow relative freedom?
- During adolescent years, clients typically face
further academic, psychological, and social
adjustments to high school. Of particular
importance are their reactions to puberty and earily
heterosexual relationships. Did they have difficuties
with sex role identity, abuse drugs or alcohol, or
rebel against authority figures?
- The adult years center around occupational
adjustment and establishing marital and family
relationships.
- During early adulthood, what were clients'
feelings and aspirations regarding marriage?
What were their career goals? Did they effectively
establish independence from parents?
As adulthood progressed, were there any significant
changes in the quality of their close relationships,
employrment, or expression of sexuality?
What activities did they engage in during their
leisure time ?
- As clients age, they face challenges in adapting to
their declining abilities and limitations, and
developing a meaningful view of their lives.
- Although the personal history can help place the
problem in its proper context and explain certain
causative factors, it is usually essential to spend
some time focusing directly on the problem itself.
Of particular importance are the initial onset and
the nature of the symptoms. From the time the
client first noticed these symptoms, have there been
any changès in frequency, intensity, or expression?
If a formal diagnosis will be made, it is particularly
important to have a clear description of symptom
pattems to substantiate such diagnosis. It might also
be important to determine whether there were any
previous attempts at treatment, and, if so, the
outcome. In some reports, the history of the
problem is the longest and most important part of
the history section.
- The family and personal histories usually reveal
information relating to the predisposing cause of a
client's difficulties, whereas the history of the
problem often provides an elaboration of the
precipitating and reinforcing causes. To complete
this picture, the clinician also has to develop a sense
of the factors currently reinforcing the problem.
Doing this requires information relating to the
client's life situation. Significant areas may be the
client's life stresses, including changes that he or
she is confronting. In addition, what are the nature
of and resources provided by his or her family and
work relationships? Finally, it is important to
understand the alternatives and decisions that the
client is facing.
- The interview data and neuropsychological test
results from a psychologist should ideally be
combined with and complement medical records,
such as CT scans and neurological exams. Although
the preceding topics are by no means exhaustive,
they present some of the more important areas to
consider when taking a history related to possible
neuropsychological deficit.
- Although the quantity of such information may
seem immense, the history format described here is
only a general guideline. At times, it may be
appropriate to ignore many of the areas mentioned
earlier and focus on others. In condensing the
client's history into the report, it is important to
avoid superfluous material and continually question
whether the information obtained is relevant to the
general purpose of the report Thus, the History
section should include all relevant information but
should not be overly inclusive.
 V. TEST RESULTS
- For many reports, it may not be necessary to list
test scores. Some practitioners do not actually give
test scores because they might be misinterpreted
and give the impression that the report is too
data/test oriented. However, it is recommended that,
at some point, test scores be included, especially in
legal reports or when professionals who are
knowledgeable about testing will read the report.
One option is to include test scores in an appendix.
This method has the advantage of removing
potentially distracting technical detail from the
narrative portion of the report.
- If actual test scores are included, standard (rather
than raw) scores should be the mode of
presentation. Referral sources have consistently
indicated that percentiles are preferred over other
types of standard scores (Finn et al., 2001). Because
various tests use somewhat different types of
standard scores, it is recommended that each set of
test scores include both the standard score and
percentiles. Clinicians may also wish to indicate the
relative magnitude of the relevant scores ("Very
high," "High," etc.) or whether the scores exceed
some clinically meaningful cutoff.
- Intelligence test scores are traditionally listed and,
for the Wechsler Scales, should include IQ scores
(Verbal, Performance, Full Scale 1Q), index scores,
and subtest scaled scores.
Subtests that have been found to be significant
strengths should be indicated with ans next to the
subtest score and significant weaknesses should be
indicated with a "W. This listing is often followed
by other cognitive test results, such as the Bender or
Wechsler Memory Scale-ll. Bender results can
simply be summarized by a statement such as:
Empirically not in the organic range, although there
were difficulties organizing the designs and
frequent erasures." MMPI-2/MMPI-A results are
often listed in the order in which they appear on the
profile sheet.
- Objective personality tests (MMPI-2, MMPI-A,
CPI) should always be referred to by their
standardized (usually T) and not their raw Scores.
Whereas it is considerably more difficult to
adequately describe the scores on projective tests.
The Rorschach summary sheet can be inciuded, but
the results from projective drawings and the
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) are usually
omitted. Should a clinician wish to summarize
projective drawings, a brief statement is usually
sufficient, such as "Human figure drawings were
miniaturized and immature, with the inclusion of
two transparencies." Likewise, TAT "scores" can be
Summarzed by a brief statement of the most
common themes encountered in the stories.
 VI. IMPRESSIONS AND
INTERPRETATIONS
(also referred to as Discussion)
- This section can be considered the main body of
the report. It requires that the main findings of the
evaluation be presented in the fom of integrated
hypotheses. The areas Iscussed and the style of
presentation vary acoording to the personal
orientation of the clinician, the purpose of testing,
the individual being tested, and the types of tests
administered. As emphasized previously,
assessment data should be organized according to
different integrated topics. In contrast, a test-by-test
presentation is strongly discouraged.
- To organize the information from an assessment,
Klopfer (1960) recommends using a grid with the
topics for consideration in the left column with the
assessment results in the top row. This format
enables the practitioner to extract essential findings
from the data and list them in the appropriate box
where the topic and method of assessment intersect.
When actually writing the Impressions and
Interpretations section of the report, the clinician
can then review all findings in a particular topic and
summarize them on the report.
- All inferences made in the Impressions and
Interpretations section should be based on an
integration of the test data, behavioral observations,
relevant history, and additional available data. The
conclusions and discussion may relate to areas such
as the client's cognitive strengths and weaknesses,
emotional difficulties, coping style, self-concept,
dynamics behind the presenting problem,
interpersonal relationships, or client strengths.
- A client's intellectual abilities often provide a
general frame of reference for a variety of
personality variables. For this reason, a discussion
of the client's intellectual abilities usually occurs
first. Although this should include a general
estimate of the person's intelligence as indicated by
1Q scores, it is also important to provide a
discussion of more specific abilities.
- This discussion may include an analysis of areas
such as memory, problem salving, abstract
reasoning, concentration, and fund of information.
If the report will be read by persons who are
familiar with test theory, it may be sufficient to
include 1Q scores without an explanation of their
normative significance. In most reports, it is helpful
to include the 1Q scores as well as the percentile
ranking and general intellectual classification (high
average, superior, etc.).
- Some additional common and important topics are
the client's level of psychopathology, dependency,
hostility, sexuality, interpersonal relationships,
diagnosis, and behavioral predictions. A client's
level of psychopathology refers to the relative
severity of the disturbances he or she is
experiencing. It is important to distinguish whether
the results are characteristic of normal, outpatients,
or inpatients, and whether the difficulties are long
term or a reaction to current life stresses.
Does the client use behaviors that are adaptive or
those that are maladaptive and self- defeating?
Within the area of ide ation, are there persistent
thoughts, delusions, hallucinations, loose
associations, blocking of ideas, preservation, or
illogical thoughts?
- It may also be important to assess the adequacy of
the client's judgments and relative degree of insight.
Can the person effectively make plans, understand
the impact he or she has on others, and judge the
appropriateness of his or her behavior?
- Usually a client's greatest conflicts center on
dificulties with dependency, hostility, and sexuality.
In discussing a clients dependency, it is important
to discuss the strength of these needs, the typical
roles played with others, and current or past
significant relationships.
In what ways does the client defend him- or herself
against, or cope with, feelings of dependency?
- This evaluation may include a discussion of
defense mechanisms, thoughts, behaviors, feelings,
or somatic responses as they relate to dependency.
The relative intensity of a client's hostility is also
important.
Is the expression of hostility indirect or is it direct
in the form of either verbal criticisms or actual
assaultive behavior?
- If the expression of hostility is covert, it may be
the result of factors such as fear of loss of love,
retaliation, or guilt.
When the client does feel anger, what are his or her
characteristic defenses against these feelings?
- Discussing client’s characterisctics patterns and
roles in interpersonal relationships can slso be
extremely useful Often these can be discussed in
relation to the dimensions of
submissiveness/dominance and love/hate, or the
extent to which they orient themselves around the
need to be included, control others, or seek
affection.
Is their style of communicating typically guarded,
or is it open and self-disclosing to the extent that
they can discuss areas such as painful feelings and
fears?
Can they deal with specifics of a situation, or they
usually vague and general?
Do they usuually appear assertive and direct, or
passive and indirect?
- Inclusion of client strengths is becoming
increasingly prevalent and relevant. Describing a
series of client strengths helps balance out the
typically negative features that occur in many if not
most psychological reports (Synder, Ritschel, Rand,
& Berg, 2006).
- Not only can the inclusion of strengths provide
more balance, but when reports are read by clients,
it can enhance rapport between the examinee and
the mental health profession in general.
- There is also increasing research evidence that
tailoring interventions toward a person's unique
pattern of strengths can help improve outcome
(Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005).
 VII. SUMMARY AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
- The purpose of Summary subsection is to restate
succinctly the primary findings and conclusions of
the report. To do so, the practitioner must select
only the most important issues and be careful not to
overwhelm the reader with needless details.
As emphasized in the Referal Question section, a
useful strategy in the Summary section is to provide
brief bulleted/numbered answers to each of the
referral questions.
- The ultimate practical purpose of the report is
contained in the recommendations because they
suggest what steps can be taken to solve problems.
Such recommendations should be clear, practical,
and obtainable, and should relate directily for the
purpose of the report. The best reports are those that
help the referral sources and/or the clients to solve
the problems they are facing (Armengol, Moes, et
al., 2001; Brenner, 2003; Finn et al., 2001).
- To achieve this report-writing goal, the clinician
must clearly understand the problem, the best
altematives for remediation, and the resources
available in the community.
One practical implication is that writers can
improve their reports by becoming as familiar as
possible with the issues to which their reports will
be applied. An effective report must answer the
referral question and have decisional value. After
these factors have been carefully considered,
recommendations can be developed.
- There are guidelines for psychotherapy with a
focus on selecting the optimum intervention
procedures along with considerations for enhancing
the therapeutic relationship and decisions related to
case management. Often cases will require a wider
variety of recommendations than this, especially in
forensic, medical, academic, or rehabilitation
settings. These recommendations may include
treatment options, placement decisions, further
evaluation, altering the client's environment, use of
self- help resources, and miscellaneous
considerations. Clinicians may refer to Table 2 to
see if there might be additional recommendations
they would like to include in their report