PSY 475 Psychological Tests and Measurements
March 31, 2014
1. What are at least two ethical issues associated with psychological testing? What impact do these issues have on the field of psychological testing?
Obtaining informed
consent is perhaps one of the most important ethical principles related to
testing. Informed consent is a voluntary authorization by a patient, client, or
subject for assessment. In the case of a child or incapacitated person, a
parent or legal guardian is to provide such consent to assessment (Hogan,
2007). One concern related to obtaining informed consent is a participant’s
knowledge about what the assessment involves; if a party is legally mandated to
have assessments, according to Hogan (2007), it is the responsibility of the
psychologist to disclose the nature and purpose of the assessment. Whereas,
someone who is applying for a job or completing a college application provides
what is considered implied consent.
Maintaining
confidentiality would also be considered one of the top ethical principles
and can also have legal ramifications for a breach of confidentiality according
to the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA), as mentioned in question two.
Regardless, confidentiality is written into the American Psychological
Association’s (APA, 2014) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct;
Standard 4.01: Privacy and Confidentiality, and reads:
“Psychologists have a primary obligation and take
reasonable precautions to protect confidential information obtained through or
stored in any medium, recognizing that the extent and limits of confidentiality
may be regulated by law or established by institutional rules or professional
or scientific relationship” (para. 1).
What that means for the field of
psychological testing is that special care must be taken when working in
training settings and with non-client volunteers to eliminate the possibility
of invasions of privacy and the revelation of sensitive information without the
consent of the patient (Rupert, Kozlowski, Hoffman, Daniels, & Piette, 1999).
2. What are at least two legal issues associated with psychological testing? How do these issues affect the field of psychological testing?
Equal
Protection under section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States
Constitution was passed by congress on June 13, 1866 and ratified on July 9,
1868 and reads:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United
States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United
States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws” (Cornell University Law School, n.d. para. 1).
Psychological testing can help
to establish whether or not a defendant has the legal right to stand trial. As
explained by Boch (1994), the courts need to determine if a defendant has the minimum
competency required; such as a factual understanding of proceedings, the
present ability to consult with his or her attorney, and the ability to conduct
him or herself in a trial; thus a psychological examination is given to
determine such standards in an attempt to provide a mentally incapacitated
persons equal protections of defense.
Privacy, as
filed under the HIPPA laws “...are quite consistent with the ethical principles
regarding confidentiality...” (Hogan, 2007, p. 605). However, unauthorized
disclosures can also carry legal consequences such as “disciplinary action and
professional sanctions by the [APA]…,” removal of licensure, and even a legal
or civil action suit brought on by the client or his or her family (Shah, 1970,
p. 160). As for the privacy of psychological test material, Shah (1970)
indicates, that while the client may be the owner of and have the legal right
to obtain the actual test, “the psychologist has the obligation to maintain his
records in such a manner that there is no reasonable chance of their getting
lost, stolen, or falling into the hands of unauthorized persons” in essence
protecting the privacy of his or her clients (p. 160). However, privilege and privacy should not
be confused when it comes to the information obtained from research subjects “[t]hese
statutes generally indicate that the privilege to withhold information may be
asserted by the person giving the information as well as the government” (Shah,
1970, p. 163). However, only the person providing the information can provide
consent to release the information to outside parties (e.g., other medical
doctors or insurance providers).
Privacy and equal protection are but two legal guidelines
in which the field of psychological testing draws on to maintain higher
standards of ethical behavior when handling sensitive, personal, and often life
altering information. Without these guidelines it would be difficult to
maintain equality or fairness in seeking justice through the legal system.
3. Which court case do you feel has had the largest impact on the field of psychological testing? Why?
Ford v.
Wainwright
Regardless
of ones stance on the death penalty, prior to the 1986 Ford v. Wainwright case,
mental competency was determined by a panel of three psychiatrists via a “one
half hour interview…[performed] in the prison courtroom…,” which, quite frankly
leads to questionable validity factors (apa.org. 1986, p. 23). As previously
mentioned in question two regarding legal issues associated with psychological
testing, equal protection offers people standing trial due process for purposes
of determining competency; this case also brings forth the need for condemned
prisoners of questionable mental competency to require accurate and reliable
fact-finding to determine his or her minimum level of competency.
As part
of such fact-finding, the APA and other amici parties urged the Court’s
recognition, as a part of due process, to allow psychological professionals to
conduct appropriate examinations and evaluative assessments in determining the
condemned persons present competency; said standards “require appropriate
physical examinations and certain standard psychological test batteries before
rendering an opinion on an individual’s mental competency” (apa.org, 1986, p. 26).
Thus setting a precedence for all cases to follow that someone who is to be
executed should fully comprehend that which is about to take place because someone
who is determined to be insane or incompetent cannot fully appreciate or suffer
the extent of the sentence to which he or she have been given. As indicated in
the case records, to execute someone in such a state “fails to meet the
heightened standards of procedural fairness…” not to mention being inhumane (apa.org,
1986, p. 30).
References
APA. (2014). Ethical principles of psychologists and code
of conduct: Including 2010 amendments. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx?item=7
apa.org. (1986). Ford v. Wainwright. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/about/offices/ogc/amicus/ford.pdf
Boch, B. R. (1994). Fourteenth
amendment--the standard of mental competency to waive constitutional rights
versus the competency standard to stand trial. Journal of Criminal Law &
Criminology, 84(4), 883. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218395211?accountid=458
Cornell University Law School.
(n.d.). 14th Amendment.
Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv
Hogan, T. P. (2007). Psychological testing: A practical
introduction (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley
Rupert, P. A., Kozlowski, N. F., Hoffman, L. A., Daniels, D. D.,
& Piette, J. M. (1999). Practical and ethical issues in teaching
psychological testing. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 30(2),
209-214. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.30.2.209
Shah, S. A. (1970). Privileged
communications, confidentiality, and privacy: Privacy. Professional
Psychology, 1(3), 243-252. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0029631
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