Psychological Assessment & Holland's Model

Traditional vs. Behavioral Approaches to Psychological Assessment

• Traditional methods use subjective interpretation and clinical judgment
• Behavioral approaches use observable behaviors and empirical data
• Traditional assessment is complex, indirect, and extraneous to treatment
• Behavioral assessment is direct, observable, and quantifiable
• Behavioral assessments use observations, self-reports, parental, staff, sibling, and judge ratings
• Structured and semi-structured interviews are helpful in behavioral assessment
• Nonverbal behavior is also assessed with tools like the Facial Action Coding System that catalogs 46 action units in the face

Holland's Occupational Model (RIASEC)

• Individuals and work environments fit into six categories: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional
• People are most satisfied when personality aligns with their work environment
• Self-Directed Search helps evaluate interests and abilities and can locate 1300 occupations
• Vocational Preference Inventory is reluably test-retest, research shows some validity, but is not well supported by job satisfaction
• Strong Interest Inventory & Strong Interest-II evaluate personal work style, learning environment, leadership style, and risk-taking
• Strong Vocational Evaluation has good short-term reliability, but is less stable for teens
• Kuder General Interest Survey measures educational and vocational goals in adolescents across 10 broad scales

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

• MBTI assesses personality across four dimensions
• Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I): Directing energy outwardly vs. inwardly
• Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N): Perceiving information through senses and reality vs. patterns and possibilities
• Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F): Making decisions based on logic and objectivity vs. values and empathy
• Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P): Preferring a structured vs. flexible and spontaneous outer life

Interviews and Biodata in Personnel Selection

• Biodata includes background and life history, ranging from dates of employment to subjective preferences
• Biodata assesses temperament, work conditions, values, skills, aptitudes, and abilities
• Biodata may be a more valid predictor of occupational success than personality scales
• Structured interviews with standardized questions and trained interviewers can improve validity
• Biographical data is sourced from an important source of information and past behavior predicting future behavior
• Empirical keying discriminates successful vs. unsuccessful groups via age, marital status, education, etc.
• Biodata has similar validity in comparison to cognitive ability tests
• Asking illegal questions, social desirability, and faking data are some weaknesses
• Structured interviews improve reliability and validity by using problem-solving and hypothetical scenarios
• Interviews aid in selling the candidate, evaluating their fit, and provides personal contact

Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery

• It is a comprehensive set of neuropsychological tests to assess brain function
• Includes the Category Test (abstract reasoning), Trail Making Test (attention, sequencing, and motor speed), and Finger Tapping Test (motor speed)
• The Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery (Gold Standard) includes:
  • Seashore Rhythm Test
  • Finger Tapping Test
  • Trail making
    • Assesses scanning ability, mental flexibility and speed, connecting numbers or letters, recognizing symbolic significance of numbers
    • Involves both left and right hemispheres and assesses number, spatial, and language
  • Tactile Form Recognition Test asks an individual to identify a shape by touch
  • Sensory-Perceptual Exam asks to identify touch and sounds
  • Finger-Tip Writing Perception Test identifies numbers written on fingertip
• Supplementary tests include WAIS and Wechsler memory scale

Establishing Reliability of a Test

• Reliability refers to the consistency of a test
• Myths About Alpha:
  • Alpha is a fixed property and can depend on the sample being tested
  • Alpha measures internal consistency and is affected by other factors
  • Bigger the better, which is not true
  • Alpha ranges between 0 and 1
• Test-retest reliability assesses consistency over time
• Internal consistency reliability assesses the consistency of items within the test
• Methods for establishing reliability include test-retest, parallel forms, and internal consistency

Executive Functions

• Executive functions are higher-order cognitive processes to control and regulate behavior such as planning, working memory, and inhibitory control
• The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test assesses cognitive flexibility
• The Stroop test assesses inhibitory control
• The Tower of Hanoi assesses planning and problem-solving

Rorschach Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation

• Administered by presenting ten inkblots, one at a time
• The examinee describes what they see in each blot
• The examiner records responses verbatim and notes observations
• Scoring categorizes responses based on location, determinants, content, and originality
• Interpretation analyzes response patterns to infer personality traits, emotional functioning, and thought processes

MMPI (II, III) and CPI Comparison

• Both MMPI and CPI are personality inventories
• MMPI primarily focuses on psychopathology and clinical disorders
• CPI measures more normal personality traits and interpersonal behavior
• MMPI-3 uses a new normative sample that reflects current US demographics
• MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF uses older normative data
• MMPI-3 includes new scales assessing disordered eating, compulsivity, impulsivity, and self-importance
• MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF has restructured scales
• MMPI-3 features a new item pool with 72 new items, while MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF items were embedded within the MMPI-2
• MMPI-3 is considered clinically less rich than the original MMPI-2
• MMPI-2 is considered more subtle and clinically sensitive than the MMPI-3