PSY4029 Professional Issues & Practices in Psychology Lecture 3

PSY4029 Professional Issues and Practices in Psychology Lecture 3 Psychological Assessment Esther Y. Y. Lau, Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology) R. Psych (B.C., Canada); R.Clin....

PSY4029 Professional Issues and Practices in Psychology Lecture 3 Psychological Assessment Esther Y. Y. Lau, Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology) R. Psych (B.C., Canada); R.Clin.Psy (HKPS, HK) Clin.Psy. in Accredited Register (HKICP, HK) 1 Flow ⚫ Purposes of psychological assessment and Problem-solving model ⚫ Different kinds of psychological assessment ⚫ Standardization of psychological assessment ⚫ Multi-s of psychological assessment 2 Assessment vs. testing ⚫ Assessment ◦ Assessment is the systematic process of describing, collecting, recording, scoring, and interpreting empirical data on the knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs ◦ Interviews, observations, tests, questionnaires, simulations 3 Assessment vs. testing ⚫ Testing ◦ A test is used to examine someone's knowledge of something to determine what he or she knows or has learned. It measures the level of skill or knowledge that has been reached ◦ An evaluative device in which a sample of an examinee’s skill or knowledge in a specified domain is obtained and subsequently evaluated and scored using a standardized process 4 Why assess? ⚫ Problem solving ◦ Mental health ◦ Well-being ◦ Learning ◦ Work ⚫ Scientific thinking ◦ Hypothesis testing ◦ Evidence-based ◦ Evaluation ◦ Self-correcting 5 Psychology as a science ⚫ Why are these elements important? ◦ Think about the following scenario Siu Ming is constantly challenging his teacher, Mr. Leung, in class. Mr. Leung thinks that Siu Ming is such a rude student and believes that his family have not done a good job in parenting. He therefore decides to make a complain to Siu Ming’s mother. Siu Ming’s mother, however, thinks that Siu Ming is such a bright and obedient boy, and he has been behaving well at home. She therefore does not think that Mr. Leung is telling the truth. 6 Psychology as a science ⚫ The scientific method may not always result in the correct answer, but “truth is more likely to arise from error than confusion” ◦ (Sir Frances Bacon, an English philosopher) ⚫ “Without data, you are just another person with an opinion” ◦ (W. Edwards Deming, an American statistician) 7 Purposes of psychological assessment ⚫ Classification ⚫ Diagnosis ⚫ Self-knowledge ⚫ Intervention planning ⚫ Program evaluation ⚫ Research 8 Purposes of psychological assessment ⚫ When we face some problems, we would like to develop some solutions/ interventions to solve/minimize the problems ⚫ Psychological assessment serves as the link between the problem and the solution/intervention 9 Problem-solving model 1. Identify the question 2. Clarify/ obtain additional details 3. Develop hypotheses 4. Choose assessment procedures/methods 5. Conduct assessments 6. Review all data 7. Develop intervention plan 8. Implement intervention 9. Evaluate intervention 10. If no improvement observed, reassess the problem (Merrell et al., 2006) 10 Problem-solving model ⚫ Whether there exists a problem? ◦ Sometimes, what is reported as a problem is actually not a problem A teacher thinks that an adolescent boy is having ADHD because (1) he is dating someone, (2) he talks back during class ◦ Need to assess whether the problem exists in the first place 11 Systemic perspectives ⚫ Individuals are best understood when viewed in terms of the various systems within which he or she functions (within the context of their relationships and interactions with others) rather than primarily on the basis of their individual characteristics ◦ School ◦ Work ◦ Family ◦ Friends 12 Systemic perspectives 13 Problem-solving model ⚫ Why is there a problem? ◦ Suppose you have observed the adolescent boy and found that there is really a discrepancy between his actual attention level and his expected attention level, what can you say about that? The class was boring? Not interested in the subject? Didn’t have enough sleep the night before? ADHD? ◦ There can be many causes for a single observed behaviour/performance! 14 Problem-solving model ⚫ How do we solve the problem? ◦ Conduct assessments based on the hypothesized causes ◦ Develop intervention strategies based on the assessment results Identify both strengths and weaknesses of the individual Address the environmental factors ◦ Evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention 15 Flow ⚫ Purposes of psychological assessment and Problem-solving model ⚫ Different kinds of psychological assessment ⚫ Standardization of psychological assessment ⚫ Multi-s of psychological assessment 16 Different kinds of psychological assessment ⚫ Direct ◦ Information obtained directly from the individual Objective Naturalistic observation, behavioural, and ability tests ⚫ Indirect ◦ Information obtained through self-report or report from other individuals Subjective Standardized rating scales, interview 17  Different kinds of psychological assessment ⚫ Normed-referenced ◦ Norm-referenced measures compare a person’s score to the scores of the norm Example: IQ-test, depression scale 18  Different kinds of psychological assessment ⚫ Criterion-referenced ◦ Compare a person’s score against a predetermined criterion score. Example: driving test, exam 19  Direct assessments: Ability tests ⚫ Intellectual and achievement assessments ◦ Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fifth Edition (WISC-V) Ages 6 to 16 Uses normative samples to compare a child’s score of the same age Help identify giftedness, learning disabilities, or general strengths and weaknesses 20  Direct assessments: Ability tests ⚫ Total of five Primary Index Scores that make up the Full Scale IQ score ◦ Visual Spatial Index reflects the ability to understand visual details and relationships in order to solve puzzles and construct geometric designs 21  Direct assessments: Ability tests ⚫ Total of five Primary Index Scores that make up the Full Scale IQ score ◦ Fluid Reasoning Index reflects the ability to detect relationships among visual objects 22  Direct assessments: Ability tests ⚫ Total of five Primary Index Scores that make up the Full Scale IQ score ◦ Working Memory Index reflects the ability to register, maintain, and manipulate visual and auditory information ◦ Processing Speed Index reflects the speed at which a child can accurately make decisions ◦ Verbal Comprehension Index measures a child’s ability to verbally reason, which can be heavily influenced by their semantic knowledge 23 Direct assessments: Ability tests ⚫ Is the WISC-V normed-referenced or criterion-referenced? 24 Direct assessments: Ability tests ⚫ Civil Service Bureau - Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) ◦ Three 45-minute papers Use of English (UE): Language proficiency Use of Chinese (UC): Language proficiency Aptitude Test (AT): Reasoning abilities ◦ Multiple-choice format ◦ UE and UC papers are classified as Level 2, Level 1 or Fail, with Level 2 being the highest ◦ AT paper are classified as Pass or Fail 25 Direct assessments: Ability tests 26 Direct assessments: Ability tests 字詞辨識 答案 答案 字詞運用 答案 27 Direct assessments: Ability tests 28 Direct assessments: Ability tests ⚫ Is the CRE normed-referenced or criterion-referenced? 29  Direct assessments: Behavioral ⚫ Behavioural observation ◦ Observe the target behaviours in concrete, specific, and objective ways ◦ Example: measuring nail biting in school C1 C2 C3 R C4 C5 L C6 C7 Nail biting II IIII I IIII II III 30 Direct assessments: Behavioral ⚫ Functional behavioural assessment ◦ Identify the potential “causes” of problem behaviours Antecedents Consequences 31 Direct assessments: Behavioral ⚫ Functional behavioural assessment ◦ Potential causes of George’s misbehaviours? http://dese.mo.gov/special-education/effective-practices/functional-beha vioral-assessment-behavioral-intervention-plans 32 Indirect assessments: Rating scales ◦ Adaptive Behavioural Assessment System, Second Edition (ABAS-III) Assess individuals with mental retardation, learning difficulties, ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, autism, or other impairments, determine an individual's response to daily demands, develop treatment and training goals, determine eligibility for services and benefits, and assess capability of adults to live independently ◦ Children’s Depression Inventory 2nd Edition (CDI-2) Multi-rater assessment of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents from ages 7 to 17, which offers the flexibility of application in either clinical or educational settings to aid in early identification of depressive symptoms, diagnosis of Depression and related disorders, and monitoring of treatment effectiveness 33  Indirect assessments: Rating scales ⚫ Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) It is NOT a diagnostic aid for any psychological issues of states 34 Indirect assessments: Rating scales ⚫ General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) ◦ Screening device for identifying psychological distress in the general population ◦ Suitable for all ages from adolescent upwards 35 Indirect assessments: Rating scales ⚫ Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) ◦ Measure global subjective happiness 36 Indirect assessments: Rating scales ⚫ Satisfaction with Life Scale ◦ Measure global cognitive judgments of one’s life satisfaction 37  Indirect assessments: Rating scales ⚫ NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) ◦ Examines a person's Big Five personality traits Domains Facets Sample items Neuroticism Anxiety, Angry Hostility, Depression, When I’m under a great deal of stress, Self-consciousness, Impulsiveness, sometimes I feel like I’m going to Vulnerability pieces. 當我處於極大壓力，我有時會感到好 像精神崩潰似的。 Extraversion Warmth, Gregariousness, Assertiveness, I really enjoy talking to people. Activity, Excitement-Seeking, Positive 我很喜歡與別人交談。 Emotions Openness to experience Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feeling, Actions, Ideas, I have a lot of intellectual curiosity. Values 我對思想性的事充滿好奇。 Agreeableness Trust, Straightforwardness, Altruism, I would rather cooperate with others Compliance, Modesty, than compete with them. Tender-Mindedness 我寧願與人合作，多於與人競爭。 Conscientiousness Competence, Order, Dutifulness, When I make a commitment, I can Achievement Striving, Self-Discipline, always be counted on to follow through. Deliberation 當我許下承諾後，別人會相信我會把 事情辦妥。 38 Indirect assessments: Rating scales Optimism Test http://www.optimi.org/test/testopen.htm 39 Indirect assessments: Interviews ⚫ Interview ◦ “The purpose of this assessment is to find ways to help your son with his temper. I’m interested in anything you can tell me about him” ◦ “Since when did he start having temper?” ◦ “How frequent did he have his temper?” ◦ “Under what situation did he usually have his temper?” ◦ …… 40 What are the pros and cons of using ◦ Direct vs. indirect assessment ◦ Rating scales vs. interviews 41 Flow ⚫ Purposes of psychological assessment and Problem-solving model ⚫ Different kinds of psychological assessment ⚫ Standardization of psychological assessment ⚫ Multi-s of psychological assessment 42 Standardized psychological tests ⚫ Characteristics: ◦ Good statistical properties ◦ Norms and standards ◦ Standardized procedures 43 Statistical properties ⚫ Reliability ◦ The degree to which independent measurements of a given knowledge, skill, thought, emotion, or behaviour are consistent 44 Statistical properties ⚫ Validity ◦ The degree to which it measures what it is intended to measure 45 Statistical properties ⚫ Reliability ◦ Internal consistency: Cronbach’s alpha Whether different items in a scale measure the same construct ◦ Interrater reliability Whether different raters give the same rating/classification to the same response ◦ Test-retest reliability Whether a participant obtains similar scores when he/she is tested repeatedly 46 Statistical properties ⚫ Norms 47 Standardized procedures ⚫ Uniform procedures for using the assessment so that observation, administration, equipment, materials, and scoring rules will be the same for every respondent 48 Flow ⚫ Purposes of psychological assessment and Problem-solving model ⚫ Different kinds of psychological assessment ⚫ Standardization of psychological assessment ⚫ Multi-s of psychological assessment 49 Multi-’s of psychological assessment ⚫ Recall the scenario about the ‘rude’ student ◦ Siu Ming is constantly challenging his teacher, Mr. Leung, in class. Mr. Leung thinks that Siu Ming is such a rude student and believes that his family have not done a good job in parenting. He therefore decides to make a complain to Siu Ming’s mother. Siu Ming’s mother, however, thinks that Siu Ming is such a bright and obedient boy, and he has been behaving well at home. She therefore does not think that Mr. Leung is telling the truth. ◦ What are the potential reasons for his rude behaviour in class? ◦ What should we do to identify the “real” cause of his behaviours? 50 Multi-’s of psychological assessment ⚫ Information of multiple traits ⚫ Information from multiple sources ⚫ Multiple methods to acquire data ⚫ Multiple settings ⚫ Multiple time perspectives ⚫ Convergence! 51 Services from Educational Psychologists (Recap) ⚫ 1. Provide psycho-educational assessment and diagnosis for students so that parents, teachers, and other professionals can understand the students’ psychological state, learning situation as well as developmental needs in a more detailed and systematic manner. ◦ Assessing students’ needs vs diagnosis ◦ 4 Pillars of Assessment (Sattler, 2015) 52 Multi-’s of psychological assessment ⚫ How do you tease apart the different possibilities that may contribute to the boy’s rude behaviour in class? Maybe… ◦ The boy is gifted and found the class too easy ◦ He doesn’t get to express his opinion at home ◦ He learned to be rude from his mother 53 Choosing psychological assessment ⚫ Reliability and validity ⚫ Quality of assessment tools ◦ Standardization ◦ Norms ⚫ The client ◦ Age ◦ Language ◦ Special characteristics ⚫ Practitioner’s training and experience ⚫ Practical concerns 54 What are the pros and cons of using ◦ Direct vs. indirect assessment Objective vs. self-report bias Require vs. ask Duration of observation Direct assessment is not always applicable Time and ease of administration ◦ Rating scales vs. interviews Structured vs. less structured For generalization vs. contextualization Depth of the findings Inferences vs. descriptive Sample size 55