Week 6 paper
A psychological assessment report is created by psychology professionals to inform groups or individuals of the assessments appropriate for their current needs. This type of report also includes a summary of the services provided to these groups or individuals. This evaluation is used by the various entities to assess basic needs, competencies, preferences, skills, traits, dispositions, and abilities for different individuals in a variety of settings.
Psychological reports vary widely depending on the psychology professional creating it and the needs being assessed. Some of the psychology professionals who create this type of report include counselors, school psychologists, consultants, psychometricians, or psychological examiners. This type of report may be as short as three pages or as long as 20 or more pages depending on the needs of the stakeholders. Many reports include tables of scores that are attached either in an appendix or integrated into the report. Despite the many variations in assessment reports, most include the same essential information and headings.
Students will choose one of the personality assessment scenarios from the discussions in Weeks Two, Three, or Four to use as the basis of this psychological assessment report. Once the scenario has been chosen, students will research a minimum of four peer-reviewed articles that relate to and support the content of the scenario and the report as outlined below. The following headings and content must be included in the report:
The Reason for Referral and Background Information
In this section, students will describe the reasons for the referral and relevant background information for all stakeholders from the chosen personality assessment scenario.
Assessment Procedures
In this section, students will include a bulleted list of the test(s) and other assessment measures recommended for the evaluation of the given scenario. In addition to the assessment(s) initially provided in the personality assessment scenario from the weekly discussion, students must include at least three other measures appropriate for the scenario.
Immediately following the bulleted list, students will include a narrative description of the assessments. In the narrative, students will examine and comment on the major theoretical approaches, research methods, and assessment instruments appropriate for the situation and stakeholder needs. In order to defend the choice of recommended assessments, students will evaluate current research in the field of personality theories and provide examples of how these assessments are valid for use in the chosen scenario. For additional support of these recommended assessment measures, students will evaluate the standardization, reliability and validity, and cultural considerations present in these personality assessments that make them the most appropriate tools for the given scenario. Students will conclude the narrative by assessing types of personality measurements and research designs often used in scenarios like the one chosen and providing a rationale for why some of those assessments were not included.
General Observations and Impressions
In this section, students will describe general observations of the client during the assessment period provided in the chosen personality assessment scenario and explain whether the client’s behavior might have had a negative impact on the test results. Students will analyze and comment on how the APA’s Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct affected the implementation of the personality assessment during the initial process. Based on the observations and analysis, students will assess the validity of the evaluation and make a recommendation for or against the necessity for additional testing.
Test Results and Interpretations
In this section, students will analyze the results of the assessment provided in the chosen personality assessment scenario. Based on the score, students will interpret the personality factors (conscientiousness, openness, emotional stability, introversion, extroversion, work drive, self-directedness, etc.) that are present.
Note: Typically, this section reports test results and is the longest section of a psychological assessment report because the results of all the tests administered are analyzed and reported. Some psychologists report all test results individually, while others may integrate only a portion of the test results. However, in this report, only the assessment presented in the chosen personality assessment scenario will be included.
Summary and Recommendations
In this section, students will summarize the test results. They will provide a complete explanation for the evaluation, the procedures and measures used, and the results and include any recommendations translating the evaluation into strategies and suggestions to support the client. Finally, students will provide any conclusions and diagnostic impressions drawn from the previous sections of the report.
Pathbrite Portfolio
The Masters of Arts in Psychology program is utilizing the Pathbrite portfolio tool as a repository for student scholarly work in the form of signature assignments completed within the program. After receiving feedback for this Psychological Assessment Report, please implement any changes recommended by the instructor, go to Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and upload the revised Psychological Assessment Report to the portfolio. Use the Pathbrite Quick-Start Guide (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. to create an account if you do not already have one. The upload of signature assignments will take place after completing each course. Be certain to upload revised signature assignments throughout the program as the portfolio and its contents will be used in other courses and may be used by individual students as a professional resource tool. See the Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. website for information and further instructions on using this portfolio tool.
Writing the Psychological Assessment Report
The report:
Must be six to ten double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a title page with the following:
Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must include the required headings and content as listed above.
Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
Must utilize assessment manuals as necessary to support the inclusion and results of the assessments.
Must use a minimum of four peer-reviewed sources, at least two of which must be from the Ashford University Library.
Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a separate reference page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
requirements
school paper school psy
Case scenario: Jane’s Psychological evaluation
The personality assessment instrument used in Jane’s scenario is that of a psychological evaluation. The goal of this clinical evaluation is to examine the patient’s current state of mental well-being as well as the extent to which her condition calls for medical intervention. The abbreviated assessment results from the recommended assessments were based on adjustment levels, symptoms of major depression, a perception of the environment or people, how she reacted to stress, self-esteem and emotional control, social relationships and psychological resources as well as diagnostic impressions (Metrics, 1996).
Reliability, validity, ethical and cultural considerations
Personality assessment instruments measure behaviour and as a result, reliability is often attached to the consistency of test results on the same client (in this case, Jane) when tested for the second time (Poston & Hanson, 2010). Validity, on the other hand, is a checklist of how the test conducted is able to meet the set objectives. This is done through external, independent criteria of what is expected of a particular test. The ability to delineate conditions that make it possible to make or not make trustworthy descriptive conditions remains aloof (Poston & Hanson, 2010).
The methods used in the case scenario have constraints, like the freedom of the subject to manipulate responses to tests or questions towards their desired output (faking the test results). Some tests like social relations and the MMPI-2 are effective in a group but might pose some significant ethical threats to the validity of the tests when decisions have to be made about a person based on personality assessments. Subjective judgment while formulating or selecting test criteria is another ethical consideration likely to have a bearing on the validity of the assessment, for instance, a criterion of comparing psychiatric patients and non-institutionalized individuals.
One instrument that could be added to enhance validity is the use of constructive validity in testing innate traits like intelligence. This method provides evidence that embodies the validity of a theoretical ideation of personality.
References
Poston, J. M., & Hanson, W. E. (2010). Meta-analysis of psychological assessment as a therapeutic intervention. Psychological Assessment, 22(2), 203.
Metrics, H. (1996). Jung Typology Test.
Solution Preview
Week 6 Paper
Introduction
A psychological assessment report is designed by professionals in psychology to inform relevant stakeholders. Professionals that make assessment reports include counselors, school psychologists, and psychological examiners. The report helps the interested entities to assess the competencies, needs, skills, traits, and preferences of individuals in various settings.
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