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Psychological Report
- An abstract of a sample of behavior of a patient/client derived from the results of psychological tests
- Vary brief sample of one’s behavior
- Starts with a referral source
- Psychological testing referral: Made when a specific problem appears in a person’s behavior
- Such behavior/experimental symptoms call attention (that something disturbing has happened and a personality conflict/disorder has
appeared)
- Behavioral difficulty (person displays): Usually the point at which a psychologist may be called upon to utilize psychodiagnostic
expertise to CLARIFY and LOCALIZE the underlying cause of problem
- Final report must be written: Understandable to the person reading it
- Problem of patient may be critical and referral person helping with the problem must be able to utilize the psychologist’s input
- Psychologist responsible (for testing and report): Must always respond to the needs of the patient and needs of the particular referral
source
- Psychological test report: Communication; must be written in way (corresponds to reader’s level of understanding and training)
- Report must meet the criteria: Clarity, Meaningfulness and Synthesis
Clarity of the Report Meaningfulness of the Report Synthesis of the Report
- Written in Specific language - Meaningful if: Reader finds that it is clear - Relevant synthesis/Integration: Initial
- Coherent and free of statements and understand it behavior/experiential problem of the
(uncommunicative bec too general) - Understanding: Occurs when level of patient has been given a context that
- Data presented (to be presented) can be discourse and use of language is based upon serves as a sort of map (relevant details
extensive and elaborate, students and the level that the particular referer can utilize of the problem can be made visible and
professionals: may be overwhelmed with - Goal: Always to transform related to each other)
the task of clarifying & ordering materials mystery/confusion into meaningfulness - Fundamental details (revealed during
- Reliance on style (not facilitate clearly - Words and ideas must be clear at whatever testing and interview): Encapsulated into
communicated ideas) level the report is written large concepts
- Clarity: Requires understanding and - Use of jargon and generalization: Handicaps - Then organized in relation to one
appreciation of reader’s concerns, to clarifying ideas another
transformed into presentation of report - Essential: To keep a sharp focus on the - This integration demonstrates a
- Writer: Present digestible materials subject’s specific problem presenting problem (only part of larger
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(shorter sentences) - Detailing the exact factors involved in the system) includes all aspects and levels of
- Raw data: Reflects a complex and person’s functioning personality (not immediately evident)
mysterious world - Portrait has clear meaning will be developed - Understood only from presenting
- Test report turns mystery of data and - Uniqueness of the person being tested symptoms
symptoms into a recognizable form (clear emerges in the synthesis of the report - Reveals meaning of the presenting
statements) symptoms and provides information
- Logical progression of ideas: Instrumental, (guidelines) in the management and
meaningful communication between tester treatment of the overall problem
and referrer - Report: COMMUNICATION about logic of
- Important to remember: Dealing with real a specific personality
people whose problems need to be - Aspects of personality are logically
meaningfully understood related
- Structure of the report must form
relevant synthesis
- Parts of the report will reflect different
aspects of the S AME PERSONALITY
Context of Referral
- Reason for referral: Symptomatic behavior that the subject displays
- May be acting out behavior (school, home, job)
- Bizarre behavior/behavior reflecting anxiety conditions
- Problematic behavior may be causing personal difficulty or its effects may be disturbing a larger system (classroom, workplace, family)
- Focus: nature and extent of the tension that is involved in the symptom
- Psychological report requested: Relevant info can be marshaled. This info leads to the implementation of therapeutic helping
procedures of further diagnostics measures
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Style Terminology
- General Purpose: Provide information that will be MOST - No specific rules to follow in determining how much info to
HELPFUL in meeting the needs of the client include in a report
- Clinician must strike a balance between providing too much - General guideline: Estimate h ow much information a reader
information and providing too little can realistically be expected to assimilate
- General rule: Information should only be included if it SERVES - If too many details are given, information may begin to
TO INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CLIENT become poorly defined and vague
- Basic guidelines for deciding what to include relate to: Needs - Therefore, lack impact of usefulness
of the referral setting, background of the readers, purpose of - Focus on and discuss only: Areas that are MOST RELEVANT to
testing, relative usefulness of the info and whether the info the purpose of the report
describes unique characteristics of a person
- After general guidelines have been taken into account, the
next step: Focus on and organize the info derived from the
tests
- General rule: Focus on the client’s unique method of
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psychological functioning
- Reader is not concerned so much HOW THE CLIENT IS
SIMILAR to average person as in WHAT WAYS HE/SHE IS
DIFFERENT
- Common error: Inclusion of generalized statements (so
vague) that they could apply to the majority of the
population
Feedback
- During earlier days of psychological assessment, examiners often kept psychological assessments carefully concealed from the client
- Underlying belief were TOO COMPLEX and MYSTERIOUS for the client to adequately understand
- Current practices provide client: Clear, direct and accurate feedback regarding the results of an evaluation
PLQ
Levels of Interpretation
- Minimal amount of any sort of - Clinician can deductively arrive at - Goal: Develop a coherent and
interpretation decisions as to the further needs and inclusive theory of the individual life
- Minimal concern with intervening treatment of patients (person situation) or “working
processes 2 Kinds of Interpretation: image” of patient
- Data are primarily about treated 1. Descriptive Generalizations - General theoretical orientation:
(Sampling/Correlate way) ; NEVER as - Generalize to more inclusive Clinician attempts a full-scale
“SIGNS” (still largely behavioral and exploration of the individual’s
- No concern with underlying descriptive categories) personality, psychosocial situation
constructs (to explain why “input” - Observe instances: Slow and developmental history
and “output” events are related bodily movements and - Various facts of the individual which
- Found in large-scale selection testing excessive delays in answering were earlier described in the outline
- Given a validated aptitude test and questions of case study
jobs offered to those above critical - From this infer that the - At the fullest: Output would be a
score and denied those who fall patient is “retarded psycho-biography of a sort
below it motorically” - Make clear what the patient is, how
- For psychometric approaches - “Depressed”: constant sense he came to be, how he might act
- Little or no skilled clinical data of futility and under specific conditions and how he
collection/interpretation is needed discouragement might change (available clinical
2. Hypothetical Construct: The interventions)
assumption of an inner state which
goes logically beyond the description
of visible behavior
- Causal conditions, related
personality traits and
behaviors
- Allow prediction of future
events
- Movement from description
to construction
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- (sense of clinical
interventions)
Information-overload Overinterpretation
- Interpretations should emerge as evidence converges from - Interpret assessment material and report on the patients
many sources without further checking on the ACCURACY of their
- Different responses and score of the same tests, responses of STATEMENTS
different tests, self-report, observations - Information between YOU and the RELEVANT OTHERS
- Particularly for interpretations at higher levels, supportive - Verify statements made by patients
evidence is REQUIRED
- Results from lack of tests, lack of responses
- Information between YOU and the CLIENT
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- Perfectly possible to make correct statements which are - Human personality is organized and integrated
ENTIRELY WORTHLESS - Usually HIERARCHICAL SYSTEM
- This is because they could apply to ANYONE under MOST - Central importance: Understand which facts of the
CONDITIONS personality are most central and which are peripheral
- “Aunt Fanny Syndrome”/ “PT Barnum Effect” - Needs subserve others and how defensive, coping and ego
- What makes the person unique functions are organized (understanding personality is
- Both patients are anxious; how does one patient manifest his achieved)
anxiety - Over-cautiousness, insufficient knowledge/lack of a
theoretical framework revealed in contradictory
interpretations made side by side
- Someone CANNOT be called BOTH DOMINEERING and
SUBMISSIVE
Overpathologizing Over-psychologizing
- Always highlights: NEGATIVE not the positive aspect of - Giving of interpretation where there is none
behavior - Scratching of hand, anxious, itchy
- Emphasizes: WEAKNESS rather strengths of a person - Avoid GENERALIZED INTERPRETATIONS of OVERT
- Goal: BALANCE between the positive and negative BEHAVIORS
- Recommended approach: Sandwich method - Must probe into the meaning/motivations behind observed
(Positive-Negative-Positive) behaviors
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Schematization
- All humans have a LIMITED CAPACITY TO PROCESS INFORMATION and to FORM CONCEPTS
- Result: Individual schematized and simplified (catering to one/few salient and dramatic and pathological characteristics)
- Resulting interpretations: Too organized and consistent and person emerges as 2-dimensional creature
- Tolerate complexity and deal at one one time with more data than he can comfortably handle
Industrial Clinical
e. Problems of poor reports: Vague generalization, overqualification, clinging to the immediate data, stating the obvious and describing
stereotypes
f. Validate statements with actual behavioral responses
g. Avoid, use of qualities such as “it appears”, “tends to”; uncertainties
h. Avoid using technical terms. Present them in layman’s language