Role of Forensic Psychologists - Essay Example

I would use Rorscharch’s Inkblot test which is an effective instrument for assessing personality in forensic settings. It is the best-known projective test in which a series of ten irregular but proportioned inkblot designs are shown to the subject, who is then asked to explain their understanding of it (Cordon, 2005, pp. 201–204). Subjective interpretations of the ambiguous pictures, the response time is taken and response to a picture by a subject relative to responses by other subjects would enable me to infer the thought structure and feelings.

I might also use the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2 RF), which is the latest revision of the MPPI personality tests that was released in 2003. It is popularly applied in forensic psychology as a self-report assessment of psychopathology (Goldstein, 2007, pp 73.). It consists of 567 items with true or false questions arranged on a hierarchical set of scales (Tellegan, 2003). I prefer it because its objectivity saves time and is easier to administer. It addresses adolescent problems more effectively through well-researched clinical and substance abuse measures as well.

ISSUE/IMPLICATION OF USING A TEST
Psychological tests should be appropriately selected for issues that are relevant to the plaintiff. Tests should account for the plaintiff’s language, culture, and own appropriateness to legal decision-making. Failure to regard these issues may result in unreliable assessment (Goldstein, 2007, pp 272-273).

Assignment 2:
I have chosen to respond to Sharon’s posting to industrial settings. I agree with her point that testing plays a significant role in assessing trainees and applicants and testing their knowledge and skills in this area. Her choice of Assembly and Matching test and Blueprint test are important accordingly. However, the tests chosen by my colleague are not useful in the psychological assessment of the employees as they are an assessment of job-specific skills, and do not test their mental aptitudes like working attitudes, interpersonal skills, honesty, and integrity relevant to the setting.

After the success of psychological applications in advertising and marketing, they were then applied to the industrial environment (Weiner). Approaches were used and techniques were developed by psychologists like Terman, who was asked to judge candidates for a municipal position in California.

Interpersonal skills might be assessed through interviewing candidates on how they dealt with complicated interactions in the past. Honesty and Integrity tests exist like the Hogan Personnel Selection Series scale that evaluates an employee’s hostility toward the authority and conscientiousness. They are employed for business-related reasons: to check the level of skills and competency and their level of satisfaction, which in turn help in devising future policies and strategies. They can be used to assess the individual training needs of employees so that coaching and counseling can be provided accordingly.

I would like to suggest my colleague reconsider her choices in relevance to psychological assessments in industrial settings rather than job-specific evaluations, as tested by assembly and matching blueprint tests.

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