Objective vs Projective - Coursework Example

Ethical standards and psychological assessment Psychology Introduction In psychology there are specific guidance and general principles that help psychologist use in ethical sound assessments. As in Keith’s case there are a number of ethical concerns he needs to consider when dealing with an adolescent female as he applies the MMPI-A method. According to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists & Code of Conduct (APA, 2010), (which is hereafter refer to as Ethics code; APA, 2010) the first ethical standard Keith should consider is Standard 2 which stipulates that he should practice within boundaries of competence regardless of his role.

Standard 3, i.e. human relations provide guidance on any unfair discrimination of any sort bases on age, race, gender, tribe, disability among others. In this case the language of a student should be considered and not be a hindrance in assessing the student as stipulated by fisher 2003. Standard 5 addresses his role in the public forum requiring him to be honest in representing his activities and practices clearly and accurately. Standard 6 of the ethics code which involves record keeping and fees instructs one to not engage in bartering with students especially if the relationship could be considered exploitive.

Standard 8, in the ethics code APA, 2010, pertains to criteria for conducting ethical research with his student (Dana Dunn 2013) As stipulated in standard 9 on assessment Keith should base the opinions found in his recommendations, reports and analytic or evaluative statements, on information and techniques enough to substantiate his findings. It is only when an individual test is not warranted or compulsory for the opinion, that he should provide judgement of the psychological characteristics of persons only after he has conducted a test of persons adequate to support his statements or conclusions.

The psychologist should use assessment tools whose validity and dependability have been established and are appropriate to someone’s language preference and capability. He should obtain informed consent for assessment which should be released professionally according to stipulated laws in the presence or absence of the patient or client. When interpreting assessment results, psychologists take into consideration the reason of the assessment of the person being examined that could affect psychologists judgments or decrease the precision of their interpretations.

Psychologists take practical steps to make sure that the explanations of results are provided to the person or designated representative only to maintain dignity (Merrell et al., 2011). Finally Psychologists make efforts to ensure the integrity and security of test equipments and other assessment techniques and materials according Ethics Code. All these rules have been provided since evidence of unethical behaviour was found in psychological research and applied practice as stated by Leach et al.

, 2012Conclusion Following the above proposals according to (Ethics code; APA 2010), the MMPI-A method which Keith used will not give a clear analysis of the student. It could be time saving but it will not provide a detailed psychological assessment or report on the female student.ReferencingDunn, D. (2013). Assessing teaching and learning in psychology: Current and future perspectives. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.Fisher, C. B. (2003). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists.

London: SAGE.Leach, M. M. (2012). The Oxford handbook of international psychological ethics. New York: Oxford University Press.Merrell, K. W., Ervin, R. A., & Gimpel, P. G. (2012). School psychology for the 21st century: Foundations and practices. New York: Guilford Press.