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RUNNING HEAD: USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL

Uses of Psychological Assessment Measures: A Journal Article Jeremy Boucher Gregory Fabiano University of Phoenix PSYCH 655 12/08/2017

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Uses of Psychological Assessment Measures There are various assessment instruments that medical professionals, such as psychologists, use today to assist in determining various medical and behavioral conditions. Just like other medical tests, psychological assessments are used to measure, as well as observe a patient’s behaviors to develop a diagnosis and treatment plan, (American Psychological Association, 2017). Neuropsychological assessments are a particular form of a psychological assessments that look into how neurological disorders can impair behaviors. Cohen & Swerdlik (2018, p. 489) state that “neuropsychologists study the nervous system as it relates to behavior by using various procedures, including neuropsychological assessment”. Cohen & Swerdlik (2018, p. 489) also state that “neuropsychological assessment may be defined as the evaluation of brain and nervous system functioning as it relates to behavior.” This journal article will review the benefits and challenges of neuropsychological assessment, determine the importance on ethical and culturally informed neuropsychological assessments, identify what roles reliability and validity play in the analysis of this assessment, determine the use of standardized scores, and explain how this assessment can be applied in the workplace. Neuropsychological Assessment Benefits and Challenges Neuropsychological assessments consist of clinical interviews and observations of both the patient and others close to the patient, an analysis of current and past health files, and the administration of a sequence of assessments that are intended to assess areas of brain performance such as attentiveness, remembrance (memory), and fine motor skills (Silver, Blackburn, Arffa, Barth, Bush, Koffler, & Elliott, 2006). These assessments aide in the understanding of a person’s brain-related strengths and weaknesses, and are a necessary instrument in understanding possible sources of the problem. There are challenges when

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administering these assessments in that one must pay close attention to the patterns that are presented in a patient’s responses. These patterns are what will help determine a valid diagnosis, and if misinterpreted may result in an erroneous or null diagnosis. Other challenges may be the impairments the patients suffer from and finding ways to administer effective assessments. For example, “Neuropsychologists must be prepared to evaluate persons who are vision-impaired or blind, hearing-impaired or deaf, or suffering from other disabilities. Providing accommodations for such patients while conducting a meaningful assessment can be challenging,” (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2018, p. 518). Importance of Ethically and Culturally Informed Assessments Today’s society is ever growing, and increasingly turning into a complete multicultural society. It is highly essential for both psychologists and researchers to take multiculturalism into account. There are certain preparations that one must consider before conducting any neuropsychological assessments for people of different cultures, (Gouden, 2017). For instance, language barriers, a psychologist may need to utilize an interpreter to be able to effectively communicate the assessments rules and guidelines. Non-verbal communication is equally important and having an understanding of how the participant reacts to things such as eye contact, hand gestures, and proximity of psychologist to them. These non-verbal actions can vary by acceptance from culture to culture, and it is beneficial for the psychologist to understand how each play a role in a person’s culture to be able to avoid barriers and provide an ethically sound administration of the assessment. It becomes the psychologist’s ethical responsibility to determine if the patient has been fully informed and fully understand their roles in the assessment, and is able to comprehend what tasks the assessment is asking them to complete.

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Function and Purpose of Neuropsychological Assessment The major purposes and functioning of neuropsychological assessment helps assist questions with integrity of cognitive functions, differential diagnosis, and treatment planning. Deutsch, Drag & Yutsis (2017) states that neuropsychological assessment helps determine the presence, nature, and severity of cognitive dysfunction, and provides a baseline to monitor future changes in cognitive ability, mood, and personality which includes treatment effects. Another function and purpose of neuropsychological assessment is to help evaluate neurological and psychiatric disorders, and to identify psychological factors such as depression that contribute to cognitive dysfunction, (Deutsch, Drag & Yutsis, 2017). Neuropsychological assessment also serves the purpose and function of providing treatment recommendations for cognitive disorders and psychological adjustment, and helps determine levels of cognitive functioning as they relate to work, school, and independent living, (Deutsch, Drag & Yutsis, 2017). Roles of Reliability and Validity The more consistent scores on an assessment are, the more reliable the assessment can be considered. As results to these assessments are measured and compared to other findings on neuropsychological assessments, the more reliable this assessment can be considered. Test validity can be supported by measuring how well a test is able to test what it is intended to test for, (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2018, p. 175). If comparing to other studies from similar administrations of a neuropsychological test, and if the results prove to be true with the support of other medical assessment tools, then this particular assessment can be found to be a valid source for patient diagnosis. There are errors in measurements that can affect the reliability of a test. For instance, test administration. Test administration needs to be consistent to the way the test is given each and every time it is completed regardless of who is taking or giving the assessment. If things like

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cultural boundaries hinder the administration of the test, then those results can be determined to be unreliable. Use of Standardized Scores Standard scores are raw scores that are converted from one scale to another where the other scales have a fixed deviation and mean, (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2018). Standard scores help to represent how a person scores in relation to a sample group of the same criteria. These scores can be represented through percentiles. Standard scores include both T and Z scores. Raw scores converted into numbers that show the deviation of the score either above or below the mean of the distribution for the entire sample group is what a Z scores result from. A T score is a score that uses a scale that ranges from 5 in deviations of 5 (ie 5, 10, 15, etc.) where a score of 50 represents the set mean. If a raw score measured to be 20 then the score would be considered to measure 3 deviations below the mean. These standard scores can be applied and compared through neuropsychological assessments. Application of Neuropsychological Assessment in the Workplace Growing up in a family that has military members, I have seen and heard of many uses for neuropsychological assessments. Many of which, have been used to measure effects on the brain as a result of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) from combat related injuries. Many assessments are you in locations where access to efficient medical equipment is not readily available. Doctors needed ways to be able to assess patients of possible internal brain injuries without having the means to visually look at the brain through scans and identify issues that may be developing internally. These assessments can be repeatedly given over a period of time to measure the patients results and compare differences in responses to identified consistencies within the responses and related that to findings found from those who suffered from TBI’s and

RUNNING HEAD: USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL were able to complete a full comprehensive exam. The reliability and validity of these exams have been proven through studies where again follow up full comprehensive exams were able to be completed to further support the findings of the assessment itself. Conclusion Neuropsychological assessments look into various cognitive and academic areas such as memory, reasoning abilities, verbal comprehension, reading, writing, and mathematics. When there is a concern regarding a person’s neurological functioning, then neuropsychological assessments are a valid start in the diagnosis and treatment process. As we have discussed, there are ethical considerations to keep in mind when conducting these assessments. But overall, the documentation of its uses has proven these assessments to be a viable source in identifying neurological issues.

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References American Psychological Association. (2017). Understanding psychological testing and assessment. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/assessment.aspx Atlanta, (2016). Psychology & Psychiatry Journal. Parkinson's disease; Studies from university of tartu in the area of parkinson's disease reported (Functional performance and associations between performance tests and neurological assessment differ in men and women with parkinson's disease). Retrieved from ProQuest https://search-proquestcom.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/1776811224? OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:summon&accountid=134061 Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M. E., (2018). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement. (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Deutsch, G., Drag, l., & Yutsis, M., (2017). What is the purpose and functioning of a neuropsychology assessment? Stanford Medicine, 1-3. Gouden, Y. (2017). Book review: Conducting a culturally informed neuropsychological evaluation. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 993. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00993 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2005). Neurological tests and procedures. NIH Publication 05-5380. Retrieved from https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/FactSheets/Neurological-Diagnostic-Tests-and-Procedures-Fact Silver, C. H., Blackburn, L. B., Arffa, S., Barth, J. T., Bush, S. S., Koffler, S. P., Elliott, R. W. (2006). The importance of neuropsychological assessment for the evaluation of childhood learning disorders NAN policy and planning committee. Archives of Clinical

RUNNING HEAD: USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL Neuropsychology: The Official Journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists, 21(7), 741.

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