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In response to increasing challenges to the utility of psychological testing and
assessment, and to declining use of these instruments, APAs Board of
Professional Affairs formed PAWG to determine the efficacy of assessment in
clinical practice.
EVIDENCE OF ASSESSMENT EFFICACY
Through meta-analytic reviews, Meyer and his colleagues drew comparisons between
medical test validity' and psychological test validity. They found that both
psychological and medical tests have varying degrees of validity and that
validity co-efficient for many psychological tests are indistinguishable from
those of medical tests. For example, psychological tests such as the Millon
Clinical Multiaxal inventory, the Thematic Apperception Test, the Hare
Psychopathy Checklist and other neurological and cognitive tests produce medium
to large effect sizes, as do medical tests such as Pap smears, mammography,
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electro-cardiograms. More specifically for
example, MMPI scale scores and average ability to detect depressive or psychotic
disorders generates an effect size of 0.37. The use of a Pap test to detect
cervical abnormalities produces an effect size of 0.36. The effectiveness of
these very different tests used to detect very different outcomes is much the
same.
Conversely, some psychological tests work just as well as medical tests to
detect the same outcome. The authors note, for instance, the ability to detect
dementia is as good with neuropsychological tests as it is with MRI.
"For those of us in the field trying to get pre-approvals from managed-care
companies, these figures gives some ammunition," says Stephen Finn, PhD, of the
Center for Therapeutic Assessment in Austin, Texas, who chaired PAWG. "There's
this idea that medical tests are wonderful and psychological tests are bad. The
report shows the bias and takes away a context and rationale used to deny
psychological testing."
The report which appeared in American Psychologist: (Vol. 56, No. 2), was
written by Meyer, along with Stephen Finn, PhD, Lorraine Eyde, PhD, Gary Kay,
PhD, Kwin Moreland, PhD, Robert Dies, PhD, and Elena Eisman, PhD--all members of
PAWG--and Tom Klibiszyn, PhD, and Geoffrey Reed, PhD, of APA.
Wilmes-Reitz Psychological
23945 Calabasas Rd., Suite 202
Calabasas, California 91302
(818) 591-8270
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