BCP Ethics and Professional Conduct Questions and Answers

Question 1

Which of the following situations represents a potentially harmful dual relationship that a psychometrist must ethically avoid?

Accepted Answer

Agreeing to administer a psychoeducational evaluation to the child of a close personal friend.

Answer

Administering a test battery to an individual who is a student at the same large university the psychometrist attends.

Answer

Providing testing services to a patient who was referred by a psychologist in the same group practice.

Answer

Attending the same professional development conference as a former examinee's parent.

Question 2

A supervising psychologist asks a psychometrist to administer a complex new neuropsychological test with which the psychometrist has no prior experience or training. To act ethically, what is the psychometrist's most important initial step?

Accepted Answer

Inform the supervisor of their lack of training and request dedicated time for training and supervised practice before administering the test.

Answer

Attempt to administer the test by carefully reading the manual for the first time during the session.

Answer

Administer the test but make a note in the record that they were not properly trained on it.

Answer

Refuse to administer the test, stating it is outside their job description.

Question 3

Immediately following a lengthy assessment, an adult examinee asks, "How did I do? Can you tell me my IQ score?" What is the most appropriate and ethical response from the psychometrist?

Accepted Answer

Explain that scores must be carefully calculated and interpreted by the psychologist, who will provide feedback in a scheduled session.

Answer

Provide an estimated score based on a quick calculation of the raw data.

Answer

State that results can only be discussed by the psychologist and offer no further information.

Answer

Tell the examinee they seemed to do very well in order to alleviate their anxiety.

Question 4

According to ethical and professional standards, what is the primary reason for maintaining the strict security of psychological test materials, such as manuals, test forms, and stimuli?

Accepted Answer

To prevent prior access to test content, which would invalidate the test's norms and the integrity of the results.

Answer

To protect the publisher's copyright and prevent financial losses.

Answer

To ensure that only doctoral-level psychologists can purchase the materials.

Answer

To reduce the high costs associated with re-developing tests if they become public.

Question 5

While preparing for a patient's re-evaluation, a psychometrist reviews a report from two years prior administered by a different psychometrist at the same clinic. They discover a significant scoring error on a key subtest. What is the psychometrist's primary ethical responsibility?

Accepted Answer

Bring the scoring error to the attention of their supervising psychologist.

Answer

Ignore the previous error to avoid creating conflict with a colleague.

Answer

Correct the score in the old report without notifying anyone to fix the record.

Answer

Contact the previous psychometrist directly to inform them of their mistake.

Question 6

A supervising psychologist asks a psychometrist to score a test protocol for a neighbor's child as an informal 'favor,' outside of a formal clinical relationship and without official documentation. What is the psychometrist's most ethical course of action?

Accepted Answer

Politely decline, explaining that scoring assessments outside of a formal professional context with proper consent is unethical.

Answer

Score the protocol as requested to maintain a good relationship with the supervisor.

Answer

Score the protocol but add a written note describing the informal nature of the request.

Answer

Agree to score the protocol only if the neighbor pays the standard clinic fee.