Ethical and Cultural Considerations Flashcards

A clinician is asked to re-administer the MMPI-2 one week after the initial administration to evaluate treatment progress. The primary psychometric and ethical concern is:

Answer: Practice effects and item memorization may inflate or deflate scores, compromising validity

Short retest intervals risk practice effects where clients remember and alter responses based on previous answers, reducing the validity of change scores used to measure treatment progress.

The MMPI-2 was standardized primarily on a sample that overrepresented which demographic group relative to the US general population?

Answer: Urban, college-educated White Americans

The MMPI-2 restandardization sample (1989) over-represented White, college-educated, and urban respondents, which is an ethical concern when interpreting results for underrepresented groups.

When a correctional facility mandates MMPI-2 completion for all inmates, which ethical issue is most salient?

Answer: Voluntariness of participation is compromised, raising concerns about truly informed consent

Mandatory testing in institutional settings raises concerns about coerced participation, which undermines the voluntariness component of meaningful informed consent.

A psychologist is asked to provide MMPI raw data to another credentialed psychologist. According to APA ethics and HIPAA, the psychologist should:

Answer: Release the data to protect client interests and professional collaboration, with appropriate authorization

APA Standard 9.04 permits release of raw test data to qualified professionals when the client provides valid authorization, balancing test security with professional collaboration.

Which of the following best illustrates the ethical concept of 'competence' in MMPI use?

Answer: Only interpreting MMPI results within one's domain of training and supervised experience

Competence requires that psychologists administer and interpret the MMPI only in areas where they have received appropriate training and supervision, not simply access to the instrument.

A Hispanic client receives elevated scores on several MMPI-2 clinical scales. An ethical interpreter would first ask:

Answer: Whether a Spanish-language MMPI version was available and appropriate for this client

Administering the MMPI in the client's dominant language using a validated translation is a prerequisite for valid interpretation; use of English with limited-English-proficient clients compromises all subsequent conclusions.

Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, MMPI test data qualifies as:

Answer: Protected Health Information (PHI) subject to privacy and security rules

Psychological test results, including MMPI data generated in a covered healthcare context, constitute PHI under HIPAA and must be protected accordingly.