Ethical and Clinical Application Flashcards

A psychologist completes a WAIS-IV evaluation and prepares a report for a client's primary care physician. The report should:

Answer: Translate technical findings into clinically meaningful language relevant to the referral question

Ethical report writing requires tailoring the communication of findings to the needs and expertise of the intended audience.

An examinee who was previously administered the WAIS-III is now being re-evaluated with the WAIS-IV. The clinical and ethical significance of this is:

Answer: Practice effects and score changes between versions must be interpreted cautiously and disclosed in the report

Prior testing creates practice effects and version differences that may inflate or alter scores, which must be transparently addressed.

What is the ethical obligation of a psychologist who discovers a scoring error in a previously released WAIS-IV report that changes the diagnostic conclusion?

Answer: Issue a corrected report and notify all parties who received and acted on the original report

Ethical practice requires prompt correction of errors that could affect decisions made about a client, including notification of relevant parties.

A psychologist is asked to administer the WAIS-IV in a language other than English to an examinee. If no translated and standardized version exists for that language, the appropriate ethical response is to:

Answer: Acknowledge the lack of validated norms, use an interpreter cautiously if needed, and qualify all interpretations significantly

When standardized translations are unavailable, clinicians must disclose limitations, exercise caution, and avoid over-interpreting scores.

Which of the following violates the ethical standard of test security for the WAIS-IV?

Answer: Posting specific WAIS-IV test items and correct answers on a publicly accessible website

Publishing actual test items undermines test security and compromises the validity of future administrations.

A client with a known history of malingering is referred for a WAIS-IV evaluation. The ethically appropriate approach is to:

Answer: Include standardized performance validity tests alongside the WAIS-IV and document findings in the report

Embedding validity measures is standard ethical practice when response validity is in question, and conclusions must reflect those findings.

When a WAIS-IV Full Scale IQ score is used to determine eligibility for services, which ethical principle is most directly engaged?

Answer: Justice — ensuring fair access and non-discriminatory use of test results

Using IQ scores for eligibility decisions raises justice concerns about equitable, non-discriminatory access to services.