WAIS Ethical and Clinical Application 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A psychologist administers the WAIS-IV to a client and discovers the client's IQ score is significantly lower than expected. What is the most appropriate next step?
- Share the raw score immediately without context
- Provide feedback within a supportive clinical framework and explain what the scores mean (Correct answer)
- Withhold all results until a second evaluation is completed
- Refer the client to a neurologist before discussing any results
Correct answer: Provide feedback within a supportive clinical framework and explain what the scores mean
Ethical practice requires providing feedback in a clear, supportive manner that helps clients understand their results within context.
Question 2: When testing an individual from a culturally and linguistically diverse background with the WAIS-IV, the primary ethical concern is:
- Completing the test faster to reduce client fatigue
- Ensuring the norms are appropriately applied and acknowledging potential cultural bias (Correct answer)
- Using only nonverbal subtests regardless of the referral question
- Skipping subtests that the examinee finds difficult
Correct answer: Ensuring the norms are appropriately applied and acknowledging potential cultural bias
The WAIS-IV standardization sample may not adequately represent all cultural groups, so clinicians must contextualize scores accordingly.
Question 3: A WAIS-IV report is requested by an attorney for a legal competency hearing. Which ethical principle governs the psychologist's release of the report?
- Reports may be released to any requesting party without restriction
- The psychologist must obtain a signed release from the examinee or a court order before releasing the report (Correct answer)
- Reports are always public record once administered
- The attorney can access records directly through the test publisher
Correct answer: The psychologist must obtain a signed release from the examinee or a court order before releasing the report
Confidentiality requires a valid release or legal mandate before psychological records can be shared with third parties.
Question 4: Which of the following represents an appropriate use of WAIS-IV scores in employment screening?
- Using Full Scale IQ as the sole criterion for hiring decisions
- Incorporating WAIS-IV as one component of a comprehensive, job-relevant assessment battery (Correct answer)
- Administering the WAIS-IV only to applicants who appear less capable
- Sharing individual WAIS-IV scores with all members of the hiring committee
Correct answer: Incorporating WAIS-IV as one component of a comprehensive, job-relevant assessment battery
Ethical use of psychological tests in employment requires that they be relevant, part of a broader assessment, and administered fairly.
Question 5: A clinician suspects a client is deliberately performing poorly on the WAIS-IV to exaggerate cognitive deficits. The most appropriate action is to:
- Discard all WAIS-IV results and document nothing
- Administer validity/effort measures and note the possibility of suboptimal effort in the report (Correct answer)
- Accept all scores at face value to avoid offending the client
- Immediately terminate the evaluation and report the client to authorities
Correct answer: Administer validity/effort measures and note the possibility of suboptimal effort in the report
Symptom validity testing is a standard practice when suboptimal effort is suspected, and findings must be transparently reported.
Question 6: Under APA ethical guidelines, a psychologist who administers the WAIS-IV must:
- Be trained and competent in administering, scoring, and interpreting the instrument (Correct answer)
- Only use the test for research purposes unless licensed as a neuropsychologist
- Share raw test protocols with any mental health professional who requests them
- Re-standardize the test for each new clinical population before use
Correct answer: Be trained and competent in administering, scoring, and interpreting the instrument
APA ethics require practitioners to operate within the boundaries of their competence, including proficiency with specific assessment tools.
Question 7: A psychologist's WAIS-IV report written for a disability determination includes a statement that the examinee's IQ is 'borderline mentally retarded.' This language is ethically problematic because:
- Disability determinations do not require intelligence testing
- The term is outdated and stigmatizing; current terminology uses 'intellectual disability' (Correct answer)
- The score alone is insufficient to make any clinical statement
- Reports for disability cases must avoid any diagnostic language
Correct answer: The term is outdated and stigmatizing; current terminology uses 'intellectual disability'
Ethical practice requires clinicians to use current, person-first, and non-stigmatizing terminology in all reports.
WAIS Ethical and Clinical Application 2
A psychologist administers the WAIS-IV to a client and discovers the client's IQ score is significantly lower than expected.
What is the most appropriate next step?