WAIS Ethical and Clinical Application 5

Question 1

A supervisee administers the WAIS-IV incorrectly, leading to an invalid score. What is the supervising psychologist's ethical responsibility?

Accepted Answer

The supervisor shares ethical responsibility for the quality of the evaluation and must ensure corrective action is taken

Answer

The supervisee alone is responsible since they administered the test

Answer

The client should be informed only if they specifically request feedback on testing quality

Answer

The supervisor should simply re-score the protocol without re-testing

Question 2

A WAIS-IV evaluation reveals that a client has significant cognitive limitations that may affect their ability to make informed medical decisions. The clinician's ethical obligation is to:

Accepted Answer

Discuss findings with the client at an appropriate level and consult with relevant healthcare providers per the client's consent

Answer

Inform the client's employer without consent

Answer

Withhold results to protect the client from distress

Answer

Transfer clinical responsibility to a neurologist immediately

Question 3

A psychologist is hired by a company to evaluate job candidates with the WAIS-IV. The primary ethical risk in this arrangement is:

Accepted Answer

Dual loyalty conflict between serving the company's interests and protecting candidate welfare and rights

Answer

Test fatigue from administering multiple evaluations

Answer

The WAIS-IV is not validated for occupational use

Answer

Candidates may perform better knowing the purpose of the evaluation

Question 4

Which statement best reflects ethical guidance on sharing WAIS-IV results with schools or third-party agencies?

Accepted Answer

Results may only be shared with the examinee's written consent or a legally valid mandate

Answer

Results can be shared freely among educational and mental health professionals

Answer

Results belong to the referral source and may be shared at their discretion

Answer

Results must be shared with any agency providing services to the examinee

Question 5

A psychologist notes that a client's WAIS-IV Processing Speed scores are significantly lower than their other index scores. Ethically, this discrepancy should be:

Accepted Answer

Explored clinically and noted in the report, as a unitary FSIQ interpretation may be misleading

Answer

Ignored if the Full Scale IQ falls in the average range

Answer

Treated as a scoring error requiring re-administration of the entire battery

Answer

Reported only in an addendum if the referral source requests additional detail

Question 6

An examinee refuses to complete several WAIS-IV subtests after the evaluation has begun. The clinician should:

Accepted Answer

Respect the examinee's autonomy, document the incomplete administration, and qualify any interpretations accordingly

Answer

Force completion of all subtests since partial data is worthless

Answer

Automatically diagnose the examinee with a personality disorder based on the refusal

Answer

Terminate the evaluation and bill for a complete assessment

Question 7

A psychologist is asked to re-interpret a WAIS-IV protocol originally administered by a colleague in a malpractice case. The primary ethical concern in this 'record review' role is:

Accepted Answer

Clearly limiting conclusions to what can be validly inferred from records without a direct clinical examination

Answer

Whether the psychologist charges a higher fee for forensic work

Answer

Avoiding any testimony that could damage a colleague's reputation

Answer

Re-administering the entire WAIS-IV battery before forming opinions