Introduction to the special issue on methodological issues in psychological assessment research.

Our primary goal in this special issue on research methodology is to explore methodological issues across a broad range of psychological assessment research and to highlight pitfalls and problems that often plague researchers engaged in this pursuit. We believe that the methodological articles in this special issue will serve as an important resource for future research in the field of personality assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on cognitive science and psychological assessment.

This introduction to the Special Section on Cognitive Science and Psychological Assessment begins with a brief overview of cognitive science and its interface with the clinical assessment of cognitive functioning. Concepts and themes permeating the articles in this section are then taken up. Included are cognitive-model architectures and model parameters, differential emphasis on efficiency versus content of cognition, and implementation of stochastic and dynamical aspects of cognitive processes. Selected distinguishing attributes of the respective contributions are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on chaos theory and psychological assessment.

The premise of the articles in this special section is that the goals of psychological assessment, and the explanations and predictions made on the basis of it, can be advanced by assimilating several concepts from nonlinear dynamical modeling and chaos theory—concepts and mathematical models that have been discussed most frequently in economics, ecology, biology, and physics. The concepts presented in the two articles by Heiby (1995a, 1995b, in this issue) and the article by Haynes, Blaine, and Meyer (1995, in this issue) are brief introductions to a small set of ideas from much larger domains (e.g., Burton, 1994). More extensive discussions of nonlinear dynamics and chaos can be found in several recently published books (Baker & Gollub, 1990; ?ambel, 1993; Haynes, 1992; Vallacher & Nowak, 1994; von Eye, 1990; Wei, 1990). These three articles borrow ideas that have been useful in other disciplines to address several phenomena that have been problematic in psychological assessment: (a) Behavior and causal variables often change rapidly in magnitude, rate, and form over time—they are dynamic; (b) these changes are often unpredictable, nonlinear, and discontinuous; and (c) it is often difficult to establish causal relationships for behavior change. The articles suggest several measurement strategies to increase our abilities to predict and explain the dynamical, nonstationary, and nonlinear phenomena that are often the targets of psychological assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on assessment in psychological treatment: A necessary step for effective intervention.

Great changes are taking place in mental health treatment, because health care providers are placing constraints on therapists. Yet psychologists have been slow to react to these demands and have not incorporated personality measurement in treatment planning to address therapeutic effectiveness. Many therapists initiate therapy without obtaining a personality assessment in the early stages of therapy. Psychological assessment can, however, provide an effective means of detecting problems and motivation for therapy and can, if therapist test feedback is provided, serve to bring about desired behavior change more effectively than if assessment is not used. This Special Section is devoted to the potentially fruitful role psychological assessment can play in treatment planning. The contributors who were invited to write articles were chosen for their expertise in using psychological procedures in treatment planning. Their contributions provide important insights into methods for facilitating psychological therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using experience sampling methods/ecological momentary assessment (ESM/EMA) in clinical assessment and clinical research: Introduction to the special section.

This article introduces the special section on experience sampling methods and ecological momentary assessment in clinical assessment. We review the conceptual basis for experience sampling methods (ESM; Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1987) and ecological momentary assessment (EMA; Stone & Shiffman, 1994). Next, we highlight several advantageous features of ESM/EMA as applied to psychological assessment and clinical research. We provide a brief overview of the articles in this special section, each of which focuses on 1 of the following major classes of psychological disorders: mood disorders and mood dysregulation (Ebner-Priemer & Trull, 2009), anxiety disorders (Alpers, 2009), substance use disorders (Shiffman, 2009), and psychosis (Oorschot, Kwapil, Delespaul, & Myin-Germeys, 2009). Finally, we discuss prospects, future challenges, and limitations of ESM/EMA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on normative assessment.

This article introduces the special section on normative assessment. This special section has three main objectives. First, we provide guidelines and criteria for evaluating normed and standardized assessment instruments. Second, cross-cultural normative assessment is examined. In this context, translation issues influencing norming and test interpretation are highlighted. Our third and final objective is to provide a means of judging appropriate gender-based norms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on evidence-based psychological treatments for older adults.

Psychology has a strong tradition as a science-based discipline. This tradition has also been strong in the subfields of geropsychology and clinical psychology. The convergence of these traditions leads to an expectation that mental health and aging practices will be theoretically sound and empirically tested. This Psychology and Aging Special Section on Evidence-Based Psychological Treatments for Older Adults presents findings which demonstrate that there are a number of evidence-based treatments that can contribute to exemplary care of older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section: Providing psychological test feedback to clients.

This article introduces the special section on providing psychological test feedback to clients. This Special Section has three main objectives. First, we will explore the ethical issues involved in discussing test results with clients. Next, we will illustrate the test feedback process with an often complex clinical assessment situation: neuropsychological evaluation. Finally, the process of incorporating test feedback into the treatment context has not been extensively researched and not much is known about whether clients effectively use information they are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special issue on developments in psychological measurement and assessment.

This introduction to the special issue on developments in psychological measurement and assessment sets the special issue within a larger scientific and professional context and provides summaries of the 8 articles that make up the issue. The articles address (a) self-report personality and psychopathology assessment; (b) intensive, repeated, self-report measures used in naturalistic settings; (c) implicit measures of personality; (d) personality assessment and faking in personnel selection; (e) performance appraisals; (f) risk assessments; (g) intelligence and the assessment of intelligence; and (h) neuropsychological assessment. Together, these articles demonstrate the substantial progress being made in the research on psychological measurement and assessment and the solid foundation that this work provides for both psychological science and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section: The neglected psychological–physical interface.

Provides an introduction to the special section on neglected psychological-physical interface. This special section was undertaken to stimulate research on the interface between physical disorders and psychological problems and to aid in the development of new conceptual models in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New approaches to missing data in psychological research: Introduction to the special section.

Traditional approaches to missing data (e.g., listwise deletion) can lead to less than optimal results in terms of bias, statistical power, or both. This article introduces the 3 articles in the special section of Psychological Methods, which consider multiple imputation and maximum-likelihood methods, new approaches to missing data that can often yield improved results. Computer software is now available to implement these new methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on assessing personality characteristics in clinical settings.

Personality assessment in clinical settings is an important and often difficult undertaking, requiring the collection and integration of extensive personal history, personality, and symptomatic information. Clinicians are frequently faced with making important decisions on the basis of limited information. New conceptualizations and new techniques for describing personality and behavior are welcome additions to the clinician's assessment battery, and if productive, are eagerly sought to enhance clinical assessment. The goals of this special section are threefold: First, in their contribution, Costa and McCrae (1991a) explore the possibility that the NEO can provide new and different information that practitioners would find valuable in depicting or describing clients in the clinical assessment context. Second, the article by Ben-Porath and Waller (1991a) provides insight into the criteria by which "normal-range" assessment instruments might be evaluated. They examine the NEO on the basis of these criteria. Third, we hope that the Costa/McCrae (1992a, 1992b) and Ben-Porath/Waller (1992a, 1992b) discussion will serve as a productive interchange on the potential utility of this assessment approach for clinical assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section: Ecological momentary assessment in health psychology.

Health psychology, like most branches of behavioral science, relies heavily on self-report as a primary source of data. Because data obtained through self-report methods are typically unreliable, researchers have adopted a variety of methods, which have been labeled ecological momentary assessment, or the experience sampling method, for collecting moment-by-moment data in real-world settings. This article provides an introduction to a special section on ecological momentary assessment in health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on methods and implications of revising assessment instruments.

Development of this special section was inspired in large part by the recent trend in test revision. This special section addresses major issues related to test revision, with attention to both research and clinical practice. Many questions arise when revisions in tests are made. Are research findings that are based on outdated versions of a test accepted in the literature? When is a test revision called for? What are the research and clinical implications of continuing to use the original versions of newly revised tests? These are questions facing test users. This special section addresses these questions in two ways: (a) by identifying and critically examining methods of test revision and (b) by reporting practical considerations involved in using revised tests. The first objective of this special section is to examine when a test should be revised and the best methods for doing this. The second objective is to ensure that ethical implications, clinical utility, research standards,and economic aspects are considered and discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special series.

Provides an introduction to the special series on cross-cultural clinical applications. The broader application of clinical assessment and treatment technology with diverse populations and settings has increased in the United States and has expanded to numerous other countries as well. The application of psychological procedures and methods with patients from different cultural backgrounds raises numerous methodological issues. This special series is devoted to those issues and problems inherent in applying techniques developed in one culture with individuals from another—either in other lands or with immigrant populations here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Amplifying issues related to psychological testing and assessment.

Responds to comments by D. A. Smith (see record 2002-10716-011), H. N. Garb et al (see record 2002-10716-012), R. Fernández-Ballesteros (see record 2002-10716-013), J. Hunsley (see record 2002-10716-014) regarding the G. J. Meyer et al (see record 2001-00159-003) summary of evidence and issues associated with psychological assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to special section on clinical intervention in child sexual abuse.

The purpose of this special section is to further research, clinical practice, and teaching in the area of child sexual abuse. Although most of the articles are written by psychologists and are relevant to research, practice, and teaching by psychologists, the articles have relevance to other professionals as well. The special section is composed of seven articles. The first focuses on the effects of child sexual abuse. The next five articles have relevance for assessment and treatment. The last article focuses on teaching clinical intervention in child sexual abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on construct validity of psychological tests: 50 years after Cronbach and Meehl (1955).

The middle of the 20th century was a very exciting time to be in the field of clinical psychology and, especially, assessment psychology. Seminal publications during that time clarified the then novel distinction between hypothetical constructs and intervening variables (MacCorquodale & Meehl, 1948), elucidated the concept of construct validity (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955), and described a methodology for estimating convergent and discriminant validity of measures of constructs and the role of variance due to common methods in the associations among measures of similar and different constructs (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). These articles have been the bedrock of clinical psychological and personality psychology assessment since that time. The year 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of Cronbach and Meehl's (1955) article "Construct Validity in Psychological Tests." A submission last year by Smith (2005b) struck me as an excellent time to honor the signal contributions of these psychologists of the last century through consideration particularly of the article by Cronbach and Meehl. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)