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Running head: PILLARS AND ETHICS 1 Dr. Toby Learns Sattler’s Four Pillars of Assessment and a Code of Ethics Michael Edgette PSYC502/Tests and Measurements September 9, 2018

PILLARS AND ETHICS 2 Abstract A fictitious psychologist (called Dr. Toby), reviews Sattler’s Four Pillars of Assessment , for a research project he is getting ready to workup for approval. He knows full well, the pillars of assessment are intended for assessing and researching in a clinical setting. Dr. Toby found a way to adapt his research project using the foundations provided by Sattler’s Four Pillars of Assessment. After adapting and learning about the pillars of assessment, Dr. Toby starts to review the any ethical considerations needed in the totality of the research project. Focusing on informed consent, how to report and correct any violations in ethical conduct, and how professional conflicts of interest can affect the team, and provide financial rewards for a member, when they should not be involved with the conflict.

PILLARS AND ETHICS 3 A psychologist (we will call him Dr. Toby) one day decided to do research on a topic he was quite interested in learning more about. For Dr. Toby to do the research study he developed a hypothesis about, he must have some knowledge, known or unknown, of Sattler’s Four Pillars of Assessment. Furthermore, Toby does not want to disrupt the normal everyday lives of the population sample he will be using for his research. Therefore, he has decided to research and follow standards and a code of ethics guidelines used by many of his peers, as they perform research. This story of a psychologist who is getting ready to do some research, will entwine Sattler’s pillars of assessment, and three important ethical guidelines he will have to consider when he is deep within his research. Dr. Toby wanted to find out why people have decided to move toward a process of ordering their groceries online, instead of visiting the grocery store for weekly shopping or multiple times a week. Therefore, he went online to search for questionnaires or surveys closely related to the human behavior he is trying to identify, and if he could not find any test related to his topic of interest, there is still the possibility to create one. This information he is seeking ties into what Sattler considered a norm-referenced test. It is a test with a large group of the population considered similar, or having similar standards, where the test is considered psychometrically stable (Lesson Week 1, 2018). Dr. Toby did find what he was looking for. Many retailers have already done some research in these behaviors, even though the behaviors are related to non-food purchases. It has a good foundation for him, and he can utilize the questionnaire and methods from the previous studies. However, Dr. Toby must still consider many factors from the previous research. He must question how he will administer the tests. He found questionnaires and surveys, but is this the way to go? Should he interview or allow his sample to fill out the questionnaires or surveys

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PILLARS AND ETHICS 4 online, or use the traditional method of physical paper, and submission of the data utensil? This is the interview process indicated in the second pillar of assessment in Sattler’s Four Pillars of Assessment (Lesson Week 1, 2018). Since his research can be done in the field, or in a clinical setting, he has freedoms to how he conducts his data gathering. However, he might want to know more about the population he is using for his research. This information is extremely valuable to the research, and as stated before, Dr. Toby can utilize multiple processes to get the clinical information needed to report his results. One notable piece of information Dr. Toby should remember is this information is for research, and must have the necessary balances between trustworthy and non-trustworthy information given to him and his research team. Another factor Dr. Toby must consider is if the data he is pulling together is from online testing, there is not any observations or behaviors exhibited by the sample. If he does his questionnaire or survey as a one-on-one interview, he will be able to visually see the samples reaction to the questions, and allow for follow-up questions. This will deem the information trustworthy or not. The process of a one-on-one interview is not fully unique to Sattler’s Four Pillars of Assessment ; however, it is the third pillar (Lesson Week 1, 2018). If Dr. Toby is following the pillars as his way of performing his research, then he will do interviews with the population, and not as an online survey, or a fill out and mail-in survey. Why is this important for Dr. Toby? From experience, he will have knowledge and experience of being told something that may not be completely accurate, and is able to try to persuade the researcher to provide false data. It is possible to skew the results; however, if there is a large enough sample, this could only be an outlier, or not affect the end results. Furthermore, while the interview in being conducted, it is possible to make audio or video recordings, to provide a follow-up to the interview. Furthermore, interviews can also for an observation of the

PILLARS AND ETHICS 5 population as they arrive to be interviewed. This leads to one type of informal assessment, and lead Dr. Toby into the final pillar of assessment. The final pillar is pulling information from other possible data points, or observations. A data point might be where a researcher can review the browser history of the population, or interviewing a spouse, close friend, or child of the participant in the research. This data is called the informal assessment process, which includes information from other resources, but relate back to the patient or participant (Lesson Week 1, 2018). Although, Dr. Toby does not need this information, it might provide additional information on why the participant decided to shop for groceries online. Therefore, Dr. Toby can utilize Sattler’s Four Pillars of Assessment , the use of the pillars of assessment are more driven towards clinical interactions and observations. Dr. Toby has proven that the pillars of assessment can be utilized in situations outside of the normal processes developed by Sattler. Furthermore, it provided more paths to the research itself. Dr. Toby could use an online questionnaire to initiate the research, then decide to pull random participants to enter into observations and interviews, adding to a follow-up to the initial part of the research. Sattler’s Four Pillars of Assessment can enter into part or all of a patient or participants interactions in clinical observations or in a research study, as examples have been provided for the later. Dr. Toby has the foundation of how he will conduct his research, and at this point he is going over some of the guidelines he has to consider, making his research ethical and morally acceptable to the research and scholar communities. Therefore, the first ethical guideline Dr. Toby is reviewing is his “Consent to Participate” form.

PILLARS AND ETHICS 6 Dr. Toby learned important facts about the need for consent from a participant. There is a difference between a participants or patients authorization and consent is based in the HIPPA Privacy Rule (What is the difference between "consent" and "authorization" under the HIPPA Privacy Rule?, n.d.). This was important for him to learn the differences, because there are always some exceptions to every rule. However, this is an opportunity best avoided, making sure a copy of the consent is provided as reference to the participant, and an oral presentation of the consent is given. Furthermore, the participant has to understand fully, not just nod and sign. There has to be full acceptance of and understanding of the consent form. The validity of consent must be considered. Dr. Toby has to place himself in the shoes of the sample, or what his peers would think of his project, ethically. To make the research valid, does other psychologists consider the project without any ethical issues, to the structure and processes (Zur, 2018). This includes what the sample, population, participant, patient, or client interprets and understands about the therapy, counseling or assessment. Although Dr. Zur provides a well thought out informed consent process (referenced in the previous paragraph), he also utilizes the APA guidelines as his foundation; whereas, the University of Connecticut (UCONN) has an established set of rules, provided by their IRB (Institutional Review Board). The IRB is responsible for making sure the informed consent and the totality of a research project follows their ethical guidelines. Similar to the guidelines outlined by the APA and Dr. Zur, but reminds the researchers by asking questions, assisting them in the process (Ethics and informed consent, 2018). Dr. Toby knows how important informed consent is, that is why he went through a verification process, and does so for each of his research projects. This protects himself, the research team, and the population from harm, a breach of privacy, and trust towards the researchers.

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PILLARS AND ETHICS 7 Another concern Dr. Toby must consider is, if there were to have some type of ethical concern brought forward, how would he resolve the issue. The APA provides a blueprint to how to overcome these hurdles, and to be transparent in the process. For example, one of Dr. Toby’s research team has been reported as sexually assaulting one of the participants. Even though a participant does not give a physical address, many of them live in the same town as the researchers, and they provide a method of contact, for future follow-up interviews. After the complaint, the Dr. Toby and his lead researcher intervene, researching the complaint. According to the APA, they were responding according to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct 1.04, 1.08, and 3.02, as an informal resolution of ethical violations (Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct, including 2010 and 2016 amendments, 2017). Furthermore, the complaint is associated to actual law, as it is written in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. During an investigation, Dr. Toby must report the violation if he is working under the guidance of an IRB. At this point Dr. Toby and his team must comply with all requests of the Ethics Committee, and remind all involved of any additional unfair discrimination against the complainant, the accused and any additional parties will not be tolerated. Finally, as Dr. Toby is finishing his Ethics Code review for his research, he came across the subject of conflict of interest and multiple relationships, falling under the human relations section of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Researchers, counselors, and clinicians have the responsibility to know and understand their personal and professional standing within the research, prior to and during a project. Although Columbia University places it’s definition as a financial or other personal conflict biasing their professional judgement (Conflicts of interest; Responsible conduct of research, 2018). Professional conflicts also come up, and must be recognized by the IRB at the university.

PILLARS AND ETHICS 8 Furthermore, there was some interference from the Federal Government, pushing the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 to be passed into law. What this allowed was the research team to take ownership of their findings; whereas the government took control of the findings prior to the act being passed. Therefore, if a researcher finds a better suited type of treatment, they retain the ownership of the treatment, and can have financial rewards from the ownership. Because of the Act, and subsequent actions from researchers, in 1995 the US Public Health Service, and National Science Foundation pressed, developed and enforced new regulations surrounding research, entitled “Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research.” The Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research forces any institution that performs research, to set up guidelines and procedures surrounding the design, conduct, or reporting of the research findings, are not biased by financial gain. This is a professional conflict, contradicting what was first indicated by Columbia University, and relates to the “significant financial interest” portion of the regulation. What significant financial interest means, is the researcher, a member of the research team, gains financially from an outside institution or business, for their work on the research (Conflicts of interest; Responsible conduct of research, 2018). Dr. Toby must know the personal and professional status of his team, at least the associations his team has with other institutions or businesses. Observing his team and listening to their “office talk.” This is an opportunity for him to get valuable information, pertaining to possible conflicts a member of this team might have. Furthermore, Dr. Toby had to remove one of his research team in the last research project he worked on. He found out that the team member had close ties to a business involved in consumer research, and was still consulting with

PILLARS AND ETHICS 9 them. He only learned of the conflict by another member of the team, over hearing a conversation he was having with the business, and then questioning him about it. Dr. Toby found out how much research prior to starting a research project is required. It might have been a review of ethical guidelines, it could be the first time he decided to use Sattler’s Four Pillars of Assessment in his outline and workup of the project. He learned about the four pillars, why they are important in an assessment, and what questions he should ask himself and the team as the proceed with the research. Although he used the pillars of assessment in a research project, he displayed an ability of using an assessment tool in another area, other than in clinical assessments and research. The second part of his workup of the research project focused on the ethical guidelines he must follow. Dr. Toby found in his review of the guidelines, he had to go above and beyond them. Work with his peers, using their experiences and observations, along with an invitation to review his workup. This will allow him to remain in the guidelines set forth by laws, regulations, IRBs, and associations.

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PILLARS AND ETHICS 10 References Conflicts of interest; Responsible conduct of research . (2018). Retrieved from Columbia University: http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/rcr/rcr_conflicts/foundation/ Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct, including 2010 and 2016 amendments . (2017). Retrieved from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/ Ethics and informed consent . (2018). Retrieved from University of Connecticut: https://researchbasics.education.uconn.edu/ethics-and-informed-consent/ Lesson Week 1 . (2018). Retrieved from PSYC 502 Lessons: https://edge.apus.edu/portal/site/387835/tool/061cd909-8c54-44dc-b040- 20931d7c8413/ShowPage? returnView=&studentItemId=0&backPath=&errorMessage=&clearAttr=&source=&title =&sendingPage=2364341&newTopLevel=false&postedComment=false&addBefore=&it emId=8201142&p What is the difference between "consent" and "authorization" under the HIPPA Privacy Rule? (n.d.). Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/264/what-is-the-difference-between- consent-and-authorization/index.html Zur, O. (2018). Introduction to informed consent in psychotherapy, counseling and assessment . Retrieved from Zur Institute: https://www.zurinstitute.com/informedconsent.html

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