Article archive / December 1, 2010
Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 4. Source pages: 6, 7.
A task force studying the activities of psychologists across the U.S. and Canada completed its work and published results in September and October 2010. The content-oriented, validity study was sponsored by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) and conducted by the Professional Examination Service (PES).
Dr. Greg Gormanous, formerly Chair at LSU-A, participated in the Practice Analysis Advisory Committee, which worked with the Practice Analysis Task Force and PES.
The team studied the activities of licensed psychologists in order to update the licensing exam and to establish competencies and how these competencies can be assessed.
The authors confirmed the eight knowledge domains of the licensing exam and suggested some small changes. “Biological Bases of Behavior” should increase from 11 percent of the test to 12 percent. “Growth and Lifespan Development” should increase from 12 to 13 percent and “Treatment, Intervention, Prevention, and Supervision” should increase from 14 to 15 percent. Three knowledge areas remain the same, “Cognitive- Affective Bases of Behavior” at 13 percent, “Social and Cultural Bases of Behavior” at 12 percent, “Assessment and Diagnosis ” at 14 percent, and “Ethical/Legal/Professional Issues” at 15 percent.
The study suggests that “Research Methods and Statistics” will decrease from 8 percent to 7 percent.
The research team surveyed 5,000 licensed psychologists across the U.S. and Canada. The return rate was 26 percent. Findings included:
“ • Regardless of country, respondents were more likely to have been trained in the major areas of clinical, counseling, and educational psychology than they were to be currently practicing in those major areas; and were more likely to be currently practicing in the major areas of clinical neuropsychology, forensic psychology, geropsychology, health psychology, and rehabilitation psychology than to have initially been trained in those major areas.”
“• In the U.S., more than one-half of the respondents indicated cognitive/behavioral psychology (58%), and 9% and 11% indicated interpersonal psychology and psychodynamic psychology as their primary orientation, respectively. No more than 6% of the U.S. respondents indicated any of the other four specifically-delineated theoretical orientations as primary. …”
“• Nearly one-third of the U.S. respondents have participated in formal post-doctoral specialization and/or respecialization and 17% of Canadian respondents have done so as well. Recently licensed respondents are more likely to have trained in clinical, clinical child, and school psychology, and less likely to have trained in community, counseling, developmental, educational, experimental, industrial- organizational, and social psychology than less recently licensed/registered respondents.”
One goal of the study was to confirm knowledge areas of the licensing exam. A second goal of the study was to identify “underlying professional competencies (including but not limited to those related to professional knowledge).”
The researchers noted six competency clusters: 1) Scientific Knowledge (covered in the licensing exam), 2) Evidence-Based Decision Making/Critical Reasoning, 3) Cultural and Interpersonal Competence, 4) Professionalism/Ethics, 5) Assessment, 6) Intervention/Supervision/Cons ultation.
(Editor’s note: The Times will cover findings regarding competency clusters in future editions.)
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.