2008 Revision of the Chinese Code of Ethical Use of Psychological ...

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ETHICAL USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN CHINA 35“using computerized interpretation reports” (reverse scored), “not informing raw scores” (reversescored), and “repeated testing” (reverse scored)—were evaluated as “unsure” by more than 40%of the participants. These six behaviors were judged by participants as controversial behaviors.For participants’ choices in the second part, the behavior occurrence frequencies of the41 behaviors were calculated. The average occurrence frequency rating of the participants was2.63. The mean frequencies of 11 items exceeded 3.0. This result indicates that the behaviorsrelated to ethical issues developed on the basis of the 2008 ethics code covered the most commonethical dilemmas or conflicts experienced by the participants in their practice.Qualifications and CompetenceDownloaded by [Peking University] at 18:02 05 February 2012Two items in the 2008 Code of Ethical Use of Psychological Tests defined a strict regulationon the qualifications of psychological testers in both research and professional practice. Theaccuracy rates and behavior occurrence frequencies regarding qualifications and competence areshown in Table 1.The data suggested that the participants’ behaviors were not in accordance with their ethicalbeliefs regarding this issue. “Conducting psychological tests without holding a certificate issuedby the CPS” and “conducting training on psychological tests without holding the training certificateissued by the CPS” were considered ethical rule violations by more than half the participants(64.0 and 78.8%, respectively), but participants reported that these behaviors frequently occurredaround them (M = 3.21 and 3.10, respectively).Less than half of the participants indicated that “conducting psychological tests not registeredin the CPS” was a violation of the ethical code, and this item was also among the top five mostfrequent behaviors among psychological test users (M = 3.33).Appropriate Use of Psychological TestsThe most commonly reported use of psychological tests was for research purposes (78.0%).Ten percent of participants reported the purposes of allocation, psychotherapy, and appointment.Nearly one third of the participants had experience using psychological tests for decision makingsuch as medical diagnoses, consultation, education, and personnel selection.TABLE 1Qualifications and CompetenceItemsAccuracyRateFrequenciesSDFrequencies7. Conduct psychological tests without holding the certificate 64.0 3.21 1.51issued by CPS18. Conduct psychological tests not registered in the CPS 44.1 3.33 1.4438. Conduct training on psychological tests without holdingthe training certificate issued by the CPS78.8 3.10 1.58Note. CPS = Chinese Psychological Society.
36 GAN ET AL.TABLE 2Appropriate Use of Psychological TestsItemsAccuracyRateFrequenciesSDFrequenciesDownloaded by [Peking University] at 18:02 05 February 201244. Delete or revise items in the original test before conducting the test 47.1 2.87 1.449. Help respondents report behaviors not in agreement with the ethical 56.9 1.13 1.26code conducted by a colleague42. Use test norms in another region, culture or age range 71.6 2.78 1.4326. Use tests without standardization 76.6 2.90 1.5236. Use psychological tests without psychometric data for entertaining 72.5 2.96 1.83purpose40. Revise and publish test not authorized by its original author 92.1 2.34 1.5243. Use tests developed in Western culture without revision or76.6 2.90 1.52restandardization13. Conduct tests without following the steps required by the test85.5 2.83 1.43manual6. Conduct tests with norms that are inappropriate given the86.5 2.32 1.43respondents’ conditions39. Provide test items, scoring criterion, and norms to nonprofessional 69.6 2.60 1.48individuals4. Use SCL-90 to measure mental health of normal people 27.8 3.73 1.5831. Repeated test on the same group of participants 25.5 2.74 1.40Note. SCL-90 = Symptom Checklist-90.The accuracy rates and behavior occurrence frequencies regarding the appropriate use of psychologicaltests are shown in Table 2. Concerning the abuse of psychological tests, “providingtest items, scoring criterion, and norms to nonprofessional individuals” was both inaccuratelyjudged (as not violating ethical rules) and commonly practiced by more than 30% of participants.Although nearly three fourths (72.5%) of the participants made the correct decision inconsidering “using psychological tests without psychometric data for entertainment purpose” aviolation of the ethical code, this behavior was reported as very common occurrence in real life(frequency = 2.96).Concerning the misuse of psychological tests, only 47.1% of participants considered “deletingor revising items in the original test before conducting the test” a violation of the ethical rules.Although the accuracy rates were acceptable, “using standardized instrument” (reverse coded)and “using psychological tests developed in the Western culture without revision or renorming”had high frequencies of occurrence among Chinese psychological users (frequency of 2.90 forboth). Similarly, participants reported that “using tests developed in the Western culture withoutrevision or standardization,” “conducting tests without following the steps required by the testmanual,” and “using test norms in another region, culture, or age range” were very commonlypracticed among Chinese psychological test users. The current findings also indicate that morethan 60% of participants considered “helping respondents report behaviors not in agreement withthe ethical code conducted by a colleague” unnecessary.The results demonstrate that more than 70% of the participants wrongly considered that theSymptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) could be used to measure the mental health of normal people;this was also the most frequently practiced behavior (3.73) among the 41 behaviors.
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