Application of the Daubert Standards to the Meyers Neuropsychological Battery Using the Rohling Interpretive Method

Threats to the integrity of psychological assessment: The misuse of test raw data and materials

In the practice of psychological assessment there have been warnings for decades by the American Psychological Association (APA), the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN), other associations, and test vendors, against the disclosure of test raw data and test materials. Psychological assessment occurs across several different practice environments, and test raw data is a particularly sensitive aspect of practice considering what it implicitly represents about a client/patient, and this concept is further developed in this paper. Many times, test materials are intellectual property protected by copyrights and user agreements. It follows that improper management of the release of test raw data and test materials threatens the scientific integrity of psychological assessment. Here the matters of test raw data, test materials, and different practice environments are addressed to highlight the challenges involved with improper releases and to offer guidance concerning good-faith efforts to preserve the integrity of psychological assessment and legal agreements. The unique demands of forensic practice are also discussed, including attorneys' needs for cross-examination and discovery, which may place psychologists (and other duly vetted evaluators) in conflict with their commitment to professional ethical codes and legal agreements. To this end, important threats to the proper use of test raw data and test materials include uninformed professionals and compromised evaluators. In this paper, the mishandling of test raw data and materials by both psychologists and other evaluators is reviewed, representative case examples, including those from the literature, are provided, pertinent case law is discussed, and practical stepwise conflict resolutions are offered.

Ecological validity of the Meyers Neuropsychological Battery

Neuropsychologists are increasingly being asked to apply neuropsychological test results to real world functioning; however, neuropsychological tests are not usually constructed to do so, but instead are more concerned with diagnostic accuracy than with prediction of daily functioning. Using samples of 5,460 patients that did self-ratings and 2791 patients that had family ratings plus the Meyers Neuropsychological Battery (MNB), it was found that the family ratings were better predicted by neuropsychological test data than were self-ratings on the 38 item Patient Competency Rating Scale (PCRS). The R values for family ratings on the 36 regression equations ranged from .236 to .763. The results show that the ratings given patients by family members could be predicted by the neuropsychological test results. These findings can help the clinician to make broad statements regarding likely real-life functioning and also support the ecological validity of the tests that make up the MNB.

Cross-validation and initial investigation of two abbreviated methods of the finger tapping test

The Finger Tapping Test (FTT) is a widely utilized measure to assess lateralized motor speed and dexterity. The current study sought to cross-validate an abbreviated version of the FTT (i.e., M of Trials 3-5) and to evaluate a novel abbreviated method (i.e., M of three trials within five taps of each other; "3 within 5") to examine their respective effectiveness as a predictor of full-score performance based on a traditional administration procedure. The results showed that the abbreviated methods accurately predicted the full-test score, and any statistically significant differences that emerged were small based on effect size analysis and unlikely to be clinically meaningful. These findings were consistent across genders, among older adults, and among individuals displaying significant inter-trial tapping variability and thus requiring lengthier administration time. Classification accuracy statistics for the detection of impairment and performance validity status were high for both abbreviated methods. The results support two valid options for shortening the duration of the FTT. Both methods, used independently or in combination, are compatible with traditional administration procedures.