Psychology License SPSLE Complete Review Guide 2026–2027

4. Competence depends on purpose, population and setting as well as instrument familiarity. Seek training or referral when the question exceeds expertise. — Guidelines 1–4.
5. Explain assessment purpose, possible outcomes and recipients in understandable language. Feedback should communicate meaning and limitations. — Guidelines 1 and 3.
6. Consider language, literacy, sensory and motor access. Adaptations and departures from standard conditions may limit interpretation and should be documented. — Guidelines 8–12.
7. Check scoring and administration errors before constructing clinical explanations. Floor and ceiling effects limit differentiation at score extremes. — Guideline 8.
8. Poor performance can reflect multiple influences. A validity concern does not by itself establish intentional deception. — Guideline 8, pp.17–18.
9. Online versions need evidence of suitable adaptation. Connection failures, distractions or coaching can alter what remote scores mean. — Guideline 15.
10. A positive suicide screen is followed by safety assessment. Assess current thoughts, timing, planning, access, past behavior, symptoms, stressors and usable supports. — Assess the patient.
11. Current suicidal thoughts with inability to remain safe require active supervision and urgent emergency evaluation. Routine testing must not delay care. — Frequency of suicidal thoughts; Determine disposition.
12. A collaborative safety plan specifies coping actions, contacts and steps to reduce access to dangerous items. A promise not to self-harm is not a substitute. — Make a safety plan.
13. Protective beliefs and supports inform assessment without proving zero risk. Review safety and follow-up needs as circumstances change. — Social Support; Determine disposition.
14. Developmental assessment combines early history, multiple settings and relevant cognitive, communication and adaptive functions. Strengths guide supports. — How is ASD diagnosed?
15. For attention concerns, clarify childhood history, persistence, cross-setting impairment and possible sleep, mood, anxiety or medical contributors. — How is ADHD diagnosed?
16. Mood assessment uses the course across time, not only today’s state. Ask about past mood elevation and coordinate medical review when appropriate. — How is bipolar disorder diagnosed?
17. Psychotic experiences have several possible causes. Evaluate changes from baseline, relevant medical or substance factors, safety and functional needs. — What causes psychosis?
18. Personality-related diagnoses require history and a clinical evaluation. Trait scores, adversity or family history alone do not establish a disorder. — Causes; Diagnosis.
19. Cohort designs proceed from exposure to outcome; case–control sampling starts from outcome status. Cross-sectional observations may leave temporal order unclear. — Types of Analytic Studies.
20. RR compares risks; OR compares odds. Analyze the design actually used, including matching and appropriate denominators. — Measures of Association; Matching.
21. Confidence intervals express uncertainty, not freedom from bias. Statistical significance alone does not establish causation or clinical importance. — Confidence Intervals; Epidemiologic Interpretation.
22. Confounding can distort associations; effect modification describes differing associations across groups. Specify analysis plans and missing-data handling before interpretation. — Confounding; Effect Modification; Planning.

Common mistakes in this chapter

• ✕ A screening result is not a complete diagnosis or disposition.
• ✕ A symptom or score alone does not prove a cause.
• ✕ Poor performance does not automatically prove deliberate deception.
• ✕ A protective factor does not guarantee safety.
• ✕ Statistical significance is not clinical importance or causation.