A First Approximation Toward the Behavioral Specification of Social-Professional Skills for Clinical Psychologists

Abstract

The problem. The development of a reliable device to measure the social-professional skills of students in practica in a professional psychology graduate program. Procedure. Inexperienced practicum students were rated weekly on their social-professional skills by experienced students and faculty on a questionnaire containing twelve skill dimensions, each with a zero to sixteen point rating scale. As the study progressed rater feedback was utilized to make the dimensions more specific. First, descriptive performance statements were added to each dimension. Then, performance statements were assigned a range of point values. The maximum possible points for the performance statements were 16, or the total possible points for a dimension. Findings. The data from this study indicated that as items became more specific, agreement between two raters improved. However, the reasons for this were unclear. Recommendations. Students may be given feedback on their social--professional skills through the social-professional skills rating scale developed here. The effect of such feedback on student performance of those skills should be evaluated.