The present study was conducted to examine the effects of early
orientation of counseling related students to the two most prevalent paradigms
of psychodiagnostic decision-making on first, the integration of the model, and
second, on the ability to make proficient diagnostic decisions while in training.
Using an experimental, pretest posttest design, 60 participants from two
higher educational sites were randomly assigned to two treatment groups.
Participants in each group were oriented to one of two treatment conditions -- a
binary decision tree model or a problem-solving model (multiple competing
hypotheses). Participants were then introduced to DSM Axis II diagnostic
categories utilizing a computer assisted learning laboratory.
Results suggested that participants learned diagnosis during the
experiment. However, no significant difference in diagnostic proficiency
occurred as a result of the two treatment conditions.
Additional analyses raised questions about use of case studies as a
means of assessing diagnostic proficiency. Item difficulty appeared to be linked
to diagnostic clusters and individual diagnoses. Item difficulty factors influenced
the internal consistency and validity of test instruments. The assumption of the
unidimensial weight of syndromes in the construction of assessment
instruments is suspect. Considering the preponderance of case study use for
counselor training assessment, caution during instrument construction and use
is advised.
Evidence also existed that treatment groups responded differently to
particular DSM diagnostic clusters and items. This suggested that cluster and
item difficulty may be important to consider for instruction of diagnosis in the
classroom. Results also suggested that as diagnoses become more complex,
problem-solving diagnostic decision-making may become more important.
Secondary analysis of computer assisted learning resulted in significant
evidence that nonsequential, user-friendly computer assisted instruction may
overcome teaching-study style mismatch, resulting in more even distribution of
learning over the sample population. / Graduation date: 1998
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/33754 |
| Date | 22 July 1997 |
| Creators | Downs, Louis |
| Contributors | Firth, James |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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