Researchers have addressed many clinician and client attributes in relation to the
accuracy of judgments made by mental health professionals. One such moderator
addressed clinicians’ judgment accuracy in relation to experience. Contrary to what
many clinicians expect, a number of studies have failed to demonstrate a positive
correlation between judgment accuracy and experience (e.g., Berman & Berman,
1984; Ruscio & Stern, 2005; Schinka & Sines, 1974). In Spengler et al. (2009), the
relationship between judgment accuracy and experience was assessed via a largescale
meta-analysis that examined studies of clinical judgment and experience from
1970 to 1996. The result was a small but reliable, homogeneous effect
demonstrating a positive correlation between judgment accuracy and experience.
The Spengler et al. meta-analysis found relatively few significant moderator effects
influencing the experience-accuracy effect, namely the type of judgment made by
clinicians, the criterion validity of accuracy measures used, and publication source.
In the present study, results from clinical judgment and experience studies from
1997 to 2010 were combined in a meta-analysis. An update and extension allowed
for cross-validation of the Spengler et al. meta-analysis with more recent research
as well as an exploration of additional moderator variables, such as profession type
and inclusion of non-mental health participants. The overall effect was .16, with a
95 percent confidence interval that was above zero (CI = .05 to .26). This overall
effect indicated experience significantly impacted judgment accuracy, consistent
with expectations. The overall effect was shown to be heterogeneous, indicating the
Q statistic was sufficiently large to reject the null hypothesis regarding homogeneity
of the effect size distribution. Exploratory analyses revealed the presence of two
significant moderator variables, namely judgment type and publication source.
Limitations included lack of variability of judgment type and difficulty with or
complete inability to assess other potential moderators of interest, such as feedback
and utilization of test protocols for the stimulus measure. Other limitations
included utilization of a less exhaustive search strategy, in which some relevant
studies may have been missed. Despite limitations, the results of the present metaanalysis
largely replicated those of the Spengler et al. meta-analysis. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:123456789/194623 |
| Date | 28 June 2011 |
| Creators | Pilipis, Lois A. |
| Contributors | Spengler, Paul M. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
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