The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) is a requirement for licensure as a psychologist across the entire United States as well as in numerous territories and provinces. Despite many longstanding criticisms and findings of bias, the EPPP is being expanded (adding a second, putatively competency-based, portion to the overall exam) and rebranded as the Enhanced EPPP. A review of literature reveals strong skepticism surrounding these developments, particularly with respect to the issue of criterion validity. The current study sought to examine the criterion validity of the EPPP by (1) drawing archival competency assessment data from existing measures (convergent validity) and (2) gathering new neurocognitive and emotional intelligence data, along with demographic data (discriminant validity), with copies of EPPP score reports from individuals who have recently taken the EPPP. Competency ratings did not significantly positively correlate with EPPP scores and, instead, indicated the opposite trend. Analyses also revealed a significant relationship between ethnicity and exam scores, with White individuals scoring higher than other ethnicities. Finally, performance on neurocognitive tests significantly positively correlated with exam scores, indicating that general test taking abilities play a larger role than abilities and competencies unique to the psychology field. Given the gatekeeping role the EPPP plays in the profession of psychology, external validation of the EPPP is of vital importance and was not supported in this study. Implications for the exam and the field are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc2178813 |
| Date | 07 1900 |
| Creators | Saldana, Samantha |
| Contributors | Callahan, Jennifer, Cicero, David, Cox, Randall |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | Text |
| Rights | Public, Saldana, Samantha, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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