{"id":47471,"date":"2022-03-31T23:20:59","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T23:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/psych-660-case-study-one-worksheet\/"},"modified":"2022-03-31T23:20:59","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T23:20:59","slug":"psych-660-case-study-one-worksheet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/psych-660-case-study-one-worksheet\/","title":{"rendered":"Psych 660 case study one worksheet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Dr. Eduardo Romaro, a clinically trained forensic ps<\/span>ychologist, was retained by the prosecution <\/span>to evaluate the intellectual competence of John Stone, a 50-ye<\/span>ar-old <\/span>man convicted of first-degree murder of a guard <\/span>during a bank robbery. John had <\/span>cla<\/span>imed he was innocent throughout <\/span>the trial. In t<\/span>he state in which the trial was <\/span>conducted, individuals convicted of such an offense<\/span> face the death penalty. John\u2019s <\/span>attorney challenged the death penalty option for his clie<\/span>nt, claiming that the defendant <\/span>is intellectually disabled. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in <\/span>Atkins v. <\/span><\/em>Virginia<\/span><\/em>(2002) that the execution of those with intellectua<\/span>l disability (formerly known as <\/span>mental retardation) is unconstitutional. Dr. Romaro <\/span>had worked with the prosecution <\/span>before on intellectual disability cases, but thi<\/span>s is the first time he had been <\/span>retained for a capital punishment case. He is pers<\/span>onally ambivalent about whether <\/span>states should implement the death penalty.<\/span><\/p>\n

The psychologist meets John in a private room <\/span>in the prison and administers a <\/span>battery of intellectual and adaptive behavior tests wi<\/span>th proven psychometric validity <\/span>for determining forensically relevant intellectual ability. Just as <\/span>he ends the formal <\/span>test administration, John becomes distraught<\/span> and appears to be experiencing <\/span>an anxiety attack. In his distress the psychologis<\/span>t hears the prisoner repeatedly <\/span>asking God for forgiveness for killing the guard and for murdering another pers<\/span>on, <\/span>who he keeps calling \u201cthe boy waiting for the bus.\u201d <\/span>The psychologist shifts into an <\/span>emergency crisis intervention mode to help calm the defendant and rings for assistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Romaro was shocked to hear John \u201cconfe<\/span>ss\u201d not only to the bank murder <\/span>but also to the murder of a \u201cboy waiting for a bus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders<\/em>, fourth edition<\/span><\/p>\n

(DSM-IV-TR<\/em>) diagnosis of intellectual disability (curre<\/span>ntly termed \u201cmental retardation <\/span>developmental disability\u201d) requires that individ<\/span>uals demonstrate significantly <\/span>sub-average intellectual functioning, impai<\/span>rments in adaptive functioning, <\/span>and onset before 18 years of age<\/em>. Similarly, the state stand<\/span>ard for intellectual disability <\/span>includes a developmental history of intellectual impairmen<\/span>t. Prior to testing, <\/span>Dr. Romaro had asked the prosecutor for all avail<\/span>able childhood mental health or <\/span>school records to determine if John meets these <\/span>criteria. No formal educational <\/span>or psychological evaluations were included in<\/span> the materials he received. The <\/span>records indicated that John had a poor academi<\/span>c record, was retained in fifth <\/span>grade, was suspended several times for comin<\/span>g to school drunk, and had left <\/span>school when he was 15. State criteria also inclu<\/span>de an IQ score less than 70 and <\/span>poor adaptive skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That evening Dr. Romaro scores the test battery. John\u2019s <\/span>IQ score is 71, his performance <\/span>on other cognitive tests fell close to the intel<\/span>lectual disability cutoff score <\/span>(some above, some below). His adaptive functionin<\/span>g score is a standard deviation <\/span>below average. However, given the prisoner\u2019s age,<\/span> without a more detailed set of <\/span>childhood records, it is difficult to clearly conclude that he meets the DSM-IV-TR<\/em><\/span>or state legal criteria for intellectual disability. D<\/span>r. Romaro had not been asked to <\/span>administer assessments for mood, schizophrenia, or<\/span> other psychotic disorders that <\/span>might impair intellectual and adaptive performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ethical Dilemma<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Romaro is not sure what forensic opinion to give regarding whether or not<\/span><\/p>\n

John meets the legal criteria for intellectual disability. Without evidenc<\/span>e of intellectual <\/span>disability in his youth, a diagnosis of intellectual<\/span> disability may not be possible <\/span>and, thus, could not be used to support John\u2019s d<\/span>eath penalty appeal. He is also <\/span>unsure whether he has an ethical responsibility to include in his report J<\/span>ohn\u2019s <\/span>\u201cconfession\u201d or John\u2019s statement about the \u201cboy waiting for a bus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Respond to the following questions in 1,250 to 1,500 words.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Why is this an ethical dilemma? Which APA Ethical Principles help frame the nature of the dilemma?<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. How might Dr. Romaro\u2019s ambivalence toward the death penalty influence his decision to offer a forensic diagnosis of intellectual disability? How might John\u2019s \u201cconfession\u201d or his comment about the \u201cboy waiting for the bus\u201d influence the decision? To what extent should these factors play a role in Dr. Romaro\u2019s report?<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. How are APA Ethical Standards 2.0f, 3.06, 4.04, 4.05, 5.01, 9.01a and 9.06 relevant to this case? Which other standards might apply?<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. What steps should Dr. Romaro take to ethically implement his decision and monitor its effect?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Reference<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Fisher, C. B. (2013). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Dr. Eduardo Romaro, a clinically trained forensic psychologist, was retained by the prosecution to evaluate the intellectual competence of John Stone, a 50-year-old man convicted of first-degree murder of a guard during a bank robbery. John had claimed he was innocent throughout the trial. In the state in which the trial was conducted, individuals convicted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47471\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assignmenttutors.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}