443. A Deep Dive Into Continuous Performance Tests w/ Dr. Chris Mulchay

Dr. Jeremy Sharp Podcast 4 Comments

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The title says it all, folks. Of all the topics discussed in the Testing Psychologist Community, continuous performance tests are one of the most popular, and most opaque. My guest today, Dr. Chris Mulchay, is as close to a CPT connoisseur as you can possibly be. If you’re one of the many of us who question the use of CPT’s, their role in testing, and the research behind them, this episode is for you. These are a few topics that we discuss:

  • The history of CPT’s
  • Using a true hypothesis testing model in assessment
  • Sensitivity vs. specificity
  • Pros and cons of all the major CPT’s available right now

Addendum: after the episode, Chris asked me to include the following clarification:

I received one question about the IVA norms, and I think I should have stated it differently. Instead of saying the norms were based on 26 people, I should have said the validity data is based on 26 kids who have ADHD, and I should have read from the Buros report:

Evidence of validity is limited to what appears to be the original validity study that investigated the discriminative and concurrent validity of the IVA. This was a study involving 26 children who had been diagnosed as having ADHD and 31 children with no history of such a diagnosis.

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About Dr. Chris Mulchay

Dr. Mulchay has joined me before to talk about child custody evals. He is the co-author of The Field Guide to High Conflict Litigation. With Jonathan Gould, he co-authored the chapter on child custody for The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Law, as well as the APA Handbook of Forensic Psychology. But he’s here to talk about continuous performance tests today. He also has published recent articles on evaluations of dyslexia (reading disorder), dyscalculia (math disorder), dysgraphia (writing disorder), and the virtual reality ADHD continuous performance test. You may also see him in our Facebook group, which he helps moderate.

Get in Touch

About Dr. Jeremy Sharp

I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and have grown to over 20 clinicians. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents.

As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids.

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Comments 4

  1. I listened to the podcast and am wondering where can I find some samples of how to write up testing limitation footnotes in my reports. What does one write for the CPT, WAIS, behavioral checklists, etc.? Thanks.

    1. Post
      Author

      Here are some thoughts from Dr. Mulchay:

      Regarding the limitations, a few examples:

      The TOVA is a well-researched test that has strong validity and reliability data, although most of the studies were conducted in one region of the country. This information was considered in the interpretation of the client’s results.

      The Nesplora Aula is a well-researched test that has strong validity and reliability data of clients in Spain. The company is working to develop US norms.

    1. Post
      Author

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