Informal Assessments in Psychology

Informal Assessments in Psychology

Introduction

Informal assessments are assessment procedures that are used in informal situations. These settings include settings that are not structured in nature. Informal assessments are therefore procedures that are developed at home or homegrown which are aimed at assessing certain aspects of a situation (Neukrug & Fawcett, 2010). Though they are subjective, these assessment procedures are usually set up to meet certain standards (Neukrug & Fawcett, 2010).

Types of informal assessments include observation, rating scales, numerical scales, and rank order scales. When working with children there are two techniques which one can be used. These techniques are observation and rating scales.

Observation is an important technique when one wishes to seek to understand an individual in an informal setting. This normally takes place in the child’s natural setting and gives the observer an opportunity to note specific behaviors one is working towards (Neukrug & Fawcett, 2010). As compared to other techniques, this technique is advantageous when working with children because one is able to target a specific behavior, that is, event sampling, without noting the time.

In addition to this, there is the time sampling approach where the observer takes note of the time allocated in order to obtain the information needed. Rating scales on the other hand are techniques that are also suitable in informal settings. They are advantageous to use since they can be easily developed by the observer (Neukrug & Fawcett, 2010). In the case of observing children, the rating scales are vital instruments since they can be constructed within a short span of time and used to obtain information from a child quite easily.

In spite of the challenges associated with them such as the hallo effect, they normally give a general overview of the child who is being observed. In essence, the rating scales and the observation schedules can be used by both professionals and close relatives to the children. As compared to other techniques, they are not complex, thus they remain to be suitable techniques. Question two: Case Study

The case study presents a situation whereby a man is complaining about the state of affairs in his house that makes him feel incapacitated to bring the changes which are desired. In this case, George feels that there is something wrong with the family thus he seeks professional advice (Neukrug & Fawcett, 2010). As per the situation, George holds the belief that his family has the potential of being happier and comfortable, yet that is not the case. Thus as a therapist, there are several things that one can use in order to evaluate what is happening in this case. First and foremost, it is important for the therapist to carry out an assessment.

In this case, there are several types of techniques that can be preferred. The most preferred assessment technique would be environmental assessment techniques. This technique is crucial because it would provide vital information about the kind of environment which George operates in (Neukrug & Fawcett, 2010). The assessment procedure in this case would include collecting information from George’s home and workplace.

The information shall be largely obtained through self-report and observation approaches. The therapist shall carry out direct observation of George’s workplace and home. This will be done in order to obtain the actual information about what is happening within the life of George. Home visits will be considered because it is not unusual to discover vital information about the client which may not surface in the therapy session. The therapist will also use situation assessment. In this case, the therapist will seek to create a situation that depicts the natural situation in order to assess what happens in the real setting.

This entails role play where the therapist will determine how George might act or normally acts in certain situations. Finally, the therapist may use the socio-metric assessment procedure. This procedure is used when the therapist seeks to determine the position and the dynamics that are elicited within George’s family and workplace. This assessment technique will bring to the fore the kind of relationships which are existing within George’s family. Thus the therapist will be able to know exactly what the cause of the problems within the family is.

In order to effectively obtain the information which is sought, there are various instruments that must be used. These instruments include the behavior rating inventory of executive function (Neukrug & Fawcett, 2010). This instrument will bring to the fore the behavioral and emotional functioning of George’s children. The questionnaire filled by the teachers and the paren