final clinical 50

Overview

Site throughout the paper. Avoid using “I think” or “I believe.” Cite in every single sentence if possible throughout the paper. Add APA-style references at the end. The paper should be 9 to 10 pages long, and everything must follow APA style.Paul E. Meehl: Back to the Future of the Discipline of Clinical Psychology

Paul Meehl was one of the most important thinkers in the history of the field of clinical psychology. He wrote a number of papers that captured the problems inherent in the process of testing, assessing and treating patients with psychological or psychiatric problems. I am providing you with two of his most well-known and provocative papers: the first, “Wanted–A Good Cookbook Download Wanted–A Good Cookbook” published in the American Psychologist in 1956, when the field of Clinical Psychology was still redefining itself after World War II; and the second, an adapted version of “Why I Do Not Attend Case Conferences Download Why I Do Not Attend Case Conferences” published later in his career in 1973, which at first seems to be a curmudgeonly complaint about too much chit chat and time wasting in case conferences, but quickly turns into a manifesto on how psychology needs to become rigorous, logical and scientific if it is going to be able to advance the goals of clinical assessment and treatment. This latter paper provides numerous practical examples of what was wrong with the direction that clinical psychology (and other fields) had taken. Use the following two sets of questions to organize a clear and coherently written essay focused on the issues raised in Meehl’s two papers.

1. What is the main theme of “Wanted––A Good Cookbook” Download Wanted––A Good Cookbook”? Describe the two positions that Meehl suggests are part of judgment and decision making in clinical psychology. In other words, what do you think is Meehl’s central critique of the processes that are used in clinical judgment, that is, what does Meehl argue is wrong with the way clinical decision making often proceeds? Provide two examples of advantages and disadvantages (or strengths and weaknesses) of each position. Discuss the status of this issue in clinical psychology in the 21st Century (see your textbook pages 90-95 for a start to your answer, but don’t just paraphrase the book back). What are the arguments against Meehl’s approach? What are the arguments for Meehl’s approach? Give empirical examples from the textbook or from your own exploration of the contemporary literature on clinical decision making that support, as well as undermine Meehl’s claims?
2. Read the adapted version of Meehl’s 1973 “Case Conferences Download Case Conferences” article and review the list of what Meehl considers is “wrong” with case conferences. It is not required that you read the longer article (see below), but you might find it helpful in formulating your response. Pick two “wrongs” that Meehl discusses and explain in your own words what the “wrong is.” Provide two examples for each “wrong” of how you think the particular wrong might negatively impact the process of assessment/diagnosis or therapy. Describe how you might fix each of the two "wrongs" you have chosen. How can the approaches advocated in Meehl’s Cookbook paper be used to correct the problems described in his later Case Conference paper? Your job is to be as specific as you can in your solutions.

Your essay will be graded for how clearly you state your answers in your own words, and for the relevance and specificity of the examples you use to support your position on the questions. You may use your textbook or any published study you would like to support your arguments. If you use published studies, be sure to include a citation in your essay and a reference list at the end of your essay. You may not use AI for any part of this assignment.

The two articles required for reading for this assignment are linked above but can also be obtained from links in Weeks 9 and 10. In addition, here are additional articles –some very old and some newer– you may find helpful and may wish to review and use to guide your thinking. None of the articles below are required reading:

1. Ægisdóttir, S., White, MJ, Spengler, PM, Maugherman, AS, Anderson, LA, Cook, RS, Nichols, CN, Lampropoulos, GK, Walker, BS, Cohen, G, & Rush, JD. 2006. The meta-analysis of clinical judgment project: Fifty-six years of accumulated research on clinical versus statistical prediction. Download The meta-analysis of clinical judgment project: Fifty-six years of accumulated research on clinical versus statistical prediction.The Counseling Psychologist, 34: 341-382.
2. Dawes, RM, Faust, F, & Meehl, PE. 1993. Statistical prediction versus clinical prediction: Improving what words Download Statistical prediction versus clinical prediction: Improving what words. In G. Keren & C. Lewis (Eds.). A Handbook for Data Analysis in the Behavioral Sciences: Methodological Issues. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 351-367.
3. Grove, WM & Meehl, PE. 1996. Comparative efficiency of informal (subjective, impressionistic) and formal (mechanical, algorithmic) prediction procedures: The clinical-statistical controversy Download Comparative efficiency of informal (subjective, impressionistic) and formal (mechanical, algorithmic) prediction procedures: The clinical-statistical controversy. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2: 293-323.
4. Grove, WM, Zald, DH, Lebow, BS, Snitz, BE & Nelson, C. 2000. Clinical versus mechanical prediction: A meta-analysis. Download Clinical versus mechanical prediction: A meta-analysis.Psychological Assessment, 12: 19-30.
5. Mann, RD. 1956. A critique of P. E. Meehl’s “Clinical versus Statistical Prediction Download A critique of P. E. Meehl’s “Clinical versus Statistical Prediction”. Behavioral Science, 1: 224-230.
6. Meehl, PE. 1954. Clinical versus Statistical Prediction: A Theoretical Analysis and a Review of the Evidence Download Clinical versus Statistical Prediction: A Theoretical Analysis and a Review of the Evidence. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. [Chapter 1: The Problem, pp. 3-9 and Chapter 8: Empirical Comparisons of Clinical and Actuarial Prediction, pp. 83-128.]
7. Meehl, PE. 1973. Why I do not attend case conferences. In P.E. Meehl. Psychodiagnosis: Selected Papers Download Psychodiagnosis: Selected Papers. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 225-302. [This is the full 84 page version of Meehl’s chapter from which the adapted version you are required to read was derived]