The use of psychological assessments in coaching and coaching research

McDowall, Almuth (2017) The use of psychological assessments in coaching and coaching research. In: Bachkirova, T. and Spence, G. and Drake, D. (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Coaching. London, UK: Sage, pp. 627-643. ISBN 9781473916531.

Abstract

This chapter outlines the nature, value and use of psychological assessments in coaching with particular reference to how such assessments can be used in coaching research. The content extends beyond existing material on this topic (Bourne, 2007; Smewing & McDowall, 2010; Passmore, 2012) to include conceptual issues, such as the nature of psychological constructs being examined, the rationale for their respective measurement, but also the gaps in our understanding. In particular, the chapter argues that trained coaches should use psychometrics appropriately by checking and corroborating outputs and reports with the coachee. This constitutes good and appropriate practice but is rarely done in research, where profiles are usually taken at face value, without further exploration of the accuracy of the results. Specifically, this chapter commences with an overview of a range of psychological assessments available to coaches and their application, building on Smewing and McDowall (2010) to include contemporary developments. The next section will outline some of the conceptual debates in the field with particular reference to person- rather than task- or performance-focused constructs through examination of key meta-analytic literature and other reviews. As much of the literature has been written with a general audience in mind, rather than for coaching specifically, it draws the link back to a coaching context as appropriate to include a discussion of relevant, but usually smaller scale, studies in a coaching context. The last section of this chapter leaves the reader with an agenda to improve the use of psychological assessments in research and practice, referencing the need for professional development in the area. Future directions for the use of psychological assessment in coaching include that research could learn much from practice to utilise psychological assessments as part of a process, rather than relying on numbers and scores alone.

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