Self-Examination Questions as a Means of Identifying Bias in Adversarial Assessments

As clinical neuropsychologists engage more frequently in assessment of potentially adversarial administrative or legal cases, there is a need to address more carefully the potential for personal bias that may develop as a result of either conscious or unconscious responses to the powerful influences operating within such cases. The present paper describes a heuristic approach directed toward increasing the clinician's objectivity in rendering opinions in adversarial cases that rests upon self-examination questions. The authors contend that greater awareness of the expectations of objectivity, ifclearly and explicitly operationalized, will allow clinical neuropsychologists to work conscientiously to reduce possible bias in their expert opinions.