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Characterizing Expert Psychologist Behavior: Implications from Selected Expertise Literature

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Abstract

This article selectively reviews literature on the development of expertise in counseling and on assessment tasks of professional psychologists. Relevant theories of the development of expertise are reviewed, as well as selected research on medical diagnostic expertise. Whereas counselor development models have become widely used conceptual tools, similar theories from the expertise literature have been relatively neglected despite their promise. Design features and research issues from investigations of medical diagnostic expertise, including the use of forward and backward reasoning processes, might help operationalize “expertise” in professional psychology.

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Locke, T.F., Covell, A.J. Characterizing Expert Psychologist Behavior: Implications from Selected Expertise Literature. Educational Psychology Review 9, 239–249 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024735224481

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