Little is known about the comparative knowledge base and use of testing among psychiatrists and psychologists, although both groups are asked to make critical diagnostic decisions based on test results. In this research, 102 psychiatrists and 108 psychologists (approximately half in forensic practice) completed a survey on psychological testing. Psychologists reported more knowledge about tests of trauma and tests of malingering than psychiatrists, but both psychologists and psychiatrists were less knowledgeable about malingering tests as compared to other psychological tests. Psychiatrists also reported greater expertise than did psychologists in tests of psychotic process. Although both psychologists and psychiatrists preferred diagnostic decisions based on interview and testing rather than interview alone, psychologists rated the incremental utility of testing more strongly than did psychiatrists. More than 85% of psychologists and approximately two-thirds of psychiatrists reported that testing plus interview was more likely than interview alone to yield an accurate diagnosis. Psychiatrists showed more faith in the clinical interview as a sole diagnostic instrument than did psychologists, and psychiatrists were less likely than psychologists to report that the inclusion of malingering tests was crucial in forensic settings.

尽管对这两个小组都要求根据测试结果做出重要的诊断决策，但是对于比较知识基础以及在精神科医生和心理学家中进行测试的用途知之甚少。在这项研究中，有102位精神科医生和108位心理学家（法医实践中约占一半）完成了一项关于心理测验的调查。心理学家报告说，比起精神病医生，他们对创伤测试和恶意伤害测试的知识要多得多，但是与其他心理测试相比，心理学家和精神科医生对恶意伤害测试的知识都较少。精神科医生还报告说，在进行精神病过程测试时，其专业知识要比心理学家更大。尽管心理学家和精神科医生都偏爱基于访谈和测试的诊断决定，而不是仅基于访谈，心理学家对心理测试的增量效用的评价比精神科医生更高。超过85％的心理学家和大约三分之二的精神科医生报告说，进行测试和面试比单独进行面试更有可能得出准确的诊断。与心理学家相比，精神科医生对临床访谈作为一种唯一的诊断工具表现出了更大的信心，而且与心理学家相比，精神科医生不太可能报告说，在整个法医环境中使用病假测试至关重要。