In terms of psychological assessment which of the following describes the concept of validity?

a. two or more "raters" get the same answers

b. an assessment technique is consistent across different measures

c. an assessment technique measures what it is designed to measure

d. scores are used as a norm for comparison purposes

status: not answered ()
correct: c
your answer:

In trying to understand and help an individual with a psychological problem, the psychologist will obtain
detailed information about the person's life as part of a:

a. clinical interview

2 b. brain scan

c. physical exam

d. mental status exam

status: not answered ()
correct: a
your answer:

Many popular magazines include "psychological" or "personality" tests to help readers better understand
themselves or others. According to the textbook, most of these tests are:

a. for entertainment only

3 b. reliable

c. valid

d. informative and educational

status: not answered ()
correct: a
your answer:

The projective type of psychological tests is based on ________ theory.

a. humanistic

4 b. behavioral

c. psychoanalytic

d. cognitive
status: not answered ()
correct: c
your answer:

5 A psychoanalytic therapist who wants to assess the unconscious thoughts and feelings of a patient would
be most likely to use the ________ test.

a. Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test

b. Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery

c. Rorschach inkblot test

 d. MMPI
status: not answered ()
correct: c
your answer:

Which of the following is an accurate statement about the Thematic Apperception Test?

a. high inter-rater reliability exists among those administering the test

6 b. many clinicians use the TAT to encourage people to talk more openly about their lives

c. most psychologists interpret responses to the TAT cards in the same way

d. the TAT is used as a diagnostic test because validity is high

status: not answered ()
correct: b
your answer:

Neuropsychological tests are used to assess whether or not an individual might:

a. have had a psychotic episode

7 b. be in a depressed state

c. be mentally retarded

d. have a brain dysfunction

status: not answered ()
correct: d
your answer:

The crucial test as to whether a diagnostic system has a high degree of validity is that it should result in:

a. the accurate diagnostic label for the patient

b. an effective treatment plan

8

c. all clinicians reaching the same diagnosis for the patient

d. the same diagnostic label regardless of when the patient is evaluated

status: not answered ()
correct: a
your answer:

The best way to have a general idea of a patient's overall level of functioning in life is to look at DSM-IV
Axis ________.

a. V

9 b. II

c. III

d. I
status: not answered ()
correct: a
your answer:

10 All of the following are potential dangers of assigning a diagnostic label EXCEPT:
 a. health care workers may see the patient as the disorder rather than an individual

b. the patient's prognosis (future course of the disorder) becomes difficult to predict

c. the patient may lose self-esteem

d. family and friends may see the patient as the disorder rather than an individual
status: not answered ()
correct: b
your answer:

Diagnosis

 degree of fit between an individual's symptoms and diagnostic criteria

3 Components of Clinical Assessment

 reliability, validity, standardization

Reliability

 the degree to which a measurement is consistent

2 types of reliabilty

 inter-rater and test-retest

test-retest reliability

 determining whether assessment techniques are stable across time (Taking a test once,

then taking it again, one would want to get the same results)

inter-rater reliability

 carefully designing an assessment, conducting research, and ensuring that two or more

raters will get the same answers

validity

 whether something measures what is is designed to measure

Predictive Validity

 how well an assessment indicates what will happen in the future

Standardization
 consistent use of techniques to provide normative population data; the process by which

a certain set of standards or norms is determined for a technique to make its use consistent

across different measurements.

Unstructured Clinical Interview

 follows no systematic format

Structured Clinical Interview

 designed to provide a diagnosis for a client by detailed questioning of the client in a

"yes/no" or "definitely/somewhat/not at all" forced choice format.

 Semi-structured - made up of questions that have been carefully phrased and tested to

elicit useful info in a consistent manner so that clinicians can be sure they have inquired about

the most important aspects of particular disorders

Additional Examination (4 types)

 physical (twitching, odd movements, etc.), behavior assessment(identification and

observation of target behaviors) 2 types=> formal & informal, self-monitoring (watching one's own

behavior in hopes of changing it), reactivity (behavior changes as a result of being observed)

Psychological Testing (4 types)

 Projective tests,personality inventories, target symptom inventories, intelligence testing

Neuropsychological Tests assess

 brain-behavior relations, assets and deficits (how in-tact language and motor skills are

and how has it been affected; how the loss of one or more functions compensates for another)

CAT Scan (structural image)

 Computerized Axial Tomography

MRI (structural image)

 Magnetic Resonance Imaging

SPECT (image of brain functioning)

 Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography

 PET (image of brain functioning)

 Positron Emission Tomography

Biofeedback

 using biological info. to gain conscious control

Classification

 effort to construct categories and assign people to them based on shared attributes

Why do we classify?

 Communication (to communicate new findings)

 Information retrieval (find correct name(s) for conditions)

 Prediction (predict what's going to happen)

 Theory formulation (certain disorders should be associated with one another when they

share a certain commonality)

3 Forms of Classification

 classical (categorical) - assume that every diagnosis has a clear underlying

pathophysiological cause such as bacterial infection or malfunctioning endocrine system, and that

each disorder is unique

 dimensional - notes the variety of cognitions, moods, and behaviors with which the patient

presents and quantify them on a scale.

 prototypical-identifies certain essential characteristics of an entity so that you and others

can classify it, but it also allows certain nonessential variations that do not necessarily change the

classification.

Diagnostic Reliability

 consistency in diagnosis/diagnoses

Sources of unreliability (2)

 informational variance and interpretive variance

Informational variance

 what you find out (keeping in mind that different counselors ask different questions)
 interpretive variance

 difference amongst interpretations of meaning

Diagnostic Validity

 proving genuine diagnosis that fits the correct description

4 Criticisms of the DSM

 Comorbidity - 2 or more mental illnesses occurring simultaneously

 Reliability>validity

 Pathologizing or placing unnecessary labels on normal behaviors

 Non continuum approach

Mental Status Exam

 involves the systematic observation of an individual's behavior; gathers info on current

and past behavior, attitudes, and emotions as well as a detailed history of the individual's life in

general and of the presenting problem.

5 categories of organizing observations

 1. appearance and behavior

 2. thought processes

 3. mood and affect

 4. intellectual functioning

 5. sensorium - general awareness of surroundings.

ABCs of Observation

 antecedents - what happened just before the behavior(s)

 behavior- the act

 consequences - what happens as a result of the behavior

informal observation

 relies on the observer's recollection as well as interpretation of the events

formal observation
 involves identifying specific behaviors that are observable and measurable (an

operational definition)

Goal of formal/informal observation

 to see whether there are any obvious patterns of behavior and then to design a treatment

based on these patterns

idiographic strategy for diagnosis

 determine what is unique about an individual's personality, cultural background or

circumstances

Nomothetic strategy for diagnosis

 take advantage of the information already accumulated or a particular problem or disorder

and determine a general class of problems which the presenting problem belongs.

Nosology

 applying a taxonomic system to psychological or medical phenomena or other clinical

areas