3 Flashcards
Diagnosis
Process of determining whether presenting problem meets the established criteria for specific psychological disorder.
Clinical assessment
Systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in a person presenting with a possible psychological disorder.
Mental status exam
Relatively course preliminary test of a client’s judgment, orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state; typically conducted during an initial interview.
- Appearance and behavior
- Thought processes
- Mood and affect
- Intellectual functioning
- Sensorium
Standardization
Process of establishing specific norms and requirements for measurement technique to ensure it is used consistently across measurement locations. This includes instructions for administering the measure, evaluating its findings, and comparing these to data for March numbers of people.
Behavioral assessment
Measuring, observing, and systematically evaluating (rather than inferring) the client’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the actual problem situation or context.
Self-monitoring
The action by which clients observe and record their own behaviors as either an assessment of a problem and exchange or a treatment procedure that makes them more aware of the responses. Also known as self-observation.
Projective tests
Psychoanalytically based measure that presents an ambiguous stimuli
to clients on the assumption that their responses can reveal their unconscious conflicts. Such tests are inferential and Alachale reliability and validity.
Personality inventories
Self-report questionnaire that assesses personal traits by asking respondents to identify descriptions that apply to themselves.
Intelligence quotient
Score on an intelligence test estimating a person’s deviation from average test performance.
Neuropsychological testing
Assessment of brain and nervous system functioning by testing an individual’s performance on behavioral tasks.
False positive
Assessment error in which pathology is reported when none is actually present.
False-negative
Assessment error which no pathology is is noted when one is actually present.
Psychophysiological assessment
Measurement of changes in the nervous system reflecting psychological or emotional events such as anxiety, stress, and sexual arousal.
Idiographic strategy
A close and detailed investigation of an individual emphasizing what makes that person unique.
Nomothetic strategy
Identification examination of large groups of people with the same disorder to note similarities and develop general laws.
Classification
Assignment of objects or people to categories on the basis of shared characteristics.
Taxonomy
System of naming a classification in science.
Nosology
Classification and naming system for medical and psychological phenomena.
Nomenclature
In a naming system or nosology, the actual labels or names that are applied. In psychopathology, these include new disorders and eating disorders.
Classical categorical approach
Classification method founded on the assumption of clear-cut differences among disorders, each with a different known cause. Also known as pure categorical approach.
Dimensional approach
Method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than on a binary, either-or, or all-or-non-basis.
Prototypical approach
System for categorizing disorders using both essential, defining characteristics and a range of variation on other characteristics.
Familial aggregation
The extent to which disorder would be found among the patient’s relatives.
Labeling
Applying a name to a phenomenon or pattern of behavior. The label may acquire negative connotations or be applied erroneously to the person rather than that person’s behaviors.
