35. Psychological Assessment

Question 1

what are the 4 common elements of human experience?

Answer 1

cognition, affect/emotion, motivation, behaviors

Question 2

descriptive (DSM) vs dynamic diagnosis?

Answer 2

Descriptive Classification incudes symptoms, epidemiology, is standardized
dynamic assessment includes beliefs, sense of self, functional ability, pattern of coping

Question 3

the goal of psychological assessment?

Answer 3

reducing vulnerability to illness, reducing risk of exacerbation, aid in treatment planning.

Question 4

what kind of system is the biopsychosocial model?

Answer 4

systems hierarchy, places individual within context of multiple levels of organization. comprehensive, integrative

Question 5

what are some of the factors which modify psychological experiences?

Answer 5

biology, stage of life, critical life events, social context

Question 6

what are Freud’s basic assumptions?

Answer 6

• the unconscious exists
• the unconscious may be in conflict with the conscious mind
• the unconscious can influence perception, thought, behavior

Question 7

according to Freud how can we access the unconscious?

Answer 7

• dreams
• slips of the tongue
• free-association

Question 8

define ID

Answer 8

totally unconscious.

biologically based drives and motives

Question 9

define EGO

Answer 9

CEO of the personality. both conscious and unconscious. mediates reality, drives, conscience, makes adaptations, organizes impulses from the id.

Question 10

define SUPEREGO

Answer 10

conscience, socially determined values and behaviors. derived from learning and also identification with social groups/family

Question 11

Id, Ego, Superego: which exist in the unconscious mind?

Answer 11

all three

Question 12

Id, Ego, Superego: which exist in the conscious mind?

Answer 12

Ego, Superego. mostly Ego.

Question 13

what are the 7 functions of the Ego?

Answer 13

• regulation/control of drives, affect, impulse
• interpersonal relationships
• sense of self
• capacity for pleasure
• reality testing
• synthetic integration
• defenses

Question 14

what are defenses?

Answer 14

mostly unconscious mechanisms which come into play when the ego experiences tension, disequilibrium. maintains self-esteem, aims to restore psychic equilibrium

Question 15

Changes an unacceptable wish into one that is socially acceptable: what defense?

Answer 15

sublimation

Question 16

involves some degree of conscious decision to postpone or avoid an emotionally troubling issue

Answer 16

suppression

Question 17

addresses an emotional conflict through constructive attention to the needs of others, as opposed to the needs of self

Answer 17

altriusm

Question 18

direct expression of feelings without discomfort or harm to others

Answer 18

humor

Question 19

emotional energy targets the unacceptable thought or feeling and keeps it out of consciousness while allowing the possibility of some symbolic representation to be expressed.

Answer 19

repression

Question 20

transfers the problematic feeling or impulse from its original context to a substitute that carries less intensity.

Answer 20

displacement

Question 21

strips all the feeling away from the thought.

Answer 21

isolation of affect

Question 22

similar to isolation, above. Involves excessive rational thought, divorced from any affect, as a means of addressing an emotionally uncomfortable issue. Also similar to rationalization which tries to make the intolerable tolerable via a plausible explanation

Answer 22

intellectualization

Question 23

deals with an unacceptable thought or feeling by substituting its opposite.

Answer 23

reaction formation

Question 24

anger expressed indirectly through passivity or inaction.

Answer 24

passive aggression

Question 25

a form of passive aggression that involves hostile feelings towards another redirected toward the self.

Answer 25

turning against the self

Question 26

splitting off a portion of experience (may involve consciousness, memory, identity, perception, or some combination of these) that would ordinarily be integrated with other parts of the conscious self.

Answer 26

dissociation

Question 27

direct expression of a feeling or wish via impulsive behavior that usually results in some harm to self or others.

Answer 27

acting out

Question 28

transfer of emotional conflict or painful feelings to somatic symptoms or complaints. Note that this is not malingering.

Answer 28

hypochondriasis/somatization

Question 29

creation of self-contained fantasies as a means of restoring emotional equilibrium

Answer 29

fantasy

Question 30

attributing one’s own unacceptable thought, feeling, or impulse toward another

Answer 30

projection

Question 31

disavowing thoughts, feelings, or impulses which are intolerable – refusing to recognize reality.

Answer 31

denial

Question 32

inability to tolerate ambivalence (mixed feelings). Involves concrete, usually intense “black and white” thinking and emotions (idealization and devaluation) that can shift back and forth with time, depending on the person’s emotional state.

Answer 32

splitting

Question 33

which are considered to be the more mature defenses?

Answer 33

sublimation, suppression, altruism, humor

Question 34

which are the neurotic defenses?

Answer 34

repression, displacement, isolation of affect, reaction formation

Question 35

which are the immature defenses?

Answer 35

dissociation, actin out, fantasy, projection, hypochon, splitting

Question 36

which are the narcissistic/psychotic defenses?

Answer 36

denial