Abnormal Psych Ch. 4 Flashcards
psychological assessment
procedure by which clinicians, using psychological tests, observations, and interviews, develop a summary of a client’s symptoms and problems
clinical diagnosis
process through which a clinician arrives at a general “summary classification” of the patient’s symptoms by following a clearly defined system such as DSM-5 or ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases)
reliability
A term describing the degree to which an assessment measure produces the same result each time it is used to evaluate the same thing
Test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability
-Test-retest reliability is whether a test result gives us a similar value today as it did a few days earlier
-Inter-rater reliability would describe the degree to which different clinicians agree on a diagnosis
validity
The extent to which a measuring instrument actually measures what it is supposed to measure
standardization
The process by which a psychological test is administered, scored, and interpreted in a consistent (“standard”) manner
T score distribution
an example of how users can evaluate whether the individual’s core is low, average, or high
presenting problem
the major symptoms or behaviors the client is experiencing
cultural competence
In using Western-developed tests, users need to take into account the dominant language, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and gender of the clients
clinical interview
usually involves a face-to-face interaction in which a clinician obtains information about a client’s situation, behavior, and personality
structured interview
-follows a predetermined format
-each question is structured in a manner to allow responses to be quantified or clearly determined
-research data shows that a structured format yields far more reliable results than unstructured or flexible format
semi-structured interview
Interviewer is required to ask questions in a specific order and in a specific way, but is free to ask follow-up questions to better determine if the interviewee actually has the symptom being assessed
unstructured interview
Subjective and do not follow a predetermined set of questions
role playing
a type of analogue situation; a more controlled behavioral setting for conducting observations
self-monitoring
a client’s objective reporting of behavior, thoughts, and feelings as they occur in various natural settings
rating scales
can help both to organize information and to encourage reliability and objectivity
Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS)
one of the most widely used instruments for assessing the presence of psychiatric symptoms
Intelligence Tests
Vocabulary (verbal)
and
Digit span (performance)
-Vocabulary (verbal): subtest that consists of a list of words to define that are presented orally to the individual
-Digit span (performance): sequence of numbers is administered orally; test taker asked to repeat them in the order given
projective personality tests
Unstructured and rely on various ambiguous stimuli such as inkblots rather than on explicit questions
Rorschach Inkblot Test
uses 10 inkblot pictures, to which a subject responds to “what you see, what it makes you think of” and “what it means to you”
Thematic Apperception Test
uses a series of simple pictures about which a subject is instructed to make up stories
Sentence Completion Test
designed for children, adolescents, and young adults; consists of the beginnings of sentences that clients are asked to complete
objective personality tests
Structured; typically use questionnaires, self-report inventories, or rating scales
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
Prototype and standard for personality assessment; widely used in clinical and forensic (court-related) assessment
