Assessment Terminology Quiz Flashcards
General Observations
a. Appearance: dress, hygiene, odors, pupil size, obvious identifying characteristics
b. Psychomotor behavior: posture, gait, facial expression, coordination, mannerisms
c. Attitude toward interviewer: accommodating, cooperative, guarded, suspicious, etc
Mood
pervasive and sustained emotion. What person reports as prevailing emotional state. Stable over time and reflects person’s worldview.
Euthymic
Normal mood
Euphoric
Elated mood
Dysphoric
Depressed mood
Affect
immediately expressed or observed that is inferred by the examiner from facial expressions, vocalizations, and behaviors.
Blunted affect
limited emotional expression
Flat affect
near absence
Stability of affect
mobile (normal) or labile (wide range of strong emotions)
Characteristics of Speech
quantity, rate, fluency & quality:
Quantity of speech
talkative, verbose, garrulous, subdued, ‘reticent or taciturn’ i.e., aloof, cold, distant
Rate of speech
slow, hesitant, fast, or pressured
Fluency of speech
ease of speech
Pressured speech
rapid, increasing in amount, difficult to understand, associated with mania
Speech quality
monotone, whispered, slurred, loud
Perception
is the complex series of mental events involved with taking in of sensory information from the environment and the processing of that information into mental representations.
Hallucinations
Perceptual disturbance
false sensory perceptions not associated with external stimuli and are not shared by others. Auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory. Auditory is most common
Illusion
Perceptual disturbance
misperception/ misrepresentation of real sensory stimuli - (wind – calling their name; label on clothes – insect)
Thought Content
the actual thoughts described
Thought process/form
how the person’s thoughts are expressed in their speech
Delusion
a false, fixed belief, based on an incorrect inference about reality. It is not shared by others and is inconsistent with the individual’s intelligence or cultural background and cannot be corrected by reasoning
Delusion of control
the belief that one’s thoughts, feelings, or will are being controlled by outside forces. The following are some specific examples of delusions of control
3 Types:
1. Thought insertion
2. Thought broadcasting
3. Ideas of reference
Thought insertion
the beliefs that one’s thoughts or beliefs are inserted into ones mind by someone or something external to ones self
Thought broadcasting
belief that one’s thoughts are obvious to others or are being broadcast to the world
Ideas of reference
belief that other people, objects or events have a special significance for ones self (e.g., person on TV has a special message for him/her)
Paranoid delusions
an irrational distrust of others and/or the belief that others are harassing, cheating, threatening, or intend one harm
Bizarre delusion
an absurd or totally implausible belief (lights waves from space communicating a message to a person)
Somatic delusion
a false belief involving the body or bodily functions
Delusions of Grandeur
an exaggerated belief of one’s importance or power
Religious Delusion
belief that one is an agent or specially favoured by a greater being
Depersonalization
the belief that one’s self is or one’s body is strange or unreal
Magical Thinking
belief that ones thoughts, words, actions can prevent events happening
Erotomania
belief that public figure is in love with them
Nihilism
belief that one is dead, non existent/life is insignificant
Obsession
unwanted, intrusive and persistent thoughts, impulses or images that are incongruent with the pts usual thought patterns
Phobia
persistent, unrealistic fear of situations, objects or activities that often leads to avoidance behaviors
Loosening of association
the lack of a logical relationship between thoughts and ideas; conversation shifts from one topic to another in a completely unrelated manner, making it confusing and difficult to follow
Circumstantiality
the individual takes a long time to make a point because his or her conversation is indirect and contains excessive and unnecessary detail
Tangentiality
similar to circumstantiality, except that the speaker does not return to a central point or answer the question posed
Thought blocking
an abrupt pause or interruption in one’s train of thoughts, after which the individual cannot recall what he or she was saying
Neologisms
the creation of new words
Flight of words
rapid, continuous verbalization, with frequent shifting from one topic to another
Word salad
an incoherent mixture of words and phrases
Perseveration
a persisting response to a stimulus even after a new stimulus has been presented
Clang association
the use of words or phrases that have similar sounds but are not associated in meaning; may include rhyming or puns
Echolalia
the persistent echoing or repetition of words or phrases said by others
Verbigeration
the meaningless repetition of incoherent words or sentences; typically associated with psychotic states and cognitive impairment
Pressured Speech
: speech that is increased in rate and volume and is often emphatic and difficult to interrupt; typically associated with mania or hypomania
Sensorium
LOC, orientation, memory, attention and concentration, comprehension and abstract reasoning
Insight
understanding the reality of a set of circumstances. Reflects awareness of his or her own thoughts and feelings and ability to compare them with the thoughts and feelings of others.
Judgment
ability to reach a logical decision about a situation and to choose a course of action after examining and analyzing various possibilities from a set of circumstances.
