Chapter 3. Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis

Question 1

Systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in a person presenting with a possible psychological disorder.

Answer 1

Clinical assessment

Question 2

Process of determining whether a presenting problem meets the established criteria for a specific psychological disorder.

Answer 2

Diagnosis

Question 3

Degree to which a measurement is consistent, for example, over time or among different raters.

Answer 3

Reliability

Question 4

Degree to which a technique measures what it purports to measure.

Answer 4

Validity

Question 5

Process of establishing specific norms and requirements for a measurement technique to ensure it is used consistently across measurement occasions. This includes instructions for administering the measure, evaluating its findings, and comparing these to data for large numbers of people.

Answer 5

Standardization

Question 6

Relatively brief preliminary test of a client’s judgment, orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state; typically conducted during an initial interview.

Answer 6

Mental status exam

Question 7

Measuring, observing, and systematically evaluating (rather than inferring) the client’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the actual problem situation or context.

Answer 7

Behavioral assessment

Question 8

Action by which clients observe and record their own behaviors as either an assessment of a problem and its change or a treatment procedure that makes them more aware of their responses. Also called self-observation.

Answer 8

Self-monitoring

Question 9

Psychoanalytically based measures that present ambiguous stimuli to clients on the assumption that their responses will reveal their unconscious conflicts. Such tests are inferential and lack high reliability and validity.

Answer 9

Projective tests

Question 10

Self-report questionnaires that assess personal traits by asking respondents to identify descriptions that apply to them.

Answer 10

Personality inventories

Question 11

Score on an intelligence test estimating a person’s deviation from average test performance.

Answer 11

Intelligence quotient, or IQ

Question 12

Assessment of brain and nervous system functioning by testing an individual’s performance on behavioral tasks.

Answer 12

Neuropsychological tests

Question 13

Assessment error in which pathology is reported (that is, test results are positive) when none is actually present.

Answer 13

False positives

Question 14

Assessment error in which no pathology is noted (that is, test results are negative) when one is actually present.

Answer 14

False negatives

Question 15

Sophisticated computer-aided procedures that allow nonintrusive examination of nervous system structure and function.

Answer 15

Neuroimaging

Question 16

Measurement of changes in the nervous system reflecting psychological or emotional events such as anxiety, stress, and sexual arousal.

Answer 16

Psychophysiological assessment

Question 17

Measure of electrical activity patterns in the brain, taken through electrodes placed on the scalp.

Answer 17

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Question 18

Close and detailed investigation of an individual emphasizing what makes that person unique (compare with nomothetic strategy).

Answer 18

Idiographic strategy

Question 19

Identification and examination of large groups of people with the same disorder to note similarities and develop general laws (compare with idiographic strategy).

Answer 19

Nomothetic strategy

Question 20

Assignment of objects or people to categories on the basis of shared characteristics.

Answer 20

Classification

Question 21

System of naming and classification (for example, of specimens) in science.

Answer 21

Taxonomy

Question 22

The classification and naming system for medical and psychological phenomena.

Answer 22

Nosology

Question 23

In a naming system or nosology, the actual labels or names that are applied. In psychopathology, these include mood disorders and eating disorders.

Answer 23

Nomenclature

Question 24

A classification method founded on the assumption of clear-cut differences among disorders, each with a different known cause.

Answer 24

Classical (or pure) categorical approach

Question 25

Method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than on a binary, either-or, or all-or-none basis.

Answer 25

Dimensional approach

Question 26

System for categorizing disorders using both essential, defining characteristics and a range of variation on other characteristics.

Answer 26

Prototypical approach

Question 27

The extent to which a disorder is found among a patient’s relatives.

Answer 27

Familial aggregation

Question 28

Presence of two or more disorders in an individual at the same time.

Answer 28

Comorbidity

Question 29

Applying a name to a phenomenon or a pattern of behavior. The label may acquire negative connotations or be applied erroneously to the person rather than that person’s behaviors.

Answer 29

Labeling