Chapter 5: Assessment Overview

Question 1

Assessment focused services

Answer 1

services conducted primarily to provide info on a person’s psychosocial functioning

Question 2

base rate

Answer 2

the frequency with which a problem or diagnosis occurs in a population

Question 3

case formulation

Answer 3

a description of a patient that provides info on his or her life situation, current problems, and a set of hypotheses linking psychosocial factors with the patient’s clinical condition

Question 4

concurrent validity

Answer 4

the extent to which scores on a test are correlated with scores on measures of similar constructs

Question 5

Content validity

Answer 5

the extent to which the test samples the type of behaviour that is relevant to the underlying psychological construct

Question 6

discriminant validity

Answer 6

the extent to which the test provides a pure measure of the construct that is minimally contaminated by other psychological constructs

Question 7

evidence based assessment

Answer 7

the use of research and theory to guide (a) the variables assessed, (b) the methods and measures used, and (c) the manner in which the assessment process unfolds

Question 8

incremental validity

Answer 8

the extent to which a measure adds to the prediction of a criterion above what can be predicted by other sources of data

Question 9

internal consistency

Answer 9

the extent to which all aspects of a test contribute in a similar way to the overall score

Question 10

inter-rater reliability/inter-scorer reliability

Answer 10

the extent to which similar results would be obtained if the test was conduced by a diff evaluator

Question 11

intervention focused assessment services

Answer 11

assessments conducted in the context of intervention services

Question 12

predictive validity

Answer 12

the extent to which the test predicts a relevant outcome

Question 13

prognosis

Answer 13

predictions made about the future course of a patient’s psychological functioning, based on the assessment data in combination with relevant empirical literature

Question 14

Screening

Answer 14

a procedure to identify individuals who may have problems of a clinical magnitude or who may be at risk for developing such problems

Question 15

sensitivity

Answer 15

proportion of true positives identified by the assessment

true pos/(true pos + false neg)

Question 16

specificity

Answer 16

proportion of true negatives identified by the assessment
true neg/(true neg + false pos)
prediction of non-events

Question 17

standardization

Answer 17

consistency across clinicians and testing occasions in the procedure used to administer and score a test

Question 18

test-retest reliability

Answer 18

the extent to which similar results would be obtained if the person was retested at some point after the initial test

Question 19

Gary Groth-Marnat

Answer 19

authored some of the most commonly used resources for teaching psychological assessment
- central role of a clinician performing a psych assessment is that of an expert in human behaviour who must deal with complex problems

Question 20

Michael Lambert

Answer 20

major contributor to the research on assessing changes due to treatment
demonstrated that routine treatment monitoring can affect treatment outcome!

Question 21

Screening tools and diagnostic tools are _______

Answer 21

not the same

Question 22

the less frequently a problem occurs, the ________ a prediction error will occur

Answer 22

more likely

Question 23

treatment planning

Answer 23

gives realistic expectations
establishes a standard against which treatment progress can be measured
proposed course of action

Question 24

a useful treatment plan must cover 3 areas

Answer 24

problem identification
treatment goals
treatment strategies/tactics

Question 25

treatment monitoring affect

Answer 25

client deterioration reduced
positive effect of psychotherapy enhanced

super apparent in couples therapy

Question 26

it is not a test unless

Answer 26

it has been demonstrated to have met the standards of reliability, validity, norms

Question 27

psych assessment vs. testing

Answer 27

not the same

Question 28

compared to other mental health professionals, psychologists

Answer 28

are more likely to use tests

Question 29

the lives of children and adolescents are best understood with reference to the ___

Answer 29

context to which they are embedded

Question 30

reliability influences how much _____ there is in a test score

Answer 30

error

Question 31

validity is always ______ and not _________

Answer 31

conditional

a dichotomous variable

Question 32

three main categories of test norms

Answer 32

percentile ranks
standard scores
developmental norms

Question 33

5 most common tests used in child and adolescent assessment

Answer 33

Wechsler intelligence scale for children
Achenbach system of empirically based assessment
Sentence completion tests
Conner’s parent and teacher rating scales
draw a person test

Question 34

5 tests rated as most important in assessment practices

Answer 34

MMPI
Wechseler intelligence scale
Rorscharch inkblot test 
Million inventories
TAT

Question 35

what influences psychologist test usage?

Answer 35

country of practice and nature of doctoral assessment

Question 36

2 main pillars of clinical psych

Answer 36

science and ethics