Chapter 9

Question 1

Why are discrepancies apparent in descriptions from mothers and teachers on child behaviour?

Answer 1

Mostly because children change their behaviour depending on situation context and what symptom type is more appropriate

Question 2

How do psychologists decided which tests should be considered when integrating multiple tests into a diagnosis?

Answer 2

based on validity scales and global tests to narrow down what is more important

Question 3

Why is it dangerous to only rely on one source of data?

Answer 3

decrease confidence in diagnosis due to possible misrepresentation

Question 4

A description of the patient’s life contest and a set of hypothesis on clinical data to make decisions about treatment options

Answer 4

case formulation

Question 5

Does theoretical orientation play a role in the assessment process?

Answer 5

yes, depending on theoretical orientation, the psychologist will use different premises to guide the process

Question 6

A case formulation process by Jacqueline Persons that focuses on the identification of overt problems, interpersonal conflicts and longstanding beliefs as cause of clinical distress.

Answer 6

cognitive-behavioural case formulation

Question 7

Using data that relies on people to remember events that happened in the past

Answer 7

retrospective recall

Question 8

What is the main bias found in recall style self-reports or interviews?

Answer 8

people’s memory is often distorted or inaccurate and is more influenced by negative events and underestimating problems

Question 9

the tendency to take more personal credit for successes and attributing failures to external causes

Answer 9

self-serving attributional bias

Question 10

judgments that are different then what a person using logic would conclude

Answer 10

biases

Question 11

mental shortcuts that make decision making easier

Answer 11

heuristics

Question 12

tendency to overestimate the influence of personality traits and underestimate context when thinking of other’s behaviour

Answer 12

fundamental attribution error

Question 13

When a psychologist makes a diagnosis without full knowledge of the base rate of pattern of test responses, and the diagnosis

Answer 13

inattention to base rates

Question 14

direct experience with a small number of patients may feel more relevant and compelling then samples in studies with large numbers

Answer 14

belief in the law of small numbers

Question 15

A person who gets an extreme score on one test is more likely to get a more average score on the next test

Answer 15

regression to the mean

Question 16

when two things happen together we assume that the first is the cause of the second

Answer 16

inferring causation from correlation

Question 17

when we believe that we will make the better decision after knowing the consequences of the decision

Answer 17

hindsight bias

Question 18

when a person looks for information to support their hypothesis and ignores information that refutes it

Answer 18

confirmatory bias

Question 19

When we cannot see error in ourself but can see the same error clearly in others

Answer 19

bias blind spot

Question 20

relying on biases to draw conclusions and the degree to which a symptom or behaviour represents the underlying condition

Answer 20

representativeness heuristic

Question 21

making a decision based on easily recalled information

Answer 21

availability heuristic

Question 22

when the affective qualities of cognitive representation is most rapidly considered

Answer 22

affect heuristic

Question 23

when we start at a number and adjust accordingly

Answer 23

adjustment heuristic

Question 24

What are the best ways to improve personal clinical judgement?

Answer 24

learning practical strategies to minimize bias

Question 25

Who is allowed to access psychological records?

Answer 25

only people with the client’s permission

Question 26

report generated by computer programs that match general patterns with summaries of evidence about other people with the same patterns

Answer 26

computer-based interpretations

Question 27

an approach to assessment that emphasizes the active participation of the client in discussions about reasons for assessment, results, and how data should be interpreted

Answer 27

therapeutic model of assessment