Lesson 3 - Clinical Assessment

Question 1

The systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in an individual presenting with a possible psychological disorder

Answer 1

Clinical Assessment

Question 2

The process of determining whether the particular problem afflicting the individual meets all critera for a psychological disorder

Answer 2

Diagnosis

Question 3

3 basic concepts that help determine the value of our assessment

Answer 3

Reliability
Validity
Standardization

Question 4

The degree to which a measurement is consistent

Answer 4

Reliability

Question 5

Carefully designing assessment devices and conducting research on them to ensure that 2 or more raters will get the same answer

Answer 5

Interrater reliability

Question 6

The degree to which a technique measures what it is designed to measure

Answer 6

Validity

Question 7

Comparing the results of an assessment measure under consideration with the result of others that are better known

Answer 7

Concurrent or descriptive validity

Question 8

How well your assessment tells you what will happen in the future

Answer 8

Predictive validity

Question 9

Application of certain standards to ensure consistency across different measurements

Answer 9

Standardization

Question 10

Involves the systematic observation of an individual’s behavior. This type of observation occurs when any one person interacts with another

Answer 10

Mental status exam

Question 11

Mental status exam category where the clinician notes any overt physical behaviors as well as the individual’s dress, general appearance, posture, and facial expression

Answer 11

Appearance and behavior

Question 12

Mental status exam category where clinicians listen to a patient talk

Answer 12

Thought process

Question 13

Mental status exam category that is the predominant feeling state of the individual and the feeling state accompanying what the individual says

Answer 13

Mood and Affect

Question 14

Mental status exam category where clinicians make a rough estimate of others’ intellectual functioning just by talking to them

Answer 14

Intellectual Functioning

Question 15

Mental status exam category that refers to our general awareness of our surroundings

Answer 15

Sensorium

Question 16

Made up of questions that may have been carefully phrased and tested to elicit useful information in a consistent manner so that clinicians can be sure they have inquired about the most important aspects of particular disorders

Answer 16

Semistructured interviews

Question 17

Using direct observation to assess formally an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior in specific situations or contexts

Answer 17

Behavioral assessment

Question 18

Target behaviors are identified and observed with the goal of determining the factors that seem to influence them

Answer 18

Behavioral assessment

Question 19

Observational assessments focuses on the ABC’s of Observation, these are:

Answer 19

Antecedents
Behavior
Consequences

Question 20

Technique where people observe their own behavior to find patterns

Answer 20

Self-monitoring

Question 21

Any time you observe how people behave, the mere fact of your presence may cause them to change their behavior

Answer 21

Reactivity

Question 22

Include a variety of methods in which ambiguous stimuli, such as pictures of people or things, are presented to people who are asked to describe what they see

Answer 22

Projective tests

Question 23

One of the early projective tests, includes 10 inkblot pictures that serve as the ambiguous stimuli

Answer 23

Rorschach inkblot test

Question 24

Consists of a series of 31 cards. The tester presents the pictures and asks the person to tell a dramatic story about the picture.

Answer 24

Thematic Appreciation Test

Question 25

Measure abilities in areas such as receptive and expressive language, attention and concentration, memory, motor skills, perceptual abilities, and learning in such a way that the clinician can make educated guesses about the person's performance and the possible existence of brain impairment

Answer 25

Neuropsychological test

Question 26

A fairly simple neuropsychological test often used with children is the Bender ____________

Answer 26

Visual-Motor Gestalt-Test

Question 27

Taking increasingly accurate pictures of the structure and functions inside the brain

Answer 27

Neuroimaging

Question 28

Developed in the early 1970's, uses X-ray exposures of the brain from different angles. A computer then reconstructs pictures of the various slices of the brain

Answer 28

CT Scan

Question 29

The patient's head is placed in a magnetic field where radio signals are transmitted. These signals excite brain tissues

Answer 29

MRI

Question 30

Subjects are injected with a tracer substance attached to radioactive isotopes, r group of atoms that react distinctively

Answer 30

PET Scan

Question 31

Measurable changes in the nervous system that reflect emotional or physiological events. Measurement may be taken either directly from the brain or peripherally from other parts of the body.

Answer 31

Psychophysiological assessment

Question 32

Measuring electrical activity in the head related to the firing of a specific group of neurons reveals brain wave activity

Answer 32

electroencephalogram

Question 33

If we want to determine what is unique about an individual's personality, cultural background, or circumstances, we use what is known as _____________

Answer 33

idiographic strategy

Question 34

Taking advantage of the information already accumulated on a particular problem or disorder and determining a general class of problems to which the presenting problem belongs

Answer 34

Nomothetic Strategy

Question 35

Here we assume every diagnosis has a clear underlying pathphysiological cause

Answer 35

Classical / Categorical Approach

Question 36

We note the variety of cognitions, moods, and behaviors with which the patient presents and quantify them on a scale

Answer 36

Dimensional approach

Question 37

Identifies certain essential characteristics of an entity so that you can classify it. Also allows certain nonessential variations that do not necessarily change the classification

Answer 37

Typical Approach