Neuropsych Flashcards
Reliability
refers to the ability to reproduce the test results
Validity
shows if a test can accurately test what it is supposed to.
Objective test
typically pencil-and-paper tests with specific questions that can yield numeric scores to be analyzed. Example: MMPI
Projective test
ambiguous stimuli that the patient responds to and the response is then interpreted. Example: Rorschach test. Projective tests detect the presence of subtle psychotic thought processes
Who invented the IQ test?
Alfred Binet
What goes into an IQ score?
ratio of mental age/chronological age, which is multiplied by 100. An IQ of 100 would imply that your mental age (thinking ability) matches your chronological age (how old you are). The average IQ is 100.
Which is the most used intelligence test?
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS). Latest version is the WAIS III
What goes into a WAIS score?
It uses verbal IQ (previously learned factual info) and performance IQ (visuospatial/visuomotor skills). An IQ of 90-100 is normal, 50-70 is mild MR, and below 20 is profound MR. The WAIS has high reliability and the WAIS-II vocabulary test most strongly correlates with pre-morbid functioning in a patient with early dementia.
List the objective personality assessments
MMPI, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, Structured Clinical Diagnostic Assessments (several tests in this category)
List the projective personality assessments
Rorschach Test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), Sentence Completion Test (SCT), Word-Association Technique, Draw-a-Person test
MMPI
uses 10 scales in a configurational approach (see a nice little graph based on responses in 10 categories) to “identify major areas of psychopathologic functioning” and measures test-taking attitudes during the examination (can detect malingering, answering questions falsely, etc. It’s super cool)
Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventor
test with brief administration time and correlates well with DSMIII. Per PRITE, it is the test that is “the most helpful in confirming a personality disorder”
Structured Clinical Diagnostic Assessment
these are tests that give a numerical score to show severity of a particular illness. Includes Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Yale-Brown ObsessiveCompulsive Scale (YBOCS), and the SCID. The Beck Depression Inventory is the most appropriate brief screening instrument that a patient can fill out alone at a physician’s office to screen for depression
Rorschach Test
set of 10 inkblots are a stimulus for associations, half are black and white, they are shown in a particular order, and reaction times are recorded. Interpretation of responses requires an experienced clinician. It is the most widely used projective test
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
A test in which a patient is shown pictures of situations and asked to describe what is going on in each picture. Example: a woman seated on a couch looking up at an older man. Serves to “infer motivational aspects of behavior
Sentence Completion Test (SCT)
has sentence stems that the patient completes (“Sometimes I wish…” “My greatest fear is…”)
Word-Association Technique
created by Jung, patient is presented with a word and must give the first word that comes to mind. This is similar to free association and brings unconscious to conscious.
Draw-a-Person Test
first used to test intelligence in children, the patient draws a person. Shows a representation of the expression of the self
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)
assesses “abstract reasoning and flexibility in problem solving” per PRITE. Cards are sorted into groups (color, suit) that the patient is not aware of, with the goal of learning the groups through trial and error
Trail Making Test
patient connects letters and numbers together in sequential order to test concentration and executive functioning
Bender Gestalt Test
tests visuomotor coordination by copying designs on paper. Has two phases, first with the patient allowed to copy the design with the original design in front of them, and then a memory testing portion where the original design is removed, and the patient must copy the design from visual memory. Helps screen for organic dysfunction. Determines neuropsychologic impairment
Token Test
examines patient’s ability to comprehend verbal instructions, grammatical complexity, and attention span
Boston Naming Test
examines verbal confrontation and naming. Discriminates cognitive difficulties in Alzheimer’s disease from those in depression
Halstead-Reitan Battery of Neuropsychological Tests
determines neuropsychologic impairment, is composed of 10 separate test that function to differentiate brain damaged patients from those who are neurologically intact. Schizophrenics function similar to chronic brain damaged patient
Child and adolescent psychological assessments
WISC-III, W-J, WRAT-3, Vineland Adaptive Behavioral Scales
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III)
WAIS-III can be modified for children ages 5-15 in the WISC-III. It is closest to the original Stanford Binet. For preschoolers, there is the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R)
Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised (W-J)
scores reading and mathematics, written language, and other measures of academic achievement. This test helps to more specifically identify learning disability with children that have otherwise normal IQ
Wide Range Achievement Test-3 (WRAT-3)
screen for deficits in reading, spelling and math. This is a useful test to screen academic performance
Vineland Adaptive Behavioral Scales
evaluates adaptive behavior, communication skills, living skills, socialization, and motor domains. Can be modified to test those with visual and hearing impairments
