Test 2 Flashcards
(80 cards)
projective personality tests
personality assessment - given ambiguous stimuli & asked to interpret what the stimulus means
- the projective hypothesis: as the stimulus materials are unstructured, the client’s responses will be determined by unconscious processes and will reveal
their true attitudes, motivations, &
behaviours
the rorschach inkblot test
designed hundreds of inkblots
* Tested them on 400+ subjects
* Claimed that the blots could be
used to diagnose mental illness
* He eventually settled on 15 blots
that gave the best results
* Eliminated 5 more and published
the 10 in a book called
“Psychodiagnostik” in 1921
thematic apperception test
a projective test for the assessment of children and adults b/c it utilizes images to gather info regarding a person’s feelings, conflicts, & desires
Measuring intelligence: the Binet Scales
Alfred Binet originally constructed mental tests to help school board predict which children were in need of special schooling.
*An intelligence test, often referred as an IQ
(intelligence quotient) test, is a standardized means of assessing a person’s current mental abilitie
The 1905 Simon-Binet Test
30 tasks or tests of increasing difficulty
(no measuring unit–just roughly categorized people)
- Idiots (most severe intellectual
impairment)
- Imbeciles (moderate impairment)
- Morons (mildest impairment)
Norms were based on a sample
of only 50 children
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
First developed in 1937 b/c of criticisms w/ newer versions of the Binet scales.
- Administered w/ an experienced clinician
- Performance based
- Assesses full IQ and various subscales
- The FSIQ is composed by four scores & a general intelligence index
The four indexes are: Verbal Comprehension Scale, Perceptual Reasoning Scale, Working Memory Scale, and Processing Speed Scale. Every index is composed by two or three subtest that are required to obtain the total IQ score.
Verbal Comprehension Scale - Core & Supplemental Subsets
Core:
- Similarities (what likeness 2 diff words have)
- Vocabulary (words to define)
- Information (subtest about general knowledge)
Supplemental:
- Comprehension (questions about social situations)
Perceptual Reasoning Scale - Core & Supplemental Subsets
Core:
- Block design (timed test to copy presented model w/ the use of blocks)
- Matrix reasoning (series of pics, asked to fill in missing detail)
- Visual puzzles
Supplemental:
- Picture completion (points/names missing part of pic)
- Figure weights
Working Memory Scale - Core & Supplemental Subsets
Core:
- Digit span (series of #s, asked to repeat either in sequence or reverse order)
- Arithmetic (timed oral questioning of arithmetic questions)
Supplemental:
- Letter-number sequencing (given series of letters & digits, report back the stimuli w/ the letters in alphabetical & digits in ascending numerical order)
Processing Speed Scale - Core & Supplemental Subsets
Core:
- Symbol search (row of symbols & “target” symbol, asked if target symbol is present in each row)
- Coding (timed subtest, asked to write a digit-symbol code)
Supplemental:
- Cancellation (random pictures, mark target symbols given under time pressure)
Self-report scales
Most common assessment tool
(Come in several formats)
⚬ Self-assessment on a 5-point Likert
scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree)
⚬ Trait selection (Yes/No)
⚬ Symptom frequency
*Can be self-administered or administered
in a clinical setting
*Validity and reliability can vary
*Are in-line with current evidence and DSM
criteria
Behavioural Cognitive Assessment & Case Formulation
Cognitive-behavioural case formulation:
hypothesis that ties together, in a brief narrative or diagram, the mechanisms that cause & maintain all of the patient’s problems, the origins of the mechanisms; & the precipitants that are currently activating the mechanisms to cause the problems.
Biological Assessments and Brain Imaging
- CT or CAT Scan (Computerized axial tomography): uses X-ray tech to produce detailed images of very thin slices of the inside of the body
- MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): uses strong magnetic fields & radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body; produces higher quality images than a CT & doesn’t rely on radiation
- fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging): Allows for MRI images to be taken so quickly that metabolic changes can be measured, providing a picture of the brain at work rather than of its structure alone
- PET (Positron Emission Tomography): the PET scan uses a radioactive drug (tracer) to show both normal & abnormal metabolic activity
DSM Classification System
Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association:
- Covers all categories of mental health disorders
- No identification of symptoms
- DSM-III (first to provide clear direction on classification of symptoms)
- Nearly 300 mental disorders listed in the DSM-5-TR in 22 major categories
Goals for DSM-5
- Address gaps in diagnoses
- Update criteria based on new research knowledge
- Reduce number of Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) classifications b/c too generic
- Add dimensions to categorical system
Categorical (yes/no); Dimensional (add nuance - can scale symptoms) - Streamline and simplify diagnoses (includes combining some disorders into one category); (new conceptualization for existing disorders) - E.g., OCD is no longer an anxiety disorder
Controversies & the DSM-5
- Pathologizing normal human experience
(E.g., Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder is criticized as “temper tantrum disorder”); Bereavement can no longer exclude Major Depression – may over-diagnose normal grieving - Lack of representation of certain disorders (E.g., internet addiction)
- Some disorders have been eliminated leading to issues in funding and access to resources (E.g., Asperger’s Syndrome – ppl w/ aspergers’ syndrome doesn’t have a diagnosed condition anymore and they’ll no longer provide resources for them because it “doesn’t exist”
- Ties to pharmaceutical companies
Culture & Diagnosis
- Early editions of DSM were criticized for lack of consideration of culture and ethnicity.
- DSM-IV-TR introduced culture-bound syndromes: (E.g., Culture-bound syndromes eliminated in DSM-5 replaced with “cultural syndromes,” “cultural idioms,” and “cultural explanations”)
- DSM-5 elaborated four specific themes to be considered in making cultural formulation: 1) Cultural identity, 2)
Cultural consideration of distress, 3) Cultural features of vulnerability & resilience, 4) Cultural features of the relationship between clinician & patient
theory vs hypothesis
Theory: a well-developed set of ideas that aims to explain an observable phenomena
- primary goal of science is to advance theories to account for data, often by proposing cause–effect relationships
Hypothesis: a testable prediction or proposed explanation for an observable phenomenon
Qualitative Research
quantitative looks at the specific, measurable changes in behaviour. But qualitative looks at what is the impact of a disorder on your daily life, what does it feel like & what is the depth of the experience.
*case studies - study of 1 individual
(case studies are useful for disproving aspects of a theory)
nomothetic research
- measuring a group of people on a number of variables
- examines the relationship among the variables
- correlational methods are an example of nomothetic research
- variable centered
- research that uses data from a lg # of ppl to identify general trends & make predictions about human behavior; focused on using statistics, the scientific method, & group averages to understand human behavior
idiographic research
- detailed understanding of the individual
- case studies & qualitative methods are examples of idiographic research
- person centred
- focuses on a complete, in-depth understanding of a single case (e.g. why do I not have any pets?)
epidemiological studies
examines rates of occurrence of abnormal behavior in the population as a whole & in various subgroups: race, ethnicity, gender, age, or social class.
- provides a general picture of a disorder
prevalence, incidence, & risk factors
Prevalence: Proportion of a pop. that has the disorder at a given point or period of time – how many ppl?
Incidence: The number of new cases of the disorder that occur in some period, usually a year – incident rate (e.g., 5% of ppl might be diagnosed w/ autism within a given year)
Risk factors: Conditions or variables that, if present, increases the likelihood of developing or worsening the disorder
Basic Features of Experimental Study Methods
- Researcher typically begins with an experimental hypothesis
- Investigator chooses an independent variable (IV) that can be manipulated (different conditions – often experimental vs. control)
- Participants are assigned to the conditions by random assignment
- Researcher arranges for the measurement of a dependent variable (DV)
- Analyze the data to determine if there has been an experimental effect