Week 3 Flashcards
What is a presenting problem
Major symptoms and behavior the client is experiencing
What is reliability
describes the degree to which an assessment measure produces the same result each time it is used to evaluate the same thing
What are the multiple types of reliability
test-retest: measure is consistent over time
- only useful when testing constructs that don’t change over time
Inter-rater: agreement across 2 or more raters
What is test validity
Does the test measure what it is supposed to be measuring
- A measure cannot be valid if its not reliable
What are the types of test validity
concurrent and discriminant
predictive
construct
Describe how a physical exam is different from a clinical interview
Clinical assessment
Systematic evaluation and ongoing measurement
Psychological, biological, social
Ex: using clinical interviews, tests, observation
Diagnosis: degree of fit between symptoms and diagnostic criteria to the xxx or xxx
Clinical interview
Mental status Exam
structured/ semi-structured/ unstructured
Assesses multiple domains
Current and past behavior
Attitudes
Emotions
Detailed history
Presenting problem
Goal: assess psychological functioning
Diagnose presenting problem, describe symptoms
Identify related comorbid psychopathology
Address possible etiological/contextual factors
Current life situation
Life history
Medical problems/medication
Physical exam
has the doctor obtain the patient’s medical history and then the systems of the body are checked.
This is mostly to check physical symptoms that can also have contributing effects to mental symptoms but also mental disorders can cause physical symptoms.
What is a behavioral assessment?
Focus on the present-here and now
Direct observation of behavior-environment relations
Purpose is to identify problematic behaviors and situations
Identify antecedents, behaviors and consequences
What does the mini mental status exam assess
Appearance and behavior
Thought processes
Mood and affect
Intellectual functioning
Sensorium
What is a projective test? Describe Examples of projective measures
A projective test is an unstructured test that relies on various ambiguous stimuli such as inkblots or vague pictures rather than explicit verbal questions.
Examples
Rorschach Inkblot Test: when the patient is shown 10 different inkblots and are instructed to tell what they think is going on in the inkblot. It can be unreliable because of the subjective nature of the tester’s interpretations.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): uses a series of simple pictures, some highly representative and others are abstract, about which the subject is told to make up stories.
Sentence Completion Test: consist of the beginnings of sentences that a person is asked to complete.
What are neuropsychological tests
They are tests that involve the use of various testing devices to measure a person’s cognitive perceptual and motor performance as clues to the extent and location of brain damage. The neuropsychologists administer a highly individualized array of tests, depending on a patient’s case history and other available information
Describe examples of non-projective personality tests
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and MMPI-2 for adults:
567 True/False items
Developed by comparing patient and control groups on a ton of questions
Scales for several types of psychopathology
PAI
MCMI
NEO-FFI
Describe examples of neuropsychological assessments
Assess things like
Memory
Attention
Planning abilities
Impulsivity
Intellectual ability
The Halstred-Reitan neuropsychological test battery
Halstead Category test: Measures a subject’s ability to learn and remember material and can provide clues as to his or her judgment and impulsivity. The subject is presented with a stimulus that suggests numbers between 1 and 4 the subject presses a button indicating the number they thought was suggested and by the right or wrong answer they are supposed to determine the underlying principle of the correct choice.
Tactual performance test: Measures a subject’s tactile and kinesthetic
Rhythm test: measures attention and sustained concentration
Speech sounds perception tests:
Finger oscillation task: measures the speed at which an individual can depress a lever with the index finger
IQ
Rey Osterrieth complex figure test
When people are told to copy a test from memory
What are ways to assess brain function
Electroencephalogram (EEG): assess brain wave patterns in awake and sleeping states, a graphical record of the brain’s electrical activity
Dysrhythmia: irregular pattern
Computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan: through the use of X rays a CAT scan reveals images of parts of the brain that might be diseased
Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI): the precise measurement of variations in magnetic fields that are caused by the varying amounts of water content of various organs and parts of organs. The anatomical structure of a cross section at any given plan through an organ can be computer and graphically depicted with clarity.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scan: injection of radioactive isotopes into the brain. Along with that it allows to pinpoint specific areas that causes things like seizures, trauma, and brain tumors
Functional MRI (fMRI): measures changes in local oxygenation (blood flow) of specific areas of brain tissue that in turn depend on neuronal activity in those specific regions.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of different brain function imaging techniques
Advantages:
Yield detailed informations
Disadvantages
Expensive
Lack adequate norms
Limited clinical utility
Advantages of PET vs FMRI
Person does not have to remain as still
Can look at specific NT and even specific receptors
Advantages of fMRI vs PET
Better resolution
Less expensive
No radiation/non-invasive
Describe different ways of classifying disorder
The dimensional approach: it is assumed that a person’s typical behavior is the product of differing strengths or intensities of behavior along serval definable dimensions such as mood, emotional stability, aggressiveness, gender identity, anxiousness, interpersonal trust, clarity of thinking and communication, social introversion, etc.
Prototypal Approach: a conceptual entity depicting an idealized combination of characteristics that more or less regularly occur together in a less-than-perfect or standard way at the level of actual observation. For example, the DSM should provide a narrative description of a prototypic case of each personality disorder rather than having a list of criteria. Then they will indicate on a five point scale the extent to which a patient matches this description.
DSM-5
International Classification of Disease (ICD-10)
