Week 3: Classification Assessment

Question 1

What are key features of assessment tools?

Answer 1

• reliability
• validity
• standardization
• norms
• cultural appropriateness and bias

Question 2

What is reliability?

Answer 2

how trustworthy or consistent a measure is and giving the same results when administered more than once in the same sample

Question 3

What is validity?

Answer 3

the extent to which empirical evidence and theory support the adequacy and conclusions made based on a given assessment method

Question 4

What is standardization?

Answer 4

administering a test or measure in a uniform method for everyone

Question 5

What are norms?

Answer 5

allows an individual’s score to be compared to a reference sample

Question 6

What is cultural appropriateness and bias?

Answer 6

many measures are developed based on convenience samples which question sample representativeness and bias

Question 7

What are the different assessment methods?

Answer 7

• questionnaires
• projective measures
• performance measures
• observation

Question 8

What are questionnaires?

Answer 8

• personality inventories
• behaviour & symptom checklists

Question 9

What are limitations of questionnaires?

Answer 9

• rater effects
• cultural differences
• over/under rating
• recency bias

Question 10

What are projective measures?

Answer 10

ambiguous stimuli used to elicit individual responses that reveal information about psychological characteristics because there are no right or wrong answers

Question 11

What are limitations of projective measures?

Answer 11

• generally not developed following test-construction guidelines or lack key features of assessment tools
• errors in scoring and administration
• potential for bias and rater effects

Question 12

What are performance measures?

Answer 12

a construct is assessed based on how an individual does on a variety of tasks, usually increasingly difficulty
- intelligence
- academic achievement
- cognitive abilities

Question 13

What are different types of intelligence tests?

Answer 13

• verbal comprehension
• perceptual reasoning
• working memory
• processing speed

Question 14

What is verbal comprehension?

Answer 14

knowledge and understanding of language and words

Question 15

What is perceptual reasoning?

Answer 15

ability to interpret, organize, and solve problems using visual information

Question 16

What is working memory?

Answer 16

ability to retain info immediately and perform some kind of task with it

Question 17

What is processing speed?

Answer 17

the ability to perform simple visual tasks quickly and accurately

Question 18

What is observation?

Answer 18

done throughout the assessment in the office on various characteristics, home observations, and school observation

Question 19

What are the three main components of an intake interview?

Answer 19

• presenting problem
• psychosocial history
• current situation and functioning

Question 20

What are issues with client self-report?

Answer 20

• over-reporting symptoms
• under-reporting symptoms
• inaccurate clients responses (non-credible responding)

Question 21

What are strengths of DSM-5?

Answer 21

• atheoretical
• specific descriptions of symptoms
• potential to increase consistency of diagnostic decisions
• based on input from many experts and exhaustive literature reviews
• process of updating and revision

Question 22

What are limitations of DSM-5?

Answer 22

• lack of transparency
• growth in new disorder being included
• lack of reliability in diagnoses
• high rates of comorbidity/co-occurring diagnoses
• heterogeneity within disorders

Question 23

What is cultural validity?

Answer 23

refers to how well assessment procedures address and are sensitive to client-specific cultural perspectives

Question 24

Why is cultural validity important?

Answer 24

• if not considered, conclusions may be inaccurate and cause client harm
• for implementing diagnostic assessment and mental status protocols
• can help clinicians communicate respect to clients