2.1 Models in Psychological Assessment

Models in Psychological Assessment

Behvaiour in this course

• actions, feelings & thoughts

Models in Psychological Assessment

• 6 main models

• 7 differentiating criteria

6 main models 

• Psychodynamic model

• Trait model

• Behavioral model

• Cognitive model

• Biological model

• Constructivist model

7 differentiating criteria

1. Theoretical formulation

2. Type of variable

3. The basic methods

4. The assessment techniques

5. Levels of inference

6. The objectives/aims of assessment

7. Areas of application

Theoretical formulation

• How each model explains behavior (which variable)

• B (Behaviour), P (psychological variables), O (organs), E (environment)

• For each model, variables P & O can mean different things, depending on the

  type of variables they include

The same behaviour can be explained though different variables

• B (behavior, response)

• P (personal or psychological variables of the person)

• O (organism, biological variables)

• E (environment, stimulus, situation)

B

• Behavior

• Response

P

• Personal or psychological variables of the person

• how do they perceive the smoke (internal)

O

• Organism

• Biological variable

(brain/ hormonal functioning → more physical)

E

• Environment, stimulus, situation)

• External (punishment or reinforcement)

Types of variables

• Element under analysis in each model

Basic methods

• The way to operationalize the variables that are being studied (correlational/experimental)

 Assessment techniques

• Instruments through which data are collected

 Inference level

• The level of deduction-inference that is used on the recorded behaviors.

Inference level 1

• conduct understood as a manifestation of behavior

  → E.g.: "Smiling", "going out with friends on weekends", "high number of social interactions during breaks”

Inference level 2

• Based on the assumption that a relationship or correlation exists between the behavior being assessed & other behaviors

→ E.g.: If a psychologist records the above, he could infer that the patient is a social person.

Inference level 3

• an explanation behind the associated observed behaviors

→ E.g.: The patient meets friends on weekends BECAUSE they are social.

Inference level 4

• The integration of the inferred concept into a complete theory.

  → E.g.: The sociability variable in the trait theory (Personality variables)

The objectives/aims of assessment:

• Describe, classify (diagnose), predict (orient), explain or control (modify / control) behavior.

• It depends on the demand of each process of psychological assessment.

Areas of application

• each model has emerged in a given area, so its application is usually is related to it.

PSYCHODYNAMIC MODEL → formula

• (B= f P)

PSYCHODYNAMIC MODEL

• Behavior is driven by unconscious forces & early childhood experiences

• Emphasizes internal conflicts between desires, morals, & reality

• Personality develops through stages in childhood

• Past experiences strongly shape current behavior (Fear of authority figures rooted in early parental conflict)

PSYCHODYNAMIC MODEL / author

• Freud → the unconscious mind is the primary source of human behavior.

According to the psychodynamic model any behavioral manifestation will be understood as an expression of

• The internal condition of the person

The unconscious mind comprises

• Mental processes that are inaccessible to consciousness but that influence judgments, feelings, or behavior 

Example of B = f P

• B (anxiety)= f P (a conflict between the id- instinctual desires- and ego -organized, realistic agent that mediates with super ego)

P

• Internal & unconscious energies & internal theoretical constructs that form the personality structure, based on:

- the structure of the self

- defense mechanism (unconscious)

The aim of PSYCHODYNAMIC MODEL

• Description

• Classification

• Prediction

• Explanation

Types of variables in the PSYCHODYNAMIC MODEL

• Unconscious intrapsychic constructions

• Structures

• Mechanisms

• Internal condition of the person

Assessment techniques in PSYCHODYNAMIC MODEL

• Projective techniques

B = f P

Behaviour is a function of the person (sub-conscious/internal)

TRAIT MODEL (B= f P)

• Personality is made up of stable traits that differ between people

• Traits are consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

• Focuses on measuring personality differences

• Often used in personality tests

Traits are

• consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

• e.g., someone is consistently introverted across situations

TRAIT MODEL (types of variables)

• Traits

• Factors

• Dimensions

• Characteristics

Assesment teqchniques of trait model

Introversion Questionnaires (NEO-PI)

Behaviour in trait model

• Behavior based on intrapsychic or genotypic variables (personal or organismic variables)

→ B= f Bx (behavior criteria) Behavior predicted from other behavior

B= f Bx (behavior criteria)

Behavior predicted from other behavior

Example of TRAIT MODEL (B= f P)

• who I am as a student (inhereted personality traits)

BEHAVIORAL MODEL (B= f E)

• Psychology should study observable behavior, not thoughts or feelings

• Behavior is learned through interaction with the environment

Behaviourism focus on

• Conditioning

Types of conditioning

• Classical conditioning (Pavlov): learning by association

• Operant conditioning (Skinner): learning through rewards & punishments

In behaviourism the mind is treated like a

• black box

Behaviour according to behaviourism

• A person has been conditioned to associate public speaking situations with fear

• They avoid public speaking → feel relief → avoidance gets reinforced

BEHAVIORAL MODEL (B= f E) → Theoretical formulation 

• B= f E (radically externalist model)

• B= f E x P → E = environment & P = personal variables

Type of variable in the BEHAVIORAL MODEL

Environment, Motor, physiological & cognitive behaviors

P= Basic behavioral repertories → that are learned through the learning history of the individual

BEHAVIORAL MODEL  Assessment techniques

• Observation techniques

• Self-reports

• Physiological records

BEHAVIORAL MODEL (B= f E) → table

COGNITIVE MODEL (B= f P)

• Behavior is influenced by mental processes

• Studies how people think, remember, perceive, problem-solve, & make decisions

• The mind is often compared to a computer that processes information

• Focuses on internal processes that behaviorism ignored

Example of the COGNITIVE MODEL

• Catastrophic thinking before an exam increases anxiety → Thoughts like “I’ll fail” or “Everyone will judge me”

Theoretical formulation of the cognitive model

• B= f P

• P= internal mental structures, mind, cognitive process

→ (e.g.: perception distortions)

Types of variables in cognitive model

• Representation

• Schemas

• Cognitive processes

Assessment techniques COGNITIVE MODEL

• Cognitive execution task.

• Thoughts out loud

Example of COGNITIVE MODEL

BIOLOGICAL MODEL (B= f O) THEORETICAL FORMULATION

→ B = f O

• Behavioral dysfunctions that have a biological / neurological base

Types of variables in BIOLOGICAL MODEL

• Nosological entity

• Biological disorders

Assessment techniques in BIOLOGICAL MODEL

• Examination

• Executive test

• Observation scales

• Devices

CONSTRUCTIVIST MODEL (B= f P)

• People actively construct their own understanding of reality

• Knowledge is built from personal experiences & social interactions

• Different people experience the same event differently

• Emphasizes meaning-making rather than objective truth

Example of CONSTRUCTIVIST MODEL

• One person sees an exam as a threat; another sees it as a challenge

Theoretical formulation of the CONSTRUCTIVIST MODEL 

B= f P

• P = assess constructions to describe the world, the meaning given to one-self

Assessment techniques applied in CONSTRUCTIVIST MODEL

• Narrative

• Self-biography

• Subjective techniques

• Personal documents

CONSTRUCTIVIST MODEL table