Psych Tests Quiz 2

The Woodcock Johnson III

Psycho educational test package consisting of two co-normed batteries: Tests of Achievement and Test of Cognitive Abilities. Designed for people as young as 2 and as old as 90+

Halo Effect

A type of rating error wherein the rater views the object of the rating with extreme favor and tends to bestow ratings inflated in a positive direction

The MMPI

The product of a collaboration between psychologist Starke R. Hathaway and psychiatrist/neurologist John Charnley McKinley. It contained 566 true/false items. There are 10 clinical scales as well as validity, supplementary, content and Harris Lingoes seales

TAT

1) 30 picture cards, all black-and-white, contain a variety of scenes designed to present the test-taker with “certain classical human situations.”

2) It is the test takers  task to tell what events led up to that scene in the picture, what is happening at that moment, and what the outcome will be

Appearance

Are the patient’s dress and general appearance appropriate?

Behavior

Is anything remarkably strange about the patient’s speech or general behavior during the interview? Does the patient exhibit facial tics, involuntary movements, difficulties in coordination or gait?

Orientation

Is the patient oriented to person? That is, does he know who he is? Is the patient oriented to place? Does the patient have a sense of time? That is, does she know the year, the month, and the day? Does the patient know the situation at present?

Sensorium

Are there any problems related to the five senses?

Thought Process

Is it logical, coherent? Is there evidence of illogical statements? Tangentiality? Circumstantiality? Loose Associations? Blocking? Flight of Ideas? Illogical statements?

Thought Content

Normal to subject under discussion? Obsessions? Depressed? Paranoid? Delusions? Suicidal? Homicidal?  Angry? Anxious? Bizarre?

Affect

Is the patient’s emotional expression appropriate? For example, does the patient (inappropriately) laugh while discussing the death of an immediate family member? (Inappropriate Affect) Flat affect is no emotional expression. Blunted affect is a little emotional expression.

Mood

Throughout the interview, has the patient generally been angry? Depressed? Anxious? Apprehensive? Happy? Pleasant?

Insight

Does the patient realistically appreciate his or her situation and the necessity for professional assistance if such assistance is necessary? Does he/she realize they have a problem and need a solution?

Judgment

How appropriate has the patient’s decision making been with regard to past events and future plans?

Custody Evaluation

A psychological assessment of parents or guardians and their parental capacity, and/or children and their parental needs and preferences, usually undertaken for the purpose of assisting a court in making awards of custody with reports

Lesion

A pathological alteration of tissue, such as that which could result form injury or infection

Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery

Perhaps the most widely used fixed neuropsychological test battery. Subtests include Ctegory, Tactile Performance,  Rhythm, Speech-Sounds, Finger Tapping and others

Electroencephalograph (EEG)

A machine that measures the electrical activity of the brain by means of electrodes pasted to the scalp. Helpful in diagnosing seizure and other disorders

Pet Scan

A tool of nuclear medicine helpful in diagnosing biochemical brain abnormalities

Daubert Standard

Factors such as general acceptance in the scientific community or publication in a peer reviewed journal were simply some of many possible factors for judges to consider. Other factors judges might consider included the extent to which a theory or technique had been tested and the extent to which the theory or technique might be subject to error. Also the testimony of all experts, whether or not the experts claimed scientific research as a basis for their testimony.