PSYC3140 CH 3

Behaviour assessment

Measuring, observing, and systematically evaluating (rather than inferring) the client’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviour in the actual problem situation or context.

Classical Categorical Approach

Classification method founded on the assumption of clear-cut differences among disorders, each with a different known cause.

Classification

Assignment of objects or people to categories based on shared characteristics.

Clinical assessment

Systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in a person presenting with a possible psychological disorder.

Comorbidity

Presence of two or more disorders in an individual at the same time.

Diagnosis

Process of determining whether a presenting problem meets the established criteria for a specific psychological disorder.

Dimensional approach

Method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than on a binary, either-or, or all-or-none basis.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Measure of electrical activity patterns in the brain taken through electrodes placed on the scalp.

False negatives

Assessment error in which no pathology is noted (i.e., test results are negative) when it is actually present.

False positives

Assessment error in which pathology is reported (i.e., test results are positive) when none is actually present.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Score on an intelligence test, abbreviated IQ, estimating a person’s deviation from average test performance.

Labelling

Applying a name to a phenomenon or a pattern of behaviour. The label may acquire negative connotations or be applied erroneously to the person rather than his or her behaviours.

Mental Status Exam

Relatively coarse preliminary test of a client’s judgment, orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state; typically conducted during an initial interview.

Neuroimaging

Sophisticated computer-aided procedures that allow nonintrusive examination of nervous system structure and function.

Neuropsychological Testing

Assessment of brain and nervous system functioning by testing an individual’s performance on behavioural tasks.

Nomenclature

In a naming system or nosology, the actual labels or names that are applied. In psychopathology these include, for example, mood disorders and eating disorders.

Norms

A group of people who are similar to the patient in gender, age, cultural background, and so on.

Nosology

Classification and naming system for medical and psychological phenomena.

Personality inventories

Self-report questionnaires that assess personal traits by asking respondents to identify descriptions that apply to them.

Projective tests

Psychoanalytically based measures that present ambiguous stimuli to clients on the assumption that their responses will reveal their unconscious conflicts. Such tests are inferential and lack high reliability and validity.

Prototypical approach

System for categorizing disorders using both essential, defining characteristics and a range of variation on other characteristics.

Psychophysiological assessment

Measurement of changes in the nervous system reflecting psychological or emotional events, such as anxiety, stress, and sexual arousal.

Reliability

Degree to which a measurement is consistent—for example, over time or among different raters.

Self-monitoring

Action by which clients observe and record their own behaviours as either an assessment of a problem and its change or a treatment procedure that makes them more aware of their responses. Also called self-observation.

Standardization

Process of establishing specific norms and requirements for a measurement technique to ensure it is used consistently across measurement occasions. This includes instructions for administering the measure, evaluating its findings, and comparing these to data for large numbers of people.

Stigma

Combination of stereotypic negative beliefs, prejudices, and attitudes resulting in reduced life opportunities for the devalued group in question.

Taxonomy

System of naming and classification (e.g., of specimens) in science.

Validity

Degree to which a technique actually measures what it purports to measure.