Psych 430 Disorders Chapter 3 Assessment

What is the primary goal of assessment in psychology?

To figure out how to help by diagnosing the problem.

What analogy is used to describe the assessment process?

The Funnel Analogy, which starts broad and narrows down to a diagnosis

- what brings you in today? how long has this been going on?

What is the purpose of a clinical interview in assessment?

To gather information about the presenting problem and develop a preliminary treatment plan by the end of intake

- want to know the difficulties specific to that person (what they personally find disruptive to their life)

What are the two key properties of good assessment?

Reliability (consistency) and validity (accuracy).

What does reliability in assessment refer to?

The consistency of conclusions drawn from the assessment - would we draw the same conclusion if done again/would two tester come to the same conclusion?

What is validity in the context of psychological assessment?

The extent to which a test accurately measures what it claims to measure - Ex. Polygraph is not valid because it does not measure lying but measures physiological responses

If a test is valid...

it will also be reliable

- but does not work the other way around

Why is standardization important in assessments?

It ensures tests are administered the same way every time, aiding reliability - allows it to be compared to the rest of the population

What are the elements of a clinical interview?

The presenting problem, asking a detailed history (relationships and family history, occupation, legal), positive assets search, and building rapport

What is a presenting problem in a clinical interview?

The current and past behaviors, attitudes, and emotions of the client

What is a positive asset search in assessment?

Identifying what is going well for the client in order to build off their current strengths

Most important element of the clinical interview

Rapport building - want to give the client the sense that their therapist wants to help them and that their situation isn't hopeless

What is the MMPI-2?

A widely used psychological test consisting of true or false questions based of thousands of profiles of people with diagnosis

What is a key feature of the MMPI-2?

It is hard to fake "good" or "bad" due to unclear outcomes of many questions

How is the MMPI interpreted?

Taking the top two scores for the profile Ex. 4 on psychopath scale, 9 on manic scale

What is the Rorschach test?

projective test; perception of ink blots reveals underlying aspects of one's personality - rooted in psychodynamic theory

- not reliable or valid!

- interpreted with codes Ex. Do they look at both the white and black space, do they use the entire image?

Why is the Rorschach test criticized?

It is not considered reliable or valid.

What is the Thematic Apperception Test?

A projective test where individuals project their own experiences onto ambiguous images - different themes could be reflective of one's own life

What are some benefits of diagnostic labels?

They aid in communication, prognosis, and treatment planning

May only be able to get services paid for either a diagnosis, comforts the client to know what is happening and reduces self blame for abnormal behaviour

What are some drawbacks of diagnostic labels?

They can be pejorative, stigmatizing, and may reduce personal responsibility for change

- labels are influenced by bias

What does it mean for a test to be standardized?

It is administered in a consistent manner to allow for comparison across individuals.

What is the importance of understanding individual difficulties in assessment?

Because depression and other issues manifest differently in each person.

What does the term 'reification of a disorder' refer to?

The tendency to treat a diagnosis as a concrete entity rather than a spectrum of symptoms.

What is a common outcome of a clinical assessment?

To confirm findings from tests like the MMPI with a clinical assessment.

Elements of a mental status exam

appearance and behavior, thought processes, mood and affect, intellectual functioning, sensorium

What is a semistructured interview?

Made up of questions that have been tested to consistently elicit useful information and can depart from them to follow up on specific issues

Benefits and disadvantages of semi-structured interviews

Benefit - clinicians feel confident their questions will accomplish their purpose because they've been routinely used

Disadvantage - the client has less ability to spontaneously add additional information that isn't addressed by the questions

How is behavioural Assesment related to the mental status exam?

Takes assessment one step further by directly observing an individual to evaluate their thoughts, feeling, and behaviour in specific situations or contexts

What are the ABCs of observation in behavioral assessment?

antecedents, behaviors, consequences

Why is neuroimaging important in assessment?

Has the potential to reveal the contribution of neurobiological factors to psych disorders - Ex. Showing two subtypes of PTSD that have distinct neural mechanisms underlying them

What is the categorical approach?

an approach to classifying mental disorders where every diagnosis has a clear underlying pathophysiological cause, and each disorder has only one set of causative factors that do not overlap with others

- most useful in medicine

What is the dimensional approach?

Method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than on a binary, either-or, or all-or-none basis - not really used in psychology

What is the prototypical approach?

system for categorizing disorders using both essential, defining characteristics and a range of variation on other characteristics that do not necessarily change the classification- candidate must meet enough but not all

Criticisms of the DSM-5

Categories are fuzzy - causing more comorbidity

String,y emphasizes reliability sometimes at the expense of validity (measuring what it's actually supposed to measure)

Labeling - individuals may identify with the negative connotation/stigma associated