Exam #2

Tuesday, October 13th, 2026

What are psychological assessments?

the process of collecting and synthesizing informtion to understnd client thoughts and behavior

How are psychological assessments used in practice?

• classify their problems

• develop intervention plans

• measure intervention effects

• conduct research to better understand psychological phenomena

What are the six steps of psychological assessment?

1. referral and presenting problem

2. chosing what to assess

3. selecting the method of assessment

4. gathering assessment data

5. drawing conclusions

6. communicating the results

What occurs during the first step of psychological assessment?

referral and presenting problems

• client provides reason for referral to clinical

  • why psychological services are sought

• presenting problem initiates assessment

  • what needs evaluation

  • assessment instruments to use

  • goals of assessment

Who are common referral sources?

• client

• relative

• another psychologist

• school

• phyysician

• lawyer or court

• employer

What occurs during the second step of psychological assessment?

choosing what to assess

the assessment is guided by

• goals in the referral

• understanding of the presenting problems

• professional psychologists must make accurate judgments of these

What are common domains of assessment?

• demographics

• mental statue

• history of the problem

• social history and functioning

• medical history

• developmental history

• family history

• intellectual functioning

• occupational functioning

• hobbies and interests

• substance use

• sexual functioning

• personality

• behavioral/psycholgical symptoms and criteria for diagnoses

• history of truma or other stressors

• self assessment

• legal history and history of violence

What occurs during the third step of psychological assessment?

selecting the method of assessment

psychologists decide on methods and instruments to use

• instrument to address the presenting problem in the referral

• logistical concerns addressed (time taken, etc)

• reliability, validity, and standardization of methods considered

The accurcy of results instrument provide include?

• psychometric evaluation

• evidence-based assessments

What are the types of assessment reliability?

• test-retest reliability

• interrater reliability

• internal consistency

What does test-retest reliability show?

stability of test

What does interrater reliability show?

the degree of diagnostic agreement between interviewers

What does internal consistency show?

wheather test questions measure the same characteristics

What are the types of assessment validity?

• construct validity

  • convergent validity

  • discriminant validity

• predictive validity

• incremental validity

What does construct validity measure?

the correct construct

What does convergent validity measure?

if it correlates with other tests

What does discriminatn validity measure?

if it does not correlate with other tests

What is predicitive validity?

test forecasts future behavior

What is incremental validity?

test adds to our existing understanding of the person

What is standardization?

precise way of administering, scoring, and interpreting results for every test-taker

should include whome the test is intended for

What are norms?

must be estblished for assessment tools

What occurs during the fourth step of psychological assessment?

gathering assessment data

• client’s (parents/guardian’s) informed consent obtained upon instrument selection

• assessment data collected by interviews, tests, observations, and sometimes historical records

• multimethod assessment

What do multimethod assessments involve?

• multiple methods and informants

• increases reliability and validity of assessment

• provide a more complete picture of client’s behavior

What occurs during the fifth step of psychological assessment?

drawing conclusions

• scoring and intepreation of assessments after their administration; can be simple to complicated

• integration of data from different sources takes place

• psychologists rely on their judgments when drawing conclusions

What occurs during the sixth step of psychological assessment?

communicating the results

• an assessment report is generated upon drawing conclusions

• given to client, parent, courts, school personnel

What does the assessment report contain?

• reason for referral

• rationale for choice of assessments used

• test scores and conclusions

• recommendations for addressing questions in referral

How should clinical psychologists handle assessment with diverse populations?

• adopt a multicultural approach to treatment

• ensure that the assessment process is not culturally or socially biased

• be multicultural, assessment research-oriented

• be knowledgeable about the effect of sociocultural factors on results and conclusions drawn from assessments

What is epidemiolgoical research?

• incidence, prevalence of phenomena in a population

• incidence rate of new cases in a timeframe

• prevalence shows the percentage of the population affected

• identifies risk cases and vulnerable cases

What is a limitations of epidemiological research?

retrospective data is subject to distoritions

What is correlational research?

determines the relationship between two or more variables, ranges from +1 to -1

does not show cause and effect

third variable (unmeasured) may be responsible for behavior under study

What is a positive correlations?

both variables increase

What is a negative correlation?

one variable increases, one decreases

What does “0” mean in correlational research?

no correlation between variables

What is cross-sectional research?

indivudals are assessed at a single time

research group compared to a control group

What is longitudinal research?

studies the same participants over time

• allows for understanding of time-order relationships

• yields valuable data

• costly; participants may drop out, move, or die

What is experimental research?

the independent variable(s) are manipulated to see the effect on the dependent variables

participants are randomly assigned to experimental or control groups

differences between group results are attributed to manipulation of the independent variable

shows cause and effect

What is experimental research used for in clinical psychology?

• evaluate effectiveness of treatment

• data proves understanding of psychological problems

What is clinical interviewing?

one of the most common approaches to psychological assessment

there are various types and clinical psychologists create opportunities for clients’ comfort, saftey, and to meet goals

What does responsibility keep the interview on track with?

• careful planning

• deliberate and skillful execution

• goal-orientation

• interaction focused on the client

What are considerations for the clinical interview?

• where to conduct the interview

• how to quickly develop rapport

• proper use of verbal and nonverbal techniques

• how to superimpose a multicultural perspective to miniminize therapist biases

What influences where to conuct the interview?

• encourage privacy

• protect from distractions or interruptions

• neutral, tasteful furnishings

• culture free

• safe and non-intimidating spaces

• adapting to client needs

What is rapport?

clinician-client alliance

How does a clinical psychologist build rapport?

• an attitude of acceptance, understanding, and respect

• do NOT prejudge the client

• can be challenging

What are the tyes of questions asked during a clinical interview?

• open ended

• facilitative

• confronting and direct

• clarifying

What is an open-ended question?

begin discussions of a new topic

What is a faciliative question?

clarifying or guiding clients

What is a confronting and direct question?

forcefully guide flow of the interview; may help client who is experiencing a blind spot

What is a clariying question?

part of active listening

What is active listening?

listening to understand

What is reflective listening?

repeating what the client says to demonstrate understanding

• word for word or paraphrasing

• reliable way of guiding the course of the interview

• encourages warmth, openness, trust, and rapport

• supports mutual understanding

How can silence impact a clinical interivew?

• paradoxically communicates a focus on communication

• allows the client to reflect on their own thoughts and feelings

• conveys the psychologist’s exclusive presence for the client, not rushing

• prompts the client to continue talking

Why is it important to consider the client’s strengths?

aim to understand and highlight client strengths and accomplishments

• successful coping strategies used in the past

• personal interests, attributes, hobbies, etc

How can the psychologist add stimulus value to clinical interview?

• the way the therapist appears and beahves may affect indiviudal clients in different ways

• can bring biases and assumptions to interview

• should focus on feelings and perspective of the client

What is multi-culutral humility?

psychologists never fully stop learning about how filters work and contunually challenge themselves to question assumptions

How does a psychologist’s multicultural humility impact a clinical interview?

• may require rethinking clinical diagnosis due to culture

• may use brief personal disclosure to clarify or discuss visible cultural differences

• is essential for the interview and treatment that may follow

What are the common types of clinical interviews?

• intake admission interviews: completed by the client upon hospital admission

• social history interview: details personal history, facts, events

• mental status examination interview: conducted in the hospital unit

• diagnostic interview: to arrive at a diagnosis

• unstructured interviews: random order questions

• structured interview: questions predetermined and standardized

What are the similarities between structured and unstructured interviews?

same kinds of interview skills are required

• rapport

• good communication skills

• appropriate follow-up questions

• good observational skills

• maintain a healthy sense of multicultural humility

What are the differences between structured and unstructured interviews?

structured interviews

• predetermined set of standardized questions

• less interviewer bias

• higher reliability and validity

unstructured interviews

• do not have those qualities

What are the advantages of structured interviews?

• less interviewer bias

• greater reliability and validity

What are the diadvantages of structured interviews?

• no flexability

• less rapport

What are the advantages of unstructured interviews?

• no specific script

• flexibility

What are the disadvantages of unstructured interviews?

• less reliability and validity

• risk of interviewer bias

What are the advantages of semi-structured interviews?

compromise

What are the disadvantages of semi-structured interviews?

interviewer bias

What are intake admission inerviews?

• assessing the reason for the visit

• informing client of policies and procedures

• determining whether the agency’s facilities, policies, and services meet the needs and expectations of the client

What are social history interviews?

• details client’s personal history (facts, dates, events)

• covers a broad range of material (infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood)

• includes educational, sexual, medical, parental-environmental, religious, and psychological matters

  • client’s presentation of information of interest

  • adults with intact cognitive abilities interview

  • youth interviewed with “external informants”

What are mental status examinations?

• assesses presence of in-the-moment cognitive, emotional, or behavioral problems

• information gathered assessed

  • wheather client is experiencing acute psychosis

  • client’s general demeanor

• also used within forensic settings

What are strucutred diagnostic interviews?

used by clinical psychologists in their research or clinical work

• standard set of questions and follow-up probes asked in a specific order

What are limitations of strucutred diagnostic interviews?

• rigid

• culturlly insensitive

• questions may be unclear and not take cultural aspects into account

What are semi-strucutred diagnostic interviews?

standardized questions, follow-up, probing questions, scoring

interviewers offer qualitative judgments

What is personality?

continuity in a person’s behavior and emotional style over time

What is a personality trait?

stable and consistent ways of perceiving the world and behaving

influenced by a combination of biological and environmental factors and have been shown to have clinical significance

What is the five factor model?

five dimensions/traits that make up personality with a high-low variance on the dimensions

What are the five dimensions of the five factor model?

• Openness to experience

• conscientiousnes

• extraversion

• agreeablness

• neuroticism

What did Franz Gall hypothesize in the 18th century?

that brain and behavior were related

What did Carl Jung propose?

personality traits of introversion and extraversion

What did Cattell develop?

a 16-trait model leading to Costa and McCrae’s five factor model

What is the situational perspective?

the perspective that people’s behavior is entirely a product of the environment and factors such as classical conditioning (learning from the environment) and operant conditioning (reinforcement of behavior)

considered a behaviorist view and includes type of culture

What is the middle ground of the situational perspective?

human behavior and emotion is an interaction of personality traits and situational factors

What are the requirements of a useful personality test?

• standardization: follow the same scoring and administation procedures each time

• test-retest reliabiluty: similar results for same indivudal upon multiple testing

• incremental validity: provide information not provided by other sources

• predicitve validity: predict person’s true behavior (and helps clincians guide treatment)

What are the two types of personality tests?

projective and objective

What are projective tests?

• responses to ambiguous stimuli are assessed

• method used on projective hypothesis: test-takers’ unconscious revel themselves personally

• emphasize Freud’s concept of projection

• provide incremental validity

What are characteristics of projective tests?

• ambiguous test stimuli (inkblots, incomplete sentences to complete)

• indirectness: respondents unaware of tests purpose

• freedom of response, open-ended test items

• qualitaitive response interpretation

• lack of standardization as every person is unique

• difficult to determine validity and relaibity

What is the rorschach inkblot test?

• 10 printed inkblots (10 balck and white, 5 include color)

• administration: respondent tells what is seen and clinician records responses accurately

• clinicaln asks for causes/prompts for responses; elaboration and clarification of responses

How does scoring vary for rorschach inkblot test?

• location: area of card to which individual responds

• content: nature of object perceived in inkblot

• determinants: aspects of card that evoke a responce

What are some complains of the rorschach inkblot test?

• interpreation is complex, and subject to illusory correlation

• reliability is a point of contention, given the varioety of interpretive approaches

• incremental validity of scores is not supported by research

• considered most useful when focus is on unconscious functioning

What is the thematic apperception test (TAT)?

• indivudal responds to a series of pictures; clinicians make specific judgments from responses

• 31 cards (one is blank) of people in varied situations

  • gender neutral

  • less ambiguous and more structured than Rorschach

How is the thematic apperception test (TAT) administered?

clinican selects 6-12 cards and the respondents’ stories are transcribed verbatim

How is the thematic apperception test (TAT) scored and interpreted?

• Lindzey and Silverman (1959)

  • paranoia: using stereotypical phrases

  • anxiety: emotional trauma, accidents

  • dependency: family member reference

  • sexual problems: avoiding mentioning sexual cues

What are reliability and validity difficult to establish in projective tests?

• many variations in

  • instructions

  • method of administration

  • number of cards used

  • type of scoring/interreation system

• lack of norms

• clinicians rely on qualitative impressions rather than computing scores

What are objective tests?

standard question statements with fixed-option responses

What are the advantages of objective tests?

• economical - can be given to individuals or in groups

• brief instructions and simple scoring

• objective and reliable

What are the disadvantages of objective tests?

• responses may not indicate actual behavior

• can be several interpretations as the same score

• respondents may fake responses

• experience, culture, and context can influence question interpretation and responses

How are objective tests constructed?

• content validation: process ensuring that a test adequately measures all aspects of the construct of interest

• empical critierion keying: an approach to test development that emphasizes the selection of items by means of different diagnostic groups, regardless of whether the items appear theoretically relevant to the diagnosis of interest

• factor analysis: a statistical method that determines whether potential items are or are not related to each other

• construct validity approach: combines aspects of the content validity, empirical criterion yielding, and factor analytic approaches

• item analysis developed to determine item clarity

What is the Miniesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI)?

originally 550-items developed, 10 subscales corresponding to psychiatric complaints; T/F items

restricted subsequent versions

What is the MMPI-3?

has 335 items, 52 clinical and validity scales MMPI profile

clinicians use MMPI profile as data

repondents use paper and pencil or computer

updates use more diverse and representative standardization samples

10 validity scales account for questions unanswered or answered in a deficient of socially desirable way

good test-retest reliability; convergent and discriminant validity

what is the revised NEO-personality inventory?

standard test of the five-factor model

self report measure with 240 items on a 5-point scale

• half items reverse-scored

• 3 items to assess response validity

provides 5 domain scores, 6 subscales

strong reliability and validity

• high internal consistency and test-retest reliability

• clinically useful

limitation: developed for normal personality; insufficient research in clinical settigns

What were the original test standardization samples?

overrepresented by white, middle-class, educated, cisgender, heterosexuals

How has there been discrimination and bias in personality testing?

• unfair systemic discrimination against minorities

• lack of exposure to the wording of test items

• examiner of another race may affect performance; test materials are racially biased

• biased scoring

What is test bias?

situation in which difference decision or predictions are made for members of two groups, even when they obtain the same score on an instrument

• differences in mean scores do not necessarily indicate bias

• tests may be valid (not bias) for some purposes but not others

clinical psychologists should not make predictions based on empirical associations or characterisitcis of another group