ab psych 2

Idiographic

\-Individual information about a client

\-Use the procedures of assessment and diagnoses

Clinical Assessment

\-Used to determine whether, how, and why a person is behaving abnormally and how that person may be helped

\-Tools depend on clinicians theoretical orientation

\n -Psychodynamic clinicians use methods that assess a clients personality and probe for unconscious conflicts he or she may experiencing

\- Cognitive behavioral clinicians are more likely to use assessment methods that reveal specific dysfunctional behaviors and cognitions \n \n -Clinical assessment techniques 3 categories; clinical interview, tests, and observations \n \n -To be useful, tools must be standardized and have clear reliability and validity

Standardize

\-When a test is administered to a large group of ppl & that score serves as a standard/norm against any other individual

\-Set up common steps to be followed whenever it is administered

Reliability

\-Consistency of assessment measures

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\-Must meet requirements of standardization, reliability, and validity \n \n -Clinicians cannot use its results if they're uninterpretable, inconsistent, or inaccurate. \n \n -2 kinds of reliability; test-retest, high interrater

test - retest reliability

\-Assess. the tool has high retest reliability, one of a kind reliability if it yields similar results

\-To measure test-retest reliability, participants are tested on 2 occasions and 2 scores are correlated \n \n -Higher correlation --> Greater test's reliability

High interrater reliability

If different judges independently agree on how to score and interpret it

Assessment tool

\-Shows high interrater reliability if different judges indep. agree on how to score & interpret it

\-Must have validity; must accurately measure what it is supposed to measure. \n \n -May appear to be valid bc it makes sense & seems reasonable (FACE VALIDITY), but doesn't mean its trustworthy \n \n -Shouldn't be used unless it has high predictive validity or concurrent validity

Predictive validity

-A tool's ability to predict future characteristics or behavior

Concurrent validity

the extent to which two measures of the same trait or ability agree

Clinical interview

\-Face to face encounter

\-Interview is often the first contact between client and clinician used to collect info about problems, feelings, lifestyle, etc. \n \n -Clinician who worked with Franco began with a face to face interview \n \n -Most have both structured & unstructured portions, they tend to favor one kind over the other

Limitations of Clinical interviewers

\-Sometimes lack validity, or accuracy

\-People may be unable to give an accurate report in their interviews \n \n -Interviewers may make mistakes in judgements that slant info they gather \n \n -Usually rely too heavily on first impressions & be bias

Psychodynamic interviewers

\-Try to learn about the person's needs and memories of past events and relationships.

\-Typically use Unstructured Interviews

Cognitive behavioral interviewers

\-Try to identify info about the stimuli that trigger responses, the consequences of the responses. \n -Usually use structured interviews

Humanistic clinicians

\-Ask about the persons self evaluation, self concept, and values.

\-Typically use Unstructured Interviews

Biological clinicians

-Look for signs of biochemical or brain dysfunction

Sociocultural interviews

-Ask about the family, social, and cultural environments.

Unstructured Interview

\-Clinician asks mostly open ended questions

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\-Allows interviewer to follow leads and explore relevant topics that can't be anticipated before interview \n \n -Typically appeal to psychodynamic and humanistic clinicians

Structured interview

\-Clinicians ask prepared questions-mostly specific questions.

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\-Many include a mental status exam; set of questions and observations that systematically evaluate client's awareness, time & place, attention span, memory, and judgements \n \n -Ensures clinicians will cover same important issues and enables them to compare the responses of diff. individuals \n \n -Typically appeal to cognitive behavioral clinicians

Clinical tests

\-A device for gathering information about a few aspects of a person's psychological functioning from which broader information about the person can be inferred

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\-More than 1000 clinical tests are in use \n \n -Clinicians most often use; \n projective tests, \n personality inventories, \n response inventories, \n psychophysiological tests, \n neurological and neuropsychological tests, \n intelligence tests.

Projective tests

-Require that clients interpret vague stimuli such as inkblots or ambiguous pictures or follow open-ended instruction

-Used primarily by psychodynamic clinicians to help assess the unconscious drives and conflicts

-most widely used are; Rorschach test, Thematic apperception test, sentence completion, and drawings

-Problems with validity & reliability

Rorschach Test

a projective test composed of ambiguous inkblots; the way people interpret the blots is thought to reveal aspects of their personality

Thematic apperception test

a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes

Drawings

tells us something about its creator,

-evaluations are based on details and shape of drawing, solidity of line

Personality inventories

a questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings, beliefs and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits

-Individuals indicate whether each of a long list of statements applies to them

-Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test is MOST COMMONLY used

-Personality inventories are BETTER than projective tests

-Advantages; standardized, greater test-retest reliability, more validity (not highly valid)

Hypochondriasis

Items showing abnormal concern with bodily functions

"I have chest pains several times a week"

Depression

Items showing extreme pessimism and hopelessness

"I often feel hopeless about the future"

Hysteria

person using physical or mental symptoms as a way of unconsciously avoiding conflicts and responsibilities

"My heart frequently pounds so hard I can feel it"

Psychopathic deviate

repeated and gross disregard for social customs and an emotional shallowness

"My activities are often criticized by others

Masculinity/Femininity

items that are thought to separate male and female respondents

"I like to arrange flowers"

paranoia

abnormal suspiciousness and delusions of grandeur or persecution

"There are evil people trying to influence my mind"

Psychasthenia

obsessions, compulsions, abnormal fears, and guilt and indecisiveness

"I save nearly everything I buy, even after I have no use for it"

Schizophrenia

Items that show bizarre or unusual thoughts or behavior

"Things around me do not seem real"

Hypomania

Items that show emotional excitement, overactivity and flight of ideas

"At times I feel very high or very low for no apparent reason"

Social introversion

items that show shyness, little interest in people, and insecurity

"I am easily embarrassed"

Response inventories

tests that measure a person's responses in one specific area of functioning, such as affect, social skills, or cognitive processes

-Affective inventories: measure severity of such emotions as anxiety, depression and anger

-Social skill inventories: used primarily by behavioral and family social clinicians. Respondents indicate how they would react in a variety of situations

-Cognitive inventories: reveal a persons typical thoughts and assumptions and can help uncover counterproductive patterns of thinking

Psychophysiological tests

measure physiological responses as possible indicators of psychological problems

-polygraph (lie detector)

-many require expensive treatment and can be inaccurate and unreliable

Neurological tests

designed to measure brain structure and activity directly

-electroencephalogram (EEG); records brain waves when neurons firing

-neuroimaging, or brain scanning, techniques (CT scan, PET scan, fMRI)

-sometimes unable to detect subtle brain abnormalities

MRI shows entirety of the brain and head

CAT scan shows simple xray

PET scan looks like a map

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neuropsychological tests

measure cognitive, perceptual, and motor performances on certain tasks; clinicians interpret abnormal performances as an indicator of underlying brain problems

-focuses on visual perception, memory, and visual motor coordination

-Bender visual-motor gestalt test (9 cards each displaying geometrical design & patients try to copy each separately)

Intelligence tests

consists of series of tasks requiring ppl to use various verbal and nonverbal skills