Abnormal Psychology Module 3

DSM

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Assessment

procedure by which clinicians, using psychological tests, observations, and interviews develop a summary of the clients symptoms and problems

Physical exams

work to rule out medically induced psychopathology

EEG

assesses brain waves during awake and sleep cycles

CAT

uses x-ray technology to assess anomalies in brain structure

MRI

similar to CAT scan, uses strong magnetic fields

PET

allows for assessment of functional aspects (metabolic changes)

Neuropsychological assessments

designed to measure a person’s cognitive, perceptual, and motor performance

Psychological Assessments

provides a realistic picture of an individual in interaction with their social environment, personality, stressors, level of functioning, resource

Projective Personality assessments

developed from psychodynamic perspective, uses ambiguous stimuli to reveal personal conflicts

Examples of projective personality assessments

rorschach inkblot, thematic apperception test, sentence completion test

Objective personality tests

typically structured, empirically derived and often standardized, highly reliable and valid form of testing

Epidemiology

the study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviors in a given population

Prevalence

number of active cases in population at any given period of time

Incidence

number of new cases that occur over a given period of time

Comorbidity

the presence of two or more disorders in the same person

Spurious correlation

ideas are correlated, but the correlation is due to a 3rd variable that you don’t know about

Quasi-experiment

a combination of correlational and experimental techniques

Efficacy

how well a Tx improves clinical outcome compared to control condition under ideal conditions