List the 4 most common goals of psychological assessment.
Screening: Identification of those experiencing clinically significant difficulties
Prediction/Prognosis: Estimation of the likelihood of a future event (e.g., clinically significant problems; violence)
Diagnosis/Case Formulation: Specification of DSM dia
What does it mean for an assessment to be standardized? Reliable? Valid? Useful?
Standardized: Minimize influence of testing situation and assessor Comparable materials/items across assessors, detailed instructions about administration and scoring
Reliable: Internal consistency, test-retest, inter-rater (Consistent, trustworthy)
Valid
Know the difference between the different forms of reliability (internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability).
Internal consistency: Consistency of responses across items on measure
Test-retest reliability: Consistency of responses over time (r > .7 is good, median across studies is .80)
Inter-rater reliability: Consistency of judgments across raters (kappa > .75
Know the difference between the different forms of validity (content, convergent, discriminant, concurrent, predictive, and incremental).
Content validity: Extent to which item content reflects concept of interest
Convergent validity: Moderate-to-strong association with measures intended to assess same or similar concepts
Discriminant validity: Weaker association with measures intended to a
What is the AUDIT and what is it used for? What is the definition of a binge drinking episode for a man/woman?
AUDIT is Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test
Developed by World Health Organization (WHO) to screen alcohol problems in last year
Best-available brief screener for alcohol use disorders and high-risk drinking that doesn't meet criteria
Used around t
What is the difference between "True Positive, True Negative, False Positive, and False Negative"?
True Positive (TP): person with disorder classified by screen as having disorder
False Positive (FP): person without disorder classified by screen as having disorder
True Negative (TN): person without disorder classified by screen as not having disorder
F
Know how to define sensitivity and specificity (and how they relate to True/False Positive/Negative).
Sensitivity = TP / (TP+FN) = proportion of those with disorder correctly detected
Specificity = TN / (TN+FP) = proportion of those without disorder correctly detected
What happens to sensitivity and specificity when you make cutoffs more liberal? More conservative?
More liberal cutoff (smaller value) means
Correctly detect more with disorder (more TPs)
BUT incorrectly classify more as having disorder (more FPs)
More conservative cutoff (higher value) means
Miss more with disorder (fewer TPs)
BUT classify fewer wrong
Define clinical and actuarial prediction. Which tends to be a better predictor?
Actuarial: Evidence based, better predictor
Clinical: Prone to bias, overwhelmingly used in practice
What is the best predictor of violence recidivism based on our discussion in class?
Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) In reality, about 60-80% of violent criminals commit additional violent acts after being released from prison
Actuarial prediction ~40% accurate
Clinical prediction ~30% accurate
Define Jerome Wakefield's theory of abnormal behavior.
A disorder is a harmful dysfunction
Harmful (a value term) - based on social norms
Dysfunction (a scientific term) - the failure of a mental mechanism to perform the function for which it was designed via evolution
How does the DSM-5 define mental disorders?
Clinically significant disturbances in cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior
Indicate a dysfunction in mental functioning
Produce significant distress or disability in work, relationships, and/ or other areas of functioning
How is abnormality characterized (e.g., distress, dysfunction, deviance, statistical infrequency)?
Distress (to self or others)
Dysfunction (social impairment)
Deviance (from social norms)
Statistical Infrequency
How does Szasz define mental illness (i.e., how does he conceptualize mental illness)?
Mental illness ? physical illness
Physical/medical illness:
A function of signs (e.g., fever) and symptoms (e.g., pain) that result from structural or functional problems
Void of ethical judgments (e.g., broken bones)
Brain diseases � physical symptoms (e
How does Rosenhan define mental illness?
The view has grown that psychological categorization of mental illness is useless at best and downright harmful, misleading, and pejorative at worst. Psychiatric diagnoses, in this view, are in the minds of the observers and are not valid summaries of ch
Explain the study procedures and findings associated with the Rosenhan study.
8 "sane" people admitted to 12 hospitals n "I'm hearing voices. They say 'empty,' 'hollow,' and 'thud'
All other information provided was accurate and Pseudopatients acted "normal" once admitted
Findings/Results
All hospitalized
Stays ranged from 7-52 day
What are the functions of diagnosis?
Communication Among Mental Health Professionals
Promote meaningful research
Determine appropriate treatment
Practical Functions
Secure payment for services via insurance claims
Determine eligibility for special education/accommodations in public education
What are some pros and cons of diagnoses (e.g., awareness, self-fulfilling prophecy)?
PROS :
Can be a relief to clients
Can lead to appropriate treatment and support
CONS :
Can serve as a negative label
Can lead to discrimination and stigma
Can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy ( an expectation about a subject can affect our behavior towa
Define impairment, disability, and handicap and know how to identify examples of each within a vignette.
Impairment - any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function
Disability - a functional limitation with regard to a particular activity
Handicap - a disadvantage infilling a role in life relative to peer groups
What is person first language? Know examples and how you should refer to someone using the person first approach promoted by the APA.
Person First Language - maintain the integrity of the individuals as whole human beings
Avoid language that implies the whole person is disabled
"A schizophrenic person"
Equates a person with their condition
"A schizophrenic"
Has superfluous, negative ove
What are the criticisms of the DSM-5?
Categorical approach (arbitrary cut-offs)
Too many disorders (pathologizing normal reactions of stress - like bereavement)
Some disorders may be medical conditions (sexual disorders ; sleep disorders)
Political influences (pharmaceutical industry or healt
What is the difference between non-structured/unstructured, semi-structured, and structured diagnostic interviews?
Unstructured Diagnostic Interview - no standard set of questions or structured method for integrating and summarizing obtained info. Clinician decides what topics to cover, screening questions, follow-up probes, rating system for used for sx, and means of
What is the SCID? What is it used for?
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID)
The gold standard structured diagnostic instrument, most disorders (separate personality disorders), modular approach, research and clinical versions and also training and supervision is extensive
What is the difference between suicidal ideation, plan, and intent? Be able to identify which a client is demonstrating.
Suicidal Ideation - Is the client thinking about killing themselves? (thinking about or preoccupied with commiting suicide)
Suicidal Intent - Does the client feel like a burden to others? (have suicide or deliberate self-killing as one's purpose)
Suicidal
What are the warning signs for suicide? IS PATH WARM?
I - IDEATION : threatened or communicated
S - SUBSTANCE ABUSE : excessive or increased
P - PURPOSELESS : no reasons for living
A - ANXIETY : agitation/insomnia
T - TRAPPED : feeling there is no way out
H - HOPELESSNESS
W - WITHDRAWING : from friends, fami
What is the Mental Status exam? What is assessed in the MSE (e.g., mood, affect, speech)?
Mental Status Exam : brief assessment of psychological and cognitive functioning. Involves direct questioning and the examiner's observations.
Assesses : behavior/psychomotor activity, appearance, affect & mood, speech & thought, perceptual disturbances,
Be able to identify different types of clinical interview questions (e.g., clarifying, paraphrasing).
Clarifying Question - "So your depression has been going on for a few months, do I have that right?"
Confronting Question - "Before you said ...?"
Paraphrasing Question - "You were alone."
Reflection of Feeling Question - "You felt lonely?"
Facilitative Q
How did Charles Spearman conceptualize intelligence? What is "g"?
G:" global ability - representation of general ability as function of combination of four concept abilities
Strong correlation among wide range of abilities
Evidence that one factor "g" underlies them all
Intelligence is all one thing
Giant venn diagram
How did Louis Thurstone conceptualize intelligence? What domains did he identify? How is this different from Spearman's conceptualization?
Multiple specific abilities
Intelligence is not one thing - it is many things
Four circles as all separate entities
Verbal
Spatial
Math
Memory
What are the two domains of intelligence identified by James Cattell?
Two intelligences
Fluid intelligence: one's ability to reason
Crystallized intelligence: one's ability of knowledge
What is the Three Stratum Theory?
Intelligence: both general ability and specific abilities
Developed by John Carroll
Stratum I: Narrow
Stratum II: Broad
Combination of stratum I and stratum II
Fluid intelligence/ crystallized intelligence/ general memory and learning/ broad visual percep
How does Howard Gardner define intelligence? Know/generate examples of each type of intelligence.
Intelligence
Ability to create effective product or offer valuable service
Set of skills that make it possible for person to solve problems in life
Potential for finding/ creating solutions to problems
Multiple intelligences
Verbal-linguistic: learning th
Identify common reasons intelligence testing is prescribed. (e.g., characterizing functional impairment)
Prediction of future achievement
Characterize functional impairment
Academic planning
Monitoring changes over time
Influence approach to assessment
Many assessments assume average intelligence for question comprehension
Influence approach to therapy
Vocab
What are the four domains assessed by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales? What does each subtest assess? Be able to identify which subtest an individual is likely to be completing based on a description (e.g., vocabulary, block design). What deficits
Norms based on age rather than one diagnostic groups
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV)
Ages 16-90
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV)
Ages 6-16
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI)
Ages 2 years, 6 months -
What is an Intelligence Quotient?
Compare client's raw score to age-matched norms
145-160: Very gifted/ highly advanced
130-144: Gifted/very advanced
120-129: Superior
110-119: High average
90-109: Average
80-89: Low average
70-79: Borderline impaired/delayed
55-69: Mildly impaired/delaye
What is the mean and standard deviation of IQ scores? What are the cutoffs for intellectual disability and giftedness?
Mean = 100, SD = 15
Gifted: 130
Intellectual disability: 70
What are the strengths of the Wechsler Scales?
Extensive data on norms
Nationally representative samples of over 2000 people
Strong reliability and validity
Lacks construct validity
Provide data on general intelligence and specific abilities
Relative strengths and weaknesses
What are the criticisms of intelligence testing?
Lack of construct validity
Question of too small of sample size or representation of population to which it is meant to generalize
Ableist - tasks concern speed but issue of the body should not translate to issue of the mind
Time intensive
Modest correlat
What are the main findings of the Rosenthal and Jacobson (1966) study and the Flynn (1989) study?
Rosenthal & Jacobson (1966): The Pygmalion Effect
Elementary students given an IQ test: "academic blooming"
20% of students randomly identified as "bloomers"
Students reassessed 8 months later - Significant increases in IQ for students in the "blooming" g
What is the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test? What domains does it assess? How is it similar to and different from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale? What are some criticisms of the test?
Currently in the fifth edition
Age range
Same test for whole life span (2-85+)
Includes norms for specific diagnostic groups - better at picking up people with deficits
Learning Disabilities
Mental Retardation
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Gift
Define clinical neuropsychology.
Clinical application of relationship between brain function and behavior
Evaluate:
Mood/personality
General intellect
Executive skills
Attention/concentration
Language
Learning/memory
Visual-spatial skills
Motor/sensory skills
How are "problem areas" defined/identified using neuropsychological testing?
Deviations from norms - "problem areas
What domains commonly are assessed most commonly in neuropsychological evaluations?
General Intellect
Executive skills
Mood and personality
Language
Motor and sensory skills
Learning and memory
Attention and concentration
What is the most common referral for neuropsychological evaluation among young people and athletes?
Concussion - documented number likely major underestimations
What is a concussion? How is it diagnosed?
Concussion: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) caused by bump, blow, or jolt to head that may involve loss of consciousness
Baseline testing - compare baseline to hwo functioning after alleged concussion
Mandated for NFL teams in 2012
ImPACT Reliable Change Ind
Who recovers most quickly from concussions, older individuals or younger individuals?
Full neurocognitive and symptom recovery takes longer in younger athletes
What is "chronic traumatic encephalopathy"?
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE): Degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head trauma
87/91 former players who donated brains to science had CTE (96%)
What domains are evaluated during a concussion evaluation? (e.g., consciousness, confusion, amnesia)
Evaluate loss of consciousness
Brief coma in which unresponsive?
Evaluate confusion
Orientation to place, event, date, day
"What stadium is this?"
"What day is it?"
"Who is the opposing team?"
Evaluate amnesia
Anterograde amnesia: cannot recall events imm
What is the difference between anterograde and retrograde amnesia? Be able to identify each via an example.
Anterograde amnesia: cannot recall events immediately after the trauma
Returning to sideline
"Repeat 'girl, dog, green'"
Retrograde amnesia: cannot recall events immediately before the trauma
"What was the score before the hit?
How is personality defined by the APA?
Refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking/feeling/behaving that prevail across time/contexts
What is the difference between a trait and state approach to personality?
Trait - disposition
Trait juxtapozed to state
Ex. trait: angry ? "he is an angry person"
All the time
Ex. state: angry ? "when 'this' happens, he tends to get angry"
Not all the time but in certain contexts
What is the Big 5 theory? Know the definition of each domain included in this theory and be able to characterize a behavior as being high or low on each domain. (e.g., never speaking in class = low on extraversion)?
Extraversion: energetic approach to the social and physical world
Neuroticism: prone to negative emotion
Openness: unconventionality/intellectual curiosity/interest in new ideas
Conscientiousness: organized/efficient/disciplined approach to life
Agreeable
What is an objective personality test?
Standard set of questions or statements with fixed set of responses
More empirically-based/scientific
What are the pros and cons of objective personality tests?
PROS:
Administration and scoring simple and economical
Potentially high levels of standardization/reliability/validity/utility
CONS:
Response sets: tendency to respond to items in way not reflective of true feelings
This OR that - not both
Faking response
What is the personality paradox?
The same person often behaves differently in different situations
Type of situation matters
Strong vs Weak situations
Most accurate descriptions include specific information on the situation
What personality tests are designed to evaluate normal personality?
Five factor model of personality - personality features that all people share, NEO PERSONALITY INVENTORY
What personality tests are designed to evaluate pathology?
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)
Most popular personality test
Designed to look at different domains of psychopathology
To differentiate clinical groups
What is the NEO Personality Inventory? What domains does it assess?
Developed by Costa & McCrae
Assesses "The Big 5" (OCEAN)
240 items but there's also a 60-item version
Likert scale ("Strongly agree" to "strongly disagree")
What is the MMPI-II? What method was used to develop it? What is unique about Empirical Criterion keying?
Most popular personality test
Empirical Criterion keying
Items selected based on how well they perform - not on theory
Items selected to distinguish between different clinical groups
MMPI-2 normed on nationally representative sample of 2600 people
But mos
What are the 3 validity scales included in the MMPI-2? Know which scales are associated with "faking bad" and "faking good." How do you interpret MMPI results when a client scores in a way that indicates they have deliberately tried to fake bad or fake go
Three "Validity" Scales: can be used to "invalidate" the MMPI-2 profile
L ("Lying" or "Faking good")
K ("Defensiveness" or "Faking good") � F ("Infrequency" or "Faking bad")
When think person is trying to fake results
Could interpret results with caution
What are the criticisms of the MMPI-2?
Empirical criterion keying creates items that are irrelevant
Reliably discriminates groups
Problematic items- hard to tell what items mean and some are offensive/outdated/confusing
Used by businesses - employees forced to take it for employment companies
What are projective personality tests? How are they thought to work?
Grew out of psychodynamic theory - not research
Present unstructured/ambiguous stimuli
Theory that participants "project" their personalities onto ambiguous stimuli
Projections reveal unconscious personality dynamics
From which theoretical orientation were projective tests developed?
Theory that participants "project" their personalities onto ambiguous stimuli
Projections reveal unconscious personality dynamics
Psychodynamic approach
What is the Rorschach Inkblot Test? How is personality assessed using this test?
10 inkblots printed on cards
Cards do not depict any specific thing but have portions that resemble sex organs/ blood/etc.
Administered individually
After all cards administered - psychologist asks client to explain answers
Scoring and interpretation is e
What is the Thematic Apperception Test? How is personality assessed using this test?
31 cards depicting scenes
Subset of 10 most commonly used
Tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end about the pic
Themes commonly explored include authority/gender/family relationships/sex/ aggression/cohesion
What is the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Bank?
Client's personality is revealed via the sentences they create
Examples
I enjoy ________________
It makes me furious ________________
I feel very nervous ________________
My proudest moment ________________
My greatest weakness ________________
What are the pros and cons of projective personality tests?
PROS:
Hard to fake good or bad
Freedom of response - more information
CONS:
Administration and scoring complex and expensive
Problems with standardization/reliability/validity/utility
Tester interpretation bias
Ex. bra
Interpreters of women seeing bra may
Why are projective personality tests used (i.e., what is their clinical utility)?
Resistance to change
Provide a source of info when used alongside other tests
Encourage clients to talk
Levels of inference:
Behavioral information - how quickly does a client generate responses?
Transactional Information - cooperative/anxious/etc.
Conten
What is evidence-based assessment?
Assessment based on evidence
Actuarial prediction
Assessment tools backed by scientific support - psychometric properties
Best types of tools to include in actuarial model
Know how to define vocational testing (i.e., what are the functions of vocational testing?)
Conducted by counseling and educational psychologists
These tests do NOT assess:
Intelligence (global ability)
Achievement (performance achieved)
These tests DO assess:
Specific talents or unknown potentials/patterns of interest that help determine which
For what populations is vocational testing commonly used?
High school/college students
Individuals with disabilities
Individuals who are unhappy at their jobs
Individuals whose interests have changed
Individuals whose previous work is defunct
Veterans
What are some limitations of vocational tests?
Does not assess intelligence or achievement
What is Holland's Theory of Vocational Personality Types? What are the RIASEC domains and what are some common examples of jobs that fit into each category (e.g., scientists; investigative)?
Work Personality
Holland's theory of vocational personality types
In theory, matching RIASEC work personality with RIASEC work environment should lead to greater job satisfaction and length of time on job
In reality, only 5% of variance in job satisfactio
What is Super's Life-Career Rainbow? What domains are considered important (e.g., career development, maturity, developmental stage, etc.)
Development - Super's Life Career Rainbow
Career development/maturity is a life-long process
Phases of career maturity are linked to: Developmental stage (e.g., childhood, adolescence, adulthood)
Different life-roles adopted over the lifespan (e.g., stude
What factors influence career aspirations/choice and career exploration?
Career Aspirations
Influenced by several sources:
Parents' SES
Parents' expectations
Schooling
Availability of opportunities
What is the Myers-Briggs? According to Stromberg, what are some criticisms of the Myers-Briggs?
Codes based on 4 pieces of information :
Focusing attention?
Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)
Taking in information? Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
Making decisions? Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
Dealing with the outside world? Judging (J) or Perceiving (