PSY 266, Abnormal Psychology
“…the process of gathering information and drawing conclusions about the traits, skills, abilities, mental functioning, and psychological problems of the individual, generally for use in developing a diagnosis.”
The process: Observe Interview Neurological tests Psych. Tests and inventories Which must be….
All of these “Assessments” must be… Reliable – measures same way each time – Test-rest reliability (same person twice) – Internal consistency (split-half ) – Interrater reliability (different raters – same score?) Valid – does it measure what it CLAIMS to measure? – Predictive? (of the future) – Criterion related? (really measuring something else?) – Construct? (correlate with other tests?) Standardized (same administration/same comparison group) (your “assessment”)
Controlled (in lab or office) Naturalistic (school, office, home) Include interviews Reactivity might occur ( observer should be objective and unobtrusive.) Reliable? Valid? Standardized?
Structured (checklist) Unstructured (e.g. Psych Eval ) Questions Observations Tasks
Psychological Evaluation Psychological Evaluation
Rorschach Inkblot Test
Criticisms: Not standardized Culture influences stories Pictures tend to be negative Based on Freud’s “repression”
Sentence completion: My mother always ________. Draw a person: Self-report inventories: -- MMPIMMPI Beck Depression Inventory IQ: WISC, WAIS, WPPSI Stanford-Binet Reliable? Valid?
CT Scan – (x-rays) CT Scan PET Scan – (radioactive) PET Scan EEG – (Brainwaves) EEG MRI – (Magnetic Field) MRI
Shaky beginnings Allows mental health professionals to talk to each other about patients/clients.
Five Axes from the DSM-IVDSM-IV Also look for Co-morbidity -more than one Axis I, II, III disorders Severity of the disorder Remission Problems Labels people Could lead to incorrect treatment Self-fulfilling prophecy (if patient doesn’t have) ignores how well a person functions
Psychological Evaluation Psychological Evaluation