abnormal PSYCHOLOGY Third Canadian Edition Prepared by: Tracy Vaillancourt, Ph.D. Chapter 4 Clinical Assessment Procedures

Reliability and Validity in Assessment Reliability – Inter-rater reliability –Test–retest reliability –Alternate-form reliability – Internal consistency reliability Validity –Content validity –Criterion validity –Construct validity

Psychological Assessment Clinical Interview Structured Interview Psychological Tests –standardized procedures designed to measure person’s performance on a particular task or to assess personality, or thoughts, feelings, and behaviour Examples Personality Inventories –MMPI-2 Projective Personality Tests –Rorschach Inkblot Test –Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Intelligence Tests

MMPI-2

Behavioural and Cognitive Assessment Often a system that involves the assessment of four sets of variables, is used (SORC) – S refers to stimuli the environmental situations that precede the problem –O refers to organismic physiologicaland psychological factors assumed to be operating “under the skin –R refers to overt responses –C refers to consequent variables events that appear to be reinforcing or punishing the behaviour in question

Assessment cont. Observational Methods –Direct Observation of Behaviour –Self-Observation Self-monitoring Ecological momentary assessment Interview Self-Report Inventories Family Assessment

Summary of Psychological Assessment Methods

Biological Assessment Brain Imaging Computerized axial tomography (CT scan) –moving beam of X-rays passes into a horizontal cross-section of brain, scanning it through 360 degrees –moving X-ray detector on the other side measures amount of radioactivity that penetrate thus detecting subtle differences in tissue density –computer uses information to construct a two- dimensional, detailed image of the cross-section

Biological Assessment cont. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) –superior to the CT scan because produces pictures of higher quality and does not rely on radiation required by CT scan –circular magnet causes the hydrogen atoms in the body to move –when magnetic force is turned off, the atoms return to their original positions and thereby produce an electromagnetic signal –signals are then read by the computer and translated into pictures of brain tissue

Biological Assessment cont. Positron emission tomography (PET scan) –more expensive and invasive procedure –allows measurement of brain function –brain is labelled with a short-lived radioactive isotope and injected in bloodstream –radioactive molecules of the substance emit a positron which collides with an electron –pair of high-energy light particles shoot out from the skull in opposite directions and are detected by the scanner –computer analyzes millions of such recordings and converts them into a picture of the functioning brain Neurochemical Assessment –Example— analyzing the metabolites of neurotransmitters that have been broken down by enzymes

Brain Imaging

Neuropsychological Assessment Neuropsychological tests— based on the idea that different psychological functions are localized in different areas of the brain. Halstead-Reitan Battery –1. Tactile Performance Test—Time –2. Tactile Performance Test—Memory –3. Category Test –4. Speech Sounds Perception Test Luria-Nebraska Battery

Psychophysiological Assessment Activities of the autonomic nervous system are frequently assessed by electrical and chemical measurements in attempt to understand the nature of emotion. –Heart rate measured with electrocardiogram –Skin conductance measured with electrodermal responding –Brain activity measured by electroencephalogram (EEG)

Summary of Biological Assessment Methods

Cultural Diversity and Clinical Assessment Cultural Bias in Assessment Strategies to Avoid Cultural Biases in Assessment –Example language, Canadian norms, etc.

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