1. PSY 266, Abnormal Psychology

2. “…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.”

3.  The process:  Observe  Interview  Neurological tests  Psych. Tests and inventories Which must be….

4. 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”)

5.  Controlled (in lab or office)  Naturalistic (school, office, home)  Include interviews  Reactivity might occur ( observer should be objective and unobtrusive.) Reliable? Valid? Standardized?

6.  Structured (checklist)  Unstructured (e.g. Psych Eval )  Questions  Observations  Tasks

7.  Psychological Evaluation Psychological Evaluation

8. Rorschach Inkblot Test

11. Criticisms: Not standardized Culture influences stories Pictures tend to be negative Based on Freud’s “repression”

12. Sentence completion: My mother always ________. Draw a person: Self-report inventories: -- MMPIMMPI Beck Depression Inventory IQ: WISC, WAIS, WPPSI Stanford-Binet Reliable? Valid?

13.  CT Scan – (x-rays) CT Scan  PET Scan – (radioactive) PET Scan  EEG – (Brainwaves) EEG  MRI – (Magnetic Field) MRI

14.  Shaky beginnings  Allows mental health professionals to talk to each other about patients/clients.

15.  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

16.  Psychological Evaluation Psychological Evaluation