Chapter 4 - Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis

Question 1

psychological assessment

Answer 1

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

Question 2

clinical diagnosis

Answer 2

the process through which a clinicial arrives at a gneral “summary classification” of the patient’s symptoms by following a clearly defined system (such as the DSM)

Question 3

presenting problem

Answer 3

major symptoms and behavior the client is experiencing

Question 4

what types of information are part of the social or behavioral history?

Answer 4

personality factors and the social context

Question 5

dysrhythmia

Answer 5

irregular pattern in the brain’s electrical activity

Question 6

EEG

Answer 6

electrodes on the scalp record brain’s electrical activity

Question 7

CAT scan

Answer 7

x-rays of the brain

(more structural than functional)

Question 8

MRI

Answer 8

sharper images of the interior of the brain. does not submit patient to radiation

(more structual than functional)

Question 9

PET scan

Answer 9

measures metabolic processes to appraise how well an organ is functioning

(more functional than structural)

Question 10

fMRI

Answer 10

measures changes in blood flow in specific areas of brain tissue

(both structural and functional)

Question 11

aphasia

Answer 11

a disorder in which there is a loss of ability to communicate verbally

Question 12

limitations of fMRI

Answer 12

• sensitive to inacuracies due to slight movement of the patient
• results may be difficult to interpret

Question 13

neuropsychological assessment

Answer 13

measuring a person’s cognitive, perceptual, and motor performance as clues to the extent and location of brain damage

Question 14

Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS)

Answer 14

objective method of rating clinical symptoms that provides scores on 18 variables

useful in clinical research, less so in diagnosis or treatment

Question 15

Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD)

Answer 15

similar to BPRS, but more specifically targeted. Most widely used procedure to select depressed people for clinical research

Question 16

pros and cons of psychological tests

Answer 16

• more precise and more reliable than interviews
• value depends on competence of clinician who interprets them

Question 17

what are the two primary types of psychological tests?

Answer 17

intelligence tests and personality tests

Question 18

two intelligence tests that are widely used for children

Answer 18

• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-IV)
• Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

Question 19

most common intelligence test for adults

Answer 19

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS-III)

Question 20

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III)

Answer 20

Measures intelligence of adults. Includes both verbal (vocabulary) and performance (digit span) components

Question 21

thematic apperception test (TAT)

Answer 21

patients are asked to make up stories about a set of ambiguous pictures

Question 22

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)

Answer 22

objective personality test that measures tendencies to respond in psychologically deviant ways and includes a number of validity scales (which detect falsehood or inconsistencies)

Question 23

factors to keep in mind when evaluating test results

Answer 23

• cultural bias of instrument or clinician
• theoretical orientation of the clinician
• underemphasis on the external situation
• insufficient validation
• inaccurate data or premature evaluation

Question 24

reliability

Answer 24

the degree to which a test produces the same result each time

Question 25

validity

Answer 25

the degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure

Question 26

symptoms

Answer 26

subjective description of complains that the patient presents about what is wrong

Question 27

signs

Answer 27

objective observations that the diagnostician may make directly or indirectly

Question 28

Axis I

Answer 28

Clinical disorders or other conditions that may be the focus of clinical attention (ex: distress in maritial relationship if this is the focus of clinical discussion)

Question 29

Axis II

Answer 29

Personality disorders and mental retardation

Question 30

Axis III

Answer 30

General medical conditions

Question 31

Axis IV

Answer 31

Psychosocial and environmental problems (only those relevant to treatment of mental disorder) ex: problem with primary support groups

Question 32

Axis V

Answer 32

Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) : 100 point scale used to assess overall ability to function. (closer to 100 is good, closer to 0 is bad)