ESSENTIALS OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTERS 1 THROUGH 14 UPDATED ACTUAL
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
◉ diagnosis.
Answer: Process of determining whether a presenting problem
meets the established criteria for a specific psychological disorder.
◉ reliability.
Answer: Degree to which a measurement is consistent—for
example, over time or among different raters.
◉ validity.
Answer: Degree to which a technique measures what it purports to
measure.
◉ standardization.
Answer: Process of establishing specific norms and requirements for
a measurement technique to ensure it is used consistently across
measurement occasions. This includes instructions for
administering the measure, evaluating its findings, and comparing
these to data for large numbers of people.
,◉ mental status exam.
Answer: Relatively coarse preliminary test of a client's judgment,
orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state;
typically conducted during an initial interview.
◉ behavioral assessment.
Answer: Measuring, observing, and systematically evaluating (rather
than inferring) the client's thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the
actual problem situation or context.
◉ self-monitoring.
Answer: The action by which clients observe and record their own
behaviors as either an assessment of a problem and its change or a
treatment procedure that makes them more aware of their
responses. Also known as self-observation.
◉ projective tests.
Answer: Psychoanalytically based measure that presents ambiguous
stimuli to clients on the assumption that their responses can reveal
their unconscious confl icts. Such tests are inferential and lack high
reliability and validity.
◉ personality inventories.
Answer: Self-report questionnaire that assesses personal traits by
asking respondents to identify descriptions that apply to themselves.
, ◉ intelligence quotient (IQ).
Answer: Score on an intelligence test estimating a person's deviation
from average test performance.
◉ neuropsychological testing.
Answer: Assessment of brain and nervous system functioning by
testing an individual's performance on behavioral tasks.
◉ false positive.
Answer: Assessment error in which pathology is reported (that is,
test results are positive) when none is actually present.
◉ false negative.
Answer: Assessment error in which no pathology is noted (that is,
test results are negative) when one is actually present.
◉ neuroimaging.
Answer: Sophisticated computer-aided procedure that allows
nonintrusive examination of nervous system structure and function.
◉ psychophysiological assessment.
CHAPTERS 1 THROUGH 14 UPDATED ACTUAL
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
◉ diagnosis.
Answer: Process of determining whether a presenting problem
meets the established criteria for a specific psychological disorder.
◉ reliability.
Answer: Degree to which a measurement is consistent—for
example, over time or among different raters.
◉ validity.
Answer: Degree to which a technique measures what it purports to
measure.
◉ standardization.
Answer: Process of establishing specific norms and requirements for
a measurement technique to ensure it is used consistently across
measurement occasions. This includes instructions for
administering the measure, evaluating its findings, and comparing
these to data for large numbers of people.
,◉ mental status exam.
Answer: Relatively coarse preliminary test of a client's judgment,
orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state;
typically conducted during an initial interview.
◉ behavioral assessment.
Answer: Measuring, observing, and systematically evaluating (rather
than inferring) the client's thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the
actual problem situation or context.
◉ self-monitoring.
Answer: The action by which clients observe and record their own
behaviors as either an assessment of a problem and its change or a
treatment procedure that makes them more aware of their
responses. Also known as self-observation.
◉ projective tests.
Answer: Psychoanalytically based measure that presents ambiguous
stimuli to clients on the assumption that their responses can reveal
their unconscious confl icts. Such tests are inferential and lack high
reliability and validity.
◉ personality inventories.
Answer: Self-report questionnaire that assesses personal traits by
asking respondents to identify descriptions that apply to themselves.
, ◉ intelligence quotient (IQ).
Answer: Score on an intelligence test estimating a person's deviation
from average test performance.
◉ neuropsychological testing.
Answer: Assessment of brain and nervous system functioning by
testing an individual's performance on behavioral tasks.
◉ false positive.
Answer: Assessment error in which pathology is reported (that is,
test results are positive) when none is actually present.
◉ false negative.
Answer: Assessment error in which no pathology is noted (that is,
test results are negative) when one is actually present.
◉ neuroimaging.
Answer: Sophisticated computer-aided procedure that allows
nonintrusive examination of nervous system structure and function.
◉ psychophysiological assessment.
