From Magyar-Moe (2009)
Chapter 3: Positive Psychological Tests and Measures
What are the measurement aims of the following questionnaires: VIA-IS, Clifton Strengthsfinder
2.0, PANAS, Satisfaction with life scale, Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire,Hope scale, and the
Personal Growth Initiative Scale?
VIA-IS (Values in Action Inventory of Strengths)
Aim: To measure a person’s 24 character strengths across six virtue domains (e.g., wisdom, courage,
humanity).
→ Provides a profile of an individual’s character strengths, intended as a complement to DSM
disorder diagnosis.
Clifton Strengthsfinder 2.0
Aim: To identify a person’s top talent themes out of 34 possible talents.
→ Focuses on natural talents that can be developed into strengths and used to improve functioning
at work, school, and daily life.
PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule)
Aim: To measure current or weekly levels of positive affect and negative affect.
→ Used to track emotional changes, therapy effects, and momentary mood fluctuations.
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)
Aim: To assess global cognitive life satisfaction—how satisfied someone is with their life overall.
→ Complements affective measures such as the PANAS to determine emotional well-being.
Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire
Aim: To measure overall happiness (average happiness level) and the percentage of time someone
feels happy, unhappy, or neutral.
→ A brief assessment of general emotional well-being.
Hope Scale (Adult Trait and State Hope)
Aim: To measure hope as defined by Snyder:
1. Agency: determination to pursue goals
2. Pathways: perceived ability to find routes toward goals
→ Trait version measures general hopeful thinking; state version measures momentary goal-directed
thinking.
1
,7. Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS)
Aim: To measure intentional personal growth, including cognitive and behavioral components of
actively engaging in self-change.
→ Reflects proactive engagement in personal development and self-improvement.
How can negative labels contribute to deindividuation, miscommunication and self-fulfilling
prophecies?
1. Miscommunication
Negative labels give the illusion that clinician and client share the same meaning. In practice,
diagnostic terms are interpreted differently by different people. As soon as a label is assigned,
clinicians may think they already “know” the client and stop exploring important nuances. The label
becomes a shortcut that hides the complexity of the person.
2. Deindividuation
Labels create an out-group (“borderline patients,” “schizophrenics”) and make individuals seem more
similar than they truly are. Clinicians begin to focus on the category rather than the person, causing
unique characteristics, context, and strengths to fade into the background. The person becomes
reduced to the diagnosis, which leads to dehumanization.
3. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Labels create an out-group (“borderline patients,” “schizophrenics”) and make individuals seem more
similar than they truly are. Clinicians begin to focus on the category rather than the person, causing
unique characteristics, context, and strengths to fade into the background.The person becomes
reduced to the diagnosis, which leads to dehumanization.
What beneficial effects can positive labels have?
Positive labels can significantly support clinical practice because they highlight strengths rather than
pathology. When clinicians name a client’s abilities or resources, clients begin to see themselves as
more than their disorder, which increases hope, motivation, and engagement.
Benefits
o Positive self-fulfilling prophecy: Clients internalize strengths (e.g., resilience, social
skills), which boosts confidence and makes them more likely to behave in ways that
reinforce these strengths.
o Improved therapeutic relationship: Therapists who view clients as capable interact with
them more constructively, which strengthens the therapeutic alliance and supports
progress.
o Balanced self-understanding: Positive labels prevent clients from being reduced to a
disorder and help create a more nuanced, humane view of themselves.
Example: A client diagnosed with depression who is also labeled as resilient or as having
strong parenting skills develops a more hopeful identity. The therapist also maintains a
more balanced and optimistic case conceptualization.
2
,From Luteijn and Barelds (2019)
Chapter 1: The diagnostic process
What are the main characteristics of clinical psychodiagnostics?
Clinical psychodiagnostics is a professional, theory-driven, empirically grounded activity aimed at
understanding a client’s problems and guiding treatment. Its main characteristics are:
o It is based on three core elements:
(1) theory development about the client’s problems/complaints,
(2) operationalization and measurement of these problems, and
(3) application of relevant diagnostic methods.
o It follows a scientifically regulated thought-to-action process, in which hypotheses are
formulated, tested, and evaluated (De Bruyn et al., Ter Laak).
o It aims to produce responsible and justified statements about a client’s behavior, functioning,
and difficulties.
o It provides a systematic framework that helps the diagnostician analyze complex problems in a
structured way.
o It integrates categorization (e.g., DSM) with individualized formulation, so that both disorder
and personal functioning are taken into account.
Describe the five phases of the diagnostic process.
1. Application (Aanmelding / Request phase)
Analysis of the referrer’s request and the client’s request for help. Clarifying what the question is and
what needs to be examined.
2. The diagnostician’s reflections
Weighing all incoming information, identifying biases, assessing the diagnostician’s own competence,
and determining which questions must be addressed.
3. Diagnostic scenario
Formulating a provisional theory about the client’s problems and converting it into diagnostic
questions and hypotheses (recognition, explanation, prediction, indication, evaluation).
4. Diagnostic examination
Testing the hypotheses through:
o selecting tools,
o formulating testable predictions,
o administering and processing instruments,
o evaluating whether hypotheses are confirmed or rejected.
5. Reporting (Integration and conclusion)
Integrating results into a coherent diagnostic conclusion and answering the referrer’s/client’s
questions. This includes both the written report and (if applicable) the oral debriefing.
3
, What are the five basic questions in clinical psychodiagnostics?
1. Recognition – What are the problems?
Identifying and describing the client’s difficulties, behavior, and symptoms.
2. Explanation – Why do the problems occur and persist?
Determining causal and maintaining factors, both internal and external.
3. Prediction – How will the problems likely develop?
Estimating future behavior, risk, or course of symptoms.
4. Indication – What treatment is appropriate for this client?
Selecting interventions that best fit the client’s needs, characteristics, and preferences.
5. Evaluation – Has the intervention worked?
Assessing treatment effects and whether changes can be attributed to the treatment.
What are the differences between criterion-oriented measurement, normative measurement and
ipsative measurement?
Criterion-oriented measurement
o Compares the client’s performance to a predefined standard or criterion.
o Focus: Has the client reached a certain level of functioning?
o Example: a cut-off score indicating clinical depression.
Usefulness: good for determining whether someone meets clinical thresholds.`
Limitation: does not show how the client compares to others.
Normative measurement
o Compares the client’s scores to a representative comparison group (norm group).
o Focus: Where does the client stand relative to others?
o Example: IQ tests using population norms.
Usefulness: shows whether behavior is unusually high/low compared to peers.
Limitation: may ignore meaningful changes within the individual across time.
Ipsative measurement
o Compares the client to themselves (e.g., earlier scores).
o Focus: How does this client change over time?
o Example: comparing a client’s anxiety score pre- and post-treatment.
Usefulness: ideal for monitoring treatment progress.
Limitation: no comparison to peers; cannot determine severity in a broader context.
4
Chapter 3: Positive Psychological Tests and Measures
What are the measurement aims of the following questionnaires: VIA-IS, Clifton Strengthsfinder
2.0, PANAS, Satisfaction with life scale, Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire,Hope scale, and the
Personal Growth Initiative Scale?
VIA-IS (Values in Action Inventory of Strengths)
Aim: To measure a person’s 24 character strengths across six virtue domains (e.g., wisdom, courage,
humanity).
→ Provides a profile of an individual’s character strengths, intended as a complement to DSM
disorder diagnosis.
Clifton Strengthsfinder 2.0
Aim: To identify a person’s top talent themes out of 34 possible talents.
→ Focuses on natural talents that can be developed into strengths and used to improve functioning
at work, school, and daily life.
PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule)
Aim: To measure current or weekly levels of positive affect and negative affect.
→ Used to track emotional changes, therapy effects, and momentary mood fluctuations.
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)
Aim: To assess global cognitive life satisfaction—how satisfied someone is with their life overall.
→ Complements affective measures such as the PANAS to determine emotional well-being.
Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire
Aim: To measure overall happiness (average happiness level) and the percentage of time someone
feels happy, unhappy, or neutral.
→ A brief assessment of general emotional well-being.
Hope Scale (Adult Trait and State Hope)
Aim: To measure hope as defined by Snyder:
1. Agency: determination to pursue goals
2. Pathways: perceived ability to find routes toward goals
→ Trait version measures general hopeful thinking; state version measures momentary goal-directed
thinking.
1
,7. Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS)
Aim: To measure intentional personal growth, including cognitive and behavioral components of
actively engaging in self-change.
→ Reflects proactive engagement in personal development and self-improvement.
How can negative labels contribute to deindividuation, miscommunication and self-fulfilling
prophecies?
1. Miscommunication
Negative labels give the illusion that clinician and client share the same meaning. In practice,
diagnostic terms are interpreted differently by different people. As soon as a label is assigned,
clinicians may think they already “know” the client and stop exploring important nuances. The label
becomes a shortcut that hides the complexity of the person.
2. Deindividuation
Labels create an out-group (“borderline patients,” “schizophrenics”) and make individuals seem more
similar than they truly are. Clinicians begin to focus on the category rather than the person, causing
unique characteristics, context, and strengths to fade into the background. The person becomes
reduced to the diagnosis, which leads to dehumanization.
3. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Labels create an out-group (“borderline patients,” “schizophrenics”) and make individuals seem more
similar than they truly are. Clinicians begin to focus on the category rather than the person, causing
unique characteristics, context, and strengths to fade into the background.The person becomes
reduced to the diagnosis, which leads to dehumanization.
What beneficial effects can positive labels have?
Positive labels can significantly support clinical practice because they highlight strengths rather than
pathology. When clinicians name a client’s abilities or resources, clients begin to see themselves as
more than their disorder, which increases hope, motivation, and engagement.
Benefits
o Positive self-fulfilling prophecy: Clients internalize strengths (e.g., resilience, social
skills), which boosts confidence and makes them more likely to behave in ways that
reinforce these strengths.
o Improved therapeutic relationship: Therapists who view clients as capable interact with
them more constructively, which strengthens the therapeutic alliance and supports
progress.
o Balanced self-understanding: Positive labels prevent clients from being reduced to a
disorder and help create a more nuanced, humane view of themselves.
Example: A client diagnosed with depression who is also labeled as resilient or as having
strong parenting skills develops a more hopeful identity. The therapist also maintains a
more balanced and optimistic case conceptualization.
2
,From Luteijn and Barelds (2019)
Chapter 1: The diagnostic process
What are the main characteristics of clinical psychodiagnostics?
Clinical psychodiagnostics is a professional, theory-driven, empirically grounded activity aimed at
understanding a client’s problems and guiding treatment. Its main characteristics are:
o It is based on three core elements:
(1) theory development about the client’s problems/complaints,
(2) operationalization and measurement of these problems, and
(3) application of relevant diagnostic methods.
o It follows a scientifically regulated thought-to-action process, in which hypotheses are
formulated, tested, and evaluated (De Bruyn et al., Ter Laak).
o It aims to produce responsible and justified statements about a client’s behavior, functioning,
and difficulties.
o It provides a systematic framework that helps the diagnostician analyze complex problems in a
structured way.
o It integrates categorization (e.g., DSM) with individualized formulation, so that both disorder
and personal functioning are taken into account.
Describe the five phases of the diagnostic process.
1. Application (Aanmelding / Request phase)
Analysis of the referrer’s request and the client’s request for help. Clarifying what the question is and
what needs to be examined.
2. The diagnostician’s reflections
Weighing all incoming information, identifying biases, assessing the diagnostician’s own competence,
and determining which questions must be addressed.
3. Diagnostic scenario
Formulating a provisional theory about the client’s problems and converting it into diagnostic
questions and hypotheses (recognition, explanation, prediction, indication, evaluation).
4. Diagnostic examination
Testing the hypotheses through:
o selecting tools,
o formulating testable predictions,
o administering and processing instruments,
o evaluating whether hypotheses are confirmed or rejected.
5. Reporting (Integration and conclusion)
Integrating results into a coherent diagnostic conclusion and answering the referrer’s/client’s
questions. This includes both the written report and (if applicable) the oral debriefing.
3
, What are the five basic questions in clinical psychodiagnostics?
1. Recognition – What are the problems?
Identifying and describing the client’s difficulties, behavior, and symptoms.
2. Explanation – Why do the problems occur and persist?
Determining causal and maintaining factors, both internal and external.
3. Prediction – How will the problems likely develop?
Estimating future behavior, risk, or course of symptoms.
4. Indication – What treatment is appropriate for this client?
Selecting interventions that best fit the client’s needs, characteristics, and preferences.
5. Evaluation – Has the intervention worked?
Assessing treatment effects and whether changes can be attributed to the treatment.
What are the differences between criterion-oriented measurement, normative measurement and
ipsative measurement?
Criterion-oriented measurement
o Compares the client’s performance to a predefined standard or criterion.
o Focus: Has the client reached a certain level of functioning?
o Example: a cut-off score indicating clinical depression.
Usefulness: good for determining whether someone meets clinical thresholds.`
Limitation: does not show how the client compares to others.
Normative measurement
o Compares the client’s scores to a representative comparison group (norm group).
o Focus: Where does the client stand relative to others?
o Example: IQ tests using population norms.
Usefulness: shows whether behavior is unusually high/low compared to peers.
Limitation: may ignore meaningful changes within the individual across time.
Ipsative measurement
o Compares the client to themselves (e.g., earlier scores).
o Focus: How does this client change over time?
o Example: comparing a client’s anxiety score pre- and post-treatment.
Usefulness: ideal for monitoring treatment progress.
Limitation: no comparison to peers; cannot determine severity in a broader context.
4
