PSYC 435 - Abnormal Psychology Quiz 2 Concepts Exam Questions With Verified Answers

PSYC 435 - Abnormal Psychology Quiz 2 Concepts Exam Questions With Verified Answers What is the difference between clinical diagnosis and psychological assessment? The information collected through various means of measurement are gathered during the psychological assessment. This information is evaluated and compared to the descriptions and requirements for disorders in the DSM-5 to come to a clinical diagnosis. What components must be integrated into a dynamic formulation? The individual's personality traits, behaviour patterns, environmental demands, etc. of the current situation including hypotheses of the driving forces behind the maladaptive behaviour Describe the important elements in a social or behavioral history. - long-term personality characteristics - environmental supports, demands, and stressors - knowledge of the issues involved in multicultural assessment and appropriate testing measures What does it mean to use culturally fair assessments? Assessments have been tested to ensure that they account for any possible performance differences on the scales between groups and across translations What is the impact of professional orientation on the structure and form of a psychological evaluation? Determines how the clinician goes about the assessment process, such as preferred methods of assessment - Ex. Psychodynamic/analytic clinicians may choose unstructured personality assessments such as the Rorschach inkblots or proceed with therapy without assessment allowing conflicts to arise naturally Does providing test feedback to clients aid them in their adjustment? yes - when patients are given appropriate feedback on test results, they tend to improve (reduced symptoms, increased self-esteem)—just from gaining a perspective on their problems as a result of the testing. Compare and contrast five important neurological procedures. What makes each one particularly valuable? EEG: assesses brain wave patterns, can be done awake/asleep, may reveal brain tumours, dysrhthmia, or lesions, can guide further specialized testing / Computerized Axial Tomography: images of parts of the brain using X-Rays, provides rapic access to structural information of affected areas / Magnetic Resonance Imaging: measures variations in magnetic fields caused by varying amouts of water content, sharper (differentiates subtle variations in soft tissue), less complicated, and less damaging (no ionizing radiation) than CAT, research questions reliability / Positron Emission Tomography: tracks natural compounds such as glucose as they are metabolized, shows level of functioning, clear-cut diagnoses of brain pathology, low-fidelity pictures, admitted into court/questionable / functional MRI: measures oxygen levels of specific regions, thought to be best of current options for depicting brain abnormalities, potential treatment, may detect lying, may aid in understanding of early development of disorders, MRI sensitive to instrument error, difficult to interpret, value in cortical activity and cognitive processes / What is the difference between a PET scan and an fMRI? PET scan: measures organ's metabolic activity using natural compounds, radioactive / fMRI: measures oxygen level showing problems with how and from where it is supplied, high speed Describe the use of neuropsychological tests in evaluating the behavioral effects of organic brain disorders. Impairments may manifest before lesions are detectable by scanners. Halstead'Reitan battery: 1. Halstead category test (ability to learn and remember material) 2. Tactual performance test (measures motor speed, response to unfamiliar, and ability to learn and use tactile and kinesthetic cues) 3. Rhythm test (measures attention and sustained concentration through an audio perception task) 4. Speech sounds perception test (ability to identify spoken words 5. Finger oscillation task (measures the speed at which an individual can depress a lever with the index finger) Distinguish between structured and unstructured clinical assessment interviews. Structured: Assessment using a set list of questions designed to cover all aspects - more thorough, answers can be quantified or clearly determined, typically take longer, some questions may be unnecessary / Unstructured: Assessment with freely thought questions, asked subjectively based on judgement or previous responses - more personal, can bring important information that may be missed in structured interviews What are the assumptions behind the use of projective personality tests? How do they differ from objective tests? In trying to make sense out of vague, unstructured stimuli, individuals "project" their own problems, motives, and wishes into the situation. Objective personality tests rely on structured assessments. What advantages do objective personality tests offer over less structured tests?