Abnormal Psychology Ch. 4 Clinical Assessment And Diagnosis

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Actuarial Procedures

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Methods whereby data about subjects are analyzed by objective procedures or formulas rather than by human judgments.

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Acute

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Term used to describe a disorder of sudden onset, usually with intense symptoms.

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Aphasia

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Loss or impairment of ability to communicate and understand language symbols - involving loss of power of expression by speech, writing, or signs, or loss of ability to comprehend written or spoken language - resulting from brain injury or disease.

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Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS)

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Objective method of rating clinical symptoms that provides scores on 18 variable (e.g. somatic concern, anxiety, withdrawal, hostility, and bizarre thinking).

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Chronic

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Term used to describe a long-standing or frequently recurring disorder, often with progressing seriousness.

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Clinical Diagnosis

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The process through which a clinician arrives at a general "summary classification" of the patient's symptoms by following a clearly defined system such as DSM-IV-TR or ICD-10.

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Comorbidity

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Occurence of two or more identified disorders in the same psychologically disordered individual.

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Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT scan)

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Radiological technique used to locate and assess the extent of organic damage to the brain without surgery.

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Cultural Competence

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Refers to the psychologist's need to be informed of the issues involved in multicultural assessment.

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Dysrhythmia

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Abnormal brain wave pattern.

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Electroencephalogram (EEG)

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Graphical record of the brain's electrical activity, obtained by placing electrodes on the scalp and measuring the brain wave impulses from various brain areas.

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Episodic

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Term used to describe a disorder that tends to abate and recur.

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Forensic Pyschology and Psychiatry

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Branches of psychology and psychiatry dealing with legal problems related to mental disorders and the legal rights and protection of mental patients and members of society at large.

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Functional MRI (fMRI)

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Internal scanning technique that measures changes in local oxygenation (blood flow) to specific areas of brain tissue that in turn depend on neuronal activity in those specific regions, allowing the mapping of psychological activity such as sensations, images, and thoughts.

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Intelligence Test

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Test used in establishing a subject's level of intellectual capabilty.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

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Internal scanning technique involving measurement of variations in magnetic fields that allows visualization of the anatomical features of internal organs, including the central nervous system and particularly the brain.

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Moderate (disorder)

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Disorder intermediate in severity.

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Neuropsychological Assessments

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Use of psychological tests that measure a person's cognitive, perceptual, and motor performance to obtain clues to the extent and locus of brain damage.

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Objective Personality Tests

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Structured tests, such as questionnaires, self-inventories, or rating scales, used in psychological assessment.

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Projective Personality Tests

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Techniques that use various ambiguous stimuli that a subject is encouraged to interpret and from which the subject's personality characteristics can be analyzed.

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Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan)

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Scanning technique that measures metabolic processes to appraise how well an organ is functioning

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Presenting Problem

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Major symptoms and behavior the client is experiencing

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Psychological Assessment

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A procedure by which clincians, using psychological tests, observation, and interviews developo a summary of the client's symptoms and problems.

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Rating Scales

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Formal structure for organizing information obtained from clinical observation and self-reports to encourage reliabiltiy and objectivity.

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Recurrent

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Term used to describe a disorder pattern tha tends to come and go.

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Reliability

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Degree to which a measuring device produces the same result each time it is used to measure the same thing, or when two or more different raters use it.

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Role-playing

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Form of assessment in which a person is instructed to play a part, enabling a clincian to observe a client's behavior directly.

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Rorschach Inkblot Test

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Use of ten inkblot pictures to which a subject responds with associations tha come to mind. Analysis of these responses enables a clinician to infer personality characteristics.

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Self-monitoring

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Observing and recording one's own behavior, thoughts, and feelings as they occur in various natural settings.

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Sentence Completion Test

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Projective technique utilizeng incomplete sentences that a person is to complete, analysis of which enables a clincian to infer personality disorders.

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Severe (disorder)

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Disorder of a high degree of seriousness.

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Signs

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Obejective observations that suggest to a diagnostician a patient's physical or mental disorder.

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Structured Assessment Interview

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Interview with set introduction and follows a predetermined set of procefures and questions throughout.

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Symptoms

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Patient's subjective description of a physical or mental disorder.

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Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

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Use a series of simple pictures about which a subject is instructed to make up stories. Analysis of the stories give a clinician clues about the person's conflicts, traits, personality dynamics, and the like.

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Unstructured Assessment Interviews

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Typically subjective interviews that do not follow a predetermined set of questions. The beginning statements in the interview are usually general, and follow-up questions are tailored for each client. The content of the interview questions is influences by the habits or theroretical views of the interviewer.

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Validity

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Extent to which a measuring instrument actually measures what it purports to measure.