Psychology Chapter 3

Front 1

alternate-form reliability

Back 1

the relationship between scores achieved by people when they complete two versions of a test that are judged to be equivalent

Front 2

behavioral assessment

Back 2

A sample of ongoing cognitions, feelings, and overt behavior in their situational context. Compare projective test and personality inventory.

Front 3

behavioral observation

Back 3

A form of behavioral assessment that entails careful observation of a person's overt behavior in a particular situation

Front 4

BOLD (blood oxygenation level depedent)

Back 4

The signal detected by functional MRI studies of the brain; measures blood flow and thus neural activity in particular regions.

Front 5

categorical classification

Back 5

An approach to assessment in which a person is or is not a member of a discrete grouping. Compare dimensional classification.

Front 6

clinical interview

Back 6

General term for conversation between a clinician and a patient that is aimed at determining diagnosis, history, causes for problems, and possible treatment options.

Front 7

comorbidity

Back 7

The co-occurrence of two disorders, as when a person is both depressed and alcoholic.

Front 8

concurrent validity

Back 8

The extent to which previously undiscovered features are found among pateints with the same diagnosis (applied to psychiatric diagnosis)

Front 9

construct validity

Back 9

The extent to which scores or ratings on an assessment instrument relate to other variables or behaviors according to some theory of hypothesis.

Front 10

content validity

Back 10

The extent to which a measure adequately samples the domain of interest (applied to psychological and psychiatric measures)

Front 11

criterion validity

Back 11

The extent to which a measure is associated in an expected way with some other measure (the criterion) (applied to psychological and psychiatric measures)

Front 12

CT or CAT scan

Back 12

Refers to computerized axial tomography, a method of diagnosis in which xrays are taken from different angles and then analyzed by computer to produce a representation of the part of the body in cross section.

Front 13

DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

Back 13

The current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association

Front 14

dimensional diagnostic systems

Back 14

An approach to assessment in which a person is placed on a continuum.

Front 15

ecological momentary assessment (EMA)

Back 15

Form of self observation involving collection of data in real time (e.g. diaries) regarding thoughts, moods, and stressors.

Front 16

electrocardiogram (EKG)

Back 16

A recording of the electrical activity of the heart, made with an electrocardiograph.

Front 17

electrodermal responding

Back 17

A recording of the minute electrical activity of the sweat glands on the skin, allowing inference of an emotional state.

Front 18

electroencephalogram (EEG)

Back 18

A graphic recording of electrical activity of the brain, usually of the cerebral cortex, but sometimes in lower areas.

Front 19

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Back 19

Modification of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that allows researchers to take pictures of the brain so quickly that metabolic changes can be measured, resulting in a picture of the brain at work rather than of its structure alone.

Front 20

intelligence test

Back 20

A standardized means of assessing a person's current mental ability, for example, the Stanford-Binet test of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Front 21

internal consistency reliability

Back 21

The degree to which different items of an assessment are related to one another.

Front 22

interrater reliability

Back 22

The relationship between the judgments that at least two raters make indepedently about a phenomenon.

Front 23

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Back 23

A technique for measuring the structure (or, in the case of functional magnetic resonance imaging, the activity) of the living brain. The person is placed inside a large circular magnet that causes hydrogen atoms to move; the return of the atoms to their original positions when the current to the magnet is turned off is translated by a computer into pictures of brain tissue.

Front 24

metabolite

Back 24

A chemical breakdown product of an endogenous molecule, such as a neurotransmitter, or of an exogenous drug; used to gauge current or recent level of its precursor.

Front 25

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Back 25

A lengthy personal inventory that identifies individuals with states such as anxiety, depression, masculinity-femininity, and paranoia, through their true-false replies to group statements.

Front 26

multiaxial classification system

Back 26

Classification having several dimensions, all of which are employed in categorizing; DSM-IV-TR is an example.

Front 27

neurologist

Back 27

A physician who specializes in medical diseases that affect the nervous system, such as muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, or Alzheimer's disease.

Front 28

neuropsychological tests

Back 28

Psychological tests, such as the Luria-Nebraska, that can detect impairment in different parts of the brain.

Front 29

neuropsychologist

Back 29

A psychologist who studies how brain dysfunction affects cognition, emotion, and behavior.

Front 30

personality inventory

Back 30

A self-report questionnaire comprised of statements assessing habitual behavioral and affective tendencies.

Front 31

PET scan

Back 31

Computer-generated picture of the living brain, created by analysis of emissions from radioactive isotopes injected into the bloodstream.

Front 32

predictive validity

Back 32

The extent to which predictions can be made about the future behavior of patients with the same diagnosis (applied to psychiatric diagnosis)

Front 33

projective hypothesis

Back 33

The notion that standard but highly unstructured stimuli, as found in the Rorschach assessment's serious of inkblots, are necessary to bypass defenses in order to reveal unconscious motives and conflicts.

Front 34

projective test

Back 34

A psychological assessment devide, such as the Rorschach series of inkblots, employing a set of standard but vague stimuli, on the assumption that unstructured material will allow conscious motivations and fears to be uncovered.

Front 35

psychological tests

Back 35

Standardized procedures designed to measure performance on a particular task or to assess personality.

Front 36

psychophysiology

Back 36

The discipline concerned with the bodily changes that accompany psychological events.

Front 37

reactivity

Back 37

The phenomenon wherein behavior changes because it is being observed.

Front 38

reliability

Back 38

The extent to which a test, measurement, or classification system produces the same scientific observation each time it is applied.

Front 39

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Back 39

A projective test in which the examinee is instructed to interpret a series of 10 inkblots reproduced on cards.

Front 40

self-monitoring

Back 40

In behavioral assessment, a procedure whereby the individual observes and reports certain aspects of his/her own behavior, thoughts, or emotions.

Front 41

standardization

Back 41

The process of constructing a normed assessment procedure that meets the various psychometric criteria for reliability and validity.

Front 42

stress

Back 42

State of an organism subjected to a stressor; can take the form of increased autonomic activity and in the long term can cause breakdown of an organ or development of a mental disorder.

Front 43

structured interview

Back 43

An interview in which the questions are set out in a prescribed fashion for the interviewer; assists profesionals in making diagnostic decisions based on standardized criteria

Front 44

test-retest reliability

Back 44

The relationship between the scores that a person achieves when he/she takes the same test twice

Front 45

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Back 45

A projective test consisting of black-and-white pictures, each depicting a potentially emotion-laden situation, about each of which the examinee is instructed to make up a story.

Front 46

validity

Back 46

In research, includes internal, the extent to which results can be confidently attributed to the manipulation of the indepedent variable, and external, the extent to which results may be generalized to other populations and settings.