PSYCH 270 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Intelligence Quotient, Anxiety Disorder, Projective Test
CH3: Clinical Assessment & Diagnosis
ASSESSING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
➢ Clinical assessment→ Systematic evaluation & measurement of
psych/bio/social factors in an individual presenting with a possible
psych disorder
➢ Diagnosis→ Determining whether a problem meets all the criteria of a
psych disorder
○ Based on criteria given in DSM-5
KEY CONCEPTS IN ASSESSMENT
➢ Process of clinical assessment= FUNNEL
○ Clinician begins by collecting lots of info then narrows the
focus→ Rules out problems & concentrating on relevant areas
➢ Three basic concepts that determine value of assessments:
○ Reliability→ Degree of consistency
■ We expect that you will receive the SAME diagnosis from diff physicians
■ Psychologists create assessment devices to ensure “interrater reliability”
■ Test-retest reliability→ Techniques are consistent OVER TIME
○ Validity→ Whether the technique assesses what it is supposed to
■ Comparing the results of an assessment measure with the results of other that
are better proves validity
■ EX: A standard, long IQ test gives the same results as a
new, briefer version→ Concurrent validity
■ Predictive validity→ How well the assessment tells you what will
happen in the future
● EX: Does it predict who will succeed in school & who will not (One of the
goals of an IQ test)?
○ Standardization→ Process by which a certain set of standards is
determined for a technique to make its use consistent across
diff measurements
■ EX: Comparing results of people like you
THE CLINICAL INTERVIEW
➢ Clinical interview→ Gathers info on current/past behavior, attitudes, emotions & a detailed
history of patient’s life and presenting problem
➢ Clinicians determine WHEN the problem started & identify other events (ex: life stress, trauma,
physical illness) that might have occurred at the same time
I. The Mental Status Exam
➢ Mental Status Exam→ Systematic observation of an individual’s behavior
➢ FIVE CATEGORIES:
○ Appearance & Behavior
■ Overt behaviors
■ Attire
■ Appearance, posture, expressions
○ Thought Processes
■ Rate of speech
■ Continuity of speech
■ Content of speech
● Delusions
● Hallucinations
● Ideas of reference
○ Mood & Affect
■
Mood→
Predominant feeling state of the individual
■ Affect→ Feeling state accompanying what individual says
● Appropriate vs inappropriate
○ Intellectual functioning
■ Type of vocabulary
■ Use of abstractions and metaphors
○ Sensorium
Document Summary
Clinical assessment systematic evaluation & measurement of psych/bio/social factors in an individual presenting with a possible psych disorder. Diagnosis determining whether a problem meets all the criteria of a psych disorder. Clinician begins by collecting lots of info then narrows the focus rules out problems & concentrating on relevant areas. Three basic concepts that determine value of assessments: We expect that you will receive the same diagnosis from diff physicians. Psychologists create assessment devices to ensure interrater reliability . Test-retest reliability techniques are consistent over time. Validity whether the technique assesses what it is supposed to. Comparing the results of an assessment measure with the results of other that are better proves validity. Ex: a standard, long iq test gives the same results as a new, briefer version concurrent validity. Predictive validity how well the assessment tells you what will happen in the future.
