PSYC 3230 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Longitudinal Study, Heredity, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
23 Feb 2013
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Document Summary
An accurate diagnosis provides a shorthand description of many important attributes of a patient and allows some predictions about the individual"s development. This diagnosis usually results from a psychological assessment-- a systematic gathering and evaluation of information pertaining to an individual with suspected abnormal behavior. A diagnosis is only as good as the assessment on which it is based, and the assessment, in turn, is only as good as the tools used to carry it out. Psychological assessment provides a comprehensive understanding of an individual, not just a single score. Assessments are usually thought of in relation to diagnosis, though they may also have other specific purposes such as in iq test used to guide school placement. The most useful understanding of a patient draws on a combination of procedures that shed light on a range of different aspects of an individual"s functioning. To be useful, any test must be both reliable and valid.
