Exam 3: Assessment and Diagnosis

Behavioural assessments may include several different components. Select two of the methods outlined in your text and provide examples of how these techniques might be applied in a clinical setting. How, and in what ways, do they contribute to successful outcomes in treatment?

You are a psychologist who is treating two patients: one with an anxiety disorder and one with a depressive mood disorder. During the course of treating them both, you notice that they have similar symptoms in common and that in fact, they may be more similar than dissimilar in many ways. Given your understanding of the limitations of the DSM classification scheme outlined in your text, which of the following might you suggest as a useful alternative model for describing abnormal behaviour?

In a dimensional approach to classification, a patient's symptoms would be assessed using a "present versus absent" approach to diagnosis.

In using the same test more than once during the course of therapy, the psychologist is most likely trying to gauge the course of symptoms over time or

Select the statement that is most likely True of dimensional models.

Sean is participating in a clinical assessment. The psychologist is asking him questions about the severity of his symptoms and how they have persisted or changed over time. Sean is also asked about behaviours related to personality strengths and weaknesses. The psychologist might also consider including both a personality assessment and

A primary benefit of the unstructured interview is that it provides the assessor with the freedom to move in any interview direction deemed important to understanding the nature of the patient's problem.

In the technique known as behavioural observation, the first step is

Your text presents evidence noted by scientifically based psychologists against the use of the Rorschach Inkblot Test for clinical assessment. Present the three empirical findings outlined in your text as support for their position.

While a major benefit of the unstructured interview lies in its flexibility, a major drawback exists in the

Marjorie has been in treatment for panic disorder for six months. The psychologist has asked her to retake a variety of assessment measures that she originally had taken at the beginning of treatment. In order to gain the best measure of therapeutic success, her psychologist would want to include assessment measures

In making a differential diagnosis, the psychologist performing the assessment gathers data from multiple sources and completes a process that is more extensive than a screening in order to determine the

Mike is a 24-year-old married man who was referred by his physician to a psychologist for assessment. In order for the psychologist to release information to Mike's doctor,

As the patient and relevant others receive feedback during the process of assessment, these discussions often have therapeutic effects and the patient may experience symptom improvement.

The dimensional model of classification suggests that symptoms of what we now call "disorders" are really extreme variations of normal experience. Explain this statement, providing an example in your discussion.

Data from more than 136 studies support the conclusion that _______ were more accurate than __________.

It is possible for a test to be valid but not reliable.

The term "subthreshhold syndrome" in a categorical approach to diagnosis implies that the

Compare and contrast the interpretation of scores on an assessment instrument using the normative versus the self-referent comparison method.

The Guilford Test of Marital Discord is administered to a newly married young woman who is being seen in psychotherapy. The results indicate that the woman is very unhappy in her marriage. Knowing that testing literature reports that the test has a high rate of False positives, a good clinician would