Deck 9: Assessment Integration and Clinical Decision-Making

Question 1

When combining information from multiple psychological tests or multiple scales within a particular self-report test,common psychological practice is to begin by

A)examining the client's response at the level of each test or subtest,to identify areas of strength and/or weakness.
B)examining the client's responses at the most global level,before examining each test or subtest individually.
C)examining the discrepancies between the various raters' assessment of the client.
D)considering which other assessments ought to be administered.

Answer 1

examining the client's responses at the most global level,before examining each test or subtest individually.

Question 2

To demonstrate the relationship between accurately detecting patterns within a client's data,O'Brien 1995)presented clinical psychology graduates with a limited but specific data.The results of this study indicated that the students were able to accurately detect related factors

A)none of the time.
B)about 25% of the time.
C)about half of the time.
D)all of the time.

Answer 2

about half of the time.

Question 3

When interpreting self-report checklists,psychologists ought to know that

A)desirability might reduce the accuracy of responses.
B)desirability might improve the accuracy of responses.
C)people tend to be more accurate when reporting events some time after the fact.
D)people tend to provide comparable reports,regardless of whether the information is provided right after the event,or later recalled.

Answer 3

desirability might reduce the accuracy of responses.

Question 4

Interpersonally oriented psychodynamic case formulations are likely to focus on __________________ process-experiential formulations are likely to focus on ______________.

A)dysfunctional relationship styles; environmental factors
B)dysfunctional relationship styles; emotional processing and insight
C)emotional processing and insight; dysfunctional relationship styles
D)emotional processing and insight; environmental factors

Question 5

A psychologist should understand the impact of diagnostic status on global psychosocial functioning for a client because ________________ an individual who receives one or more diagnoses will not be able to function across many life domains.

A)in nearly every case
B)in the majority of cases
C)it does not necessarily mean that
D)in very few cases

Question 6

Using data that rely on people to remember events that happened to them at some point in the past is known as:

A)retrospective recall.
B)recovered recall.
C)historical recall.
D)recovered memory.

Question 7

The premise of a case conceptualization is most closely tied to the

A)clinician's theoretical perspective.
B)personality of the client.
C)results of the assessment measures.
D)all of the above.

Question 8

When interpreting results from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 MMPI-2),psychologists typically begin by examining scores on the

A)main MMPI-2 code types.
B)clinical scales.
C)various reliability scales.
D)validity scales.

Question 9

Clinical case formulation is especially helpful in that it:

A)provides a way of understanding the connections between a patient's various problems.
B)predicts the patient's future functioning if treatment is not sought and how this functioning will be different if treatment is successful.
C)provides alternative treatment options to consider if the initial treatment is unsuccessful.
D)all of the above.

Question 10

Case formulation is required when:

A) there are complex issues of differential diagnosis.
B)the psychologist works within a psychodynamic framework.
C)there are no evidence based treatments to meet the person's symptom profile.
D)the psychologist has been asked to make recommendations about treatment.

Question 11

Research has found that when asked to recall recent events,people tend to

A)under-report the frequency of socially desirable acts.
B)over-report the frequency of socially desirable acts.
C)over-report the frequency of socially undesirable acts.
D)none of the above.

Question 12

In conducting a psychological n assessment of an adult,it is ________ to obtain data from multiple informants than when conducting assessments of youth.

A)less common
B)equally common
C)more common
D)all of the above,depending on the client

Question 13

In assessing an older adult who has concerns about dementia,a clinical neuropsychologist ought to

A) obtain data from multiple informants to assess daily impact of cognitive decline.
B)rely upon the client's description of the changes in his/her cognitive functioning.
C)observe the client in a naturalistic setting.
D)ask caregivers to complete rating scales.

Question 14

The MMPI-2 "code type" refers to the

A)highest score on the clinical scales.
B)highest two scores on the clinical scales.
C)highest four scores on the clinical scales.
D)score from the validity scales.

Question 15

The Cognitive-Behavioural Case Formulation approach,developed by Jacqueline Persons,emphasizes the importance in identifying a patient's ___________ in the conceptualization of a case.

A) overt problems and long-standing beliefs or schemas
B)overt problems much more so than long-standing beliefs
C)overt problems much less so than long-standing beliefs
D)long-standing beliefs or schemas exclusively

Question 16

Meta-analyses have found that the ratings provided by multiple informants are typically

A)uncorrelated.
B)slightly correlated.
C)moderately correlated.
D)highly correlated.

Question 17

De Los Reyes et al.2009)compared maternal and teacher reports of child disruptive behaviours and found that in reporting disruptive behaviours:

A)mothers were consistently more accurate than were teachers.
B)teachers were consistently more accurate than were mothers.
C)depending on the context of the behaviour,both mothers and teachers were equally accurate.
D)neither mothers nor teachers were consistently accurate.

Question 18

In situations in which there is low agreement between different raters of an individual's behaviour,the psychologist ought to rely most heavily on

A)parents of the individual referred.
B)the individual referred exclusively.
C)romantic partners of the individual referred.
D)will vary depending upon behaviour assessed.

Question 19

A major challenge in case formulation is

A)detecting patterns in a wealth of data gathered during an assessment.
B)obtaining enough self-report data from clients.
C)obtaining consent to conduct assessment interviews.
D)considering discrepancies between conflicting reports.

Question 20

A case formulation generally consists of identifying 1)symptoms and problems,2)pre-existing vulnerabilities,3)stressors or events that contributes to symptoms,and 4):

A)alternative treatment options should the initial treatment be unsuccessful.
B)a mechanism that links all components and maintains the problem.
C)options to consider if difficulties are encountered in implementing and following through on treatment.
D)pre-disposing life events or triggers.

Question 21

The process whereby a psychologist develops a clinical hunch and then gathers information to support his/her predictions is referred to as an)

A)fundamental attribution error.
B)case formulation.
C)confirmatory bias.
D)hindsight bias.

Question 22

Belief in the law of small numbers is a common decision-making bias that occurs when a psychologist trusts

A)the results of a large research sample over a small sample.
B)information obtained from a small sample of patients over larger research samples.
C)information from colleagues over research results.
D)the results of a small research sample as long as several studies have been conducted.

Question 23

A psychologist who relies on psychological tests that are directly relevant to the assessment task that have strong psychometric qualities and uses normative data and base rate information whenever available,s/he is

A)employing strategies to improve the accuracy of clinical judgment.
B)contributing to the development of local norms.
C)increasing her understanding of personal biases and preconceptions.
D)using the anchoring and adjustment heuristic.

Question 24

A psychologist who assumes that a particular pattern of responses on a test is indicative of a specific diagnosis,but does not take into account the probability of both the pattern of test responses and of the diagnosis,s/he is engaging in an)I

A)anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
B)hindsight bias.
C)inattention to base rates.
D)confirmatory bias.

Question 25

Research on retrospective recall indicates that

A)only minor daily events are recalled poorly.
B)both minor daily events and major life events are recalled poorly.
C)only major life events are recalled poorly.
D)neither minor daily events nor major life events are recalled poorly.

Question 26

When completing the written report following an assessment,the psychologist ought to be mindful of

A)the audience who will have access to reading the report.
B)minimizing stigmatizing terms or descriptions.
C)avoiding ambiguous and technical terms.
D)all of the above.

Question 27

A psychologist notices that many of his/her clients who are experiencing infertility report high levels of stress.S/he concludes that stress levels are interfering with their ability to conceive a child and recommends a program of relaxation.This is an example of decision-making that is affected by:

A)inferring causation from correlation.
B)a biopsychosocial model.
C)a diathesis stress model.
D)a self-serving bias.

Question 28

Judgments that are systematically different from what a person should conclude based on logic or probability are known as _______,whereas mental shortcuts that make decision-making easier and faster but often lead to less accurate decisions are known as ________.

A)heuristics; biases
B)cognitive vulnerabilities; biases
C)biases; heuristics
D)biases; cognitive vulnerabilities

Question 29

The tendency to take more personal credit for successes than for failures,by attributing success but not failure to internal,stable,and global causes is referred to as

A)self-serving attributional bias.
B)internally-focused heuristic.
C)fundamental attribution.
D)confirmatory bias.

Question 30

A graduate student in clinical psychology hypothesizes that his/her client suffers from panic disorder.The graduate student asks in-depth questions about this diagnosis,but less detailed questions about other possibilities.By failing to gather information that could refute or temper the strength of this hypothesis,the graduate student is engaging in an):

A)availability heuristic.
B)hindsight bias.
C)confirmatory bias.
D)affect heuristic.

Question 31

Which potential factors)should a psychologist be mindful of in evaluating the accuracy of a client's self-reported experiences and/or behaviours?

A)The social desirability of the event that is being recalled.
B)If it is a psychosocial event that is being recalled.
C)If there is litigation involved in the assessment.
D)All of the above.

Question 32

Research conducted by Halford et al.2002),which compared the daily records of a couple's life with a recalled description about that same week provided at a later date,revealed that couples with low relationship satisfaction reported the week's relationship events in overly negative terms.This suggests that:

A)the accuracy of retrospective recall is relatively realistic.
B)the accuracy of retrospective recall can be influenced by external factors.
C)couples low in relationship satisfaction are better attuned to the issues in their relationship than couple higher in satisfaction.
D)couples low in relationship satisfaction are less attuned to the issues in their relationship than couple higher in satisfaction.

Question 33

Jonathan usually assumes that positive events have happened to him because of his hard-work and that negative events have happened because of bad luck.Jonathan's thinking reflects:

A)deluded thinking.
B)a self-serving attributional bias.
C)egocentricity.
D)a fundamental self-serving bias.

Question 34

Computer-based interpretations are

A)minimally helpful as they are based on group data,and no part should be used in a report.
B)possibly helpful,but no part should ever be used in a report.
C)possibly helpful,but psychologists need to select narrative statements that accurately describe their client.
D)usually very helpful to aid psychologists' understanding of their clients,and can be appended to a psychological report.

Question 35

Smith and Dumont 2002),in their examination of factors leading to overconfidence in clinical decisions,found that one of the key factors that may lead to overconfidence in decisions is the

A)confirmatory bias.
B)availability heuristic.
C)representativeness heuristic.
D)fundamental attribution error.

Question 36

Maria is driving in traffic,when suddenly another car cuts her off.She mutters to herself "That driver is a nasty person,why can't s/he learn to drive?" This overestimation of the influence of personality traits and underestimation of the influence of situational effects on another person's behaviour is known as

A)inferring causation from correlation.
B)a fundamental attribution error.
C)a hindsight bias.
D)an affect heuristic.

Question 37

The advantages)of the written report following an assessment is that it

A)provides integrated information to the agency,professional,or client that was the focus of the assessment.
B)serves as a record of the assessment that can be referred to subsequently,potentially as a document used for legal purposes.
C)provides a record of the client's functioning prior to an intervention,which is crucial in accurately determining the impact of any intervention.
D)all of the above.

Question 38

Research on the use of biases and heuristics has shown that clinicians tend to over-predict the violence of

A)black psychiatric inpatients and male patients.
B)black prison inmates and female patients.
C)white prison inmates and female patients.
D)white prison inmates and male patients.

Question 39

Camille obtains an extremely high score on the Beck Depression Inventory II BDI-II)and then obtains a less extreme score when she takes the test two weeks later.This could potentially be explained by the

A)hindsight bias.
B)fundamental attribution error.
C)anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
D)regression to the mean.

Question 40

Research has found that adolescents' retrospective recall poorest for:

A)personal variables,such as the number of housing moves.
B)physical variables,such as height prior to puberty.
C)psychosocial variables,such as extent of familial conflict.
D)all of the above.

Question 41

In preparing a treatment plan,a psychologist must consider the

A)reason for referral and problem identification.
B)aims and goals of treatment.
C)strategies for the planned treatment.
D)all of the above.

Question 42

When utilizing computer-based interpretations CBIs)for scoring and interpreting assessments,a psychologist ought to

A)rely on the computer's interpretation for areas outside of their expertise.
B)use it as a tool,but use judgment in interpreting the results.
C)employ the interpretations of scores in full,but only cautiously use diagnostic impressions and case formulation,instead relying upon his/her clinical judgment.
D)only use CBIs if the regulatory body in his/her jurisdiction has developed clear guidelines for their use.

Question 43

Research consistently shows that agreement on the _______ by the client and therapist is the core of an effective therapeutic alliance.

A)diagnosis
B)goals of treatment
C)cause of mental health issues
D)potential barriers to treatment

Question 44

Smith and colleagues' 2007)survey of opinions regarding providing assessment feedback found that most psychologists,regardless of type of assessment,believed that feedback promoted clients'

A)improved understanding of their problems.
B)enhanced motivation to follow recommendations that resulted from the assessment.
C)feeling better.
D)all of the above.

Question 45

In their examination of perceptions of children,their parents,and therapists of the presenting problem,Hawley and Weisz 2003)found that these triads child-parent-therapist)

A)very rarely agreed on the target problem for therapy.
B)agreed in about a quarter of cases,but were more in agreement for internalizing problems than externalizing problems.
C)agreed in about a quarter of cases,but were more in agreement for externalizing problems than internalizing problems.
D)very consistently agreed,indicating that all three identified the same issues.

Question 46

The approach to psychological assessment in which clients are actively encouraged to participate in discussions about the reasons for the assessment,the results of the testing,and how the assessment data should be integrated and interpreted is known as the:

A)therapeutic model of assessment.
B)collaborative model of evaluation.
C)client-focused model of assessment.
D)client-driven model of evaluation.

Question 47

Changes in ethical codes and legislation since the 1970s have ______________ for clients to receive feedback regarding their assessment.

A)made it more difficult.
B)made it easier.
C)not influenced how difficult it is.
D)none of the above.

Question 48

Providing assessment feedback to a client:

A)helps the client identify situations that might exacerbate difficulties.
B)allows verification of the general accuracy of the assessment results.
C)promotes collaboration with the client in establishing therapeutic goals.
D)all of the above.

Question 49

Research has found that parents and adolescents __________ on the presenting problem of the adolescent.

A)never agree
B)rarely agree
C)usually agree
D)almost always agree

Question 50

In preparing an assessment report focused on treatment planning the psychologist should take into account:

A) potential barriers to treatment.
B)criteria for treatment termination or transfer to other service provider.
C)the service provider responsible for treatment implementation and evaluation.
D)all of the above.