Abnormal Psych: Ch 3

Clinical Assessment

Systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in a person presenting with a possible psychological disorder.

Diagnosis

Process of determining whether a presenting problem meets the established criteria for a specific psychological disorder.

Reliability

Degree to which a measurement is consistent--for example, over time or among different raters.

Validity

Degree to which a technique measures what it purports to measure.

Standardization

Process of establishing specific norms and requirements for a measurement technique to ensure it is used consistently across measurement occasions. This includes instructions for administering the measure, evaluating its findings, and comparing these with data for large numbers of people.

Mental Status Exam

Relatively coarse preliminary test of a client's judgement, orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state; typically conducted during an initial interview.

Behavioral Assessment

Measuring, observing, and systematically evaluating (rather than inferring) the client's thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the actual problem situation or context.

Projective Test

Psychoanalytically based measure that presents ambiguous stimuli to clients on the assumption that their responses can revel their unconscious conflicts, Such tests are inferrential and lack high reliability and validity.

Observational Assessment focuses on 3 things

1. Antecedents
2. Behavior
3. Consequences

Value of Assessment depends on 3 things:

1. Reliability
2. Validity
3. Standardization

Personality Inventory

Self-report questionnaire that assesses personal traits by asking respondents to identify description that apply to themselves.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Score on an intelligence test estimating a person's deviation from average test performance

Neuropsychological Testing

Assessment of brain and nervous system functioning by testing an individual's performance on behavioral tasks.

False Positive

Assessment error in which pathology is reported (that is, test results are negative) when more is actually present.

False Negative

Assessment error in which no pathology is noted (that is, test results are negative) when one is actually present.

Neuroimaging

Sophisticated computer-aided procedures that allow nonintrusive examination of nervous system structure and function.

Psychophysiological Assessment

Measurements of changes in the nervous system reflection psychological or emotional events such as anxiety, stress, and sexual arousal.

Electroecephalogram (EEG)

Measure of electrical activity patters in the brain, taken through electrodes placed on the scalp.

Classification

Assignment of objects or people to categories on the basis of shared characteristics.

Taxonomy

System of naming and classification (for example, of specimens) in science.

Nosology

Classification and naming system of medical psychological phenomena.

Nomenclature

In a naming system of nosology, the actual labels or names that are applied. In psychopathology, these include mood disorders and eating disorders.

Classical Categorical Approach

Classification method founded on the assumption of clear-cut differences among disorders, each with a different known cause. Also known as pure categorical approach.

Dimensional Approach

Method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than on a binary, either-or, or all-or-none basis.

prototypical approach

System for categorizing disorders using both essential, defining characteristics and a range of variation on other characteristics.

Familial Aggregation

Extent to which a disorder would be found among a patients relatives.

Comorbidity

Presence of two or more disorders in an individual at the same time.

Labeling

Applying a name to a phenomenon or a pattern of behavior. The label may acquire negative connotations or be applied erroneously to the person rather than to that person's behaviors.

Hypothesis

Educated guess or statement to be tested by research.

Research Design

Plan of experimentation used to test a hypothesis

Internal Validity

Extent to which the results of a study can be attributed to the independent variable after confounding alternative explanations have been ruler out.

External Validity

Extent to which research findings generalize, or apply, to people and settings not involved in the study.

Testability

Ability of a hypothesis, for example, to be subjected to scientific scrutiny and to be accepted or rejected, a necessary condition for the hypothesis to be useful.

Independent Variable

In an experiment study, the phenomenon that is measured and expected to be influenced.

Independent variable

Phenomenon manipulated by the experimenter in a study and expected to influence the dependent variable.

Confound

Any factor occurring in a study that makes the results uninterpretable because its effects cannot be separated from those of the variable being studied.

Confounding Variable

Variable in a research study that was not part of the intended design and that may contribute to changes in the dependent variable.

Control Group

Croup of individuals in a study who are similar to the experimental subjects in every way but are not exposed to the treatment received by the experimental group. Their presence allows for a comparison of the differential effects of the treatment.

Randomization

Method for placing individuals into research groups that assures each an equal chance of being assigned to any group, thus eliminating any systematic differences across groups.

Analog Model

Approach to research that employs subjects who are similar to clinical clients, allowing replication of a clinical problem under controlled conditions.

Generalizability

Extent to which research results apply to a range of individuals not included in the study.

Clinical Significance

Degree to which research findings have a useful and meaningful application to real problems.

Statistical Significance

Small probability of obtaining the observed research findings by chance.

Patient Uniformity Myth

Tendency to consider all members of category as more similar that they are, ignoring their individual differences.

Case Study Method

Research procedure in which a single person or small group is studied in detail. The method does not allow conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships, and findings can be generalized only with great caution.

Correlation

Degree to which two variable are associated. In a positive correlation, the two variables increase or decrease together. In a negative correlation , one variable decreases as the other increases.

Correlational Study

Research procedure in which variables are measured and compared to detect any association but are not manipulated. Conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships are not permissible.

Directionality

Possiblity that when two variables, A and B, are correlated variable A causes variable B or variable B causes variable A.

Positive Correlation

Association between two variables in which one increases as the other increases.

Correlation Coefficient

Computed statistic reflecting the strength and direction of any association betwen the two variables. It can range from-1.00 through 0.00 (indicating no association) to + 1.00 with the absolute value indicating the strength and the sign reflecting the direction.

Negative Correlation

Association between two variables in which on increases as the other decreases.

Epidemology

Psychopathology research method examining the prevalence, distribution, and consequences of disorders in populations.

Experiment

Research method that can establish causation by manipulating the variables in question and controlling for alternative explanations of any observed effects.

Placebo Effect

Behavior change resulting from the person's expectation of change rather than from the experimental manipulation itself.

Placebo Control Group

In an outcome experiment, a control group that does not receive the experimental manipulation but is given a similar procedure with an identical expectation of change, allowing the researched to assess any placebo effect.

Variability

Degree of change in phenomenon over time

Trend

Direction of change of behavior or behaviors (increasing/decreasing)

Level

Degree of behavior change with different interventions (high or low)

Withdrawal Design

Removing a tx to note whether it has been effective. In single-case experimental designs, a behavior is measured (baseline), an independent variable is introduced (intervention), and then the intervention is withdrawn. Because the behavior continues to be measured throughout (repeated measurement), any effects of the intervention can be noted. Also called reversal deisgn.

Baseline

Measured rate of a behavior before introduction of an intervention that allows comparison and assessment of the effects of the intervention.

Multiple Baseline Design

Single-case experimental design in which measures are taken on two or more behaviors or on single behavior in two or more situations. A particular intervention is introduced for each at different times. If behavior changes is coincident with each introduction, this is strong evidence the intervention caused the change.

Phenotype

Observable characteristics or behaviors of an individual.

Genotype

Specific genetic makeup if an individual.

Human Genome Project

Ongoing scientific attempt to develop a comprehensive map of all human genes.

Family Study

Genetic study that examines patterns of traits and behaviors among relatives.

Proband

In genetic research, the individual displaying the trait or characteristic being studied.

Adoption Study

In genetics research, the study of first-degree relatives reared in different families and environments. If they share common characteristics, such as a disorder, this finding suggests that those characteristics have a genetic component.

Twin Study

In genetics research, the comparison of twins with unrelated or less closely related individuals. If twins, particularly monozygotic twins who share identical genotypes, share common characteristics such as disorder, even if they were reared in different environments, then strong evidence of genetic involvement in those characteristics exists.

Genetic Linkage Analysis

Study that seeks to match the inheritance pattern of a disorder to that of a genetic marker. This helps researchers establish the location of the gene responsible for the disorder.

Genetic Marker

Inherited characteristic for which the chromosomal location of the responsible gene is known.

Association Study

Research strategy for comparing genetic markers in groups of people with and without a particular disorder.

Genetic Marker

Inherited characteristics for which the chromosomal location of the responsible gene is known.

Association Study

Research strategy for comparing genetic markers in groups of people with and without a particular disorder.

Cross-sectional design

Methodology to examine a characteristic by comparing individuals of different ages.

Cohort

Participants in each age group of a stud with a cross-sectional design

Cohort Effect

Observation that people of different age groups differ in their values and experiences.

Restrospective Information

Literally "the view back"; data collected by examining records or recollection of the past. It is limited by the accuracy, validity, and thoroughness of the sources.

Longitudinal Design

Systematic study of changes in the same individual or groups examined over time.

Cross-generational Effect

Limit on the generalizability of longitudinal research because the group under study may differ from others in culture and experience.

Sequential Design

Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs involving repeated study of different cohorts over time.

Informed Consent

Ethical requirement whereby research subjects agree to participate in a study only after they receive full disclosure about the nature of the study and their role in it.