- 3 Types of assessment:
- Interview
- Tests
- observations

Interview
- Unstructured interview
- Structured interview
- Interview schedule
- Mental status exam
- Limitations:
- Lacks validity & reliability

Tests
- Gather info on persons psych functioning from which broader info can be inferred.
- Types:
- A) Projective Test (Rorschach, TAT, Sentence completion)
- B) Personality Inventories (MMPI)
- C) Response Inventories

Example: Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI)
- The BDI is a self-administered 21 item self-report scale measuring supposed manifestations of depression.
- approximately10 minutes to complete
- require a fifth – sixth grade reading age to adequately understand the questions (Groth-Marnat, 1990).
21-Item interpretation
- 1. Sadness 12. Social withdrawal
- 2. Pessimism 13. Indecisiveness
- 3. Sense of failure 14 Change in body image
- 4. Dissatisfaction 15. Retardation
- 5. Guilt 16. Insomnia
- 6. Expectation of punishment 17. Fatigability
- 7. Dislike of self 18. Loss of appetite
- 8. Self Accusation 19. Loss of Weight
- 9. Suicidal ideation 20. Somatic preoccupation
- 10. Episodes of crying 21. Low level of energy
- 11. Irritability

Tests

- D) Neurological & Neuroimaging tests (CAT, EEG, PET, MRI or fMRI)
Healthy vs. Cocaine addict (on right)

Observing the Brain
- Visualizing structure
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI)
An fMRI scan investigating areas of the brain used in working memory

Tests
- E) Neuropsychological Tests
- Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt
- F) IQ tests: (WAIS)
- MA/CA x 100

Observation
- A) Observe in natural environment or B) laboratory setting (analog) or C) self-monitoring
- Limitations:
- Overload
- Observer drift
- Observer bias
- Client reactivity
- Lack cross-situational knowledge (external validity)

Diagnosis
- Determining that a person's psychological problems constitute a particular disorder
- "Draw" a clinical picture
- Classification systems
- List syndromes (cluster of symptoms)

- DSM-IV (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual)
- Multiaxial: must assess on 5 different Axes
DSM-IV (multiaxial)
- Axis I – clinical syndromes
- Axis II – Personality disorders
- Axis III – Medical disorders relevant to psychological disorders
- Axis IV – Psychological Stressors
- Axis V – GAF (global assessment functioning)

Problems in Diagnosis
- Too much weight given to initial data
- Expectations about client
- Labeling
- can lead to self-fulfilling prophecy
- Attaches stigma in society

Outline
- Know importance of assessment
- Know different types of assessment
- Understand types of tests
- Know how clinical scientists reach a diagnosis

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