1
Q
What are the three domains of problems in living that self-report assessment looks at?
A
Emotional
Interpersonal
Thought disorders
2
Q
What is psychological assessment?
A
It is a process that uses both nomothetic and idiographic means to understand subjects and their behavior in context, and to share that understanding with clients and practitioners.
3
Q
What is the goal of understanding clients through assessment?
A
The goal is to guide treatment planning, to inform decision-making about subjects, and to help the client understand themselves in ways that ultimately ameliorate the problems in their life.
4
Q
What is nomothetic?
A
Part of variance in a quality that is shared by people
5
Q
What is idiographic?
A
Part of variance that is unique to the individual
6
Q
Traditionally, what are the characteristics of objective tests?
A
- structured stimulus (structured set of questions)
- a limited set of externally provided answers (e.g., T/F, Likert scale, close-ended questions)
- answers are scored according to pre-existing key (does not rely on scorer’s judgment to classify the responses)
7
Q
What are the possible “non-objective aspects” of objective tests?
A
- test taker/rater’s willingness to be honest (e.g. malingering)
- test taker/rater’s ability to be honest (e.g. lack of self awareness, response style, halo effect, scapegoating effect)
- imperfections in the tests
8
Q
Who is the most comment type of informant in self-report test (i.e. objective test), and who else can be the informant?
A
Most common: Self
Other types: parent, spouse, teacher
9
Q
Traditionally, what are the characteristics of projective tests?
A
- ambiguous stimulus or activity (e.g. inkblot)
- test-taker generates a response with minimal external guidance
- in responding, the test-taker projects or puts forward elements of their habits, personality
- interpretation requires subjectivity
10
Q
In what ways is Rorschach projective, and in what ways is Rorschach not purely projective?
A
Projective: ambiguous stimuli, infinite answers
Not projective: scoring involves stimulus classification and problem-solving styles, and subjectivity is strictly limited in scoring
11
Q
What are the two types of projective tests, and how are they different?
A
- Projective test: rely exclusively on projection–what the client sees (e.g. House-Tree-Person, Roberts Picture Story)
- performance-based personality test: contains substantial nomothetic aspects (e.g. Rorschach, Adult Attachment Projective)
12
Q
What are the attributes of a good test?
A
- clear instructions for administering, scoring, and interpreting
- efficient use (incremental validity)
- accurate (reliability and validity)
13
Q
What are the purposes of personality assessment?
A
- To describe current functioning
- To confirm, refute, or modify impressions
- To identify therapeutic needs
- To aid in differential diagnosis
- To monitor treatment
- To manage risk (e.g. detection of suicidal ideation)
- Effective short-term therapeutic intervention
14
Q
What are the best defenses against inaccurate conclusions?
A
- using valid and reliable measures (which helps to guard against bias/blindspots)
- using multiple methods of measuring
- collaborative/therapeutic assessment
15
Q
What is personality?
A
“An individual’s unique constellation of psychological traits and states”
16
Q
Compare traits and states
A
Traits: relatively enduring ways in which one person varies from another
States: temporary, situation-dependent nature that is not (yet) observed to be enduring/consistent
17
Q
Who are the key persons and what are their statements in the debate over states, traits, and behavior?
A
Mischel: Traits are not very important determinants of behavior. Context of the behavior is most important.
Bandura: trait theorists neglect the functionality of a behavior in a particular situation (e.g., reinforcement)
Wachtel: traits are important. Differing experiences cause people to see similar situations differently. Traits can influence the kinds of situations we put ourselves in
18
Q
What are the underlying assumptions in assessment?
A
- traits and states do exist
- traits and states can be quantified and measured
- various approaches to measuring aspects of the same thing (multi-method) are a vital part of the assessment process
- assessment can provide insight into important issues that are not efficiently available otherwise
- various sources of error are inevitable part of the assessment process
- tests and other measurement techniques all have strengths and weaknesses
- test-related behavior predicts non-test-related behaviors (day-to-day life)
- present day behavior sampling predicts future behavior
- testing and assessment can be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner
- testing and assessment benefit individuals and society
19
Q
What are the dimensions of personality (NEO-PI)?
A
- Openness to Experience
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
20
Q
What is a current preference in understanding personality?
A
Generally, “types” (which can get too nomothetic) are out of favor and the preference has shifted towards patterns of traits and states, which offers greater precision and accuracy
21
Q
What are the three methods of personality assessment?
A
- Self Report
- Performance-based
- Behavioral
22
Q
What does the self report method of personality assessment consist of?
A
Forced choice (e.g. multiple choice)
Likert scale
Adjective checklist
T/F
Q-sort technique
23
Q
What does the performance-based method of personality assessment consist of?
A
Drawings
Inkblot
Picture stories
Sentence completion
24
Q
What does the behavioral method of personality assessment consist of?
A
Behavioral observation
Actual exercises
Role play
Physiological methods
25
What are the three methods of self-report test construction?
1. Rational
2. Factorial
3. Empirical
26
What is the rational construction of self-report test and what are the characteristics?
Items are written to capture the understanding of what a trait is
-tends to be face-valid (can easily tell what the test is measuring)
-susceptible to response biases (easily faked)
-may not be internally consistent or valid
-diagnostically oriented
27
What is the factorial construction of self-report test and what are the characteristics?
Items are selected on the basis of factor analysis (looking at which items are related together/clustered)
-highly internally consistent
-tend to be face-valid
-somewhat susceptible to response bias
-more inclusive and less predictable
28
What is the empirical construction of self-report test and what are the characteristics?
Items are selected on their ability to empirically distinguish one group from another
-often have low internal consistency
-often items are not face-valid (can be more nuanced)
-may be less susceptible to response biases (harder to fake)
29
What are the nature of some errors in clinical judgment?
1. May only elicit information that confirms hypotheses and ignore questions/information that would disprove it
2. May compare patient to prototype rather than systematically evaluating on specific criteria
3. May be overconfident rather than appropriately tentative
4. Hindsight bias (wrongly assume we could have predicted the result after being told the result)
5. May not consider relative frequency of the event they are predicting (rare events are harder to predict than common ones)
30
The assessment process provides some checks on the potential errors
1. Staying true to data forces one to consider many possibilities to accommodate conflicting data
2. Corrective strategies one can use
3. Feedback from the client can be a powerful corrective mechanism
31
T/F: clinical judgment can sometimes be as good as statistical decision rules (algorithm), but it never exceeds them.
True
32
What are some problems in statistical decision rules (algorithm)?
1. Decision rules do not generalize well to different settings
2. There are no decision rules for the vast majority of decisions that must be made (infinite complexity prohibits relying on rules)
33
What are key things to remember in clinical decision making?
1. Clinical intuition is very fallible, but we tend to ignore this fact
2. Actuarial algorithms are better than clinical judgment
34
What are some unique elements to consider in diversity considerations?
- language
- non-verbal communications
- cultural influences
- acculturation
- belief system, religious upbringing, etc
- conditioning history
- disabilities, physical characteristics
- intersectionality
35
How are social privilege and psychological privileges differ?
Social: advantages enjoyed by majority social groups (whites, heterosexuals)
Psychological: having parents who made possible a cohesive self and secure attachment
36
Misuse of nomothetic test can result in what?
- unfair discrimination
- misdiagnose
- unfairly deny opportunities
37
What is one of the most compelling reasons for testing?
To rise above our own biases and limitations
38
Unidimensional measures
- Widely used for quick assessment of a specific issue
- e.g., BDI
39
Multidimensional measures
- "personality tests"
- batteries: contain multiple scales
- often include validity scales
- e.g., MMPI
40
What are some problems with self report data?
- impulsivity
- maturity
- self report is based in one's theory of self, not necessarily about the reality
- not responsive to behavior change (e.g., self report may stay the same, but the behavioral measure result could indicate significant change)
41
What are the types of psychometric data?
- observational data (parents, teachers)
- life data (grades in school)
- self report data
- performance-based data
- informant's data
42
What are some major scale sets in MMPI?
- clinical (basic) scales
- validity scales
- content scales
- supplementary scales
- PSY5 scales
- RC scales
43
What are the clinical scales of MMPI?
1: Hypochondriasis Scale
2: Depression Scale
3: Hysteria Scale
4: Psychopathic Deviate Scale
5: Masculinity-Femininity Scale
6: Paranoia Scale
7: Psychasthenia Scale
8: Schizophrenia Scale
9: Hypomania Scale
10: Social Introversion Scale
44
What are some key T scores and their percentile rank in looking at the clinical and content scales?
T: 38 = 8th percentile
T: 50 = 55th percentile
T: 65 = 92nd percentile
45
T score of what is considered elevated, and T score range of what is considered interpretable?
Elevated: above 65
Interpretable: 60-65
46
What are the administration criteria for someone taking MMPI?
- age 18 or older (MMPI-A for adolescents)
- requires 8th grade level reading
- test may not be appropriate for someone with IQ below 80-85
47
What are the shorter versions of MMPI?
- MMPI 2 RF
- MMPI 3
- MMPI 2 can be scored with only the first 370 items
48
What are the necessary steps when administering the MMPI?
- Establish rapport with the client
- Let the client know why they are taking the test, who will get the results, and that they will get feedback
- Check the client's reading level by having them read aloud the first several questions
- Advise the client to answer each question as they are now (or in the past few weeks), not as they were in the past
- When completed look it over immediately to see if there are blacks to coplete
49
What is the benefit of computerized scoring of MMPI?
Quicker, fewer errors, and generate more scales
50
What is the purpose of the validity scale?
Looks at test-taking attitude and what distortions in scores may represent
51
What are some reasons for distortion in response style?
- impression management
- malingering
- social desirableness
- claiming excessive virtue
- acquiescence (yay-saying)
- non-acquiescence (nay-saying)
- extreme responding
52
What is the ? scale?
- sum of omitted and double scored items
- if 10 items are omitted, interpret with caution
- if 30 items are omitted, invalid test
- high ? score suggests carelessness, uncooperativeness, poor reading skills, indecisiveness (O/C), avoiding, etc
- doesn't have a T score
53
What is the L Scale?
- Lie scale
- the only rationally developed scale
- detects naive, deliberate, unsophisticated attempts to be favorable; unwilling to admit to minor flaws
- high score suggests claiming excessive virtue
54
What is the F Scale?
- Infrequency scale (indication of rare answers)
- confounded with psychic disturbance and distress
- detects deviant/atypical ways of responding
- elevation due to psychic disturbance can be further confirmed by looking at scale 6 and 8
- use VRIN to better understand elevations on F scale
55
What are possible reasons for elevated F?
- reading difficulty
- random responding due to confusion or inattentiveness
- willful random responding (uncooperative)
- malingering or conscious exaggeration
- cry for help or narcissistic demands for attention
- true disturbance accurately reported
56
What is the VRIN Scale?
- consists of pairs of items that should be answered in a particular direction to be consistent
- raw score greater than 13 suggests inconsistent responding and probable invalidity
57
What does high F (T score greater than 75) and high VRIN (raw score greater than 13) possibly indicate?
- reading difficulties
- random responding due to confusion or inattentiveness
- willful random responding (uncooperative)
58
What does high F and normal/low VRIN possibly indicate?
- malingering or conscious exaggeration
- cry for help or narcissistic demands for attention
- true disturbance accurately reported
59
What does low F and high VRIN possibly indicate?
Obsessive, indecisive, or perfectionistic (especially if scale 7 is also elevated)
Possible OCD
60
What is the K Scale?
- Social desirability scale
- subtle index of attempt to deny and down-play socially undesirable traits
- high score may indicate defensiveness, faking good, shyness, or lacking insight
- low score may indicate unguardedness or self-criticism
61
What is the Fb Scale?
- similar to F scale but covering the last part of the test (items after 370)
- if T score is greater than 80, be cautious in interpreting the latter portion of the test
- if T score is greater than 120, invalid for the latter portion of the test
62
What does it mean if F is valid but Fb is invalid?
The person likely quit paying attention or trying halfway through the test
63
What is the S Scale?
- Superlative scale
- detects presentation as highly virtuous, responsible, and psychologically health
- highly correlated with K scale (a bit redundant in a way)
64
What is the Fp Scale?
- infrequency psychopathology scale
- useful in identifying conscious faking bad
- useful in forensic cases
- cutoff of T greater than 100 is recommended
65
What is the Mp Scale?
- positive malingering scale
- useful in detecting attempts to present in a favorable light
- cutoff of T greater than 65 is recommended
66
What K correction?
- Paul Meehl's dissertation
- a way to adjust for excessive effort to downplay problems
- take an empirically determined proportion of K scale score and add it to clinical scales susceptible to the influence of social desirability
- nifty way to make clinical scale scores more realistic in light of one's effort to look good
67
Scale 1
- Hypochondriases
- level of preoccupation, not actual presence of physical illness
- no sub scale b/c it is fairly homogeneous
68
Scale 2
- Depression or"adaptation to irreversible loss"
- poor morale, lack of hope, general dissatisfaction
- sensitive to current mood state
- Nichols subscale (5)
69
Scale 3
- Hysteria or "adaptation to overwhelming pain and suffering"
- denial of physical and/or psychological problems; resistant to seeing problems
70
Scale 4
- Psychopathic deviate
- “adaptation to not being wanted” or "defect of bonding"
- difficulty incorporating values and standards of society
- can be elevated solely from family conflict
- exciter scale (related to acting out)
71
Scale 5
- Masculinity-Femininity
- elevation for females suggests masculinity
- elevation for males suggests femininity
72
Scale 6
- Paranoia
- "adaptation to attack on one's person and coercion of will"
- reflects both psychosis and personality
- both high and low scores suggest paranoia
- Memorization of what the other person said—they focus on things like that
- exciter scale (related to acting out)
73
Scale 7
- Psychasthenia
- adaptation to recurring unpredictable, startling occasions"
- anxiety, worry, fearful, O/C
- good index of turmoil and discomfort
- high score indicate repetitive ideation and negative expectation
- inhibitor scale (elevation suggest less acting out less)
74
Scale 8
- Schizophrenia
- “Adaptation to dislike or hatred from those upon whom survival depends”
- two main content areas: funny thinking and social isolation
- feeling defective or deformed, and reduced capacity to deal with flexible situation
- can get elevation with only social isolation
75
Scale 9
- Hypomania
- “Adaptation to crushing devaluation and impossible expectations”
- elevated mood and energy
-overcommitment to too many things, move on from one thing to another quickly
- energizes elevation son scales 4, 6, 8
76
Scale 10
- Social Introversion
- tendency to withdraw from others
- two main areas: social participation and self-deprecation
- highly heritable
77
Which scales have Harris-Lingoes sub scales?
Scales 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9
78
What makes some sub scales not reliable?
1. too few items
2. low internal consistency
3. low test-retest reliability
79
Which scales don't have subscales and why?
Scales 1 and 7, because they are fairly homogenous
Self Report Assessment
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