Question 1

A clinical psychologist is interviewing a client and asks a series of questions.Later the same psychologist interviews another client and asks the same series of questions in the same order.What type of interview is the psychologist using?

Accepted Answer

The psychologist is using a structured interview, which involves a predetermined set of questions asked in the same order to each client. This type of interview allows for standardized data collection and comparison across clients.

Question 2

According to the National Comorbidity Survey,what percentage of people who qualify for a diagnosis of one mental disorder in their lifetime are likely to meet the criteria for two or more disorders?

Accepted Answer

The National Comorbidity Survey found that a little more than 50 percent of people who qualify for a diagnosis of one mental disorder in their lifetime are likely to meet the criteria for two or more disorders.

Question 3

A clinician has met with a client who presents symptoms that would meet the criteria for several disorders; according to DSM,the clinician would

Accepted Answer

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), clinicians are encouraged to diagnose each disorder that fits the client's symptoms. This approach ensures that all aspects of the client's mental health are addressed.

Question 4

The three primary goals that guide most assessment procedures are

Accepted Answer

The three primary goals of assessment procedures are to make predictions about future behavior or outcomes, plan treatments based on the results of the assessment, and evaluate the effectiveness of those treatments. While pinpointing etiology and testing for it may be a part of the assessment process, it is not one of the primary goals. Similarly, making a diagnosis may be a part of the assessment process, but it is not one of the primary goals.

Question 5

Structured diagnostic interviews are used extensively in conjunction with the DSM-5 classification system.The main advantage of using these tools is

Accepted Answer

The answer of Structured diagnostic interviews are used extensively in...

Question 6

The case of Michael presented in your text illustrates comorbidity because

Accepted Answer

Comorbidity is the occurrence of multiple disorders or conditions in an individual. In the case of Michael, he is diagnosed with both depression and PTSD, illustrating comorbidity.

Question 7

Paul Meehl has suggested that when clinicians mistakenly pay attention to vague,superficial,or stereotyped statements by clients,and fail to pay to attention to subtler but more important evidence,they are victims of the cognitive error he has labeled the

Accepted Answer

The Barnum effect is the tendency for people to accept vague, general statements about themselves as accurate, even when they could apply to many people. This is exactly what Meehl is suggesting when he warns against clinicians focusing on superficial or stereotyped statements. In doing so, they may be accepting statements that are so general they could be true of almost anyone, rather than looking for more specific and meaningful evidence.

Question 8

Based on their assessment,clinicians want to generalize,or draw inferences about the person's behavior in the natural environment,but

Accepted Answer

Clinicians must rely on specific samples of a person's behavior in order to draw inferences about their behavior in the natural environment. While they cannot observe and assess every aspect of a person's life, they can make educated assumptions based on the specific behavior they have observed and assessed. Psychophysiological tests and objective tests may be helpful in some situations, but they are not necessary for generalizing about a person's behavior in the natural environment.

Question 9

If you had to briefly summarize the results of research on diagnostic reliability of mental disorders,which of the following sentences would do the job?

Accepted Answer

The sentence "We should not accept the assumption that the diagnostic categories in DSM-5 are used reliably" summarizes the results of research on diagnostic reliability of mental disorders, indicating that reliability is still an issue in the field. The other options are either too general (A and C) or inaccurate (D).

Question 10

Split-half reliability is a measure of a test's

Accepted Answer

Split-half reliability measures the internal consistency of a test by splitting it into two halves and then comparing the scores of both halves. This type of reliability is concerned with the degree of consistency between items in a test or scale. Therefore, the correct answer is internal consistency. Choice A is incorrect because validity is the degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure. Choice C is incorrect because interrater consistency is concerned with the degree of consistency between different raters or judges who score a test. Choice D is incorrect because test-retest consistency is a measure of the repeatability of scores over time.

Question 11

A psychologist wants to obtain a measure of children's attention spans under quiet conditions.She arranges for a group of children to meet individually with a research assistant who reads each child a list of numbers and then asks the child to repeat the numbers in reverse order.A week later the children repeat this task.The psychologist finds that the scores that each child received at week one and at week two tend to be very similar.She concludes that this test has high

Accepted Answer

The fact that the scores obtained by the children are similar when they take the test again after a week indicates that the test has good test-retest reliability. This means that the test is consistent and reliable over time, which is important for measuring attention span. The other options (A, B, and C) are not as relevant to the task of measuring attention span in this context.

Question 12

You are part of a team designing a study to see if a given DSM category tends to run in families.Concerned with contributing factors to the onset of a disorder,your team is looking for evidence of __________ validity.

Accepted Answer

Etiological validity refers to the extent to which a particular factor or set of factors can be considered as a cause or contributing factor to a particular disorder. In this case, the team is looking for evidence of whether a given DSM category tends to run in families, which may suggest genetic or environmental factors that contribute to the onset of the disorder. Therefore, the team is interested in etiological validity.

Question 13

Videotapes of 10-year-old children are being used to determine if their social interactions are related to the development of schizophrenia in adulthood.What type of validity is the focus of interest here?

Accepted Answer

The focus of interest here is whether social interactions at age 10 predict the development of schizophrenia in adulthood. Therefore, this is an example of predictive validity, as the aim is to predict future outcomes based on present measures.

Question 14

What are the most commonly used psychological assessment procedures?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the most commonly used psychological...

Question 15

Your text describes a study of the reliability of diagnoses for several types of mental disorders which concludes that

Accepted Answer

The study found that the diagnostic categories of the DSM (the standard classification system for mental disorders) are not always used reliably by clinicians, suggesting a lack of consistency and agreement in the diagnosis of mental disorders. The study did not address whether clinicians use psychological testing or suggest the introduction of more categories of mental disorder, nor did it discuss any failures of cooperation between psychiatrists and psychologists.

Question 16

In DSM-5,disorders are defined in the terms of

Accepted Answer

Disorders are defined in terms of the individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, rather than external factors such as family relationships or cultural background. The DSM-5 is a diagnostic manual that focuses on the individual's symptoms and their impact on functioning, rather than the context in which they occur. It is important for clinicians to consider cultural factors and family relationships in understanding and treating disorders, but these are not the primary factors used in diagnosing disorders in the DSM-5.

Question 17

Which of the following disorders have especially low diagnostic reliability?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following disorders have especially...

Question 18

One goal of nondirective interviews is to

Accepted Answer

The goal of nondirective interviews is to help people clarify their subjective feelings, thoughts, and behaviors without providing advice, guidance, or solutions. The interviewer creates a safe and open environment that allows the client to explore their concerns, beliefs, values, and attitudes at their own pace and depth. The client is encouraged to express themselves freely, and the interviewer listens actively and reflects back what they hear, without judging, interpreting, or interrupting. The focus is on understanding the client's perspective, rather than imposing the interviewer's views or agenda. The goal is to enhance the client's self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-direction, and to facilitate their problem-solving, decision-making, and goal-setting skills. Nondirective interviews are also called person-centered or client-centered interviews, and were developed by Carl Rogers in the 1950s and 1960s.

Question 19

Which of the following is the best word or phrase to explain the validity of an assessment procedure?

Accepted Answer

Validity refers to the extent to which an assessment measures what it is intended to measure, which is closely related to the "meaning" of the assessment results.

Question 20

What is one of the advantages of structured interviews in assessing clients?

Accepted Answer

Structured interviews allow for the interviewer to probe further when necessary, which can lead to a fuller understanding of the client's presenting problems and history. This can result in more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatment plans. Scoring based on empirical research is a feature of standardized tests, not structured interviews. Structured interviews do require training, but typically less than unstructured interviews. The time limit of a structured interview can vary, but it is not necessarily stricter than other diagnostic tests.

Quiz 4: Classification and Assessment of Abnormal Behavior