Abnormal Psychology

Instructor:
Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Kausar

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Abnormal Psychology

Diagnostic Assessment

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 Characteristics of Psychological Assessment

Assessment
 Assessment is collecting relevant information in an effort to reach
a conclusion
 Focus is idiographic
 To evaluate treatment progress

Clinical assessment tools fall into three categories:

 Clinical interviews
 Tests
 Observations

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 Characteristics of Psychological Assessment

Characteristics of Test
 Assessment tools must be standardized
 Have clear reliability and validity

Procedure
 Administration
 Scoring
 Interpretation

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 Characteristics of Psychological Assessment

Clinical Interview
 Used to collect detailed information, especially personal history,
about a client.
 Allow the interviewer to focus on whatever topics they consider
most important.
 Can be either unstructured or structured.

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 Characteristics of Psychological Assessment

Clinical Interview
Limitations
 May lack validity or accuracy
 Interviews, particularly unstructured ones, may lack reliability
 Individuals may be intentionally misleading
 Interviewers may be biased or may make mistakes in judgment