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Testing Standards• Reliability

– The degree to which a procedure or test will yield the same results under the same conditions1. Test-retest reliability

2. Internal consistency

3. Inter-rater reliability

75 75 75

2

Testing Standards• Validity

– Does it test what it is supposed to?1. Predictive validity

2. Criterion-related validity

3. Construct validity

4. Content validity1. Emotion

2. Cognitive

3. Behavior

SCORE = 100

3

Assessment• Process of gathering information and drawing

conclusions about an one’s personality• Observations

– Controlled (analogue) observations– Naturalistic observations– Reactivity

• Interviews– Formal standardized interview

• highly structured– Mental status examination

• determine an individual’s cognitive, psychological, and behavioral functioning

4

Projective Personality Tests

1. Rorschach Technique

2. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

3. Sentence-Completion Test

4. Draw-a-Person

• Problems: - Reliability - Validity - Subjectivity

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Psychological Tests and Inventories

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Self-Report Inventories

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI and MMPI-2)

• Beck Depression Inventory• Psychometrics

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Intelligence Tests

• Primary functions:– Obtain IQ– Assess deterioration in psychotic disorders

• Secondary function:– Provide clinical data

• Wechsler Scales and Stanford-Binet Scales– Intellectual functioning is related to brain wave

patterns and rate of glucose metabolism

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curmudgeon curmudgeon

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Figure 3.2: A Bell Curve Showing Standard Deviations

55

70

85

100

115

130

145

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Tests for Cognitive Impairment• Detect and assess organicity

– damage or deterioration in the central nervous system

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Neurological Tests

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DSM-IV-TR: The Five Axes

• Axis I: Clinical syndromes• Axis II: Personality disorders and mental

retardation• Axis III: General medical conditions• Axis IV: Psychosocial and environmental

problems– Prognosis: predict future course of disorder

• Axis V: Global assessment of functioning– Comorbidity: Co-occurrence of different disorders

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Evaluation of the DSM Classification System• DSM-IV-TR: Stronger reliability and validity than

previous editions• Criticisms:

– Medical (not social/interpersonal) orientation– Lacks scientific theory for classifications– Political/practical aspects inseparable from

scientific considerations– Overlooks differences in degree of severity– Cross-cultural issues still overlooked– Question usefulness for research