An Introduction and warning to cheaters

I have seen many others posting their assignments in blogs and on the internet as a way of helping those who come behind them in these classes and, being helped by so many of these entries, I feel compelled to do the same, in hopes that my humble writings and participation in projects posted here will help someone else in their endeavors towards higher education and completion of goals.

That being said...here is my warning to cheaters about plagiarizing off my postings.

Plagiarism disclaimer/Note to cheaters

Plagiarism is stealing someone’s work and claiming it as your own without giving them credit. It is lying and cheating, both which are very wrong, and comes with consequences. Not only is it wrong to steal what I have worked so hard on, but if you submit your paper to your school and are caught plagiarizing, you may be subject to some very serious consequences; getting a failing grade on the paper or for the whole class, being expelled from school, and many more potentially serious prosecutions.

I have taken the time to post my papers in an effort to help and guide those who are struggling in their class.  Many times I didn’t understand things clearly and looking at other people’s examples of work sometimes was the catalyst to my success.  I have taken the time to include the references I used for each assignment so please make sure to look them up and utilize them properly.  Please do not disrespect me or ruin your chance at continuing to achieve your education and life goals by choosing to plagiarize. Thank you.

PSY480 Wk 2 Quiz

University of Phoenix Material

Week Two Quiz

Name: ___ ___

Multiple Choice: Read each question and select the correct answer, by changing the color of the entire answer you choose. 

1.A company wants to use a psychological test to screen for emotional stability for a sensitive position. Which of the following tests is the best choice for the company to use?

a.       Cognitive Assessment System

b.      Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV)

c.       Woodcock-Johnson

d.      Sixteen Personality Factors (16PF)

2.One of the common concerns associated with IQ testing is that

a.       a wide variety of human behaviors is being measured

b.      a person's performance is compared against others’ performances

c.       testing is used to learn about cognitive strengths and weaknesses

d.      there is a possibility of racial bias

    

3.An IQ test is given to a child on Tuesday. When given the test again on Thursday, the child’s scores differ significantly. This is an issue of

a.       validity

b.      reliability

c.       observation

d.      reflection

4.Which of the following is a multicultural issue for any of the psychological instruments customarily used in the United States?

a.       Level of acculturation

b.      Preconceived notions

c.       Theoretical orientation

d.      Distortion of information  

5.________ testing uses ambiguous or unstructured testing stimuli to which a person responds freely to the testing stimuli. ________ is an example of this type of testing.

a.       Objective; MMPI

b.      Projective; TAT

c.       Functional; NEO-PI-R

d.      Intelligence; Stanford-Binet

6.Which of the following is a potential threat to effective interviewing?

a.       Time of day

b.      Interviewer bias

c.       Structured interviews

d.      Self-monitoring

7.A potential limitation of a structured interview is that

a.       it does not allow the flexibility to tailor the experience to the individual needs of the person being interviewed

b.      questions are organized in a logical flow

c.       patients’ answers direct which additional questions they receive

d.      clinical judgment is minimized

8.A crisis interview would be appropriate to

a.       assess how family of origin influences a person’s ability to handle a crisis

b.      obtain a clearer understanding of a patient’s diagnosis

c.       assess whether a depressed client with frequent suicidal thoughts has formulated a detailed plan

d.      screen for a patient’s level of psychological functioning

 

9.Anita, a 20-year-old college student, comes in for an evaluation. When the clinician asks her what brings her in for therapy, she answers, “I wanted to know how to get rid of the fairies in my dorm room. They come out every night, and their pixie dust makes me sneeze, so I can’t go to sleep.” Based on Anita’s answer, which of the following is the most appropriate tool to use for further assessment?

a.       Crisis interview

b.      Computer-based interview

c.       Self-monitoring

d.      Mental status interview

10.  What is a risk factor when assessing for suicide?

a.       The type of questionnaire used

b.      Previous attempts

c.       Watching movies about suicide

d.      Maintaining an active social structure

PSY480 Wk 2 DQ's

Wk 2 DQ's

University of Phoenix

Elements of Clinical Psychology

PSY/480

October 2013

Wk 2 DQ's

Post a 200- to 300-word response to the following discussion question by clicking Reply.  

* Remember to cite and reference all sources, in accordance with APA guidelines.  Refer to the APA Reference and Citation Generator in the Center for Writing Excellence for further guidance, or contact me with any questions.

Wk 2 DQ 1:

Identify at least one contributor to each of the four theoretical approaches in clinical psychology, along with his or her specific theories or views about human behavior. 

The Psychodynamic Approach: Carl Jung and Harry Stack Sullivan are my chosen contributors to the Psychodynamic Approach theory.

I like Jung because he was one of the first ones to very prominently disagree with some parts of Freud’s psychodynamic theory and revise it with his own perspective, particularly the parts where Freud focused on the ties to sexuality.  Jung also brought a different perspective to the table by including things such as spiritual influences and how they also were part of a person’s development and sometimes have a significant influence in a person’s life.  Following that same line of thinking, Sullivan brought his own perspective of the theory to the table with a focus on how interpersonal relationships were psychologically important to the individual’s personality and other developmental processes (Plante, 2011).

The Behavioral and Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches: My choice for this approach would be Aaron Beck because of his incredible contribution to the field through his development of cognitive therapy.  He originally developed this to help treat disorders like depression, but it has since been adapted to treat other disorders too. By using this theory to evaluate and challenge beliefs and assumptions that a person has built up in their life, Beck was about to help individuals train themselves in different ways to avoid or lessen behavioral and/or attitude issues (Plante, 2011).

The Humanistic Approach: This is a hard one to choose just one person, as all three of the highest contributors were very important and all three had some very important theories and discoveries, however, I think that Carl Rogers stands out to me the most.  Rogers’ perspective was all about focusing on the patient, the client-centered perspective, and really trying to help the client be ok with their experience and to try to understand them as best as possible.  One of his main points in this theory was that people are continually changing and growing in their lives and this type of therapy focused on harnessing the individuals desire to change (Plante, 2011).

The Family Systems Approach: According to Plante (2011), this group of approaches “began with the Bateson group in Palo Alto, CA, during the 1950’s” (Plante, 2011, p. 124) and came about as a stop gap to fill in different areas that some of the other approaches did not cover.  The main goal of the approach is to treat the family unit as a whole to help improve relationships and help the family to learn how to communication better with each other, in addition to working on problems together (Plante, 2011).

Of the five different variations within this approach, the one that peaks my interest the most is The Structural Approach created by Salvador Minuchin, because it is something that is very relevant and pertinent to issues I’m experiencing in my life. This particular approach focuses on the different levels of relationship within the family group and helps to change and/or restructure them in appropriate ways.  Some of the main goals are to build a balanced relationship between the different family members that is healthy and functional (Plante, 2011).

Which of the four approaches do you find most and least interesting?  Explain your response.

Even though I have read about each of these approaches, I have not been able to study them in depth enough in order to make a determination about which I find the most or least interesting.  Everything that I am learning right now is very interesting to me.  In these classes we move so fast through the information that we don’t get to study things that deeply, and as such I haven’t been able to determine which ones I like better than the others, or which ones I dislike.  In a year my opinion might be different, but at this time I have no distinct likes or dislikes.

Wk 2 DQ 2:

When I first began preparing to answer this question I was very confused by the wording.  I kept thinking that most psychologist use “tests” to help diagnose their patients, yet the question refers to “testing instruments” and it didn’t really make sense to me.  After reading the textbook and doing a significant amount of research online, I have discovered that what I thought was just referred to as “psychological tests” are also known as “psychological testing instruments” (Plante, 2011);  they are pretty much interchangeable when discussing, though the general public will most likely use the term” psychological tests” while those with extensive education and training are probably more likely to be the ones to refer to them as “psychological testing instruments.”

What types of testing instruments do psychologists use to make a diagnosis? 

      Psychological testing instruments or “psychological tests” as most people would call them, are very widely used and there are almost an uncountable amount of them. A better perspective might be to focus on the most prominent and widely used ones on the market; it also does not take into account tests that are privately created by individual psychologists or that are unpublished, etc.

      The process of assessing a psychological patient to diagnose their issues contains many different activities and steps.  One of these is the assessment phase which includes tests that the psychologist will administer to the client or observe them participating in.  Theses psychological tests are very specialized and the scores from the client will be compared with other normal scores in order to help the psychologist diagnose their patient (Plante, 2011).

      Depending on what issues the client is having, the type of testing, or use of testing instruments, will vary; age is also a factor, as some tests have abbreviated or age range tests for children. The psychologist will find out what the issues are, do some basic assessments, and then proceed to choosing which testing instruments to use.  It is not generally something that can be chosen instantaneously, they will generally spend some time looking at all the different tests that are available and then choose which one(s) is/are right for their client.  One of the main considerations is that the test be not only reliable but valid so that it helps the psychologist to give or determine a correct diagnosis (Plante, 2011).

      There are several different types of testing instruments; one is checklists and inventories and the other is psychological tests.  Checklists and inventories are similar to tests however they are different in that they are not as in-depth, take less time, yet can still cover multiple areas of concern.  Additionally, if the psychologist is working with a group, these types of assessments can be administered to large groups of people, unlike most tests, which are generally administered to only one individual at a time.

Some examples of checklists and inventories are the Beck Inventories (The Beck Depression Inventory, The Beck Anxiety Scale, and The Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, as well as youth and children’s versions of these assessments), The Achenbach Systems of Empirically Based Assessments is another very prominently used tool and in this group the Child Behavior Checklist, both parent and teacher versions, are the most used.  Additionally, the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised, used to screen for psychiatric issues, is among the list of commonly used assessments. These three are some of the most common checklists and inventories used; however, there are many other types and varieties of checklists and inventories that psychologists use to help gather information in determining a diagnosis (Plante, 2011).

Psychological tests are the other type of instruments that psychologists use to help them diagnose a patient.  As with checklists and inventories, there are many, many different types and varieties of psychological tests which have been and are currently used nowadays; they range from the basic and non-invasive (such as physiological assessments for breathing and heart rates, blood pressure, etc.) to the complex (for example neuroimaging tests like MRI’s, PET and CT scans, etc.).  Additionally within the umbrella of psychological tests, there are certain ones that are used specifically for cognitive (intelligence) and personality testing.  Some examples of cognitive tests are the SAT, various IQ tests, the Wechsler Scales series, the Stanford-Binet series, and a variety of others.  The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, The Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventories, The Sixteen Personality Factors, and the Neo-Personality Inventory-Revised, as well as other types of tests like The Rorschach, are examples of personality tests (Plante, 2011).

Which ones do you think are most effective?  Explain why.     

I don’t know that in this stage of learning I would be able to make a clear distinction of which tests are the most effective.  There are countless opinions available as to what other people believe are the best or most effective ones, however, with no personal experience or training on any of these tests, I don’t believe I am qualified to answer that.  It also depends on the client one is working with, as to what test will be the most effective, and even sometimes that is not a sure thing; it may take several different tests to be able to have reliable results that will lead to making a good diagnosis.              

References

Plante, T. G. (2011). Contemporary clinical psychology (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Plagiarism disclaimer/Note to cheaters

Plagiarism is stealing someone’s work and claiming it as your own without giving them credit. It is lying and cheating, both which are very wrong, and comes with consequences. Not only is it wrong to steal what I have worked so hard on, but if you submit your paper to your school and are caught plagiarizing, you may be subject to some very serious consequences; getting a failing grade on the paper or for the whole class, being expelled from school, and many more potentially serious prosecutions.

I have taken the time to post my papers in an effort to help and guide those who are struggling in their class.  Many times I didn’t understand things clearly and looking at other people’s examples of work sometimes was the catalyst to my success.  I have taken the time to include the references I used for each assignment so please make sure to look them up and utilize them properly.  Please do not disrespect me or ruin your chance at continuing to achieve your education and life goals by choosing to plagiarize. Thank you.