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ASSESSMENT of PERSONALITY (2):Neuropsychological Tests, Biofeedback

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Abnormal Psychology ­ PSY404
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LESSON 19
ASSESSMENT of PERSONALITY (2)
Projective Personality Tests
In projective tests, the person is presented with a series of ambiguous stimuli. The best known projective
test, introduced in 1921 by Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist, is based on the use of inkblots.
Projective techniques such as the Rorschach test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), House Tree Person
(HTP) and Rotter's Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB) were originally based on psychodynamic
assumptions about the nature of personality and psychopathology.
Considerable emphasis was placed on the importance of unconscious motivations --conflicts and impulses
of which the person is largely unaware. More recent approaches to the use of projective tests view the
person's descriptions of the cards as a sample of his or her perceptual and cognitive styles.
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) consists of a series of drawings that depict human figures in
various ambiguous situations. The person is asked to describe the identities of the people in the cards and to
make up a story about what is happening.
Advantages of Projective Tests
1. Some people may feel more comfortable talking in an unstructured situation than they would if they
were required to participate in a structured interview or to complete the lengthy MMPI.
2. Projective tests can provide an interesting source of information regarding the person's unique view of
the world, and they can be a useful supplement to information obtained with other assessment tools.
3. To whatever extent a person's relationships with other people are governed by unconscious cognitive
and emotional events, projective tests may provide information that cannot be obtained through direct
interviewing methods or observational procedures.
Limitations of Projective Tests
1. Lack of standardization in administration and scoring is a serious problem.
2. Little information is available on which to base comparisons to normal adults or children.
3. Some projective procedures, such as the Rorschach, can be very time-consuming.
4. The reliability of scoring and interpretation tends to be low.
5. Many self-report inventories, rating scales, and behavioral coding systems have been designed for the
assessment of marital relationships and family systems.
6. One popular self-report inventory is the Family Environment Scale (FES), which is composed of 90
true­false items and was designed to measure the social characteristics of families.
Neuropsychological Tests
Neuropsychological tell us about the problems in personality or behavior caused by neurological damage in
the brain or alterations in brain activity due to head injury, brain tumors, brain malfunctions, blood vessel
diseases, alcoholism and infections in the brain. Neurological problems can be detected with brain X-Rays,
computerized axial tomogram CAT scan. Neuropsychological testing, measures individual's abilities in areas
such as language, attention and concentration, memory, motor skills, perceptual abilities and learning. In
other words, this method of testing assesses brain impairment by observing its affects on the person's ability
to perform certain tasks. Although, you do not see damage, you can see its effect. A fairly simple
neuropsychological test used with children is the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test. A child is given a series
of cards on which various lines and shapes are drawn. The shapes include triangles, circle, rectangle and
squares. The task is to copy what is drawn on the card. The errors on the test are compared to test results of
normal children of the same age, if the number of errors exceeds a certain amount then brain impairment or
dysfunction is detected. The most popular advanced test of organic damage includes Leuria Nebraska
neuropsychological battery. Halstead Reitan Neuropsychological battery is another important test. The skills
measured in neuropsychological test are also assessed in intelligence test. There is a great deal of over
lapping in the two approaches.
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Abnormal Psychology ­ PSY404
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There are some neuropsychological tests that help to identify neurological problems by measuring a
person's cognitive, perceptual and motor skills.
1.
The Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test.
This test consists of 9 cards, each displaying a simple design, the subject sees the designs
one at a time and copy each one on piece of paper. Later they try to reproduce a design
from their memory.
2.
There  are  some  other  neuropsychological  tests  such  as,  Luria-Nebraska
Neuropsychological Battery
3.
Strength of grip test, which compares the grip of right and left hands.
Psycho-physiological Assessment
Psycho-physiology refers to measurable changes in the nervous system that reflect emotional or
psychological events. The measurements may be taken either directly from the brain or from parts of the
body.
·  The autonomic nervous system is highly reactive to environmental events and can provide useful
information about a person's internal states, such as emotion.
·  Recording procedures have been developed to measure variables such as respiration rate, heart rate,
and skin conductance.
·  As the person becomes aroused, activity levels change in these systems.
·  Psycho-physiological measures can therefore, provide sensitive indices of the person's internal
state.
·  It must be emphasized, however, that all of these measures do not act together.
·  If several physiological responses are measured at the same time, they may not all demonstrate the
same strength, or even direction, of response.
·  Moreover, physiological measures frequently disagree with the person's own subjective report.
·  Therefore, as with other assessment procedures, physiological recordings should be used in
conjunction with other measures. EEG electroencephalogram, measuring electrical activity in the
brain related to the firing of specific groups of neurons reveals brain wave activity. The low voltage
electrical current going in the brain can be directly observed by EEG patterns. The EEG is one of
the primary diagnostic tools for measuring seizure disorders.
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)
A galvanometer with sensitive electrodes is attached to the forehead or palms of the hands, gives reading
when sweat breaks out as an individual is passing through an emotional state. So GSR is a measure of sweat
glands activity controlled by peripheral nervous system. In certain disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder the patient experiences severe emotional reaction, which is directly measured by GSR.
Biofeedback
In biofeedback, the levels of physiological responding such as blood pressure, readings are told to
the patient provided by BP apparatus so that client can try to control his blood pressure without the
readings being provided. So biofeedback teaches, the client to control blood pressure, heart beat, body
temperature and physical pain by gaining conscious control over involuntary indicators . Those who master
it are called Swami's.
Advantages of Physiological Procedures
1. Psycho-physiological recording procedures do not depend on self-report and, therefore, may be
less subject to voluntary control.
2. Some of these measures can be obtained while the subject is sleeping or while the subject is actively
engaged in some other activity.
Limitations of Physiological Procedures
1. The recording equipment and electrodes may be frightening or intimidating to some people.
2. There are generally low correlations between different autonomic response systems.
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3. Physiological reactivity and the stability of physiological response systems vary from person to
person.
4. Physiological responses can be influenced by many other factors. Some are person variables, such
as age and medication, as well as psychological factors, such as being self-conscious or fearing loss
of control.
Brain Imaging Techniques
·  Precise measures of brain structure can be obtained with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
·  In MRI, images are generated using a strong magnetic field rather than X rays.
·  Positron emission tomography (PET) is one scanning technique that can be used to create
functional brain images.
·  This procedure is much more expensive than the other imaging techniques because it requires a
nuclear cyclotron to produce special radioactive elements.
·  The newest and most exciting method of imaging brain functions involves functional MRI
(FMRI).
·  In FMRI, a series of images is acquired in rapid succession.
·  Small differences in signal intensity from one image to the next provide a measure of moment-to-
moment changes in the amount of oxygen in blood flowing to specific areas of the brain.
Advantages of Brain Imaging Techniques
1. In clinical practice, imaging techniques can be used to rule out various neurological conditions that
might explain behavioral or cognitive deficits.
2. Procedures such as FMRI and PET can help research investigators explore the relation between
brain functions and specific mental disorders.
Limitations of Brain Imaging Techniques
1. These procedures are relatively expensive--especially PET scans and FMRI--and some procedures
must be used cautiously because the patient may be exposed to radioactive substances.
We should not assume that all cognitive processes, emotional experiences, or mental disorders are
necessarily linked to activity (or the absence of activity) in a specific area of the brain.
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Table of Contents:
  1. ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY:PSYCHOSIS, Team approach in psychology
  2. WHAT IS ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR:Dysfunction, Distress, Danger
  3. PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT:Supernatural Model, Biological Model
  4. PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT:Free association, Dream analysis
  5. PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT:Humanistic Model, Classical Conditioning
  6. RESEARCH METHODS:To Read Research, To Evaluate Research, To increase marketability
  7. RESEARCH DESIGNS:Types of Variables, Confounding variables or extraneous
  8. EXPERIMENTAL REASEARCH DESIGNS:Control Groups, Placebo Control Groups
  9. GENETICS:Adoption Studies, Twin Studies, Sequential Design, Follow back studies
  10. RESEARCH ETHICS:Approval for the research project, Risk, Consent
  11. CAUSES OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR:Biological Dimensions
  12. THE STRUCTURE OF BRAIN:Peripheral Nervous System, Psychoanalytic Model
  13. CAUSES OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:Biomedical Model, Humanistic model
  14. CAUSES OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR ETIOLOGICAL FACTORS OF ABNORMALITY
  15. CLASSIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT:Reliability, Test retest, Split Half
  16. DIAGNOSING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS:The categorical approach, Prototypical approach
  17. EVALUATING SYSTEMS:Basic Issues in Assessment, Interviews
  18. ASSESSMENT of PERSONALITY:Advantages of MMPI-2, Intelligence Tests
  19. ASSESSMENT of PERSONALITY (2):Neuropsychological Tests, Biofeedback
  20. PSYCHOTHERAPY:Global Therapies, Individual therapy, Brief Historical Perspective
  21. PSYCHOTHERAPY:Problem based therapies, Gestalt therapy, Behavioral therapies
  22. PSYCHOTHERAPY:Ego Analysis, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Aversion Therapy
  23. PSYCHOTHERAPY:Humanistic Psychotherapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Gestalt therapy
  24. ANXIETY DISORDERS:THEORIES ABOUT ANXIETY DISORDERS
  25. ANXIETY DISORDERS:Social Phobias, Agoraphobia, Treating Phobias
  26. MOOD DISORDERS:Emotional Symptoms, Cognitive Symptoms, Bipolar Disorders
  27. MOOD DISORDERS:DIAGNOSIS, Further Descriptions and Subtypes, Social Factors
  28. SUICIDE:PRECIPITATING FACTORS IN SUICIDE, VIEWS ON SUICIDE
  29. STRESS:Stress as a Life Event, Coping, Optimism, Health Behavior
  30. STRESS:Psychophysiological Responses to Stress, Health Behavior
  31. ACUTE AND POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERS
  32. DISSOCIATIVE AND SOMATOFORM DISORDERS:DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
  33. DISSOCIATIVE and SOMATOFORM DISORDERS:SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
  34. PERSONALITY DISORDERS:Causes of Personality Disorders, Motive
  35. PERSONALITY DISORDERS:Paranoid Personality, Schizoid Personality, The Diagnosis
  36. ALCOHOLISM AND SUBSTANCE RELATED DISORDERS:Poly Drug Use
  37. ALCOHOLISM AND SUBSTANCE RELATED DISORDERS:Integrated Systems
  38. SCHIZOPHRENIA:Prodromal Phase, Residual Phase, Negative symptoms
  39. SCHIZOPHRENIA:Related Psychotic Disorders, Causes of Schizophrenia
  40. DEMENTIA DELIRIUM AND AMNESTIC DISORDERS:DELIRIUM, Causes of Delirium
  41. DEMENTIA DELIRIUM AND AMNESTIC DISORDERS:Amnesia
  42. MENTAL RETARDATION AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
  43. MENTAL RETARDATION AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
  44. PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF CHILDHOOD:Kinds of Internalizing Disorders
  45. LIFE CYCLE TRANSITIONS AND ADULT DEVELOPMENT:Aging