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| Systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in a person presenting with a possible psychological disorder. |
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| Process of determining whether a presenting problem meets the established criteria for a specific psychological disorder. |
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| Degree to which a measurement is consistent--for example, over time or among different raters. |
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| Degree to which a technique measures what it purports to measure. |
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| Process of establishing specific norms and requirements for a measurement technique to ensure it is used consistently across measurement occasions. This includes instructions for administering the measure, evaluating its findings, and comparing these with data for large numbers of people. |
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| Relatively coarse preliminary test of a client's judgment, orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state; typically conducted during an initial interview. |
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| Measuring, observing, and systematically evaluating (rather than inferring) the client's thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the actual problem situation or context. |
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| Psychoanalytically based measure that presents ambiguous stimuli to clients on the assumption that their responses can reveal their unconscious conflicts. Such tests are inferential and lack high reliability and validity. |
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| Self-report questionnaire that assesses personal traits by asking respondents to identify descriptions that apply to themselves. |
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| intelligence quotient (IQ) |
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| Score on an intelligence test estimating a person's deviation from average test performance. |
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| neuropsychological testing |
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Definition
| Assessment of brain and nervous system functioning by testing an individual's performance on behavioral tasks. |
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| Assessment error in which pathology is reported (that is, test results are positive) when none is actually present. |
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| Assessment error in which no pathology is noted (that is, test results are negative) when one is actually present. |
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| Sophisticated computer-aided procedures that allow nonintrusive examination of nervous system structure and function. |
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| psychophysiological assessment |
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Definition
| Measurement of changes in the nervous system reflecting psychological or emotional events such as anxiety, stress, and sexual arousal. |
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Term
| electroencephalogram (EEG) |
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Definition
| Measure of electrical activity patterns in the brain, taken through electrodes placed on the scalp. |
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| Assignment of objects or people to categories on the basis of shared characteristics. |
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| System of naming and classification (for example, of specimens) in science. |
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| Classification and naming system for medical and psychological phenomena. |
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| In a naming system or nosology, the actual labels or names that are applied. In psychopathology, these include mood disorders an eating disorders. |
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| classical categorical approach |
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Definition
| Classification method founded on the assumption of clear-cut differences among disorders, each with a different known cause. Also known as pure categorical approach. |
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| Method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than on a binary, either-or, or all-or-none basis. |
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| System for categorizing disorders using both essential, defining characteristics and a range of variation on other characteristics. |
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| Extent to which a disorder would be found among a patient's relatives. |
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| Presence of two or more disorders in an individual at the same time. |
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| Applying a name to a phenomenon or a pattern of behavior. The label may acquire negative connotations or be applied erroneously to the person rather than to that person's behaviors. |
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| Educated guess or statement to be tested by research. |
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| Plan of experimentation used to test a hypothesis. |
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| Extent to which the results of a study can be attributed to the independent variable after confounding alternative explanations have been ruled out. |
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| Extent to which research findings generalize, or apply, to people and settings not involved in the study. |
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| Ability of a hypothesis, for example, to be subjected to scientific scrutiny and to be accepted or rejected, a necessary condition for the hypothesis to be useful. |
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| In an experimental study, the phenomenon that is measured and expected to be influenced. |
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| Phenomenon manipulated by the experimenter in a study and expected to influence the dependent variable. |
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| Any factor occurring in a study that makes the results uninterpretable because its effects cannot be separated from those of the variables being studied. |
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| Variable in a research study that was not part of the intended design and that may contribute to changes in the dependent variable. |
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| Group of individuals in a study who are similar to the experimental subjects in every way but are not exposed to the treatment received by the experimental group. Their presence allows for a comparison of the differential effects of the treatment. |
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| Method for placing individuals into research groups that assures each an equal chance of being assigned to any group, thus eliminating any systematic differences across groups. |
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| Approach to research that employs subjects who are similar to clinical clients, allowing replication of a clinical problem under controlled conditions. |
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| Extent to which research results apply to a range of individuals not included in the study. |
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| Small probability of obtaining the observed research findings by chance. |
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| Degree to which research findings have useful and meaningful applications to real problems. |
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| Tendency to consider all members of a category as more similar than they are, ignoring their individual differences. |
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| Research procedure in which a single person or small group is studied in detail. The method does not allow conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships, and findings can be generalized only with great caution. |
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| Degree to which two variables are associated. In a positive correlation, the two variables increase or decrease together. In a negative correlation, one variable decreases as the other increases. |
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| Research procedure in which variables are measured and compared to detect any association but are not manipulated. Conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships are not permissible. |
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| Possibility that when two variables, A and B, are correlated variable A causes variable B or variable B causes variable A. |
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| Association between two variables in which one increases as the other increases. |
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| Computed statistic reflecting the strength and direction of any association between two variables. It can range from -1.00 through 0.00 (indicating no association) to +1.00, with the absolute value indicating the strength and the sign reflecting the direction. |
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Definition
| Association between two variables in which one increases as the other decreases. |
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| Psychopathology research method examining the prevalence, distribution, and consequences of disorders in populations. |
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| Research method that can establish causation by manipulating the variables in question and controlling for alternative explanations of any observed effects. |
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| Behavior change resulting from the person's expectation of change rather than from the experimental manipulation itself. |
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| In an outcome experiment, a control group that does not receive the experimental manipulation but is given a similar procedure with an identical expectation of change, allowing the researcher to assess any placebo effect. |
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| Procedure in outcome research that prevents bias by ensuring that neither the subjects nor the providers of the experimental treatment know who is receiving treatment and who is receiving a placebo. |
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| comparative treatment research |
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Definition
| Outcome research that contrasts two or more treatment methods to determine which is most effective. |
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| single-case experimental design |
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Definition
| Research tactic in which an independent variable is manipulated for a single individual, allowing cause-and-effect conclusions but with limited generalizability. |
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| When responses are measured on more than two occasions (not just before and after intervention) to assess trends. |
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| Degree of change in a phenomenon over time. |
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| Direction of change of a behavior or behaviors (for example, increasing or decreasing). |
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| Degree of behavior change with different interventions (for example, high or low). |
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| Removing a treatment to not whether is has been effective. Also called reversal design. |
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| Measured rate of a behavior before introduction of an intervention that allows comparison and assessment of the effects of the intervention. |
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| Single-case experimental design in which measures are taken on two or more behaviors or on a single behavior in two or more situations. A particular intervention is introduced for each at different times. If behavior change is coincident with each introduction, this is strong evidence the intervention caused the change. |
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Definition
| Observable characteristics or behaviors of an individual. |
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| Specific genetic makeup of an individual. |
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| Ongoing scientific attempt to develop a comprehensive map of all human genes. |
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| Genetic study that examines patterns of traits and behaviors among relatives. |
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Definition
| In genetics research, the individual displaying the trait or characteristic being studied. |
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Definition
| In genetics research, the study of first-degree relatives reared in different families and environments. |
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| In genetics research, the comparison of twins with unrelated or less closely related individuals. |
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| Study that seeks to match the inheritance pattern of a disorder to that of a genetic marker. Helps researchers establish location of gene responsible for the disorder. |
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Definition
| Inherited characteristic for which the chromosomal location of the responsible gene is known. |
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Definition
| Research strategy for comparing genetic markers in groups of people with and without a particular disorder. |
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Definition
| Methodology to examine a characteristic by comparing individuals of different ages. |
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| Participants in each age group of a study with a cross-sectional design. |
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Definition
| Observation that people of different age groups differ in their values and experiences. |
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| retrospective information |
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Definition
| Literally "the view back"; data collected by examining records or recollections of the past. It is limited by the accuracy, validity, and thoroughness of the sources. |
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Definition
| Systematic study of changes in the same individual or group examined over time. |
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| cross-generational effect |
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Definition
| Limit on the generalizability of longitudinal research because the group under study may differ from others in culture and experience. |
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Definition
| Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs involving repeated study of different cohorts over time. |
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Definition
| Ethical requirement whereby research subjects agree to participate in a study only after they receive full disclosure about the nature of the study and their role in it. |
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