Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology of 97 deviant behaviors or thought processes that are occurring at the present time. Axis II reflects long- standing personality disorders or mental retardation, both of which can influence the person’s behavior and response to treatment. Axis III notes any medical conditions that might be relevant. Reflecting the vulnerability stress model, the clinician rates the intensity of psychosocial or environmental problems in the person’s recent life on Axis IV, and the person’s coping resources, as reflected in recent adaptive functioning on Axis V. Projective Testing- Presents subjects with ambiguous stimuli and ask for interpretation of them. It is assumed that interpretations of such stimuli give clues to important internal processes. The Rorschach Test consists of 10 inkblots; the person being tested is shown each one in succession and asked what each looks like. Many find this test useful for gaining insight into unconscious processes, and the test seems to be especially valuable for detecting psychotic thought disorders. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) consists of a series of pictures derived from paintings, drawings, and magazine illustrations. The TAT typically relies on the subjective interpretation of tests responses, which can result in different interpretations of the same stories. Objective Tests- Psychological testing refers to the administration of psychological tests. A psychological test is "an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior". The term ‘sample of behavior’ refers to an individual's performance on tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand. Psychological tests are typically, but not necessarily, a series of tasks to be performed or problems to be solved. The questions that make up a paper-and-pencil test, the most common type of test, usually involve a series of items. Performance on these questions produces a test score. A score on a well-constructed test is believed to reflect a psychological construct, such as achievement in a school subject, cognitive ability, aptitude, emotional functioning, personality, etc. Differences in test scores are thought to reflect individual differences in the construct the test is supposed to measure. The technical term for the science behind psychological testing is psychometrics. A psychological test is an instrument designed to measure unobserved constructs, also known as latent variables. Psychological tests can strongly resemble questionnaires, which are also designed to measure unobserved constructs, but differ, in that psychological tests ask for a respondent's maximum performance, whereas a questionnaire asks for the respondent's typical performance. A useful psychological test must be both valid (there is evidence to support the specified interpretation of the test results) and reliable (internally consistent or give consistent results over time, across raters, etc.). Objective tests have a restricted response format, such as allowing for true or false answers or rating using an ordinal scale. Prominent examples of objective personality tests include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, Child Behavior Checklist, Symptom Checklist 90 and the Beck Depression Inventory. Objective personality tests can be designed for use in business for potential employees, such as the NEO-PI, the 16PF, and the OPQ (Occupational Personality Questionnaire), all of which are based on the Big Five taxonomy. The Big Five, or Five Factor Model of normal personality, has gained acceptance since the early 1990s when some influential © 2015 Achieve Page 75