Scholing, A. (2019). Chapter 4: Behavioral observations. In F. Luteijn & D. Barelds (Eds.), Psychological diagnostics in health care (4th ed., pp. 85-102). Amsterdam: Boom uitgevers.

What is the value of unstandardized observations?

• Sometimes observations are carried out during an interview. An example of this is the mental status examination, which involves topics such as general impressions (eye contact, attitude), cognitive functions (awareness, attention, orientation), affective functions (mood and affect), conative functions (psychomotor activity, motivation, and behavior) and personality. However, this kind of observation is not standardized. Therefore, it is subject to different kinds of errors that disrupt the perception and information processing. Examples are the leniency effect (the tendency to rate friends and acquaintances more positively on certain traits), the halo effect (the tendency to examine all traits in the direction of a general impression), the logic error (the tendency to pass similar judgments on traits that seem to be logically linked although in reality the traits are detached from one another), the contrast error (the tendency to judge a certain trait in a person against that same trait in others), primacy and recency effects (the tendency to attach greater weight to the first, or, conversely, the last observation), and the tendency to mostly give average scores and to avoid making extreme judgments.
• Observations may be carried out in natural surroundings or in a standardized laboratory setting, or in a situation that is a combination of these two types. What can arise, is reactivity. This means that clients are aware of being observed, and they change their behavior (consciously or unconsciously) accordingly.

What are functional mental disorders?

• People with brain disorders often show a visible change in behavior. There are four categories of disorders:

1. Cognitive disorders (attention, memory, language)
2. Emotional problems and personality changes (anxiety)
3. Sensomotor disorders and sensorimotor disorders (tremors, paralysis symptoms)
4. Psychosocial problems (loneliness, relationship problems)

De Vogel, V. (2014). The use of the HCR-20V3 in Dutch forensic psychiatric practice. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 13(2), 109-121.

What is the Historical, Clinical, Risk management-20 Version 2 (HCR-20)?

• The Historical, Clinical, Risk management-20 Version 2 (HCR-20) is the most widely used risk assessment instrument. This instrument is used for the assessment of risk for future violence. Many studies have demonstrated that the HCR-20 is reliable and valid in various general and forensic psychiatric settings and penitentiary institutions in different

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