Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Custom Edition, Leiden University

Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Custom Edition, Leiden University

This summary is based on the customized edition of Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Leiden University. This book, and hence this summary, is composed of chapters from different books. By clicking on the provided links, you can access the different parts of the summary. The summary is based on the obligatory literature, needed to prepare for the exam of the course "Psychodiagnostics (Psychology, Leiden University)".

Summary - Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Chapter 5 & 7

Summary - Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Chapter 5 & 7

Which theories about individual intelligence and performance tests are there? - Chapter 5

Topic 5A Theories of intelligence and factor analysis

Definitions of intelligence

Intelligence is one of the most researched topics in psychology.

Operational definitions define a concept in terms of the way the test is used. This way of defining is not useful for intelligence. Intelligence tests have been developed for measuring intelligence and not for defining it. In addition, operational definitions block the further development of the understanding of the nature of intelligence. A second problem is that the operational definition does not allow innovation. The old tests serve as a validity criterion for new tests. There must be a correlation between the old and new tests and in newly developed, innovative tests this correlation may weaken. According to the operational definition, they may therefore not be valid.

The real definition explains the true nature of the concept. To arrive at a true definition of intelligence, you have to ask experts. Several experts have come up with a definition. This list of definitions is Western and does not speak of cultural differences. The East thinks that benevolence, humility, freedom from conventional standards in assessment and doing what is right are essential for intelligence. In Africa, the social aspects of intelligence are emphasized. Despite all the differences, there are usually two things that everyone agrees on: intelligence is the capacity to learn from experiences and the capacity to adapt to the environment.

Another approach to understanding a construct is to study the popular meaning. Sternberg and colleagues did this and found out that the behaviors that are thought to belong to intelligence are quite similar to what experts think. The difference lies more in the order of importance.

When laymen think of intelligence, the following aspects are mentioned: practical problem-solving skills, verbal skills, and social competence. Experts mention the following aspects: verbal intelligence, problem-solving skills, and practical intelligence. This shows that public opinion on intelligence can be recognized in the intelligence tests.

The two parts that lay people and experts agree on are also not included in the tests. Firstly, because it is difficult to find items for these and secondly, because there has been little change in the design of the tests since the Binet time. Sternberg and colleagues have presented innovations that are based on their model of intelligence. Another interesting tool is the Everyday Problem Solving Inventory. In this test, participants should indicate how their response would be to everyday problems, such as forgetting your money when you go for lunch with a friend.

Factor analysis

Factor analysis is used to measure the validity of tests. There is confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis. The first one checks whether test scores and variables fit in a predicted pattern and is therefore good for validation research. In the second, the relationships between many variables are summarized and it is examined whether they can be reduced to a lesser number of factors. It ensures that a simplified representation is given of a large, complex data set. Each collection of aptitude tests reflects a number of underlying basic skills.

A factor analysis starts with a correlation matrix, a table that shows correlations between different variables. Variables that have a high correlation with each other seem to explain a factor.

The smallest number of factors are determined by means of fast computers. Then a factor matrix can be made, which shows how heavily a variable weighs on a certain factor (values ​​from -1.00 to +1.00).

The factor loads are then 'rotated', the best fitting variable is stopped at the best matching factors. In 'rotation to positive manifold', as many negative factor loads as possible are removed per factor. In 'rotation to simple structure', factor loadings are classified in such a way that each variable has a significant load with as few factors as possible. The aim is to make the factor matrix as clear and analysable as possible.

The interpretation of the factors that come out has to be done by the researcher himself. The researcher looks at what the variables of the factor have in common and then gives that interpretation. There are also disadvantages for factor analysis. Firstly, a certain factor can only come out of the analysis if the tests and measurements also contain that factor. Second, the sample size is important: around n=300 a factor analysis is stable and reliable. Finally, factor analysis is always subject to subjective choices and theoretical prejudices of the researcher.

Galton and sensory keenness

Galton thought that intelligence was explained by keen sensory abilities. The theory, however, had a dead end with regard to psychometry: it could hardly be tested. Later in the 1980s, however, reaction time tests were developed that measured the speed of processing. Even though these tests suggested that speed-of-processing measures could be a useful addition to standardized intelligence tests, these tests as well as their data analysis were not sufficiently standardized. That is why this method has not been developed much further.

Spearman and the g factor

Spearman stated that intelligence was based on a general intelligence factor g and several specific factors s1, s2, s3, etc. He focused primarily on defining the nature of g which he called the energy or power that generally appears in every context. The specific factor s represents a specific group of neurons that were used in certain mental actions. He found that individual differences in g reflected three principles of cognition: apprehension of experience, eduction of relations, and eduction of correlations. The word eduction can be rephrased as figuring things out. Even though Spearman’s speculations about physiology are for the most part dismissed, his notion of a general factor of intelligence remains relevant until today.

Thurstone and primary mental skills

Thurstone used factor analysis and concluded that not a single intelligence factor, but a group of factors, could explain empirical results. That brought him to his 7 primary mental skills: verbal comprehension, word fluency, number, space, associative memory, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning.

Later he argued that probably a general g factor was at the head and Spearman also stated that there are group factors that explain intelligence. Vernon felt that there was a hierarchy with the g factor at the top, then two group factors verbally and practically and then the 7 skills of Thurstone divided over the two factors.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory

According to this theory, intelligence consists of three hierarchical strata. Stratum III is the general intelligence factor g. Stratum II consists of 8 parts, each with a number of specific skills of stratum I which are in brackets:

  1. fluent intelligence (5 specific skills): requires high thinking and reasoning and is used for new tasks that are not done automatically.
  2. crystallized intelligence (10): the breadth and depth of the knowledge of the individual.
  3. domain-specific knowledge (7): knowledge about specific domains that are not typical of culture.
  4. visual-spatial abilities (11): presenting, retaining and transforming mental representations of images.
  5. auditory processing (13): the accurate observation of auditory information and with it the capacity to analyze, understand and imitate patterns or groups of sounds.
  6. memory (13): the ability to consolidate new information and store it in the long-term memory and recall it later through associations.
  7. cognitive processing speed (7): the speed of performing automatic processes, especially when a lot of attention and concentration is needed.
  8. reaction time (5): the ability to make quick decisions in response to simple stimuli.

The skills of stratum I are always expanded and renewed with research. In addition, this model is widely used because the broad and specific skills are empirically verifiable and they include meaningful and implications for the real world. Many psychometricians consider it having the strongest empirical foundation of any theory of intelligence. Others have proposed a larger list that also includes psychomotor, olfactory, and kinesthetic abilities.

Guilford and structure-of-intellect model

Guilford classified intellectual skills in dimensions of operations, contents and products. Operations are the type of mental actions that the test must contain. Contents refers to the nature of the materials or information that is offered. Products includes the different types of mental structures that the brain has to produce in order to arrive at a correct answer. He then had 5 x 5 x 6 = 150 factors of intelligence respectively.

It is a complicated model, but he has raised the suggestion that divergent production, the creation of several good possibilities for a single stimulus (as opposed to only constructing one correct answer to a stimulus situation), can also be part of intelligence.

Planning, attention and simultaneous and successive theory (PASS)

Luria adopted the theoryplans, attention, simultaneity and succession', a general theory about cognitive processing. His approach focuses on the mechanisms that process information and is therefore also called the information processing theory. According to him, analysis provides strong evidence for distinguishing between two basic forms of integrative activity of the cerebral cortex, allowing different aspects of the outside world to be reflected. The theory contains three functional units in the brain, whereby the processing of information takes place from the lower units to the higher units:

  1. The first part includes subcortical areas like the brainstem, midbrain, and thalamus. It allows us to regulate attentive processes and selective attention and to resist distractions.
  2. The second part contains the sensory parts of the cerebral cortex (parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes). Their functions are more lateralized and include simultaneous and successive processing.
  3. The third part is in the frontal lobes and is responsible for planning and engine output.

According to this theory, processing starts with attention and planning is the final step.

  1. Simultaneous processing (of information): this is characterized by performing different mental activities simultaneously. An example for which you need this is for example drawing a cube, you need spatial insight, motor skills etc.
  2. Sequential processing (of information): is necessary for mental activities where a correct sequence of activities is needed. This is necessary, for example, for remembering a series of numbers.

Finding tasks that can test these two ways of processing in their pure way is the challenge for applying this theory to intelligence.

Information processing theories of intelligence

These theories propose models on how people represent and process information mentally. It is useful to make the analogy of a computer. The architectural system (hardware) comprises the biological requirements for information processing, such as coding speed. It is quite impenetrable to change by the environment.

The executive system (software) is easily influenced by the environment and it includes components related to the environment that control the problem-solving capacity and leading functional components. An example is metacognition, thinking about thinking, which is important for learning and intelligence.

Gardner and the theory of multiple intelligences

Gardner drew up a number of criteria for an autonomous intelligence:

  • Potential isolation due to brain damage
  • The existence of exceptional individuals in an area
  • Identifiable core operations
  • Distinctive developmental history
  • Evolutionary plausibility
  • Support from experimental psychology
  • Support from psychometric studies
  • Susceptibility to symbol encoding

Gardner thus established seven natural intelligences:

  1. Linguistic
  2. Logical-mathematical
  3. Spatial
  4. Musical
  5. Bodily-kinesthetic
  6. Interpersonal
  7. Intrapersonal

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence includes the skills used by athletes, dancers, mime artists, etc. Personal intelligences include the ability to access both one's own feelings (intrapersonal) and the ability to notice and distinguish someone else’s moods, temperament, motivation, and intentions (interpersonal). People with musical intelligence can easily learn to play an instrument and make their own compositions.

Savants provide an important insight into the existence of different kinds of intelligences. A savant is someone who is mentally inadequate, but has developed himself in a certain area, such as music or art. The theory is compelling because of its simplicity, but the empirical validity is difficult to investigate.

Sternberg and the triarchic theory of successful intelligence

Sternberg has developed a theory that is called triarchic, because it emphasizes three aspects of intelligence.

Componential / analytical intelligence

Internal mental mechanisms responsible for intelligent behavior.

  • Metacomponents or executive processes: these control the activities of the other intelligence processes, such as planning.
  • Performance components: the processes that are used to perform a task or solve problems, such as working memory or syllogistic reasoning.
  • Knowledge acquisition components: processes that are used in learning, such as the use of certain vocabulary in the right context.

Experiential / creative intelligence

  • Ability to deal with novelty
  • Ability to automize information processes

Contextual / practical intelligence

  • Adaptation to the 'real world' environment: if you possess the skills needed for the culture in which you live.
  • Selection of an appropriate environment: the ability to leave the environment you are in and to select an environment that is better suited to your talents and needs.
  • Shaping of the environment: the skill to form the existing environment in such a way that it is more consistent with your needs.

For the theory, Sternberg has made the STAT (Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test), which also contains creative and practical questions.

Topic 5B Individual tests of intelligence and achievement

Intelligence testing is one of the major achievements of the field of psychology. The score of general intelligence is often not what researchers are interested in. If they intending to determine g, any test would do. Often, however, they are looking for specific intellectual functioning and therefore look at the results of subtests, so it is important that they use the test that best describes what they want to know. There are many intelligence tests and new ones are added every month. The following tests are likely to be used in 95% of the assessment cases.

Orientation

This chapter discusses the following intelligence tests:

  • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV)
  • Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV)
  • Stanford-Binet: Fifth Edition (SB5)
  • Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude-4 (DTLA-4)
  • Cognitive Assessment System-II (CAS-II)
  • Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-2 (KBIT-2)

Wechsler Scales of Intelligence

The first intelligence test by Wechsler, the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, was released in 1939. He made sure that the test did not have the shortcomings of already existing tests. The existing tests were not available for adults, were too focused on manipulative words, were too focused on speed rather than accuracy, and the notion of mental age was irrelevant.

He drew up the new formula for IQ:

IQ = obtained score / expected mean score for age

He did this, because according to him IQ remains almost constant (IQ constancy), but intellectual skills can change over time. In addition, Wechsler hoped to use the test for psychiatric diagnoses. For this he distinguished between verbal and performance intelligence.

  • Verbal> Performance (V>P): gave results for organic brain diseases such as psychosis and emotional disorders.
  • Performance> Verbal (P>V): showed slight mental retardation in adolescents and adults.

Research has shown that there are many exceptions to this diagnostic rule, but it nevertheless showed that distinguishing between verbal understanding and perceptual reasoning (as we now know it) is useful in many areas, such as studying brain-behavioral relationships.

The later Wechsler tests were particularly successful because of the reliable content and formula of the first test, which meant that examiners, among other things, needed little training to switch to a new version.

The latest versions of Wechsler tests all contain the following common features:

  • Thirteen to fifteen subtests that are used to measure intra-individual strengths and weaknesses rather than one global score.
  • Empirically based scores and IQ scales. First it was subdivided into verbal IQ and performal IQ, but the latest versions have index scores in four areas:
  1. Verbal comprehension
  2. Perceptual reasoning
  3. Working memory
  4. Processing speed
  • A common metric for IQ and index score, being an average IQ of 100 with standard deviation of 15. On a subtest this would be an average of 10 with standard deviation of about 3.
  • Some of the same subtests for different test versions.

Wechsler subtests: description and analysis

Here the different subtests of the WISC-IV (children) and WAIS-IV (adults) are discussed.

  • Information: this test tests factual knowledge about people, places and general phenomena. Most of these information questions are known when someone has grown up in a Western culture. This subtest also measures learning and memory skills, because one has to retrieve knowledge from memory. The information test is the best measure for general skills and relies heavily on the factor Verbal
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Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Chapters 8 & 9

Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Chapters 8 & 9

Where do personality tests originate? - Chapter 8

Topic 8A Personality theories and projective techniques

Personality: An overview

Personality is a vague concept, but we can distinguish two characteristics. First, each person is consistent to a certain level, we have coherence characteristics and action patterns that occur repeatedly. Second, each person is distinctive to a certain level. Personality describes the differences in behavior between people and the consistency of behavior within a person.

Psychoanalytic theories

Psychoanalysis was a creation by Sigmund Freud. Freud developed his general theory of psychological functioning during the investigation of hysteria. His theory is about the unconscious as a foundation of psychological functioning. He said that our unconscious mind consists of thoughts and wishes that are too unacceptable to enter consciousness. The most significant motivations are therefore not in our consciousness. Freud also thought that these motivations came out in a hidden way in dreams. Early in the twentieth century, a large range of tests has been developed to expose Freud’s unconscious, such as inkblot testing, word association approaches and storytelling tests. These tests could supposedly expose the unconscious by interpreting the ambiguous and unstructured answers of the client in the right way. These tests have also had a major impact on personality tests.

According to Freud, the mind consists of three parts:

  1. Id: is completely in your unconscious mind and is the part that concerns instinctual need, such as eating, drinking, sexual gratification and the avoidance of pain. The id has one goal and that is to meet these needs immediately according to the pleasure principle. This principle means that there is an impulse towards the immediate fulfillment of the need without taking into account values, right or wrong, or morality (this is called the pleasure principle). The id also has no logic or sense of time (we are born with it).
  2. Ego: this is our consciousness. The goal of the ego is to mediate between the id and the reality. It is part of the id and a servant of it. The ego is therefore largely conscious and works according to the reality principle. It seeks realistic and safe ways to discharge the impulses coming from the id (this develops just after birth).
  3. Superego: the ethical part of our personality that develops in the first 5 years of our lives. The ego and superego have to compete with each other in order to obtain gratification or not. The superego is about the social standards of right and wrong that we learn from our parents. The superego is partly conscious, but largely unconscious. It tries to suppress the actions of the id and ego and its biggest weapon is to blame. The ego must therefore not only find a safe and realistic way to meet needs, but also a morally correct way to avoid punishment from the superego. The superego also has to do with the ideal ego. The ego measures itself with this ideal image and tries to get as close to it as possible. The ideal contains our goals and aspirations. When we fail to achieve our ideal, we can feel guilty and inferior.

The ego can do its work by having access to various mental strategies called defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms have three general characteristics. First, they supress fear that arises from conflicting demands of the id, superego and reality. Fear and defense mechanisms are complementary concepts for Freud. Secondly, defense mechanisms all operate unconsciously, even though they are carried out by the conscious ego. Third, they distort the inner and outer reality, so that fear can be reduced.

Psychotic defense mechanisms are the least healthy because they distort reality extremely. They include the denial of reality and the extreme distortion of reality (delusions). The second group of mechanisms is 'acting out' and consists of unadaptive behaviors, such as aggressive or impulsive behavior. Borderline mechanisms, the third group, ensure that the image of others (or of the self) changes from very good to very bad. They include the splitting of personality traits and projective identification. The fourth group are neurotic mechanisms and they include small changes of reality. Use is made of repression and displacement. Obsessive mechanisms are common and include, for example, the isolation of affect or intellectualization. The last group, 'mature' mechanisms, have the least change of reality and appear as convenient virtues. They include behaviors such as altruism, humor, suppression, anticipation or sublimation.

A test has been issued to score these defense mechanisms: The Defense Mechanism Rating Scale (DMRS). It is scored quantitatively and an Overall Defensive Functioning Score is issued. Instruments such as the DMRS can provide empirical validation for psychoanalytic theories, but their use requires a lot of training and time.

Type theories of personality

Friedman and Rosenman examined psychic variables that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. They concluded that people with a Type A behavioral pattern are more susceptible to this type of disease. Type A persons are always uncertain, regardless of their performance, often do not care about the feelings of competitors, are hostile and quickly irritated. They also feel a kind of pressure to have things done quickly. They often use multitasking. Several studies have been done to find further evidence that type-A behaviors are associated with an increased risk of CHD, but there are several results. The strongest evidence is found for white working people.

However, several studies have shown that Type A behavior is not a single risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but that it is more specific components of type A behavior that can cause this. The behavior can be measured by means of interviews or questionnaires. Questionnaires are less good, because non-verbal behavior can not be noticed, even though these are often signs of type A behavior.

Phenomenological theories of personality

Rogers has had the most influence within this approach. His contribution to personality theory, known as self-theory, has been extended and is admired by many psychology students. In addition, he helped to make the Q-technique popular.

This technique is a procedure for studying changes in the self-concept. The test consists of many cards where statements arise. The client must then, out of 100 of these cards, pile 9 stacks for which the amount of cards per stack is fixed, to create a kind of normal distribution. The cards that are most fitting to the client must be placed on one side and the cards that describe him least on the other side. The cards that he is indifferent about or can not decide on end up in the middle. The researcher can form the items himself according to the needs of the client. The scoring of this test is done by comparing the distribution with an already established standard. The test can also be scored as Rogers did: comparing an examinee’s self-sort with his or her ideal sort. The discrepancy is then used as an index for adjustment. His clients had to divide the stack twice with the following instructions: 1) self-sort, sort the cards to describe yourself as you see yourself today. 2) Ideal sort, sort the cards now to describe the ideal person, the person as you would like to be.

Behavioral and social learning theories

An important assumption is that many of the behaviors that characterize personality are taught. Behaviorists state that the environment forms and maintains behavior. They fundamentally disagree with the role that cognitions play in behavior. Social learning theories state that we learn expectations and rules about the environment and not just stimulus-response connections. Modern social learning theories state that cognitions influence actions.

Rotter developed the Internal - External Scale (IE Scale) to measure the internal / external locus of control. The locus of control refers to the source of things that happen to people. The IE Scale thus measures whether the participants feel that they have control over events (internal locus of control) or that the control does not lie with them (external locus of control). An internal locus is often more positive than an external locus of control.

Bandura developed the concept of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is about the extent to which people think they are able to respond / act on certain situations. It explains why good knowledge does not always deliver efficient actions. He has also drawn up measuring scales for self-efficacy, in which participants must indicate how well they find themselves functioning on certain tasks.

Trait conceptions of personality

A trait is every way in which an individual differs from another in the long term. The theories about this differ or they classify personality into categories or dimensions. Cattell distinguished between 'surface traits' and 'source traits'." Surface traits are obvious aspects of personality that are easy to see in behavior. 'Source traits' are the stable and constant sources of behavior. They are less visible, but more important for explanation of behavior. He analyzed underlying personality traits through factor analysis. This resulted in 16 personal traits with which he drew up the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF).

The five-factor model of personality states that five dimensions form the basis for personality. They have been explained by means of a fundamental lexical hypothesis: terms of personality traits have remained in the language because they provide important information about our interactions with others. In addition, there is also evolutionary support for this theory. The 5 traits contain differences between individuals related to basic evolutionary functions such as survival and reproduction. According to Goldbert, people ask themselves 5 questions when it comes to their interaction with others:

  1. Is X active and dominant or passive and a follower?
  2. Is X agreeable?
  3. Can I rely on X?
  4. Is X crazy or stable?
  5. Is X smart or stupid?

All these evaluations have, directly or indirectly, something to do with survival and reproduction. They also correspond to the 5 character traits.

In English the dimensions can be remembered with the acronym OCEAN:

  1. Openness to Experience
  2. Conscientiousness
  3. Extraversion
  4. Agreblenessen
  5. Neuroticismtests have emerged from

Several personality tests have been inspired by this, such as the NEO-PI-R and the NEO-FFI. There are various comments on trait approaches to personality. Firstly, it is not clear whether they cause behavior or only describe behavior. Secondly, the theories have a low predictive validity.

 

 

The projective hypotheses

 

In projective tests, participants are offered unclear stimuli and must respond with their own constructions. The projective hypothesis states that personal interpretation of ambiguous stimuli reflects the subconscious needs, motives and conflicts of the participant. Projective tests must be able to derive underlying personality processes from this. They are categorized into association tests, construction tests, completion tests, and expression tests.

Association techniques

The best-known association test is the Rorschach test, in which participants see pictures with ink stains and have to say what they see in them. A system has been developed for this called the Rorschach Performance Assessment (R-PAS). It defines exactly how the test should be taken, scored and interpreted. Thus the test is well standardized. In addition, interrater correlations show that the test is reliable.

However, validity is questionable. One study found correlations between subscore complexity and coping skills and thus demonstrates the validity of the test. Others argue that formal scoring is nonsensical, and that the test is only good as an addition to a diagnostic interview. The answers can give insight into personal, illogical and strange associations.

In addition, there are also other valid scoring systems for the Rorschacht test. The Rorschach Prognostic Rating Scale (RPRS) has a complicated point system where points are given with good answers and deducted with bad answers. The RPRS indicates the final scores in terms of how successful a treatment will be.

The TDI is especially useful in patients with mental disorder, ranging from slightly confusing thoughts to bizarre, schizophrenic disorganization. The TDI scores the answers to how strange and incoherent they are.

In spite of its extensive scoring systems, the Rorschach test is very controversial. In 1980, researchers conducted a study into susceptibility to faking. Informed and uninformed students, who pretended to have schizophrenia, were compared to persons who actually had schizophrenia. It turned out that the informed students were diagnosed more often than the real patients (72 versus 48 percent) and 42% of the uninformed students were diagnosed. The test was once developed for children, but is now mainly used in adults.

Completion techniques

In sentence-completion, participants receive 40-100 stems consisting of unfinished sentences and have to complete them. These sentences may contain certain themes that are thus unconsciously described. The tests can be scored subjectively and qualitatively as well as objectively and quantitatively.

The Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (RISB) is for high school students, students and adults. In the objective scores, each answer receives a score of 0 (positive addition) to 6 (negative addition). The reliability is good, even for people with little psychological knowledge. The validity is also good, because a certain cut-off score seems to predict the possible pathology of the participant.

A problem is, as with other self-reports, that you only find out what the client wants you to know and a single score can never include the nuances of personal functioning.

Construction techniques

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) consists of 30 images on different topics and themes. The images are in black and white and one is blank. Some images are only used for a particular target group, such as adult, adult, male, female or a combination of these.

20 images exist for each target group. The participant must then tell a story about what happens on the image. It is often seen that certain themes recur in the stories. These recurring themes then say something about the person. There are many scoring systems, but usually it comes down to the qualitative interpretation of the test taker. The fact that there is no standardized way makes it possible that this test can only be used as a supplement. It is difficult to say anything about psychometric characteristics of this test because there are so many scoring systems. In general, the TAT has a low test-retest reliability (.28). In addition, client's answers are often interpreted intuitively and subjectively and this can quickly lead to over-diagnosis. The test has been extensively used for research purposes.

The Picture Projective Test (PPT) was an improvement on the TAT, because other images were used that are less obscure and depressing. The images used for this had to meet 4 criteria:

  • The image had to promise a meaningful projective material.
  • Most, but not all, images had to contain more than one human character.
  • Approximately half of the images had to show positive affective expressions in the persons depicted.
  • Approximately half of the images had to contain people who move and are not simply sitting or lying down.

It also appeared that the participants tell more positive stories at the PPT. In addition, the PPT puts more emphasis on interpersonal themes instead of intra-personal themes and therefore also more emphasis on healthy personality adjustment.

Compared with the TAT, the PPT was better at distinguishing between psychotic patients and normal / depressive participants. However, there must be more research into the psychometric qualities of this test.

For children there is the Children's Apperception Test (CAT). This test consists of 10 plates and is suitable for children between 3 and 10 years. The images are animals in a typical human setting (CAT-A). The idea behind this is that children can identify better with animals than with people. A version with people (CAT-H) is available for older children. There is no fixed way for scoring and there is no statistical information about validity and reliability. The diagnosis is made on the basis of 10 variables that are included in each story:

  1. Main theme
  2. Main hero
  3. Main needs and drives for hero
  4. Conception of environment
  5. Perception of parental, contemporary and junior figures
  6. Conflicts
  7. Anxieties
  8. Defenses
  9. Adequacy or superego
  10. Integration of ego.

Other variants of the TAT have also been developed for ethnic, race and language minorities. The T-TAT is suitable for African-Americans, but there were unintentional changes in facial expressions and situations that make it a new version of the TAT.

The TEMAS is intended for Spanish-American people and consists of 23 colorful images. The test contains 18 cognitive functions, 9 personality functions and 7 affective functions as a theme. Through this test you can also measure various objective indexes such as reaction time. The test does have inconsistent reliability and validity.

Expression techniques

In these tests, the participants are asked to make a drawing. At the DAP you are asked to draw a person. The interpretation is entirely intuitive by the examiner. Thereby, this test is poorly supported empirically. The House-Tree-Person test (HTP) asks the participant to draw a house, tree and person. When interpreting the drawings, the house must represent home life, the tree represents the experience of the environment and

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Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Chapters 10-12

Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Chapters 10-12

How does neuropsychological assessment and screening work? - Chapter 10

Topic 10A Neurobiological Concepts and Behavior Assessment

The Human Brain

The brain is the best protected organ in the body. It is first protected by the skull. Then through meninges, three membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. In the brain, the ventricles are filled with cerebrospinal fluid. This is a liquid that is constantly produced and refreshed and serves as protection for the brain. The brain literally floats up here and is protected against blows and dehydration. The ventricles are four hollow, connected chambers in the middle of the brain. It may be that the aqueduct leaving the 3rd or 4th ventricle becomes too small. This can be a problem from birth or develop throughout adulthood. This condition is known as hydrocephalus or water head. The pressure then becomes too large in the brain. In children it can cause the ventricles to grow and the brain is eventually pressed against the skull. Untreated, this can lead to mental retardation or premature death. Fortunately, it is easy to treat the excess liquid through a shunt to drain.

When the brain is surrounded by the liquid, it weighs about 1.5 kilos. The brain consists of 5 elements: gray matter, white matter, glial cells, cerebrospinal fluid, and the blood vessels that supply the brain with oxygen and nutrients.

The brain constantly needs oxygen and glucose through blood. The blood is transported through a circular network of arteries called the circle of Willis. This network ensures that the brain is constantly supplied with blood. When one gets older it can happen that one of the arteries becomes silted up by fatty plaques. Then oxygen is missing and an infarct occurs, which is a kind of stroke or cerebrovascular accident. One can also develop later multi-infarct dementia , which is the result of an accumulation of small infarcts over a number of years. It can also happen that a blood vessel breaks open and the blood immediately splashes into the brain tissue, this is called arterial rupture.

Structures and systems of the brain

We begin with the overview of the brain at the cerebrum, consisting of a left and right hemisphere. These are connected by the corpus callosum, a large bundle of neurons that transmit information from both hemispheres. This has been discovered by researchers who have investigated 'split-brain patients' whose corpus callosum has been cut. They found that the hemisphere on the one side was not aware of the visual information in the other hemisphere.

These patients have been extensively studied for hemispheric specialization studies. A lot has also become clear from research on people who have no corpus callosum since birth, this is called ACC: agenesis of the corpus callosum. Here, too, you see that verbal expression is often emotionless and / or inappropriate. The cerebrum develops from an evolutionary perspective as the last part of the brain. This is the place where thoughts, imagination, assessment and decision-making take place.

The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the brain and is the source of the highest levels of sense, motor and cognitive processes. It consists of bulges, called gyri (singular gyrus), and of grooves called sulci (sulcus). This has the aim of surface enlargement and thus more information transfer. The cortex consists of four lobes: the frontal lobe is responsible for motor control, the parietal lobe is responsible for processing sensation and other somatosensory information, the occipital lobe is responsible for visual perception, and the temporal lobe is responsible for processing auditory information. Of course, the lobes have many other functions and they also work together a lot.

Survival systems: the rhinoceros and midbrain

The rhinoceros is the lowest part of the brain, located in the top of the spinal cord. It contains vital body functions. The lowest part is the medulla responsible for essential life functions such as breathing, swallowing and blood pressure. Damage to the medulla is usually fatal to a person. When a small stroke occurs and the person survives, the following symptoms are often visible: paralysis on the opposite side, partial loss of sensation of pain and temperature, clumsiness, dizziness, partial loss of the gag reflex, paralysis on the same side and atrophy of the tongue.

Higher up are the pons and the cerebellum. Together they are responsible for coordination of muscles, body posture, and hand and eye movements.

Above the hindbrain is the midbrain, which contains nuclei for many cranial nerves. Of these 12 nerves, some are explicit sensory, some only motoric and others both. These are mainly sensory basic functions and movements that the nerves take care of.

Attention systems

Attention is a kind of searchlight that identifies what is relevant to us and ignores what is irrelevant. It is a primitive, automatic cognitive system that is essential for survival. There are different types of attention:

  • Orienting attention is related to the fight / flight reflex. All attention is directly focused on imminent danger.
  • Selective attention includes the identification of a single, personally relevant stimulus in a rich environment, such as hearing your name.
  • Distributed attention includes the ability to switch between multiple tasks.
  • Consistent attention includes holding attention for a longer time.

There are no precise neurological systems for attention in the brain. It requires a collaboration of multiple brain sites. The reticular formation is a network of neurons from the spinal cord to the thalamus, responsible for general arousal or consciousness. Selective attention seems to be happening here. Part of the reticular formation is also known as the reticulate activating system. This system has to do with drowsiness, sedation and coma.

Motor / coordination systems

Three areas are important for motor control. The cerebellum is located under the cerebrum, at the back of the brain. It coordinates muscles, posture and eye movements. The cerebellum receives sensory information from the whole body and automatically coordinates learned movements. The cerebellum also provides the vestibuloocular reflex, keeping the eyes focused on a target while the head is moving. Damage in the cerebellum can, in addition to motor disruptions, also cause dysarthria, unclear and hesitant speech.

The basal ganglia consists of several nuclei and has connections with the cortex and thalamus. The most important parts of the basal ganglia are the caudate, the putamen and the globus pallidus. The structures of the basal ganglia are connected with the subthalamus nucleus and substantia nigra. Together with the cerebellum, the corticospinal system, and motor nuclei in the brainstem the basal ganglia participates in the control of movements. The basal ganglia has indirect motor functions because it is not in direct contact with the spinal cord. Damage to the basal ganglia can lead to Parkinson's disease: Involuntary movements, slow movements and changes in posture. In addition, Parkinson's patients also have deficiencies in cognitive functioning.

The cells in the motor cortex are for a large part contralateral: the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body and vice versa. The cells send voluntary motor movements. This part is located on the precentral gyrus on the frontal lobe.

Memory systems

There are different ways to distinguish memory:

  • Episodic vs. semantic memory: memory for personal events and experiences versus general knowledge.
  • Working memory vs. associative memory: the use of information that we only need temporarily for memories that come to mind because of certain stimuli.
  • Declarative vs. procedural memory: the 'what' in the memory versus the 'how' in the memory.
  • Explicit vs. implicit memory: directly and clearly accessible to difficult-to-access memories.
  • Short term vs. long-term memory: reminders that are stored up to a maximum of a few minutes against memories that have been stored for hours to years.

Many brain areas work together in memory processes, but especially the hippocampus and amygdala are important for consolidating memories to long-term memory. Studies have shown that different areas are responsible for different memory systems. For example, the procedural memory is probably regulated by the cerebellum.

Limbic system

This is a centrally located brain network under the cortex and is involved in survival drives and emotions. It has strong connections with memory areas. In addition, pleasure centers are located here. Which parts of the brain belong to this system is not entirely clear because we actually know very little about this system. In any case, the hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus, mammilary bodies and the fornix are listed below.

Another component is the hypothalamus, which is involved in body regulation and emotional behavior. Damage to this part can cause a disrupted pituitary gland, because it has strong connections with it, so the diet can change (lots of food and drink). Damage can also cause sleep problems; excessive sleep or the inability to sleep. The hypothalamus also regulates things such as blood pressure, diet, sexual behavior and the sleep / wake rhythm.

Language functions and cerebral lateralization

Language functions are mainly found in the left hemisphere. Because many areas work together, almost every damage in the left hemisphere will bring language defects. In the left premotor area is the area of ​​Broca. People with damage here can suffer from Broca's aphasia: they can hardly understand spoken or written language. People suffering from Wernicke's aphasia, on the other hand, have difficulty with the underlying meaning of words, while they can still perceive and produce them. These patients often have damage to the left temporal lobe. However, it must always be remembered that the entire brain is active in language functions, such as speech.

Geschwind proposed a model that described in which way the areas in the left hemisphere have language functions. It shows that damage to Broca's area causes slow speech; language comprehension remains unaffected. Damage to Wernicke's area causes greatly reduced language comprehension. Damage to the angular gyrus causes serious reading problems, but not in the understanding of speech. Damage in the auditory cortex causes problems in verbal understanding, but patients can speak and read normally.

The right hemisphere is dominant for analyzing geometrical and visual spaces, understanding and expression of emotion, processing music and non-verbal sounds, production of non-verbal and spatial memories and recognition of complex forms. Damage can lead to construct dyspraxia: inability to recognize spatial relationships.

Visual system

The most important sensory areas for vision are located in the occipital lobe. Here, too, there is contralateralisation, the information comes together via the splenium located in the corpus callosum. Damage in the association areas (which are more to the front) of the occipital lobe can lead to visual agnosia: the difficulty of recognizing drawings, objects or faces. This is especially the case with damage on the right side. Patients with prosopagnosia can no longer recognize faces of people they know. The association areas ensure that meaning is given to the view. Visual agnosia occurs primarily in damage to the right side of the occipital lobe, but may also be related to damage to the temporal and parietal lobes.

Executive functions

These functions provide the ability to respond to new situations in a well-adapted way. This includes:

  • Volition: capacity for intentional behavior.
  • Planning: recognizing and executing steps that lead to a goal.
  • Purposive actions: take action and maintain it in a neat way.
  • Effective performance: constantly monitoring activities on the set goals and changing strategies when necessary.

Executive functioning activity is mainly found in the frontal areas. These are essential for programming, regulation, verification and motor execution of executive functions. Implementing a plan requires a manipulation of the environment, which must be planned by the primary motor cortex, which sits in the back of the frontal lobe. The additional motor cortex involved in motor programs is the series of complex motor operations.

Damage in the motor cortex causes fine motor problems on the contralateral side of the body. Damage in the frontal cortex can cause problems in motivation, mental changes, regulation of behavior and self-awareness.

Few test instruments are sensitive to measuring executive functions. The tests often measure what a person knows, while the reactions often change because of the damage.

Because of the irregularly shaped skull the skull, the forward underside surfaces of the frontal lobes was prone to damage when someone sustained head injury. The front of the temporal lobes is also susceptible to this.

Neuropathology in adult and aging

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be anything from a concussion to a serious brain injury. A concussion includes a brief loss of consciousness, followed by headaches, loss of concentration, vagueness, irritability and other emotional symptoms. A 'closed head injury' is a broader term for traumatic brain damage and often involves severe limitations. The damage can also penetrate other parts of the brain. With an open head injury, the skull is also cracked. The damage to the brain is often only on the spot or near where the skull has burst.

The most common complaints are concentration and memory problems. That is also the reason why they always occur in tests.

In addition, a brain tumor in the brain can also cause various effects. It depends on the location, size and growth rate of the tumor which effects it has. Gliomas are tumors from the glial cells that grow rapidly and meningiomas are slow-growing tumors that press on the brain that originate from the membranes. Tumors are cells that mutate and thus originate from cells that our body already has.

Chronic alcohol abuse can result in neural destruction in the dendrites, especially in the areas important for memory. This can cause amnesia that is also called the disease of Korsakoff, this is mainly due to vitamin deficiency. Affected people mainly have anterograde amnesia. It was found in a study that the brain volume of alcoholics increased after 6-7 weeks without drinking. It was not much, but it did provide hopeful conclusions for interventions.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus is a condition in which the cerebrospinal fluid increases. This can cause symptoms such as incontinence and dementia. This often makes it mistaken for other diseases, such as Alzheimer's, while NPH is easily remedied with a catheter that removes the abundant fluid.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by a degeneration of the brain and is the most common form of dementia. Characteristics of the brain are then a reduction of neurons, the shrinking or atrophy of the brain, reduction of acetylcholine transmitters involved in memory and an accumulation in the cerebral vasculature. Plaques and tangles arise. There are many symptoms of dementia. In addition, many normal functions such as language or motor skills are deteriorating more and more quickly. It also happens often that the personality changes.

Vascular dementia is often the result of stroke and is the second most common cause of dementia. This usually happens at once, but sometimes several small strokes can cause a multi-infarct dementia. The symptoms of a stroke are motor weakness, reduced sensation in the body and loss of consciousness. On the basis of a test called MID, a distinction can be made between Alzheimer's and this.

Parkinson's disease occurs in 2 out of 1,000 elderly people. It is primarily a motor disorder, but there are also often cognitive and emotional problems. Tremor is the most common symptom and includes vibrating and shocking movements that can not be stopped.

Behavioral assessment of neuropathology

The mental status of examinations (MSE) is a separate interview that precedes other forms of assessment. Its purpose is to provide an accurate description of the psychological functioning of the patient. The psychologist examines the important areas of personal and intellectual functioning in search of symptoms of psychopathology. It concerns: orientation, memory, thoughts, feelings and judgments.

Another way is to have behavioral scales filled in by acquaintances of the patient. The Behavioral and Psychological Assessment of Dementia (BPAD) is a measurement scale that measures dementia-related changes in behavior among the over-30s. This is done for the last four weeks and five years ago, so that a current, past and a change score can be given. The scores are scored in 7 domains divided over three clusters: psychological, behavior, and biological symptoms.

The Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe) has been specially developed to measure symptoms of frontal brain damage. Subscales include apathy, disinhibition and executive dysfunction. This simple, short scale is a good measuring instrument for patients who have symptoms of frontal damage due to different neurodegenerative disorders.

Subject 10B Neuropsychological tests, test batteries and screening tools

Model of brain-behavior relationships

Bennett has developed a simplified model that is useful for the organization of neuropsychological tests. Each test considers one of the following categories:

  1. Sensory reception
  2. Attention and concentration
  3. Learning and memory
  4. a) Left hemisphere: language, linear thinking; b) Right hemisphere: visual space, holistic thinking
  5. Executive functions
  6. Motor output

Executive functions that are tested include logical analysis, concept formation, reasoning, planning, flexibility of thinking.

The order in which the categories are given is roughly the order in which incoming information is processed in the brain. It is important to remember that multiple

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Summary - Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen - Chapter 1 & 2
Practice questions - Psychological Testing and Assessment - Van der Molen
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