Mental Status Examination Affect and Mood Affect: An individual’s outward expression of emotion.  Inappropriate  Restricted Range  Intensity  Blunted or Flat  Exaggerated, Heightened, or Overdramatic  Mobility (decreased/excessive)

Mental Status Examination Affect and Mood Mood: An individual’s personal experience of emotion. Euthymic = Neither happy nor sad Dysphoric = Unpleasant feelings Euphoric = Cheerful, elated, possibly even ecstatic

Motivation Motivational impairment can make even ordinary life tasks seem insurmountable. Mental Status Examination Sense of Self Disturbances of the individual’s sense of “who I am” include: depersonalization identity confusion

Cognitive Functioning: Level of intelligence evidence by details such as memory and abstract ability. Problems might include memory impairment associated with Alzheimer’s Insight and Judgment: Understanding and decision making. Mental Status Examination

Psychological Testing What Makes a Good Psychological Test? Validity Predictive Content Reliability Standardization

What is intelligence?

Verbal Thinking Are you a creative and skilled writer? Skilled reader? Are you a creative and skilled writer? Skilled reader? Spatial Skills Are you good at visualizing through verbal instructions? Blueprints? Are you good at visualizing through verbal instructions? Blueprints? Logical & Mathematical Skills Logical & Mathematical Skills Has math always come easy to you? Has math always come easy to you? Are you good at deductive reasoning or the use of logic? Are you good at deductive reasoning or the use of logic? Movement Skills Do have good fine motor coordination? Are you good in sports? Do have good fine motor coordination? Are you good in sports? Musical Skills Do you have an ear for music? Can you play a musical instrument well? Do you have an ear for music? Can you play a musical instrument well? Insightful Skills for Understanding Others Insightful Skills for Understanding Others Are you a people person? Do you get along well with just about everyone? Are you a people person? Do you get along well with just about everyone? Insightful Skills for Self-Understanding Are you well in touch with your thoughts and feelings? Are you well in touch with your thoughts and feelings? Howard Gardiner’s Theory of Multiple of Intelligences

How do we interpret IQ test results? Does a low score on an IQ test mean someone is not smart? –Factors that can affect test outcome besides IQ What do we make of differences in scores between different ethnic groups? –African-Americans (as a group) are not as smart as Caucasians and Asians –IQ tests are biased vs. certain groups –IQ tests predominantly measure academically-oriented skills. Groups with less access to learning these skills will do more poorly on IQ tests What about IQ tests that are supposed to be “Culture-free”?

Personality and Diagnostic Testing  MMPI and MMPI-2  NEO Personality Inventory  MCMI-III Self-Report Clinical Inventories contain standardized questions with fixed response categories that the test- taker completes, “self-reporting” the extent to which the responses characterize him or her.