LSP Psychological Assessment & Evaluation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A practitioner uses the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5). Which is its PRIMARY advantage over an unstructured clinical interview?
- It is faster to administer
- It improves diagnostic reliability by standardizing questions (Correct answer)
- It eliminates the need for collateral information
- It provides norm-referenced scores
Correct answer: It improves diagnostic reliability by standardizing questions
The SCID-5 uses standardized questions and decision trees that enhance inter-rater reliability when making DSM-5 diagnoses.
Question 2: On the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV), the Processing Speed Index is MOST sensitive to deficits related to which condition?
- Major depressive disorder
- Antisocial personality disorder
- Traumatic brain injury (Correct answer)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Correct answer: Traumatic brain injury
Processing Speed is particularly sensitive to the cognitive slowing that commonly follows traumatic brain injury due to disrupted neural efficiency.
Question 3: A standard error of measurement (SEM) of 3 points on an IQ test is used to construct a confidence interval. What is the 95% confidence interval around a score of 100?
- 94–106 (Correct answer)
- 97–103
- 91–109
- 88–112
Correct answer: 94–106
A 95% CI uses approximately ±1.96 SEMs; 1.96 × 3 ≈ 5.88 ≈ 6, yielding a range of 94–106.
Question 4: Which assessment approach involves comparing a client's performance to their own prior functioning rather than to a normative group?
- Criterion-referenced assessment
- Norm-referenced assessment
- Ipsative assessment (Correct answer)
- Ecological assessment
Correct answer: Ipsative assessment
Ipsative assessment compares a person's scores to their own mean performance across scales rather than to an external normative sample.
Question 5: A clinician assessing for PTSD uses the PCL-5. Which cutoff score is commonly used to indicate probable PTSD for research purposes?
- 20
- 31–33 (Correct answer)
- 45
- 50
Correct answer: 31–33
A PCL-5 score of 31–33 is the commonly recommended range for a provisional PTSD diagnosis in research and clinical screening contexts.
Question 6: The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-RF (MMPI-2-RF) differs from the MMPI-2 in that it:
- Uses 567 items instead of 338
- Is based on a hierarchical model with fewer, more precise scales (Correct answer)
- Eliminates all validity scales
- Requires administration by a licensed psychiatrist only
Correct answer: Is based on a hierarchical model with fewer, more precise scales
The MMPI-2-RF uses 338 items organized into a hierarchical structure with Higher-Order, Restructured Clinical, Specific Problems, Interest, and PSY-5 scales for more targeted interpretation.
Question 7: When a child's performance on the Conners Rating Scale significantly differs between parent and teacher reports, a psychologist should FIRST:
- Discard the teacher report as less valid
- Average the two scores for the final interpretation
- Consider situational variability as a clinically meaningful finding (Correct answer)
- Re-administer the scale under standardized laboratory conditions
Correct answer: Consider situational variability as a clinically meaningful finding
Discrepant informant reports often reflect genuine context-specific differences in behavior that carry diagnostic significance, such as ADHD symptoms manifesting more in one setting.
LSP Psychological Assessment & Evaluation 3
A practitioner uses the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5).
Which is its PRIMARY advantage over an unstructured clinical interview?