PSYC 392 - Exam 1 Study Guide
Thomas P. Ross, Ph.D.
General Considerations: Any material from lectures and reading is fair game for the exam. This guide is
provided to help students with essay questions and assigned reading material not discussed in class.
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Discuss the various roles that social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists fulfill in the multi-disciplinary
treatment of mental illness. What features/roles are unique to each profession? What roles are common
among these professions?
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Compare and contrast the different training models used in clinical psychology (e.g., the ScientistPractitioner or Boulder model, the Clinical Scientist model, and the Practitioner-Scholar or Vail model). For
example, how do the training models differ in the manner in which these prepare psychologists for various
work setting and professional activities? That is, to what degree are practitioner vs. research skills
emphasized or balanced in each type of program? Given which training goals are emphasized, what type of
qualities, credentials or experiences are needed to gain entry in each type of program? What type of
practical (e.g., financial) implications should one contemplate when deciding to apply to a program based on
these models of training?
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Compare and contrast the training experiences known as Practicum, Internship, and Fellowship. Describe
briefly the nature and the role of each experience during the graduate and professional training of clinical
psychologists. Be sure to comment on the whether each experience occurs early or late in one's training, is
part-time or full time, and the extent to which breadth vs. depth of training is given emphasis.
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What are the 3 major diagnostic objectives that must be addressed when using the DSM-5 system? Be
prepared to provide examples of the type of information that might be listed under each area/objective when
diagnosing patients.
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Compare and contrast the Categorical vs. Dimensional classification approaches to diagnosing disorders.
Describe what is meant by categorical vs dimensional classification. What assumptions are made when
using each approach and in what situations/settings is one approach typically used in favor of the other.
Also be familiar with the following terms and concepts:
• Compare/contrast the training and professional activities of clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists,
and school psychologists.
• The nature of a combined-professional scientific training program (e.g., Utah State University).
• The requirement and challenges associated with a doctoral program in clinical psychology and the nature of
post-graduate or post-doctoral training experiences.
• The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).
• The professional activities of community psychologist, neuropsychologist and health psychologists?
• The typical activities of a forensic psychologist (e.g., the different types of decisions they help courts make
based on their forensic evaluations). What factors are considered when forensic psychologists make
recommendations to court regarding predicting dangerousness, or make determinations about sanity/insanity
and competency to stand trial, civil commitment or child custody?
• What are some of the common misconceptions people have about the NGRI? What is the M’Naghten test?
• The organization of the DSM-5 system; what kinds of information are clinicians/diagnosticians required to
provide. How is this organization different from the DSM-IV-TR system?
• What diagnostic categories (i.e., disorders) are new to the DSM-5?
• What changes (e.g., models and/or new disorders) were proposed but not included in the DSM-5?
• What diagnostic categories (i.e., disorders) have been criticized for possible gender bias?
• As a general recommendation, be familiar with terms (and historical figures) printed in Bold typeface that
occur within the text, as well as “Key Terms” Summarized/listed at the end of each chapter.