9
A Cognitive-Behatior
Modification Approach to
Assesment
Psychiatric patients suffer from a variety of disorders of
affect, cognition, and volition. A large number, if not the
majority, of papers published by psychologists do not deal
with these phenomena. Instead, they report upon the per-
formance, by psychiatric patients, Of a variety Of tasks
which might be described, without much loss Of accuracy,
as puzzles and indoor games. Examples are such tests as the
pursuit rotor, the mirror drawing test, the block design test,
the Rorschach test and the Thematic Apperception Test.
—SHAPIRO AND RAVENETTE, 1959
Although one may disagree with Shapiro and Ravenette's
evaluation of the various tests cited, their quote does sen-
sitize us to the need to develop more explicit ways of assess-
ing our client's affects, cognitions, and volitions. The pres-
ent chapter conveys some preliminary attempts at
developing this assessment armamentarium, which follow
from a cognitive-behavioral treatment approach. Specif-
ically, the present chapter has two purposes. The first is to
examine various assessment strategies that have been em-
ployed to study psychological deficits. This analysis indi-
cates some shortcomings and an alternative, namely a
D. Meichenbaum, Cognitive-Bebavior Modification
O Springer Science+Business Media Ne.v York 1977
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