Analyzing Self-Report Tools in Psychology

The first self-reporting tool we’re going to talk about is the Beck Depression Inventory, which— you guessed it!—is for people who might have depression. It has you (or whoever’s taking the test) rate your answers to depression-related questions on a scale of 0-3, with higher numbers meaning more severe depression. As an example, a question might look like, “Are you sad recently?” With responses that look like:  0 - I am usually not sad. 1 - I feel sad most of the time. 2 - I feel sad all the time. 3 - I am so sad that I can’t stand it. When you’re done, the scores get added up and the total serves as a rough idea of how depressed you might be. With only twenty-one questions, the Beck Depression Inventory is certainly quick and easy to take, and it’s free! However, it’s not the most accurate test. Depression symptoms can vary wildly from one person to the next, and the Beck Depression Inventory is totally reliant on the test-taker being honest. If they decide to lie—say, if they do...

Where the Beck Depression Inventory is quick, easy, and free, but also susceptible to misinformation and deception on the part of the person taking it, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (or MMPI) is in many ways the exact opposite. With several hundred questions, the MMPI leaves no stone unturned in its search for the true state of one’s mental health, and it can be useful for identifying a wide variety of mental health disorders, not just depression! It’s also really good at finding out when the test-taker is lying about their symptoms—in a 2023 study, Dr. Tilbe Ambrose (et. al.) found that the MMPI could distinguish between people who had a disorder and people who were coached to fake the disorder with over 90% accuracy! Unfortunately, the MMPI can take several hours to complete, and it isn’t free, so it’s not a tool you can easily use at home. A therapist or other mental health professional might recommend it and make the arrangements for it, but for better or for wors...

Two self-report assessments used to test for ADHD in adults are the Adult ADHD Rating Scale (ASRS) and the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS). In a study published in 2020 by Brevik (et. al.), these two psychometric tools were administered to adult subjects diagnosed with ADHD in order to compare and contrast their efficacy, strengths, and weaknesses. The sample was significant, as 646 subjects with confirmed ADHD and a control group of 908 subjects were administered the ASRS and the WURS. They found that both methods were highly accurate in identifying whether or not a participant had ADHD, though with a few slight differences. Since the WURS is more extensive and covers a wider breadth of symptoms, the results indicate that it is the more accurate tool for distinguishing specific traits and possible causes of an ADHD diagnosis. However, as is typical across all science, these questionnaires are no silver bullet for ADHD assessment. Memory biases and human recall can potentially provide ...

Social media and online psychology is an emerging area in our society today, and although the long-term effects of the internet are yet to be seen, there has been some research regarding self-diagnosis surveys and online self-report questionnaires. At a glance, it seems that social media and mental health interactions are something of a double-edged sword. One research article states that, Normalizing mental health disorders, such as anxiety, can have positive implications, such as making people feel more comfortable seeking help. However, the models examined here provide evidence that when people see a social media post that normalizes anxiety, they are more likely to identify with the person in the post, and thus are more likely to consider themselves as having an anxiety disorder. (Hasan et al., 2023) This parasocial effect, often seen with influencers who lean heavily into making their mental health struggles a core part of their online identity, can sometimes cause others viewing...

With social media becoming more prevalent than ever, it’s important to remember that not everything you see on the internet is accurate. Social media gives us a chance to connect with people all over the world and share our experiences with one another, normalizing and de-stigmatizing mental health disorders, and increasing the chances that those struggling with mental health disorders will seek help. However, the ease with which information or misinformation can be shared may also lead to increases in self-diagnosis, or self-misdiagnosis. It’s important to remember that if you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health disorder, the best course of action is always to seek help from a mental health professional. As we’ve explored, self-reporting tools, while useful, are not the same thing as a formal diagnosis from a mental health professional. The Beck Depression Inventory is valuable in determining how severe depressive symptoms are, but can’t detect lies in the patient’s...

UnEssay Proposal In our UnEssay, we’ll be discussing the uses and validity of several symptom self-reporting and diagnostic tools for depression, anxiety, and ADHD in the form of a series of blog posts. We’ll also discuss the effect of social media on self-diagnosis and self-identification in regards to the aforementioned mental health disorders, and offer our recommendation for what someone who might have one of these disorders (or someone close to a person who might have one of these disorders) should do to get an accurate assessment of their symptoms. Sources Utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 in Differentiating Genuine from Feigned Dissociative Identity Disorder Ambrose, T., Giarratano, K. J., McCue, M. L., Brand, B. L., & Dalenberg, C. J. (2023a). Utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic personality inventory-2 in differentiating genuine from feigned dissociative identity disorder. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://doi....