| Abstract: | Although psychodiagnosis is rejected by many psychologists, a rational case can be made for its preservation. Diagnosis may be viewed as a special instance of the general logical problem of causation. The history and systematics of diagnosis suggest that its practice requires special aptitudes including the ability to think inductively. There are levels of diagnosis, proceeding from symptom to pathology to etiology. Psychological aids to diagnosis, such as tests, are of greatest value when addressed to the 2nd and 3rd levels those of pathology and etiological context. Automated and computerized programs of diagnosis and interpretation can help clarify the infrastructure of a diagnostic problem, but by themselves cannot maintain the tradition of diagnostic thinking to which psychology can and should contribute. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
