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Psychopathology

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Abnormal Behavior, Not the result of any singular cause but an interaction of many factors.

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Abnormal Psychology

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An area of scientific study that attempts to describe, explain, predict, and modify behaviors that are considered strange or unusual.

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Systematic Observations by an Attentive Professional

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The first step to understanding a particular case of abnormal behavior. Become raw material for psychodiagnosis.

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Psychodiagnosis

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An attempt to describe, assess, and systematically draw inferences about an individual's psychological disorder.

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Therapy

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A program of systematic intervention designed to improve a client's behavioral, emotional, and/or cognitive state. Abnormal behavior may be modified through this.

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Abnormal Behavior

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Behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that reflects underlying dysfunctions that are associated with distress or disability.

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Deviance

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Most closely related to using a statistical average.

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Statistical Criteria

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Equate normality with those behaviors that occur and most frequently in the population.

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Abnormality

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Defined in terms of those behaviors of those behaviors that occur least frequently.

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Social Norms and Behavioral Standards

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Far from static and cannot be considered absolute.

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Disorientation

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Confusion with regard to identity, place, or time.

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Hallucinations

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False impressions-either pleasant or unpleasant- that involve the senses.

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Delusions

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False beliefs steadfastly held by the individual despite contradictory objective evidence.

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Delusion of Grandeur

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Belief that one is an exalted personage, such as Jesus Christ or Joan of Arc.

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Emotional Problems

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Can interfere with the performance, resulting in dysfunction which may be used as an indicator of abnormality.

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Multicultural Perspective

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If deviations from the majority are considered abnormal, then many ethnic and racial minorities who show strong cultural differences from the majority could be classified as abnormal.

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Prevalence

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Indicates the percentage of people in the population who suffer from a disorder at a given point in time.

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Lifetime Prevalence

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The percentage of people in the population who have had a disorder at some point in their life.

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Incidence

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The onset of occurrence of a given disorder over some period of time.

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Beginning of Mental Disorders

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Mental disorders begin early in life.

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Two-thirds of People with Diagnosable Mental Disorders

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Are not receiving or seeking mental health service.

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Biopsychosocial Model

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Model of mental disorders in which disorders are the result of an interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors.

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Trephining

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Stone age treated for behavior disorders in which part of the skull was chipped away to allow an evil spirit to escape.

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Exocism

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Used by early Greeks, Chinese, Hebrews and Egyptians. Included the use of flogging and starvation to cast out an evil spirit.

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Hippocrates

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Believed that, because the brain was the central organ of intellectual activity, deviant behavior was caused by brain dysfunction or disease of the brain.

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Pope Innocent VIII

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Issued papal decree in 1484 calling on the clergy to identify and exterminate witches.

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Renaissance

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Led to great advances in science and humanism.

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Humanism

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A philosophical movement that emphasizes human welfare and the worth and uniqueness of the individual.

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Spirituality

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The animating life force that is inclusive of religion and speaks to the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to the transcendent state.

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Religion vs. Spirituality

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Religion is narrower, involving a specific doctine and particular system of beliefs.

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Moral Treatment Movement

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A shift to more humane treatment of the mentally disturbed.

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Biological or Organic View

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The belief that mental disorders have a physical or psychological basis.

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Psychological View

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The belief that mental disorders are caused by psychological and emotional factors rather than organic or biological ones.

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Emotional Disorders

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Some scientists noted that certain types of emotional disorders were not associated with any organic disease; this led to the psychological view.

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Mesmer

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Developed a highly controversial treatment that came to be called mesmerism and that was the forerunner of the modern practice of hypnotism.

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Josef Breuer

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Discovered a technique that became known as the cathartic method.

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Cathartic Method

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A therapeutic use of verbal expression to release pent-up emotional conflicts.

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Freud and Breuer

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Freud used Breuer's method in psychoanalysis.

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Psychoanalysis

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An intrapsychic explanation of abnormal psychology.

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Behaviorism

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More firmly rooted in laboratory science.

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Behavioristic Perspective

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Stressed the importance of directly observable behaviors and the condition or stimuli that reinforced them.

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Major Effect on Disorders

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How we are raised, the our instilled values, and how we are expected to behave in roles seem to have a major effect on the type of disorder we are most likely to exhibit.

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Introduction of Psychiatric Drugs

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Occurring in the 1950s considered by mental health professionals as one of the great medical advances of the twentieth century.

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Managed Health Care

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Refers to the industrialization of health care, whereby large organizations in the private sector control the deliver of mental health services.

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Etiology

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The study of what causes disorders.

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4 One Dimensional Models

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Used in explaining mental disorders: biological, pyschological, social, and sociocultural.

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Model

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An analogy used by scientists to describe a phenomenon or process that they can directly observe.

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Multipath Model

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Not a theory but a way at looking at the variety and complexity of contributors to mental disorders.

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Biological Factors

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Deal with the brain.

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Neurons

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Nerve Cells that transmit messages throughout the body; billions exist in the brain.

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Dendrites

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Numerous short rootlike structures whose function is to receive signals from other neurons.

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Axon

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Sends signals to other neurons.

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Minute Gap (Synapse)

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Exists between the axon of the sending neuron and the dendrites of the receiving neuron.

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Neurotransmitters

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Chemical substances released by the axon that cross the synapse to the dendrites of another neuron.

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Genetic Makeup

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Research shows that it plays an important role in the development of certain abnormal conditions.

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Biological Inheritance

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Transmitted through genes.

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Genotype

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A person's genetic makeup.

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Phenotype

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Interaction between the genotype and the environment results in this. The observable physical and behavioral characteristics.

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Psychopharmacology

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The study of the effects of drugs on the mind and on behavior; also known as medication or drug therapy.

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Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

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Can be used to treat certain mental disorders; the application of electric voltage to the brain to induce convulsions.

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Psychosurgery

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Brain surgery performed for the purpose correcting a severe mental disorder; became increasingly popular in the 1940s and 50s.

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Diathesis-Stress Theory

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Holds that it is not a particular abnormality that is inherited but rather a predisposition to develop illness(diathesis).

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Stressors

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Environment forces that may activate a predisposition to a particular disorder.

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2 Features of Psychodynamic Models

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1. View disorders as the result of childhood trauma or anxieties. 2. Hold that many childhood-based anxieties operate unconsciously because they are too threatening and have been repressed by ego-protection strategies.

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Instincts

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Give rise to our thoughts and actions and fuel their expression.

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Psychodynamic and Personality Development

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Five psychosecual states, each of which brings a unique challenge; if unfavorable circumstances prevail the personality may be drastically affected.

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3 Goals of Psychoanalysis

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1. Uncover repressed material. 2. Help clients achieve insight into their inner motivations and desires. 3. Resolve childhood conflicts that affect current relationships.

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Behavior Models

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Concerned with the role of learning in abnormal behavior.

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Operant Behavior

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A voluntary and uncontrollable behavior such as walking or thinking that operates on an individual's environment.

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Operant Conditioning Theory

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Holds that behaviors are controlled by the consequences that follow them.

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Observational Learning Theory

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Suggests that an individual can acquire new behaviors simply by watching other people perform them.

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Vicarious Conditioning/Modeling

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The process of learning by observing models (and later imitating them).

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Cognitive Models

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Based on the assumption that conscious thought mediates, or modifies, an individual's emotional state and/or behavior in response to a stimulus. People create their own problems.

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Cognitive Theories

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Argue that modifying thoughts and feelings is essential to changing behavior. How someone interprets events affects their reactions and behavior.

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Schema

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Set of underlying assumptions heavily influenced by a person's experiences, values, and perceived capabilities. Effects how a person interprets events.

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Humanistic Perspective

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A positive view of the individual.

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Humanistic Approach

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Concerned with helping people actualize their potential and with bettering the state of humanity.

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Self-Actualization

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An inherent tendency to strive toward the realization of one's full potential.

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Rogers

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Believed that is people were left unencumbered by societal restrictions and were allowed to grow and develop freely the result would be fully functioning people.

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Unconditional Positive Regard

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Environmental condition most suitable for growth of "Roger's humanistic perspective."

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Existential Approach

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Has humanistic emphasis of unique individuals, and quest for meaning of life, freedom and responsibility. Has a phenomenological approach (understanding a person's subjective world) and a belief that positive attributes are eventually expressed unless they are distorted by the environment.

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Family Systems Model

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Assumes that the behavior of one family member directly affects the entire family system.

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Couples Therapy

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Between married and unmarried couples. Helps couples understand and clarify their relationships.

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Group Therapy

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Focus on interrelationships and the dynamics of interaction among members; allows each clients to become involved in a social situation and to see how his or her behavior affects others.

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Assessment

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Critical in the mental health field. Therapists collect and organize information about a person's current condition and past history. Tools of assessment: observations, interviews, psychological and neurological tests.

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Reliability and Validity

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Critical in assessment tools and classification systems.

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Reliability

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The degree to which a procedure or test-such as an evaluation tool or classification scheme-yields the same results repeatedly under the same circumstances.

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Test-retest Reliability

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Determines whether a measure yields the same results when given to an individual at 2 different points in time.

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Internal Consistency

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Another measure of reliability; requires that various parts of a measure yield similar or consistent results.

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Interrater Reliability

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Determines consistency of responses when different raters administer the measure.

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Validity

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Extent to which a test or procedure actually performs the function is was designed to perform.

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Predictive Validity

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Refers to the ability of a test or measure to predict or foretell how a person will behave.

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Criterion-related Validity

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Determines whether a measure is related to the phenomenon in question.

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Construct Validity

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Involves a series of tasks with one common theme: all are designed to test whether a measure is related to certain phenomena that are empirically or theoretically related to that measure.

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Content Validity

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Refers to the degree to which a measure is represented of the phenomenon being measured.

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Conditions of Test Administration

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Reliability and validity are influenced by the conditions under which a test is administered.

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Standardization

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Requires that those who administer a test strictly follow common rules or procedures.

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Standardization Sample

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The group of people who originally took the measure and whose performance is used as a standard or norm.

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Assessment

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Involves gathering information and drawing conclusions about the traits, skills abilities, emotional functioning and psychological problems of the individual. The information is used in developing a diagnosis.

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Assessment Tools

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Allow data to be collected so that psychologists can conduct meaningful research, develop theories, and evaluate psychotherapy.

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Controlled (or analogue) Observations

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Occur in a laboratory, clinic, or other contrived (artificial) setting.

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Naturalistic Observations

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Made in a natural setting-schoolroom, office, hospital ward, or home-rather than a laboratory.

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Clinical Interview

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A time-honored means of psychological assessment. It allows the therapist to observe the client and collect data about the person's life history, current situation, and personality.

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Mental Status Examination

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Widely used interview procedure with the intent of evaluating the client's cognitive, psychological, and behavioral functioning by means of questions, observations, and tasks posed to the client.

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Psychological Tests and Inventories

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Standardized instruments that are used to assess characteristics of the individual including personality, maladaptive behavior, social skills, intellectual abilities, vocational interests, and cognitive impairment.

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Projective Personality Test

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The test taker is presented with ambiguous stimuli , inkblots, pictures, or incomplete sentences, and asked to respond to them in some way.

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Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

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A projective personality test developed in 1935. It consists of 30 pictures, mostly depicting 2 people. Their poses and actions are vague and ambiguous enough to be open to different interpretations.

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Self-report Inventories

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Requires test takers to answer specific written questions or to select specific responses from a list of alternative-usually self-descriptive statements.

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Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

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Perhaps the most widely used self-report personality inventory.

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MMPI-2

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Participants are asked to indicate whether each statement is true or false as it applies to them.

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Intelligence Testing

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Inteneded to obtain an estimate of a person's current level of cognitive functioning, results in score called an intelligence quocient(IQ).

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IQ

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Indicates an individual's level of performance relative to that of other people of the same age.

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Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

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Used for individuals ages 2-85. Complicated to use; requires training to used.

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Clinical Psychologists

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Especially those who work in the hospital setting are concerned with detecting and assessing cognitive impairment resulting from brain damage.

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WAIS-IV

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Individual intelligence test that can be used to detect brain damage impairments.

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Bender-Gestalt Visual-Motor Test

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One of the routine means of assessing cognitive impairment.

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Electroencephalograph (EEG)

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A widely used means of examining the brain.

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Goal of Having a Classification System

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To provide distinct categories, indicators, and nomenclature for different patterns of behavior, thought processes and emotional disturbances.

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Diagnostic Statistical Manuel (DSM)

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Widely used by mental health professionals. It lists all the officially designated mental disorders and the characteristics or symptoms needed to confirm diagnosis.

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Emil Kraepelin

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All DSMs are based off of his classification system. He believed that mental disorders were like physical disorders in that each had its own set of symptoms, course etiology, and treatment outcome.

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Comorbidity

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Refers to the co-occurrence of different disorders.

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"Unspecified" or "Not Otherwise Specified"

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Label used when symptoms do not clearly fit those specified by diagnostic category.

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