question

ABAB Design

answer

An experimental design, often involving a single subject, wherein a baseline period (A) is followed by a treatment (B). To confirm that the treatment resulted in a change in behavior, the treatment is then withdrawn (A) and reinstated (B).

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Abnormal Psychology

answer

Field of psychology concerned with the study, assessment, treatment, and prevention of abnormal behavior.

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Acute

answer

Term used to describe a disorder of sudden onset, usually with intense symptoms (short in duration).

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Analogue Studies

answer

Studies in which a researcher attempts to emulate the conditions hypothesized as leading to abnormality.

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Bias

answer

Observer bias occurs when the researcher has preconceived ideas and expectations that influence the observations he or she makes in the research study.

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Case Study Method

answer

An in-depth examination of an individual or family that draws from a number of data sources, including interviews and psychological testing.

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Chronic

answer

Term used to describe a long-standing or frequently recurring disorder, often with progressing seriousness (long in duration).

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Comorbidity

answer

Occurrence of two or more identified disorders in the same psychologically disordered individual.

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Comparison or Control Group

answer

Group of subjects who do not exhibit the disorder being studied but who are comparable in all other respects to the criterion group. Also, a comparison group of subjects who do not receive a condition or treatment the effects of which are being studied.

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Correlation

answer

The tendency of two variables to change together. With positive correlation, as one variable goes up, so does the other; with negative correlation, one variable goes up as the other goes down.

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Correlational Method/Correlational Research

answer

A research strategy that examines whether and how variables go together (covary) without manipulating (changing) any variables.

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Correlation Coefficient

answer

A statistic that ranges from +1.0 to -1.0 and reflects the degree of association between two variables. The magnitude of the correlation indicates the strength of the association, and the sign indicates whether the correlation is positive or negative.

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Criterion Group

answer

Group of subjects who exhibit the disorder under study.

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Dependent Variable

answer

In an experiment, the factor that is observed to change with changes in the manipulated (independent) variables.

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Direct Observation

answer

Method of collecting research data that involves directly observing behavior in a given situation.

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Direction of Effect Problem

answer

Refers to the fact that, in correlational research, it cannot be concluded whether variable A causes variable B or whether variable B causes variable A.

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Double-Blind Study

answer

Often used in studies examining drug treatment effects, a condition where neither the subject nor the experimenter has knowledge about what specific experimental condition (or drug) the subject is receiving.

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Effect Size

answer

A statistical term referring to the strength of the relationship between two variables in a statistical population.

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Epidemiology

answer

Study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviors in a given population. Mental health epidemiology is the study of the distribution of mental disorders.

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Etiology

answer

Factors that are related to the development (or cause) of a particular disease.

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Experimental Research

answer

Research that involves the manipulation of a given factor or variable with everything else held constant.

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External Validity

answer

The extent to which the findings from a single study are relevant to other populations, contexts, or times.

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Family Aggregation

answer

The clustering of certain traits, behaviors, or disorders within a given family. Family aggregation may arise because of genetic or environmental similarities.

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Generalizability

answer

The extent to which the findings from a single study can be used to draw conclusions about other samples.

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Hypothesis

answer

Statement or proposition, usually based on observation, that is tested in an experiment; may be refuted or supported by experimental results but can never be conclusively proved.

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Incidence

answer

Occurrence (onset) rate of a given disorder in a given population.

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Independent Variable

answer

Factors whose effects are being examined and which is manipulated in some way, while other variables are held constant.

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Internal Validity

answer

The extent to which a study is free of confounds, is methodologically sound, and allows the researcher to have confidence in the findings.

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Labeling

answer

Assigning a person to a particular diagnostic category, such as schizophrenia.

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Lifetime Prevalence

answer

The proportion of living persons in a population who have ever had a disorder up to the time of the epidemiological assessment.

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Longitudinal Design

answer

A research design in which people are followed over time.

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Meta-Analysis

answer

A statistical method used to combine the results of a number of similar research studies. The data from each study are transformed into a common metric called the effect size. This allows the data from the various studies to be combined and then analyzed. You can think of a meta-analysis as being like research that you are already familiar with, except that the "participants" are individual research studies, not individual people.

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Negative Correlation

answer

A relationship between two variables such that a high score on one variable is associated with a low score on another variable.

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Nomenclature

answer

A formalized naming system.

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1-Year Prevalence

answer

The total number of cases of a health-related state or condition in a population for a given year.

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Placebo Treatment

answer

An inert pill or otherwise neutral intervention that produces desirable therapeutic effects because of the subject's expectations that it will be beneficial.

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Point Prevalence

answer

The number of cases of a specific condition or disorder that can be found in a population at one given point in time.

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Positive Correlation

answer

A relationship between two variables such that a high score on one variable is associated with a high score on another variable.

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Prevalence

answer

In a population, the proportion of active cases of a disorder that can be identified at a given point in time or during a given period.

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Prospective Research

answer

Method that often focuses on individuals who have a higher-than-average likelihood of becoming psychologically disordered before abnormal behavior is observed.

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Random Assignment

answer

A procedure used to create equivalent groups in which every research participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group in the study.

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Retrospective Research

answer

Research approach that attempts to retrace earlier events in the life of a subject.

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Sampling

answer

The process of selecting a representative subgroup from a defined population of interest.

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Self-Report Data

answer

Data collected directly from participants, typically by means of interviews or questionnaires.

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Single-Case Research Design

answer

An experimental research design (e.g., an ABAB design) that involves only one subject.

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Statistical Significance

answer

A measure of the probability that a research finding could have occurred by chance alone.

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Stereotyping

answer

The tendency to jump to conclusions (often negative) about what a person is like based on the beliefs about that group that exist (often incorrectly) in the culture (e.g., French people are rude, homosexuals have good taste in clothes, mental patients are dangerous, etc.).

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Stigma

answer

Negative labeling.

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Third Variable Problem

answer

Refers to the problem of making causal inferences in correlational research, where the correlation between two variables could be due to their shared correlation with an unmeasured third variable.

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Asylums

answer

Historically, these were institutions meant solely for the care of the mentally ill.

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Behavioral Perspective

answer

A theoretical viewpoint organized around the theme that learning is central in determining human behavior.

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Behaviorism

answer

School of psychology that formerly restricted itself primarily to the study of overt behavior.

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Catharsis

answer

Discharge of emotional tension associated with something, such as by talking about past traumas.

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Classical Conditioning

answer

A basic form of learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired repeatedly with an unconditioned stimulus (US) that naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UR). After repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits a conditioned response (CR).

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Deinstitutionalization

answer

Movement to close mental hospitals and treat people with severe mental disorder in the community.

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Dream Analysis

answer

Method involving the recording, description, and interpretation of a patient's dreams.

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Exorcism

answer

Religiously inspired treatment procedure designed to drive out evil spirits or forces from a "possessed" person.

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Free Association

answer

Method for probing the unconscious by having patients talk freely about themselves, their feelings, and their motives.

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Insanity

answer

Legal term for mental disorder, implying lack of responsibility for one's acts and inability to manage one's affairs.

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Lycanthropy

answer

Delusion of being a wolf.

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Mass Madness

answer

Historically, widespread occurrence of group behavior disorders that were apparently cases of hysteria; a whole group of people panic/get scared and develop psychological symptoms as a result.

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Mental Hygiene Movement

answer

Movement that advocated a method of treatment focused almost exclusively on the physical well-being of hospitalized mental patients.

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Mesmerism

answer

Theory of "animal magnetism" (hypnosis) formulated by Anton Mesmer.

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Moral Management

answer

Wide-ranging method of treatment that focuses on a patient's social, individual, and occupational needs.

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Nancy School

answer

Group of physicians in nineteenth-century Europe who accepted the view that hysteria was a sort of self-hypnosis.

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Operant (or Instrumental) Conditioning

answer

Form of learning in which if a particular response is reinforced, it becomes more likely to be repeated on similar occasions.

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Psychoanalysis

answer

Methods Freud used to study and treat patients.

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Psychoanalytic Perspective

answer

Theory of psychopathology, initially developed by Freud, that emphasizes the inner dynamics of unconscious motives.

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Saint Vitus's Dance

answer

Name given to the dancing mania (and mass hysteria) that spread from Italy to Germany and the rest of Europe in the Middle Ages.

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Tarantism

answer

Dancing mania that occurred in Italy in the nineteenth century.

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Association Studies

answer

Genetic research strategy comparing frequency of certain genetic markers known to be located on particular chromosomes in people with and without a particular disorder.

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Attachment Theory

answer

Contemporary developmental and psychodynamic theory emphasizing the importance of early experience with attachment relationships in laying the foundation for later functioning throughout life.

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Attribution

answer

Process of assigning causes to things that happen.

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Biopsychosocial Viewpoint

answer

A viewpoint that acknowledges the interacting roles of biological, psychosocial, and sociocultural factors in the origins of psychopathology.

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Castration Anxiety

answer

As postulated by Freud, the anxiety a young boy experiences when he desires his mother while at the same time fearing that his father may harm him by cutting of his penis; this anxiety forces the boy to repress his sexual desire for his mother and his hostility toward his father.

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Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective

answer

A theory of abnormal behavior that focuses on how thoughts and information processing can become distorted and lead to maladaptive emotions and behavior.

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Contributory Cause

answer

A condition that increases the probability of developing a disorder but that is neither necessary nor sufficient for it to occur.

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Cortisol

answer

Human stress hormone released by the cortex of the adrenal glands.

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Developmental Psychopathology

answer

Field of psychology that focuses on determining what is abnormal at any point in the developmental process by comparing and contrasting it with normal and expected changes that occur.

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Developmental Systems Approach

answer

Acknowledgment that genetic activity influences neural activity, which in turn influences behavior, which in turn influences the environment, and that these influences are bidirectional.

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Diathesis

answer

Predisposition or vulnerability to developing a given disorder.

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Diathesis-Stress Model

answer

View of abnormal behavior as the result of stress operating on an individual who has a biological, psychosocial, or sociocultural predisposition to developing a specific disorder.

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Discrimination

answer

Ability to interpret and respond differently to two or more similar stimuli.

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Ego

answer

In psychoanalytic theory, the rational part of the personality that mediates between the demands of the id, the constraints of the superego, and the realities of the external world.

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Ego Psychology

answer

Psychodynamic theory emphasizing the importance of the ego-- the "executive branch of the personality" --in organizing normal personality development.

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Ego-Defense Mechanisms

answer

Psychic mechanisms that discharge or soothe anxiety rather than coping directly with an anxiety-provoking situation; usually unconscious and reality distorting. Also called defense mechanisms.

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Electra Complex

answer

Excessive emotional attachment (love) of a daughter for her father; the female counterpart of the Oedipus complex.

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Extinction

answer

Gradual disappearance of a conditioned response when it is no longer reinforced.

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Generalization

answer

Tendency of a response that has been conditioned to one stimulus to be elicited by other, similar stimuli.

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Hikikomori

answer

A disorder of acute social withdrawal in which young people just remain in their room in their parents' house and refuse social interactions for at least 6 months, but often for many years.

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Hormones

answer

Chemical messengers secreted by endocrine glands that regulate development of and activity in various parts of the body.

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Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis (HPA Axis)

answer

Brain endocrine system involved in responding to stress in which the hypothalamus and pituitary send messages to the adrenal gland which releases a stress hormone that feeds back on the hypothalamus.

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Id

answer

In psychoanalytic theory, the reservoir of instinctual drives and the first structure to appear in infancy.

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Instrumental (Operant) Conditioning

answer

Reinforcement of a subject for making a correct response that leads either to receipt of something rewarding or to escape from something unpleasant.

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Interpersonal Perspective

answer

Approach to understanding abnormal behavior that views much of psychopathology as rooted in the unfortunate tendencies we develop while dealing with our interpersonal environments; it thus focuses on our relationships, past and present, with other people.

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Intrapsychic Conflict

answer

Inner mental struggles resulting from the interplay of the id, ego, and superego when the three subsystems are striving for different goals.

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Learning

answer

Modification of behavior as a consequence of experience.

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Libido

answer

In psychoanalytic theory, a term used to describe the instinctual drives of the id; the basic constructive energy of life, primarily sexual in nature.

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Linkage Analysis

answer

Genetic research strategy in which occurrence of a disorder in an extended family is compared with that of a genetic marker for a physical characteristic or biological process that is known to be located on a particular chromosome.

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Necessary Cause

answer

A condition that must exist for a disorder to occur.

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Neurotransmitters

answer

Chemical substances that are released into a synapse by the presynaptic neuron and that transmit nerve impulses from one neuron to another.

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Object-Relations Theory

answer

In psychoanalytic theory, this viewpoint focuses on an infant or young child's interactions with "objects" (i.e., real or imagined people), as well as how they make symbolic representations of important people in their lives.

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Observational Learning

answer

Learning through observation alone without directly experiencing an unconditioned stimulus (for classical conditioning) or a reinforcement (for instrumental conditioning).

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Oedipus Complex

answer

Desire for sexual relations with a parent of opposite sex; specifically, the desire of a boy for his mother, with his father a hated rival.

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Pituitary Gland

answer

Endocrine gland associated with many regulatory functions.

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Pleasure Principle

answer

Demand that an instinctual need be immediately gratified regardless of reality or moral considerations.

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Primary Process Thinking

answer

Gratification of id demands by means of imagery or fantasy without the ability to undertake the realistic actions needed to meet those instinctual demands.

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Protective Factors

answer

Influences that modify a person's response to an environmental stressor, making it less likely that the person will experience the adverse effects of the stressor.

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Psychosexual Stages of Development

answer

According to Freudian theory, there are five stages of psychosexual development, each characterized by a dominant mode of achieving sexual pleasure: the oral stage, the anal stage, the phallic stage, the latency stage, and the genital stage.

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Reality Principle

answer

Awareness of the demands of the environment and adjustment of behavior to meet these demands.

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Reinforcement

answer

The process of rewarding desired responses.

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Resilience

answer

The ability to adapt successfully to even very difficult circumstances.

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Schema

answer

An underlying representation of knowledge that guides current processing of information and often leads to distortions in attention, memory, and comprehension.

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Secondary Process Thinking

answer

Reality-oriented rational processes of the ego for dealing with the external world and the exercise of control over id demands.

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Self-Schema

answer

Our view of what we are, what we might become, and what is important to us.

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Spontaneous Recovery

answer

The return of a learned response at some time after extinction has occurred.

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Stress

answer

Effects created within an organism by the application of a stressor.

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Sufficient Cause

answer

A condition that guarantees the occurrence of a disorder.

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Superego

answer

Conscience; ethical or moral dimensions (attitudes) of personality.

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Synapse

answer

Site of communication from the axon of one neuron to the dendrites or cell body of another neuron-- a tiny filled space between neurons.

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Temperament

answer

Pattern of emotional and arousal responses and characteristic ways of self-regulation that are considered to be primarily hereditary or constitutional.

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Zar

answer

A person who believes he or she is possessed by a spirit may experience a dissociative episode during which shouting, laughing, singing, or weeping may occur. The person may also show apathy and withdrawal, not eating or working.

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Actuarial Procedures

answer

Methods whereby data about subjects are analyzed by objective procedures or formulas rather than by human judgments.

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Aphasia

answer

Loss or impairment of ability to communicate and understand language symbols-- involving loss of power of expression by speech, writing, or signs, or loss of ability to comprehend written or spoken language-- resulting from brain injury or disease.

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Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS)

answer

Objective method of rating clinical symptoms that provides scores on 18 variable (e.g., somatic concern, anxiety, withdrawal, hostility, and bizarre thinking).

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Clinical Diagnosis

answer

The process through which a clinician arrives at a general "summary classification" of the patient's symptoms by following a clearly defined system such as DSM-IV-TR or ICD-10.

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Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan

answer

Radiological technique used to locate and assess the extent of organic damage to the brain without surgery.

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Cultural Competence

answer

Refers to a psychologist's need to be informed of the issues involved in multicultural assessment.

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Dysrhythmia

answer

Abnormal brain wave pattern.

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Electroencephalogram (EEG)

answer

Graphical record of the brain's electrical activity obtained by placing electrodes on the scalp and measuring the brain wave impulses from various brain areas.

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Forensic

answer

Pertaining or used in the court of law.

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Functional MRI (fMRI)

answer

Internal scanning technique that measures changes in local oxygenation (blood flow) to specific areas of brain tissue that in turn depend on neuronal activity in those specific regions, allowing the mapping of psychological activity such as sensations, images, and thoughts.

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Intelligence Test

answer

Test used in establishing a subject's level of intellectual capability.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

answer

Internal scanning technique involving measurement of variations in magnetic fields that allows visualization of the anatomical features of internal organs, including the central nervous and particularly the brain.

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Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI/MMPI-2)

answer

Widely used and empirically validated personality scales.

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Neuropsychological Assessment

answer

Use of psychological tests that measure a person's cognitive, perceptual, and motor performance to obtain clues to the extent and locus of brain damage.

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Objective Personality Tests

answer

Structured tests, such as questionnaires, self-inventories, or rating scales, used in psychological assessment.

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Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan

answer

Scanning technique that measures metabolic processes to appraise how well an organ is functioning.

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Presenting Problem

answer

Major symptoms and behavior the client is experiencing.

question

Projective Personality Tests

answer

Techniques that use various ambiguous stimuli that a subject is encouraged to interpret and from which the subject's personality characteristics can analyzed.

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Psychological Assessment

answer

The use of psychological procedures such as behavioral observations, interview, and psychological tests to obtain a picture of a client's mental health symptoms and personality.

question

Rating Scales

answer

Formal structure for organizing information obtained from clinical observation and self-reports to encourage reliability and objectivity.

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Reliability

answer

Degree to which a measuring device produces the same result each time it is used to measure the same thing or when two or more different raters use it.

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Role-Playing

answer

Form of assessment in which a person is instructed to play a part, enabling a clinician to observe a client's behavior directly.

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Rorschach Inkblot Test

answer

Use of 10 inkblot pictures to which a subject responds with associations that come to mind. Analysis of these responses enables a clinician to infer personality characteristics.

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Self-Monitoring

answer

Observing and recording one's own behavior, thoughts, and feelings as they occur in various natural settings.

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Sentence Completion Test

answer

Projective technique utilizing incomplete sentences that a person is to complete, analysis of which enables a clinician infer personality dynamics.

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Signs

answer

Objective observations that suggest to a diagnostician a patient's physical or mental disorder.

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Standardization

answer

Procedure for establishing the expected performance range on a test.

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Structured Assessment Interview

answer

Interview with set introduction and that follows a predetermined set of procedures and questions throughout.

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Symptoms

answer

Patient's subjective description of a physical or mental disorder.

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T-Score Distribution

answer

A standard distribution of scores that allows for a comparison of scores on a test by comparing scores with a group of known values.

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Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

answer

Use of a series of simple pictures about which a subject is instructed to make up stories. Analysis of the stories gives a clinician clues about the person's conflicts, traits, personality dynamics, and the like.

question

Unstructured Assessment Interviews

answer

Typically subjective interviews that do not follow a predetermined set of questions. The beginning statements in the interview are usually general, and follow-up questions are tailored for each client. The content of the interview questions is influenced by habits or theoretical views of the interviewer.

question

Validity

answer

Extent to which a measuring instrument actually measures what it purports to measure.

question

In what areas would a person have difficulties with be thought of to have some form of mental disorder?

answer

The more that someone has difficulties in following areas, the more likely he or she is to have some form of mental disorder: suffering, maladaptiveness, statistical deviancy, violation of the standards of society, social discomfort, irrationality and unpredictability, and dangerousness.

question

Abnormal

answer

Away from the normal.

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Karo-Kari

answer

A form of honor killing where a woman is murdered by a male relative because she is considered to have brought disgrace onto her family.

question

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR)

answer

Provides all the information necessary (descriptions, lists of symptoms) to diagnose mental disorders.

question

Abnormal Behavior

answer

Maladaptive behavior detrimental to an individual or a group.

question

What is a mental disorder defined as in the DSM-5?

answer

Within DSM-5, a mental disorder is defined as a syndrome (collection of symptoms) that is present in an individual and that involves clinically significant disturbance in behavior, emotion regulation, or cognitive functioning.

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Standard Treatment Comparison Study

answer

An alternative research design may be called for in which two (or more) treatments are compared in differing yet comparable groups.

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Depression (Melancholia)

answer

Emotional state characterized by extraordinary sadness and dejection.

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Distal Causal Factors

answer

Some causal factors occurring relatively early in life may not show their effects for many years.

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Proximal Causal Factors

answer

Other causal factors operate shortly before the occurrence of the symptoms of a disorder.

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Reinforcing Contributory Cause

answer

A condition that tends to maintain maladaptive behavior that is already occurring.

question

Biological Causal Factors

answer

Neurotransmitter and hormonal abnormalities, genetic vulnerabilities, temperament, and brain dysfunction and neural plasticity.

question

Neural Plasticity

answer

Flexibility in the brain in making changes in organization and function in response to pre- and postnatal experiences, stress, diet, disease, drugs, maturation, and so forth (ability to compensate using unused neurons).

question

Mediate

answer

A mediator (or mediating variables) lies between two other variables and helps explain the relationship between them. You can think of it as being an intermediate variable, hence the name.

question

Psychosocial Perspectives

answer

Attempts to understand humans not just as biological organisms but also as people with motives, desires, and perceptions.

question

What are the three major psychosocial perspectives on human nature and behavior?

answer

The three major psychosocial perspectives on human nature and behavior are: 1. Psychodynamic 2. Behavioral 3. Cognitive-Behavioral

question

What other two perspectives are also included in psychosocial perspectives?

answer

Also includes two other perspectives: 1. The Humanistic Perspective 2. The Existential Perspective

question

Anxiety

answer

Generalized feelings of fear and apprehension.

question

Oral Stage (Psychosexual Stages of Development)

answer

During the first 2 years of life, the mouth is the principal erogenous zone: An infant's greatest source of gratification is sucking, a process that is necessary for feeding.

question

Anal Stage (Psychosexual Stages of Development)

answer

From ages 2 to 3, the anus provides the major source of pleasurable stimulation during the time when toilet training is often going on and there are urges both for retention and for elimination.

question

Phallic Stage (Psychosexual Stages of Development)

answer

From ages 3 to 5 or 6, self-manipulation of the genitals provides the major source of pleasurable sensation.

question

Latency Stage (Psychosexual Stages of Development)

answer

From ages 6 to 12, sexual motivations recede in importance as a child becomes preoccupied with developing skills and other activities.

question

Genital Stage (Psychosexual Stages of Development)

answer

After puberty, the deepest feelings of pleasure come from sexual relations.

question

Displacement (Ego-Defense Mechanisms)

answer

Discharging pent-up feelings, often of hostility, on objects less dangerous than those arousing the feelings.

question

Fixation (Ego-Defense Mechanisms)

answer

Attaching oneself in an unreasonable or exaggerated way to some person, or arresting emotional development on a childhood or adolescent level.

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Projection (Ego-Defense Mechanisms)

answer

Attributing one's unacceptable motives or characteristics to others.

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Rationalization (Ego-Defense Mechanisms)

answer

Using contrived explanations to conceal or disguise unworthy motives for one's behavior.

question

Reaction Formation (Ego-Defense Mechanisms)

answer

Preventing the awareness or expression of unacceptable desires by an exaggerated adoption of seemingly opposite behavior.

question

Regression (Ego-Defense Mechanisms)

answer

Retreating to an earlier developmental level involving less mature behavior and responsibility.

question

Repression (Ego-Defense Mechanisms)

answer

Preventing painful or dangerous thoughts from entering consciousness.

question

Sublimation (Ego-Defense Mechanisms)

answer

Channeling frustrated sexual energy into substitutive activities.

question

Fixated

answer

Freud believed that appropriate gratification during each stage is important if a person is to avoid being stuck at that level.

question

Humanistic Perspective

answer

Views humans nature as basically "good."

question

Existential Perspective

answer

Resembles the humanistic views in its emphasis on the uniqueness of each individual, the quest for values and meaning, and the existence of freedom for self-direction. However, it takes a less optimistic view of human beings and places more emphasis on their irrational tendencies and the difficulties inherent in self-fulfillment--particularly in a modern, bureaucratic, and dehumanizing mass society.

question

Assimilation

answer

Tendency to work new experiences into our existing cognitive frameworks, even if the new information has to be reinterpreted or distorted to make it fit.

question

Accomodation

answer

Changing our existing frameworks to make it possible to incorporate new information that doesn't fit.

question

Psychological Causal Factors

answer

1. Early deprivation or trauma 2. Inadequate parenting styles 3. Marital discord and divorce 4. Maladaptive peer relationships

question

Authoritative Style

answer

Parents are high on warmth and moderate on control, very careful to set clear limits and restrictions regarding certain kinds of behaviors.

question

Authoritarian Style

answer

Parents are low on warmth and high on control and often cold and demanding.

question

Permissive/Indulgent Style

answer

Parents are high on warmth and low on control and discipline.

question

Neglectful/Uninvolved Style

answer

Parents are low on warmth and low on control.

question

Sociocultural Causal Factors

answer

-Low socioeconomic status and unemployment -Prejudice and discrimination in race, gender, and ethnicity -Social change and uncertainty -Urban stressors: Violence and homelessness

question

Halstead Category Test

answer

Measures a subject's ability to learn and remember material and can provide clues as to his or her judgment and impulsivity. The subject is presented with a stimulus (on a screen) that suggests a number between 1 and 4. The subject presses a button indicating the number she or her believes was suggested. A correct choice is followed by the sound of a pleasant doorbell, an incorrect choice by a loud buzzer. The person is required to determine from the pattern of buzzers and bells what the underlying principle of the correct choice is.

question

Tactual Performance Test

answer

Measures a subject's motor speed, response to the unfamiliar, and ability to learn and use tactile and kinesthetic cues. The test surface is a board that has spaces for 10 blocks of varied shapes. The subject is blindfolded (never actually seeing the board) and asked to place the blocks into the correct grooves in the board. Later, the subject is asked to draw the blocks and the board from tactile memory.

question

Rhythm Test

answer

Measures attention and sustained concentration through an auditory perception task. It includes 30 pairs of rhythmic beats that are presented on a tape recorder. The subject is asked whether the pairs are the same or different.

question

Speech Sounds Perception Test

answer

Determines whether an individual can identify spoken words. Nonsense words are presented on a tape recorder, and the subject is asked to identify the presented word in a list of four printed words. This task measures the subject's concentration, attention, and comprehension.

question

Finger Oscillation Task

answer

Measures the speed at which an individual can depress a lever with the index finger. Several trials are given for each hand.

question

Vocabulary (Verbal) Subtest

answer

This subtest consists of a list of words to define that are presented orally to the individual. This task is designed to evaluate knowledge and of vocabulary, which has been shown to be highly related to general intelligence.

question

Digit Span (Performance) Subtest

answer

In this test of short-term memory, a sequence of numbers is administered orally. The individual is asked to repeat the digits in the order administered. Another task in this subtest involves the individual's remembering the numbers, holding them in memory, and reversing the order sequence--that is, the individual is instructed to say them backward.

question

What does the categorical approach assume?

answer

The categorical approach, like the diagnostic system of general medical diseases, assumes: 1. That all human behavior is can be divided into the categories of "healthy" and "disordered" 2. That within the latter there exist discrete, nonoverlapping classes or types of disorder that have a high degree of within-class homogeneity in both symptoms displayed and the underlying organization of the disorder identified.

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The Dimensional Approach

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It is assumed that a person's typical behavior is the product of differing strengths or intensities of behavior along several definable dimensions such as mood, emotional stability, aggressiveness, gender identity, anxiousness, interpersonal trust, clarity of thinking and communication, social introversion, and so on.

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The Prototypal Approach

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A prototype (as the term is used here) is a conceptual entity (e.g., personality disorder) depicting an idealized combination of characteristics that more or less regularly occur together in a less-than-perfect or standard way at the level of actual observation.

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Criteria

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Needs to be considered in light of frequency and intensity; behavior against the norm; frequency of the behavior; intensity; is the behavior clinically significant?

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Social Discomfort

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The behavior of one person makes people in the norm feel uncomfortable.

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Maladaptation

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Interfering with you life; making it harder.

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Low Frequency

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High intensity.

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High Frequency

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Low intensity.

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Definition of Abnormal Behavior

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Defined as a syndrome (collection of symptoms) that is present in an individual that involves clinically significant disturbance in behavior, emotion regulation, or cognitive functioning.

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What did we believe people were doing in the stone age?

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In the stone age, we believe people were doing these odd things because of a supernatural force (e.g., trephing).

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Trephing

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Process of making a hole in a person's head to release evil spirits.

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What was the early view on how mental disturbance was caused?

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Early view was that mental disturbance was caused by evil spirits.

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Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)

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Mental disease was just like any other disease. It was a result of natural causes (physiological disturbance), and there was scientific reasoning behind it.

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What did Hippocrates believe would cure mania for women?

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Marriage (pregnancy) would cure mania for women in Hippocrates' theory.

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What did Hippocrates make up?

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Hippocrates made up a classification system that classified disorders; came up with three different types - mania, phrentis (brain fever; organic brain damage; something wrong with the brain), melancholia (depression). Brain involved in these disorders; recognized it as physiological problems.

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Demonology

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Possessed by demons, especially by the devil.

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Where was the first mental hospital built?

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The first mental hospital built in the world was built in Baghdad, Iraq.

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Dark Ages Exorcisms

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Get rid of the evil spirits and punish the person who gave refuge to the devil.

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Renaissance

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Period of humanism (people are inherently good).

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Why were asylums built?

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Asylums were built to protect people to house them in a safe place until we find scientific reasoning behind their behavior; put them in coffins with their head sticking out, put balls and chains on them, etc.

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Gheel Shrine (in Belgium)

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Families took in mentally disturbed people, gave them freedom, responsibility, care, love, kindness, meaningful work, time for leisure (moral therapy).

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Where did the Reform Movement begin?

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The Reform Movement began in France.

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Theory

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An explanation based on looking at the data.

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Eclectic

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Try to use all the theories.

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What is the advantage of theories?

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Theories are useful, because it helps us focus and narrow down the info in a meaningful way (advantage).

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What is the disadvantage of theories?

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You might miss out on things from being so focused on one thing (disadvantage).

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Biological Theory

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Abnormal behavior is caused by faulty biology (anatomy and physiology) explains abnormal behavior; chemical problems (physiology); faulty genetics; faulty brain structures (anatomy).

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Psychodynamic Theory

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Abnormal behavior is caused by the result of unresolved unconscious conflict; affects our present behavior through repressed memories, unconscious, and childhood.

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Cognitive Theory

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Abnormal behavior is caused by the result of misperceiving reality (faulty of perception and thinking); thinking of what happened is different; how we think ultimately affects how we feel which ultimately affects how we behave.

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Learning/Behavioral Theory

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Abnormal behavior is cause by what we do is what we do in order to get the reinforcement (faulty reinforcement) and good feeling; anything that gives you something positive; faulty reinforcement (reinforced for the wrong behavior).

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Humanistic Theory

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Abnormal behavior is caused by the result of low self-esteem and "wrong choices" (self-destructive; things that will destroy good nature) via (as a result of the) freewill; disbelief in inherent worth and value; insufficient/low self-esteem.

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Socio-Cultural Theory

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Abnormal behavior is caused by environmental and cultural stressors.

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Chicken and Egg Problem

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Are the brain abnormalities wired in or experienced by an event that changes the behavior?

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Gestalt

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Overall picture of the whole situation.

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Freudian Slip

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Saying something unintentionally that you weren't aware you were thinking (e.g., "You look ghastly!...I mean gorgeous. Why did I say that?").

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In what order do nerves, tracks, neurons, and the nervous system go?

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Neurons -> Nerves -> Tracks -> Nervous System

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Central Nervous System

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Right down the center of the body (middle); higher level of thinking; sensory, processing, and motor neurons; brain only has the processing neurons.

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Afferent (Sensory) Neurons

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Input neurons (in); sensory organs: skin, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

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Inter (Processing) Neurons

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Processing neurons; not sensory; brain only has the processing neurons.

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Efferent (Motor) Neurons

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Output neurons (out); response.

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Peripheral Nervous System

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Everything around (surrounding) the central (middle); has the sympathetic and parasympathetic.

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What is the fatty tissue on an axon called?

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The fatty tissue on an axon is called the myelinated (myelin) sheath.

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What does not travel through the neuron?

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Neurotransmitters (chemicals) do not travel through the neuron.

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What travels through the neuron?

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Electrical impulses travel through the neuron.

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What are electrical impulses formed by?

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Electrical impulses are formed by positive and negative ions.

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Cell Body

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Where the metabolism happens; maintenance of the cell.

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What do fatty acids allow impulses to do?

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Fatty acids allow impulses to go through the neuron faster by jumping from node to node.

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What are fatty acids?

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Fatty acids are insulin, so it keeps the impulse insulated and going in the right direction.

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What are on the dendrites?

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On the dendrites, there are receptor sites with different shapes waiting for a piece (shape) to fit it.

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What are on terminal branches?

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On terminal branches, there are terminal buttons (different shapes) which are neurotransmitters (chemicals).

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What happens when an electrical impulse comes through a neuron?

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When an electrical impulse comes through a neuron, the neurotransmitters are released; "the neuron has fired"; all or nothing (either all chemicals are released or none are).

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What happens where the neuron fires?

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When the neuron fires, the space where exchange is going to happen (synapse), we like to see the chemical to find its right spot on the dendrite and give a behavioral response.

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What happens if a chemical does not find its right spot?

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If the chemical is not attached to anything and does not find its right spot, it dissipates.

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What does the presynaptic neuron try to do when a chemical cannot find its right spot?

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The presynaptic neuron (the one who releases the neurotransmitters/pre-synapse) tries to pull back neurotransmitter (called reuptake), and so it doesn't go to the postsynaptic neuron.

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What alters the synapse?

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Any drug therapy or illicit drug alters the synapse to create or prevent more chemicals, or blocks it.

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What was Hippocrates' belief?

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Hippocrates' belief was that mental disease was the result of natural causes and brain pathology was revolutionary for its time.

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Avicenna (980-1037: The Middle Ages)

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An ancient Persian physician who promoted principles of humane treatment for the mentally disturbed at a time when Western approaches to mental illness were inhumane.

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Hildegard (1098-1179: The Middle Ages)

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A remarkable woman, known as the "Sybil of the Rhine," who used curative powers of natural objects for healing and wrote treatises about natural history and medicinal uses of plants.

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Paracelsus (1490-1541: The Sixteenth Through The Eighteenth Centuries)

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A Swiss physician who rejected demonology as a cause of abnormal behavior. Paracelsus believed in psychic causes of mental illness.

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Teresa of Avila (1515-1582: The Sixteenth Through The Eighteenth Centuries)

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A Spanish nun, since canonized, who argued that mental disorder was an illness of the mind.

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Johann Weyer (1515-1588: The Sixteenth Through The Eighteenth Centuries)

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A German physician who argued against demonology and was ostracized by his peers and the Church for his progressive views.

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Robert Burton (1576-1640: The Sixteenth Through The Eighteenth Centuries)

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An Oxford scholar who wrote a classic, influential treatise on depression, "The Anatomy of Melancholia," in 1621.

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William Tuke (1732-1822: The Sixteenth Through The Eighteenth Centuries)

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An English Quaker who established the York Retreat, where mental patients lived in humane surroundings; structure in countryside of England where patients can roam freely and be in touch with nature.

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Philippe Pinel (1745-1826: The Sixteenth Through The Eighteenth Centuries)

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A French physician who pioneered the use of moral management in La Bicetre and La Salpetriere hospitals in France, where mental patients were treated in a humane way; disturbed by treatment mentally ill people receive and freed them from chains (restrictions) in asylums; built a classification system in which he differentiates one from another, dangerous from least to greatest.

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Benjamin Rush (1745-1813: The Sixteenth Through The Eighteenth Centuries)

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An American physician and the founder of American psychiatry, who used moral management, based on Pinel's humanitarian methods, to treat the mentally disturbed; develops a systematic thesis on mental disorders and made a curriculum to teach about mental disorders.

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Dorothea Dix (1802-1887: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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An American teacher who founded the mental hygiene movement in the United States, which focused on the physical well-being of mental patients in hospitals; upper-class Sunday school teacher who pushed for the building of state of the art mental hospitals; moral therapy was de-emphasized; hospitals became enormous, overcrowded, filthy; hospitals shut down; was credited with 32 mental hospitals in the US.

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Clifford Beers (1876-1943: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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An American who campaigned to change public attitudes toward mental patients after his own experiences in mental institutions; writes a book on his experience and the procedures used in mental asylums; autobiography; hospitalization.

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Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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An Austrian physician who conducted early investigations into hypnosis as a medical treatment.

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Emil Kraeplin (1856-1962: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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A German psychiatrist who developed the first diagnostic system.

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Sigmund Freud (1856-1939: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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The founder of the school of psychological therapy known as psychoanalysis.

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Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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A German scientist who established the first experimental psychology laboratory in 1879 and subsequently influenced the empirical study of abnormal behavior.

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J. McKeen Cattell (1860-1944: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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An American psychologist who adopted Wundt's methods and studied individual differences in mental processing.

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Lightner Witmer (1867-1956: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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An American psychologist who established the first psychological clinic in the United States, focusing on problems of mentally deficient children. He also founded the journal, "The Psychological Clinic," in 1907.

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William Healy (1869-1963: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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An American psychologist who established the Chicago Juvenile Psychopathic Institute and advanced the idea that mental illness was due to environmental, or sociocultural, factors.

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Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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A Russian physiologist who published classical studies in the psychology of learning.

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John B. Watson (1878-1958: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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An American psychologist who conducted early research into learning principles and came to be known as the father of behaviorism.

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B. F. Skinner (1904-1990: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries)

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An American learning theorist who developed the school of learning known as operant conditioning and was influential in incorporating behavioral principles into inflencing behavioral change.

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Anna Freud (1895-1982)

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Studied the important role of the ego in normal and abnormal development and elaborated the theory of ego-defense reactions.

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Margaret Mahler (1897-1985)

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Elaborated the object-relations approach, which many see as the main focus of contemporary psychoanalysis.

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Erich Fromm (1900-1980)

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Focused on the orientations that people adopt in their interactions with others. He believed that these basic orientations to the social environment were the bases of much psychopathology.

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Erik Erikson (1902-1994)

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Elaborated and broadened Freud's psychosexual stages into more socially oriented concepts. Erikson described conflicts that occurred at eight stages, each of which could be resolved in a healthy or unhealthy way.

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Albert Bandura (b. 1925)

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Stressed that people learn more by internal than external reinforcement. They can visualize the consequences of their actions rather than rely exclusively on environmental reinforcements.

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Aaron Beck (b. 1921)

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Pioneered the development of cognitive theories of depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. He also developed highly effective cognitive-behavioral treatments for these disorders.

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David Wechsler (1896-1981)

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Served in the military, testing army recruits during World War I. He came to believe that the ways in which psychologists viewed and measured "intelligence" was inadequate. In 1934 he began construction of the most widely used adult intelligence test battery, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), which set the standard for practical measurement of intelligence.

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Starke R. Hathaway (1903-1984)

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Clinical psychologist who was a pioneer in physiological psychology and personality assessment. In 1940, he and J. C. McKinley published the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) for evaluating symptoms and behavior of psychiatric and medical patients. The MMPI became the most widely used personality assessment instrument in us, and its revised version (MMPI-2) is the most frequently used personality measure today.

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J. C. McKinley (1891-1950)

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A neuropsychiatrist at the University of Minnesota Hospital, coauthored the MMPI with Starke Hathaway and conducted research on the MMPI with both medical and psychiatric populations.

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