Abnormal Psychology 2200 Exam 1 – Flashcards
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Abnormal Psychology
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The scientific study of abnormal behavior undertaken to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning.
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Norms
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A society's stated and unstated rules for proper conduct.
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Culture
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A people's common history, values, institutions, habits, skills, technology, and arts.
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Treatment
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A systematic procedure designed to change abnormal behavior into more normal behavior. Also called therapy.
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Trephination
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An ancient operation in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a circular section of the skull, perhaps to treat abnormal behavior.
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Humors
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According to the greeks and Romans, bodily chemicals that influence mental and physical functioning.
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Asylum
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A type of institution that first came popular in the sixteenth century to provide care for persons with mental disorders. Most became virtual prisons.
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Moral Treatment
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A nineteenth-cemtry approach to treating people with mental dysfunction that emphasized moral guidance and human and respectful treatment.
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State Hospitals
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State-run public mental institutions in the United States.
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Somatogenic Perspective
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The view that abnormal psychological functioning has physical causes.
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Psychogenic Perspective
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The view that the chief causes of abnormal function are psychological.
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Psychoanalysis
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Either the theory or the treatment of abnormal mental funding that emphasizes unconscious psychological forces as the cause of psychopathology.
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Prevention
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Interventions aimed at deterring mental disorders before they can develop.
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Positive Psychology
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The study and enhancement of positive feelings, traits, and abilities.
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Multicultural Psychology
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The field that examines the impact of culture, race, ethnicity, and gender on behaviors and thoughts and focuses on how such facts may influence the origin, nature, and treatment of abnormal behavior.
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Managed Care Program
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Health care coverage in which the insurance company largely controls the nature, scope, and cost of medical or psychological services.
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Cybertherapy
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The use of computer technology, such as Skype or avatars, to provide therapy.
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Scientific Method
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The process of systematically gathering and evaluating information through careful observations to understand a phenomenon.
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Hypothesis
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A hunch or prediction that certain variables are related in certain ways.
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Case Study
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A detailed account of a person's life and psychological problems.
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Correlation
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The degree to which events or characteristics vary along with each other.
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Correlational Method
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A research procedure used to determine how much events or characteristics vary along with each other.
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Epidemiological Study
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A study that measures the incidence and prevalence of a disorder in a given population.
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Longitudinal Study
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A study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time.
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Experiment
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A research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the effect of the manipulation is observed.
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Independent Variable
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The variable in an experiment that is manipulated to determine whether it has an effect on another variable.
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Dependent Variable
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The variable in an experiment expected to change as the independent variable is manipulated.
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Confound
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In an experiment, a variable other than the independent variable that is also acting on the dependent variable.
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Control Group
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In an experiment a group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable.
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Experimental Group
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In an experiment, the participants who are exposed to the independent variable under investigation.
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Random Assignment
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A selection procedure that ensures that participants are randomly placed either in the control group or in the experimental group.
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Blind Design
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An experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or the control condition.
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Quasi-Experiment
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An experiment in which investigators make use of control and experimental groups that already exist in the world at large. Also called missed design.
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Natural Experiment
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An experiment in which nature, rather than an experimenter, manipulates an independent variable.
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Analogue Experiment
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A research method in which the experimenter produces abnormal abnormal-like behavior in laboratory participants and then conducts experiments on the participants.
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Single-Subject Experimental Design
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A research method in which a single participant is observed and measured both before and after the manipulation of an independent variable.
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Institutional Review Board
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An ethics committee in a research facility that is empowered to protect the rights and safety of human research participants.
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Model
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A set of assumptions and concepts that helps scientists explain and interpret observations. Also called a paradigm.
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Neuron
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A nerve cell.
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Synapse
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The tiny space between the nerve ending of one neuron and the dendrite of another.
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Neurotransmitter
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A chemical that, released by one neuron, crosses the synaptic space to be receive at receptors on the dendrites of neighboring neurons.
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Hormones
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The chemicals released by endocrine glands into the bloodstream.
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Gene
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Chromosome segments that control the characteristics and traits we inherit.
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Psychotropic Medications
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Drugs that primarily affect the brain and reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunctioning.
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Psychosurgery
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Brain surgery for mental disorders. Also called neurosurgery.
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Id
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According to Freud, the psychological force that produces instinctual needs, drives, and impulses.
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Ego
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According to Freud, the psychological force that employs reason and operates in accordance with the reality principle.
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Ego Defense Mechanisms
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According to psychoanalytic theory, strategies developed by the ego to control unacceptable id impulses and to avoid or reduce the anxiety they arouse.
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Superego
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According to Freud, the psychological force that represents a person's values and ideals.
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Fixation
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According to Freud, a condition in which the id, ego, and superego do not mature properly and are frozen at an early stage or development.
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Free Association
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A psychodynamic technique in which the patient describes any though, feeling, or image that comes to mind, even if it seems unimportant.
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Resistance
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An unconscious refusal to participate fully in therapy.
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Transference
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According to psychodynamic theorists, the redirection toward the psychotherapist of feelings associated with important figures in a patient's life, now or in the past.
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Dream
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A series of ideas and images that form during sleep.
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Catharsis
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The reliving of past repressed feelings in order to settle internal conflicts and overcome problems.
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Working Through
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The psychoanalytic process of facing conflicts reinterpreting feelings, and overcoming ones problems.
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Conditioning
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A simple form of learning.
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Operant Conditioning
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A process of learning in which behavior that leads to satisfying consequences is likely to be repeated.
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Modeling
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A process of learning in which an individual acquires responses by observing and imitating others.
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Classical Conditioning
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A process of learning in which two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become fused in a person's mind and produce the same response.
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Systematic Desensitization
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A behavioral treatment in which clients with phobias learn to react calmly instead of with intense fear to the objects or situations they dread.
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Cognitive Therapy
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A therapy developed by Aaron Beck that helps people recognize and change their faulty thinking processes.
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Self-actualization
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The humanistic process by which people fulfill their potential for goodness and growth.
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Client-Centered Therapy
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The humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers in which clinicians try to help clients by conveying acceptance, accurate empathy, and genuineness.
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Gestalt Therapy
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The humanistic therapy developed by Fritz Perls in which self-recognition and self-acceptance by using techniques such as role playing and self-discovery exercises.
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Existential Therapy
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A therapy that encourages clients to accept responsibility for their lives and and to live with greater meaning and value.
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Family Systems Theory
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A theory that views the family as a system of interacting parts whose interaction exhibit consistent patterns and unstated rules.
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Group Therapy
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A therapy format in which a group of people with similar problems meet together with a therapist to work on those problems.
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Self-Help Group
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A group made up of people with similar problems who help and support one another without the direct leadership of a clinician. also called a mutual help group.
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Family Therapy
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A therapy format in which the therapist meets with all members of a family and helps them to change therapeutic ways.
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Couple Therapy
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A therapy format in which the therapist works with two people who share a long-term relationship. Also called marital therapy.
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Community Mental Health Treatment
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A treatment approach that emphasizes community care.
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Multicultural Perspective
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The view that each culture within a larger society has a particular set of values and beliefs, as well as special external pressures, that help account for the behavior and function of its members. Also called culturally diverse perspective.
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Culture-Sensitive Therapies
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Approaches that are designed to help address the unique issues faced by members of cultural minority groups.
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Gender-Sensitive Therapies
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Approaches geared to the pressures of being a woman in western society. Also called Feminist Therapies.
