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scientific study of abnormal behavior in an effort to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning

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abnormal psychology

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a society's stated and unstated rules for proper conduct

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norms

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a people's common history, values, institutions, habits, skills, technology and arts

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culture

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-deviance (different, extreme, unusual, bizarre) -distress (unpleasant and upsetting to the person) -dysfunction (interfering with the persons ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way) -danger

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four D's

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judgments of abnormality depend on __ ___ as well as on cultural norms

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specific circumstances

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Clinical theorist that believes concept of mental illness is a myth. Believes deviations that society calls abnormal are simply "problems in living", not signs of something wrong with the person.

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Thomas Szasz

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an unusual pattern with which others have no right to interfere.

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eccentricity

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a person who deviates from common behavior patterns or displays odd or whimsical behavior.

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eccentric

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researcher who studied eccentrics who estimated that as many 1 in 5000 persons may be class fulltime eccentrics

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david weeks

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nonconformity, creativity, strong curiosity, idealism, extreme interests and hobbies, lifelong awareness of being different, high awareness of being different, high intelligence

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common characteristics of eccentrics

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Weeks found that eccentrics in his study actually had fewer ...

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emotional problems than individuals in the general population.

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procedure designed to change abnormal behavior into more normal behavior

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treatment/therapy

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1. a sufferer who seeks relief from the healer 2. a trained, socially accepted healer, whose expertise is accepted by the sufferer and his or her social group 3. a series of contacts btwn the healer and the sufferer, through which the healer tries to produce certain changes in the sufferer's emotional state, attitudes and behavior.

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Jerome Frank's 3 essential features to therapy

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Half million yrs ago skulls recovered in Europe and South America show evidence of a stone instrument, or trephine, was used to cut away a circular section of the skull. - performed as treatment for severe abnormal behavior -purpose of opening skull was to release evil spirits

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trephination

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Treatment for abnormality in early societies was often

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exorcism

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(father or modern medicine) believed that some form of brain pathology was the culprit and that it resulted from an imbalance of four fluids (humors) that flowed through the body

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Hippocrates

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-yellow bile (excess caused mania/frenzied activity) -black bile (source of melancholia/unshakable sadness) -blood -phlegm

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4 humors Hippocrates discovered

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first physician to specialize in mental illness. believed that the mind was as susceptible to sickness as the body was. -now considered founder of the modern study of psychopathology

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Johann Weyer

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institutions whose primary purpose was to care for people with mental illness. -began with intention to provide good care, but once they started to overflow they became virtual prisons where patients were held in filthy conditions and treated with cruelty

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asylums

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1796 William Tuke founded this rural estate where about 30 mental patients lived as guests in quiet country houses and were treated with rest, talk, prayer and manual work

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York Retreat

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methods of Pinel and Tuke. 19th century approach to treating people with mental dysfunction that emphasized moral guidance and humane and respectful treatment

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moral treatment

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person most responsible for early spread of moral treatment in US and father of American psychiatry

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Benjamin Rush

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woman who made humane care a public and political concern in US. her campaign led to new laws and greater gov funding to improve treatment of people with mental disorders -each state was made responsible for having effective public mental hospitals (state hospitals) which intended to offer moral treatment

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Dorothea Dix

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decline of moral treatment

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1850s

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view that abnormal psychological functioning has physical causes

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somatogenic perspective

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the view that the chief causes of abnormal functioning are psychological -hypnotism to treat patients with hysterical disorders

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psychogenic perspective

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Freud's theory which holds that many forms of abnormal and normal psychological functioning are psychogenic. -believed that unconscious psychology processes are at the root of such functioning

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psychoanalysis

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drugs that affect the brain and reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunctioning -antipsychotic drugs (corrects extremely confused/distorted thinking) -antidepressant drugs (lifts mood of depressed people) -antianxiety drugs (reduce tension and worry) -antibipolar (mood stabilizers)

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psychotropic medications

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population of patients in mental hospitals today is less than

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40,000

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before 1950s, almost all outpatient care took form of __ __. an arrangement by which an individual directly pays a psychotherapist for counseling services.

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private psychotherapy

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optimism, happiness, hard work, wisdom, positive abilities, social skills, talents and group directed virtues

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positive psychology examples

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dominant form of coverage. a program in which the insurance company determines such key issues as which therapists its clients may choose, the cost of sessions and number of sessions for which a client may be reimbursed

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managed care program

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what percent of all privately insures persons in US are currently enrolled in managed care programs?

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75%

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managed care is typically disliked because

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programs shorten therapy, unfairly favor treatments whose results are not always lasting, pose hardship for those with severe mental disorders, & result in treatments determined by insurance companies rather than by therapists

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severe disorder that causes people to lose contact with reality

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schizophrenia

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A pointed instrument inserted to frontal lobe of brain and rotated, destroying much brain tissue.

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lobotomy

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thought to have cured schizophrenia but after performed on ten thousand people it was found that they caused irreversible brain damage that left patients withdrawn and stuporous

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research about lobotomies

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general understanding of nature, causes, and treatments of abnormality. job of clinical researchers (scientists).-discover laws of abnormal psychological functioning

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nomothetic

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individualistic, understanding of abnormal behavior. job of clinical practitioners- asses, diagnose, treat individual clients

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idiographic

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to gain a nomothetic understanding of abnormal psychology, clinical researchers use the __ __. they collect and evaluate info through careful observations

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scientific method

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clinical researchers are interested what kind of variables?

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childhood upsets, present life experiences, moods, social functioning and responses to treatment.

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1. case study -focuses on one individual 2. correlational method 3. experimental method (both focus on more than one individual)

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three methods of investigation for clinical researchers

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detailed description of a person's life and psychological problems. describes persons history, present circumstances and symptoms. speculates why problems developed, and describes persons treatment -source of new ideas about behavior and opens the way for discoveries

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case study

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-tentative support -challenge a theory's assumptions -show value of new therapeutic techniques -opportunities to study unusual problems

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things case studies offer

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says that patients may benefit from discussing their problems and discovering underlying psychological causes

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psychoanalytic principle

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-reported by biased observers (therapists who have personal stake in seeing their treatments succeed) -rely on subjective evidence (low internal validity) -provide little basis for generalization (low external validity)

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limitations of case studies

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limitations of the case study are largely addressed by two methods. they don't offer rich detail making them interesting, but they help investigators draw broad conclusions about abnormality in the population. *preferred methods of clinical investigation

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correlational method and experimental method

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1.researchers observe many individuals so they can collect enough info to support conclusion 2. researchers apply procedures uniformly 3. researchers use statistical tests to analyze the results of a study

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3 features of correlational and experimental methods that enable investigators to gain nomothetic insights

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degree to which events or characteristics vary with each other

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correlation

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research procedure used to determine "co-relationship" btwn variables -example: is there a correlation between amount of stress in peoples lives and the degree of depression they experience?

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correlational method

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used to test correlations and see if they happened by mere chance or if they are accurate

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statistical analysis

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-has high external validity -researchers in better position to generalize their correlations to people beyond the ones they have studied

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advantages of correlational method

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-lacks internal validity -doesn't allow researchers to explain relationship between two variables

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disadvantages of correlational method

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epidemiological studies (incidence and prevalence) longitudinal studies

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special forms of correlational research

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reveal the incidence and prevalence of a disorder in a particular population. known as descriptive studies

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epidemiological studies

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number of new cases that emerge during a given period of time

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incidence

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total number of cases in the population during a given time period; includes both existing and new cases

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prevalence

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(high risk or developmental studies) researchers observe the same individuals on many occasions over a long period of time. -studies report the order of events, their correlations provide clues about which events are more likely to be causes and which are more likely to be consequences

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longitudinal studies

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the manipulated variable in experiments

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independent variable

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variable being observed

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dependent variable

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variables other than the independent variable that may also be affecting the dependent variable -these may be causing the observed changes rather than the ind. variable

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confounds

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control group random assignment blind design

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three important features used to guard against confounds

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group of research participants who are not exposed to the independent variable under investigation but whose experience is similar to that of the experimental group

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control group

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participants who are exposed to the independent variable

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experimental group

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indicates whether a participant's improvement in functioning occurred because of treatment. determined by experimenters

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statistical significance

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indicates whether the amount of improvement is meaningful in the individual's life. determined by only individuals and their clinicians

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clinical significance

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reduces effects of preexisting differences

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random assignment

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an experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or the control condition - helps avoid bias

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blind design

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imitation therapy. a sham treatment that the participant in an experiment believes to be genuine

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placebo therapy

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type of experimenter bias

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Rosenthal effect

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experimental procedure in which neither the participant nor the experimenter knows whether the participant has received the experimental treatment or a placebo

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double-blind design

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(mixed designs)investigators do not randomly assign participants to control and experimental groups but instead make use of groups that already exist.

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quasi- experiments

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used to address the confound problems of quasi-experiments. matches experimental participants with control participants similar in age, sex and race

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matched control participants

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nature itself manipulates the independent variable and the experimenter observes the effects - used for studying psychological effects of unusual and unpredictable events like floods, earthquakes, plane crashes, fires.

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natural experiments

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research method in which the experimenter produces abnormal-like behavior in laboratory participants and then conducts experiments on the participants. often use animals as participants

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analogue experiment

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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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single-subject experiment

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clinical scientists must respect the rights of both __ and __ subjects

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human and animal

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sees physical processes as key to human behavior.

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biological model

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as an illness brought about by malfunctioning parts of the organism

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how biological theorists view abnormal behavior

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disorder marked by violent emotional outbursts, memory loss, suicidal thinking, involuntary body movements and absurd beliefs. traced to a loss of cells in the basal ganglia and cortex

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Huntingtons disease

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studies found that abnormal activity by certain __ can lead to specific mental disorders

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neurotransmitters

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has been linked to low activity of neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine

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depression

question

mental disorders are sometimes related to abnormal chemical activity in the __ __

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endocrine system

question

during times of stress, the adrenal glands secrete __ to help the body deal with stress. abnormal secretion of this chemical can cause anxiety and mood disorders

answer

cortisol

question

why do people have brain structures or biochemical activities that differ from the norm?

answer

genetics, evolution and viral infections

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3 leading kinds of biological treatments

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drug therapy(most common), electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery

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1. psychotropic medications 2. electroconvulsive therapy 3.psychosurgery

answer

forms of biological treatments

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*oldest model *designed by Freud theorists believe that a person's behavior, normal or abnormal, is determined by underlying psychological forces of which he or she is not consciously aware. internal forces and their interaction gives rise to behavior, thoughts, and emotions. abnormal symptoms are viewed as the result of conflicts between these forces

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psychodynamic model

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these types of theorists rest on the deterministic assumption that no symptom or behavior is accidental. all behavior is determined by past experiences

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psychodynamic

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instinctual needs rational thinking moral standards

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3 central forces that shape the personality believed by Freud

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denotes instinctual needs, drives and impulses. -operates in accordance with the pleasure principle -tends to be sexual -a persons libido, sexual energy, fuels the Id

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the Id force

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unconsciously seeks gratification, but does so in accordance with the reality principle - the knowledge we acquire through experience that it can be unacceptable to express our Id impulses outright - guides us to know when we can and cannot express those impulses

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the ego force

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ego develops this to control unacceptable id impulses and avoid or reduce the anxiety they arouse

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ego defense mechanism

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most basic defense mechanism. prevents unacceptable impulses from ever reaching consciousness.

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repression

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person's conscience

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superego force

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repression denial projection rationalization displacement intellectualization regression

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defense mechanisms

question

-anal (18 months to 3 years) -phallic (3 to 5 years) -latency (5 to 12 years) -genital (12 to adult)

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developmental stages

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to aid process, therapists use free association, therapist interpretation, catharsis and working through

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psychodynamic therapies

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psychodynamic technique where patient describes any thought, feeling or image that comes to mind, even if unimportant

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free association

question

psychodynamic therapists listen as patients talk, looking for clues, drawing conclusions and sharing interpretations when patient is ready

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therapist interpretation

question

resistance, transference and dreams (manifest and latent)

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three phenomena interpretations

question

reliving of past repressed feelings in order to settle internal conflicts and overcome problems

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catharsis

question

psychoanalytic process of facing conflicts, reinterpreting feelings and overcoming ones problems

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working through

question

argues that therapists are key figures in the lives of patients- figures whose reactions and beliefs should be included in the therapy process

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relational psychoanalytic therapy

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concentrates on the responses an organism makes to its environment. these theorists base their explanations and treatments on principles of learning, the processes by which these behaviors change in response to the environment

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behavioral model

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where humans and animals learn to behave in certain ways as a result of receiving rewards whenever they do so

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operant conditioning

question

individuals learn responses simply by observing other individuals and repeating their behaviors

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modeling

question

learning occurs by temporal association 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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classical conditioning

question

method of behavioral therapy often applied in cases of phobia and learn to react calmly instead of with intense fear to the objects or situations they dread

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systematic desensitization

question

therapy developed by Aaron Beck that helps people recognize and change their faulty thinking processes

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cognitive therapy

question

-focuses on a process unique to human beings (human thought) -theories lend themselves to research

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cognitive model

question

approach to help clients accept many of their problematic thoughts rather than judge them, act on them or try to change them

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acceptance and commitment therapy

question

-humanists: more optimistic. believe that human beings are born with a natural tendency to be friendly, cooperative and constructive -existentialists: agree that humans must have an accurate awareness of themselves and live meaningful lives in order to be psychologically well adjusted *has emphasis on health

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humanistic-existential model

question

humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers in which clinicians try to help clients by conveying acceptance, accurate empathy and genuineness

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client-centered therapy

question

therapist must display -unconditional positive regard -accurate empathy -genuineness

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3 qualities for client-centered therapy

question

humanistic therapy developed by Perls in which clinicians actively move clients toward self-recognition and self-acceptance by using techniques such as role playing and self-discovery exercises

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gestalt therapy

question

like humanists, existentialists believe that psychological dysfunctioning is caused by

answer

self-deception

question

therapy that encourages clients to accept responsibility for their lives and to live with greater meaning and value

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existential therapy

question

abnormal behavior is best understood in light of the broad forces that influence an individual - comprised of family-social perspective and multicultural perspective

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sociocultural model

question

most common disease in US

answer

severe depression

question

explanations that attribute the cause of abnormality to an interaction of genetic, biological, developmental, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, social and societal influences

answer

biopsychosocial theories

question

clinical interviews, tests and observations

answer

3 categories of clinical assessment techniques

question

standardization reliability validity

answer

characteristics of assessment tools

question

require that clients interpret vague stimuli or follow open-ended instructions. when clues and instructions are so general, people will project aspects of their personality into the task -Rorschach test, thematic apperception test, sentence-completion and drawings

answer

projective tests

question

asks respondents a wide range of questions about their behavior, beliefs, and feelings. individuals will indicate whether each of a long list of statements applies to them

answer

personality inventories

question

personality inventories are better because they take less time to administer, they are objectively scored, show greater test-retest reliability, have greater validity

answer

personality inventories vs. projective tests

question

test that measures physical responses (heart rate/muscle tension) as possible indicators of psychological problems

answer

psychophysiological tests

question

clinical practitioners are interested primarily in gathering __ info about their clients

answer

idiographic

question

in clinical assessments practitioners employ ___ where clients observe themselves and record designated behaviors, feelings or cognitions as they occur

answer

self-monitoring

question

diagnosis system most widely used in US

answer

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

question

therapists currently advocate this treatment. the active identification, promotion and teaching of those interventions that have received clear research support

answer

empirically supported treatment

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