question

Criteria for determining abnormality

answer

deviance from the norm (statistical deviance); difficulties adapting to life demands (maladaptive behavior); experience of personal distress

question

Mental disorder

answer

group of emotional, cognitive, or behavioral symptoms that cause distress or significant problems in functioning

question

Abnormal psychology

answer

scientific study of troublesome feelings, thoughts, and behaviors associated with mental disorders

question

Three general theories throughout history

answer

supernatural, biological, psychological

question

Mental illness in ancient times

answer

- primarily supernatural explanations - what might happen to someone exhibiting bizarre behavior?

question

Exorcism

answer

process intended to drive out demons or evil spirits

question

Trephination

answer

drilling, cutting, or scraping a hole in the skull

question

Hippocrates

answer

said abnormal behavior was due to diseases or dysfunctions in the brain; recommended treatments such as special diets, rest, avoiding alcohol, exercise, and celibacy

question

Hippcrates' Humoral Theory

answer

disorders are caused by an imbalance of the our major bodily fluids: blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm; too much black bile (melancholer) = depression; common treatments include bloodletting and vomitting

question

Fall of the Roman Empire

answer

return to supernatural theories and exorcism; exorcism during this time: larger church influence

question

Middle Ages

answer

interesting instances of "mass madness"

question

St. Vitus's Dance

answer

dancing mania; large groups broke out in dance; hundreds, even thousands at a time

question

Lycanthropy

answer

belief that you have been turned into a demonic animal like a werewolf

question

Late Middle Ages

answer

starting in the 11th century, massive persecution of women declared to be witches; pope decreed that witches be executed

question

Malleus Maleficarum (Witch's Hammer)

answer

manual written by two priests; outlined tests for witches (water-float test); sometimes tortured until they confessed; those found guilty of witchcraft were jailed, tortured, and executed

question

Tools of witch torture

answer

burning at the stake, the breast ripper, burning iron chair

question

The Renaissance

answer

cultural movement that led to rebirth in natural approaches to health and human behavior

question

Paracelsus

answer

rejected humoral theory; theorized that disease came from sources outside the body (such as toxins); also proposed theory of influence of moon and stars as explanation of abnormal behavior; coined the term for people exhibiting bizarre behavior due to influence of the moon (lunatic)

question

Asylums

answer

earliest version of psychiatric hospitals; mentally disturbed began to be seen as threatening to society; early laws regarding mentally ill were designed to protect the public, not the patient; first asylums appeared in Europe in 1500s

question

Madhouses

answer

places where mentally disturbed people were housed; often tied/chained up; horrific conditions; little or no treatment for their problems; some were source of entertainment for the townspeople (St. Mary's of Bethlehem)

question

Reform Movement and Dr. Philippe Pinel

answer

- French physician in charge of an asylum in Paris - argued that abnormal behavior was due to a disease - ordered a radical treatment of mental patients by removing shackles, allowed them fresh air and exercise, and treated them with dignity and respect

question

Moral Therapy in the Asylums

answer

- moral = psychological or emotional - main premise: mental illness is due to separation from nature and stress of rapid social changes - led to interesting implications for what could cause "insanity

question

Reform Movement in America and Dorothea Dix

answer

advocate for moral therapy in America, initiated legal reforms for jails, asylums; helped establish over 30 mental institutions

question

Assumed causes of insanity in 1800s

answer

biological and moral causes thought to cause insanity; can look to asylum reports for examples (wide variety of biological, psychological, and moral causes)

question

Modern Era, Clifford Beers and the Mental Hygiene Movement

answer

was a patient in a mental institution in 1900; published "A Mind that FOund Itself" describing neglect and abuse in the asylum; founded "National Committee for Mental Hygiene" which improved quality of care of mental patients, spurned research on prevention of mental illness, and provided information to public about mental illness

question

Somatogenic

answer

emphasizes physical and bodily causes of mental disorders

question

Psychogenic

answer

emphasizes psychological and mind-related causes of mental disorders

question

Integrationist view

answer

cause of mental disorder is best understood as a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factos

question

Primary prevention

answer

a type of prevention targeting large groups of people who HAVE NOT YET developed a disorder

question

Secondary prevention

answer

a type of prevention that addresses EMERGING PROBLEMS while they are still manageable and before they become

question

Tertiary prevention

answer

a type of prevention aimed to reduce the severity, duration, and negative effects of a mental disorder AFTER it has occurred

question

Consumer perspective

answer

building your skills as consumer of scientific information; focus on empirically-supported treatments

question

Structural theories of the biological model

answer

abnormalities in the structure of the brain

question

Biochemical theories of the biological model

answer

imbalances in the levels of neurotransmitters or hormones, or poor functioning of receptors

question

Genetic theories of the biological model

answer

abnormal genes

question

Case of Phineas Gage

answer

illustrates just how important the brain is for personality and behavior; rod went through skull, changed personality, was nice now is vulgar

question

Cerebellum

answer

coordination, posture, balance

question

Brain stem

answer

involuntary life functions

question

Medulla

answer

breathing and blood circulation

question

Pons

answer

sleep and arousal

question

Reticular activating system

answer

arousal and stress

question

Cerebral cortex

answer

consciousness, memory, attention

question

Frontal lobe

answer

planning and organization, decision making, behavioral inhibition, and expression of emotion and social behaviors

question

Limbic system

answer

several structures deep in the brain; regulate basic emotions and impulses

question

Amygdala

answer

emotion and aggression

question

Hippocampus

answer

memory and learning

question

Thalamus

answer

"relay station;" forebrain to other areas

question

Basal ganglia

answer

posture and motor movement

question

Hypothalamus

answer

basic instinctual behaviors (the four F's), fighting, fleeing, feeding, and f'ing

question

Biochemical abnormalities

answer

neurotransmitters and neuron functioning; neuron receives stimulation from adjacent neurons, produces an action potential (chemically induced voltage transmission), stimulates release of neurotransmitters, termination of signal (degradation, re-uptake)

question

Degradation

answer

enzymes break down neurotransmitters in synapse

question

Re-uptake

answer

neurotransmitters "vacuumed" back up by the releasing neuron

question

Ways neuron functioning may be abnormal

answer

neurotransmitter levels too high/low; not enough receptors/receptors too sensitive (or the opposite)

question

Neurotransmitters involved in mood/behavior

answer

serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, GABA, and glutamate

question

Serotonin

answer

regulation of emotions and impulsivity, including aggressive impulses

question

Dopamine

answer

sociability, pleasure, and motivation; involved in areas of the brain regulating experience of reinforcement/rewards; voluntary motor functioning

question

Norepinephrine

answer

mood regulation, attention and arousal, regulation of sleep, and also involved in the fight-flight response

question

GABA

answer

mood regulation, especially anxiety, arousal, and behavioral activity level

question

Glutamate

answer

involved in learning and memory

question

Behavioral genetics

answer

study of the genetic and environmental influences on development of emotions, cognitions, and behavior, including mental disorders

question

Types of abnormalities

answer

structure or number of chromosomes (Down's syndrome, extra copy of chromosome 21); abnormalities in the genes that make up chromosomes, most are polygenetic

question

Genotype

answer

genetic composition of a person

question

Phenotype

answer

observable characteristic of a person, influenced by genotype but can change

question

Heritability

answer

amount of variation in a phenotype attributable to genetic factors

question

Probands

answer

people who have the disorder

question

Controls

answer

people who do NOT have the disorder

question

Monozygotic vs Dizygotic

answer

MZ twins - 100% shared genes DZ twins - 50% shared genes

question

Concordance rates

answer

degree of agreement in diagnosis between pairs of people; look at this for genetic influence (MZ vs DZ)

question

Adoption studies

answer

asks to what extent does a disorder run in families, but without the shared environment as competing explanation; most common method is to identify people with the disorder who were adopted at birth, then compare incidence of disorder across first-degree biological relatives

question

Psychodynamic model

answer

childhood experiences shape adult personality; causes and purposes of behavior partly due to unconscious motives; people use defense mechanisms to control anxiety; everything we do is done for a reason (Freud: "There are no accidents.")

question

Freud's structure of mind theory

answer

the id and ego

question

Three major components to personality

answer

id, ego, and superego

question

Id

answer

present from birth and unconscious; drives you to meet immediate demands such as hunger, thirst, aggression, and sexual pleasure; pleasure principle

question

Ego

answer

mediates between demands of the id and what society deems appropriate; rational, reality principle

question

Superego

answer

represents rules of society, ideals, and values imparted by parents; what we would think of as a conscience

question

Humanistic model

answer

developed as a reaction to a lack of free will inherent in the psychodynamic model; primary assumption is that people are naturally good and strive for personal growth and fulfillment; when striving is blocked, mental disorder results

question

Founder of the Humanistic Model

answer

Abraham Maslow

question

Developed a humanistic psychotherapy (client-centered therapy)

answer

Carl Rogers

question

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

answer

basic premise is that everyone strives toward satisfying their basic and higher-order needs; hierarchy implies certain needs must be met before others can be pursued; most basic needs are physiological; basic survival includes food, water, and sleep

question

Physiological needs

answer

breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion

question

Safety needs

answer

security of the body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property

question

Love/Belonging needs

answer

friendship, family, sexual intimacy

question

Esteem needs

answer

self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect o others, respect by others

question

Self-actualization needs

answer

morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts

question

Client-centered therapy

answer

Carl Rogers; key ingredients included unconditional positive regard and accurate empathy

question

Unconditional positive reward of client-centered therapy

answer

person is accepted completely and unconditionally

question

Accurate empathy of client-centered therapy

answer

understanding of a persons feelings and experience; being able to "put yourself in their shoes"

question

Humanistic model pros

answer

focus on potential for choice and personal growth, emphasizes personal responsibility, useful for establishing rapport, expressing emotions over issues such as grief

question

Cons of humanistic model

answer

not empirically supported, not indicated for serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia or severely suicidal patients

question

Cognitive-behavioral model

answer

focuses on both internal and external factors, cognitive focusing on thought processes and behavioral focusing on external events and consequences of behavior; relevant to a large number of mental disorders; excellent empirical support

question

Main premise of cognitive model

answer

our thoughts have an influence on our behavior and emotions (vice versa); three general types of cognitions implied to disorders include causal attributions, control beliefs, and cognitive distortions

question

Causal attributions

answer

focuses on our interpretations of "why" certain events happen (why did your boyfriend not call you back?); explanations can be categorized along dimensions such as temporary vs. stable or internal vs. external

question

Control beliefs

answer

thoughts related to your ability to control important events/outcomes in your life; motivation to take action (hope); learned helplessness

question

Cognitive distortions

answer

irrational, inaccurate thoughts about environmental events; usually occur as "automatic thoughts"; example include arbitrary inference, personalization, overgeneralization, should statements, emotional reasoning, and mental filter

question

Arbitrary inference

answer

conclusions not based on evidence

question

Personalization

answer

blaming yourself for events

question

Overgeneralization

answer

general conclusion based upon one event

question

Should statements

answer

"I should ______." "Other people should _____."

question

Emotional reasoning

answer

if you feel it, it must be true

question

Mental filter

answer

you pick one single negative detail and dwell on it

question

Behavioral/learning models

answer

developed in reaction to psychodynamic theories of the unconscious; focuses on how behavior is learned through our experiences in the environment; two primary principles include classical conditioning and operant conditioning

question

Classical conditioning

answer

Ivan Pavlov; research on dogs and the salivation reflex; a neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that is elicited automatically by some other stimulus; learning by association

question

Unconditioned stimulus

answer

"food"

question

Conditioned stimulus

answer

"bell"

question

Conditioned response

answer

"salivation"

question

Operant conditioning

answer

process by which behavior is shaped through its consequences; behavior followed by positive or pleasurable consequences is likely to be repeated but behavior followed by negative consequences is not likely to be repeated; Thorndike's Law of Effect

question

Reinforcement

answer

consequences of behavior that increase the likelihood of the behavior occurring again; positive vs. negative

question

Punishment

answer

consequences that decrease the likelihood of the behavior occurring again; positive vs. negative

question

Positive reinforcement

answer

adding a pleasant event or consequence after a behavior to increase frequency of behavior

question

Negative reinforcement

answer

removing an aversive event following a behavior to increase frequency of behavior

question

Escape learning

answer

an organism acquires a response that decreases or ends some ongoing aversive stimulus

question

Avoidance learning

answer

an organism acquires a response that prevents some aversive stimulus from occurring

question

Sociocultural model

answer

perspective includes a primary emphasis on environmental factors, such as living environment and culture

question

Culture

answer

values, beliefs, and preferences that are learned from others such as parents; not the same as race or ethnicity; difference between race and ethnicity

question

Culture-bound syndromes

answer

specific mental disorders are only seen in certain cultures

question

Koro

answer

extreme fear that your penis is shrinking and recessing into your abdomen (Asian men)

question

Dhat

answer

extreme fear that one is "losing" semen through masturbation or in the urine, and will lead to illness (Indian men)

question

Frigophobia

answer

extreme fear of getting cold (China and Taiwan)

question

Voodoo death

answer

when someone dies after breaking some kind of cultural taboo or after being "cursed"; caused by intense fear; seen in areas with strong beliefs in witchcraft such as Africa, South America, Australian natives, and Pacific Islands

question

Anthrophobia

answer

fear of being around people, driven by the fear of blushing, making eye contact with people, and fear that your body odor offends people; a form of social phobia seen primarily in Japan

question

Anorexia nervosa

answer

eating disorder that causes most people to be underweight; prevalence varies by culture; mainly seen in American and European cultures; rarely seen in countries where food is not abundant or in cultures where being thin is not seen as the "ideal body"

question

Neighborhoods and communities

answer

some characteristics of neighborhoods are correlated with psychological problems; high poverty and frequent turnover in residents results in higher rates of juvenile delinquent behavior/child maltreatment; crowding, pollution, noise, violence results in higher rates of depression, anxiety, and child behavior problems

question

Why do neighborhood characteristics relate to mental health?

answer

social causation theory and social drift theory

question

Social causation theory

answer

low SES causes mental disorder, overcrowding is stressful, violence leads to fear of safety, witnessing violence and being the victim of violence is very stressful and can lead to PTSD

question

Social drift theory

answer

mental disorder leads to a decrease in social class

question

Diathesis-stress model

answer

diathesis + stress = disorder

question

Biological interaction of diatheses and stressors

answer

emphasis on biological processes such as genetics

question

Psychological interaction of diatheses and stressors

answer

emphasis on psychological factors such as early childhood experience and self-concept

question

Social interaction of diatheses and stressors

answer

emphasis on interpersonal relationships and social environment

question

Dimensions vs categories

answer

symptoms are usually dimensions while disorders are considered categorical

question

Dimensions

answer

range of severity of abnormality of thoughts, behaviors, and emotions

question

PSY 436 Abnormal Psychology – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards