Abnormal Psych Ch. 1

Question 1

social discomfort

Answer 1

when a persons abnormal behavior causes others to experience uncomfortability (*one of the main indicators of abnormality)

Question 2

reinforcing contributory cause

Answer 2

condition that reinforces or maintains maladaptive behavior that is already occuring

Question 3

proximal (immediate) risk factors

Answer 3

occur shortly before occurrence of symptoms

Question 4

distal risk factors

Answer 4

occur early in life but don’t show effects for many years

Question 5

maladaptiveness

Answer 5

a lack of ability to change or adapt to different circumstances (*one of the main indicators of abnormality)

Question 6

violation of the standards of society

Answer 6

deviance from societal norms (*one of the main indicators of abnormality)

Question 7

diathesis-stress models

Answer 7

describe mental disorders that develop when someone with a preexisting vulnerability for the disorder experiences a major stressor

Question 8

diathesis

Answer 8

vulnerability; a predisposition toward developing a disorder that can derive from biological, psychological or sociocultural factors

Question 9

abnormal psychology

Answer 9

understanding the nature, causes, and treatment of mental disorders

Question 10

DSM-5

Answer 10

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (5th edition)

Question 11

comparison (control) groups

Answer 11

people who do not have the disorder being studied but are otherwise comparable to the criterion group

Question 12

generalizabilty

Answer 12

a measure of how applicable the results of a study are to a larger group of people or situations

Question 13

pathology

Answer 13

the study/science of the cause and effects of disorders/diseases

Question 14

irrationality & unpredictability

Answer 14

when a persons behavior appears to be out of their control and unreasonable (*one of the main indicators of abnormality)

Question 15

dangerousness

Answer 15

someone who is a danger to themselves or to others (*one of the main indicators of abnormality)

Question 16

etiology

Answer 16

the cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of a disease or condition

Question 17

comorbidity

Answer 17

the presence of two or more disorders in the same person

Question 18

prevalence

Answer 18

the number of active cases in a population during any given time, expressed in percentages or different types of prevalence estimates

Question 19

mental disorder

Answer 19

a syndrome that is present in an individual and that involves clinically significant disturbance in behavior, emotion regulation, and cognitive functioning

Question 20

third variable problem

Answer 20

involvement of some unknown third variable

Question 21

criterion group

Answer 21

a group of individuals that directly have the disorder being studied

Question 22

internal validity

Answer 22

the extent to which a study is methodologically sound

Question 23

statistical deviance

Answer 23

behaviors that differ from the norms of a majority of people in a particular situation (*one of the main indicators of abnormality)

Question 24

falsifiable

Answer 24

the idea that a theory, statement, or hypothesis can be proven false

Question 25

types of prevalence estimates

Answer 25

- point prevalence: estimated proportion of actual active cases of a disorder in any given population at any given point in time -one year prevalence: estimate of the number of people who experienced a specific disorder at any point during the entire year -lifetime prevalence: estimate of the number of people who have had a particular disorder at any time in their lives

Question 26

correlational research design

Answer 26

studying the world as it is; no manipulation of variables

Question 27

inductive reasoning

Answer 27

the act of making generalized conclusions based off specific scenarios

Question 28

attrition

Answer 28

reduction in the number of research participants due to drop outs

Question 29

1) positive correlation 2) negative correlation 3) correlation of zero

Answer 29

1) when one variable increases, the other variable increases 2) when one variable decreases, the other variable decreases 3) the measures of each variable do not predict each other at all

Question 30

meta-analysis

Answer 30

a statistical method that combines data from multiple studies to analyze a similar research question

Question 31

external validity

Answer 31

extent to which a research study's findings can be generalized

Question 32

empirical

Answer 32

based on observation, experimentation, or. systematic observation, rather than theory, speculation, or abstract reasoning

Question 33

subjective distress

Answer 33

a psychological experience that is dependent on a situation and how a person perceives it (*one of the main indicators of abnormality)

Question 34

deductive reasoning

Answer 34

the act of backing up a generalized statement with specific scenarios

Question 35

statistical significance

Answer 35

the probability that the correlation would occur purely by chance

Question 36

retrospective research vs. prospective research

Answer 36

-retrospective research: strategies that involve looking back in time -prospective research: strategies that involve looking ahead in time

Question 37

longitudinal design

Answer 37

a study that follows the same participant or group of participants over a period of time

Question 38

mental health epidemiology

Answer 38

the study of the distribution of mental health disorders in a given population

Question 39

family aggregation

Answer 39

whether a disorder runs in families

Question 40

effect size

Answer 40

tells you how meaningful the relationship between variables or the difference between groups is

Question 41

methodology

Answer 41

a system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity

Question 42

sampling

Answer 42

the careful selection of people representative of a much larger group (a subgroup) for a close study

Question 43

analogue studies

Answer 43

studying not the true item of interest but an approximation of it

Question 44

incidence

Answer 44

the number of new cases in population over a given period of time; typically lower than prevalence figures