Ch 4 & 5 Flashcards
diagnostic labels can ________ a patient.
dehumanize
Diagnosis
Label attached to a set of symptoms that tend to occur together
Classification system
A list of categories and disorders with descriptions of the symptoms and guidelines for assigning individuals to the categories
Reliability
Consistency of assessment measures, yielding the same results in the same situation
Validity
Whether or not it measures what it’s supposed to measure
Categorical information
figuring out if and which psychological disorder a patient has
Dimensional information
figuring out the extent of severity of symptoms a patient has, often on severity scales.
Culture bound abnormality
mental disorders unique to a particular culture, growing from cultural pressures and ideas
Why a diagnostic system?
scientific reasons
clinical reasons
pragmatic reasons
DSM 5 as heuristic
mental shortcut that helps categorize, and has helped clinicians make diagnostic and treatment decisions efficiently but errors may occur
Strengths of DSM 5
- based on observable and describable behaviors
- common language
- categories + rating scales
Weaknesses of DSM 5
self reports
not all problems can be observed
some labels might not actually be disorders
Phenomenological impasse
not all symptoms are behavioral
Dangers of diagnosis
dehumanizing and labeling patients, and clinicians may use bias that may lead to incorrect diagnoses
Rosenhan study
being sane in insane places, no one realized they were sane, only some patients
Role of theory in DSM
DSM might profit from making underlying theories explicit and we have viewed theory as corrupting the diagnostic system
Treatment decisions
treatment plans usually reflect their theoretical point of view and how they have been trained to treat people
Therapy outcome studies
studies that measure the effects of various treatments
Meta analysis
combining findings of different studies into one statistical analysis
Uniformity myth
false belief that all therapies are equivalent despite differences in therapists’ training, experience and theoretical orientations
Reapproachment movement
tried to identify a set of common strategies that may run through the work of all effective therapists regardless of clinician’s prior orientations
Idiographic information
Individual information gathered on new clients
Interrater reliability
Different judges independently agree on how to score and interpret things
Predictive validity
Tool’s ability to predict future characteristics or behavior ex gathering parents info on smoking to predict child’s smoking behaviors or lack thereof
Concurrent validity
Degree to which the measures gathered from one assessment technique agree with measures gathered from other techniques
4 Ds of abnormality
Deviance
Distress
Dysfunction
Danger
Mental illness is ___________ with IQ.
Uncorrelated
A group of symptoms that tend to occur together
Syndrome
what disorder may not exist but is still present in the current and past DSMs?
narcissistic personality disorder
2 questionable “disorders” in DSM 5
caffiene intoxication disorder
nicotine withdrawal
fear
central nervous system’s physiological and emotional response to a serious threat to one’s well being or life
anxiety
CNS physiological and emotional response to a vague sense of threat or danger
GAD
disorder marked by persistent and excessive feelings of anxiety and worry about numerous events and activities
sociocultural theory of GAD
GAD is most likely to develop in those who live in threatening environments or ongoing dangerous social conditions
psychodynamic theory of GAD
childhood anxiety goes unresolved; early developmental experiences may produce unusually high levels of anxiety in children, which may set the stage for GAD
humanist theory of GAD
Arises when people stop looking at themselves honestly and acceptingly; repeated denials of their true thoughts, emotions, and behavior make them anxious and unable to fulfill their potential
cognitive maladaptive assumptions
inaccurate beliefs held by people with various psych problems as according to albert ellis
new wave cognitive explanations
new explanations that build on the theories of Ellis and Beck and their emphasis on danger
rational emotive therapy
cognitive therapists point out the irrational assumptions held by clients, suggest more appropriate assumptions and assign homework that gives them practice at challenging old assumptions and applying new ones
genetics in GAD
family pedigree studies have shown evidence of genetic inheritance for anxiety disorders, but may mean similarities in environment
GABA inactivity GAD
low activity has been linked to GAD
Sedative hypnotic drugs
drugs that calm people at lower doses and gel them to fall asleep at higher doses
relaxation training
treatment procedure that teaches clients to relax at will so they can calm themselves in stressful situations
biofeedback
technique in which a client is given info about physiological reactions as they occur and learns to control reactions voluntarily
specific phobias
persistent fear of a certain and specific object or situation
stimulus generation
phenomenon in which responses to one stimulus are also produced by similar stimuli
behavioral evolutionary explanations GAD
propose that classical conditioning may lead to contraction of phobic reactions
preparedness
predisposition to develop certain fears
flooding
treatment for phobias in which clients are exposed repeatedly and intensively to a feared object and made to see it is actually harmless
agoraphobia
anxiety disorder where a person is afraid to be in public places or situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing or help unavailable if panic were to occur
treatment of agoraphobia
home based self help programs where families carry out treatment themselves of exposure therapy, coaxing, systematic desensitization
social anxiety disorder
severe and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur
causes of SAD
proposed by cognitive theorists, people with this disorder hold a group of social beliefs and expectations that consistently work against them
treatments for SAD
medications, exposure therapy, and cognitive therapies and sometimes group therapy
exposure therapy
behavioral intervention very effective with phobias where they expose themselves to their fears until their fears subside
social skills training
therapy approach that helps people learn or improve social skills and assertiveness through role playing and rehearsing of desirable behaviors
panic attacks
periodic short bursts of panic that occur suddenly reach a peak and pass
panic disorder
anxiety disorder marked by recurrent and unpredictable panic attacks
norepinephrine
neurotransmitter that bio theorists say plays a role in panic disorder
locus ceruleus
small area of the brain that seems to be active in the regulation of emotions
amygdala
small almond shaped part of brain that processes emotional information
drug therapies for panic disorder
antidepressants restore proper activity of norepinephrine in the brain and are able to prevent panic symptoms
misinterpreting bodily sensations
cognitive theorists say that panic attacks are experienced only by people who further misinterpret the physiological events that occur within their bodies
biological challenge test
procedure used to produce panic in participants by having them exercise vigorously or take drugs in the presence of researcher or therapist
anxiety sensitivity
tendency to focus on one’s bodily sensations, assess them illogically, and interpret them as harmful
cognitive therapy for PD
correct people’s misinterpretations of their bodily sensations
metacognitive theory
new wave- holds that people with GAD implicitly hold both positive and negative beliefs about worrying; negative attitudes can open the door to the disorder
intolerance of uncertainty theory
new wave- certain individuals cannot tolerate the knowledge that negative events may occur, even if the possibility is very small
avoidance theory
new wave- suggests that people with GAD have greater bodily arousal than other people and worrying actually serves to reduce this arousal by distracting individuals from their unpleasant physical feelings
acceptance and commitment theory
cognitive therapists help GAD sufferers to become aware of their streams of thoughts and worries as they are occurring and accept such thoughts as mere events of the mind to become less affected by them.
