Chapter 1 Flashcards
Abnormal psychology
The scientific study of abnormal behavior in an effort to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning
Deviance
Abnormal psychological functioning is deviant from societal norms; different, extreme, unusual, bizarre
Norms
A society’s stated and unstated rules for proper conduct
Culture
A people’s common history, values, institutions, habits, skills, technology, and arts
Distress
Abnormal psychological functioning is distressing; unpleasant and upsetting to the person
Dysfunction
Abnormal psychological functioning is dysfunctional; interfering with the person’s ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way
Danger
Abnormal psychological functioning is possibly dangerous to oneself or others
Treatment
A systematic procedure designed to change abnormal behavior into more normal behavior. Also called therapy.
Trephination
An ancient operation in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a circular section of the skull, perhaps to treat abnormal behavior
Humors
According to the Greeks and Romans, bodily chemicals that influence mental and physical functioning
Asylum
A type of institution that first became popular in the sixteenth century to provide care for persons with mental disorders. Most became virtual prisons.
Moral treatment
A nineteenth-century approach to treating people with mental dysfunction that emphasized moral guidance and humane and respectful treatment
State hospitals
State-run public mental institutions in the United States
Somatogenic perspective
The view that abnormal psychological functioning has physical causes
Psychogenic perspective
The view that the chief causes of abnormal functioning are psychological
General paresis
An irreversible disorder with both physical and mental symptoms, including paralysis and delusions of grandeur
Hypnosis
Procedure that places people in a trancelike mental state during which they become extremely suggestible
Psychoanalysis
Either the theory or the treatment of abnormal mental functioning that emphasizes unconscious phycological forces as the cause of psychopathology
Psychotropic medications
Drugs that mainly affect the brain and reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunctioning
Deinstitutionalization
The practice, begun in the 1960s, of releasing hundreds of thousands of patients from public mental hospitals
Private psychotherapy
An arrangement in which a person directly pays a therapist for counseling services
Prevention
Interventions aimed at determining mental disorders before they develop
Positive psychology
The study and enhancement of positive feelings, traits, and abilities
Multicultural psychology
The field of psychology the examines the impact of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, and similar factors on out behaviors and thoughts, including abnormal behaviors and thoughts
Managed care program
A system of health care coverage in which the insurance company largely controls the nature, scope, and cost of medical or psychological services
Scientific method
The process of systematically gathering and evaluating information through careful observations to fain an understanding of a phenomenon
Case study
A detailed account of a person’s life and psychological problems
Correlation
The degree to which events or characteristics vary along with each other
Correlational method
A research procedure used to determine how much events or characteristics vary along with each other
Epidemiological study
A study the measures the incidence and prevalence of a disorder in a given population
Incidence
The number of new cases that emerge during a given period of time
Prevalence
The total number of cases in the population during a given period of time; existing and new
Longitudinal study
A study that observes the same participants on may occasions over a long period of time
Experiment
A research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the effect of the manipulation is observed
Independent variable
The variable in an experiment that in manipulated to determine whether it has an effect on another variable
Dependent variable
The variable in an experiment that is expected to change as the independent variable is manipulated
Confound
In an experiment, a variable other that the independent variable that is also acting on the dependent variable
Control group
In an experiment, a group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable
Experimental group
In an experiment, the participants who are exposed to the independent variable under investigation
Random assignment
A selection procedure that ensures that participants are randomly placed either in the control group or in the experimental group
Blind design
An experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or the control condition
Placebo therapy
Imitation therapy in which a placebo is given to the control group which looks or tastes like the real therapy but has none of its key ingredients
Double-blind design
An experiment in which both the experimenter and the participant is kept blind
Quasi-experiment
An experiment in which investigators make use of control and experimental groups that already exist in the world at large. Also called a mixed design.
Natural experiment
An experiment in which nature, rather than an experimenter, manipulates an independent variable
Analogue experiment
An experiment in which the investigator produces abnormal-like behavior in laboratory participants and then conducts studies on the participants
Single-subject experimental design
A research method in which a single participant is observed and measured both before and after the manipulation of an independent variable
