Chapter 1 - Abnormal Behavior

Question 1

mental disorder

Answer 1

psychological symptoms or behavioral patterns that reflect an
underlying psychobiological dysfunction, are associated with distress
or disability, and are not merely an expectable response to common
stressors or losses

Question 2

mental illness

Answer 2

a mental health condition that negatively affects a person’s emotions,
thinking, behavior, relationships with others, or overall functioning

Question 3

psychopathology

Answer 3

the study of the symptoms, causes, and treatments of mental disorders

Question 4

abnormal psychology

Answer 4

the scientific study whose objectives are to discribe, explain, predict, and modify behaviors associated with mental disorders

Question 5

treatment plan

Answer 5

a proposed course of therapy, developed collaboratively by a therapist
and client, that addresses the client’s most distressing mental health
symptoms

Question 6

mental health professional

Answer 6

health care practitioners (such as psychologists, psychiatrists,
psychiatric nurses, social workers, or mental health counselors) whose
services focus on improving mental health or treating mental illness

Question 7

etiology

Answer 7

cause of origin of a disorder

Question 8

psychodiagnosis

Answer 8

assessment and description of an individual’s psychological
symptoms, including inferences about what might be causing the
psychological distress

Question 9

cultural relativism

Answer 9

the belief that lifestyles, cultural values, and worldviews affect the
expression and definition of mental disorders

Question 10

culture

Answer 10

the configuration of shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that
is transmitted from one generation to another by members of a
particular group and symbolized by artifacts, roles, expectations, and
institutions

Question 11

hallucinations

Answer 11

a sensory experience (such as an image, sound, smell, or taste) that
seems real but that does not exist outside of the mind

Question 12

psychotherapy

Answer 12

a program of systematic intervention with the purpose of improving a
client’s behavioral, emotional, or cognitive symptoms

Question 13

prevalance

Answer 13

the percentage of individuals in a targeted population who have a
particular disorder during a specific period of time

Question 14

psychiatric epidemiology

Answer 14

the study of the prevalence of mental illness in a society

Question 15

cultural universality

Answer 15

the assumption that a fixed set of mental disorders exists whose
manifestations and symptoms are similar across cultures

Question 16

lifetime prevalence

Answer 16

the percentage of people in the population who have had a disorder at some point in their lives

Question 17

prejudice

Answer 17

an unfair, preconceived judgment about a person or group based on
their supposed characteristics

Question 18

stereotypes

Answer 18

an oversimplified, often inaccurate, image or idea about a group of people

Question 19

social stigma

Answer 19

negative societal beliefs about a group, including the view that the
group is somehow different from other members of society

Question 20

discrimination

Answer 20

unjust or prejudicial treatment toward a person based on the person’s
actual or perceived membership in a certain group

Question 21

self-efficacy

Answer 21

belief in one’s ability to succeed in a specific situation

Question 22

self-stigma

Answer 22

acceptance of prejudice and discrimination based on internalized
negative societal beliefs or stereotypes

Question 23

empoverment

Answer 23

increasing one’s sense of personal strength and self-worth

Question 24

biological vulnerability

Answer 24

genetic or physiological susceptibility

Question 25

exorcism

Answer 25

treatment method in which prayers, noises, emetics, flogging, and starvation were used to cast evil spirits out of an afflicted person’s body

Question 26

brain pathology

Answer 26

a dysfunction or disease of the brain

Question 27

trephining

Answer 27

a surgical method from the Stone Age in which part of the skull was chipped away to provide an opening through which an evil spirit could escape

Question 28

hysteria

Answer 28

an outdated term referring to excessive or uncontrollable emotion, sometimes resulting in somatic symptoms (such as blindness or paralysis) that have no apparent physical cause

Question 29

biological viewpoint

Answer 29

the belief that mental disorders have a physical or physiological basis

Question 30

tarantism

Answer 30

a form of mass hysteria prevalent during the Middle Ages, | characterized by wild raving, jumping, dancing, and convulsing

Question 31

moral treatment movement

Answer 31

crusade to institute more humane treatment of people with mental illness

Question 32

humanism

Answer 32

a philosophical movement that emphasizes human welfare and the worth and uniqueness of the individual

Question 33

psychological viewpoint

Answer 33

the belief that mental disorders are caused by psychological and emotional factors rather than biological influences

Question 34

cathartic method

Answer 34

a therapeutic use of verbal expression to release pent-up emotional conflicts

Question 35

syndromes

Answer 35

certain symptoms that tend to occur regularly in clusters

Question 36

positive psychology

Answer 36

the philosophical and scientific study of positive human functioning and the strengths and assets of individuals, families, and communities

Question 37

intrapsychic

Answer 37

psychological processes occurring within the mind

Question 38

spirituality

Answer 38

belief in an animating life force or energy beyond what we can perceive with our senses

Question 39

multicultural psychology

Answer 39

a branch of psychology that focuses on culture, race, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic class, and other similar factors in its effort to understand behavior

Question 40

psychological resilience

Answer 40

the capacity to effectively adapt to and bounce back from stress, trauma, and other adversity

Question 41

psychotripic medications

Answer 41

drugs that treat or manage psychiatric symptoms by influencing brain activity associated with emotions and behavior

Question 42

optimal human functioning

Answer 42

qualities such as subjective well-being, optimism, resilience, hope, courage, ability to cope with stress, self-actualization, and selfdeterminism

Question 43

recovery movement

Answer 43

philosophy that with appropriate treatment and support those with mental illness can improve and live satisfying lives even with any limitations caused by their illness

Question 44

managed health care

Answer 44

the industrialization of health care, whereby large organizations in the private sector control the delivery of services