Chapter 1: Abnormal Psychology, Past and Present Flashcards
abnormal psychology
The scientific study of abnormal behavior undertaken to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning.
analog experiment
A research method in which the experimenter produces abnormal-like behavior in laboratory participants and then conducts experiments on the participants.
asylum
A type of institution that first became popular in the sixteenth century to provide care for persons with mental disorders. Most asylums became virtual prisons.
case study
A detailed account of a person’s life and psychological problems.
confound
In an experiment, a variable other than 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.
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.
culture
A people’s common history, values, institutions, habits, skills, technology, and arts.
danger
Behavior that poses a threat to a person or the people around them.
deinstitutionalization
The practice, begun in the 1960s, of releasing hundreds of thousands of patients from public mental hospitals.
dependent variable
The variable in an experiment that is expected to change as the independent variable is manipulated.
deviance
Variance from common patterns of behavior.
distress
Behavior that is unpleasant and upsetting to the person.
dysfunction
Behavior that is interfering with the person’s ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way
epidemiological study
A study that measures the incidence and prevalence of a problem, such as a disorder, in a given population.
experiment
A research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the effect of that manipulation on another variable is observed.
experimental group
In an experiment, the participants who are exposed to the independent variable under investigation.
humors
According to the Greeks and Romans, bodily chemicals that influence mental and physical functioning: blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.
hypothesis
A hunch or prediction that certain variables are related in certain ways.
incidence
The number of new cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time.
independent variable
The variable in an experiment that is manipulated to determine whether it has an effect on another variable.
informed consent
The requirement that researchers provide sufficient information to participants about the purpose, procedure, risks, and benefits of a study.
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
An ethics committee in a research facility that is empowered to protect the rights and safety of human research participants.
longitudinal study
A study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time
managed care program
Health care coverage in which the insurance company largely controls the nature, scope, and cost of medical or psychological services.
masked design
A feature of an experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or the control condition. Previously called blind design.
matched design
A research design that matches the experimental participants with control participants who are similar on key characteristics.
moral treatment
A nineteenth-century approach to treating people with mental dysfunction that emphasized moral guidance and humane and respectful treatment.
multicultural psychology
The field that examines the impact of culture, race, ethnicity, and gender on behaviors and thoughts, and focuses on how such factors may influence the origin, nature, and treatment of abnormal behavior.
natural experiment
An experiment in which nature, rather than an experimenter, manipulates an independent variable.
nomothetic
A general understanding of the nature, causes, and treatments of abnormal functioning, in the form of laws or principles that apply across people.
norms
A society’s stated and unstated rules for proper conduct.
placebo therapy
A pretend treatment that the participant in an experiment believes to be genuine.
positive psychology
The study and enhancement of positive feelings, traits, and abilities.
prevalence
The total number of cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time.
prevention
Interventions aimed at deterring mental disorders before they can develop
private psychotherapy
An arrangement in which a person directly pays a therapist for counseling services.
psychoanalysis
Either the theory or the treatment of abnormal mental functioning that emphasizes unconscious psychological forces as the cause of psychopathology.
psychogenic perspective
The view that the chief causes of abnormal functioning are psychological.
psychotropic medications
Drugs that mainly affect the brain and reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunction.
quasi-expiremental design
A research design that fails to include key elements of a “pure” experiment and/or intermixes elements of both experimental and correlational studies.
random assignment
A selection procedure in an experiment that ensures that participants are randomly placed either in the control group or in the experimental group.
scientific method
The process of systematically gathering and evaluating information, through careful observations, to understand a phenomenon.
somatogenic perspective
The view that abnormal functioning has physical causes.
state hospital
State-run public mental institutions in the United States.
telemental health
The use of remote technologies, such as long-distance videoconferencing, to deliver mental health services without the therapist being physically present.
the four D’s
deviance, distress, dysfunction, danger
therapy
A systematic process for helping people overcome their psychological problems. Therapy consists of a client (patient), a trained therapist, and a series of contacts between them.
three essential features of therapy
- A sufferer who seeks relief from the healer.
- A trained, socially accepted healer, whose expertise is accepted by the sufferer and the sufferer’s social group.
- A series of contacts between the healer and the sufferer, through which the healer tries to produce certain changes in the sufferer’s emotional state, attitudes, and behavior.
treatment
A systematic procedure designed to change abnormal behavior into more normal behavior
trephination
An ancient operation in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a circular section of the skull to treat abnormal behavior.
The scientific study of abnormal behavior undertaken to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning.
abnormal psychology
A research method in which the experimenter produces abnormal-like behavior in laboratory participants and then conducts experiments on the participants.
analog experiment
A type of institution that first became popular in the sixteenth century to provide care for persons with mental disorders. Most asylums became virtual prisons.
asylum
A detailed account of a person’s life and psychological problems.
case study
In an experiment, a variable other than the independent variable that is also acting on the dependent variable.
confound
In an experiment, a group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable.
control group
The degree to which events or characteristics vary along with each other.
correlation
A research procedure used to determine how much events or characteristics vary along with each other.
correlational method
A people’s common history, values, institutions, habits, skills, technology, and arts.
culture
Behavior that poses a threat to a person or the people around them.
danger
The practice, begun in the 1960s, of releasing hundreds of thousands of patients from public mental hospitals.
deinstitutionalization
The variable in an experiment that is expected to change as the independent variable is manipulated.
dependent variable
Variance from common patterns of behavior.
deviance
Behavior that is unpleasant and upsetting to the person.
distress
Behavior that is interfering with the person’s ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way
dysfunction
A study that measures the incidence and prevalence of a problem, such as a disorder, in a given population.
epidemiological study
A research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the effect of that manipulation on another variable is observed.
experiment
In an experiment, the participants who are exposed to the independent variable under investigation.
experimental group
According to the Greeks and Romans, bodily chemicals that influence mental and physical functioning.
humors
A hunch or prediction that certain variables are related in certain ways.
hypothesis
The number of new cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time.
incidence
The variable in an experiment that is manipulated to determine whether it has an effect on another variable.
independent variable
The requirement that researchers provide sufficient information to participants about the purpose, procedure, risks, and benefits of a study.
informed consent
An ethics committee in a research facility that is empowered to protect the rights and safety of human research participants.
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
A study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time
longitudinal study
Health care coverage in which the insurance company largely controls the nature, scope, and cost of medical or psychological services.
managed care program
A feature of an experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or the control condition. Previously called blind design.
masked design
A research design that matches the experimental participants with control participants who are similar on key characteristics.
matched design
A nineteenth-century approach to treating people with mental dysfunction that emphasized moral guidance and humane and respectful treatment.
moral treatment
The field that examines the impact of culture, race, ethnicity, and gender on behaviors and thoughts, and focuses on how such factors may influence the origin, nature, and treatment of abnormal behavior.
multicultural psychology
An experiment in which nature, rather than an experimenter, manipulates an independent variable.
natural experiment
A general understanding of the nature, causes, and treatments of abnormal functioning, in the form of laws or principles that apply across people.
nomothetic
A society’s stated and unstated rules for proper conduct.
norms
A pretend treatment that the participant in an experiment believes to be genuine.
placebo therapy
The study and enhancement of positive feelings, traits, and abilities.
positive psychology
The total number of cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time.
prevalence
Interventions aimed at deterring mental disorders before they can develop
prevention
An arrangement in which a person directly pays a therapist for counseling services.
private psychotherapy
Either the theory or the treatment of abnormal mental functioning that emphasizes unconscious psychological forces as the cause of psychopathology.
psychoanalysis
The view that the chief causes of abnormal functioning are psychological.
psychogenic perspective
Drugs that mainly affect the brain and reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunction.
psychotropic medications
A research design that fails to include key elements of a “pure” experiment and/or intermixes elements of both experimental and correlational studies.
quasi-expiremental design
A selection procedure in an experiment that ensures that participants are randomly placed either in the control group or in the experimental group.
random assignment
The process of systematically gathering and evaluating information, through careful observations, to understand a phenomenon.
scientific method
The view that abnormal functioning has physical causes.
somatogenic perspective
State-run public mental institutions in the United States.
state hospital
The use of remote technologies, such as long-distance videoconferencing, to deliver mental health services without the therapist being physically present.
telemental health
deviance, distress, dysfunction, danger
the four D’s
A systematic process for helping people overcome their psychological problems consisting of a client (patient), a trained therapist, and a series of contacts between them.
therapy
- A sufferer who seeks relief from the healer.
- A trained, socially accepted healer, whose expertise is accepted by the sufferer and the sufferer’s social group.
- A series of contacts between the healer and the sufferer, through which the healer tries to produce certain changes in the sufferer’s emotional state, attitudes, and behavior.
Frank’s three essential features of therapy
A systematic procedure designed to change abnormal behavior into more normal behavior
treatment
An ancient operation in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a circular section of the skull to treat abnormal behavior.
trephination
