Chapter 1: Introduction and Historical Overview

Question 1

asylum

Answer 1

Refuges established in western Europe in the fifteenth century to confine and provide for the mentally ill; forerunners of the mental hospital

Question 2

behaviorism

Answer 2

The school of psychology originally associated with John B. Watson, who proposed that observable behavior, not consciousness, is the proper subject matter of psychology. Contemporary behaviorists do use mediational concepts, provided they are firmly anchored to observables.

Question 3

cathartic method

Answer 3

A therapeutic procedure to relieve emotional suffering introduced by Breuer and developed further by Freud in the late nineteenth century, whereby a patient recalls and relives an earlier emotional catastrophe and reexperiences the tension and unhappiness

Question 4

classical conditioning

Answer 4

A basic form of learning- ing, sometimes referred to as Pavlovian condi- tioning, in which a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with another stimulus (called the uncon- ditioned stimulus, UCS) that naturally elicits a certain desired response (called the uncon- ditioned response, UCR). After repeated trials, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) and evokes the same or a similar response, now called the conditioned response (CR

Question 5

clinical psychologist

Answer 5

individual who has earned a Ph.D. degree in psychology or a Psy.D. and whose training has included an internship in a mental hospital or clinic

Question 6

defense mechanism

Answer 6

In psychoanalytic theory, reality-distorting strategies unconsciously adopted to protect the ego from anxiety

Question 7

ego

Answer 7

In psychoanalytic theory, the predominantly conscious part of the personality, responsible for decision making and for dealing with reality

Question 8

electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Answer 8

A treatment that produces a convulsion by passing electric current through the brain; despite public concerns about this treatment, it can be useful in alleviating profound depression

Question 9

exorcism

Answer 9

The casting out of evil spirits by ritualistic chanting or torture

Question 10

extinction

Answer 10

The elimination of a classically conditioned response by the omission of the unconditioned stimulus. In operant conditioning, the elimination of the conditioned response by the omission of reinforcement

Question 11

id

Answer 11

In psychoanalytic theory, that part of the personality present at birth, comprising all the energy of the psyche and expressed as biological urges that strive continually for gratification

Question 12

law of effect

Answer 12

principle of learning that holds that behavior is acquired by virtue of its consequences

Question 13

modeling

Answer 13

Learning by observing and imitating the behavior of others or teaching by demonstrating and providing opportunities for imitation.

Question 14

moral treatment

Answer 14

therapeutic regimen, introduced by Philippe Pinel during the French Revolution, whereby mentally ill patients were released from their restraints and were treated with compassion and dignity rather than with contempt and denigration

Question 15

negative reinforcement

Answer 15

The strengthening of a tendency to exhibit desired behavior by rewarding responses in that situation with the removal of an aversive stimulus

Question 16

operant conditioning

Answer 16

The acquisition or elimination of a response as a function of the environmental contingencies of reinforcement and punishment

Question 17

positive reinforcement

Answer 17

The strengthening of a tendency to exhibit desired behavior by rewarding responses in that situation with a desired reward

Question 18

psychiatric nurse

Answer 18

nurse, typically with a bachelor’s degree, who receives specialized training in mental illness. A nurse practitioner may prescribe psychiatric medications

Question 19

psychiatrist

Answer 19

physician (M.D.) who has taken specialized postdoctoral training, called a residency, in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psychological disorders

Question 20

psychoanalysis

Answer 20

Primarily the therapy procedures pioneered by Freud, entailing free association, dream analysis, and working through the transference neurosis. More recently the term has come to encompass the numerous variations on basic Freudian therapy.

Question 21

psychoanalytic theory

Answer 21

Theory originating with Freud that psychopathology results from unconscious conflicts in the individual

Question 22

psychological disorder

Answer 22

The DSM defines psychological disorder as a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or patterns. The definition includes a number of key features, including distress, disability or impaired functioning, violation of social norms, and dysfunction

Question 23

psychopathology

Answer 23

The field concerned with the nature and development of psychological disorders

Question 24

psychotherapy

Answer 24

primarily verbal means of helping troubled individuals change their thoughts, feelings, and behavior to reduce distress and to achieve greater life satisfaction

Question 25

social worker

Answer 25

mental health professional who holds a master of social work (M.S.W.) degree.

Question 26

stigma

Answer 26

pernicious beliefs and attitudes held by a society about groups considered devi- ant in some manner, such as people with mental illness

Question 27

superego

Answer 27

In psychoanalytic theory, the part of the personality that acts as the conscience and reflects society’s moral standards as learned from parents and teachers

Question 28

systematic desensitization

Answer 28

major behavior therapy procedure that has a fearful person, while deeply relaxed, imagine a series of progressively more fearsome situations, such that fear is dispelled as a response incompatible with relaxation; useful for treating psychological problems in which anxiety is the principal difficulty

Question 29

transference

Answer 29

The venting of the analysand’s emotions, either positive or negative, by treating the psychoanalyst as the symbolic representative of someone important in the past

Question 30

unconscious

Answer 30

state of unawareness without sensation or thought; in psychoanalytic theory, the part of the personality, in particular the id impulses or energy, of which the ego is unaware