Chapter 2: Models of Abnormality

Question 1

Models

Answer 1

A set of assumptions and concepts that help scientists explain and interpret observations. Also called a paradigm.

Question 2

Neuron

Answer 2

A nerve cell

Question 3

Synapse

Answer 3

The tiny space between the nerve ending of one neuron and the dendrite of another

Question 4

Neurotransmitter

Answer 4

A chemical that, released by one neuron, crosses the synaptic space to be received at receptors on the dendrites of neighboring neurons

Question 5

Receptors

Answer 5

A site on a neuron that receives a neurotransmitter

Question 6

Hormones

Answer 6

The chemicals released by endocrine glands into the bloodstream

Question 7

Brain Circuits

Answer 7

A network of brain structures that work together, triggering each other into action to produce a distinct kind of behavioral, cognitive, or emotional reaction

Question 8

Genes

Answer 8

Chromosome segments that control the characteristics and traits we inherit

Question 9

Brain Stimulation

Answer 9

Interventions that directly or indirectly stimulate the brain in order to bring about psychological improvement

Question 10

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Answer 10

A biological treatment in which a brain seizure is triggered when an electric current passes through electrodes attached to the patient’s forehead

Question 11

Psychosurgery

Answer 11

Brain surgery for mental disorders

Question 12

Id

Answer 12

According to Freud, the psychological force that produces instinctual needs, drives, and impulses

Question 13

Ego

Answer 13

According to Freud, the psychological force that employs reason and operates in accordance with the reality principle

Question 14

Ego Defense Mechanisms

Answer 14

According to psychoanalytic theory, strategies developed by the ego to control unacceptable id impulses and to avoid or reduce the anxiety they arouse

Question 15

Superego

Answer 15

According to Freud, the psychological force that represents a person’s values and ideals

Question 16

Fixated

Answer 16

According to Freud, a condition in which the id, ego, or superego do not mature properly and are frozen at an early stage of development

Question 17

Self Theory

Answer 17

The psychodynamic theory that emphasizes the role of the self–our unified personality

Question 18

Object Relations Theory

Answer 18

The psychodynamic theory that views the desire for relationships as the key motivating force in human behavior

Question 19

Free Association

Answer 19

A psychodynamic technique in which the patient describes any thought, feeling, or image that comes to mind, even if it seems unimportant

Question 20

Resistance

Answer 20

An unconscious refusal to participate fully in therapy

Question 21

Transference

Answer 21

According to psychodynamic theorists, the redirection toward the psychotherapist of feelings associated with important figures in a patient’s life, now or in the past

Question 22

Dreams

Answer 22

A series of ideas and images that form during sleep

Question 23

Catharsis

Answer 23

The reliving of past repressed feelings in order to settle internal conflicts and overcome problems

Question 24

Conditioning

Answer 24

A simple form of learning

Question 25

Classical Conditioning

Answer 25

A process of learning by temporal association in which two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become fused in a person's mind and produce the same response

Question 26

Modeling

Answer 26

A process of learning in which an individual acquires responses by observing and imitating others

Question 27

Operant Conditioning

Answer 27

A process of learning in which individuals come to behave in certain ways as a result of experiencing consequences of one kind or another whenever they perform behavior

Question 28

Exposure Therapy

Answer 28

A behavior-focused intervention in which fearful people are repeatedly exposed to the objects or situations they dread

Question 29

Self-Actualize

Answer 29

The humanistic process by which people fulfill their potential for goodness and growth

Question 30

Client-Centered Therapy

Answer 30

The humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers in which clinicians try to help clients by conveying acceptance, accurate empathy, and genuineness

Question 31

Gestalt Therapy

Answer 31

The humanistic therapy developed by Fritz Perls in which clinicians actively move clients toward self-recognition and self-acceptance by using techniques such as role playing and self-discovery exercises

Question 32

Existential Therapy

Answer 32

A therapy that encourages clients to accept responsibility for their lives and to live with greater meaning and value

Question 33

Family Systems Theory

Answer 33

A theory that views the family as a system of interacting parts whose interactions exhibit consistent patterns and unstated rules

Question 34

Group Therapy

Answer 34

A therapy format in which a group of people with similar problems meet together with a therapist to work on those problems

Question 35

Support Group

Answer 35

A group made up of people with similar problems who help and support one another without the direct leadership of a clinician. Also called a self-help group, peer group, or mutual-help group.

Question 36

Family Therapy

Answer 36

A therapy format in which the therapist meets with all members of a family and helps them to change in therapeutic ways

Question 37

Couple Therapy

Answer 37

A therapy format in which the therapist works with two people who share a long-term relationship. Also called marital therapy.

Question 38

Community Mental Health Treatment

Answer 38

A treatment approach that emphasizes community care

Question 39

Multicultural Perspective

Answer 39

The view that each culture within a larger society has a particular set of values and beliefs, as well as special external pressures, that help account for the behavior and functioning of its members. Also called culturally diverse perspective.

Question 40

Intersectionality

Answer 40

A multicultural framework that examines how each individual's membership in multiple cultural groups and social identities–including race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, gender, and sexual orientation–combines to shape their particular experiences, opportunities, outlook, and functioning

Question 41

Culture-Sensitive Therapies

Answer 41

Approaches that are designed to help address the unique issues faced by members of cultural minority groups

Question 42

Gender-Sensitive Therapies

Answer 42

Approaches geared to the pressures of being a female or gender minority in society

Question 43

Developmental Psychopathology

Answer 43

A perspective that uses a developmental framework to understand how variables and principles from the various models may collectively account for human functioning

Question 44

Equifinality

Answer 44

The principle that a number of different developmental pathways can lead to the same psychological disorder

Question 45

Multifinality

Answer 45

The principle that persons with similar developmental histories may nevertheless have different clinical outcomes or react to comparable current situations in very different ways