Chapter 3

Question 1

Etiology:

Answer 1

causal pattern of abnormal behavior

Question 2

etiology must consider…

Answer 2

Must consider the time frame for the different causes of abnormal behavior

genes, environment…

Question 3

distal risk factors:

Answer 3

occur early in life but don’t show effects for many years

Question 4

proximal risk factors:

Answer 4

occur shortly before occurrence of symptoms

immediate

Question 5

reinforcing contributory cause:

Answer 5

condition that reinforces or maintains maladaptive behaviour that is already occurring

Question 6

Feedback and bidirectionality in abnormal behavior

Answer 6

Many interacting causes; difficult sometimes to determine what is a cause and what is an effect

Question 7

Diathesis stress models:

Answer 7

describe mental disorders that develop when someone has a preexisting vulnerability for a disorder, experiences a stressor, boom disorder

Question 8

Diathesis:

Answer 8

vulnerability; predisposition toward developing a disorder. Either bio, psych, or sociocultural causal factors.

Question 9

Stress:

Answer 9

response of individuals to taxing demands

Question 10

Protective factors:

Answer 10

decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes among those at risk–social support, resilience

Question 11

resilience

Answer 11

Ability to successfully adapt to very difficult circumstances

Question 12

biopsychosocial viewpoint

Answer 12

acknowledges that biological, social, and psychological factors all interact and play a role in psychopathology and treatment

Question 13

Biological perspective

Answer 13

Mental disorders are disorders of the central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, and/or the endocrine system that are either inherited or caused by a pathological process

Question 14

polygenic

Answer 14

(interaction btwn different genes; it’s not the small effect of a single gene)

Question 15

Behavior genetics

Answer 15

is the field that focuses on studying the heritability of the mental disorders
Vulnerabilities to mental disorders are almost always polygenic
Genes affect behavior indirectly; internal/external environment play a role
Three primary methods:

Question 16

Three primary methods:Behavior genetics

Answer 16

Family history method
Twin method(If both identical twins have it’s concordant as opposed to discordant)
Adoption method
(See if a child who adopted out had the disorder (see if it’s genetic or environmental))

Question 17

how to separate genetic and environmental influences:

Answer 17

shared would make the children similar, whether influence occurs in family or environment; nonshared environmental influences are those in which kids in a family differ

Question 18

Linkage analysis

Answer 18

studies of mental disorders capitalize on several known locations on chromosomes of genes for other inherited physical characteristics or biological processes
Most successful in locating genes for single gene brain disorders
Havent helped us understand more complex disorders

Question 19

neural plasticity

Answer 19

flexibility of the brain. Existing circuits can be modified, new can be created, with good or detrimental effects.
So environment actually physically biologically changes your brain
That’s how therapy works–our brains change, our thinking changes, in response to talk therapy

Question 20

Five parts of a neuron:

Answer 20

dendrites (receive signals) soma (cell body keeps cell alive and passes signal to axon) axon (long path for signal) myelin sheath (shield axon)
and axon terminal buttons (which signal through the synapse to the next neuron’s dendrites using neurotransmitters)
All or none law–either it signals or it doesnt but it cant be stopped

Question 21

Neurons

Answer 21

brain/nerve cells, must communicate thru the transmission of electrical nerve impulses in order for the brain to function adequately

Question 22

Synapse:

Answer 22

tiny fluid filled space between axon endings of one neuron (presynaptic neurons) and the dendrites of another neuron (postsynaptic neurons)

Question 23

5 different neurotransmitters have been most extensively studied in psychopathology:

Answer 23

Medication used to treat various disorders are often believed to operate by correcting these imbalances

Dopamine linked to movement and pleasure
Norepinephrine linked to stress
Serotonin (mood)
Glutamate (learning/forming memories)
Gamma aminobutyric acid (arousal/anxiety)

Neurotransmitters can have different functions!!!

Question 24

hormonal

Answer 24

Hormones are chemical messengers secreted by a set of endocrine glands in our bodies
pituitary gland is master gland of body, producing variety of hormones that regulate or control other endocrine glands; pituitary gland stimulates gland to release hormone to stimulate gland to release hormone and the gland monitors the levels of hormones we need
Many hormones associated with psychological function

Question 25

Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis

Answer 25

Messages in the form of CRH travels from hypothalamus to pituitary gland
Pituitary releases ATCH to produce epinephrine and stress hormone cortisol
Once cortisol is elevated it provides negative feedback to hypothalamus and pituitary to decrease their release in CRH and ATCH, which in turn reduces the release of adrenaline and cortisol
Malfunctioning of this system leads to psychopathology issues including depression and ptsd
Malfunctioning is a risk factor for ptsd

Question 26

The Psychodynamic Perspective

Answer 26

Sigmund Freud founded the psychoanalytic school
Emphasized the role of unconscious motives and thoughts and their dynamic interrelationships in the determination of both normal and abnormal behavior
Id, Ego, Superego
Defense Mechanisms

Question 27

Two key criticisms of traditional psychoanalytic theory:

Answer 27

Failure to realize the scientific limits of personal reports

Lack of scientific evidence to support many of its assumptions or its effectiveness

Question 28

The Behavioral Perspective

Answer 28

Only the study of directly observable behavior and of the stimuli and reinforcing conditions that control it could serve as a basis for understanding human behavior
Behaviorists focus on the effects of environmental conditions (stimuli) on the acquisition, modification, and possible elimination of various types of response patterns, both adaptive and maladaptive.

Question 29

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Answer 29

Origins of behavioral view are tied to classical conditioning—a form of learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired repeatedly with an unconditioned stimulus that naturally elicits an unconditioned behavior. After repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.

Question 30

OPERANT CONDITIONING

Answer 30

In operant (or instrumental) conditioning, an individual learns how to achieve a desired goal. 
Reinforcement refers to the delivery of a reward/pleasant stimulus, or removal of an aversive stimulus

Question 31

Classical vs operant conditioning:

Answer 31

classical talks about autonomic responses/things that happen naturally (e.g. salivation); operant conditioning talks about voluntary response and consequence

Question 32

Observational learning:

Answer 32

learning through observation alone, without directly experiencing an unconditioned stimulus or a reinforcer

Question 33

Cognitive-behavioral perspective:

Answer 33

thoughts and information processing can become distorted and lead to maladaptive emotions and behavior.

Question 34

Self-schemas

Answer 34

include our views of who we are, what we might become, and what is important to us. some may be distorted and inaccurate.

Question 35

Attribution theory

Answer 35

has contributed significantly to the cognitive-behavioral approach.
Attribution is the process of assigning causes to things that happen.
Attributional style is a characteristic way in which an individual tends to assign causes to bad events or good events.
Nondepressed people tend to have a self-serving bias in which they are more likely to make internal, stable, and global attributions for positive rather than negative events.

Question 36

The Social Perspective

Answer 36

Examine the types of social factors that make people vulnerable to disorder.
Social factors that may have important detrimental effects on a child’s socioemotional development:
Early deprivation or trauma
Low socioeconomic status and unemployment
Maladaptive peer relationships
Prejudice and discrimination

Question 37

Negative reinforcement:

Answer 37

removal of something aversive

Question 38

Positive reinforcement:

Answer 38

addition of something pleasant

Question 39

pavlov’s experiment

Answer 39

In Pavlov’s experiment, food is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and salivation the unconditioned response (UCR).
A stimulus that signals food delivery and eventually elicits salivation is called a conditioned stimulus (CS).
Conditioning has occurred when presentation of the conditioned stimulus alone elicits salivation—the conditioned response (CR).
Extinction occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented alone and the conditioned response gradually extinguishes.

Question 40

Four categories of biological factors are particularly relevant to development of maladaptive behaviors:

Answer 40

Genetic vulnerabilities
Brain dysfunction
Neurotransmitter and hormonal abnormalities in brain and CNS
Temperament

Question 41

CRH

Answer 41

corticotropin releasing hormone

Question 42

acth

Answer 42

adrenocorticotropic hormone