clinical psychology Flashcards
demonology
doctrine that an evil being or spirit can dwell within a person and control his or her mind and body
paradigm
conceptual framework or approach in which a scientist works
polygenic
several genes operating a different times during the cuourse of developmet, turing themselves on and off as they interact with the environment
shared environment
things that members of family have in common (family income level
nonshared environment
things believed to be distinct among embers of a family such as relationships with freinds or specific events unique to a person
polymorphism
the difference in DNA sequence on a gene that has occured in a population
single nucleotide polymorphisms
the differences between people in a single nucleotide (a,t,g or c) in the dna sequence of a particular gene
copy number variations
present in a single gene or multiple genes. refers to an abnormal copy of one or more sections of dna within the genes
gene-environment interaction
a given persons sensitivity to an environmental event is influenced by genes
epigenetics
study of how environment can alter gene expression or function
agonist
drug that stimulates a particular neurotransmitters receptors
antagonist
drug that works on a neurotransmitters receptors to dampen the activity of that neurotransmitter
corpus callosum
connection between the two hemispheres is a band of nerve fibers
gray matter
cortex is comprised of the neurons that form the thin outer covering of the brain
gyri
ridges in the cortex
sulci
depressions between gyri
frontal lobe
front of the central sulcus, reasoning problem solving working memory and emotion regulation
parietal lobe
on top of the brain
occipital lobe
back of the brain, vision
temporal lobe
side of the brain, sound
prefrontal cortex
helps to reglate the amygdala, important in many different dissorders. very front of the cortex
white matter
large tracts of myelinated fibers that connect cell bodies in the cortex wiht htose in the spinal cord and in other centers lower in the brain
basal ganglia
helps regulate starting and stopping both motor and cognitive activity.
ventricles
deep within the brain, filled with cerebrospinal fluid
cerebrospinal fluid
circulates through the brian through ventricles, connected with the spinal cord
thalamus
station for all sensory pathways except the olfactory
brain stem
functions as a neural relay station
cerebellum
receives neural sensory nerves from the vestibular apparatus of the ear and from muscles, tendons and jints. The info received and integrated relates to balance, posture, equilibrium and the smooth coordination of the body when in motion
limbic system
supports the visceral and physical expressins of emotion, quickened heartbeat trembling sweating alterations facial expressions
hippocampus
associated with memory
hypothalamus
regulates metabolism temperature perspiration blood pressure sleeping and appetite
amygdala
important area for attention to emotionally salient stimuli
pruning
a process where a number of synaptic connections begin to be eliminated
HPA axis
central to the body’s response to stress
cortisol
stress hormone.
natural immunity
bodys first and quickest line of defense against infectious microorganisms or other invaders
cytokines
help initiaite bodily responses to infection as fatigue fever and activation of HPA axis
specific immunity
involves cells that respond more slowly to infection
behavioural activation therapy
involves helping a person engage in tasks that provide an opportunity for positive reinforcement
in vivo
in real life situations
object relations theory
which stressed the importance f long standing patterns in close relationships, particularly within the family that are shaped by ways in which people think and feel
diathesis stress paradigm
links genetic neurobiological psychological and environmental factors
diathesis
consitutional predisposition towards illness
episodic disorder
symptoms have to be present for a period of time and then clear
psychomotor retardation
thoughts and movement may be slow for some
psychomotor agitation
but others cannot sit still, fidget, wring their hands
cyclothymic disorder
second chronic mood disorder. frequent mild symtpos of depression, alternating with mild symptoms of mania
heterogeneous
people with the same disorder may show different symptoms
rapid cycling specifier
defined by at least four mood episodes per year
trypotophan
amino acid used for proteins. forerunner of serotonin
hippocampus
helps asses how salient and how emotionally important a stimulus is
cushings syndrome
causes oversecretion of cortisol
negative triad
negative views of the self, their world and their future
cognitive biases
tendency to process info in certain negative ways
rumination
tendency to repetitievly dwell on sad experiences and thoughts, or to chew on material again and again
anxiety
apprehension over an anticipated problem
fear
reaction to immediate danger
depersonalization
feeling of being outside ones body
derealization
a feeling of the world not being real
agoraphobia
anxiety about situations in which it would be embarresing or difficult to escape if anxiety symtpoms occurred
behavioural inhibition
tendency to become agitated and cry when faced with novel toys, people, or other stimuli
prepared learning
evolution may have prepared our fear circuit to learn fear of certain stimuli very quickly and automatically
locus coeruleus
major source of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine in the brain.
interoceptive conditioning
classical conditioning of panic attacks in response to bodily sensations
fear of fear hypothesis
agoraphobia is driven by negative thuhgts about hte consequences of experiencing anxiety in public
panic controll therapy
based on the tendency of people with panic disorder to overreact to the bodily sensations. asked to activate hyperventilation in safe environment for example
anxiolytics
drugs that reduce anxiety
D-cycloserine
drug that enhances learning, way to bolster exposure treatment
obsessions
intrusive and recurring thoughts, images or impulses that are persistent and uncontrollable
compulsions
repetitive, clearly excessive behaviours or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform to reduce the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts or to prevent some calamity from occuring
yedasentience
subjective feeling of knowing that you have thought enough, cleaned enough r n other ways done what you should to prevent chaos and danger from low level threats in the environment
depersonalization/derealization disorder
involves a disconcerting and disruptive sense of detachment from one’s self or surroundings
depersonalization
sense of being detached from one’s self
derealization
sense of detachment from one’s surroudnings such that the surrounding seems unreal
dissociative amnesia
unable to recall important personal information, usually info about some traumatic experience
fugue
memory loss more extensive.
iatrogenic
created within treatment
somatic symtpom and related disorders
excessive concercns about physical symtpoms or health
somtic symtpom disorder
excessive anxiety, energy or behaviour focused on somatic symptoms
illness anxiety disorder
preoccupation with fears of having a serious disease despite having no significant somatic symptoms
conversion disorder
the person suddenly develops neurological symtpoms such as blindness seizures or paralysis.
reliability
consistency of measurement
interrater reliability
degree to which two independent observers agree on what they have observed
test-retest reliability
measures the extent to which people being observed twice or taking the same test twice receve similar scores
alternate form reliability
the extent to which scores on the two forms of the test are consistent
internal consistency reliability
assesses whether the items on a test are related to one another
validity
whether a measure measures what is is supposed to measure
content validity
whether a measure adequately samples the domain of interest
criterion validity
evaluated by determining whether a measure is associated in an expected way with some other measure
concurrent validity
if both variables are measured at the same point in time the resulting validity is concurrent validity
predictive validity
criterion validity can be assessed by evaluating the ability of the measure to predict some other variable that is measured at some point in the future
construct validity
when we want to interpret a test as a measure of some characteristic or construct that is not observed simply or overtly
projective test
psych assassment tool in which a set of standard stimuli inkblots or drawings , ambiguous enough to allow variation in responses is presented to the person (projective hypothesis)
thematic apperception test
projective test, person is shown a series of black and white picters one by one and asked to tell a story related to each
rorschach inkblot test
person is shown 10 inkblots one at a time and asked to tell what the blots look like
ecological momentary assessment
involves collection of data in real time as opposed ot the more usual methods of having people reflect back over some time period and report on recently experienced thoughts moods or stressors
reactivity
phenomenon wherein behaviour changes because it is being observed
metabolite
typically an acid, is produced when a neurotransmitter is deactivated
neuropsychological tests
often used in conjunction with the brain imaging techniques, both to detect brain dysfunction and to help pinpoint specific areas of behaviour that are impacted by problems in the brain
psychophysiology
concerned with the bodily changes that are associated with psychological events
egodystonic
intrusions
ego syntonic
automatic thoughts
