Final! Flashcards
psychopathology
the study of abnormal behavior
situational context
the social or environmental setting of a person’s behavior
subjective discomfort
emotional distress or emotional pain
maladaptive
anything that does not allow a person to function within or adapt to the stresses and everyday demands of life
sociocultural perspective
perspective in which abnormal behavior (as well as normal behavior) is seen as the product of the learning and shaping of behavior within the context of the family, the social group to which one belongs, and the culture within which the family and social group exist
cultural relativity
the need to consider the unique characteristics of the culture in which behavior takes place
culture-bound syndromes
disorders found only in particular cultures
psychological disorder
any pattern of behavior that causes people significant distress, causes them to harm others, or harms their ability to function in daily life
biological model
model of explaining behavior as caused by biological changes in the chemical, structural, or genetic systems of the body
cognitive psychologists
psychologists who study the way people think, remember, and mentally organize information
biopsychosocial model
perspective in which abnormal behavior is seen as the result of the combined and interacting forces of biological, psychological, social, and cultural influences
anxiety disorders
disorders in which the main symptom is excessive or unrealistic anxiety and fearfulness
free-floating anxiety
anxiety that is unrelated to any realistic, known source
phobia
an irrational, persistent fear of an object, situation, or social activity
social phobia
fear of interacting with others or being in social situations that might lead to a negative evaluation
specific phobia
fear of objects or specific situations or events
claustrophobia
fear of being in a small, enclosed space
acrophobia
fear of heights
agoraphobia
fear of being in a place or situation from which escape is difficult or impossible
panic attack
sudden onset of intense panic in which multiple physical symptoms of stress occur, often with feelings that one is dying
panic disorder
disorder in which panic attacks occur frequently enough to cause the person difficulty in adjusting to daily life
panic disorder with agoraphobia
fear of leaving one’s familiar surroundings because one might have a panic attack in public
obsessive-compulsive disorder
disorder in which intruding, recurring thoughts or obsessions create anxiety that is relieved by performing a repetitive, ritualistic behavior or mental act (compulsion)
acute stress disorder
a disorder resulting from exposure to a major stressor, with symptoms of anxiety, dissociation, recurring nightmares, sleep disturbances, problems in concentration, and moments in which people seem to “relive” the event in dreams and flashbacks for as long as 1 month following the event
posttraumatic stress disorder
a disorder resulting from exposure to a major stressor, with symptoms of anxiety, dissociation, nightmares, poor sleep, reliving the event, and concentration problems, lasting for more than 1 month.
generalized anxiety disorder
disorder in which a person has feelings of dread and impending doom along with physical symptoms of stress, which lasts 6 months or more
magnification
the tendency to interpret situations as far more dangerous, harmful, or important than they actually are
all-or-nothing thinking
the tendency to believe that one’s performance must be perfect or the result will be a total failure
overgeneralization
the tendency to interpret a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat and failure
minimization
the tendency to give little or no importance to one’s successes or positive events and traits
affect
in psychology, a term indicating “emotion” or “mood”
mood disorders
disorders in which mood is severly disturbed
major depression
severe depression that comes on suddenly and seems to have no external cause, or is too severe for current circumstances
manic
having the quality of excessive excitement, energy, and elation or irritability
bipolar disorder
severe mood swings between major depressive episodes and manic episodes
How do scientists determine what is abnormal?
They consider various different criteria, of which at least two must be met in order to give a diagnosis of abnormality: 1) Is the behavior unusual? 2) Does the behavior go against social norms? 3) Does the behavior cause the person significant subjective discomfort? 4) Is the behavior maladaptive, or does it result in the inability to function? 5) Does the behavior cause the person to be dangerous to self or others?
seasonal affective disorder
a mood disorder caused by the body’s reaction to low levels of sunlight in the winter months
schizophrenia
severe disorder in which the person suffers from disordered thinking, bizarre behavior, hallucinations, and inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality
psychotic
term applied to a person who is no longer able to perceive what is real and what is fantasy
delusions
false beliefs held by a person who refuses to accept evidence of their falseness
delusional disorder
a psychotic disorder in which the primary symptom is one or more delusions
halucinations
false sensory perceptions, such as hearing voices that do not really exist
flat affect
a lack of emotional responsiveness
disorganized
type of schizophrenia in which behavior is bizarre and childish, and thinking, speech, and motor actions are very disordered
catatonic
type of schizophrenia in which the person experiences periods of statue-like immobility mixed with occasional bursts of energetic, frantic movement, and talking
paranoid
type of schizophrenia in which the person suffers from delusions of persecution, grandeur, and jealousy, together with hallucinations
positive symptoms
symptoms of schizophrenia that are excesses of behavior or occur in addition to normal behavior; hallucinations, delusions, and distorted thinking
negative symptoms
symptoms of schizophrenia that are less than normal behavior or an absence of normal behavior; poor attention, flat affect, and poor speech production
stress-vulnerability model
explanation of disorder that assumes a biological sensitivity, or vulnerability, to a certain disorder will result in the development of that disorder under the right conditions of environmental or emotional stress
What are the three subtypes of schizophrenia that are talked about in the book?
Disorganized, catatonic, and paranoid
humanistic perspective
the ‘third force” in psychology that focuses on those aspects of personality that make people uniquely human, such as subjective feelings and freedom of choice
self-actualizing tendency
the striving to fulfill one’s innate capacities and capabilities
self-concept
the image of oneself that develops from interactions with important, significant people in one’s life
self
an individual’s awareness of his or her own personal characteristics and level of functioning
real self
one’s perception of actual characteristics, traits, and abilities