Key terms for exam 1 Flashcards
Abnormal psychology definition
-the scientific study of troublesome feelings, thoughts, and behaviors associated with mental disorders to better understand and predict mental disorders and help those who are in need
asylum defintion
Places reserved exclusively to treat people with a mental disorder, usually separate from general population
maladaptive behavior
A behavior that interferes with a persons life, including ability to care for themself, have a good relationship w others, and function well at school or work
mental disorder defintion
A group of emotional (feelings) cognitive (thinking) or behavioral symptoms that cause distress or significant problems
mental hygiene definition
The science of promoting mental health and thwarting mental disorder through education, early treatment, and public health issues
primary prevention definition
A type of prevention targeting large groups of people who have not yet developed a mental disorder
psychopathologists
Professionals who study mental problems to see how disorders develop and continue and how the can be prevented or alleviated
Public health model
A model that focuses on promoting good health and good health practices to advert diseases
Secondary prevention
A type of prevention that addresses emerging problems while they are still manageable before they become resistant to intervention
Stigma defintion
A characterization by others of disgrace or reproach based on an individual characteristic
tertiary prevention definition (C1) mental
a type of prevention aimed to reduce the severity, duration, and the negative effects of a mental disorder after its occurred
What is avoidance conditioning
A theory of fear development that combines classical and operant conditioning with internal states such as driving or motivating factors.
What is the basal ganglia
Brain structures that control posture and motor activity.
Behavior genetics
A research specialty that evaluates genetic and environmental influences on development of behavior.
Behavioral perspective
A perspective of abnormal behavior that assumes that problematic symptoms develop because of the way we learn or observe others.
What is the biological model?
A perspective of mental disorder that assumes that mental states, emotions, and behaviors arise from brain function and processes.
What is the central nervous system?
The brain and spinal cord, which are necessary to process information from our sensory organs and prompt our body into action if necessary.
What is the cerebral cortex
Gray matter of the brain that covers almost all of each hemisphere.
What is classical conditioning?
Pairing of an unconditioned stimulus so the future presentation of a conditioned stimulus results in a conditioned response.
Client-centered therapy
A humanistic therapy that relies heavily on unconditional positive regard and empathy.
Cognitive distortions
Irrational, inaccurate thoughts that people have about environmental events.
What is A Cognitive schema
Set of beliefs or expectations that represent a network of already accumulated knowledge.
cognitive-behavioral therapy
A type of treatment that focuses on the connection between thinking patterns, emotions, and behavior and uses cognitive and behavioral techniques to change dysfunctional thinking patterns.
conditional positive regard
An environment in which others set conditions or standards for one’s life.
culture defintion
The unique behavior and lifestyle shared by a group of people.
What are culture-bound syndromes
Syndromes caused by culturally shared beliefs and ideas that lead to high levels of stress and mental disorder.
defense mechanisms
Strategies used by the ego to stave off threats from the id or superego.
What is dopamine
A neurotransmitter that regulates novelty seeking, exploration, sociability, and movement.
What is dream analysis
A psychodynamic technique to access unconscious material thought to be symbolized in dreams.
What is ego?
The organized, rational component of the personality.
ethnicity
Clusters of individuals who share cultural traits that distinguish themselves from others.
exposure treatment
A behavioral technique for reducing anxiety in which clients expose themselves to fear and avoided situations.
expressed emotion
Family interactions characterized by high levels of emotional over involvement, hostility, and criticism.
family systems perspective
The idea that each family has its own structure and rules that can affect the mental health of individual family members.
fixation
Frustration and anxiety at a psychosexual stage that can cause a person to be arrested at that level of development.
free association
A psychodynamic technique in which a client speaks continuously without censorship.
frontal lobe
An area of the brain in front of the brain that is responsible for movement, planning, organizing, inhibiting behavior, and decision making.
functional analysis
A behavioral assessment strategy to understand antecedents and consequences of behavior.
gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)
A neurotransmitter that inhibits various behaviors, arousal, and emotions such as anxiety.
Genotype
The genetic composition of an individual that is fixed at birth and received from one’s parents.
humanistic model A
Model of abnormal behavior that emphasizes personal growth, free will, and responsibility.
hypothalamus
A region of the brain below the thalamus that influences body temperature, food intake, sleep, and sex drive.
ID
The deep, inaccessible portion of the personality that contains instinctual urges.
What is insight?
(1) An active treatment ingredient whereby a client comes to understand reasons for his maladaptive behavior and how to address it.
(2) Understanding the unconscious determinants of irrational feelings, thoughts, or behaviors that create problems or distress.
What’s interpretation?
A method in which a psychodynamic theorist reveals unconscious meanings of a client’s thoughts and behaviors to help the person achieve insight.
latent content
The symbolic meaning of a dream’s events.
limbic system
An area of the brain in the forebrain that regulates emotions and impulses and is responsible for basic drives like thirst, sex, and aggression.
manifest content
The literal meaning of a dream.
model
A systematic way of viewing and explaining what we observe.
modeling
Learning a new skill or set of behaviors by observing another person perform the skill or behavior.
molecular genetics
Analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to identify links between specific genetic material and mental disorders.
negative reinforcement
Removing an aversive event following a behavior to increase frequency of the behavior.
neuron
The basic unit of the nervous system that comprises a cell body, dendrites, one or more axons, and terminal buttons.
neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that allow a nerve impulse to cross the synapse.
norepinephrine
A neurotransmitter that regulates certain behaviors and reactions, including those necessary for emergency or highly arousing situations.
occipital lobe
An area of the brain behind the parietal and temporal lobes and associated with vision.
operant conditioning
A learning principle that behavior followed by positive or pleasurable consequences is likely to be repeated but behavior followed by negative consequences is not likely to be repeated.
parietal lobe
An area of the brain behind the frontal lobe that is associated with the sensation of touch.
peripheral nervous system
The somatic and autonomic nervous system that controls muscles and voluntary movement, impacts the cardiovascular and endocrine system, assists with digestion, and regulates body temperature.
phenomenological approach
An assumption that one’s behavior is determined by perceptions of herself and others.
phenotype
Observable characteristics of an individual.
pleasure principle
The rule of conduct by the id to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
positive reinforcement
Presenting a pleasant event or consequence after a behavior to increase frequency of the behavior.
primary process
The irrational and impulsive type of thinking that characterizes the id.
projection
A defense mechanism used when a person attributes his or her unconscious feelings to someone else.
projective hypothesis
The assumption that, when faced with unstructured or ambiguous stimuli or tasks, individuals impose their own structure and reveal something of themselves.
psychic determinism
An assumption of psychodynamic theory that everything we do has meaning and purpose and is goal-directed.
psychodynamic model
A model of abnormal behavior that assumes all mental states, emotions, and behaviors to arise from unconscious motives and intrapsychic conflicts.
psychosexual stages of development
A series of developmental stages marked by a particular erogenous zone of the body.
race
A socially constructed category typically based on physical characteristics.
rational restructuring
A set of techniques to teach individuals to examine their assumptions about situations or the world in general and think more realistically.
reaction formation
A defense mechanism that occurs when an unconscious impulse is consciously expressed by its behavioral opposite.
reality principle
The rule of conduct by the ego that defers gratification of instinctual urges until a suitable object and mode of satisfaction are discovered.
regression
A defense mechanism that occurs when a person returns to a life stage that once provided substantial gratification.
repression
A defense mechanism that involves keeping highly threatening sexual or aggressive material out of conscious awareness.
reuptake
A feedback mechanism that informs a neuron about the amount of neurotransmitter needed to be released in the future.
secondary process
The rational and self-preservative type of thinking that characterizes the ego.
self-actualization
A striving to be the best one can be.
serotonin
A major neurotransmitter that influences the way we process information and that regulates our behavior and mood.
sociocultural perspective
A perspective of abnormal behavior that focuses on influences that other people, social institutions, and social forces exert on a person’s mental health.
superego
A component of the personality representing the ideals and values of society as conveyed by parents.
synapse
A small gap between ends of neurons.
systematic desensitization
A behavioral technique for reducing anxiety in which clients practice relaxation while visualizing anxiety-provoking situations of increasing intensity.
temporal lobe
A middle area of the brain associated with auditory discrimination.
thalamus
A structure within the forebrain that relays sensory information to the cerebral cortex.
token economy
An operant conditioning system in which desired behaviors are promoted through reinforcements.
token economy
An operant conditioning system in which desired behaviors are promoted through reinforcements.
unconditional positive regard
An environment in which a person is fully accepted as she is and allowed to pursue her own desires and goals.
unconscious motivation
Motivation that resides outside conscious awareness.
Cohort effects
Significant differences in the expression of a disorder depending on age.
comorbidity
Two or more disorders in one person.
diathesis
A biological or psychological predisposition to disorder.
epidemiologists
Scientists who study the incidence, prevalence, and risk factors of disorders.
epidemiology
The study of patterns of diseases, disorders, and other health-related behavior in a population of interest.
etiology
Cause of mental disorders.
incidence
Rate of new cases of a disorder that occur or develop during a specific time period such as a month or year.
indicated prevention
Preventive intervention targeting individuals at high risk for developing extensive problems in the future.
lifetime prevalence
Proportion of those who exhibit symptoms of a disorder up to the point they were assessed.
prevention
Interventions intended to arrest the development of later problems.
primary prevention
A type of prevention targeting large groups of people who have not yet developed a mental disorder
protective factor
A factor that buffers one against the development of a mental disorder.
resilience
Ability of an individual to withstand and rise above extreme adversity.
risk factor
An individual, contextual, or environmental characteristic correlated with an outcome or condition such as a mental disorder that precedes the development of the disorder.
secondary prevention
A type of prevention that addresses emerging problems while they are still manageable and before they become resistant to intervention.
selective prevention
Preventive intervention targeting subgroups of people at risk for a particular problem.
tertiary prevention
A type of prevention aimed to reduce the severity, duration, and negative effects of a mental disorder after it has occurred
universal prevention
Preventive intervention targeting large groups of people not afflicted by a particular problem.
antecedents
Stimuli or events that precede a behavior.
behavioral assessment
An assessment approach that focuses on measuring overt behaviors or responses.
case study method
In-depth examination and observation of one person over time.
category
An approach to defining mental disorder by examining large classes of behavior.
classification
Arranging mental disorders into broad categories or classes based on similar features.
computerized axial tomography (CT scan)
A neuroimaging technique that uses X-rays of the brain to identify structural abnormalities.
concurrent validity
Whether current test or interview results relate to an important feature or characteristic at the present time.
confounds
Factors that may account for group differences on a dependent variable.
Consequences
Outcomes or events that follow a behavior.
Construct validity
Whether test or interview results relate to other measures or behaviors in a logical, theoretically expected fashion.
Content validity
Degree to which test or interview items actually cover aspects of the variable or diagnosis under study.
Control group
Those who do not receive the active independent variable in an experiment.
controlled observation
A behavioral assessment technique that involves analogue tests or tasks to approximate situations people face in real life and that may elicit a certain problem behavior.
correlational study
A study that allows researchers to make some statements about the association or relationship between variables based on the extent to which they change together in a predictable way.
cross-sectional study
A developmental design examining different groups of people at one point in time.
dependent variable
Variables that measure a certain outcome that a researcher is trying to explain or predict.
diagnosis
A category of mental disorder defined by certain rules that outline how many and what features of a disorder must be present.
dimension
An approach to defining mental disorder along a continuum.
electrocardiogram
A psychophysiological measure of brain activity.
experiment
A research method that allows scientists to draw cause-and-effect conclusions.
experimental group
Those receiving the active independent variable in an experiment.
external validity
Ability to generalize results from one investigation to the general population.
functional analysis
A behavioral assessment strategy to understand antecedents and consequences of behavior.
functional MRI (fMRI)
A neuroimaging technique that assesses brain structure and function as well as metabolic changes.
galvanic skin conductance
A psychophysiological measure of the electrical conductance of skin.
hypothesis
A statement about the cause of an event or about the relationship between two events.
independent variable
A variable manipulated by a researcher that is hypothesized to be the cause of the outcome.
intelligence tests
Measures of cognitive functioning that provide estimates of intellectual ability.
internal consistency reliability
Extent to which test items appear to be measuring the same thing.
internal validity
Extent to which a researcher can be confident that changes in the dependent variable are truly the result of manipulation of the independent variable.
interrater reliability
Extent to which two raters or observers agree about their ratings or judgments of a person’s behavior.
longitudinal study
A developmental design examining the same group of people over a long period of time.
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
A neuroimaging technique that can produce high-resolution images of brain structure.
mental disorder
A group of emotional (feelings), cognitive (thinking), or behavioral symptoms that cause distress or significant problems
metabolites
By-products of neurotransmitters that can be detected in urine, blood, and cerebral spinal fluid.
MMPI-2 clinical scales
Subscales of the MMPI-2 used to identify various problematic behaviors and personality styles.
MMPI-2 validity scales
Subscales of the MMPI-2 used to identify a person’s defensiveness during testing and response sets.
naturalistic observation
A behavioral assessment technique that involves observing a person in his or her natural environment.
negative correlation
Two variables highly related to one another such that an increase in one variable is accompanied by a decrease in the other variable.
neurochemical assessment
Biological assessment of dysfunctions in specific neurotransmitter systems.
neuropsychological assessment
Indirect measures of brain and physical function by evaluating a person’s performance on standardized tests and tasks that indicate brain-behavior relationships.
objective personality measures
Measures of personality that involve administering a standard set of questions or statements to which a person responds using set options.
organismic variables
A person’s physiological or cognitive characteristics important for understanding a problem and determining treatment.
personality assessment
Instruments measuring different traits or aspects of character.
positive correlation
Two variables highly related to one another such that an increase in one variable is accompanied by an increase in the other variable.
positron emission tomography (PET scan)
An invasive neuroimaging procedure that assesses brain structure and functioning.
predictive validity
Whether test or interview results accurately predict some behavior or event in the future.
projective tests
Psychological testing techniques based on the assumption that people faced with an ambiguous stimulus such as an inkblot will project their own needs, personality, conflicts, and wishes.
psychophysiological assessment
Evaluating bodily changes possibly associated with certain mental conditions.
quasi-experimental method
A study in which an independent variable is manipulated but people are not randomly selected or assigned to groups.
randomization
Selecting and assigning people to groups so each person has the same chance of being assigned to any one group.
reliability
Consistency of test scores or diagnoses.
scientific method
A set of agreed upon rules for systematically gathering information that involves generating a hypothesis, developing a research design, and analyzing and interpreting data to test the hypothesis.
self-monitoring
A behavioral assessment technique where a person observes and records his own behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.
sequential design
A developmental design involving aspects of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies.
standardization
Administering or conducting clinical assessment measures in the same way for all examinees.
structured interviews
A type of clinical interview that requires an interviewer to ask standardized questions in a specified sequence.
syndrome
Symptoms that cluster or group together within individuals.
test-retest reliability
Extent to which a person provides similar answers to the same test items across time.
unstructured interview
A type of clinical interview in which clinicians ask any questions that come to mind in any order.
validity
Extent to which an assessment technique measures what it is supposed to measure.
