Midterm 1 Flashcards
Psychological disorder
A specific manifestation of this impairment of functioning (mental illness) as described by some set of criteria that have been established by a panel of experts
Psychopathology
Both the scientific study of psychological abnormality and the problems faced by people who suffer from such disorders
Culturally relative
- The norms of a particular culture determine what is considered to be normal behaviour, and abnormality can be defined only in reference to these norms
- the functions and acceptability of various behaviours vary by culture, rather than being universal truths; as such, an individual’s beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of his or her own culture
Psychological abnormality
Behaviour, speech, or thought that impairs the ability of a person to function in a way that is generally expected of him or her, in the context where the unusual functioning occurs
Psychiatrists
Trained in medicine prior to doing specialized training in dealing with mental illness
- focus on diagnosis & medical treatment that emphasizes use if pharmacological agents in managing mental disorders
- attend to medical & biological foundations, although usually consider psychological and environmental influences
Psychiatric nurses
Have received formal training in nursing before completing a specialization in psychiatric problems
- typically work in hospital settings
Psychiatric social workers
Usually have a graduate degree in social work, and they provide assistance to clients in adjusting to life within their families and the community
- attend to the influence of the social environment on disordered clients
Occupational therapists (OTs)
May practice in Canada with a bachelor degree along with field- training experience
- sometimes involved in providing mental health care
- may provide a broad range of services on rehabilitation teams and typically focus on helping clients to improve their functional performance
Tabula rasa
John Locke: a blank slate upon which experience writes all that is meaningful in thought and behaviour (attribute no effects at all to biology)
Clinical psychologists
Initially trained in general psychology and then receive graduate training in the application of this knowledge to the understanding, diagnosis, and amelioration of disorders of thinking and behaviour
Single factor explanation
Attempts to trace the origins of a particular disorder to one factor
Interactionist explanations
- View behaviour as the product of the interaction of a variety of factors
- generally make more satisfactory theories in describing mental disorders
Scientific theories are judged to be valuable because they embody these three essential features:
1) they integrate most of what is currently known about the phenomena in the simplest way possible (parsimony)
2) they make testable predictions about aspects of the phenomena that were not previously thought of; and
3) they make it possible to specify what evidence would deny the theory
Mental illness
Often used to convey the same meaning as psychological abnormality, but it implies a medical rather than a psychological cause
Are experiments set up to
a) prove the worth of a theory or
b) to reject (or fail to reject) the null hypothesis
b) to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis (never trying to “prove” a theory)
Null hypothesis
Proposes that the prediction made from the theory is false
General aims of theories about mental disorders
1) explain etiology
2) identify factors that maintain he behaviour
3) predict the course of the disorder
4) design effective treatments
Etiology
The causes or origins of the problem behaviour
Is it better to think of brain activity as
a) located in a single area of the brain or
b) concentrated in one or more areas
b) concentrated in one or more areas
Neurotransmitters
Chemical substances that carry the messages from one neuron to the next in the complex pathways of nervous activity within the brain
Four ways abnormal behaviour can result from disturbances in neurotransmitter systems:
1) there may be too much or too little of the neurotransmitter produced or released into the synapse
2) there may be too few or too many receptors on the dendrites
3) there may be an excess or a deficit in the amount of transmitter deactivating substances in the synapse
4) the reuptake process may be too rapid or too slow
Brain plasticity
The incredible capacity of the brain to reorganize its circuitry
Peripheral nervous system contains
- somatic nervous system & autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Somatic nervous system
Controls the muscle
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Sympathetic nervous system
Parasympathetic nervous system
Sympathetic nervous system
Fight or flight
Parasympathetic nervous system
Rest and digest
Behavioural genetics
The study of the way in which inherited features interact with with the environment to produce behaviour
Genotype- environment interaction
- Genes may influence behaviours that contribute to environmental stressors, which, in turn, increases the risk of psychopathology
- there is a reciprocal relationship between genetic predisposition and environmental risk
Concordant (concordance)
The similarity of diagnosis in a pair of twins- they are concordant if they both exhibit the same trait or disorder
Genetic linkage studies
Researchers examine families that have had high incidence of a particular psychiatric disorder. Within these extended families researchers look for the presence of particular traits (called genetic markers) that can be linked to the occurrence of the disorder
Molecular biology
Able to compare specific DNA segments and identify the genes that determine individual characteristics, and pinpoint the defective genes that cause various medical and psychological disorders
Psychodynamic theory
Sigmund Freud; claim that behaviour is controlled by unconscious forces of which the person is unaware
Catharsis
Discharging the emotional responses attached to these unconscious memories, by identifying he original traumatic experiences during hypnosis
Conscious
Contains information of which we are currently aware
Preconscious
In psychodynamic theory, holds information not presently within our awareness but that can readily be brought into awareness
Unconscious
According to Freud, contains the majority of our memories and drives that, unfortunately, can only be raised to awareness with great difficulty and typically only in response to particular techniques (that is, by psychoanalytic procedures)
Defence mechanisms
Freuds suggestion for the ways in which we try to keep unacceptable drives and the traumatic memories out of awareness;
Mechanisms through which the ego allows the expression of libidinal desires in a distorted or symbolic for
Id
The structure present at birth and it contains, or represents, the biological or instinctual drives that are not constrained at birth, demanding instant gratification without concern for the consequences either to the self or others
- acts according to the pleasure principle
Ego
In Sigmund Freud’s theory, the structure that begins to develop in response to the fact that instinctual demands of the id are not always immediately met. The ego develops to curb the desires of id so that the individual does not suffer any unpleasant consequences
- reality principle
Superego
The internalization of the moral standards of society inculcated by the child’s parents
- moral principle
Phallic stage
In this stage boys are presumed to develop sexual desires for their mother and to see their father as a competitor for their mothers love (Oesipus complex)
Boys become focused on penis and girls become aware that they don’t have one (penis envy)
Electra complex
Girls are thought to desire their father- not to won their fathers love, but rather, by seducing him, to gain what they truly desire: a penis
Classical conditioning
A type of learning described by the Russian Physiologist Ivan Pavlov. In classical condition a response is transferred from one stimulus to another
John B.Watson room the view that classical conditioning was the basis for human behaviour, including abnormal behaviour
Two- factor theory
The model proposed that fears are acquired by classical conditioning, but maintained through operant conditioning
Operant conditioning
An idea developed by Skin we according to which it is the consequences of behaviour that are important. Some consequences encourage the repetition of the behaviour that produces them, while other consequences result in the opposite effect
Reinforcement
When behaviour increases in frequency as a result of consistent consequences
Punishment
When a behaviour decreases in frequency as a result of its consequences
Positive reinforcement
Pleasant consequences or rewards that increase frequency of behaviour
Negative reinforcement
Reduction of distress that causes an increase in frequency of behaviour
Positive punishment
When a behaviour is reduced by the consequent occurrence of an unpleasant experience
Negative punishment
Behaviour is reduced following the removal of something desirable
Social learning theory
As originally outlined by Bandura and Walters, a theory that suggested that while classical and operant conditioning experiences are important, the majority of such experiences are primarily acquired vicariously- that is, by observation of others rather than direct personal experience. The theory has been extended to include not only direct observation but also info derived from books, movies, and television
Cognitive- behavioural theory
Reflects the view that both thinking and behaviour are learned, and, therefore, can be changed
- assumes that the way in which people view the world, a including their beliefs and attitudes towards the world, themselves, and others, arises out of their experience and that these patterns of thinking and perceiving are maintained by consequences in the same way that overt behaviour is maintained
Rational- emotive behaviour therapy
Albert Ellis; when faced with unfavourable life circumstances, human beings tend to make themselves feel frustrated, disappointed, and miserable, and behave in self-defeating ways, mainly because they construct irrational beliefs about themselves and their situations
ABC
Schemas
Internal representations of stored information and experiences. They are used to organize new information in a meaningful way and help to determine how we perceive and understand what goes on around us
Content-specificity
- Different types of beliefs are considered to be related to different kinds of abnormal behaviour
- distinct cognitive content is related to different types of disorders. For example depression is related to thoughts of deprivation and loss, where’s anxiety is related to themes of threat and potential harm
Self-actualization
Maslow; an actualization of ones potential arrived at by satisfaction of a hierarchy of needs visualized as a period: physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, self actualization
- believed abnormal or dysfunctional behaviour results from a failure to attain the self-esteem necessary to achieve self-actualization
labelling theory
A person being identified as having a disorder results in other people perceiving that person as dysfunctional and different
Public stigma
The typical societal response that people have to stigmatizing attributes
Self-stigma
The internalized psychological impact of public stigma
Social support
An individual’s perceived quality of support from close others
Systems theory
The who,e is more than the sum of its parts
Diathesis- stress perspective
A predisposition to developing a disorder (the diathesis) interacting with experience of stress causes mental disorders
Bippsychosocial model
Declares that disorders cannot be understood as resulting from the influence of one factor, be it biological, psychological, or social
Diagnosis
A determination of identification of the nature of a person’s disease or condition, or a statement of that finding
Diagnostic (classification system)
A system of rules for recognizing and grouping various types of abnormalities
Assessment
A procedure through which information is gathered systematically in the the evaluation of a condition; this assessment procedure yields information that serves as the basis for a diagnosis
Reliability
A diagnostic system must give the same measurement for a given thing every time
Inter-rather reliability
The extent to which two clinicians agree on the diagnosis of a particular patient
Validity
Whether a diagnostic category is able to predict behavioural and psychiatric disorders accurately
Concurrent validity
The ability of a diagnostic category to estimate an individual’s present standing on factors related to the disorder but not themselves part of the diagnostic criteria
Predictive validity
The ability of a test to predict the future course of an individual’s development
Atheoretical
The versions of the manual moved away from endorsing any one theory of abnormal psychology, becoming more pragmatic as they moved to more precise behavioural descriptions
Polythetic
An individual could be diagnosed with a certain subset of symptoms without having to meet all criteria
Major depressive disorder
A person is extremely sad and discouraged, and displays a marked loss of pleasure in usual activities
Mania
A condition in which a person seems extremely elated, more active, and in less of a need of sleep, and displays flights of somewhat disconnected ideas, grandiosity (an illusion of personal importance), and impairment in functioning
Bipolar disorder
Both depression and mania are exhibited
Comorbidity
The presence of more than one disorder in the same individual
Categorical approach
An individual is seen to either have a disorder,or not have a disorder with no in-between
Dimensional approach
Based on a continuum for mental disorders from non-existent or mild to severe
Psychological assessment
A systematic gathering and evaluation of information pertaining to an individual with suspected abnormal behaviour
Test- retest reliability
Refers to the degree to which a test yields the same results when it is given more than once to the same person
Alternate- form reliability
An attribute of a test demonstrated by high correlation between scores on two versions of a test. To circumvent the problem that one may improve on a test the second time around because of practice,test designers may prepare two for,s of the same test- that is they decide hat construct they want their test to measure, think up questions (or items) that would test that construct, and them word those questions in a slightly different way in order to create a second test that measures the same construct as the first
Internal consistency
Refers to the degrees of reliability within a test; to what extent do different parts of the same test yield the same results?
Split-half reliability
A measure of internal consistency, often ascertained by comparing responses on odd-number test items with responses on even- numbered test items and seeing if the scores for these responses are correlated
Coefficient alpha
Measures internal consistency by averaging intercorrelations of all items on a given test
Face validity
The user of a test believes that the items on that test resemble the characteristics associated with the concept being tested for
Content validity
Requires that a tests content include a representative sample of all behaviours thought to be related to the construct
Criterion validity
An attribute of a test, when it gives higher scores to people already known to have greater ability in the area it tests. The concept arises because some qualities are easier to recognize that to define completely, such as artistic ability
Construct validity
Refers to the importance of a test within a specific theoretical framework and can only be understood in the context of that framework
Clinical approach
- Argue that there is no substitute for the clinicians experience as personal judgement
- they prefer to draw on all available data in their own manner, they are guided by intuition honed with professional experience rather than by formal rules
Actuarial approach
Argue that adore objective standard is needed- something more unbiased and scientifically validated. The rely exclusively on statistical procedures, empirical methods, and formal rules in evaluating data
Computerized axial tomography (CAT) or CT scan
A brain imaging technique in which a narrow band of X-rays is projected through the head. The X-Ray source and detector rotate very slightly and project successive images. The exposures are combined to produce a highly detailed cross-section of the brain
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging
A noninvasive technique for examining the structure and the functioning of the brain. A strong homogenous magnetic field is produced around the head and brief pulses of radio waves are introduced. When the radio waves are turned off, radio waves of a characteristic frequency are emitted from the brain itself, which can be detected. The information gathered is integrated into a computer- generated image of the brain
Positron emission tomography (PET)
A combination of CAT and radioisotope imaging, radiation is generated by injected or inhales radioisotopes- that is, common elements or substances with the atom altered to be radioactive. As the substance is used in brain activity, radiation is given off and detected, allowing measurements of a variety of biological activities as the processes occur in the living brain
Bender Visual- Motor Gestalt Test
The oldest and most commonly used of neuropsychological assessments often used to screen children for neuropsychological impairment. The test consists of nine cards containing lines and shapes drawn in black on a piece of white cardboard. Respondents are asked to first copy the images on another card and then draw them from memory. Errors in reproducing these lines and shapes may indicate neurological problems
Six subsets of Halstead-Reitan
- Category test
- Rhythm test
- Tactual performance test
- Tapping test
- Grip strength test
- Auditory test
Category test
- measures abstract thinking
- examinee is called on to determine the principles that relate shape, size, location, colour, etc.
- several images shown examinee asked to choose which one represents the given category
- believed to reflect on frontal lobe functioning
Rhythm test
- test of concentration & attention where examinee listens to 30 pairs tape recorded rhythmic beats, and is asked to identify which pairs are the same and which are different
- associated with right temporal lobe functioning
Tactual performance test
The examinee is required to fit blocks of various shapes into their corresponding spaces on a board while blindfolded. He or she later draws the board from memory in order to test visual memory
Tapping test
The examinee taps rapidly in a lever
Grip strength test
The examinee grasps a dynamometer, which measures grip strength; this test an help to identify the location of brain damage
Auditory test
The examinee is asked to identify aurally transmitted nonsense words
Rapport
Mutual understanding or trust between people
Mental status examination
The most frequently used semi- structured interview in psychiatric settings, which screens for patients emotional, intellectual, and neurological functioning
Projective test
Theory: A person is presented with an ambiguous stimulus will project onto that stimulus his or her unconscious motives, needs, drives, feelings, defences, and personality charcteristics
Rorschach inkblot test
Oldest and probably the best known projective test. Based on the idea that people see different things in the same inkblot and that what they see reflects their personality. The blots are presented on separate cards and handed to the subject in a particular sequence
Exner system
A way of standardizing the scoring of responses in a Rorschach examination in order to increase its reliability and validity. The exner system may have greater clinical validity in testing schizophrenia than depression or personality disorders
The thematic apperception test (TAT)
Consists of drawings on cards depicting ambiguous social interactions. Individual’s are asked to construct stories about the cards. It is assumed their tales reflect their experiences, outlook on life, and deep-seated needs and conflicts. Validity and reliability are open to the same criticisms as those of the Rorschach inkblot tests
Minnesota Mulitphasic Personality inventory (MMPI)
The most widely used objective test of personality. The adjective “multiphasic” means that it assesses many aspects of personality. The test contains 567 questions grouped to form 10 content scales plus additional scales to detect sources of invalidity such as carelessness, defensiveness, or evasiveness. The revised and dated version, called the MMPI-2, focuses primarily on the main clinical disorders
Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI)
An objective test of personality developed to help clinicians make diagnostic judgement within the multiaxial DSM system, specially in the personality disorders found on Axis II
Personality Assessment Inventory
A self- administered, objective inventory of adult personality. This instrument provided information relevant for clinical diagnosis, treatment planning, and screening for psychopathology
Person by situation interaction
The impact of a person’s surroundings by his or her behavioural characteristics, according to Walter Mischel’s view that predicting a person’s behaviour requires knowledge of both the persons typical behaviour patterns and the characteristics of the setting
In vivo observation
When a clinician goes into a person’s everyday environment to record running narrative events, using pencil and paler, video. Or still camera
Analogue observational study
An artificial setting in an office or laboratory constructed to elicit specific classes of behaviour in individuals
Four sets of variables that behavioural and cognitively oriented clinicians are concerned with (SORC)
Stimuli- a clinician would attempt to establish the particular environmental situations that frequently precede the problem, or in which the problem often arose
Organismic-physiological or psychological factors within the individual that may increase the probability if behaviour, such as alcohol use, a tendency to low blood sugar, or poor self-esteem
Overt responses-the problem behaviour itself; the intensity,frequency, and duration of the behaviour would be important
Consequences- of he behaviour, particularly those that might reinforce or punish the behaviour
Description
The specification and classification of an event
Science
Knowledge ascertained by observation and experimentation critically tested, systematized, and brought under general principles
Random assignment
A procedure that ensures that each participant has an equal probability of being in either the experimental or the control group, guaranteeing the equivalence of these groups
Experimental group
The group that is exposed to a variable that is manipulated
Independent variable
The variable being manipulated
Dependent variable
The measures the researchers hypothesized would be affected by the manipulation
Control group
The group that experiences all aspects of the experiment, including assessments, in a manner identical to the experimental group, except for the manipulation of the independent variable
Pretest
In an experiment, an assessment of subjects of many measures prior to manipulation of the independent variable. Done for descriptive purposes
Post-test
In an experiment, assessment of the subjects on several dependent. Aria less judged to be important, in order to get a comprehensive picture of the effects of manipulating the independent variable
Placebo
A substance that looks and feels like the substances being tested in an experiment, but does not contain the active ingredient
Placebo effect
The phenomenon that individuals in treatment programs expect to get better, and as a result may feel an improvement, or that they report improvement to please the experimenter
Double- blind procedure
Neither the participants or the experimenter’s know who was getting the medication and who was getting the placebo
Internal validity
The degree to which changes in the dependent variables are a result of the manipulation of the independent variable
External validity
The generalizability of the findings, or the degree to which the findings in the investigation apply to other individuals in other settings
Quasi-experimental study
One in which the participants in the experimental group are not randomly assigned but selected on the basis of certain characteristics, and in which there is no manipulation of independent variables
Confound
O cues when two or more variables exert their influence at the same time, making it impossible to accurately establish the causal role of either variable
Correlational method
A no experimental investigative method that Measures the degree of relationship between two variables; behaviour is not manipulated but quantitatively measured and then analyzed statistically. Generally requires a large number of participants
Longitudinal studies
A scientific study in which a large number of people are evaluated with respect to the existence of psychological or behavioural features and are then followed up, often years or decades later, to determine whether they have developed a disease
Case study
A description of the past and current functioning of a single individual
Single-subject designs
A no experiment al investigate method that, like e case study, is based on the intense investigation of an individual subject, but avoids criticisms of the case study by using experimentally accepted procedures. It uses observable behaviours that are quantifiable
ABAB (reversal design)
A- the quantification of behaviour in its naturally occurring environment prior to any intervention
B- the treatment is introduced in a controlled manner for a period of time
A- reversal- treatment is not provided and the participant is exposed to the original baseline conditions
B- treatment is once again provided
Epidemiology
The study of the incidence and prevalence of disorders in a population
Incidence
The number of new cases of a disorder in a particular population over a specified time period, usually a year
Prevalence
The frequency of a disorder in a population at a given point or period of time
Proband
In families studies, the patient, or the person who come to the attention of the clinician or researcher
Concordance family studies
If the Proband and a comparison person are alike on the characteristic of interest (for example they show the same abnormal behaviour)
Cross fostering
A type of adoption study in which one group comprised adopted children whose biological parents have a disorder and whose adoptive parents demonstrate no psychopathology, and the other group comprises adopted children whose biological parents have no disorder but whose adoptive parents develop psychopathology. The only parison available in this design allows statements concerning the relative impact of genes and environment. Regarded as an improvement on the traditional adoption study
Monozygotic twins (MZ) twins
Identical twins; result from fertilization by a single sperm of a single ovum
Dizygotic (DZ) twins
Non-identical (fraternal) twins; result when two independent sperm separately fertilize two independent ova at approximately the same time
Phenotype
The observable expression of his or her genetic contribution
Gene-environment interactions
A term used to describe the phenotypic effects that are due to interactions between environment and genes
Three ways that genotypes and environments are related and can influence development
- Passive gene-environment correlation
- Evocative (reactive) gene- environment correction
- Active gene- environment correlation
Passive gene-environment correlation
In this situation
Tuitions, ones biological parents determine not only ones genotype, but also the quality of ones earl experienced created by those biological parents
Evocative (reactive) gene- environment correlation
In this situation, Individuals’ heritable behaviours evoke an environmental response
Active gene-environment correlation
In this situation, individuals possessing particular heritable propensities by virtue of their genotype will be more likely to actively select certain environments
Epigenetics
Th study of modifications of gene expressions that are caused by mechanisms other than changes in underlying DNA sequence
Statistical significance
An attribute of research results when it is extremely unlikely that they could have occurred purely by chance. The standard by which most research is judged as valuable or worthy of being published
Clinical significance
Refers to a treatments practical utility, and which does not follow automatically from statistical significance
Normative comparisons
Compares treatment results to non- disturbed samples
Anxiety
An affective state whereby an individual feels threatened by the potential occurrence of a future negative event
Fear
A more”primitive” emotion and occurs in response to a real or perceived current threat
Fight or flight response
Fear prompts a person (or organism) to either flee from a dangerous situation or stand a fight
Panic
An extreme fear reaction that is triggered even though there is nothing to be afraid of (it is essentially a “false alarm”)
Neurosis
A nineteenth century term for anxiety disorders, somatoform, and dissociative disorders
Two- factor theory
The most influential theory of fear and phobias during the 1960s and 1979s. The model proposed that fears are acquired by classical conditioning, but maintained by operant conditioning
Vicarious learning or modelling
It is possible to develop fears by observing the reactions of other people
Panic attacks
Involve a sudden rush of intense fear or discomfort during which an individual experiences a number of physical and psychological symptoms such as palpitations, shaking, chest pain, and fear of dying, going crazy, or losing control. Must have at least 4 of the 13 symptoms to be classified as a panic attack
Agoraphobia
Pertains to anxiety about being in places or situations where an individual may find it difficult to escape or in which he or she would not have help readily available should a panic attack occur
Behavioural avoidance test (BAT)
I this test, patients are asked toe tee situations they would typically avoid. They provide a rating of their degree of anticipatory anxiety and the actual level of anxiety they experience
Nocturnal panic
Attacks that occur while sleeping (most often during the lighter stages of sleep,between one and three hours of falling asleep)
Catastrophically misinterpret
In the context of panic, when one misinterprets normal body sensations as signals that one is going to have a heart attack, go crazy, lose control, or die
Anxiety sensitivity
The tendency to catastrophically misinterpret arousal- related bodily sensations because one believes the sensations to have harmful consequences, such as death, insanity, or loss of control
Alarm theory of panic
This theory proposes that a “true alarm” occurs when there is a real threat- our bodies produce an adaptive physiological response that allows us to face the feared object or flee from the situation. In some instances this alarm system can be activated by emotional cues (in which some case it’s a “false alarm”
The DSM-5 outline five specifies of specific phobias
Animal type Natural environment type Blood Injection- injury type Situational type Other type
Illness phobia
An intense fear of developing a disease that the perso currently does not have (categorized under other type)
Equipotentiality premise
The presumption that all stimuli have an equal chance of becoming acquired phobias
Nonassociative model
Proposes that the process of evolution has endowed humans to respond fearfully to a select group of stimulus d thus no learning is necessary to develop these fears
Biological preparedness
Refers to the idea that humans and animals are biologically prepared to fear certain stimuli as opposed to others. That is evolution has hard-wired organisms to easily lead those associations that facilitate species survival
Disgust sensitivity
The degree to which people are susceptible to being disgusted by a variety of stimuli such as bugs,type of food, and small animals
Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)
A marked and persistent fear of social performance-related situations; fear interacting with others in most social settings
Performance only social phobias
Fear specific social situations or activities, which may include casual speaking, eating or writing in public, or giving formal speeches
Interpersonal disorder
A condition that is common,y associated with marked disruption in the ability to relate with other people
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU)
Refers to an individual’s discomfort with ambiguity and uncertainty
Compulsions
Repetitive behaviours or cognitive acts that are intended to reduce anxiety
Neutralizations
Behavioural or mental acts that are used by individuals to prevent, cancel, or “undo” the feared consequences and distress caused by an obsession
Thought-action fusion (TAF)
Refers to two types of irrational thinking:
1) true belief that having a particular thought increases the probability that the thought will come true
2) the belief that having a particular thought I’d the moral equivalent of a particular action
Emotional numbing
The perception that one lacks, is without, or cannot feel emotions; instead one feels “numb”
Systematic desensitization
A therapeutic technique whereby patients i,shine the lowest feared stimuli and combine this image with a relaxation response. Patients. Gradually work their way up the fear hierarchy so they can learn to handle increasingly disturbing stimuli
Fear hierarchy
A list of feared situations or objects that are arranged in descending order according to how much they evoke anxiety
In vivo exposure
In real life
Worry imagery exposure
Involved systematic exposure to feared images that are related to an individual’s worries
Flooding or intense exposure
This involves starting at a very high level of intensity rather yah working gradually through the fear hierarchy
Ritual prevention
Involves promoting abstinence from rituals that, while reducing anxiety in the short term, only serve to reinforce the obsessions in the long run
Subtle avoidance
Engaging in safety behaviours that serve to maintain anxiety. For example, and individual may be able to go into a movie theatre only if he or she sits in the back near the exit or is accompanied by a significant other. These subtle behaviours need to end in order for anxiety to really diminish over the long term
Mood disorder
An altered mood state severe enough to interfere with a person’s social and occupational functioning and whose range of symptoms is not limited to the person’s feelings, but affects other bodily and behavioural systems as well
Imagined loss
The individual unconsciously interprets other types of events as severe loss events
Depressive disorders
Involves a change in mood in the direction of depression
Bipolar and related disorders
Involve periods of depression cycling with periods of mania
Major depressive disorder (MDD)
A depressive disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, loss of interest or ability to fell pleasure, unexplained weight loss, difficulty sleeping, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, suicidal thoughts, and either agitation or slowing down. The person must not be suffering from other disorders that may present as depression such as schizoaffective disorder or delusional disorder
Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)
Chronic low mood, lasting for at least two years, along with at least three associated symptoms
Mania
A distinct period of elevated, expansive, or irritable mood that lasts one week and is accompanied by at least three associated symptoms
Hypo mania
A less severe form of mania that involves a similar number of symptoms, but those symptoms need to be present for only four days
Bipolar I disorder
Individual has a history Ido e or more manic episodes with or without one or more major depressive episodes
Bipolar II disorder
A history of one or more hypo manic episodes with one or more major depressive episodes
Cyclothymia
Chronic, but less severe, form of bipolar disorder. Involves a history of at least two years of alternating hypo manic episodes and episodes of depression that do not meet the full requirement for major depression
Specifiers
Further descriptors of a patient’s condition that capture the natural variation in the expression of affective disturbances, and therefor increase the specificity of diagnoses by conveying important information about salient features that might otherwise be overlooked
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Can occur in both unipolar depression and bipolar disorder and is characterized by recurrent depressive episodes that are tied to the changing seasons
Cognitive distortions
Thoughts about the self, world, or future that are distortions of the true state of affairs
Examples common cognitive distortions
All- or-nothing thinking
Over generalization (always or nothing thinking)
Magnification (catastrophizing)
Jumping to conclusions
Schemas
Hypothetical structures in the mind that contain core beliefs about the self the world and the future
Cognitive triad
The self, the world, and the future
Diathesis- stress model
A model that recognizes the combination of diathesis (ie vulnerability) and sufficient amounts of life stress that, combined, are likely to produce a disorder
Negative feedback seeking
The tendency to actively seek out criticism and other negative interpersonal feedback from others
Excessive reassurance seeking
The tendency to repeatedly seek assurance about one’s worth and lovability from others, regardless of whether such assurances have already been provided
Stress generation hypothesis
A theory of depression reoccurrence, which states that individuals with a history of depression have higher rates of stressful life events that are at least in part dependent I their own behaviour or characteristics than non-depressed people’s
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
The biological stress response system responsible for the fight-or-flight response. It is overactive in major depression
Cognitive-behaviour (or behavioural) therapy (CBT)
A form of psychotherapy that attempts to change maladaptive thoughts and behaviours
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)
A therapy that uses a medical model to understand interpersonal conflicts and transitions as they relate to depression
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)
One of he three known major classes of antidepressants. Tricyclics enable more neurotransmitters to be released into the synaptic cleft
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
A class of medications used to treat major depression by inhibiting he enzyme mono amine oxidase, which breaks down mono amines such as dopamine and norepinephrine, thus allowing more of these neurotransmitters to accumulate in the pre synaptic cell
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)
One of the three major classifications of antidepressants. SSRIs, as their name suggests, delay the process of reuptake neurotransmitters so that they remain available longer to mani twin optimal neuronal firing rates. Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil
Lithium
In mid 19th century lithium was used to treat a wide range of psychiatric disorders
Family-focused therapy (FFT)
Adjunctive psychotherapy for bipolar and related disorders that focuses on educating the patient’s family about the disorder and improving family communication
Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT)
Adjunctive psychotherapy for bipolar disorder that focuses on regularizing patients daily rhythms and routines
Phototherapy
Treatment for seasonal affective disorder that involves exposure to high-intensity full spectrum lighting
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
The use of electricity to induce a seizure in mental patients by placing electrodes on the skull and administering a convulse rather than a lethal shock intensity
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Uses magnetic fields to alter brain activity
Suicide
The intentional taking of ones own life
Psychache
The feeling of unendurable psychological pain and frustration
The 4 D’s of abnormal behaviour
Deviance
Distress
Dysfunction
Danger
Disease burden
The extent of functional impairment and loss associated with a health problem
- combining mortality and disability
The classical psychodynamic paradigm (Freud)
Unconscious & Repression
Id, ego, superego
Defence mechanisms
Psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital
Primitive defended
- denial
- regression
- projection
Higher level (neurotic defences)
Repression
Intellectualization
Reaction formation
Displacement
Major defences
Humour
Suppression
Sublimation
Equifinality
Same outcome can arise from many paths
Multi finality
Similar events can lead to different outcomes
Five factor model
Neuroticism, extaversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness
Resilience
Protective factors:
- hardiness
- self-enhancement
- positive personal dispositions
- repressive coping
- social support
- adequate social-economic status
Features of DSM-5
Atheoretical
Based on description rather than theory
Three sections:
1- introduction and use of manual
2- broad categories of clinical disorders
3- emerging measures and models
Major innovations of DSM-5
Discontinuation of multi-axial system
- greater alignment with the ICD system
- greater recognition of age, gender, and culture
- spectrum or non spectrum disorders
