Psychopathology Key Words Flashcards
Statistical infrequencey
Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, for example being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population
Deviation from social norms
Concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society
Statistics
A method of collecting, summarising and analysing data for the purpose of drawing some conclusions about the data
Normal distribution
A symmetrical spread of frequency data that forms a bell-shaped pattern. The mean, median and mode are all located at the highest peak
IQ
Stands for Intelligence Quotient because it was originally calculated by dividing test score by age. More recent tests use norms to work out a person’s IQ based on their score and age
Intellectual disability disorder
Impaired cognitive functioning that is apparent in childhood. Must include some elements of lack of normal functioning
Social norms
Something that is standard, usual or typical of a group
Antisocial personality disorder
A mental health condition where a person has a repeated pattern of behaviour manipulating or violating their rights of others. Often leads to crimes against people
Failure to function adequately
Occurs when someone is unable to cope with the ordinary demands of day-to-day living
Deviation from ideal mental health
Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
Maladaptive
The extent to which a behaviour is not adaptive. Something that is adaptive increases and individual’s well-being and survival
Phobia
An irrational fear of an object or situation
Behavioural
Ways in which we act
Emotional
Ways in which we feel
Cognitive
The process of thinking - knowing, perceiving and believing
Anxiety disorders
A group of mental disorders characterised by levels of fear and apprehension which are disproportionate to any threat posed
Arachnophobia
An irational fear of spiders
Podophobia
An irrational fear of feet
Depression
A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels
Psycho-motor agitation
Unintentional and purposeless motions associated with high levels of distress
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
A condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour
The two-process model to explaining phobias
The idea that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning
Systematic defamation
A behavioural therapy which involves drawing up a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations related to a phobic stimulus, teaching the patient to relax, then helping thme make thir way up the hierarchy by exposing them to the phobic situations
Flooding
A behavioural therapy in which a phobic patient is exposed to an extreme form of a phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety triggered by the stimulus. This takes place across a small number of long therapy sessions
Negative triad
Beck proposed that there were three kinds of negative thinking that contributed to becoming depressed: negative views of the world, the future and the self. Such negative views lead a person to interpret their experiences negatively making them more vulnerable to depression
ABC model
Ellis proposed that depression occurs when an activating event (A) triggers an irrational belief (B) which in turn produces a consequence (C) i.e. an emotional response like depression . The key to this is the irrational belief.
Reactive depression
Depression that can be attributed to a reaction to a life event such as the death of a loved one
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
A method for treating mental disorders based on both cognitive and behavioural techniques. From the cognitive viewpoint the therapy aims to deal with thinking, such as challenging negative thoughts. The therapy also includes behavioural techniques such as behavioural activation
Irrational thoughts
In Ellis’s model and therapy, these are defined as thoughts that are likely to interfere with a person’s happiness. Dysfunctional thoughts lead to mental disorders such as depression
Genetic explanations
Genes make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism and psychological features. Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring
Neural explanations
The view that physical and psychological characteristics are determined by the behaviour of the nervous system, in particular the brain as well as individual neurons
Drug therapy
Treatment involving drugs i.e. chemicals that have a particular effect on the functioning of the brain or some other system. In the case of psychological disorders such drugs usually affect neurotransmitter levels
SSRIs
Selective serotonin reuptake indicator - An antidepressant group of drugs that increase available amounts of serotonin by preventing their re-absorption by the transmitting neuron
