Test 1 Flashcards
Psychpathology
the field concerned with the nature and development of abnormal behaviour
Abnormal behaviour
includes such characteristics as statistical infrequency, violation of norms, personal distress, disability or dysfunction, and unexpectedness
Normal curve
bell-shaped curve, majority of people in the middle, very few people at the extremes
Clinicians
the various professionals authorized to provide psychological services
Clinical psychologist
typically requires a PhD or PsyD, 4 to 7 years of graduate study
Psychotherapy
a primarily verbal means of helping troubled individuals change their thoughts, feelings, and behaviour to reduce stress
Psychiatrists
holds an MD degree, has had postgraduate training, called a residency, in which they have received supervision in the practice of diagnosis and psychotherapy
Psychoactive drugs
chemical compounds that influence how people feel and think
Psychoanalyst
has received specialized training at a psychoanalytic institute
Social worker
obtains an M.S.W (master of social work)
Programs for counselling psychologists
similar to graduate training in clinical psychology but usually have less emphasis on research and the more severe forms of psychopathology
Demonology
the doctrine that an evil being, such as the devil may dwell in a person and control their mind and body
Exorcism
the casting out of evil spirits by ritualistic chanting or torture
Trepanning
making a surgical opening in a living skull by some instrument
Somatogenesis
the notion that something wrong with the soma (or physical body) disturbs thought and action
Psychogenesis
a disturbance has psychological origins
Asylums
refuges established for the confinement and care of the mentally ill
Moral treatment
sympathetic and attentive treatment
Community treatement orders (CTOs)
a legal tool issued by a medical practitioner that establishes the conditions under which a mentally ill person may live in the community
Transinstitutionalization
More care being provided in psychiatric units of general hospitals, rather than in psychiatric hospitals
Provincial psychiatric hospitals
provide specialized treatment and rehabilitation services for individuals whose needs for care are too complex to be managed in the community
Syndrome
A group of symptoms
General paresis
steady deterioration in mental and physical abilities
Germ theory of disease
the view that disease is caused by infection of the body by minute organisms
Cathartic method
The experience of reliving an earlier emotional catastrophe and releasing the emotional tension caused by suppressed thoughts about the event
Self-stigma
the tendency to internalize mental health stigma and see oneself in more negative terms as a result of experiencing a psychological problem
Mental health literacy
refers to the accurate knowledge that a person has developed about mental illness and its causes and treatment
Community psychology
psychologists seek out problems or potential problems, focus on prevention
Paradigm
The conceptual framework or approach within which a scientist works
Biological paradigm
Mental disorders are caused by aberrant biological processes
Genes
Carriers of genetic information passed from parents to child
Behaviour genetics
study of individual differences in behaviour that are attributable in part to differences in genetic makeup
Genotype
Unobservable genetic constitution
Phenotype
Obserservable characteristics
Family method
can be used to study a genetic predisposition among members of a family because the average number of genes shared between two blood relatives is known
Adoptees method
Study children with abnormal disorders who were adopted and reared apart from their parents
Linkage analysis
a method in molecular genetics used to study people
Temperament
constitutionally based differences in reactivity and self regulation
Resilient type
cope well with adversity, adaptive, high functioning,
Overcontrolling type
overly inhibited and prone to distress, shy, lonely, moderate self-esteem and school performance
Undercontrolling type
prone to acting out and aggressive behaviours, delinquency, externalizes problems, school conduct difficulties, lower IQ and school performance
Nerve impulse
Change in the electric potential of the cell
Synapse
small gap between the terminal endings of the sending axon and the cell membrane of the receiving neuron
Neurotransmitters
chemical substances that allow a nerve impulse to cross the synapse
Deep brain stimulation
planting battery-operated electrodes in the brain that deliver low-level electrical impulses
Reductionism
the view that whatever is being studied can and should be reduced to its most basic elements or constituents
Behaviourism
An approach that focuses on observable behaviour rather than on consciousness
Extinction
The gradual disappearance of the CR
Operant conditioning
Applied to behaviour that operates on the environment
Discriminative stimulus
external events that tell an organism that if it performs a certain behaviour, a certain consequence will follow
Positive reinforcement
Strengthening of a tendency to respond by virtue of the presentation of a positive reinforcer
Negative reinforcement
Strengthens a response via the removal of an aversive event
Modelling
Learning by watching and imitating others
Behaviour therapy/modification
Applied procedures based on classical and operant conditioning to alter clinical problems
Counterconditioning
relearning achieved by eliciting a new response in the presence of a particular stimulus
Self-efficacy
An individual’s perceived sense of being capable
Aversive conditioning
a stimulus attractive to the client is paired with an unpleasant event
Cognition
perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, judging, and reasoning
Schema
an organized network of already accumulated knowledge
Rational-emotive behaviour therapy
The aim is to eliminate self-defeating beliefs through a rational examination of them
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy
Incorporates theory and research on cognitive and behavioural processes and represents a blend of cognitive and learning principles
Cognitive restructuring
Changing a pattern or thought that is presumed to be causing a disturbed emotion or behaviour
Id
present at birth and is the part of the mind that accounts for all the energy needed to run the psyche
Unconscious
below the level of awareness
Primary process thinking
generating images (fantasies) of what is desired
Ego
primarily conscious and begins to develop from the id during the second six months of life
Secondary process thinking
planning and decision making functions
Pleasure principle
seeking immediate gratification
Reality principle
mediating between the demands of reality and immediate gratification
Superego
Operates roughly as the conscience and develops throughout childhood
Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic paradigm
psychopathology results from unconscious conflicts in the individual
Psychodynamics of personality
the interplay between the id, ego, and superego
Objective (realistic) anxiety
The ego’s reaction to danger in the external world
Neurotic anxiety
a feeling of fear that is not connected to reality or to any real threat
Moral anxiety
arises when the impulses of the superego punish an individual for not meeting expectations
Defence mechanism
a strategy used unconsciously to protect the ego from anxiety
Repression
pushes unacceptable impulses and thoughts into the unconscious
Denial
entails disavowing a traumatic experience and pushing it into the unconscious
Displacement
redirecting emotional responses from a perhaps dangerous object to a substitute
Regression
retreating to the behavioural patterns of an earlier age
Rationalization
inventing a reason for an unreasonable action or attitude
Sublimation
converting sexual or aggressive impulses into socially valued behaviours
Psychotherapy
a social interaction in which a trained professional tries to help another person behave and feel differently
Insight therapies
assume that behaviour, emotions, and thoughts become disordered because people do not understand what motivates them
Action (behavioural) therapies
the focus is on changing behaviour (both use insight though)
Free association
verbalizing whatever comes to mind without censoring it
Resistances
a client changing the topic or going silent during free association, probe it further, usually sensitive or ego-threatening
Latent content
symbolic content in dreams that disguises repressed material
Transference
when the client’s responses to the analyst reflect relationships with important people in the client’s past
Countertransference
Analysts feelings towards the client
Interpretation
Analyst points out the meaning of certain behaviours
Ego analysis
place greater emphasis on a person’s ability to control the environment and to select the time and the means for satisfying instinctual drives, contending that the individual is as much ego as they are id
Brief therapy
Time-limited psychotherapy
Interpersonal therapy (IPT)
concentrates on the client’s current interpersonal difficulties and discusses with the client better ways of relating to others
Role-playing
having the client practise new behaviours in the consulting room
Humanistic therapies
insight-focused, based on the assumption that disordered behaviour results from a lack of insight, and can best be treated by increasing the individual’s awareness of motivations and needs
Client-centred therapies
Based on the assumption that people can only be understood from the vantage point of their own perceptions and that healthy people are aware of their behaviour, inherently good, and goal-directed.
Unconditional positive regard
accepting the person for who they are
Eclecticism
employing ideas and therapeutic techniques from a variety of schools
Cumulative risk
the effects of being exposed to multiple risk factors
Reliability
the consistency of measurement
Inter-rater reliability
Measures the degree to which two independent observers or judges agree
Test-retest reliability
measures the extent to which people being observed twice or taking the same test twice score in generally the same way
Alternate-form reliability
the extent to which scores on two forms of a test are consistent
Internal consistency reliability
assesses whether the items on a test are related to one another
Content validity
the extent to which 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 (the criterion)
Construct validity
relevant when we want to interpret a test as a measure of some characteristic or construct that is not simply defined
Structured interview
Interview in which the questions are set out in a prescribed fashion for the interviewer
Evidence-based assessment
selects assessment measures based on extensive criteria including the reliability and validity of the measures and reading level required
Psychological tests
Standardized procedures designed to measure a person’s performance on a particular task or to assess their personality, thoughts, feelings, and behaviour
Test norms
standards that are used to interpret an individual’s score, which is meaningless without a comparison context
Standardization
Collecting sufficient data for comparison of individual scores
Personality inventory
when a person is asked to complete a self-report questionnaire indicating whether statements assessing habitual tendencies apply to them
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
The best-known and most frequently used and researched psychological test in the US
Faking bad
accentuating deficits that don’t really exist
Projective test
psychological assessment device in which a set of ambiguous looking standard stimuli are presented to the individual
Projective hypothesis
The assumption that the client’s responses to ambiguous stimuli will be determined by unconscious processes and will reveal their true self
Rorschach Ink Blot Test
the best-known projective technique
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
projective tests in which an individual is shown black-and-white pics and asked to tell a story about each one
Intelligence test
Standardized means of assessing a person’s current mental ability
Race norms
Revised norms for various racial or cultural groups
Stereotype threat
scores fluctuate out of concerns about how the information will be used according to stereotypes
Cognitive-behavioural case formulation
a provisional map of a person’s presenting problems that describes the territory of the problems and explains the processes that caused and maintain the problem
CT scan
computerized axial tomography, helps to assess structural brain abnormalities
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
person is placed inside a large circular magnet for imaging, takes higher quality images than a CT scan
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
allows researchers to take pictures so quickly that metabolic changes can be measured
PET scan
allows measurement of brain function, involves labelling a substance in the brain with a radioactive isotope
Neurologist
A physician who specializes in medical diseases that affect the nervous system
Neuropsychologist
Psychologist who studies how dysfunctions of the brain affect the way we think, feel, and behave
Neuropsychological tests
tests to assess behaviour disturbances caused by brain dysfunctions
Psychophysiology
concerned with bodily changes that accompany psychological events or that are associated with a person’s psychological characteristics
Electrocardiogram
graphically depiects heartbeats
electrodermal responding
skin conductance
electroencephalogram (EEG)
measures brain activity with electrodes placed on the scalp
DSM-5
current edition of the official diagnostic system widely employed by mental health professionals
Multiaxial classification
each individual is rated on five separate dimensions, or axes
Mental disorder
problematic term that no definition adequately specifies precise boundaries of
Categorical classification
a yes-no approach to classification
Dimensional classification
The entities or objects being classified must be ranked on a quantitative dimesion
Sensitivity
agreement regarding the presence of a specific diagnosis
Specificity
agreement concerning the absence of a diagnosis
Kappa
measures the proportion of agreement over and above what would be expected by chance
Outline for Cultural Formulation
designed to guide treatment planning from a perspective sensitive to differences in ethnocultural backgrounds and context
Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI)
semi-structured interview tapping four themes: cultural definitions of the problem; cultural perceptions of cause, context, and support; cultural factors affecting self-coping and past help-seeking; and cultural factors affecting currently help-seeking
DSM-5 V codes
conditions or significant factors that are not disorders but can have a strong influence on treatment (homelessness, divorce, etc)
Asperger’s syndrome
milder form of autism, done away with in the DSM-5
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD)
New disorder in the DSM-5, related to severe temper tantrums
Epidemiology
Study of the frequency and distribution of a disorder in a population
Prevalence
The proportion of a population that has a disorder at a given time
Life-time prevalence
The proportion of the sample that had ever experienced the disorder up to the time of the interview
Comorbidity
co-occurence of different disorders, the “premier challenge facing mental health professionals”
