Abnormal Psychology terms test 1 (Cedarville University, DeWitt)

psychological disorder

dysfunction associated with distress or impairment in functioning

abnormal behavior

A psychological dysfunction in a person that is associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected

psychological dysfunction

a breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning

psychopathology

scientific study of psychological disorders

scientist-practitioners

mental health professionals who take a scientific approach to their work

psychiatrist

a mental health professional who can give medications

presenting problem

what a patient comes in complaining about

clinical description

represents the unique combination of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that make up a specific disorder

prevalence

the number of people in the population as a whole who have the disorder

incidence

how many new cases there are per year

course

the pattern of the disorder

acute onset

disorder begins suddenly

insidious onset

develop gradually over an extended period

prognosis

the anticipated course a disorder will take (good or guarded)

mass hysteria

large scale outbreaks of bizarre behavior

somatic symptom disorders

a medical problem when no physical issue can be found

syphilis

and STD caused by the bacterial microorganism entering the brain. Believe that everyone is against you, hallucinations, and delusions

psychological treatment

focuses on psychological factors as well as social and cultural factors

moral therapy

treating institutionalized patients as normally as possible

unconscious mind

Freud's term for the part of our mind that we cannot become aware of

catharsis

the release of emotional material

psychoanalytic model

Freud and Brewer's theory of the mind. Includes, id, ego, and super ego

id

source of strong sexual and aggressive feelings

ego

the part of our mind that ensures that we act realistically

super ego

conscience, moral principles

intrapsychic conflicts

conflicts within the mind

defense mechanisms

unconcise protective processes that keep privative emotions associated with conflicts in check

sublimation

redirecting energy from a conflict into something productive

types of defense mechanisms (7)

denial, displacement, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, repression, sublimation

neuroses

nonpsychological disorders resulting from unconscious conflicts

self psychology

a psychoanalytic approach

object relations

the study of how children incorporate the images, memories, and values of a person who was important to them

collective unconscious

wisdom accumulated by society and culture that is stored deep in individual memories and passed down from generation to generation

free association

first thing that comes to mind

transference

when a patient relates to the therapist like an important figure in their childhood

extinction

unlearning a conditioned response

shaping

reinforcing successive approximations to a final behavior

multidimensional integrative approach

approach to the study of psychopathology that holds psychological disorders as always being the products of multiple interacting causal factors

autosomes

first 22 pairs of chromosomes

sex chromosomes

the last pair of chromosomes

phenotype

what someone looks like

genotype

genetic makeup of an organism

genome

the complete set of genes

epigenetics

environmental influence on genes

terminal button

the end of an axon

hormone

chemical messenger

agonist

increases the activity of a neurotransmitter

antagonist

decreases the activity of a neuro transmitter

inverse agonist

produces the opposite effect of the neurotransmitter

prepared learning

learning that you have become tuned to by evolution

implicit memmory

memory that effects someone, but they can't remember

components of emotion

behavior, physiology, and cognition

equifinality

a multitude of paths may have the same outcome

clinical assessment

Systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in a person presenting with a possible psychological disorder.

diagnosis

degree of fit between symptoms and diagnostic criteria

mental status exam

systematic observation of an individual's behavior

behavioral observation

identification and observation of target behaviors

antecedents

what happened before the bahavior

images of the brain stucture

MRI

images of the brain function

PET, SPECT, fMRI

psychophysiological assessment

EEG

idiographic strategy

determination of individual, unique features or attributes

nomothetic strategy

deamination of general classes and common attributes- large groups with shared features

classification

any effort to construct groups or categories and to assign objects to these categories

taxonomy

scientific classification

nomenclature

names or labels that make up the nosology

three types of classification

classical, dimensional, prototypical

reliability

consistency of measurement

validity

does the test measure what it's supposed to?

nosology

psychological classification

types of validity

predictive, concurrent, and construct

standardization

an application of certain standards to ensure consistency across different measurements

self monitoring

observations of self

reactivity

changing behavior due to the knowledge of observation