PSY333

Exam 1

Abnormal Psychology

the scientific study whose objectives are to describe, explain, predict, and control problematic behaviors.

symptoms

what characteristics are present

prevalence

the number of the percent of the population who have the disorder at a given time

age of onset

when does it develop (age)

prognosis

prediction of the course, duration, severity, and outcome of disease/treatment

comorbidity

Prescence of 2 or more disorders

statistical infrequency

on the outskirts (not everything frequent means a psychological disorder)

deviance from social norms

cultural inappropriateness

dysfunction

psychological disabilities (maintaining relationships, interfering with everyday life)

distress

subjective distress (internal emotions or experiences that cannot be observed by others)

Dangerousness

a danger to themselves or others

4 D’s

deviance, dysfunction, distress, dangerousness

Supernatural models

action of the gods, evil spirits/demons, movement of stars/planets, and witchcraft

Biological models

Hippocrates, brain as the seat of consciousness, general paresis and germ theory

General paresis

severe disorder characterized by the various mental symptoms as well as bodily paralyses, caused by a syphilitic infection of the brain

Malarial fever therapy

a treatment that involved infecting the patient with malaria to cause a high fever, which would cause a high immune response

Germ theory

something you cannot see causes damage.

behavioral perspective

we acquire our behaviors through specific learning processes

cognitive behavioral prespective

abnormal behaviors are the product of faulty mental processing

Medical model

psychological illness due to genetic vulnerabilities, neurotransmitter or hormonal abnormalities, brain dysfunction

Shared environments

consists of those environments that are shared by siblings as a results of growing up in the dame family

nonshared environments

consists of those environments not shared by siblings growing up in the same family

Behavioral genetics

the study of the degree to which genes and environment influence behavior

Gene-environment interactions

refers to how our genes and our environment are intertwined and make up who we are

Heritability

extent to which the variability in a particular disorder can be accounted for by genetic factors

neuron

individual nerve cell

dendrite

branching fiber of neuron that receives input from other neurons

axon

part of the neuron that carries neural impulses to other cells

synapse

a tiny gap separating neurons, where chemical communications between cells can occur

neurotransmitters

carry the message, pass the message on, and then are destroyed

HPA Axis

hypothalamus, adrenal, pituitary gland, work to adjust the balance hormones in the body and affect the stress response, the result is the release of cortisol

Conscious

what are you currently thinking about, the right now

preconscious

any information you have access to and can put into the conscious (memory bank)

unconscious

no access to it, the hidden traumas, pushed down into the unconscious

ID

desires us to seek immediate pleasure to avoid pain.

ego

the mind to accesses the reality of the external world and acts accordingly

superego

representative to parental/cultural views

morality principle

guidelines to live by of right/wrong accepted by yourself or social group

Psychosexual Stages

oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

repression

to push away unacceptable thoughts or feelings from being concious

reaction formation

turn true feelings into the opposite reactions/actions

projection

when you disown an impulse/feeling and attribute it to another person

displacement

get angry at a substitute target when you are actually angry at something else

sublimation

unacceptable desires are crafted into a socially accepted behavior

Insight therapy

talk therapy to help you understand yourself better

free association

patient is asked to say, without censorship whatever comes to mind

dream analysis

analyzing dreams when dreams were seen as a window to the unconscious mind

resistance

phenomenon wen patients unconsciously resist gaining insight into their unconscious

Transference

phenomenon when patients unconsciously transfer thoughts of intimate relationships onto the therapist

Collective unconscious

the idea that a segment of the deepest unconscious mind is genetically inherited and not shaped by personal experience

inferiority complex

a person’s feelings and doubts that they do not measure up to other people’s society’s expectations

Classical Conditioning

a learning process that occurs when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired. A response which is at first made by the 2nd stimulus is eventually made by the first stimulus alone

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Stimulus that is naturally capable of eliciting the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

an originally neutral stimulus that becomes capable of eliciting a conditioned response after repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned response (CR)

response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus after repeated pairing with an unconscious stimulus

extinction

gradual disappearance of the conditioned response after pairings between the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are discontinued

spontaneous recovery

the brief reappearance of the conditioned response with occasional presentation of the conditioned response

Generalization

responding similarly to similar stimuli

discrimination

narrowing the range of controlling stimuli for a response

Operant Conditioning

type of learning in which the consequences of a response, control the responses future probability

reinforcement

a consequence that strengthens or increases the likelihood that a response will be repeated

positive reinforcement

the contingent presentation of a pleasant stimulus, which strengthens subsequent responding

negative reinforcement

the contingent removal of an unpleasant stimulus, which strengthens subsequent responding

shaping

a process where small steps are taken and reinforced in order to get to some bigger target behavior

systematic desensitization

a type of exposure therapy by gradually exposing patients to the phobia stimulus until that stimulus can be tolerated

token economies

a behavior management system in which targeted behavior is reinforced with tokens (secondary reinforcers) and later exchanged for rewards (primary reinforcers)

primary reinforcers

event, usually biological, that almost always provides reinforcement (do not require reinforcing properties through nature)

Secondary reinforcers

stimuli, objects, or events that become reinforcing based on their association with a primary reinforcer

Observational Learning

emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating the behaviors, attitudes and emotional reactions of others

selective attention

what to pay attention to

schemas

how information is organized, storing, or retrieved

cognitive appraisal

how you interpret information

information processing

the flow of information through the human nervous sustem, involving the operation of perceptual systems, memory stores, decision processes, and response mechanisms

negative triad

a negative and irrational view of ourselves, our future, and the world around us

REBT

a type of cognitive therapy that focuses on resolving emotional behavioral problems, goal is to change irrational beliefs to more rational ones

behavioral perspectives

we acquire our behaviors through specific learning processes focuses on effects of environmental stimuli on patterns of responding

biopsychosocial perspective

systematically considers biological, psychological and social factors and their complex interactions in understanding health, illness and healthcare delivery

sociocultural factors

influence that social institutions and other people have on mental health

culture, gender, neighborhoods, and family

diathesis stress model

genetic predisposition + environmental stressors = depressive reaction

Classification

effort to construct groups or categories and to assign people to these categories based on their shared attributes

diagnostic systems

allows us to group sets of symptoms unto various classification of disorders

reliability

consistency, the degree to which an instrument produces the same results each time its used

validity

degree to which an instrument measure what its supposed to measure

diagnostic reliability

consistency and agreement between clinicians in use of diagnostic labeling

diagnostic validity

the extent to which a diagnosis measure what its purpose is to measure

predictive validity *

we should be able to say something about what to expect in terms of outcome or course

construct validity

the separations between different categories should be discernible

convergent validity

evidence should support what belongs inside the category

divergent validity

evidence should support what does not belong inside the category

clinical assessment

systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and sociocultural factors that led to a psychological disorder

clinical interview

Detailed psychosocial history, current and past behaviors/emotions, medical problems/medication/psychiatric history, description of presenting problem and accompanying symptoms, determine the onset of the problem and other events that coincided

structured interview

Research faculty, same questions, same order, everyone is questioned the same

semi structured interviewed

starting out with the same questions then asking relevant follow up questions

non-structured interview

asking only relevant questions

neurobiological assessments

brain imaging or psychophysiological tests

Neuropsychological Exam

use of various testing devices to measure a persons cognitive, perceptual or motor performance for clues of brain damage

psychological tests

highly standardized procedure for obtaining samples of behavior, reduces some of the uncontrolled influences that may exist in the interview

mental status exam

brief interview and observation method to provide an overview of a person’s general level psychological functioning

personality inventory

a self-report questionnaire in which brief responses to a collection of test items are used to assess personal characteristics or behaviors across various personality dimensions.