Psychology: Module 3 - Psychological Problems

Key Terms

Unipolar Depression

A type of mental health condition characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest or pleasure in daily activities.

Mental Health Problem

A form of pyschological problem characterised by symptoms affecting your mind and behavior; they can affect how you think; how you feel, how you behave or how you relate to other people.

Twin Studies

Research that compares behavior in groups of twins to see if there are similarities in each pair of twins.

Monozygotic Twins

Twins developed from one fertilized egg that has spilt into two; monozygotic twins are genetically identical.

Dizygotic Twins

Twins developed from two different eggs that fertilized during the same pregnancy; dizygotic twins are not genetically identical.

Genetic Predisposition

A biological tendency to develop a particular behavior as a result of the genes someone has.

Diathesis- Stress Model

An explanation for depression that claims people can have a gene that makes them more likely to develop depression, but only if they face a stressful situation that triggers depressive thoughts.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter associated with controlling the mood.

Deterministic

Our actions come from what we are born with and what we experience; this is the opposite of having ‘free-will’ or free choice

Free Will

Explanations of behavior that claim we have the ability to choose exactly what type of behavior we want to show; this is the opposite of being ‘determined’.

Cognitive Theory

An explanation that focuses on how thought processes influence behavior

Negative Triad

A set of 3 thought patterns where people feel bad about themselves, the future and the world in general.

Magnification

A form of cognitive bias that makes people see their problems as far bigger than they actually are.

Nature

Explanations of behavior that focuses on innate factors (things we are born with).

Nurture

Explanations of behavior that focus on environmental factors (things that happen to us).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

A therapy for mental health disorders that aim to change thought processes in order to reduce symptoms.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals found within the nervous system that pass messages from one neuron to another across a synapse.

Noradrenaline

A type of neurotransmitter that is involved in mood and is released during times of stress.

Reuptake

The process by which neurons reabsorb neurotransmitters that they released.

Placebo

An invasive substance, or ‘fake pill’ used instead of an active substance. The person given a placebo will known it is fake.

Relaspe

A return of symptoms after treatment has been given.

Addiction

A mental health problem that means people need a particular thing- a substance or an activity- in order to be able to go about their normal routine.

Withdrawal

A set of unpleasant physical or psychological symptoms someone gets when they are trying to quit or cannot satisfy their addiction.

Learning Theory

An explanation that believes behavior is learned through associations and experiences.

Classical Conditioning

Learning by association.

Operant Conditioning

Learning from the consequences of actions.

Social Learning Theory

Behavior is learned through observation and imitation of role models.

Reinforcement

An outcome resulting our behavior that increases the chance of the behavior being repeated or avoided in the future. The outcome may be the result of gaining something positive, or something negative being removed.

Functional Analysis

The first stage of CBT to treat addiction that identifies triggers.

Skills Training

The second Stage of CBT to treat addiction whereby addicts learn new ways to control the patterns of behavior that lead to their addiction

Detoxification

When an addict tries to stop taking the substance they are addicted to.

Longitudinal study

The same people are tested over a period of time to investigate changes.

Likert-Type Scale

A scale were a person can relate their level of agreement to a statement