AP Psych Unit 8

Psychology Student Syndrome

Psychology students studying abnormal behavior may start believing they have a mental disorder.

Abnormal Psychology

Scientific study of abnormal behavior to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning.

Clinical Psychology

Field of psychology focusing on assessing, understanding, and treating psychological conditions in clinical practice.

Psychopathology

Scientific study of the nature, causes, development, and consequences of diseases.

The Four Ds

Deviant, Distress, Dysfunctional, and Danger - criteria to assess abnormal behavior.

Diagnostic Labels

Aid in communication among health care professionals for therapy and causes but can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies.

Insanity

Legal term regarding a defendant's ability to discern right from wrong during a crime.

Model

Set of assumptions and concepts used to explain and interpret observations in psychology.

Biological Model

Views abnormal behavior as an illness caused by malfunctions in the organism's parts.

Psychodynamic Model

Believes behavior is determined by underlying psychological forces of which individuals are not consciously aware.

Behavioral Model

States that actions are determined by life experiences and responses to the environment.

Cognitive Model

Focuses on cognitive processes influencing behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.

Eclectic Model

Approach combining various established methods to diagnose and treat psychological disorders.

Stigma

Societal disapproval and judgment of individuals with mental illness.

Trephining

Ancient practice of drilling holes into a person's skull to release demonic spirits causing disordered behaviors.

Cluster C Personality Disorders

Unrealistically self-important, manipulative, can’t take criticism, expects special treatment (more common in males)

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Characterized by consistent discomfort in social situations, feelings of inadequacy, and extreme sensitivity to evaluation/rejection

Dependent Personality Disorder

Characterized by clinging behavior, fear of separation, and a need to be taken care of (more common in females)

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

Intense focus on orderliness, perfectionism, and control leading to inflexibility and conventional behavior

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Disabilities affecting behavior, memory, concentration, and learning emerging at birth or early childhood

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Marked by inability to focus, overactivity, and impulsivity, more common in boys

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Extreme unresponsiveness, communication deficits, repetitive behaviors, more common in boys

Intellectual Disability (ID)

Below-average intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, diagnosed before age 18

Delirium

Acute disturbance in attention and orientation, common in elderly, state of confusion

Anorexia Nervosa

Life-threatening eating disorder with fear of weight gain, distorted body image, and caloric restriction

Bulimia Nervosa

Recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors, average or slightly above/below weight

Insight Therapies

Aim to help clients understand the causes of their problems for greater control over thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

Psychodynamic Therapies

Focus on uncovering unconscious content to alleviate psychic tension, resolving conflicts

Humanistic Therapies

Aim to boost self-fulfillment through self-awareness and self-acceptance, focusing on present and future

Gestalt Therapy

Pushes clients to take control of their future, uses techniques like the empty-chair technique

Somatic Symptom Disorders

Psychiatric symptoms linked to physical complaints, seen in medical settings

Schizophrenia

Psychotic disorder with unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotions, motor abnormalities

Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Added characteristics like hallucinations, inappropriate emotions, delusions

Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Characteristics taken away from a person's personality, like flat affect, avolition

Biomedical Therapy

Involves medication and medical procedures to treat psychological disorders based on biological factors.

Psychopharmacology

The study of how psychotropic drugs affect mental processes and behavior

Psychotropic medications

Medications used to treat psychological disorders

Antianxiety Drugs (Anxiolytic)

Drugs designed to reduce anxiety and produce relaxation by lowering sympathetic activity in the brain

Antidepressant Drugs

Medications that elevate mood by affecting neurotransmitters such as serotonin linked to depression

Mood-Stabilizing Drugs

Medications designed to treat manic episodes and depression in bipolar disorder

Stimulants

Drugs that stimulate the central nervous system by stopping the absorption of dopamine and norepinephrine

Antipsychotic Drugs

Medications designed to diminish or eliminate positive symptoms of schizophrenia

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

A treatment where a brain seizure is triggered by passing an electric current through electrodes attached to the patient’s forehead

Psychosurgery/Neurosurgery

A biomedical intervention involving removing or lesioning brain tissue, often irreversible

Deep Brain Stimulation

Treatment for severe depression involving surgically implanting a wire in the brain to stimulate neuronal growth

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)

Treatment for depression involving placing a pulsating magnetic coil over the prefrontal regions of the brain