PSYC MODULE 8 - Comprehensive Abnormal Psychology, Stress, and Treatment Overview

Stress

An umbrella term requiring separation of the trigger (stressor) from the outcome (stress response).

Stressor

An external event or stimulus that triggers a stress response.

Stress Response

Internal, integrated psychological and biological processes designed to restore homeostasis.

Eustress

Positive stress that motivates goal achievement and enhances overall functioning.

Distress

Negative stress that impairs functioning and reduces motivation.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Asserts an inverted-U relationship between stress arousal and performance, peaking at moderate arousal.

Primary Appraisal

Evaluation of a stressor's characteristics, demand level, and personal relevance.

Secondary Appraisal

Evaluation of available internal and external resources to handle stressor demands.

Acute Stressors

Short-term stressors lasting from minutes to a few days.

Chronic Stressors

Persistent stressors lasting from weeks to years.

Amygdala

Brain region that detects threat potential rapidly, often prior to conscious awareness.

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

Executes high-level cognitive evaluations of threat validity.

ANS Pathway

Fast-acting stress pathway triggering the release of catecholamines (epinephrine/norepinephrine).

HPA Axis

Slow-acting stress pathway releasing CRH to stimulate cortisol production for sustained energy.

Negative Feedback Loop

Process where circulating cortisol binds to hypothalamus and pituitary receptors to shut off further production.

Diurnal Sleep Requirements

Recommended sleep duration across life stages, ranging from ~16 hours for newborns to ~5 hours for older adults.

Biopsychosocial Model

Posits that psychological conditions emerge from interactions across biological, psychological, and social domains.

The 4 Ds of Abnormal Behavior

Standard diagnostic criteria for abnormality: Deviance, Distress, Dysfunction, and Danger.

Deviance

Departure from established statistical or cultural norms.

Dysfunction

Direct interference with an individual's ability to execute daily routines and maintain life roles.

Danger

Threat of physical harm or injury directed toward oneself or others.

Person-First Language

Terminology emphasizing humanity over a condition (e.g., "person with depression").

Identity-First Language

Terminology integrating a condition as a core identity aspect (e.g., "autistic person").

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

The standardized diagnostic classification manual published by the American Psychiatric Association.

Multiaxial System

The 5-axis framework introduced in DSM-III to evaluate clinical disorders, personality, medical conditions, stressors, and global functioning.

Case Formulation

A personalized clinical narrative integrating developmental history, context, and physical health.

Deinstitutionalization

Mass discharge of patients from state psychiatric hospitals following 1950s medications and 1963 legislation.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Neurodevelopmental condition consolidated in DSM-5, marked by social-communication deficits and restricted/repetitive behaviors.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Recurrent episodes of eating large amounts of food with loss of control, lacking compensatory behaviors.

Bulimia Nervosa

Eating disorder characterized by recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors like purging or excessive exercise.

Anorexia Nervosa

Eating disorder marked by intense fear of gaining weight and severe restriction of energy intake.

Encopresis

Repeated, inappropriate defecation in individuals over age 5, often stemming from chronic constipation or behavioral factors.

Narcolepsy

Neurological condition causing sudden, uncontrollable daytime sleep lapses and loss of muscle tone.

Factitious Disorder

Conscious feigning or inducing of physical or mental illness driven by a psychological need to adopt the sick role.

Gender Dysphoria

Significant distress caused by a mismatch between assigned sex at birth and personal gender identity.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Cluster B condition marked by extreme instability in relationships, self-image, mood, and splitting dynamics.

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Severe mental illnesses characterized by loss of touch with reality, encompassing positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms.

Positive Symptoms

Sensory or cognitive additions to baseline behavior in psychosis, such as delusions and hallucinations.

Negative Symptoms

Absences from baseline functioning in psychosis, such as flat affect and avolition (lack of motivation).

Bipolar I Disorder

Mood disorder defined by the occurrence of at least one full manic episode.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Condition characterized by persistent depressed mood or anhedonia lasting at least two weeks.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Severe clinical distress following trauma exposure, involving intrusive re-experiencing, avoidance, negative mood alterations, and hyperarousal.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Short-term, goal-directed psychotherapy identifying and restructuring maladaptive thought patterns to change behavior.

Rational-Emotive Therapy

Ellis’s approach addressing the A-B-C model (Activating event, Beliefs, Consequences) by disputing irrational core beliefs.

Systematic Desensitization

Behavioral therapy technique combining relaxation training with a gradual hierarchy of fear-provoking stimuli.

Flooding

Behavioral therapy technique exposing a client directly and intensely to their highest-rated fear stimulus until anxiety dissipates.

Transference

The psychoanalytic phenomenon where a client redirects unresolved feelings from key life figures onto the therapist.

Telomeres

Protective DNA-protein caps on chromosomes that shorten under chronic stress, accelerating biological cellular aging.