Abnormal Psychology, Clinical Assessment, and Forensic Issues

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from Abnormal Psychology notes, including theoretical models, assessment methods, historical contexts, and legal/forensic standards.

Continuum Model of Abnormality

The perspective that abnormality is not a binary state (normal vs. abnormal), but exists on a continuous spectrum ranging from highly adaptive/effective functioning to severe dysfunction.

Psychopathology

The scientific study of mental disorders, including their theoretical causes, development, symptoms, and treatments.

Stigma

A cluster of negative attitudes, stereotypes, and discrimination directed toward individuals labeled with a mental illness.

Clinical Significance

The threshold at which an individual's symptoms or behaviors are severe enough to warrant clinical attention, diagnosis, and therapeutic intervention.

The 4 D's of Abnormality

Four criteria used to evaluate abnormality: Dysfunction (daily life interference), Distress (emotional/physical pain), Deviance (differing from norms), and Dangerousness (threat of harm to self or others).

Cultural Relativism

The perspective that there are no universal standards for labeling a behavior as abnormal, meaning behavior can only be judged relative to specific cultural norms.

Person-First Language

Standard clinical terminology that prioritizes the humanity of the patient over their diagnosis (e.g., saying 'a person with schizophrenia' rather than 'a schizophrenic').

Trephination

An ancient historical procedure involving drilling a hole into the skull of a living person to release pressure or trapped evil spirits.

Psychic Epidemics

A mass phenomenon where groups of people exhibit similar unusual behaviors, such as historical dancing frenzies.

Moral Treatment

An 18th–19th century movement advocating that mental patients should be treated with dignity, human kindness, and structured daily activities rather than physical restraint.

Mental Hygiene Movement

A historical reform movement led by Dorothea Dix that advocated for humane care, dignity, and improved conditions for psychiatric patients.

Community Mental Health Act (1963)

Federal legislation passed in 1963 directing funding toward community-based mental health treatment facilities.

Halfway Houses

Residential facilities providing a supportive, semi-structured environment that allows individuals to transition toward living independently.

Day Treatment Centers

Intensive structured daytime therapy programs that allow patients to return home at night, also known as partial hospitalization.

Managed Care

Health care delivery systems set up to monitor and control the costs and utilization of mental health treatment.

Biopsychosocial Approach

The primary framework asserting that abnormal behavior is the product of complex interactions between Biological, Psychological, and Sociocultural factors.

Diathesis-Stress Model

A framework asserting that a psychological disorder emerges only when a pre-existing vulnerability (diathesis) is activated by an environmental trigger or stressor (stress).

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that regulates mood, emotional functioning, sleep, and appetite.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with pleasure/reward mechanisms, motivation, and motor control.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter that regulates fight-or-flight stress responses along adrenaline pathways.

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)

A neurotransmitter that inhibits central nervous system activity to lower anxiety and arousal.

Reuptake

The presynaptic reabsorption of a neurotransmitter from the synaptic gap.

Degradation

The enzymatic breakdown of neurotransmitters within the synaptic gap.

Genotype

An individual's underlying genetic makeup.

Phenotype

Observable physical or psychological traits resulting from the interaction between genes and the environment.

Endophenotype

Unobservable biological or cognitive markers that sit intermediate between genetic risk factors and full psychological disorders.

Epigenetics

The study of environmental conditions altering gene expression without changing the underlying DNA sequence.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

A biological treatment where an electrical current is passed through the brain to induce seizures, primarily used for severe, treatment-resistant depression.

Mowrer’s Two-Factor Model

A model explaining phobias where classical conditioning creates the initial fear response and operant conditioning (negative reinforcement) maintains it through avoidance.

Systematic Desensitization (SDT)

A behavioral therapy technique for phobias that combines relaxation methods with gradual exposure steps across a staircase-level hierarchy.

Socratic Questioning

Guided questioning used by therapists in CBT to help clients discover logical flaws in their own thinking.

Cognitive Restructuring

A therapeutic technique in CBT focused on replacing maladaptive, automatic thoughts with realistic, functional interpretations.

Unconditional Positive Regard

The full, non-judgmental acceptance of a client by a therapist in Client-Centered Therapy.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

A third-wave acceptance-based therapy that encourages accepting difficult emotions while committing to value-aligned action.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

A therapeutic approach combining mindfulness/acceptance with behavioral change strategies, originally developed for severe emotional dysregulation.

Five Factor Model (Big Five)

A trait theory model structuring personality across five broad domains: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Syndrome

A cluster of psychological or physical symptoms that regularly co-occur together.

Differential Diagnosis

The systematic clinical process of ruling out alternative diagnoses that share similar symptoms.

Comorbidity

The state of meeting diagnostic criteria for two or more distinct disorders simultaneously.

Mental Status Exam

A structured clinical assessment evaluating appearance/behavior, thought processes, mood/affect, intellectual functioning, general awareness, and sensorium.

Sensorium

A component assessed during a Mental Status Exam referring to a patient's general awareness of their surroundings.

Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California

A landmark legal case establishing that clinicians have a legal duty to warn and protect identifiable third parties if a client communicates an explicit, credible threat of violent harm.

Civil Commitment

The legal process of involuntary hospitalization for an individual with a diagnosed mental disorder who meets criteria such as grave disability or dangerousness.

Grave Disability

A legal criterion for involuntary commitment defined as the inability to care for basic survival needs including food, clothing, and shelter.

Wyatt v. Stickney (2003)

A court ruling establishing the Wyatt Standards, guaranteeing involuntarily committed patients a fundamental right to active treatment aimed at improvement rather than mere custodial housing.

Competence to Stand Trial vs. Insanity Defense Comparison

A comparative overview showing differences between Competence to Stand Trial (evaluates current mental state during proceedings to determine if defendant can assist counsel) and Insanity Defense (evaluates mental state at the time of the crime to determine criminal responsibility).

Competence to Stand Trial

A legal determination evaluating a defendant's CURRENT mental state during court proceedings to ensure they understand legal information and can assist defense counsel.

Insanity Defense

A legal defense evaluating a defendant's mental state AT THE TIME OF THE CRIME to determine if they were criminally responsible when committing the offense.

M'Naghten Rule

A cognitive test for legal insanity evaluating whether the defendant did not know the nature/quality of the act, OR did not know the act was wrong.

Irresistible Impulse Rule

A volitional test for legal insanity asserting that a mental disease prevented the defendant from controlling their impulses, even if they knew right from wrong.

Durham Rule

A broad legal insanity test establishing that a defendant is not criminally responsible if the act was the direct product of a mental disease or defect.

ALI (American Law Institute) Standard

An insanity defense rule combining cognitive and volitional elements, asking if the defendant lacks substantial capacity to appreciate criminality OR conform conduct to the law.

Guilty but Mentally Ill (GBMI)

An alternative legal verdict where the defendant is held criminally responsible but serves time in a psychiatric/treatment facility or receives care within prison.