Psychology 100 Final Exam

Conversion Disorder

A major somatoform disorder that involves an actual physical disturbance, such as the inability to use a sensory organ or the complete or partial inability to move an arm or leg.

Sociocultural Perspective

The perspective that assumes that people's behavior both normal and abnormal is shaped by the kind of family group, society, and culture in which they live.

Compulsion

An irresistible urge to repeatedly carry out some act that seems strange and unreasonable.

Dissociative Disorders

Psychological dysfunctions characterized by the seperation of different facets of a person's personality that are normally integrated.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

A disorder in which a person displays characteristics of two or more distinct personalities.

Dissociative Fugue

A form of amnesia in which the individual leaves home and sometimes assumes a new identity

Autism

A severe developmental disability that impairs children's ability to communicate and relate to others.

Psychoanalysis

Freudian psychotherapy in which the goal is to release hidden unconscious thoughts and feelings in order to reduce their power in controlling behavior

Aversive conditioning

A form of therapy that reduces the frequency of undesired behavior by pairing an aversive, unpleasant stimulus with undesired behavior

Cognitive Treatment approaches

Treatment approaches that teach people to think in more adaptive ways by changing their dysfunctional cognitions about the world and themselves

Interpersonal Therapy (ITP)

Short term therapy that focuses on the context of current social relationships

Antianxiety drugs

Drugs that reduce the level of anxiety a person experiences, essentially by reducing excitability and increasing feelings of well-being

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

A depression treatment in which a precise magnetic pulse is directed to a specific area of the brain.

Group

Two or more people who interact with one another, perceive themselves as part of a group, and are interdependent

Conformity

A change in behavior or attitudes brought about by a desire to follow the beliefs or standards of other people

Industrial-organizational psychology

The branch of psychology focusing on work and job related issues, including worker motivation, satisfaction, safety, and productivity

Obedience

A change in behavior in response to the commands of others

Interpersonal Attraction (for close relationships)

Positive feelings for others; liking and loving

Companionate love

The strong affection we have for those with whom our lives are deeply involved.

Catharsis

The process of discharging built up aggressive energy.

Abnormal Behavior

Behavior that causes people to experience distress and prevents them from functioning in their daily lives.

Medical Perspective

The perspective that suggests when an individual displays symptoms of abnormal behavior, the root cause will be found in a physical examination of the individual, which may reveal a hormonal imbalance, a chemical deficiency, or a brain injury.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

The perspective that suggests that abnormal behavior stems from childhood conflicts over opposing wishes regarding sex and aggression

Behavioral Perspective

The perspective that looks at the behavior itself as the problem

Cognitive Perspective

The perspective that suggests that people's thoughts and beliefs are a central component of abnormal behavior

Humanistic Perspective

The perspective that emphasizes the responsibility people have for their own behavior, even when such behavior is abnormal

DSM-IV-TR

A system, devised by American Psychiatric Association, used by most professionals to diagnose and classify abnormal behavior.

Anxiety Disorder

The occurrence of anxiety without an obvious external cause, affecting daily functioning.

Phobia

Intense, irrational fears of specific objects or situations.

Panic Disorder

Anxiety disorder that takes the form of panic attacks lasting from a few seconds to as long as several hours.

Generalized anxiety disorder

The experience of long-term, persistent anxiety and worry

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

A disorder characterized by obsessions or compulsions

Obsession

A persistent, unwanted thought or idea that keeps recurring

Somatoform disorders

Psychological difficulties that take on a physical form, but for which there is no medical cause.

Hypochondriasis

A disorder in which people have a constant fear of illness and a preoccupation with their health.

Dissociative Amnesia

A disorder in which a significant, selective memory loss occurs

Mood disorder

A disturbance in emotional experience that is strong enough to intrude on everyday living.

Major Depression

A severe form of depression that interferes with concentration, decision making, and sociability

Mania

An extended state of intense, wild elation.

Bipolar Disorder

A disorder in which a person alternates between periods of euphoric feelings of mania and periods of depression

Schizophrenia

A class of disorders in which severe distortion or reality occurs

Personality Disorder

A disorder characterized by a set of inflexible, maladaptive behavior patterns that keep a person from functioning appropriately in society.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

A disorder in which individuals show no regard for the moral and ethical rules of society or the rights of others.

Borderline personality disorder

A disorder in which individuals have difficulty developing a secure sense of who they are

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

A personality disturbance characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance

ADHD

A disorder marked by inattention, impulsiveness, a low tolerance for frustration, and a great deal of inappropriate activity

Psychodynamic Therapy

Therapy that seeks to bring unresolved past conflicts and unacceptable impulses from the unconscious into the conscious, where patients may deal with the problems more effectively

Transference

The transfer of feelings to a psychoanalyst of love or anger that had been originally directed to a patient's parents or other authority figures

Behavioral Treatment Approaches

Treatment approaches that build on the basic processes of learning, such as reinforcement and extinction, and assume that normal and abnormal behavior are both learned.

Systematic Desensitization

A behavioral technique in which gradual exposure to an anxiety-producing stimulus is paired with relaxation to extinguish the response of anxiety

Exposure

A behavioral treatment for anxiety in which people are confronted, either suddenly or gradually, with a stimulus that they fear for.

Dialectical behavior therapy

A form of treatment in which the focus is on getting people to accept who they are, regardless of whether it matches their ideal.

Cognitive-behavioral approach

A treatment approach that incorporates basic principles of learning to change the way people think.

Rational-emotive behavior therapy

A form of therapy that attempts to restructure a person's belief system into a more realistic, rational, and local set of views by challenging dysfunctional beliefs that maintain irrational behavior.

Humanistic Therapy

Therapy in which the underlying rationale is that people have control of their behavior, can make choices about their lives, and are essentially responsible for solving their own problems.

Person-centered therapy

Therapy in which the goal is to reach one's potential for self-actualization

Group Therapy

Therapy in which people meet in a group with a therapist to discuss problems

Family Therapy

An approach that focuses on the family and its dynamics

Spontaneous remission

Recovery without treatment

Drug Therapy

Control of psychological disorders through the use of drugs

Antipsychotic Drugs

Drugs that temporarily reduce psychotic symptoms such as agitation, hallucinations, and delusions.

Antidepressant drugs

Medications that improve a severely depressed patient's mood and feeling of well-being

Mood stabilitizers

Drugs used to treat mood disorders that prevent manic episodes of bipolar disorder

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ETC)

A procedure used in the treatment of severe depression in which an electric current of 70 to 150 volts is briefly administered to a patient's head.

Psychosurgery

Brain surgery once used to reduce the symptoms of mental disorder but rarely used today

Community Psychology

A branch of psychology that focuses on the prevention and minimization of psychological disorders in the community.

Deinstitutionalization

The transfer of former mental patients from institutions to the community

Attitudes

Evaluations of a particular person, behavior, belief, or concept.

Central Route Processing

Message interpretation characterized by thoughtful consideration of the issues and arguments used to persuade.

Peripheral Route Processing

Message interpretation characterized by consideration of the source and related general information rather than of the message itself.

Cognitive Dissonance

The conflict that occurs when a person holds two contrdictory attitudes or thoughts referred to as cognitions

Social Cognition

The cognitive processes by which people understand and make sense of others and themselves

Schemas

Sets of cognitions about people are social experiences

Central Traits

The major traits considered in forming impressions of others

Attribution Theory

The theory of personality that seeks to explain how we decide, on the basis of samples of an individual's behavior, what the specific causes of that person's behavior are.

Situational causes (of behavior)

Perceived causes of behavior that are based on environmental factors

Dispositional Causes (of behavior)

Perceived causes of behavior that are based on internal traits or personality factors

Halo Effect

A phenomenon in which an initial understanding that a person has positive traits is used to infer other uniformly positive characteristics

Assumed-similarity bias

The tendency to think of people being similar to oneself, even when meeting them for the first time

Self-serving bias

The tendency to attribute personal success to person factors (skill, ability, or effort) and to attribute failure to factors outside oneself

Fundamental attribution error

A tendency to overattribute others' behavior to dispositional causes and the corresponding minimization of the importance of situational cases

Social Influence

The process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others

Status

The social rank held within a group

Social Supporter

A group member whose dissenting views make nonconformity to the group easier

Groupthink

A type of thinking in which group members share such a strong motivation to achieve consensus that they lose the ability to critically evaluate alternative points of view

Compliance

Behavior that occurs in response to direct social pressure

Stereotype

A set of generalized beliefs and expectations about a particular group and its members

Prejudice

A negative (or positive) evaluation of a particular group and its members

Discrimination

Behavior directed toward individuals on the basis of their membership in a particular group

Social Neuroscience

The subfield of social psychology that seeks to identify the neural basis of social behavior

Reciprocity-of-liking effect

A tendency to like those who like us

Passionate (or romantic) love

A state of intense absorption in someone that includes intense physiological arousal, psychological interest, and caring for the needs of another

Aggression

The intentional injury of, or harm to, another person

Prosocial Behavior

Helping behavior

Diffusion of Responsibility

The tendency for people to feel that responsibility for acting is shared, or diffused among those present

Altruism

Helping behavior that is beneficial to others but clearly requires self-sacrifice.