PSYC2030U: Historical Context, and Canadian Perspective

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on historical context and Canadian perspectives in psychology.

Supernatural model

Historical view that mental disorders are caused by forces beyond human control (gods, demons, celestial events); treatments included exorcism.

Demonology

Doctrine that an evil being may dwell within a person and control mind and body; early explanations for abnormal behavior; exorcism as treatment.

Trepanning (Trephination)

Surgical opening in a living skull used to relieve pressure or treat disorders attributed to demons; evidence of use in Canada.

Lunatic

Term for someone thought to be influenced by the moon and stars; linked to astrology; no scientific evidence.

Hippocrates

Ancient Greek physician who separated medicine from religion and magic, rejected supernatural punishment, and proposed natural causes and humoral balance.

Somatogenesis

Idea that mental disorders originate in the physical body (soma) leading to disturbed thought and behavior.

Psychogenesis

Idea that mental disorders originate in psychological malfunctions or processes.

Humors

Four bodily fluids (blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm) whose balance was believed to influence temperament and mental states.

General paresis

Progressive physical and mental deterioration linked to late-stage syphilis; used as evidence for biological causes of mental illness.

Syphilis

Infectious disease whose neurological effects helped establish a link between infection and mental symptoms.

Germ theory

Theory that diseases are caused by microorganisms; established by Pasteur and foundational for biological explanations of illness.

Emil Kraepelin

Pioneer of psychiatric classification; described dementia praecox (schizophrenia) and manic-depressive psychosis; influenced modern diagnostic categories.

Dementia praecox

Early term for schizophrenia; believed to be due to biological imbalance, later reinterpreted in modern psychiatry.

Manic-depressive psychosis

Old term for bipolar disorder; linked to metabolic irregularities in Kraepelin’s scheme.

John P. Grey

19th-century physician who argued insanity has physical causes and should be treated as a physical illness, improving hospital care.

Moral therapy

Humane, dignified treatment of the mentally ill; removal of restraints; treating patients as sick people.

Philippe Pinel

Pioneer of moral treatment in asylums; removed chains and improved living conditions for patients.

Jean-Baptiste Pussin

Collaborated with Pinel to unchain patients and promote humane care in early asylums.

Benjamin Rush

American physician called the father of North American psychiatry; introduced Moral Therapy to the U.S.

Mental Hygiene Movement

Late 19th-century movement aiming to improve mental health care and hospital conditions, led by advocates like Dorothea Dix and Clarence Hincks.

Dorothea Dix

Advocate who campaigned for humane treatment and better conditions in mental hospitals; key figure in the mental hygiene movement.

Clarence Hincks

Canadian advocate who helped establish the precursor to the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Deinstitutionalisation

Process of moving care from long-term psychiatric hospitals to community-based settings; intended to improve care but often underfunded.

Bedlam

Colloquial name for St. Mary of Bethlehem Hospital in London; notorious for deplorable conditions and public viewing of patients.

St. Mary of Bethlehem

London hospital founded in 1243 devoted to confinement of the mentally ill; infamous as 'Bedlam'.

Eugenics

Movement based on heredity as cause of abnormal behavior; advocated sterilization to prevent reproduction; coercive sterilizations occurred in Canada.

Psychosurgery

Surgical interventions (e.g., lobotomies) used in the 20th century to treat mental illness; later controversial.

Dr. Ewen Cameron

Canadian psychiatrist involved in CIA-funded brainwashing experiments; used hallucinogenic drugs and other procedures without consent.

Canada Health Act

Canadian law establishing universal health care; provinces administer funding; includes mental health care.

Deinstitutionalisation in Canada

Efforts to move care into the community; rapid shifts in five provinces; often led to insufficient support and homelessness.

Transinstitutionalisation

Discharged patients ending up in prisons, shelters, or elsewhere due to lack of community services.

Stigma

Negative stereotypes and discrimination toward people with mental illness that hinder help-seeking and social inclusion.

Mental health literacy

Knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders that aid recognition, management, and prevention; raising literacy reduces stigma.

Public perception of mental illness

Societal attitudes toward mental illness influence policy, treatment availability, and patient well-being.