Abnormal Psychology Exam 1

Correlation

The tendency of two variables to change together. With positive correlation, as one variable goes up, so does the other; with negative correlation, one variable goes up as the other goes down.

Causation

Relationship in which the preceding variable causes the other

Thought-action fusion

A risk factor for obsessive-compulsive disorder involving a belief that thinking something is the same as doing it.

abnormal psychology

Field of psychology concerned with the study, assessment, treatment, and prevention of abnormal behavior

Abnormality

No universal agreement about what is meant by abnormality or disorder—the more someone has difficulties in the following areas (next 5 cards), the more likely they have some form of mental disorder

Maladaptiveness

Abnormal indicator/behavior that is detrimental to the well-being of an individual or a group.

statistical deviancy

statistically rare, very uncommon behavior or mental/emotional states

Violation of the standards of society

when people fail to follow the conventional social and moral rules of their cultural group

Social discomfort

when someone violates an implicit or unwritten social rule, those around him or her may experience a sense of discomfort or unease

irrationality and unpredictability

behavior or states of mind that are so out of the expected and ordinary that it impairs one's participation in the culture

Comorbidity

Occurrence of two or more identified disorders in the same psychologically disordered individual.

External Validity

The extent to which the findings from a single study are relevant to other populations, contexts, or times.

Case study

An in-depth examination of an individual or family that draws from a number of data sources, including interviews and psychological testing.

Representative sample

Small group selected in such a way as to be representative of the larger group from which it is drawn.

Generalizability

Extent to which research results apply to a range of individuals not included in the study.

Correlation vs. causation

correlation does not equal causation; cannot determine cause and effect

Placebo Effect

Positive effect experienced after an inactive treatment is administered in such a way that a person thinks he or she is receiving an active treatment.

Why might we want to understand what causes mental disorders?

we can prevent and treat them

Etiology

Factors that are related to the development (or cause) of a particular disorder.

Protective factors

Influences that modify a person's response to an environmental stressor, making it less likely that the person will experience the adverse effects of the stressor.

Resilience

The ability to adapt successfully to even very difficult circumstances; Being able to function psychologically and physically after a traumatic event

Biopsychosocial viewpoint

A viewpoint that acknowledges the interacting roles of biological, psychosocial, and sociocultural factors in the origins of psychopathology

Genotype

A person's total genetic makeup

Phenotype

The observed structural and functional characteristics of a person that result from interaction between the genotype and the environment; physical characteristics of an organism

Neural plasticity

The ability of the brain's networks and synapses to change. Allows adaptation to chaining life circumstances as well as memory formation (memory can be stored as changes to networks of neurons)

Attachment theory

Contemporary developmental and psychodynamic theory emphasizing the importance of early experience with attachment relationships in laying the foundation for later functioning throughout life

Parenting Styles

Culture contributes to parenting styles

Sociocultural factors

the social and cultural conditions into which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These conditions include socioeconomic status, social connections, family and cultural influences, food security, early life experiences, and access to affordable, culturally appropriate healthcare; characteristics or conditions that can influence the appearance and form of maladaptive behavior

Reliability

Degree to which a measuring device produces the same result each time it is used to measure the same thing or when two or more different raters use it.; consistency of measurement

Test-retest reliability

Consistency with which a test measures a given trait on repeated administrations of the test to given subjects; a method for determining the reliability of a test by comparing a test taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions

Inter-rater reliability

A measure of the agreement between different raters, who assess the same person.

Validity

Extent to which a measuring instrument actually measures what it is supposed to measure.

Standardization

Procedure for establishing the expected performance range on a test

Rapport between clinician and client

Interpersonal relationship characterized by a spirit of cooperation, confidence, and harmony.

Psychological assessment

The use of psychological procedures such as behavioral observations, interview, and psychological tests to obtain a picture of a client's mental health symptoms and personality.

Neuropsychological Examination/Assessment

Use of psychological tests that measure a person's cognitive, perceptual, and motor performance to obtain clues to the extent and locus of brain damage

Clinical diagnosis

The process through which a clinician arrives at a general "summary classification" of the patient's symptoms by following a clearly defined system such as DSM-5 or ICD-11.

Pros and cons of having a diagnosis/ "label

people may make assumptions about that person that may or may not be accurate. In fact, a diagnostic label can make it hard to look at a person's behavior objectively, without preconceptions about how he or she will act. These expectations can influence even clinically important interactions and treatment choices, as well as how their peers treat them; an accurate psychiatric diagnosis can sometimes reduce stigma because the diagnosis provides an explanation for the upsetting behavior

cultural bias

bias of client's or clinician's culture, can be negative

Cultural competence

Refers to a psychologist's need to be informed of the issues involved in multicultural assessment

Categorical approach

Approach to classifying abnormal behavior that assumes that (1) all human behavior can be sharply divided into the categories normal and abnormal, and (2) there exist discrete, non-overlapping classes or types of abnormal behavior, often referred to as mental illnesses or diseases.

Dimensional approach

Approach to classifying abnormal behavior that assumes that a person's typical behavior is the product of differing strengths or intensities of behavior along several definable dimensions, such as mood, emotional stability, aggressiveness, gender, identity, anxiousness, interpersonal trust, clarity of thinking and communication, social introversion, and so on.

Stressors/stress

Adjustive demands that require coping behavior on the part of an individual or group.

Coping strategies

Efforts to deal with stress; Optimism, Social support, problem-focused, emotion-focused, avoidance

Stress tolerance

A person's ability to withstand stress without becoming seriously impaired

Crisis

Stressful situation that approaches or exceeds the adaptive capacities of an individual or a group

Positive psychology/protective factors

A new field that focuses on human traits (optimism and strengths) and resources that are potentially important for health and well-being; Influences that modify a person's response to an environmental stressor, making it less likely that the person will experience the adverse effects of the stressor.

Resilience

The ability to adapt successfully to even very difficult circumstances; Being able to function psychologically and physically after a traumatic event

Cortisol

Human stress hormone released by the cortex of the adrenal glands; fight or flight

Leukocytes

Generalized term for white blood cells involved in immune protection; front line of the immune system

Allostatic load

The biological cost of adapting to stress. Under conditions of high stress our allostatic load is high. When we are calm, our allostatic load is low and our bodies are not experiencing any of the physiological consequences of stress (racing heart, high levels of cortisol, etc.)

PTSD

Disorder that occurs following an extreme traumatic event, in which a person re-experiences the event, avoids reminders of the trauma, and exhibits persistent increased arousal; not everyone who experiences a trauma will develop PTSD

Maladaptive Behavior

Behavior that is detrimental to the well-being of an individual or a group; Depending on age a behavior could be expected/ normal (i.e. bedwetting in toddlers) and maladaptive at another (bedwetting in teenagers)

Developmental Psychopathology

Field of psychology that focuses on determining what is abnormal at any point in the developmental process by comparing and contrasting it with normal and expected changes that occur

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Childhood disorder characterized by unrealistic fears, oversensitivity, self-consciousness, nightmares, and chronic anxiety

Parents as agents of change OR maintaining disorders

Complication of antidepressants in kids

Can cause an increase in suicidal thoughts

Juvenile delinquent

Legal term used to refer to illegal acts committed by minors.

Self-perpetuating cycle in conduct disorder

Parent attachment style affecting their children

ADHD

Disorder of childhood characterized by difficulties that interfere with task-oriented behavior, such as impulsivity, excessive motor activity, and difficulties in sustaining attention; Hyperactivity, temperament, inattentive, daydreaming, disruptive

Hard to diagnose children because

Age; Their behavior can be seen as normal at one age but abnormal at a different age

Anxiety/Anxiety Disorders

An unrealistic, irrational fear or anxiety of disabling intensity; Can be positive when studying for a test; Treated with exposure

Fear

A basic emotion that involves the activation of the "fight-or-flight" response of the sympathetic nervous system.

Panic attack

A severe, intense fear response that appears to come out of the blue; it has many physical and cognitive symptoms such as fear of dying or losing control; Blood pressure, hyperactivity, heart rate, belief of death, urge to escape

Depersonalization

Temporary loss of sense of one's own self and one's own reality.

Exposure therapy

A technique in psychological treatment of anxiety disorders that involves exposing the patient to the feared object or context without any danger in order to overcome the anxiety

Gradual Exposure

In behavior therapy, a method of overcoming fears through a stepwise process of exposure to increasingly fearful stimuli in imagination or in real-life situations.

Cognitive restructuring

Cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques that aim to change a person's negative or unrealistic thoughts and attributions.

Cognitive Theory of Panic

proposes that people with panic disorder are hypersensitive to their bodily sensations and are very prone to giving them the most dire interpretation possible

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Chronic excessive worry about a number of events or activities, with no specific threat present, accompanied by at least three of the following symptoms: restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance; o Difference between social phobia is more concentrated in social, GAD is more generalized

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Anxiety disorder characterized by the persistent intrusion of unwanted and intrusive thoughts or distressing images; these are usually accompanied by compulsive behaviors designed to neutralize the obsessive thoughts or images or to prevent some dreaded event or situation;

Obsessions

Persistent and recurrent intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses that a person experiences as disturbing

Compulsions

action to relieve anxiety caused by the thought

Case Study Pros:

good for rare things

Case Study Cons:

hard to generalize

Biopsychosocial Viewpoint: Best course of treatment?

medication, therapy and both together

Thought

an idea or opinion produced by thinking, or occurring suddenly in the mind.