Abnormal Psych Test 1

5 criteria for all disorders

1. clinical significance

2. there is dysfunction that relates to biological, psychological, or developmental processes

3. behavior is associated with significant distress(anxiety, depression) or disability

4. a individual's behavior cannot simply be "socially deviant" in terms of religion, politics, or sexuality

5. disorder reflects dysfunction at the individual level

clinical significance

behavior involves a measurable degree of impairment that the clinician can see

psychopathology

the scientific study of mental disorders

Causes of mental disorders

biological- factors within the body that influence persons functioning

psychological- involves disturbances in thoughts, emotions, and behavior

sociocultural- discrimination, unfair policies

biopsychosocial- interaction of causes and developmental causes

spiritual approach

this approach regarded psychological disorders as the product of possession by evil or demonic spirits

- trephining, exorcisms, snake pits

humanitarian approach

this approach views psychological disorders as the result of cruelty, stress, or poor living conditions.

moral treatment

belief that people could develop self-control over their behaviors if they had a quiet and restful environment

Who developed psychoanalysis in the early 1900s

Sigmund Freud

What was one of the most significant reasons for the declining conditions in mental institutions during the 1800s?

overcrowding

lobotomies

it removes part of the brain that causes emotions

it may cause them to become lethargic or lack creativeness

deinstitutionalization movement

the release of hundreds of thousands of patients from mental hospitals starting in the 1960s

randomized control trial (RCT)

gold standard in research designs

true experimental design

can establish cause & effect

used to asses effectiveness of treatments

demand characteristics

expectations about an experiments outcome that can affect both investigator and participant

double blind study

an arrangement in which both subjects and experimenters are unaware of whether subjects are in the experimental group or the control group

2 ingredients to a true experiment

1. manipulation of an independent variable

2. control for extraneous variables (all variables except for independent variable & dependent variable)

correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

survey

a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

prevalence rate

how many people have a disorder over a given time period

incidence rate

how many new cases are diagnosed during this period

case study

intensive study of a single person described in detail

single-case experimental design

same person serves as the subject in both the experimental and control conditions

client

a person seeking psychological treatment

patient

in the medical model, a person who receives treatment

clinician

the person providing treatment

Psychiatrist

A medical doctor who has specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and can prescribe medications

Psychologist

licensed health care professional offering psychological services

Clinical Psychologist

a mental health professional with training in the behavioral sciences who provides direct service to clients

diagnosis

process of determining whether the problem afflicting the individual meets all criteria for a psychological disorder

2 factors for DSM

reliability

validity

reliability

consistency, manual is set up so practioners will apply a diagnoses consistently across individual who share a set of symptoms

validity

the diagnoses accurately captures or describes a persons psychological functioning/symptoms accurately

Monoaxil system (DSM-5)

1) neurodevelopmental D.O.S = first seen early in childhood

2) internalizing D.O.S = anxiety, depression: disorders that are not externally visible

3) externalizing D.O.S = conduct disorder, ADHD, alcohol abuse, oppositional defiant

Multiaxial system(DSM 3+4)

axis 1 = all D.O.S except those on axis 2

axis 2 = intellectual disabilities & personality D.O.S (very difficult to treat)

axis 3 = medical conditions

axis 4 = psychological stressors (lack of family support, poverty)

axis 5 = global assessment of functioning

signs

objective changes that a clinician can observe and measure

symptoms

subjective; what client reports

differential diagnoses

the process of differentiating between other possible diagnoses

principal diagnoses

primary reason the client is seeking treatment; the diagnoses we want to settle on

comborbidity

the co-occurrence of two or more disorders in a single individual

provisional diagnoses

working diagnoses, its tentative while you wait for additional information

case formulation

a clinician's analysis of the factors that might have influenced the client's current psychological status

move from a diagnostic # to a rich history of the client in front of you

goals for treatment

short-term: will be alleviation of symptoms (keeping them alive- hospitilization)

long-term: include more deeply rooted changes to personality, social relationships

psychological assessment

broad range of assessment techniques that provide scorable information about an individuals psychological function

- can be used to make a diagnoses (clearer pic)

- competency to stand trial

- personel screening

psychometric properties

1) reliability= consistency; does the test yield consistent results

2) validity= whether test measures what it reports to measure. valid for whom and for what purpose

3) standardization (administration/scoring, norms)

barnum effect

results so general they apply to everyone; not specific

mental status exam

used to assess clients current state of mind

objective assessment of the clients behavior & functioning in a number of spheres with particular attention to symptoms associated with psychological order

aspects of mental status exam

A= appearance & behavior (sores, dress, fidgety, slowed motor movements)

T= thought processes (rate & continutiy of speech, delusions, hallucinations)

M= mood & affect (mood is predominant feeling state; affect= emotional state at a given moment)

I= intellectual functioning (clinician makes rough estimate of IQ)

S- sensorium (general awareness of surroundings; does client know time, where they are, who they are, who clinician is)

intelligence tests

abilities to perform a range of perceptual, memory, reasoning, and speeded trials

2 most common IQ tests

1) Stanford Binet

2) Wechslers Intelligence scales

Deviation IQ

expression of a person's IQ relative to his or her same-aged peers

MMPI

objective measure (T/F, self-report)- standardized admin & scoring

measures severe psychopathology

NEO-PI-R

objective personality test designed to assess the Big Five personality traits

used in research

5 factors for personality

Openness to explore

Conscientiousness (hard work/lazy)

Extraversion

Agreeableness

Neuroticism- negative emotion (depression, anxiety)

projective tests

used to tap into your unconscious mind

use ambiguous stimuli (inkblot) and client will "project" unconscious material onto the ambiguous stimuli, therefore w/o realizing it, unconscious thoughts will be revealed

why are clients less guarded during projective tests?

clients don't know how the assessor will interpret their answers

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

what do projective tests lack?

reliability and validity

Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT)

projective test requiring examinees to tell a story in response to ambiguous pictures

behavioral assessment

psychologist records behavior over a specified timeframe

target behavior

the behavior of interest or concern

self monitoring

when a participant keeps track of his or her own targeted behavior

neuropsychological 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.

executive functioning

the ability to set goals, make plans, and carry them out

To observe brain structure use

MRI, CAT scans

to observe brain function use

EEG= electrical impulses in brain