Abnormal Psychology Chapter 9 Study Set

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa

A disorder marked by the pursuit of extreme thinness and by extreme weight loss.

Restricting-Type Anorexia

A type of anorexia nervosa in which an individual will reduce their weight by restricting their intake of food.

Amenorrhea

The absence of menstrual cycles.

Bulimia Nervosa

A disorder marked by frequent eating binges followed by forced vomiting or other extreme compensatory behaviors to avoid gaining weight. Also known as binge-purge syndrome.

Binge

An episode of uncontrollable eating during which a person ingests a very large quantity of food.

Compensatory Behaviors

Behaviors such as forced vomiting, misusing laxatives, diuretics, or enemas; fasting; or exercising excessively.

Binge-Eating Disorder

A disorder marked by frequent binges without extreme compensatory acts.

Food Insecurity

A limited, uncertain, or unreliable availability of food due to limited financial means

Multidimensional Risk Perspective

The perspective in which researchers and theorists identify several key factors that may place a person at risk for a certain disorder.

Effective Parents

Parents that accurately attend to their children’s biological and emotional needs, giving them food when they are crying from hunger and comfort when they are crying out of fear.

Brain Circuit

A network of particular brain structures and their connecting pathways that work together, triggering each other into action to produce a distinct kind of behavioral, cognitive, or emotional reaction.

Hypothalamus

A brain structure that helps regulate various bodily functions, including eating and hunger.

Lateral Hypothalamus (LH)

A brain region that produces hunger when activated.

Ventromedial Hypothalamus (VMH)

A brain region that depresses hunger when activated.

Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1)

A bodily chemical that acts as a natural appetite suppressant.

Weight Set Point

The weight level that a person is predisposed to maintain, controlled in part by the hypothalamus.

Enmeshed Family Pattern

A family system in which members are overinvolved with each other’s affairs and overly concerned about each other’s welfare.

Muscularity-Oriented Disordered Eating Behaviors

Common in young men, this behavior involves eating excessively in order to gain weight and “bulk up”.

Muscle Dysmorphia (Reverse Anorexia Nervosa)

When men, who are actually quite muscular, perceive themselves as scrawny and small and so continue to strive for a “perfect” body through excessive weight lifting, abuse of steroids, or other excessive measures.

Nutritional Rehabilitation

A phase of treatment in which patients with anorexia nervosa gain weight quickly and return to health within weeks.

Motivational Interviewing

A treatment that uses empathy and inquiring review to help motivate clients to recognize they have a serious psychological problem and commit to making constructive choices and behavior changes.

Prevention

The motivational factor behind programs that aim to prevent the onset of certain disorders.

Body Project

A program developed by psychologists Eric Stice and Carolyn Black Becks and their colleagues. This project offers a total of four weekly group sessions for high school and college-age women. The participants engage in body acceptance exercises, eating-related activities (opposing the ultra-thin ideal), motivation enhancement techniques, skill-building training, and social support exercises.