Chapter 2: An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology

Vocabulary flashcards for understanding key terms and concepts in psychopathology.

Multidimensional Model

Interdisciplinary, eclectic, and integrative model that considers multiple influences contributing to psychopathology.

System

Any particular influences contributing to psychopathology cannot be considered out of context.

Diathesis-Stress Model

Model that suggests individuals inherit tendencies to express certain behaviors (disorders) that may be activated under stress.

Reciprocal Gene-Environment Model

Model where individuals with a genetic vulnerability may actively create or seek out environments that increase their risk of developing a disorder.

Nongenomic Inheritance of Behavior

Transmission of behavioral traits across generations without direct changes in DNA sequences, involving epigenetic mechanisms and early-life experiences.

Neuroscience

Study of the nervous system and its role in behavior, thoughts, and emotions.

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

Brain area involved in decision-making, impulse control, and emotional regulation.

Amygdala

Brain area involved in emotional processing and fear response.

Hippocampus

Brain area involved in memory formation and stress regulation.

Basal Ganglia

Brain area involved in movement regulation, motivation, and habit formation.

Hypothalamus

Brain area that regulates stress response, hunger, and sleep.

Thalamus

Brain area involved in sensory processing and consciousness.

Cerebellum

Brain area involved in coordination and cognitive processing.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit signals across a synapse between neurons.

Serotonin (5-HT)

Neurotransmitter that regulates mood, sleep, appetite, emotion, and impulse control.

Dopamine (DA)

Neurotransmitter that controls motivation, pleasure, reward, and motor function.

Norepinephrine (NE)

Neurotransmitter that regulates arousal, alertness, stress response, and attention.

Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

Major inhibitory neurotransmitter that reduces neural excitability and stress.

Glutamate

Major excitatory neurotransmitter essential for learning and memory.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Neurotransmitter involved in memory, learning, attention, and muscle control.

Endorphins

Neurotransmitters that regulate pain, stress, and pleasure.

Oxytocin

Neurotransmitter involved in social bonding, trust, and emotional regulation.

Reuptake

Reabsorption of neurotransmitters into the presynaptic neuron via uptake transporters.

Emotional Behavior

Basic patterns of emotional behavior such as freeze, escape, approach, and attack.

Cognitive Aspects of Emotion

Appraisals, attributions, and other ways of processing the world that are fundamental to emotional experience.

Physiology of Emotion

Brain function involving primitive brain areas that contributes to emotional experience.

Gender Effects

The influence of gender on the prevalence of mental health disorders.

Principle of Equifinality

Phenomenon where multiple causes can lead to the same psychological disorder or behavioral outcome.

Social Learning Theory

Theory that people learn by observing others through modeling or observational learning.

Prepared Learning

Learning that is shaped by evolution, making some associations easier to form than others.

Cognitive Science and the Unconscious

Unconscious processes involving implicit memory, where individuals act based on past experiences without conscious awareness.

Nature of Emotion

To elicit or evoke action, includes flight & flight response.

Emotion

Consists of three componenets: behavior, physiology, and cognition and is a response to an external event that involves a characteristic physiological reaction.

Mood

More persistent period of affect or emotionality and can last for days, weeks, or longer.

Affect

Generally refers to the valence of an emotional experience—whether it is positive (pleasant) or negative (unpleasant).