Exam 1 Key Terms: Chapters 1–3 (Clinical Psychology)

A comprehensive set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Chapter 1 through Chapter 3, including disorders, theories, assessment, and research methods.

Psychological disorder

A pattern of abnormal thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that cause significant distress, impairment in daily functioning, or increased risk of harm to self or others.

Deviance

Behaviors, thoughts, or emotions that differ from societal or cultural norms.

Distress

Emotions or behaviors that cause suffering or anguish.

Dysfunction

Interference with daily functioning or the ability to perform usual activities.

Danger

Harmful or potentially harmful behavior toward self or others.

Hallucination

A sensory perception in the absence of external stimuli.

Psychiatrist

A medical doctor who diagnoses mental disorders and prescribes medication.

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

A professional who provides psychotherapy and counseling services.

Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC)

A counselor specialized in substance use disorders.

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

A therapist who focuses on relationship and family dynamics.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

A clinician who provides therapy and case management.

Possession

A supernatural explanation for abnormal behavior historically believed by some cultures.

Exorcism

Rituals intended to drive out evil spirits believed to cause illness.

Trephination

Surgical drilling or scraping of the skull to treat abnormal behavior.

Humors

Four bodily fluids (blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm) central to ancient Greek/Greek medical theory.

Hippocrates

Ancient physician who proposed that disorders stemmed from natural biological causes and humoral imbalance.

Bloodletting

A medieval/ancient treatment to balance humors by drawing blood.

Leeches

Used historically to bleed patients and balance humors.

Induced vomiting

A method used to alter humoral balance by expelling stomach contents.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory of personality and abnormality emphasizing unconscious conflicts and early experiences.

Unconscious conflicts

Hidden psychic conflicts considered central to psychopathology in psychoanalytic theory.

Childhood experiences

Early experiences thought to shape personality and potential psychopathology (Freud).

Humanism

A perspective emphasizing self-actualization and personal growth.

Unconditional positive regard

Accepting and valuing a person without conditions, per humanistic theory.

Self-actualization

Realizing one’s full potential and capabilities.

Id

Freud’s primitive part of personality seeking pleasure.

Ego

Freud’s reality-oriented part of personality that moderates between id and reality.

Superego

Freud’s ethical component representing internalized morals.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious strategies (e.g., repression, denial, projection) to manage anxiety.

Psychosexual stages

Freud’s stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital.

Oral stage

First psychosexual stage focused on mouth-related activities.

Anal stage

Second stage focused on bowel and bladder control.

Phallic stage

Third stage involving on genital-focused conflicts; includes Oedipus/Electra complexities.

Latency

Fourth stage characterized by reduced sexual focus and increased socialization.

Genital stage

Final stage focusing on mature sexual relations.

Behaviorism

Perspective emphasizing learning through interactions with the environment (conditioning).

Classical conditioning

Learning by association between stimulus and response (Pavlov).

Operant conditioning

Learning through consequences (reinforcement/punishment) (Skinner).

Maladaptive learning

Learned patterns that are dysfunctional and self-defeating.

Cognitive therapy

Therapy aimed at identifying and changing distorted thinking patterns.

Maladaptive assumptions

Faulty beliefs that contribute to distress (e.g., perfectionism).

Illogical thinking

Cognitive distortions such as catastrophizing or overgeneralization.

Cognitive model

Theory that abnormal behavior arises from distorted thinking.

Unconditional self-regard

Self-acceptance independent of others’ opinions or conditions.

Conditions of worth

Self-acceptance contingent on meeting others’ expectations.

Gestalt therapy

Therapy focusing on awareness, present experience, and self‑responsibility.

Existential therapy

Therapy emphasizing meaning, choice, and personal responsibility.

Sociocultural model

Model highlighting family, society, and culture as influential factors.

Group therapy

Therapy with multiple clients sharing experiences and support.

Family therapy

Therapy addressing family dynamics and interactions.

Multicultural therapy

Therapy recognizing and incorporating cultural influences.

Deinstitutionalization

Movement (started in the 1960s) to move people from state hospitals into community care.

Biological model

View that genetics, brain chemistry, and physiology underlie mental disorders.

Multidimensional model

Approach acknowledging multiple interacting factors (biological, psychological, social, cultural, developmental).

Unidimensional model

Approach attributing behavior to a single cause.

Diathesis-stress model

Concept that predisposition (diathesis) plus stress leads to disorder.

Gene–environment correlation model

Model where genetic factors influence the environments individuals experience.

Epigenetics

Environmental factors turning genes on/off without changing DNA sequence.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers in the brain that influence mood, behavior, and cognition.

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter involved in reward/motivation; linked to schizophrenia.

Norepinephrine

Neurotransmitter involved in arousal and stress responses.

GABA

Major inhibitory neurotransmitter; reduces neural excitability; anxiety regulation.

Glutamate

Major excitatory neurotransmitter; crucial for learning and memory.

Frontal lobe

Brain region involved in planning and impulse control.

Limbic system

Brain system involved in emotion regulation.

Amygdala

Brain region central to fear and aggression processing.

Hippocampus

Brain region critical for memory; implicated in PTSD.

Hypothalamus

Brain region involved in stress responses and hormonal regulation.

Behavioral model

Approach explaining disorders through learned behavior and conditioning.

DSM-5

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (published 2013).

ICD

International Classification of Diseases; used internationally for diagnosis.

Reliability

Consistency of measurement or assessment tool.

Validity

Accuracy of a measurement or assessment in measuring what it intends to measure.

Generalizability

Extent to which study findings apply to other populations or settings.

Case study

In-depth examination of a single person or case; rich detail but limited generalizability.

Correlational method

Study of relationships between variables; cannot establish causation.

Positive correlation

Both variables increase together.

Negative correlation

One variable increases while the other decreases.

Null correlation

No meaningful relationship between variables.

Experimental method

Research design that manipulates variables to test causality; uses control groups, random assignment, and masking.

Control group

Group not receiving the experimental manipulation; baseline for comparison.

Random assignment

Randomly placing participants into conditions to reduce bias.

Masked/double-blind design

Participants and/or researchers are unaware of group allocations to prevent bias.

Matched designs

Participants are paired on key variables to control confounds.

Natural experiments

Study of naturally occurring events to examine effects in real-world settings.

Analogue experiments

Controlled laboratory simulations that resemble real-world phenomena.

Single-subject experiments

Intensive study of a single case to examine treatment effects.

Longitudinal studies

Research that follows the same individuals over time.

Epidemiological studies

Research examining the distribution and determinants of disorders in populations.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Committee that protects the rights and welfare of human research participants.

Informed consent

Voluntary agreement to participate, with knowledge of risks, benefits, and procedures.

Protection from harm

Ethical obligation to minimize physical and psychological risk.

Confidentiality

Privacy of participants’ information and data.

Right to withdraw

Participants can leave a study at any time without penalty.

Debriefing

Post-study explanation of the research, including its purpose and deception if used.

ABC’s of observation

Antecedent (before), Behavior (what is observed), Consequence (after).

Antecedent

Event or condition that precedes a behavior.

Behavior

Observable action or response of an individual.

Consequence

Outcome that follows a behavior, influencing future likelihood of the behavior.