Psych 2510H Chapters 1-4

psychological disorder

psychological dysfunction associated with distress or impairment in functioning that is not a typical or culturally expected response

phobia

a psychological disorder characterized by marked and persistent fear of an object or situation

abnormal behavior

psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected

psychopathology

the scientific study of psychological disorders

scientist-practitioner

a mental health professional who is expected to apply scientific methods to their work; they must keep current in the latest research on diagnosis and treatment, they must evaluate their own methods for effectiveness, and they may generate their own research to discover new knowledge of disorders and their treatment

presenting problem

the original complaint reported by the client to the therapist; the actual treated problem may sometimes be a modification derived from this

clinical description

details of the combination of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of an individual that make up a particular disorder

prevalence

the number of people displaying a disorder in the total population at any given time

incidence

the number of new cases of a disorder appearing during a specific period

course

the pattern of development and change of a disorder over time

prognosis

the predicted future development of a disorder over time

etiology

the cause or source of a disorder

exorcism

a religious ritual that attributes disordered behavior to possession by demons and seeks to treat the individual by driving the demons from the body

psychosocial treatment

treatment practices that focus on social and cultural factors (such as family experience), as well as psychological influences; these approaches include cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal methods

moral therapy

a psychosocial approach in the 19th century that involved treating patients as normally as possible in normal environments

mental hygiene movement

a mid-19th-century effort to improve care of the mentally disordered by informing the public of their mistreatment

psychoanalysis

psychoanalytic assessment and therapy, which emphasizes exploration of, and insight into, unconscious processes and conflicts, pioneered by Sigmund Freud

behaviorism

an explanation of human behavior, including dysfunction, based on principles of learning and adaptation derived from experimental psychology

catharsis

the rapid or sudden release of emotional tension thought to be an important factor in psychoanalytic therapy

psychoanalytic model

a complex and comprehensive theory originally advanced by Sigmund Freud that seeks to account for the development and structure of personality, as well as the origin of abnormal behavior, based primarily on inferred inner entities and forces

id

in psychoanalysis, the unconscious psychical entity present at birth representing basic sexual and aggressive drives

ego

in psychoanalysis, the psychical entity responsible for finding realistic and practical ways to satisfy id drives

superego

in psychoanalysis, the psychical entity representing the internalized moral principles of parents and society

intrapsychic conflicts

in psychoanalysis, the struggles among the id, ego, and superego

defense mechanisms

common patterns of behavior, often adaptive coping styles when they occur in moderation, observed in response to particular situations; in psychoanalysis, these are thought to be unconscious processes originating in the ego

psychosexual stages of development

in psychoanalysis, the sequence of phases a person passes through during development; each stage is named for the location on the body where id gratification is maximal at that time

castration anxiety

in psychoanalysis, the fear in young boys that they will be mutilated genitally because of their lust for their mothers

ego psychology/self-psychology

derived from psychoanalysis, this theory emphasizes the role of the ego in development and attributes psychological disorders to failure of the ego to manage impulses and internal conflicts

neurosis

obsolete psychodynamic term for psychological disorder thought to result from unconscious conflicts and the anxiety they cause

object relations

modern development in psychodynamic theory involving the study of how children incorporate the memories and values of people who are close and important to them

collective unconscious

accumulated wisdom of a culture collected and remembered across generations, a psychodynamic concept introduced by Carl Jung

free association

a psychoanalytic therapy technique intended to explore threatening material repressed into the unconscious; the patient is instructed to say whatever comes to mind without censoring

dream analysis

a psychoanalytic therapy method in which dream contents are examined as symbolic of id impulses and intrapsychic conflicts

psychoanalyst

a therapist who practices psychoanalysis after earning either a M.D. or Ph.D. degree and receiving additional specialized postdoctoral training

transference

a psychoanalytic concept suggesting that clients may seek to relate to the therapist as they do to important authority figures, particularly their parents

psychodynamic psychotherapy

a contemporary version of psychoanalysis that still emphasizes unconscious processes and conflicts but is briefer and more focused on specific problems

self-actualizing

a process emphasized in humanistic psychology in which people strive to achieve their highest potential against difficult life experiences

person-centered therapy

a therapy method in which the client, rather than the counselor, primarily directs the course of discussion, seeking self-discovery and self-responsibility

unconditional positive regard

acceptance by the counselor of the client’s feelings and actions without judgment or condemnation

cognitive-behavioral model

a model that combines insights from the behavioral, cognitive, and social learning models, which brought the systematic development of a more scientific approach to the psychological aspects of psychopathology

classical conditioning

a fundamental learning process first described by Ivan Pavlov; an event that automatically elicits a response is paired with another stimulus event that does not (a neutral stimulus); after repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that by itself can elicit the desired response

extinction

a learning process in which a response maintained by reinforcement in operant conditioning or pairing in classical conditioning decreases when that reinforcement or pairing is removed; also the procedure of removing that reinforcement or pairing

introspection

an early, nonscientific approach to the study of psychology involving systematic attempts to report thoughts and feelings that specific stimuli evoked

systematic desensitization

a behavioral therapy technique to diminish excessive fears, involving gradual exposure to the feared stimulus paired with a positive coping experience, usually relaxation

behavior therapy

an array of therapy methods based on the principles of behavioral and cognitive science, as well as principles of learning as applied to clinical problems; it considers specific behaviors rather than inferred conflicts as legitimate targets for change

reinforcement

in operant conditioning, consequences for behavior that strengthen it or increase its frequency

shaping

in operant conditioning, the development of a new response by reinforcing successively more similar versions of that response; both desirable and undesirable behaviors may be learned in this manner

multidimensional integrative approach

an approach to the study of psychopathology that holds psychological disorders as always being the products of multiple interacting causal factors

genes

long deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules, the basic physical units of heredity that appear as locations on chromosomes; a single one is a subunit of DNA that determines inherited traits in living things

diathesis-stress model

a hypothesis that both an inherited tendency (a vulnerability) and specific stressful conditions are required to produce a disorder

vulnerability

a susceptibility or tendency to develop a disorder

gene-environment correlation model

a hypothesis that people with a genetic predisposition for a disorder may also have a genetic tendency to create environmental risk factors that promote the disorder

epigenetics

the study of factors other than inherited DNA sequence, such as new learning or stress, that alter the phenotypic expression of genes

neuroscience

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

neuron

an individual nerve cell; responsible for transmitting information

action potential

a short period of electrical activity at the membrane of a neuron, responsible for the transmission of signals within the neuron

terminal button

the end of an axon of a neuron where neurotransmitters are stored before release

synaptic cleft

the space between nerve cells where chemical transmitters act to move impulses from one neuron to the next

neurotransmitters

chemicals that cross the synaptic cleft between nerve cells to transmit impulses from one neuron to the next; their relative excess or deficiency is involved in several psychological disorders

excitatory

causing excitation; activating

inhibitory

causing inhibition; suppressing

hormone

a chemical messenger produced by the endocrine glands

brain circuits

the neurotransmitter currents or neural pathways in the brain

agonist

a chemical substance that effectively increases the activity of a neurotransmitter by imitating its effects

antagonist

a chemical substance that decreases or blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter

inverse agonist

a chemical substance that produces effects opposite those of a particular neurotransmitter

reuptake

an action by which a neurotransmitter is quickly drawn back into the discharging neuron after being released into a synaptic cleft

glutamate

an amino acid neurotransmitter that excites many different neurons, leading to action

gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

a neurotransmitter that reduces activity across the synapse and thus inhibits a range of behaviors and emotions, especially generalized anxiety

serotonin

a neurotransmitter involved in processing of information and coordination of movement, as well as inhibition and restraint; it also assists in the regulation of eating, sexual, and aggressive behaviors, all of which may be involved in different psychological disorders; its interaction with dopamine is implicated in schizophrenia

norepinephrine (noradrenaline)

the neurotransmitter active in the central and peripheral nervous systems, controlling heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, among other functions; because of its role in the body’s alarm reaction, it may also contribute generally and indirectly to panic attacks and other disorders

dopamine

a neurotransmitter whose generalized function is to activate other neurotransmitters and to aid in exploratory and pleasure-seeking behaviors (thus balancing serotonin); a relative excess is implicated in schizophrenia (although contradictory evidence suggests the connection is not simple), and its deficit is involved in Parkinson’s disease

microbiota

the entirety of the microorganisms (such as fungi, viruses, and bacteria) that populate the intestines

brain-gut connection

the influence of the gut bacteria on physical and mental health

cognitive science

a field of study that examines how humans and other animals acquire, process, store, and retrieve information

learned helplessness

Martin Seligman’s theory that people become anxious and depressed when they make an attribution that they have no control over the stress in their lives (whether or not they do in reality)

modeling (observational learning)

learning through observation and imitation of the behavior of other individuals and consequences of that behavior

prepared learning

an ability that has been adaptive for evolution, allowing certain associations to be learned more readily than others

implicit memory

a condition of memory in which a person cannot recall past events despite acting in response to them

flight or fight response

a biological reaction to alarming stressors that musters the body’s resources (for example, blood flow and respiration) to resist or flee a threat

emotion

a pattern of action elicited by an external event and a feeling state, accompanied by a characteristic physiological response

mood

an enduring period of emotionality

affect

a conscious, subjective aspect of an emotion that accompanies an action at a given time

circumplex model

a model describing different emotions as points in a two-dimensional space of valence and arousal

equifinality

a developmental psychology principle that a behavior or disorder may have several causes

clinical assessment

the systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in a person presenting with a possible psychological disorder

diagnosis

the process of determining whether a presenting problem meets the established criteria for a specific psychological disorder

reliability

the degree to which a measurement is consistent, for example, over time or among different raters

validity

the degree to which a technique measures what it purports to measure

standardization

the process of establishing specific norms and requirements for a measurement technique to ensure it is used consistently across measurement occasions; this includes instructions for administering the measure, evaluating its findings, and comparing these to data for large numbers of people

mental status exam

a relatively brief preliminary test of a client’s judgment, orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state; typically conducted during an initial interview

behavioral assessment

measuring, observing, and systematically evaluating (rather than inferring) the client’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the actual problem situation or context

self-monitoring

an action by which clients observe and record their own behaviors as either an assessment of a problem and its change or a treatment procedure that makes them more aware of their responses

projective tests

psychoanalytically based measures that present ambiguous stimuli to clients on the assumption that their responses will reveal their unconscious conflicts; such tests are inferential and lack high reliability and validity

personality inventory

a self-report questionnaire that assesses personal traits by asking respondents to identify descriptions that apply to them

intelligence quotient (IQ)

the score on an intelligence test estimating a person’s deviation from average test performance

neuropsychological test

an assessment of brain and nervous system functioning by testing an individual’s performance on behavioral tasks

false positive

an assessment error in which pathology is reported when none is actually present

false negative

an assessment error in which no pathology is noted when one is actually present

neuroimaging

sophisticated computer-aided procedures that allow nonintrusive examination of nervous system structure and function