Abnormal Psychology Definitions (1.01)

• Diathesis – predisposition towards developing a disorder 

• Stress – a difficult experience 

• Risk Factors – Multiple stressors that increase the likelihood of a disorder 

• Diathesis-stress model - predisposition towards developing a disorder as a result of difficult experiences 

• Developmental norms – age-graded averages 

• Developmental Psychology – approach to abnormal psychology that emphasizes how abnormal behavior develops and changes over time 

• Premorbid history – pattern of behavior that precedes the onset of the disorder 

• Prognosis – pattern of behavior that follows the onset of the disorder 

• Hindbrain – parts of the brain atop the brain stem (medulla, pons, cerebellum) 

• Midbrain – hypothalamus activities such as fighting and sex 

• Forebrain – Cerebrum 

• Experiment – a research method that is used to determine cause and effects 

  • Hypothesis – experimenter’s prediction about cause and effect 

  • Independent Variable – variable controlled by the researcher 

  • Dependent Variable – Outcome of the experiment 

  • Experimental group – the group that receives treatment 

  • Control group- Group that receives no treatment 

  • Random Assignment – randomly assigns participants to a group with equal chance 

  • Statistical significance – result that has a 1 of 20 chance of occurring 

  • Clinical significance – a result that has effects on a patient's life 

  • External Validity - whether the findings of the experiment generalize to other circumstances 

• Symptom – Reported sign (from patient) 

• Sign – Observed sign (from practitioner) 

• Emotion – state of arousal that is defined by subjective feelings. Generally accompanied by physiological changes 

  Affect – pattern of observable behaviors (facial expression, voice pitch, body movements)  

  Mood – what  

  Depression – syndrome (mood) of disappointment and despair 

  Mania – elevated or irritable mood that lasts for a week or more 

  Euphoria – exaggerated emotion of well-being 

  Episodes – periods of time a particular syndrome (depression or mania) last 

  Psychomotor Retardation – several features of behavior that may occupy onset of serious depression (slow moving, no talking, etc.) 

  Dexamethasone suppression test (DST) - Dexamethasone suppresses cortisol, normally a person's hypothalamus won't release cortisol however depressed patients (typically) 

  Analogue study – experiment where researchers study behaviors similar to those found in mental disorders or isolated behaviors of mental disorders 

Tools for diagnosis 

• Symptoms and signs 

  • Symptom – reported 

  • Sign – see for yourself 

• Onset – when it starts 

• Course – how the disorder affects the body  

  • Acute – start & finish and then person returns to normal 

  • Chronic – starts & never finishes 

  • Episodic –start & stop & start & stop 

• Outcome – what happens to the patient in the end 

• Etiology (Not used yet) – cause of the disorder 

• Response to treatment (not used yet) -  

• Classification Systems 

  • Reliability 

  • Validity 

  • Generality 

• Problems of Labeling 

  • Stigma 

  • Neglecting evidence (Drunkard under the lamppost)  

• DSM V – 2007 document, switched from categorical to dimensional, not reliable for a researcher to use (but researchers still use it) 

  • Insurance companies changed it back 

  • More so political rather than scientific 

  • Reliability - the test’s ability to have the same results after multiple attempts

    • Very modest 

    • Not up to scientific standards 

  • Validity  - measures what it was intended to measure

    • Strong for certain disorders 

  • Generality - works for certain people

    • Good for multiple people

• Emotion – state of arousal that is defined by subjective feelings. Generally accompanied by physiological changes 

  Affect – the pattern of observable behaviors (facial expression, voice pitch, body movements)  

  Mood – what  

  Depression – syndrome (mood) of disappointment and despair 

  Mania – an elevated or irritable mood that lasts for a week or more 

  Euphoria – exaggerated emotion of well-being 

  Episodes – periods of a particular syndrome (depression or mania) last 

  Psychomotor Retardation – several features of behavior that may occupy the onset of serious depression (slow-moving, no talking, etc.) 

  Dexamethasone suppression test (DST) - Dexamethasone suppresses cortisol, normally a person's hypothalamus won't release cortisol however depressed patients (typically) 

  Analogue study – an experiment where researchers study behaviors similar to those found in mental disorders or isolated behaviors of mental disorders

• Correlational Method – uses an experiment to find how two events influence each other, doesn't equal causation 

• Unstructured Interview – questions according to the patient

• Structured Interview – questions according to the practitioner 

• fMRI - (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) Measures the functioning of the brain by changes in blood flow

• MRI - (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) uses iron in the blood to examine the functioning of organs

• Interpersonal Theory - the closer you are, the less likely you are to be depressed; disruptions of those relationships cause depression

• B (Burrhus). F (Frederick). Skinner (1953) - American Behaviorist who believed that all actions resulted from pursuing a reward. Also created the Operant Conditioning Theory 

• John B. Watson (1920) - Created the “Little Albert” experiment where his assistant made loud sounds behind a 9-month-old boy after he touched a rat. “Albert” would then be scared of anything white and furry

• Ivan Pavlov (1928) - Russian physiologist who discovered Classical Conditioning. He would ring a bell (NS) before feeding (US) a dog until the dog would salivate (CR) at the sound of the bell (CS)

• Barnum Statements - statements that are true for everyone

• Neurotransmitter Reuptake - The process of absorbing excess neurotransmitters

• Candidate genes – genes that have some reason to be important in identifying the correlation between genes and a mood disorder