HDE AI generated cards
Chapter 1
APA Ethics Code
A common set of principles and standards upon which psychologists build their professional and scientific work; other professions (e.g., school psychologists, social workers) have similar ethics codes
• Assent
Agreement to participate in treatment or research provided by a person who is unable to give consent because of his or her age or cognitive ability
• Categorical classification
Diagnostic approach in which disorders are divided into mutually exclusive groups based on sets of essential criteria
• Comorbidity
Diagnostic approach in which disorders are divided into mutually exclusive groups based on sets of essential criteria
• Competence
The education, training, and professional experience mental health professionals use to deliver evidence-based services; professionals must practice within its boundaries
• Confidentiality
The expectation that information that children and families provide during the course of treatment will not be disclosed to others without their consent
• Consent
A person’s informed and free decision to participate in treatment
• Culture
Values, knowledge, and practices that people derive from membership in social groups
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)
A compendium of mental disorders and diagnostic criteria adopted by the American Psychiatric Association and used by most mental health professionals in the United States
• Diagnostic specifier
A label that describes a relatively homogeneous subgroup of individuals with a given disorder
• Dimensional classification
Diagnostic approach in which the severity of the individual’s distress and/or impairment is described on a continuum
• Ethical principles
Broad ideals or aspirational goals for the professional practice of psychology
• Ethical standards
Specific rules that guide professional practice in psychology
• Ethics
Principles and standards of a profession that ensure high-quality care and protect the rights and dignity of others
• Ethnicity
A culturally constructed identity that is used to define groups of people and communities; it can be rooted in a common history, geographic location, language, religion, or shared experience that distinguishes that person or group from others
• Evidence-based practice
The integration of empirical research with clinical expertise to help children and families in the context of their characteristics, culture, and preferences
• Evidence-based treatments
Psychotherapies and medications that have been shown in well-designed research studies to reduce children’s symptoms and improve their functioning
• Harmful dysfunction
A definition of abnormal behavior characterized by (1) a failure of some internal mechanism to perform a function for which it was naturally selected and (2) the failure causes harm
• Incidence
The percentage of new cases of a disorder in a discrete period of time, usually 1 year
• Mental Disorder
“A syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning” (DSM-5)
• Multiple relationship
Occurs when a therapist, who is in a professional role with a client, enters into another relationship with the same individual or a person closely associated with that individual; it can impair the objectivity and quality of care
• Prevalence
The percentage of individuals in a given population who have a medical or psychological condition
• Prototypical classification
Diagnostic approach that is based on the degree to which the individual’s signs and symptoms map onto the ideal picture of the disorder
• Psychotropic medications
Prescription drugs used to treat psychological disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia
• Race
A culturally constructed category that can be used to divide people into groups based on superficial physical traits
• Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative
A program supported by NIMH to create a new system of classifying mental disorders based on underlying genetic and biological causes
• Sign
An observable feature of a disorder (e.g., hyperactivity, sluggish movement)
• Socioeconomic status (SES)
A composite variable that reflects three aspects of a child’s environment: (1) parents’ levels of education, (2) parents’ employment, and (3) family income
• Stigma
Negative beliefs that can lead to fear, avoidance, and discrimination by others or shame and low self-worth in oneself
• Symptom
A subjective experience associated with a disorder (e.g., anxiety, depressed mood)
Chapter 2
• Adaptive behavior
Thoughts, feelings, and actions that allow children to develop social, emotional, and behavioral competence over time and meet the changing demands of the environment
• Alleles
Alternative forms of a gene that are inherited or arise by mutation
• Attachment
The affective bond between caregiver and child that serves to protect and reassure the child in times of danger or uncertainty
• Basal ganglia
Brain regions located under the cortex; they help to control movement, filter incoming information, relay information to other regions, and regulate attention and emotions
• Behavioral epigenetics
A scientific field of study that examines the ways environmental experiences can affect genetic expression and be passed from one generation to the next
• Behavioral genetics
An area of scientific study that examines the relationship between genes and behavior; chiefly interested in determining the heritability of traits or disorders
• Brain stem
An evolutionarily old region of the brain responsible for many basic life-sustaining functions; consists of the medulla, pons, and midbrain
• Cerebellum
A brain region located posteriorly (in the back); chiefly responsible for balance and coordination
• Cerebral cortex
The outermost layer of the brain, consisting of the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes
• Chromosomes
Threadlike strands of genes organized in 23 pairs in typically developing humans
• Classical conditioning
A type of learning in which two stimuli are paired together in time, and a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit an automatic, unconditioned response
• Cognitive development
Changes in a person’s capacity for perception, thought, language, and problem-solving
• Concordance
Used by behavioral geneticists to describe the probability that two people will both have a certain characteristic or disorder given that one has the characteristic
• Developmental pathways
Possible courses or trajectories of children’s behavioral, cognitive, or social–emotional development over time, ranging from adaptation to maladaptation
• Developmental psychopathology
A multidisciplinary approach to studying adaptive and maladaptive development across the lifespan. According to this perspective, development is shaped by the complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social–cultural factors over time
• Developmental tasks
Behavioral, cognitive, or social–emotional challenges that children face at each age or developmental level
• Diathesis-stress model
A broad theory that posits that a child will exhibit a disorder when she has both (1) an underlying genetic risk for the disorder and (2) an environmental experience or life event that triggers its onset
• Ecological systems theory
A theory of child development that consists of concentric nested systems, each progressively more distal from the child: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem
• Emotional development
The emergence and refinement of a person’s experience, expression, understanding, and regulation of feelings
• Emotion regulation
The processes that people use to recognize, label, and control our feelings and our expression of these feelings
• Equifinality
Describes the phenomenon in which children with different developmental histories show a similar developmental outcome
• Gene
Thousands of nucleotides that form part of a chromosome; they are transferred from parent to offspring and influence the characteristics of those offspring
• Gene–environment correlation model
The idea that our environments are partially influenced by our genotypes; there are three types of correlations: (1) passive, (2) evocative, and (3) active
• Genotype
The genetic code that we inherit from our parents
• Goodness-of-fit
The compatibility of a child’s temperament with the features of his or her environment, especially parenting behavior
• Heterotypic continuity
The phenomenon in which symptoms change over time, but their underlying pattern remains the same (e.g., a boy’s ADHD symptoms change from childhood to adulthood, but he still has underlying problems with inhibition)
• Histones
Proteins found in cells; they act as spools around which DNA winds; they regulate the expression of genes, turning them “on” or “off”
• Homotypic continuity
The phenomenon in which disorders persist over time relatively unchanged (e.g., a boy with intellectual disability continues to have this disorder as an adult)
• Internal working model
In attachment theory, a mental representation of a caregiver that helps an individual cope with psychosocial stress
• Learning theory
A broad explanation for the causes of behavior that relies on classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and modeling
• Limbic system
Located deep within the brain, responsible for emotional processing and memory; consists of the amygdala, hippocampus, and several other structures
• Maladaptive behaviors
Thoughts, feelings, and actions that interfere with children’s social, emotional, and behavioral competence or do not meet the changing demands of the environment
• Molecular genetics
An area of scientific study that examines the relationship between specific genes and the presence or absence of characteristics and disorders
• Multifinality
Describes the phenomenon in which children with similar early experiences show different social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes
• Neural plasticity
A term used to describe the brain’s capacity to change its structure or functioning in response to environmental experience
• Neurons
Nerve cells; consist of dendrites, a cell body (soma), an axon, and terminal endings; relay information within themselves using electrical signals
• Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that allow neurons to communicate with each other; examples are dopamine and serotonin
• Nonshared environmental factors
Experiences that differ between siblings (e.g., different age, gender, friends, sports, or hobbies)
• Operant conditioning
A type of learning in which an action is associated with an environmental consequence, either reinforcement or punishment
• Parenting types
A four-part classification of parenting behavior based on its degree of responsiveness and demandingness: authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, uninvolved
• Phenotype
The observable expression of our genetic endowment
• Probabilistic epigenesis
A principle of developmental psychopathology; refers to the manner in which genetic, biological, and social–cultural factors interact over time to influence (but not absolutely determine) development
• Protective factors
Influences that buffer the negative effects of risks on children’s development and promote adaptive functioning
• Punishment
In operant conditioning, an environmental consequence that decreases the likelihood of future behavior
• Reinforcement
In operant conditioning, an environmental consequence that increases the likelihood of future behavior
• Resilience
The tendency of some children to develop social, emotional, and behavioral competence despite the presence of multiple risk factors
• Risk factors
Influences on development that interfere with the acquisition of competencies or compromise children’s ability to adapt to their environments
• Shared environmental factors
Environmental experiences common to siblings (e.g., same parents, house, school)
• Social cognition
Refers to a person’s capacity to think about social situations and to perceive, interpret, and solve interpersonal problems
• Social learning theory
The idea that people learn from one another through observation, imitation, and modeling
• Strange situation
A laboratory-based test of infant–caregiver attachment; can be used to determine attachment security
• Synaptogenesis
An increase in the number of neurons and connections between neurons; arises from maturation and experience
• Temperament
An inborn tendency to organize and react to behavior in response to environmental stimuli
Chapter 4
• Academic achievement
Knowledge and skills that children learn through formal and information educational experiences; typically reflects reading, math, and written language
• Affect
A child’s short-term emotional expression; assessed by observation
• Behavior therapy
A system of psychotherapy that focuses on children’s overt actions; tries to change behavior by altering environmental contingencies that either elicit the behavior or maintain it over time
• Cognitive therapy
A system of psychotherapy that focuses on children’s thoughts; identifies and challenges cognitive biases or distortions that contribute to maladaptive actions or emotions
• Common factors
Features shared by all forms of effective psychotherapy, including a supportive relationship, a plausible explanation for the person’s problem, and a method for alleviating that problem
• Construct validity
The degree to which test scores assess the construct of interest; usually supported by strong correlations with similar constructs (convergent validity) and weak correlations with dissimilar constructs (discriminant validity)
• Content validity
The degree to which test items are relevant to the construct of interest; usually supported by asking experts to rate each item
• Criterion-related validity
The degree to which test scores can be used to infer a probable standing on some external variable of interest; usually supported when test scores are associated with outcomes at the same point in time (concurrent validity) or in the future (predictive validity)
• Cultural formulation interview
An interview used to gather information about families’ racial, ethnic, and cultural identities and how these identities affect their current problems, strengths, and preferences for treatment
• Culturally adapted treatment
Modifying evidence-based psychotherapy to fit families’ social–cultural context and values
• Diagnostic interview
The most common assessment technique in which the clinician collects data regarding the child and family’s presenting problem, history, and current functioning
• Dodo verdict
A term used to describe the finding that no single system of psychotherapy works best under all circumstances
• Effectiveness
The effects of therapy under real-world conditions (e.g., therapists using a wide range of treatment approaches, clients with comorbid problems)
• Efficacy
The effects of therapy under optimal conditions (e.g., well-trained and closely supervised therapists, carefully selected clients with single problems)
• Family systems therapy
A system of psychotherapy that views the entire family as the “client”; improvement in one member’s behavior will necessarily change all members of the family
• Functional analysis of behavior
An assessment technique in which the clinician attempts to identify the antecedent events that elicit a behavior and the environmental consequences that maintain it over time
• Insight
During a mental status exam, the degree to which the child recognizes that he might have a psychological problem
• Intelligence
A broad construct related to people’s abilities to adapt to their environments, to solve problems, and to learn and use information accurately and efficiently
• Interpersonal therapy
A system of psychotherapy that focuses on the quality of children’s relationships with others and helps them cope with changes to these relationships over time
• Intersectionality
A term used to describe the way a person’s social–cultural factors and/or identities interact to either promote or hinder their development
• Judgement
During a mental status exam, the child’s ability to consider the consequences of behavior before acting
• Mental status exam
A brief assessment of the child’s current functioning in three broad areas: (1) appearance and actions, (2) emotion, and (3) cognition
• Mood
A child’s long-term emotional disposition; usually assessed by self-report
• Multi-informant assessment
The process of gathering data from several different people (e.g., parents, teachers, child) to obtain an estimate of children’s functioning across settings
• Multimethod assessment
The process of gathering data in a number of different ways (e.g., self-report, observation, testing) to obtain a more complete picture of children’s functioning
• Norm-referenced tests
Tests that yield scores that quantify the degree to which a child’s performance on the test deviates from the scores of his or her peers
• Normal distribution
A bell-shaped distribution of scores in which most children earn scores near the mean and fewer earn scores at the extremes
• Orientation
During a mental status exam, the child’s awareness of person, place, and time
• Personality
A person’s relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and overt actions
• Presenting problem
The family’s primary reason(s) for seeking help
• Psychodynamic therapy
A system of psychotherapy that focuses on unconscious thoughts and feelings that affect children’s functioning; often attends to transference—that is, the client’s attitude and pattern of responding to the therapist
• Psychological assessment
The process of gathering data about children and families in order to reach valid conclusions about their current functioning and future well-being
• Psychosocial history
A portion of the diagnostic interview in which the clinician gathers information about the child’s developmental, educational, medical, and psychological past
• Psychotherapy
A professional relationship between at least two people with the goal of alleviating distress or impairment, and promoting growth and adaptation; this goal is usually achieved by altering the client’s thoughts, feelings, or actions
• Rapport
An aspect of the therapeutic relationship in which the client believes that the therapist understands his or her feelings and is willing to participate in the initial phase of treatment
• Reliability
The consistency of scores generated by a psychological test; includes test–retest, inter-rater, and internal consistency types
• Standardization
A property of evidence-based tests; indicates that tests are administered, scored, and interpreted in the same way to all examinees
• Structured diagnostic interview
An assessment process in which the clinician systematically reviews all of the major psychiatric diagnoses with children and/or parents to determine whether the child meets criteria for any diagnosis
• Therapeutic alliance
The collaborative relationship between the client and the therapist that is built on trust and both parties are working toward shared goals
• Validity
A test’s ability to accurately reflect a desired construct for a specific purpose; includes content, construct, and criterion-related types
Chapter 6
• Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems
Techniques used to supplement the communication skills of children with ASD as they acquire spoken language or compensate for spoken language in children who are mute
• Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network
A group of programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to estimate the number of children with ASD in the United States, using medical and educational records
• Autism Genome Project
A private/public partnership of researchers in 19 different countries who are investigating the genetic causes of ASD
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
A DSM-5 disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and the presence of restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities that begin in early life and cause significant impairment in social functioning
• Developmental social–pragmatic (DSP)model
An evidence-based approach to treating youths with ASD that encourages imitation, pretend play, and spontaneous social interaction in everyday contexts
• Discrete trial training
A behavioral technique to teach skills to children; each skill is broken into component parts; each part is systematically introduced, modeled, practiced, and reinforced; parts are combined to produce more complex behaviors
• Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI)
A behavioral treatment for ASD that relies on intensive use of direct instruction to teach and reinforce social communication and language skills
• Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)
A developmental social–pragmatic approach to treating young children with ASD; children are taught imitation, social orientation, joint attention, and positive emotion communication skills using a developmentally sequenced curriculum
• Echolalia
The repetition of words or sounds uttered by others
• Empathy
The ability to take the perspective of another person in order to understand her thoughts, intentions, and feelings
• False belief task
A laboratory-based test of theory of mind
• Growth dysregulation hypothesis
Posits that youths with ASD show abnormal maturation of the cortex, large head circumference, and high synaptic density in early childhood but poor neural connectivity, especially in brain regions responsible for social communication and language
• Hand-over-hand assistance
A scaffolding technique to help children acquire new skills; the therapist guides the child’s hands with her own
• Joint attention
An infant’s ability to share attention with a caregiver on a single object or event in the outside world; often delayed in children with ASD
• Joint attention symbolic play engagement and regulation (JASPER)
An intervention for young children at risk for ASD; therapists reinforce joint attention and symbolic play in naturalistic interactions
• MSSNG
A project involving the genetic mapping of 10,000 individuals with ASD with the goal of determining the genetic risk factors for the disorder
• Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
A low-tech AAC in which children communicate by pointing to or exchanging cards with symbols or pictures that represent actions, feelings, ideas, or objects
• Pivotal response treatment
A behavioral intervention usually administered by parents in naturalistic settings; designed to increase the motivation and self-regulation skills of children with ASD
• Pragmatics
The use of language in specific social contexts, especially the natural give-and-take that occurs during conversation and the ability to tell coherent stories with appropriate background information
• Pronoun reversal
The tendency of a child with ASD to say “You are happy” when he means “I am happy”
• Prosody
The pattern of stress or intonation in a person’s speech
• Reciprocal imitation training (RIT)
An intervention for young children at risk for ASD; teaches imitation skills through modeling and natural reinforcers
• Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities
A problem shown by all youths with ASD; characterized by (1) stereotyped or repetitive behaviors, (2) excessive adherence to routines or resistance to change, (3) restricted, fixated interests, or (4) unusual reactivity to sensory input
• Right fusiform gyrus
A brain region responsible for processing human faces and interpreting social behavior; often underactive in youths with ASD
• Scaffolding
A term used by Vygotsky to describe guidance and support provided to help children learn new skills as they interact with the environment
• Social communication
A deficit shown by all youths with ASD; reflects problems with (1) social–emotional reciprocity, (2) nonverbal communication, and (3) interpersonal relationships
• Social brain
A term used by some researchers to explain a neural pathway involved in social cognition and communication; includes the amygdala, right fusiform gyrus, and portions of the prefrontal cortex
• Social orientation
A child’s ability to attend to, and interact with, important aspects of interpersonal interactions (e.g., eyes, faces, emotional expressions, interactions between people); often delayed in children with ASD
• Structured teaching
A component of TEACCH; the use of structures and supports to help children understand and master the classroom environment
• Symbolic play
The child’s ability to allow one object to represent another object; important for language acquisition; often delayed in children with ASD
• Theory of mind
The understanding that people have mental states (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, intentions) that motivate their behavior; often deficient in children with ASD
• Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children (TEACCH)
A classroom-based intervention that relies on a highly structured teaching environment and scaffolding to improve social communication and reduce challenging behaviors in children with ASD
• UCLA Young Autism Project
An EIBI study conducted by Lovaas and colleagues that relied on discrete trial training for young children with ASD who were largely nonverbal; participants demonstrated gains in IQ and language
• Visual scene display (VSD)
A high-tech AAC system; children communicate and develop language skills by pressing on pictures on tablets that depict everyday scenes (e.g., bedroom, kitchen, school)
• Visual schedules
A chart containing pictures and symbols to organize and direct children’s daily behavior at home or school