Big Idea Questions	Answers/details
Ch. 1: Intro and Historical Overview
What are the characteristics of stigma?	Distinguishing label is applied Label refers to undesirable attributes People with the label are seen as different People with the label are discriminated against
How does the DSM-5 define a mental disorder?	It occurs within the individual It involves clinically significant difficulties in thinking, feeling, or behaving It usually involves personal distress It involves dysfunction in psychological, development, and or neurobiological processes that support mental functioning It is not a culturally specific reaction to an event Primarily not a result of social deviance
In the “early days,” what were some causes of psychopathology believed to be?	displeased gods or demonic possession
What was an asylum, and why were they less than ideal?	Asylum = a refuge for the housing and care of people with psychological disorders Viewing the patients was an attraction for the wealthy Treatments were crude and painful
What was moral treatment? Where do we see parts of moral treatment today?	- Small privately funded hospitals focused on humane treatment - Talking and reading with attendants - Purposeful activities as close to regular life as possible
How was the first link between psychology and biology found?	- 1905 the biological cause of syphilis is discovered linking psychology and biology
What are some early biological treatments?	- Insulin coma therapy - Electroconvulsive therapy - lobotomy
What were some early psychological treatments?	- Hypnosis - Magnetic fields - Cathartic method
What are Freud’s contributions to psychopathology?	- Psychopathy results from unconscious conflicts in the individual - Id, ego, superego
What is the difference between classical and operant conditioning?	Classical = involuntary behavior + stimulus Operant = voluntary + punishment
Ch. 2: Current Paradigms in Psychopathology
What are the main components of the genetic paradigm?	Almost all behavior is heritable to some degree Genes do not operate in isolation from the environment Genes Carriers of genetic information Gene Expression Proteins influence whether the action of a gene will occur Polygenic Multiple genes are interacting with the environment Heritability The extent to which variability in behavior is due to genetic factors (population level, not individual level)
What is the difference between a genotype and a phenotype?	Genotype Total genetic makeup of an individual The physical sequence of DNA Phenotype Total observable behavioral characteristics
What is a SNP? What is a CNV?	Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) Difference between people in a single nucleotide in the DNA of a particular gene Copy Number Variations (CNVs) An abnormal copy of one or more sections of DNA within the gene
What are the main components of the neuroscience paradigm?	Psychological disorders are linked to aberrant processes in the brain Three major components Neurons and neurotransmitters Brain structure and function Neuroendocrine system
What are the parts of a neuron, and what do they do?	Neuron A nervous system cell compromised of the cell body, dendrites, one or more axons, and terminal buttons Synapse A small gap between the terminal button of the sending neuron and the cell membrane of the receiving neuron Neurotransmitters Chemical that allows neurons to send a signal across the synapse to another neuron Receptors on the post synaptic cell can be either excitatory or inhibitory Excitatory = neuron will fire Inhibitory = wont fire Reuptake Neurotransmitter being take back into the presynaptic cell from the synapse
What are the functions of the: hippocampus, hypothalamus, amygdala?	Hippocampus (memory) Hypothalamus (the four f's: fighting, fleeing, feeding, fornication) Amygdala (emotion, attention)
How does the HPA axis work?	Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis Hypothalamus release CRF CRF travels to pituitary gland and stimulates release of ACTH ACTH prompts adrenal cortex to release cortisol
What are the main components of the cognitive behavioral paradigm?	The Cognitive Behavioral Paradigm Roots in learning principles and cognitive science Problem behavior continues if it is reinforced To alter behavior, modify consequences Time out Behavioral activation Exposure
What is CBT, and what is the goal of CBT?	Cognitive behavioral therapy A type of therapy in which negative patterns of thought are challenged to alter unwanted patterns to treat mood disorders Constructive restructuring Changing a pattern of thought Goal To change feelings, behaviors, and symptoms of changing cognition
Ch. 3: Diagnosis
What is reliability (and the different types)?	Reliability Consistency of Measurement Interrater Reliability The degree to which 2 separate observers agree on what they have observed Test-retest reliability The degree to which people being tested twice receive similar scores Alternate form reliability The extent to which scores on 2 different forms of the test are measured Internal Consistency The extent to which the items on a test are related to one another
What is validity (and the different types)?	The measure measures what it is supposed to measure Content Validity Wether a measure adequately samples/covers the domain of interest Construct Validity How well a test measures the concept it was meant to evaluate
What are some criticisms of the DSM-5?	DSM-5 contains 347 different diagnoses Comorbidity The presence of a second diagnosis Categorical vs. dimensional classification Categorical: Present or absent Dimensional: Where it falls on the continuum Reliability in everyday practice Interrater reliability should be high Clinicians may have different definitions for symptoms
What is a structured interview?	Structured interviews Questions are set in a prescribed fashion for the interviewer Goal: collect standardized information for making diagnostic judgements Structural clinical interview for DSM
What are some examples of personality tests? What do they measure?	Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory -2 (2009) The BIG FIVE Intelligence (IQ) Test A way of assessing a person's current cognitive ability
What are the different types of imaging techniques, and what do they measure?	CT/CAT Scan: Computerized Axial Tomography Brain Stricture Detects differences in tissue density, structural abnormalities Enlarged ventricles, tumors, blood clots MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Brain structure, better than CT Measures electromagnetic signal fMRI: functional MRI Brain Structure and function Measures blood flow as a proxy for neural activity BOLD signal = blood oxygenation level dependent PET Scan: Positron emission tomography Brain structure and function More invasive than fMRI; involves a radioactive isotope
What is the function of a neuropsychological assessment?	Based o the idea that different psychological functions rely on different areas of the brain Can be used to determine if/where there is brain damage before doing expensive imaging Halstead-Reitan test battery Tactile performance test - time Tactile performance test - memory Speech sounds perceptions test
How do we use psychophysiological assessments?	The field concerned with bodily changes associated with psychological events
Ch. 4: Research Methods in Psychopathology
What is the difference between a theory and a hypothesis?	Theory Set of propositions mean to explain a class of observations Goal: understand cause-effect relationships Hypotheses An expectation about what should occur if a theory is true Must be falsifiable
What is a case study and when is it used?	Case study Recording detailed information about one person at a time Covers development, family history, medical history, etc.
What does it mean when two variables are correlated?	Correlation Coefficient (r) -1.0 to 1.0 0.0 indicates no relationship
What are the basic features of an experiment?	Investigator manipulates a variable Participants are randomly assigned to conditions Research measures a DV that is expected to vary within conditions of the IV Experimental effect: Differences between conditions on the DV
Why would you use a control group?	Comparison group Provides evidence that changes during treatment were due to the treatment
What is p-hacking?	Tweaking data until a significant finding is identified

Abnormal Psychology | Unit 1 Study Guide