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Abnormal Psychology - Chapter 1

Key Concepts:

Terms in this set (83)

Psychological Disorder / Abnormal behavior

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

An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation.

Psychological Dysfunction

Breakdown in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning

Just having a dysfunction is not enough to meet the criteria for psychological disorder.

for this reason, these problems are often considered to be on a continuum or a dimension rather than to be categories that are present or absent.

not typical; not conforming to the type; irregular; abnormal

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - contains the current listing of criteria for psychological disorders

describes behavioral, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with present distress and impairment in functioning, or increased risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment

a typical profile. a pt may have only some features or symptoms of the disorder (minimum number) and still meet criteria for the disorder because his or her set of symptoms is close to the prototype.

Psychopathology

the scientific study of psychological disorders

counseling psychologists

tend to study and treat adjustment and vocational issues encountered by relatively healthy individuals

clinical psychologists

usually concentrate on more severe psychological disorders

Functions of Mental Health Practitioners

1. Consumers of the science of psychopathology. That is that they keep up with recent developments which benefits their patients.

2. Evaluators of own assessments or treatment procedures to see whether they work.

3. Research. This research attempts to:
a. describe psychological disorders
b. determine causes
c. treatment

Presenting problem

why the person came to the clinic

Clinical description

represents the unique combination of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that make up a specific disorder.

refers to both types of problems and disorders that would be found in a clinic or hospital and to be the activities connected with assessment and treatment

how many people in the population as a whole have the disorder

rate of occurrence; particular occurrence; Ex. high incidence of infant mortality

Generally a long-term disorder, such as schizophrenia

Episodic course

disorder that may end after a few months only to reoccur at a later time

Time-limited course

The disorder will improve without treatment in a relatively short period

disorder begins suddenly

Insidious onset

Development of a disorder that occurs gradually over an extended period (contrast with acute onset).

a prediction of the course of a disease

Developmental psychology

the study of changes that occur as an individual matures

Developmental psychopathology

Study of changes in abnormal behavior that occur over time.

the study of origins, has to do with why a disorder begins and includes biological, psychological and social dimensions

Supernatural model

Explanation of human behavior and its dysfunction that posits important roles for spirits, demons, grace, sin, and so on.

the public and authoritative act of the Church to protect or liberate a person, place, or object from the power of the devil (demonic possession) in the name of Christ.

Saint Vitus's Dance (aka tarantism or rave)

Instance of mass hysteria in which groups of people experienced a simultaneous compulsion to dance and shout in the streets.

a condition in which a large group of people exhibit the same state of violent mental agitation

Emotion contagion

Situation in which an emotional reaction spreads from one individual to others nearby.

insane and believed to be affected by the phases of the moon

"Founder of Medicine" During the Golden Age in Greece he was a scientist that believed all diseases came from natural causes. He also had high ideals for physicians & an oath was made that is still used today.

Greek anatomist whose theories formed the basis of European medicine until the Renaissance (circa 130-200)

Humoral theory of disorders

Normal brain functioning was related to four bodily fluids or humors. Physicians believed that disease resulted from too much or too little of one of the humors.
1. blood
2. black bile
3. yellow bile
4. phlegm

inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life

characterized by or causing or expressing sadness

Somatoform disorders

A class of psychological disorders involving physical ailments with no authentic organic basis that are due to psychological factors.

any severe mental disorder in which contact with reality is lost or highly distorted

false beliefs that are maintained even though they clearly are out of touch with reality

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

Psychiatrist who believed that the causes of insanity were always physical

Insulin shock therapy

Dangerous biological treatment involving the administration of large doses of insulin to induce seizures.

electroconvulsive therapy

a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient

the first monoamine antagonist to be used in the treatment of schizophrenia; the active ingredient of the snakeroot plant

Drugs that alleviate the symptoms of severe disorders such as schizophrenia.

Xanax (alprazolam), Librium (chlordiazepoxide), Valium (diazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), Versed (midazolam), Restoril (temazepam)

German psychiatrist responsible for creating the first truly comprehensive classification system of psychological disorders

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.

philosophy of treatment that emphasized treating mentally ill people with compassion and understanding, rather than shackling them in chains

facilities for treating the mentally ill in Europe during the Middle Ages and into the 19th century.

A reformer and pioneer in the movement to treat the insane as mentally ill, beginning in the 1820's, she was responsible for improving conditions in jails, poorhouses and insane asylums throughout the U.S. and Canada. She succeeded in persuading many states to assume responsibility for the care of the mentally ill. She served as the Superintendant of Nurses for the Union Army during the Civil War.

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Austrian neurologist who originated psychoanalysis (1856-1939); Said that human behavior is irrational; behavior is the outcome of conflict between the
** id (irrational unconscious driven by sexual, aggressive, and pleasure-seeking desires) and

** ego (rationalizing conscious, what one can do) and

**superego (ingrained moral values, what one should do).

Believed that the healing of physical ailments came from manipulation of people's bodily fluids. His technique of mesmerism was used with hypnotism.

an approach to psychology that emphasizes observable measurable behavior

animal magnetism

A term coined by F.A. Mesmer to refer to a putative force or fluid capable of being transmitted from one person to another, producing healing effects. See also Mesmerism.

that part of the mind wherein psychic activity takes place of which the person is unaware. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOTHERAPY

(psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions. SECOND MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT

psychoanalytic model

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.

Psychoanalytic theory

1. the structure of the mind and the distinct functions of personality that sometimes clash with one another
2. the defense mechanisms with which the mind defends itself from these clashes or conflicts
3. the stages of early psychosexual development that provide gist for the mill of our inner conflicts

intrapsychic conflicts

inner mental struggles resulting from the interplay of the id, ego, and superego when the three subsystems are striving for different goals

defense mechanisms

in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

(psychiatry) a defense mechanism that transfers affect or reaction from the original object to some more acceptable one

(psychology) modifying the natural expression of an impulse or instinct (especially a sexual one) to one that is socially acceptable

(psychiatry) a defense mechanism that denies painful thoughts

(psychiatry) a defense mechanism that transfers affect or reaction from the original object to some more acceptable one

(psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your own traits and emotions are attributed to someone else

rationalization

(psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your true motivation is concealed by explaining your actions and feelings in a way that is not threatening

reaction formation

(psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously develops attitudes and behavior that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires and impulses and serve to conceal them

(psychiatry) the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious

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. Also known as self-psychology.

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.

psychological disorders characterized by anxiety or tension

Classical conditioning

a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus (US) begins to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus. Also called Pavlovian or respondent conditioning.

a conditioning process in which the reinforcer is removed and a conditioned response becomes independent of the conditioned stimulus

a method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat

Used classical conditioning theory in psychotherapy and introduced Systematic Desensitatization and concepts of reciprocal inhibition which he applied to reduce anxiety. In treatment he paired relaxation with an anxiety -provoking stimulus until the stimulus no longer produced anxiety.

Behavior Therapy

Therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors.

pioneer of operant conditioning who believed that everything we do is determined by our past history of rewards and punishments. he is famous for use of his operant conditioning aparatus which he used to study schedules of reinforcement on pidgeons and rats.

Operant Conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

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