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Abnormal Psychology - Chapter 1

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
phobia
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.
atypical
not typical; not conforming to the type; irregular; abnormal
DSM
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - contains the current listing of criteria for psychological disorders
Abnormal
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
prototype
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.
Clinical
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
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