PSY 212 Abnormal Psychology All HW Ch. 1-13

moral treatment

A 19th century approach to treating people with mental dysfunction that emphasized guidance and humane and respectful treatment. (two words)

syndrome

A cluster of symptoms that usually occur together.

case study

A detailed account of a person's life and psychological problems. (two words)

diagnosis

A determination that a person's problems reflect a particular disorder.

test

A device for gathering information about a few aspects of a person's psychological functioning from which broader information about the person can be inferred.

bipolar disorder

A disorder marked by alternating or intermixed periods of mania and depression.

dissociative fugue

A dissociative disorder in which a person travels to a new location and may assume a new identity, simultaneously forgetting his or her past.

sedative-hypnotic drug

A drug used in low doses to reduce anxiety and in higher doses to help people sleep. Also called anxiolytic drugs. (two words; hyphenated)

clinical interview

A face-to-face encounter in which clinicians ask questions of clients, weight their responses and reactions, and learn about them and their psychological problems. (two words)

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A general score derived from an intelligence test that theoretically represents a person's overall intellectual capacity. (two words)

nomothetic

A general understanding of the nature, causes, and treatments of abnormal psychological functioning in the form of laws or principles.

rap group

A group that meets to talk about and explore problems in an atmosphere of mutual support. (two words)

cortisol

A hormone released by the adrenal glands when a person is under stress.

classification system

A list of disorders, along with descriptions of symptoms and guidelines for making appropriate diagnoses. (two words)

fear hierarchy

A list of objects or situations that frighten a person, starting with those that are slightly feared and ending with those that are feared greatly. (two words)

depression

A low state marked by significant levels of sadness, lack of energy, low self-worth, guilt, or related symptoms.

reliability

A measure of the consistency of test or research results.

lithium

A metallic element that occurs in nature as a mineral salt and is an effective treatment for bipolar disorders.

naturalistic observation

A method of observing behavior in which clinicians or researchers observe people in their everyday environments. (two words)

analog observation

A method of observing behavior in which people are observed in artificial settings such as clinicians' offices or laboratories.

norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter whose abnormal activity is linked to depression and panic disorder.

serotonin

A neurotransmitter whose abnormal activity is linked to depression, OCD, and eating disorders.

hypothalamus

A part of the brain that helps maintain various bodily functions, including eating and hunger.

An episode of depression experienced by some new mothers that begins within four weeks after giving birth.

A pattern in which a person displays symptoms of mania, but the symptoms are less severe and cause less impairment than a manic episode.

culture

A people's common history, values, institutions, habits, skills, technology, and arts.

phobia

A persistent and unreasonable fear of a particular object, activity, or situation.

obsession

A persistent thought, idea, impulse, or image that is experienced repeatedly, feels intrusive, and causes anxiety.

hopelessness

A pessimistic belief that one's present circumstances, problems, or mood will not change.

preparedness

A predisposition to develop certain fears.

treatment

A procedure designed to help change abnormal behavior into more normal behavior (also called therapy).

compulsion

A repetitive and rigid behavior or mental act that a person feels driven to perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety.

family pedigree

A research design in which investigators determine how many and which relatives of a person with a disorder have the same disorder. (two words)

experimental method

A research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the effect of the manipulation is observed.

battery

A series of tests, each of which measures a specific skill area.

mental status exam

A set of interview questions and observations designed to reveal the degree and nature of a client's abnormal functioning. (three words)

placebo therapy

A sham treatment that the subject in an experiment believes to be genuine.

hypnosis

A sleep-like suggestible state during which a person can be directed to act in unusual ways, to experience unusual sensations, to remember seemingly forgotten events, or to forget remembered events.

norms

A society's stated and unstated rules for proper conduct.

mania

A state or episode of euphoria or frenzied activity in which people may have an exaggerated belief that the world is theirs for the taking.

positive psychology

A subfield of psychology that focuses on study and enhancement of feelings, traits, and abilities. (two words)

biofeedback

A technique in which a client is given information about physiological reactions as they occur and learns to control the reactions voluntarily.

projective test

A test that consists of vague material that people interpret or respond to.

neurological test

A test that directly measures brain structure or activity.

psychophysiological test

A test that measures physical responses (such as heart rate and muscle tension) as possible indicators of psychological problems.

flashback

A type of dissociative reaction where the traumatic event is re-experienced.

asylum

A type of institution that first became popular in the 16th century to provide care for persons with mental disorders. Most became virtual prisons.

eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)

A widely applied form of exposure therapy, most commonly known by a four-letter abbreviation.

females

About 90-95% of anorexia cases occur in ______.

Trephination

An ancient operation in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a circular section of the skull, perhaps to treat abnormal behavior.

agoraphobia

An anxiety disorder in which a person is afraid to be in places or situations from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing) or help unavailable if panic-like symptoms were to occur.

post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

An anxiety disorder in which fear and related symptoms continue to be experienced long after a traumatic event.

panic disorder

An anxiety disorder marked by recurrent and unpredictable panic attacks. (two words)

rapprochement movement

An effort to identify a set of common strategies that characterize the work of all effective therapists.

postpartum

An episode of depression experienced by some new mothers that begins within four weeks after giving birth.

binge

An episode of uncontrollable eating during which a person ingests a very large quantity of food.

stressor

An event that creates a sense of threat by confronting a person with a demand or opportunity for change of some kind.

virtual reality

An exposure therapy that uses 3-D computer graphics that simulate real-world objects and situations. (two words)

idiographic understanding

An understanding of the behavior of a particular individual.

dissociative disorders

Class of disorders marked by major changes in memory that are not due to clear physical causes.

psychotropic medications

Classification of medications that primarily affect the brain and reduce various symptoms of mental dysfunctioning.

self-monitoring

Clients' observation of their own behavior. (two words; hyphenated)

unipolar depression

Depression without a history of mania.

psychoanalysis

Either the theory or the treatment of abnormal mental functioning that emphasizes unconscious psychological forces as the cause of psychopathology.

response

Exposure and _____ prevention: A behavioral treatment for OCD that exposes a client to anxiety-arousing thoughts or situations and then prevents the client from performing his or her compulsive acts. Also called exposure and ritual prevention.

confound

In an experiment, a variable other than the independent variable that may also be acting on the dependent variable.

deviant

Person who deviates from conventional norms in odd, irregular, or even bizarre ways, but is not displaying a psychological disorder.

iatrogenic

Produced or caused inadvertently by a clinician.

caudate nuclei

Structures in the brain, within the region known as the basal ganglia, that help convert sensory information into thoughts and actions. (two words)

validity

The accuracy of a test's or study's results; that is, the extent to which the test or study actually measures or shows what it claims to.

hypothalamus

The brain area that sets the features of arousal and fear in motion.

fear

The central nervous system's physiological and emotional response to a serious threat to one's well-being.

anxiety

The central nervous system's physiological and emotional response to a vague sense of threat or danger.

external validity

The degree to which evens or characteristics vary along with each other.

deinstitutionalization

The discharge of large numbers of patients from long-term institutional care so that they might be treated in community programs.

subpersonalities

The distinct personalities found in individuals suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Also known as alternate personalities.

hallucination

The experiencing of imagined sights, sounds, or other sensory experiences as if they were real.

memory

The faculty for recalling past events and past learning.

fusion

The final merging of two or more subpersonalities in dissociative identity disorder.

adrenal glands

The glands located on top of the kidneys.

client-centered therapy

The humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers in which clinicians try to help clients by being accepting, empathizing accurately, and conveying genuineness. (two words; hyphenated)

pituitary

The middle component of the following pathway: hypothalamic-________-adrenal pathway.

benzodiazipines

The most common group of anti-anxiety drugs, which includes Valium and Xanax.

parasympathetic nervous system

The nerve fibers of the autonomic nervous system that help maintain normal organ functioning. They slow organ functioning after stimulation and return other bodily processes to normal.

sympathetic nervous system

The nerve fibers of the autonomic nervous system that quicken the heartbeat and produce other changes experienced as fear or anxiety.

GABA

The neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, whose low activity has been linked to generalized anxiety disorder. (case-sensitive)

learned helplessness

The perception, based on past experiences, that one has no control over one's reinforcements. (two words)

somatogenic

The perspective that abnormal psychological functioning has physical causes.

psychogenic

The perspective that the chief causes of abnormal functioning are psychological.

exorcism

The practice in early societies of treating abnormality by coaxing evil spirits to leave the person's body.

standardization

The process of administering a test to a large group of persons whose performance then serves as a common standard or norm against which any individual's score can be measured.

assessment

The process of collecting and interpreting relevant information about a client or subject.

endocrine system

The system of glands located throughout the body that helps control important activities such as growth and sexual activity.

cognitive triad

The three forms of negative thinking that Beck theorizes lead people to feel depressed. It consists of a negative view of one's experiences, oneself, and the future. (two words)

hormones

These chemicals are released by glands into the bloodstream.

A low state marked by significant levels of sadness, lack of energy, low self-worth, guilt, or related symptoms.

_______ disorder: a disorder marked by numerous periods of hypomanic symptoms and mild depressive symptoms.

persistent depressive

_______ disorder: a mood disorder that is similar to but longer-lasting and less disabling than a major depressive disorder.

symbolic

_______ loss: according to Freudian theory, the loss of a valued object (for example, a loss of employment) that is unconsciously interpreted as the loss of a loved one. Also called imagined loss.

Beck

_______: originator of the leading cognitive treatment for unipolar depression.

psychological debriefing

__________________: A form of crisis intervention in which victims are helped to talk about their feelings and reactions to traumatic incidents. (two words)

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

__________________: A treatment procedure for depression in which an electromagnetic coil, which is placed on or above a person's head, sends a current into the individual's brain. (three words)