P324 Fall 14 Vlachos-Weber Study Guide: Exam 1 Date: Weds, Sept 17(Remember, EVERYTHING from lecture is fair game! )Know the following material that appeared only in the textbookChapter 1• p. 4: what is a prototype?The best we may be able to do is to consider how the apparent disease or disorder matches a “typical” profile of a disorder—for example, major depression or schizophrenia—when most or all symptoms that experts would agree are part of the disorder are present. We call this typical profile a prototype, and, as described in Chapter 3, the diagnostic criteria from DSM-IV-TR as well as the emerging criteria for DSM-5 found throughout this book are all prototypes. This means that the patient may have only some features or symptoms of the disorder (a minimum number) and still meet criteria for the disorder because his or her set of symptoms is close to the prototype.• p. 5: know definitions of: presenting problem; prevalence, incidence, time-limited course; acute & insidious onset, and prognosisPresenting problem: Original complaint reported by the client to the therapist. The actual treated problem may sometimes be a modification derived from the presenting problem.Prevalence: Number of people displaying a disorder in the total population at any given time Incidence:Number of new cases of a disorder appearing during a specific period Time-limited course:the disorder will improve without treatment in a relatively short period.Acute onset: the begin suddenlyinsidious onset: develop gradually over a period of time Prognosis: Predicted future development of a disorder over time.• p. 10-11: the humoral theory was the first example of associating psych disorders with what? What personality traits were associated with each of the humors?The humoral theory was, perhaps, the first example of associating psychological disorders with a “chemical imbalance,” an approach that is widespread today. he four humors were related to the Greeks’ conception of the four basic qualities: heat, dryness, moisture, and cold. Each humor was associated with one of these qualities. Terms derived from the four humors are still sometimes applied to personality traits. For example, sanguine (literal meaning “red, like blood”) describes someone who is ruddy in complexion, presumably from copious blood flowing through the body, and cheerful and optimistic, although insomniaand delirium were thought to be caused by excessive blood in the brain. Melancholic means depressive (depression was thought to be caused by black bile flooding the brain). A phlegmatic personality (fromthe humor phlegm) indicates apathy and sluggishness but can also mean being calm under stress. A choleric person (from yellow bile or choler) is hot tempered (Maher & Maher, 1985a).• p. 12: what is insulin shock therapy, and why was it used?For example, insulin was occasionally given to stimulate appetite in psychotic patients who were not eating, but it also seemed to calm them down. In 1927, a Viennese physician, Manfred Sakel, began using increasingly higher dosages until, finally, patients convulsed and became temporarily comatose (Sakel, 1958). Some actually recovered their mental health, much to the surprise of everybody, and their recoverywas attributed to the convulsions. The procedure became known as insulin shock therapy, but it was abandoned because it was too dangerous, often resulting in prolonged coma or even death. Other methods of producing convulsions had to be found.• p. 16: what is catharsis?Breuer called the therapeutic reexperiencing of emotionally traumatic events catharsis (purging, or releasing). Catharsis has proved to be an effective intervention with many emotional disorders, as we noted in Chapter 5.• p. 17: what are phobic & obsessive symptoms (according to Freud)?Phobic and obsessive symptoms are especially common self-defeating defensive reactions that, according to Freud, reflect an inadequate attempt to deal with an internally dangerous situation. Phobic symptoms typically incorporate elements of the danger. For example, a dog phobia may be connected to an infantile fear of castration; that is, a man’s internal conflict involves a fear of being attacked and castrated, a fear that is consciously expressed as a fear of being attacked and bitten by a dog, even if he knows the dog is harmless.Chapter 2• p. 32-33: know definitions of: polygenic & quantitative geneticspolygenic- influenced by many genes each contributing only a tiny effect, all of which, in turn, may be influenced by the environment.Quantitative-Quantitative genetics basically sums up all the tiny effects across many genes without necessarily telling us which genes are responsible for which effects.• p. 33: what percentage of our personality traits and cognitive abilities are attributed to genetic influence?The best estimates attribute about half of our enduring personality traits and cognitive abilities to genetic influence • p. 37: what is epigenetics, and how do environmental factors affect genetically influenced tendencies?Epigenetics: study of factors other than inherited DNA sequence such as new learning or stress, that alter the phenotypic expression of genes• p. 40: What role(s) does the limbic system play?This system helps regulate our emotional experiences and expressions and, to some extent, our ability to learn and to control our impulses. It is also involved with the basic drives of sex, aggression, hunger, and thirst.• p. 45: What is an agonist and an antagonist?Agonist: Chemical substance that effectively increases the activity of a neurotransmitter by imitating its effects.Antagonist: In neuroscience, a chemical substance that decreases or blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter.• p. 46: what is the best-known effect of GABA? Serotonin influences behavior in what way, and what does the serotonin system regulate? What behaviors are associated with low serotonin?A second type of amino acid transmitter is gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA for short, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Thus, the job of GABA is to inhibit (or regulate) the transmission of information and action potentials.Serotonin: to influence a great deal of our behavior, particularly the way we process information; Extremely lowactivity levels of serotonin are associated with less inhibition and with instability, impulsivity, and the tendency to overreact to situations.• p. 48: what psychological disorders
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