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PSYCH 2510: EXAM 1
goodness of fit |
the idea that behavior is problematic or not problematic depending on the environment in which it occurs |
culture |
the shared behavioral patterns and lifestyles that differentiate one group of people from another |
culture-bound syndrome |
the abnormal behaviors that are specific to a particular location or group |
abnormal behavior |
conduct that is inconsistent with the individual's developmental, cultural, and societal norms; creates emotional distress; or interferes with daily functioning |
dimensional approach |
an approach to understanding behavior that considers it from a quantitive perspective (gradual), not a qualitative perspective (is or is not) |
developmental trajectory |
the idea that common symptoms of a disorder may vary depending on a person's age |
trephination |
the process in which a circular instrument was used to cut away sections of the skull, possibly in an attempt to release demons from the brain |
mass hysteria |
a situation in which a group of people share and sometimes even act upon a belief that is not based on fact |
emotional contagion |
the automatic mimicry and synchronization of expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements of one person by another - explanation for mass hysteria |
animal magnetism |
a force that Mesmer believed flowed within the body and, when impeded, resulted in disease |
placebo effect |
a condition in which symptoms of illness diminish or disappear not because of any specific treatment but because the patient believes the treatment is effective |
dementia praecox |
Kraepelin's name for a psychological disorder characterized by deterioration of mental faculties (now called schizophrenia) |
schizophrenia |
a disorder involving serious abnormalities in thought, perceptions, and behavior |
talking cure |
therapy in the form of discussion of psychological distress with a trained professional, leading to the elimination of distressing symptoms |
psychoanalysis |
a theory of abnormal behavior originated by Sigmund Freud that was based on the belief that many aspects of behavior were controlled by unconscious innate biological urges that existed from infancy |
classical conditioning |
a form of learning in which a conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) to produce a conditioned response (CR) |
behaviorism |
the theory that the only appropriate objects of scientific study are behaviors that can be observed and measured directly |
scientist-practitioner model |
An approach to psychological disorders based on the concept that when providing treatment to people with psychological disorders, the psychologist relies on the findings of research and in turn, when conducting research, the psychologist investigates topics that help to guide and improve psychological care |
neuron |
a nerve cell found throughout the body, including the brain |
synapse |
a space between neurons |
neurotransmitter |
a chemical substance that is released into the synapse and transmits information from one neuron to another |
neuroscience |
the study of the structure and function of the nervous system and the interaction of that system and behavior |
biological scarring |
the process by which years of living with a disorder cause changes in the brain |
behavioral genetics |
the field of study that explores the role of genes and environment in the transmission of behavioral traits |
viral infection theory |
the theory that during the prenatal period or shortly after birth, viral infections could cause some psychological disorders |
ego psychology |
a form of psychodynamic theory that focuses on conscious motivations and healthy forms of human functioning |
operant conditioning |
a form of learning in which behavior is acquired or changed by the events that happen afterward |
reinforcement |
a contingent event that strengthens the response that precedes it |
punishment |
the application of something painful or removal of something positive |
vicarious conditioning |
a distinct type of learning in which the person need not actually do the behavior in order to acquire it |
object relations theory |
addresses people's emotional relations with important objects |
brief psychodynamic therapy |
a modern therapy based on psychoanalytic theory but designed to produce insights more quickly |
nterpersonal therapy |
treatment that strengthens social skills and targets interpersonal problems, conflicts, and life transitions |
phenomenology |
a school of thought that holds one's subjective perception of the world is more important than the world in actuality |
sociocultural model |
the idea that abnormal behavior must be understood within the context of social and cultural forces |
the idea that abnormal behavior must be understood within the context of social and cultural forces |
the idea that biological, psychological, and social factors probably contribute to the development of abnormal behavior and different factors are important for different individuals |
diathesis-stress model of abnormal behavior |
the idea that psychological disorders may have a biological predisposition (diathesis) that lies dormant until environmental stress occurs and the combination produces abnormal behavior |
translational research |
a scientific approach that that focuses on communication between basic science and applied clinical research |
beneficence |
the core ethical principle ensuring that researchers do no harm and maximize possible benefits and minimize possible harms |
central nervous system |
one part of the human nervous system that includes the brain and the spinal cord |
peripheral nervous system |
one part of the human nervous system that includes the sensory-somatic nervous system (controls sensations and muscle movements) and the autonomic nervous system (controls involuntary movements) |
brain stem |
a part of the brain located at its base that controls fundamental biological functions such as breathing |
midbrain |
a portion of the brain stem that coordinates sensory information and movement; includes the reticular activating system, the thalamus, and the hypothalamus |
forebrain |
a part of the brain that include the limbic system, basal ganglia, and cerebral cortex |
limbic system |
a brain region involved in the experience of emotion, the regulation of emotional expression, and the basic biological drives such as agression, sex, and appetite |
hippocampus |
the brain region that is part of the limbic system that also has a role in memory formation |
cerebral cortex |
the largest part of the forebrain; contains structures that contribute to higher cognitive functioning including reasoning, abstract thought, perception of time, and creativity |
left hemisphere |
the region of the brain primarily responsible for language and cognitive functions |
right hemisphere |
the region of the brain associated with creativity, imagery, and intuition |
temporal lobe |
one of four lobes of the brain; associated with understanding auditory and verbal information, labeling of objects, and verbal memory |
parietal lobe |
one of four lobes of the brain; integrates sensory information from various sources and may be involved with visuospatial processing |
occipital lobe |
one of four lobes of the brain; located at the back of the skull; center of visual processing |
frontal lobe |
one of the four lobes of the brain; seat of reasoning, impulse control, judgment, language, memory, motor function, problem solving, and sexual and social behavior |
endocrine system |
a system in the body that sends messages to the bodily organs via hormones |
hormones |
a chemical messenger that is released into the bloodstream and acts on target organs |
neurotransmitter |
the chemical substance that relays electrical signals between one neuron and the next |
neuroimaging |
the technology that takes pictures of the brain |
neuroanatomy |
the brain structure |
familial aggregation |
the process of examining whether family members of a person with a particular disorder are more likely to have that disorder than family members of people without the disorder |
proband |
the person with a particular disorder in a familial aggregation study |
molecular genetics |
the study of the structure and function of genes at a molecular level |
genomewide linkage analysis |
a technique that uses samples of families with many individuals who are ill with the same disorder or large samples of relatives who have the same disorder to identify genomic regions that may hold genes that influence a trait |
candidate gene association study |
The study that compares one or a few genes in a large group of individuals who have a specific trait or disorder with a well-matched group of individuals who do not have the trait or disorder |
genomewide association study |
The study of unbiased search of the human genome comparing cases and controls on genetic variants scattered across the genome for evidence of association |
case study |
the comprehensive description of an individual (or group of individuals) that focuses on the assessment or description of abnormal behavior or its treatment |
experimental variable |
the variable being tested in an experimental study |
control group |
the comparison group for an experimental study in which the variable to be studied is absent |
single-case design |
an experimental study conducted with a single individual |
correlation |
the relationship between variable |
correlation coefficient |
a statistical figure that describes the direction and strength of a correlation |
controlled group designs |
an experiment in which groups of participants are exposed to different conditions, at least one of which is experimental and one of which is control |
independent variable |
the variable in a controlled experiment the the experimenter controls |
dependent variable |
the variable in a controlled experiment that is assessed to determine the effect of the independent variable |
random assignment |
the most critical feature of a randomized control design in which each participant has an equal probability of being assigned to each experimental or control condition |
placebo control |
a control group in which an inactive treatment is provided |
cohort |
a group of people who share a common characteristic and move forward in time as a unit |
cross-sectional design |
a research design in which participants are assessed once for the specific variable under investigation |
longitudinal design |
a research design in which participants are assessed at least two times and often more over a certain time interval |
epidemiology |
a research approach that focuses on the prevalence and incidence of mental disorders and the factors that influence those patterns |
prevalence |
the number of cases of a disorder in a given population at a designated time |
incidence |
the number of new cases that emerge in a given population during a specified period of time |
experimental epidemiology |
a research method in which the scientist manipulates exposure to either causal or preventive factors |
comorbidity |
the co-occurrence of two or more disorders existing in the same person, either at the same time or at some point in the lifetime |
clinical assessment |
the process of gathering information about a person and his or her environment to make decisions about the nature, status, and treatment of psychological problems |
screening |
an assessment process that attempts to identify psychological problems or predict the risk of future problems among people who are not referred for clinical assessment |
diagnosis |
the identification of an illness |
differential diagnosis |
a process in which a clinician weighs how likely it is that a person has one diagnosis instead of another |
clinical significance |
an observed change that is meaningful in terms of clinical functioning |
normative |
a comparison group that is representative of the entire population against which a person's score on a psychological test is compared |
self-referent comparison |
comparison of responses on a psychological instrument with a person's own prior performance |
reliability |
the extent to which a psychological instrument produces consistent results each time it is given |
test-retest reliability |
the extent to which a test produces similar scores over time when given to the same individual(s) |
interrater agreement |
the amount of agreement between two clinicians who are using the same measure to rate the same symptoms in a single patient |
validity |
the degree to which a test measures what it is intended to assess |
clinical interview |
a conversation between and interviewer and a patient whose purpose is to gather information and make judgments related to assessment goals |
unstructured interview |
a clinical interview in which a clinician decides what questions to ask and how to ask them |
structured interview |
a clinical interview in which the clinician asks a standard set of questions, usually with the goal of establishing a diagnosis |
personality test |
a psychological test that measures personality characteristics |
intelligence tests |
a test that measures intelligence quotient (IQ) |
intelligence quotient |
a score of cognitive functioning that compares a person's performance to his or her age-matched peers |
projective tests |
a test derived from psychoanalytic theory in which people are asked to respond to ambiguous stimuli |
functional analysis |
a strategy of behavior assessment in which a clinician attempts to identify causal links between problem behaviors and environmental variables; also called behavioral analysis or functional assessment |
self-monitoring |
a procedure with behavioral assessment in which the patient observes and records his or her own behavior as it happens |
behavioral observation |
the measurement of behavior as it occurs by someone other than the person whose behavior is being observed |
behavioral avoidance tests |
the behavioral assessment strategy used to assess avoidance behavior by asking a patient to approach a feared situation as closely as possible |
psychophysiological assessment |
the evaluation strategies that measure brain structure, brain function, and nervous system activity |
diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) |
a classification of mental disorders originally developed in 1952; has been revised over subsequent years and is a standard of care in psychiatry and psychology |
multiaxial system |
a system of diagnosis and classification used by the DSM that requires classifying a patient's behavior on five different dimension |
international classification of diseases |
a classification system for mental disorders developed in Europe that is an international standard diagnostic system for epidemiology and many health management purposes |