Exam 1 Flashcards
(58 cards)
1
Q
Four characteristics of Stigma
A
- A label is applied to a group that sets them apart from others
- The label is linked to deviant or undesirable attributes by society
- People with the label are seen as different from those without the label, contributing to an “us” versus “them” mentality
- People with the label are discriminated against unfairly
2
Q
four characteristics of defining a mental disorder
A
- personal distress (may cause distress to others instead of the individual)
- disability (impairment in some area of life ex: phobias)
- violation of social norms
- dysfunction (Maladaptive behavioral, psychological, or biological states that prevent the individual from interacting with the environment in what society has determined to be an appropriate manner)
3
Q
early demonology
A
the doctrine that an evil being or spirit can dwell in a person and control their mind. behavior out side of “the norm” was treated with exorcism (prayer, noise making, terrible tasting brews, flogging, starvation)
4
Q
early biological explanations for psychopathology
A
- according to hippocrates mental illness had natural causes and should be treated like a common cold
- three classifications of mental disorder: mania, melancholia (depression), and phrenitis (insanity)
5
Q
role of church/supernatural causes in psychopathology
A
- christian monastaries replaced physicians and healers as authorities of mental disorder
- treatment included prayer, touching the person with religious relics, and potions consumed during the waning of the moon
6
Q
persecution of witches
A
- 13th century
- Maleficarum guided the witch hunts
- loss of reason was a symptom of demonic possession and burning was the choice method to drive out the demon
7
Q
lunacy trials
A
- england during 13th century
- trials conducted under the crown’s right to protect people with mental illness
- insanity judgement gave the crown guardianship of the lunatic’s estate
8
Q
development of asylums
A
- developed from unused leprosariums to confine and care for people with mental illness
- tickets were sold to see patients
- Benjamin Rush believed mental disorder was from excess blood in the brain. He drew great quantities of blood from patients
9
Q
pinel’s reform
A
- patients were shackled to walls and starved or given spoiled food
- pinel removed the shackles and treated patients as human beings (only upper class; lower class were kept in straight jackets)
10
Q
moral treatment of patients
A
- started at the Friends’ Asylum in the US in 1817
- stopped in late 19th century when the number of patients outnumbered the staff
11
Q
Mesmer
A
- believed hysteria was caused by a particular distribution of a universal magnetic fluid in the body
- used magnetized rods to touch patients’ bodies to adjust the distribution of the magnetic fluid
- it was an early form of hypnosis
12
Q
Jung’s collective unconscious
A
the unconscious that is common to all human beings consisting of archetypes (basic categories humans use to conceptualize the world)
13
Q
Adler’s individual psychology
A
- people are tied to their society and fulfillment is found in doing things for the social good
- stressed importance of working towards goals
- focused on helping pateints change their illogical expectations
14
Q
the genetic paradigm
A
- almost all behavior is heritable to some degree
- genes don’t operate separately from the environment but the environment shapes how our genes are expressed and our genes shape our environments
15
Q
shared environment factors
A
things family members have in common (ex: income level, child-rearing, parents’ marital status and quality)
16
Q
nonshared environment factors
A
things distinct among family members (ex: friends or events unique to a person)
17
Q
genotype
A
total genetic makeup that can’t be observed outwardly
18
Q
phenotype
A
totality of observable behavioral characteristics (ex: anxiety)
19
Q
reciprocal gene
A
- environment interaction genes
- genes may predispose us to seek out certain environments that increase our risk for developing a particular disorder
20
Q
psychopathology is polygenic which means
A
several genes, operating at different times during development, will be the essence of genetic vulnerability
21
Q
heritability
A
the extent that variability in a particular behavior or disorder in a population can be accounted for by genetic factors
22
Q
the neuroscience paradigm
A
mental disorders are linked to aberrant processes in the brain
23
Q
4 basic parts of a neuron
A
- dendrites: roots that receive messages from other neurons (hair with parking spots)
- soma: cell body that also receives messages from other neurons but also sends messages of its own down the axon
- axon: thin fiber that transmits messages from the soma
- axon terminal: branches of the axon that link up with the dendrites and somas of other neurons
24
Q
nerve impulse
A
resting potential: electrical charge of an inactive neuron
- action potential: when neuron reaches -50 millivots ion channels open to allow sodium ions in and potassium ions out
- negative after-potential: after nerve impulse the cell dips below its resting potential and is less able to fire
25
nerve impulse vs. neurotransmitters and synapse
- nerve impulse is primarily electrical (carry messages throughout one neuron)
- communication between neurons is chemical (neurotransmitters carry messages across the synapse to the next neuron)
26
agonist in neurotransmitters
a substance that stimulates a particular neurotransmitter's receptor
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antagonist in neurotransmitters
a substance that workd on a neurotransmitter's receptors to dampen its activity
28
occipital lobes
- lie behind the parietal and temporal lobes
| - primary visual area of the cortex
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parietal lobes
- behing the central sulcus and above the lateral sulcus
| - touch, temperature, pressure, somatic sensation
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temporal lobes
- below the lateral sulcus
| - auditory processing and language
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frontal lobes
- in front of the central sulcus
| - higher thought processes: movement, personality, reasoning, planning, inhibition
32
limbic system
- pajor role in producing emotion and motivated behavior (laughter, rage, fear, sexual response, and intense arousal)
- made up of:
* hypothalamus: master control center for emotion and many basic motives (sex, rage, temp. control, hormone release, eating, drinking, sleep, waking, and emotion)
* parts of the thalamus: "switching station" for sensory messages (except olfactory system) on their way to the cortex for interpretation
* amygdala: related to fear (reacts before we process what's going on)
* hippocampus: important to forming lasting memories and helps navigate through space
* anterior cingulate: located above the corpus callosum
33
sympathetic system
emergency system; prepares body for "fight or flight" during times of danger or high emotion
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parasympathetic system
quiets the body and returns it to a lower level of arousal
35
psychodynamic paradigm
- freud believe that psychopathology resulted from unconscious conflicts
36
cognitive behavioral paradigm
traces its roots to learning principles and cognitive science
37
Beck's cognitive therapy
- cognitive therapy for depression when it is caused by distortions in the way people perceive life experiences
- tries to persuade patients to change their opinions of themselves and the way they interpret life events
38
diathesis-stress paradigm
an integrative paradigm that lin genetic, neurobiological, psychological, and environmental factors
- focuses on the interaction between a predisposition toward disease (diathesis) and environmental, or life, disturbance (stress)
39
reliability
- the degree of stability, consistency, predictability, and accuracy of a measurement
- test-retest reliability: extent that the test produces consistent results on retesting
- alternate forms: relative accuracy of a test at a given time
- internal consistency: do items on one part of the test measure the same construct as items on another part?
- interscorer/interrater reliability: degree of agreement between two examiners
40
validity
should measure what it is intended to measure (a test can be reliable but not valid but valid tests are reliable)
- content validity: the relevance of the test to what is being measured
- criterion validity: is the test consistent with some sort of performance on an outside measure (job evaluation consistent with future job performance)
- construct validity: does the test actually measure what it was intended to measure (is it accurate)
41
DSM-IV:TR 5 axis system
- axis I: all diagnostic categories except personality disorders and mental retardation
- axis II: personality disorders and mental retardation
- axis III: psychosocial problems that may contribute to disorder (occupational, economic, or interpersonal problems)
- axis V: person's current level of adaptive functioning using the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and considers social relationships, occupational functioning, and use of leisure time (0-100)
42
theory
a set of propositions meant to explain a class of observations
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hypotheses
expectations about what should occur if a theory is true
44
case study pros and cons
- pros:
* excellent source of hypotheses for further research
* novel cases or procedures
* can disconfirm a relationship believed to be universal
* can be more descriptive ad depth
- cons:
* lacks control and objectivity
* sometimes questionable validity
* no causal evidence
* may be biased by clinician's paradigm
45
correlation study pros and cons
- pros:
* able to examine relationships when it is unethical to manipulate variables
- cons:
* can't determine causality
* tells us only that the variables are related, not which caused which
46
-1.00 and +1.00 in correlation coefficients
the correlation coefficent may be any value between -1.00 and +1.00 and measures both the strength and direction of the relationship
47
statistical significance
a statistically significant correlation is unlikely to have occurred by chance
48
clinical significance
whether a relationship between variables is large enough to matter
49
longitudinal design
- causes precede effects
- tests whether a cause is present before a disorder developed
- follows a participant across time
50
cross-sectional design
- causes and effects are measured at the same point in time
| - takes measurements of different people at different stages of the disorder to indicate cause and effect
51
epidemiology and its 3 aspects
- study of the distribution of disorders in a population
- aspects:
* prevalence: proportion of people with the disorder either currently or during their lifetime
* incidence: proportion of people who develop new cases of the disorder in some period, usually a year
* risk factor: variables that are related to the likelihood of developing the disorder (usually correlational studies)
52
internal validity
the extent that the experimental effect can be attributed to the independent variable and not something else
53
external validity
extent that results can be generalized beyond the study
54
specific phobia
- an unwarranted fear of particular object or situation that is out of proportion to any danger posed
- a person with one type of specific phobia is likely to have another as well
55
social phobia/social anxiety
9o- persistent, unrealistically intense fear of social situations that might involve being scrutinized by, or exposed to, unfamiliar people
- 1/3 also have avoidant personality disorder
- tends to begin in adolescence
- no longer considered a phobia because it tends to interfere more with normal activities than the problems caused by other phobias
56
panic disorder
- characterized by frequent panic attacks that are unrelated to specific situations and by worry about having more panic attacks
- for a diagnosis, panic attacks must be recurrent and uncued for at least 1 month
- can be with or without agoraphobia
57
panic attack
- sudden attack of intense apprehension, terror, and feelings of impending doom accompanied by at least four symptoms
- may also include depersonalization, derealization, fears of losing control, of going crazy, or of dying
58
agoraphobia
- anxiety about situations where it would be embarrassing or difficult to escape if panic symptoms occurred
