Exam 4 Terms and Names to Know

Question 1

mental disorder in which a person does not have signs of brain abnormalities and does not display grossly irrational thinking or violate basic norms but does experience subjective distress; a category dropped from DSM-III.

Answer 1

Neurotic disorder

Question 1

the use of electroconvulsive shock as an effective treatment for severe depression.

Answer 1

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Question 2

the part of an individual’s unconscious that is inherited, evolutionarily developed, and common to all members of the species.

Answer 2

Collective unconscious

Question 2

a therapeutic approach that combines the cognitive emphasis on thoughts and attitudes with the behavioral emphasis on changing performance.

Answer 2

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Question 2

this type of therapy is typically free, especially when they are not directed by a health-care professional, and they give people a chance to meet others with the same problems who are surviving and sometimes thriving.

Answer 2

Support group

Question 2

episodes of depression or mania tend to occur at the same time each year; depression is more common in the winter

Answer 2

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Question 4

derived just three broad dimensions from personality test data: extraversion (internally versus externally oriented), neuroticism (emotionally stable versus emotionally unstable), and psychoticism (kind and considerate versus aggressive and antisocial)

Answer 4

Hans Eyesnck

Question 5

a dissociative mental disorder in which two or more distinct personalities exist within the same individual; formerly known as multiple personality disorder.

Answer 5

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

Question 6

the pattern of specific and nonspecific responses an organism makes to stimulus events that disturb its equilibrium and tax or exceed its ability to cope.

Answer 6

Stress

Question 7

designed to assess personality characteristics in nonclinical adult populations, it measures the five-factor model of personality.

Answer 7

NEO-PI

Question 7

the negative reaction of people to an individual or group because of some assumed inferiority or source of difference that is degraded.

Answer 7

Stigma

Question 7

this approach is useful for managing the impact of more uncontrollable stressors.

Answer 7

Emotion-focused coping

Question 8

the movement to treat people with psychological disorders in the community rather than in psychiatric hospitals.

Answer 8

Deinstitutionalization

Question 9

the experience of more than one disorder at the same time.

Answer 9

Comorbidity

Question 10

the improvement of some mental patients and clients in psychotherapy without any professional intervention; a baseline criterion against which the effectiveness of therapies must be assessed.

Answer 10

Spontaneous remission

Question 10

the components that psychotherapies share that contribute to therapeutic effectiveness.

Answer 10

Common factors

Question 11

distress or disability; maladaptiveness; irrationality; unpredictability; unconventionality or statistical rarity; observer discomfort; violation of moral and ideal standards.

Answer 11

Abnormal criteria

Question 11

therapy that focuses on ways to unite mind and body to make a person whole.

Answer 11

Gestalt therapy

Question 12

in this type of therapy the client is a whole nuclear family, and each family member is treated as a member of a system of relationships.

Answer 12

Family therapy

Question 13

a comprehensive descriptive personality system that maps out the relationships among common traits, theoretical concepts, and personality scales; informally called the Big Five.

Answer 13

Five-factor model/Big Five

Question 13

a leading researcher on depression, he developed the theory of cognitive sets. He argued that depressed people have three types of negative cognitions, which he calls the cognitive triad: negative views of themselves, negative views of ongoing experiences, and negative views of the future.

Answer 13

Aaron Beck

Question 14

an anxiety disorder that is characterized by the persistent re-experience of those traumatic events through distressing recollections, dreams, hallucinations, or flashbacks.

Answer 14

PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder)

Question 15

a hypothesis about the cause of certain disorders, such as schizophrenia, that suggests that genetic factors predispose an individual to a certain disorder but that environmental stress factors must impinge in order for the potential risk to manifest itself.

Answer 15

Diathesis stress hypothesis

Question 15

a type of behavioral therapy used to treat individuals attracted to harmful stimuli; an attractive stimulus is paired with a noxious stimulus in order to elicit a negative reaction to the target stimulus.

Answer 15

Aversion therapy

Question 16

a generalized evaluative attitude toward the self that influences both moods and behavior and that exerts a powerful effect on a range of personal and social behaviors.

Answer 16

Self-esteem

Question 16

a general pattern of non-responding in the presence of noxious stimuli that often follows after an organism has previously experienced non-contingent, inescapable aversive stimuli.

Answer 16

Learned helplessness

Question 18

complete love and acceptance of an individual by another person, such as a parent for a child, with no conditions attached.

Answer 18

Unconditional positive regard

Question 19

severe form of psychopathology characterized by the breakdown of integrated personality functioning, withdrawal from reality, emotional distortions, and disturbed thought processes.

Answer 19

Schizophrenic disorder

Question 19

the major feature of this subtype of schizophrenia is a disruption in motor activity. Sometimes people with this disorder seem frozen in a stupor.

Answer 19

Catatonic type

Question 20

people who believe more strongly that outcomes of their actions are contingent on what they do

Answer 20

Internals

Question 21

an anxiety disorder in which an individual feels anxious and worried most of the time for at least six months when not threatened by any specific danger or object.

Answer 21

Generalized anxiety disorder

Question 23

a person’s mental model of his or her typical behaviors.

Answer 23

Self-concept

Question 23

focused his theory on expectancy, which is the extent to which people believe that their behaviors in particular situations will bring about rewards.

Answer 23

Julian Rotter

Question 25

disruptions in emotional, behavioral, or though processes that lead to personal distress or block one’s ability to achieve important goals.

Answer 25

Psychopathological functioning

Question 26

conceptualization of the self as part of an encompassing social relationship; recognizing that one’s behavior is determined, contingent on, and, to a large extent, organized by what the actor perceived to be the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others.

Answer 26

Interdependent construal of self

Question 26

a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that attempts to change feelings and behaviors by changing the way a client thinks about or perceives significant life experiences.

Answer 26

Cognitive therapy

Question 27

he developed the rational-emotional therapy.

Answer 27

Albert Ellis

Question 28

a concept of Albert Bandura’s social-learning theory that refers to the notion that a complex reciprocal interaction exists among the individual, his or her behavior, and environmental stimuli and that each of these components affects the others.

Answer 28

Reciprocal determinism

Question 28

a developmental disorder characterized by severe disruption of children’s ability to form social bonds and use language.

Answer 28

Autistic disorder

Question 28

a transient state of arousal with typically clear onset and offset patterns.

Answer 28

Acute stress

Question 29

a comprehensive system of personality change based on changing irrational beliefs that cause undesirable, highly charged emotional reactions such as severe anxiety.

Answer 29

Rational emotive therapy (RET)

Question 31

an intense emotional response caused by the preconscious recognition that a repressed conflict is about to emerge into consciousness.

Answer 31

Anxiety

Question 31

he observed that the nervous system cannot be relaxed and agitated at the same time because incompatible processes cannot be activated simultaneously.

Answer 31

Joseph Wolpe

Question 32

a component of bipolar disorder characterized by periods of extreme elation, unbounded euphoria without sufficient reason, and grandiose thoughts or feelings about personal abilities.

Answer 32

Manic episode (mania)

Question 34

he and his colleagues demonstrated that it may be impossible to be judged “sane” in an “insane place”.

Answer 34

David Rosenhan

Question 35

desired behaviors are explicitly defined, and token payoffs are given by institutional staff when the behaviors are performed. These tokens can later be exchanged for an array of rewards and privileges.

Answer 35

Token economies

Question 36

the pattern of nonspecific adaptational physiological mechanisms that occurs in response to continuing threat by almost any serious stressor.

Answer 36

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Question 38

mental disorder marked by psychological arousal, feeling of tension, and intense apprehension without apparent reason.

Answer 38

Anxiety disorder

Question 38

individuals suffering from this form of schizophrenia experience complex and systemized delusions focused around specific themes: delusions of persecution; delusions of grandeur; delusional jealousy.

Answer 38

Paranoid type

Question 38

a humanistic approach to treatment that emphasizes the healthy psychological growth of the individual based on the assumption that all people share the basic tendency of human nature toward self-actualization.

Answer 38

Client-centered therapy

Question 39

a cognitive therapist who proposed a three-phase process that allows for such stress inoculation. In phase 1, people work to develop a greater awareness of their actual behavior, what instigates it, and what its results are. In phase 2, people begin to identify new behaviors that negate the maladaptive, self-defeating behaviors. In phase 3, after adaptive behaviors are being emitted, avoiding the former internal dialogue of put-downs.

Answer 39

Donald Meichenbaum

Question 41

the process of developing, in anticipation of failure, behavioral reactions and explanations that minimize ability deficits as possible attributions for the failure.

Answer 41

Self-handicapping

Question 43

a psychiatrist who viewed that mental illness does not even exist—it is a “myth”. He argues that the symptoms used as evidence of mental illness are merely medical labels that sanction professional intervention into what are social problems.

Answer 43

Thomas Szasz

Question 44

the systematic use of principles of learning to increase the frequency of desired behaviors and/or decrease the frequency of problem behaviors.

Answer 44

Behavior therapy

Question 45

a mental disorder characterized by obsessions—recurrent thoughts, images, or impulses that recur or persist despite efforts to suppress them—and compulsions—repetitive, purposeful acts performed according to certain rules or in a ritualized manner.

Answer 45

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

Question 46

the first modern researcher to investigate the effects of continued severe stress on the body. He reported on the complex response of laboratory animals to damaging agents such as bacterial infections, toxins, etc. According to his theory of stress, many kinds of stressors can trigger the same reaction or general bodily response (GAS stress theory).

Answer 46

Hans Selye

Question 47

the psychological qualities of an individual that influence a variety of characteristic behavior patterns across different situations and over time.

Answer 47

Personality

Question 49

a persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that is excessive and unreasonable, given the reality of the threat.

Answer 49

Phobia

Question 49

a disorder of childhood characterized by inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity.

Answer 49

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Question 51

developed an influential theory of the cognitive basis of personality. He emphasizes that people actively participate in cognitive organization of their interactions with the environment. His approach emphasizes the importance of understanding how behavior arises as a function of interactions between people and situations.

Answer 51

Walter Mischel

Question 52

a technique by which the therapist guides a patient toward discovering insights between present symptoms and past origins.

Answer 52

Insight therapy

Question 53

a self-report questionnaire used for personality assessment that includes a series of items about personal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Answer 53

Personality inventory

Question 54

a technique used in therapy to substitute a new response for a maladaptive one by means of conditioning procedures.

Answer 54

Counterconditioning

Question 55

the process of dealing with internal or external demands that are perceived to be threatening or overwhelming.

Answer 55

Coping

Question 57

an extreme fear of being in public places or open spaces from which escape may be difficult or embarrassing.

Answer 57

Agoraphobia

Question 58

a behavioral therapy technique in which a client is taught to prevent the arousal of anxiety by confronting the feared stimulus while relaxed.

Answer 58

Systematic desensitization

Question 59

the current diagnostic and statistical manual of the American Psychological Association that classifies, defines, and describes mental disorders.

Answer 59

DSM IV TR

Question 60

this type of therapy has at its core the concept of a whole person in the continual process of changing and of becoming. Although environment and heredity place certain restrictions, people always remain free to choose what they will become by creating their own values and committing to them through their own decisions.

Answer 60

Humanistic therapies

Question 62

the basic defense mechanism by which painful or guilt-producing thoughts, feelings, or memories are excluded from conscious awareness.

Answer 62

Repression

Question 63

a technique where clients agree to be put directly into the phobic situation.

Answer 63

Flooding

Question 65

enduring personal quality or attribute that influences behavior across situations.

Answer 65

Traits

Question 66

beliefs about setbacks (self\* vs, outside self; affects everything\* vs. one situation; lasts forever\* vs. temporary)

Answer 66

Pessimistic explanatory style

Question 67

a persistent, irrational fear that arises in anticipation of a public situation in which an individual can be observed by others.

Answer 67

Social phobia

Question 69

the extent to which people believe that their behaviors in particular situations will bring about rewards.

Answer 69

Expectancy

Question 69

the cognitive interpretation and evaluation of a stressor; plays a central role in defining the situation.

Answer 69

Appraisal of stress

Question 71

a concept in personality psychology referring to a person’s constant striving to realize his or her potential and to develop inherent talents and capabilities.

Answer 71

Self-actualization

Question 72

beliefs about causes of events (self vs. outside self; affects everything vs. one situation; lasts forever vs. temporary)

Answer 72

Explanatory style

Question 73

social support; money; coping skills; relaxed personality; defense mechanisms.

Answer 73

Protective factors

Question 75

an emotional disturbance such as severe depression or depression alternating with mania.

Answer 75

Mood disorder

Question 76

the label given to psychological abnormality by classifying and categorizing the observed behavior pattern into an approved diagnostic system.

Answer 76

Psychological diagnosis

Question 77

the observation that personality ratings across time and among different observers are consistent while behavior ratings across situations are not consistent.

Answer 77

Consistency paradox

Question 78

resources, including material aid, socio-emotional support, and informational aid, provided by others to help a person cope with stress.

Answer 78

Social support

Question 80

a mood disorder characterized by alternating periods of depression and mania.

Answer 80

Bipolar disorder

Question 81

recurring day-to-day stressors that confront most people, most of the time. These have a considerable impact on people’s sense of well-being.

Answer 81

Daily hassles

Question 83

a behavioral technique in which clients are exposed to the objects or situations that cause them anxiety.

Answer 83

Exposure therapy

Question 85

developed at the University of Minnesota during the 1930s, its basic purpose is to diagnose individuals according toa set of psychiatric labels. The first test consisted of 550 items, which individuals determined to be either true or false for them or to which they responded, “cannot say”. From that item pool, scales were developed that were relevant to the kinds of problems patients showed in psychiatric settings.

Answer 85

MMPI

Question 86

described the self as a central concept for personality. He suggested that we develop a self-concept, a mental model of our typical behaviors and unique qualities. He believed that, as we go through life, we strive to experience congruence between our self-concept and our actual life experiences.

Answer 86

Carl Rodgers

Question 87

the stage where the stressor is sufficiently long lasting or intense and the body’s resources become depleted.

Answer 87

Exhaustion

Question 88

He has been an eloquent champion of a social-learning approach in understanding personality (performed studies of aggressive behavior in children)

Answer 88

Albert Bandura

Question 89

the domain of the psyche that stores repressed urges and primitive impulses.

Answer 89

Unconscious

Question 90

people’s general expectancy about the extent to which the rewards they obtain are contingent on their own actions or on environmental factors.

Answer 90

Locus of control

Question 91

he first said that the mentally ill need help.

Answer 91

Pinel

Question 92

brief periods of bodily arousal that prepare the body for vigorous activity.

Answer 92

Alarm reactions

Question 93

in this subtype of schizophrenia, a person displays incoherent patterns of thinking and grossly bizarre and disorganized behavior.

Answer 93

Disorganized type

Question 94

theory of personality that shares the assumption that personality is shaped by and behavior is motivated by inner forces.

Answer 94

Psychodynamic personality theories

Question 94

a mood disorder characterized by intense feelings of depression over an extended time, without the manic high phase of bipolar depression.

Answer 94

Major depressive disorder

Question 95

an anxiety disorder in which sufferers experience unexpected, severe panic attacks that begin with a feeling of intense apprehension, fear, or terror.

Answer 95

Panic disorder

Question 96

people who believe that the outcomes of their actions are contingent on environmental factors.

Answer 96

Externals

Question 96

the “taking the bulls by the horns” strategy; this approach includes all strategies designed to deal directly with the stressor.

Answer 96

Problem-directed coping

Question 98

an organism can endure and resist further debilitating effects of prolonged stressors.

Answer 98

Resistance

Question 100

conceptualization of the self as an individual whose behavior is organized primarily by reference to one’s own thoughts, feelings, and actions, rather than by reference to the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others.

Answer 100

Independent construal of self

Question 102

a response to stressors that is hypothesized to be typical for females; stressors prompt females to protect their offspring and join social groups to reduce vulnerability.

Answer 102

Tend and befriend

Question 103

severe mental disorder in which a person experiences impairments in reality testing manifested through thought, emotional, or perceptual difficulties; no longer used as a diagnostic category after DSM-III.

Answer 103

Psychotic disorder

Question 104

any of a group of therapies, used to treat psychological disorders, that focus on changing faulty behaviors, thoughts, perceptions, and emotions that may be associated with specific disorders.

Answer 104

Psychotherapy

Question 105

a belief that one can perform adequately in a particular situation.

Answer 105

Self-efficacy

Question 106

treatment for a psychological disorder that alters brain functioning with chemical or physical interventions such as drug therapy, surgery, or electroconvulsive therapy.

Answer 106

Biomedical therapy

Question 107

a continuous state of arousal in which an individual perceives demands as greater than the inner and outer resources available for dealing with them.

Answer 107

Chronic stress

Question 108

a method of personality assessment in which an individual is presented with a standardized set of ambiguous abstract stimuli and asked to interpret their meanings; the individual’s responses are assumed to reveal inner feelings, motives, and conflicts.

Answer 108

Projective test

Question 109

a sequence of internal activities triggered when an organism is faced with a threat; prepares the body for combat and struggle or for running away to safety; recent evidence suggests that the response is characteristic only of males.

Answer 109

Fight or flight

Question 110

he pioneered the explanatory style view, which stated that individuals believe, correctly or not, that they cannot control future outcomes that are important to them.

Answer 110

Martin Seligman

Question 111

an internal or external event or stimulus that induces stress.

Answer 111

Stressor