Abnormal Psyc Ch. 1 Vocab

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psychological disorder

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psychological dysfunction associated with distress or impairment in functioning that is not a typical or culturally expected response

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phobia

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psychological disorder characterized by marked and persistent fear of an object or situation.

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psychopathology

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scientific study of psychological disorders

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scientist-practitioner model

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Expectation that mental health professionals will apply scientific methods to their work. They must keep current in the latest reseach on diagnosis and treatment, they must evaluate their own methods for effectiveness, and they may generate their own research to discover new knowledge of disorders and their treatment.

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presenting problem

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Original complaint reported by the client to the therapist. The actual treated problem may sometimes be a modification derived from the it.

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clinical description

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Details of the combination of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of an individual that make up a particular disorder.

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prevalence

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Number of people displaying a disorder in the total population at any given time.

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incidence

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Number of new cases of a disorder appearing during a specific time period.

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course

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Pattern of development and change of a disorder over time.

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prognosis

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Predicted future development of a disorder over time.

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etiology

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Cause or source of a disorder.

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psychosocial treatment

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Treatment practices that focus on social and cultural factors (such as family experience) and on psychological influences. These approaches include cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal methods.

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moral therapy

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19th-century psycholosocial approach to treatment that involved treating patients as normally as possible in normal environments.

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mental hygiene movement

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Mid-19th-century effort to improve care of the mentally disorderd by informing the public of their mistreatment.

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psychoanalysis

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Psychoanalytic assessment and therapy, which emphasizes exploration of, and insight into, unconscious processes and conflicts, pioneered by Sigmund Freud.

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behaviorism

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Explanation of human behavior, including dysfunction, based on principles of learning and adaptation derived from experimental psychology.

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unconscious

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Part of the psychic makeup that is outside the awareness of the person.

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catharsis

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Rapid or sudden release of emotional tension thought to be an important factor in psychoanalytic therapy.

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psychoanalytic model

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Complex and comprehensive theory originally advanced by Sigmund Freud that seeks to account for the development and structure of personality, as well as the orgin of abnormal behavior, based primarily on inferred inner entities and forces.

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id

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In psychoanalysis, the unconscious psychic entity present at birth representing basic drives.

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ego

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In psychoanalysis, the psychic entity responsible for finding realistic and practical ways to satisfy id drives.

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superego

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In psychoanalysis, the psychic entity representing the internalized moral standards of parents and society.

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intrapsychic conflicts

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In psychoanalysis, the struggles among the id, ego, and superego.

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defense mechanisms

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Common patterns of behavior, often adaptive coping styles when they occur in moderation, observed in response to particular situations. In psychoanalysis, these are thought to be unconscious processes originating in the ego.

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psychosexual stages of development

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In psychoanalysis, the sequence of phases a person passes through during development. Each stage is named for the location on the body where id gratification is maximal at that time.

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neurosis

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Obsolete psychodynamic term for psychological disorder thought to result from unconscious conflicts and the anxiety they cause.

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ego psychology

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Derived from psychoanalysis, this theory emphasizes the role of the ego in development and attributes psychological disorders to failure of the ego to manage impulses and internal conflicts.

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object relations

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Modern development in psychodynamic theory involving the study of how children incorporate the memories and values of people who are close and important to them.

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free association

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Psycholanalytic therapy thecnique intended to explore threatening material represses into the unconscious. The patient is instructed to say whatever comes to mind without censoring.

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dream analysis

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Psycholanalytic therapy method in which dream contents are examined as symbolic of id impulses and intrapsychic conflicts.

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psychoanalyst

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Therapist who practices psycholanalysis after earning either an M.D. or a Ph.D. degree and recieving additional specialized postdoctoral training.

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transference

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Psychoanalytic concept suggesting that clients may seek to relate to the therapist as they do to important authority figures, particularly their parents.

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psychodynamic psychotherapy

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Contemporary version of psychoanalysis that still emphasizes unconscious processes and conflicts but is briefer and more focused on specific problems.

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self-actulizing

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Process emphasized in humanistic psychology in which people stive to achieve their highest potential against difficult life experiences.

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person-centered therapy

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Therapy method in which the client, rather than the counselor, primarily directs the course of discussion, seeking self-discovery and self-responsibility.

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unconditional positive regard

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Acceptance by the counselor of the client's feelings and action without judgment or condemnation.

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behavioral model

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Explanation of human behavior, including dysfunction, based on principles of learning and adaptation derived from experimental psychology.

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classical conditioning

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Fundamental learning process first described by Ivan Pavlov. An event that automatically elictis a response is paired with another stimulus event that does not-a neutral stimulus. After repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus becomes a cconditioned stimulus that by itself cn elicit the desired response.

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extinction

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Learning process in which a response maintained by reinforcement in operant conditioning or pairing in classical conditioning decreases when that reinforcement or pairing is removed; also the procedure of removing that reinforcement or pairing.

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introspection

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Early, nonscientific approach to the study of psychology involving systematic attempts to report thoughts and feeling that specific stimuli evoked.

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systematic desensitization

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Behavioral therapy technique to diminish excessive fears, involving gradual exposre to the feared stimulus paired with a positive coping experience, usually relaxation.

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behavior therapy

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Array of therapy methods based on the principles of behavioral and cognitive science, as well as principles of learning as applied to clinical problems. It considers specific behaviors rather than inferred conflict as legitimate targets for change.

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reinforcement

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In operant conditioning, consequences for behavior that strenghten it or increase its frequency.

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Positive involves the contigent delivery of a desired consequence; negative is the contingent excape from an aversive consequence. Unwanted behaviors may result from their reinforcement or the failure to reinforce desired behaviors.

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shaping

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In operant conditioning, the development of a new response by reinforcing successively more similar versions of that response. Both desirable and undesirable behaviors may be learned in this manner.