Abnormal Psych--Chapter 5

Front 1

fear

Back 1

the central nervous system's physiological and emotional response to a serious threat to one's well-being

Front 2

anxiety

Back 2

the central nervous system's physiological and emotional response to a vague sense of threat or danger

Front 3

generalized anxiety disorder

Back 3

a disorder marked by persistent and excessive feelings of anxiety and worry about numerous events and activities

Front 4

client-centered therapy

Back 4

the humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers in which clinicians try to help clients by being accepting, empathizing accurately, and conveying genuineness

Front 5

basic irrational assumption

Back 5

the inaccurate and inappropriate beliefs held by people with various psychological problems, according to Albert Ellis

Front 6

rational-emotive therapy

Back 6

a cognitive therapy developed by Albert Ellis that helps clients identify and change the irrational assumptions and thinking that help cause their psychological disorder

Front 7

family pedigree study

Back 7

a research design in which investigators determine how many and which relatives of a person with a disorder have the same disorder

Front 8

benzodiazepines

Back 8

the most common group of antianxiety drugs, which includes Valium and Xanax

Front 9

GABA

Back 9

the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid whose low activity has been linked to generalized anxiety disorder

Front 10

sedative-hypnotic drugs

Back 10

drugs that calm people at lower doses and help them to fall asleep at higher doses

Front 11

relaxation training

Back 11

a treatment procedure that teaches clients to relax at will so they can calm themselves in stressful situations

Front 12

biofeedback

Back 12

a technique in which a client is given information about physiological reactions as they occur and learns to control the reactions voluntarily

Front 13

electromyograph (EMG)

Back 13

a device that provides feedback about the level of muscular tension in the body

Front 14

phobia

Back 14

a persistent and unreasonable fear of a particular object, activity, or situation

Front 15

specific phobia

Back 15

a severe and persistent fear of a specific object or situation (other than agoraphobia and social phobia)

Front 16

classical conditioning

Back 16

a process of learning in which two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become tied together in a person's mind and so produce the same respons

Front 17

modeling

Back 17

a process of learning in which a person observes and then imitates others; also, a therapy approach based on the same principle

Front 18

stimulus generalization

Back 18

a phenomenon in which responses to one stimulus are also produced by similar stimuli

Front 19

preparedness

Back 19

a predisposition to develop certain fears

Front 20

exposure treatments

Back 20

behavioral treatments in which persons are exposed to the objects or situations they dread

Front 21

systematic desensitization

Back 21

a behavioral treatment that uses relaxation training and a fear hierarchy to help clients with phobias react calmly to the objects or situations they dread

Front 22

flooding

Back 22

a treatment for phobias in which clients are exposed repeatedly and intensively to a feared object and made to see that it is actually harmless

Front 23

social phobia

Back 23

a severe and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur. Also known as social anxiety disorder

Front 24

social skills training

Back 24

a therapy approach that helps people learn or improve social skills and assertiveness through role playing and rehearsing of desirable behaviors

Front 25

panic attacks

Back 25

periodic, short bouts of panic that occur suddenly, reach a peak within minutes, and gradually pass

Front 26

panic disorder

Back 26

an anxiety disorder marked by recurrent and unpredictable panic attacks

Front 27

agoraphobia

Back 27

an anxiety disorder in which a person is afraid to be in places or situations from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing) or help unavailable if panic-like symptoms were to occur

Front 28

norepinephrine

Back 28

a neurotransmitter whose abnormal activity is linked to panic disorder and depression

Front 29

locus ceruleus

Back 29

a small area of the brain that seems to be active in the regulation of emotions. Many of its neurons use norepinephrine.

Front 30

amygdala

Back 30

a small, almond-shaped structure in the brain that processes emotional information

Front 31

biological challenge test

Back 31

a procedure used to produce panic in participants or clients by having them exercise vigorously or perform some other potentially panic-inducing task in the presence of a researcher or therapist

Front 32

anxiety sensitivity

Back 32

a tendency to focus on one's bodily sensations, assess them illogically, and interpret them as harmful

Front 33

obsession

Back 33

a persistent thought, idea, impulse, or image that is experienced repeatedly, feels intrusive, and causes anxiety

Front 34

compulsion

Back 34

a repetitive and rigid behavior or mental act that a person feels driven to perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety

Front 35

obsessive-compulsive disorder

Back 35

a disorder in which a person has recurrent and unwanted thoughts, a need to perform repetitive and rigid actions, or both.

Front 36

isolation

Back 36

an ego defense mechanism in which people unconsciously isolate and disown undesirable and unwanted thoughts, experiencing them as foreign intrustion

Front 37

undoing

Back 37

an ego defense mechanism whereby a person unconsciously cancels out an unacceptable desire or act by performing another act

Front 38

reaction formation

Back 38

an ego defense mechanism whereby a person suppresses an unacceptable desire by taking on a lifestyle that expresses the opposite desire

Front 39

exposure and response prevention

Back 39

a behavioral treatment for OCD that exposes a client to anxiety-arousing thoughts or situations and then prevents the client from performing his or her compulsive acts. Also called exposure and ritual prevention

Front 40

neutralizing

Back 40

a person's attempt to eliminate unwanted thoughts by thinking or behaving in ways that put matters right internally, making up for the unacceptable thoughts

Front 41

serotonin

Back 41

a neurotransmitter whose abnormal activity is linked to depression, OCD, and eating disorders

Front 42

orbitofrontal cortex

Back 42

a region of the brain in which impulses involving excretion, sexuality, violence, and other primitive activities normally arise

Front 43

caudate nuclei

Back 43

structures in the brain, within the region known as the basal ganglia, that help convert sensory information into thoughts and actions

Front 44

stress management program

Back 44

an approach to treating generalized and other anxiety disorders that teaches clients techniques for reducing and controlling stress