Abnormal Psychology - Chapter 1 Abnormal Psycholog: An Overview

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ABAB Design

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An experimental design, often involving a single subject, wherein a baseline period (A) is followed by a treatment (B); To confirm that the treatment resulted in a change in behavior, the treatment is then withdrawn (A) and reinstated (B).

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Abnormal Psychology

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Field of psychology concerned with the study, assessment, treatment, and prevention of abnormal behavior

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Acute

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Term used to describe a disorder of sudden onset, usually with intense symptoms.

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Analogue Studies

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Studies in which a researcher attempts to emulate the conditions hypothesized as leading to abnormality.

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Bias

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Observer bias occurs when the researcher has preconceived ideas and expectations that influence the observations he or she makes in the research study.

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Case Study

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An in-depth examination of an individual or family that draws from a number of data sources, including interviews and psychological testing.

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Chronic

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Term used to describe a long-standing or frequently recurring disorder, often with progressing seriousness.

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Comorbidity

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Occurrence of two or more identified disorders in the same psychologically disordered individual.

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Comparison or Control Group

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Group of subjects who do not exhibit the disorder being studied but who are comparable in all other respects to the criterion group. Also, a comparision group of subjects who do not receive a condition or treatment the effects of which are being studied.

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Correlation

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The tendency of two variables to change together. With positive correlation, as one variable goes up, so does the other; with negative correlation, one variable goes up as the other goes down.

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Correlational Research (Correlational Method)

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A research strategy that examines whether and how variables go together (covary) without manipulations (changing) any variables.

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Correlation Coefficient

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A statistic that ranges from +1.0 to -1.0 and reflects the degree of association between two variables. The magnitude of the correlation indicates the strength of the association, and the sign indicates whether the correlation is positive or negative.

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Criterion Group

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Group of subjects who exhibit the disorder under study.

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Dependent Variable

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In an experiment, the factor that is observed to change with changes in the manipulated (independent) variables.

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Direct Observation

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Method of collecting research data that involves directly observing behavior in a given situation.

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Direction of Effect Problem

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Refers to the fact that, in correlational research, it cannot be concluded whether variable A causes variable B or whether variable B causes variable A.

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Double-blind Study

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Often used in studies examining drug treatment effects, a condition where neither the subject nor the experimenter has knowledge about what specific experimental condition (or drug) the subject is receiving.

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Epidemiology

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Study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviors in a given population. Mental health epidemiology is the study of the distribution of mental disorders.

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Etiology

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Factors that are related to the development (or cause) of a particular disorder.

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Experimental Research

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Research that involves the manipulation of a given factor or variable with everything else held constant.

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External Validity

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The extent to which the findings from a single study are relevant to other populations, contexts, or times.

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Generalizability

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The extent to which the findings from a single study can be used to draw conclusions about other samples.

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Family Aggregation

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The clustering of certain traits, behaviors, or disorders within a given family. Family aggregation may arise because of genetic or environmental similarities.

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Incidence

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Occurrence (onset) rate of a given disorder in a given population.

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Independent Variable

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Factor whose efffects are being examined and which is maniuplated in some way while other variables are held constant.

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Internal Validity

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The extent to which a study is free of confounds, is methodologically sound, and allows the researcher to have confidence in the findings.

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Labeling

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Assigning a person to a particular diagnostic category, such as schizophrenia.

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Lifetime Prevalence

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The proportion of living persons in a polulation who have ever had a disorder up to the time of the epidemiological assessment.

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Longitudinal Design

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A research design in which people are followed over time.

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Negative Correlation

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A relationship between two variable such that a high score on one variable is associated with a low score on another variable.

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Nomenclature

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A formalized naming system.

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Observational Research

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In contrast to experimental research (which involves maniupulating variables in some way and seeing what happens), in observational research the researcher simply observes or assesses the characteristics of different groups, learning about them without manipulating the conditions to which they are exposed. Sometimes called correlation research, although the former is the preferred term.

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1-year Prevalence

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The number of cases of a specific condition or disorder that are documented in a population within a one-year period.

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Placebo

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An inert pill or otherwise neutral intervention that produces desirable therapeutic effects because of the subject's expectations that it will be beneficial.

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Point Prevalence

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The number of cases of a specific condition or disorder that can be found in a population at one given point in time.

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Positive Correlation

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A relationship between two variables such that a high score on one variable is associated with a high score on another variable.

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Prevelance

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In a population, the proportion of active cases of a disorder that can be identified at a given point in, or during a given period of, time.

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Prospective Research Strategy

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Method that often focuses on individuals who have a higher-than-average likelihood of becoming psychologically disordered before abnormal behavior is observed.

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Random Assignment

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A procedure used to create equivalent groups in which every research participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group in the study.

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Retrospective Research

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Research approach that attempts to retrace earlier events in the life of a subject.

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Sampling

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The process of selecting a representative subgroup from a defined population of interest.

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Self-report Data

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Data collected directly from paticipants, typically by means of interviews or questionnaires.

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Single-case Research Design

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An experimental research design (e.g. an ABAB design) that involves only one subject.

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Statistical Significance

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A measure of the probability that a research finding could have occurred by chance alone.

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Stereotyping

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The tendency to jump to conclusions (often negative) about what a person is like based on beliefs about that group that exist (often incorrectly) in the culture (e.g. French people are rude, homosexuals have good taste in clothes, mental patients are dangerous, etc.)

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Stigma

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Negative labeling

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Third Variable Problem

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Refers to the problem of making causal inferences in correlational research where the correlation between two variables could be due to their shared correlation with an unmeasured third variable.