Ab Psych-Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

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Exam 1 Study guide for abnormal psychology. ...

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Exam 1 Study Guide Psych 342 Ch 1-4

PLEASE USE THE SAME BLUE FONT FOR THE DEFINITIONS AS USING DIFFERENT FONT COLORS MAKES THE DOC HARDER TO READ. CHAPTER 1 - D  efinition of Psychopathology o 4 D’s (Know definitions & examples of each) -Deviance – ignores or breaks from implicit or explicit rules for functioning -Distress – something that is troubling, alarming, painful, or causes suffering of the body both physically and mentally -Dysfunction – disruptive of normal, everyday functioning -Danger – behaviors that are dangerous to self or others are aberrant

o 2  C’s -Culture - history, values, institutions, habits, skills, technology and arts. What is consider “normal” varies between groups -Context - even within cultural bounds, what is considered abnormal is dependent on the situation

- P  sychologist vs Psychiatrist Psychologists receive the Ph.D. degree and follow a course of graduate-level study lasting about 5 years, which preps them to conduct research into the causes and treatment of psychological disorders and to diagnose, assess, and treat these disorders. ● Counseling Psychologists: Study and treat adjustment and vocational issues encountered by relatively healthy individuals. ● Clinical Psychologists: Concentrate on more severe psychological disorders. -Prevalence - number of people displaying a disorder in the total population at any given time -Incidence – number of new cases of a disorder appearing during a specific period -Course – pattern of development and change of a disorder over time -Prognosis – predicted future development of a disorder over time

-Etiology – cause or source of a disorder

- H  istory o The Supernatural Tradition-Deviant behavior was considered a reflection of the battle between good and evil. Unexplainable, irrational behavior that caused suffering and upheaval was perceived as evil. Included magic and sorcery to solve problems. Exorcisms were performed to get rid of evil spirits. -Insanity viewed as natural phenomenon, caused by mental or emotional stress, and that it was curable. Treatments: rest, sleep, happy environment. o The Biological Tradition-Hippocrates (Greek physician) -Father of modern Western medicine. Assisted by Roman physician Galen, created the Humoral Theory o  f disorders. -Four Humors (Bodily fluids): blood (from heart), black bile (from spleen), yellow bile/choler (from liver), phlegm (from brain). -Bloodletting used to restore humors (leeches) -Induced vomiting (treatment for depression) *The Development of Biological Treatments -Sakel (Viennese physician) 1930’s: High dosages of insulin to patients (insulin shock), which caused convulsions and a temporary comatose. Abandoned because it was too dangerous. Often resulted in coma or death. -1950’s: Opium, used as sedative. Neuroleptics diminished hallucinatory and delusional thought processes. Also controlled agitation. o Development of Psychoanalytic Theory o Psychoanalytic Theory-Freud’s theory about how the mind worked. Much of the Id, Ego, and Superego’s activity is subconscious. * Id-Seeks for pleasure and gratification, caters to base desires (food, sex, etc.) * Ego  -Moderates the Id and Superego so that neither becomes dominant, which would result in an imbalance. * Superego

-Seeks for moral correctness, often associated with religious values, etc. * Catharsis-- physical release of emotion or anger * Psychosexual Stages of Development -Oral stage: birth- 1 or 2 yrs -Anal Stage: 1-3 yrs -Phallic stage: 3-6 yrs -Latent stage: 6-adolescence -Genital stage: adolescence to adulthood o H  umanistic Theory ● Jung and Alder ● Humans are inherently good (as opposed to Freud’s thinking) ● Jung: ○ Goal setting Alder: Human nature reaches its fullest when we contribute to the welfare of others Humanistic Psychology Self-actualizing: we could all reach our highest level of functioning if only we had the room to grow. Abraham Maslow: Developed the Hierarchy of needs · Most basic (food, sex, safety) · All the way up to self-actualization, self esteem, etc. Carl Rogers: Person-centered therapy

o Behaviorism: Behaviorists are deterministic (cause-effect universe); If enough is known about an individual’s experiences, influences, and genetics, we can predict that individual’s behavior. * Classical Conditioning: Neutral stimulus is paired with a response until it elicits that response; Pavlov’s dog

Operant Conditioning: behavior operates on the environment and changes it in some way *

o Cognitive Model: more emphasis on what occurs in the brain rather than environmental/external influences o The Scientific Method and Integrative Approach: § 1990’s, two ideas · Increasing sophistication of scientific tools and methodology · Realization that no one influence ever occurs in isolation § 2000 · Learned way more about neuroscience and behavioral things · We needed a new model that would integrate biological, physiological and social factors

CHAPTER 2 - One-Dimensional vs Multidimensional Model Everything happens from ONE cause. Vs. Multiple factors as an origin. - G  enetics and Psychopathology oStress-Diathesis Model - g  enetic code provides gamut of possible manifestations that are narrowed by experience/environment. Vulnerability = diathesis; Addictive tendency but isn’t exposed because of environment. oReciprocal Gene-Environment Model – hypothesis that people with a genetic predisposition for a disorder may also have a genetic tendency to create environmental risk factors that promote the disorder. Genetic code influences behaviors that increase the risk of coming in contact with environmental stressors leading to pathology. Transactional theory of BPD. Anger yields anger. oEpigenetics – the study of factors other than inherited DNA sequence, such as new learning or stress, that alter the phenotypic expression of genes.

- C  entral Nervous System

- P  eripheral Nervous System - N  eurotransmitters and What They Do  gonists – chemical substance that effectively increases the activity of a A neurotransmitter by imitating its effects. o Antagonists – a chemical substance that decreases or blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter. o Inverse Agonists – chemical substance that produces effects opposite those of a particular neurotransmitter o Glutamate – amino acid neurotransmitter that excites many different neurons, leading to action. o GABBA – gamma-aminobytryric acid – neurotransmitter that reduces activity across the synapse and thus inhibits a range of behaviors and emotions, especially generalized anxiety. o Serotonin – behavior regulation - Neurotransmitter involved in processing information and coordination of movement, as well as inhibition and restraint. It also assists in the regulation of eating, sexual, and aggressive behaviors, all of which may be involved in different psychological disorders. Its interaction with dopamine is implicated in schizophrenia. o Norepinephrine – neurotransmitter active in the central and peripheral nervous systems, controlling heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, among other functions. Because of its role in the body’s alarm reaction, it may also contribute generally and indirectly to panic attacks and other disorders. o Dopamine – excite, movement, & happiness - neurotransmitter whose generalized function is to activate other neurotransmitters and to aid in exploratory and pleasure seeking behaviors (thus balancing serotonin). A relative excess of dopamine is implicated in schizophrenia (although contradictory evidence suggests the connection is not simple), and its deficit is involved in Parkinson’s disease. o 

- L  imbic System - P  urposes of Brain Areas - C  onditioning and Cognitive Processes - L  earned Helplessness

- C  ultural, Social, and Interpersonal Factors - E  quifinality vs Multifinality equifinality--different origins lead to same outcome multifinality--same origin has different outcomes CHAPTER 3 - Reliability o Inter-rater reliability - Validity--whether something measures what it was designed to measure o  Internal Validity--Internal validity is the extent to which you can be confident that the independent variable is causing the dependent variable to change. o External Validity-External validity refers to how well the results relate to things outside your study—in other words, how well your findings describe similar individuals who were not among the study participants.

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- S  tandardization the process by which a certain set of standards or norms is determined for a technique to make its use consistent across different measurements

- C  linical Description vs Presenting Problem vs Diagnosis - C  linical Observation - C  linical Interview o Structured •SCID-II Limitation: Lengthy/overwhelming and cost o U  nstructured •Open-ended

•Freedom •Less “clinically” Limitations:•May lack validity or accuracy •Interviewers may be biased or may make mistakes in judgment •May lack reliability o Semi-Structured: combination of the above, is the most preferred method. - Mood vs Affect: “Climate” and “temperature” metaphor. As in, someone is generally optimistic (mood, long-term) but on today, that person is really pissed off (affect). - C  linical Tests (pros, cons, and examples if examples are given) o Response Inventories –Usually based on self-reported responses –Focus on one specific area of functioning •Affective inventories (example: Beck Depression Inventory) •Social skills inventories •Cognitive inventories –Strengths and weaknesses: •Have strong face validity •Rarely include questions to assess careless or inaccurate responding 0•Not all have been subjected to careful standardization, reliability, and/or validity procedures (BDI and a few others are exceptions)

o P  rojective Tests –Require that subjects interpret vague and ambiguous stimuli or follow open-ended instruction –Mainly used by psychodynamic practitioners

–Most popular: •Rorschach Test •Thematic Apperception Test •Sentence Completion Test •Drawings Rorschach Inkblot and Thematic Apperception Test –Strengths and weaknesses: •Helpful for providing “supplementary” information •May be biased against minority ethnic groups •Have rarely demonstrated much reliability or validity

o P  ersonality Inventories –Designed to measure broad personality characteristics –Focus on behaviors, beliefs, and feelings –Usually based on self-reported responses –Most widely used: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2; MMPI-A); Personality Inventory (PAI) and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III) –Strengths and weaknesses: •Easier, cheaper, and faster to administer than projective tests •Objectively scored and standardized •Appear to have greater validity than projective tests –Measured traits often cannot be directly examined – how can we really know the assessment is correct? •Many of these tests fail to allow for cultural differences in responses

Example: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) •Consists of 567 self-statements that can be answered “true,” “false,” or “cannot say” –Statements describe physical concerns; mood; morale; attitudes toward religion, sex, and social activities; and psychological symptoms –Assesses careless responding & lying

o O  utcome Measures –Designed to capture effect of intervention/treatment (change) –More frequent administration –RCI & Cutoff scores –OQ family –BPRS –Limitations: does not indicate agent of change

o P  sychophysiological Tests –Measure physiological response as an indication of psychological problems •Includes heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, galvanic skin response, and muscle contraction –Most popular is the polygraph (lie detector) –Strengths and weaknesses: •Require expensive equipment that must be tuned and maintained •Can be inaccurate and unreliable

o I ntelligence Tests –Designed to measure intellectual ability –Composed of a series of tests assessing both verbal and nonverbal skills –Generate an intelligence quotient (IQ) •Most popular: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) & Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) –Strengths and weaknesses: (TA said in review not to worry about this) •Are among the most carefully produced of all clinical tests –Highly standardized on large groups of subjects –Have very high reliability and validity •Because intelligence is an inferred quality, it can only be measured indirectly •Performance can be influenced by nonintelligence factors (e.g., motivation, anxiety, test-taking experience)

•Tests may contain cultural biases in language or tasks

Example: The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) (Fourth Edition) –Large representation in research –Generally easy and quick to administer –Breaks down and provides subscales of abilities –Consists of 14 subtests •Vocabulary •Picture completion •Digit span •similarities

o N  eurological and Neuropsychological Tests –Neurological tests directly assess brain function by assessing brain structure and activity •Examples: EEG, PET scans, CAT scans, MRI –Neuropsychological tests indirectly assess brain function by assessing cognitive, perceptual, and motor functioning - R  orschach Inkblot Test - M  MPI-2: personality test - EEG: electrodes are placed on various parts of the scalp to measure low-voltage currents in brain; used for seizures - M  ethods of Classification o Classical: assumes that every diagnosis has a clear underlying pathophysiological cause

o Dimensional: notes  the variety of cognitions, moods, and behaviors with which the patient presents & quantify them on a scale o Prototypical: i dentifies certain essential characteristics of an entity to classify it; allows certain nonessential variations that do not necessarily change the classification CHAPTER 4 - Research Methods o Observational: Careful monitoring and examination of what people and animals do under more or less natural circumstances. o Case Studies: A thorough observation and description of a single individual, appropriate only when done for an unusual condition or circumstance. o Correlational: Correlation  is a measure of the relationship between two variables which are both outside of the investigator’s control. (•correlation coefficient- the mathematical estimate of the strength and direction of a correlation -1 to 1) o Experimental: Researchers impose the conditions on the test subjects and study the effects. It’s different from observational in that it’s not a natural environment, but is controlled by the experimenters. - R  esearch Design o Independent Variable: aspect manipulated or thought to influence change in dependent variable o Dependent Variable o Control Group o Experimental Group o Latent Variable: a concept, i.e. d  epression, love, IQ o Operational Definition: something  that specifies the operations used to produce/measure something (to define something, like love, in a quantifiable way)

- C  onfounds o Placebo: behavior changes because of a person’s expectation o  f change o Demand Characteristics: P  articipants form an interpretation of the experiment’s purpose and modify their behavior unconsciously to fit that interpretation ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_characteristics) o Confirmation Bias: Remember  when we are right and forget when we are wrong. Only accept, and remember, the information that confirms previously held beliefs or “knowledge.” o Selection Bias: v olunteers may have inherent characteristics that are not controlled for o Hindsight Bias: “ I knew it all along” effect. Hindsight is 20/20 - Randomization: assigning people to different groups in a way that each person has an equal chance of being placed in a group. - Generalizability: extent to which results apply to population with the disorder - True Experiment: basically the “perfect” experiment--has dependent and indep. variables, data, is replicable, randomized etc. - Patient Uniformity Myth: the tendency to see all participant as one homogenous groups; leads to inaccurate generalizations about disorders - G  roup Experimental Designs o Comparative Treatment Research: compares  different treatments with two or more comparable groups with the same disorder o Single-Case Experimental Designs: s tudies individuals under a variety of experimental conditions o Repeated Measurement: b  ehavior is measured several times instead of only once before you change the independent variable and once after

o Withdrawal Design: researcher tries to determine whether the independent variable is responsible for changes in behavior; person’s condition is evaluated before treatment, changes with independent variable, treatment is withdrawn. o Multiple Baseline: rather  than stopping the intervention, the researcher starts treatment at different times across settings, behaviors, or people. - S  tudying Behavior Over Time o Cross-Sectional Design: cross section of a population across different age groups & compare them on same characteristics o Longitudinal Design: researchers  may follow one group over time & asses change in its members directly; no cohort effect and allows researchers to assess individual change o Sequential Design: c ombination of longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, involves repeated study of different cohorts over time - S  tatistics o Mean o Standard Deviation o Statistical Significance vs Clinical Significance o Effect Size o Correlation o Causation - S  ingle-Blind vs Double-Blind -In a single-blind experiment, participants are unaware whether they are in the control group or the intervention group (or any number of other groups, depending on the structure of the experiment). Double-blind experiments seek to eliminate any possible bias even from the side of the researchers. In a double-blind experiment, neither the participants nor the researchers are aware of which group the participants are in....