The 4 Ds

o Deviance- behaviors that deviate from cultural norms (context)

o Distress- behavior, ideas, or emotion must cause distress to be considered
abnormal
o Dysfunction- must interfere with daily functioning (social interactions, work
productivity, self-care etc)
o Danger- consistently careless, hostile, or confused behavior can place the
afflicted and those around them at risk
The 3 Essentials of Therapy
o A sufferer
o A healer
o A series of contacts
Past views and treatments
o Ancient
Afflicted were possessed by evil spirits
Trephination- Stone (trephine) used to cut away a circular section of
the skull to treat hallucinations or melancholia
o Greeks and Romans
Natural causes (4 humors: yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm)
Treat with changes in lifestyle (activity, stress, diet etc)
o Europe in the Middle Ages
Demonology returns
Exorcisms or torture were used as treatment
o The Renaissance
Johann Weyer founds modern psychopathology (mind is susceptible
to illness)
Hospitals and Monasteries were converted into asylums (1 st in Muslim
Spain in early 1400s. Bethlehem Hospital aka Bedlam founded in
1547)
Patients chained and whipped (at certain moon phases) and would
scream
o 19 Century: Reform and Moral Treatment
th

Moral treatment- treat mentally ill with moral guidance and respect
State Hospitals- state-run public mental institutions in the U.S.
o 20 Century
th

Somatogenic Perspective- abnormal psychological functioning has

physical causes
Psychogenic Perspective- chief causes of abnormal functioning are
psychological
Psychoanalysis- the theory or treatment of abnormal mental
functioning that emphasizes unconscious psychological forces as the
cause of psychopathology
Pscychotropic Medications- drugs that mainly affect the brain and
reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunctioning
 Deinstitutionalization- The practice of releasing hundreds of
thousands of patients from public mental hospital (1960s)
Multicultural Psychology- examines the effect of different
sociocultural properties on origin, nature, and treatment of abnormal
behavior
Managed Care Program- system of health care coverage in which the
insurance company largely controls the nature, scope, and cost of
medical/psychological services
Nomothetic understanding- a general understanding of the nature, causes, and
treatments of abnormal psych functioning in the form of laws and principles
Internal Validity- accuracy with which a study can pinpoint one of various possible
factors as the cause of a phenomenon
External Validity- degree to which the results of a study may be generalized beyond
that study
Epidemiological Studies- study that measures the incidence and prevalence of a
disorder in a given population
Incidence- number of new cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a
specific period of time
Prevalence- total number of cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a
specific period of time
Quasi-Experiments (aka Mixed Design)- experiment in which investigators make
use of control and experimental groups that already exist in the world at large
Natural Experiment- experiment in which nature, rather than an experimenter,
manipulates an independent variable
Analogue Experiment- research method in which the experimenter produces
abnormal-like behavior in laboratory participants and then conducts experiments
on the participants
Model (aka paradigm)- set of assumptions and concepts that help scientists
explain and interpret observation
Self Theory- emphasizes the role of the self, our unified personality
Object Relations Theory- views the desire for relationships as the key motivating
force in human behavior
Free Association- the patient describes any thought, feeling, or image that comes to
mind, even if it seems unimportant
Relational Psychoanalytic Therapy- considers therapists active participants in the
formation of patients feelings and reactions, and therefore calls for therapists to
disclose their own experiences and feelings in discussions with patients
Modeling- monkey see monkey do
Systematic Desensitization- clients with phobias learn to react calmly instead of
with intense fear to the objects or situations they dread
Self-efficacy- the belief that no one can master and perform needed behaviors
whenever necessary
Cognitive-behavioral Therapies- approaches that seek to help clients change both
counterproductive behaviors and dysfunctional ways of thinking
 Cognitive Therapy- (Aaron Beck) that helps people recognize and change their
faulty thinking processes
Client-centered Therapy- (Carl Rogers) clinicians try to help clients by conveying
acceptance, accurate empathy, and genuineness
Gestalt Therapy- (Fritz Perls) clinicians actively move clients toward self-
recognition and self-acceptance by using techniques such as role playing and self-
discovery exercises
Existential Therapy- encourages clients to accept responsibility for their lives and
to live with greater meaning and values
Family Systems Theory- views the family as a system of interacting parts whose
interactions exhibit consistent patterns and unstated rules
Idiographic Understanding- of the behavior of a particular individual
Mental Status Exam- set of interview questions and observations designed to
reveal the degree and nature of a clients abnormal functioning
Rapprochement Movement- An effort to identify a set of common strategies that
run through the work of all effective therapists
Basic Irrational Assumptions (Albert Ellis)
Rational-Emotive Therapy (Albert Ellis)- helps clients identify and change the
irrational assumptions and thinking that help cause their psychological disorder
Benzodiazepines- antianxiety drugs like Valium and Xanax
GABA- linked to generalized anxiety disorder
Biolfeedback- client is given info about physiological reactions as they occur and
learns to control the reactions voluntarily
Preparedness- predisposition to develop certain fears
Norephinephrine- neurotransmitter whose abnormal activity is linked to panic
disorder and depression
Locus Ceruleus- small area of the brain that seems to be active in the rgulation of
emotions (many neurons use norepinephrine)
Amygdala- small, almond-shaped structure in the brain that processes emotional
information
Biological Challenge Test- 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
Anxiety Sensitivity- tendency to focus on ones bodily sensation, assess them
illogically, and interpret them as harmful
Isolation- dissociate from undesirable thoughts
Undoing- act against unwanted thoughts
Reaction formation- lifestyle expresses opposite desire
Neutralizing- attempt to eliminate unwanted thoughts by thinking or behaving in
ways that put matter right internally, making up for unacceptable thoughts
Habituation Training- therapist tries to call forth a clients obsessive thoughts again
and again with hopes of desensitizing
Orbitofrontal cortex- impulses involving excretion, sexuality, violence, and other
primitive drives
 Caudate Nuclei- Structures in the brain (basal ganglia) that help convert sensory
info into thoughts and actions
Autonomic Nervous System- network of nerve fibers that connect the CNS to all
the other organs
Endocrine System- control important activities (growth sexual activity)
Sympathetic Nervous System- Nerve fibers of ANS that quicken heartbeat and
other changed experienced in arousal and fear
Parasympathetic Nervous System- fibers of ANS that help maintain normal organ
functioning, and also slow functioning after stimulation and return other processes
to normal
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal HPA pathway- route by which brain and body
produce arousal and fear
Corticosteroids- hormones like cortisol released by adrenal glands during stress
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)- clients move their
eyes in a rhythmic manner from side to side while flooding their minds with images
of objects and situations they ordinarily avoid
Somatoform Disorder- physical illness that is explained largely by psychosocial
causes (no sign of patient wanting or guiding symptoms)
Hysterical Somatoform Disorder- suffer actual changes in their physical
functioning
Conversion Disorder- where psychosocial need or conflict is converted into
dramatic physical symptoms that affect voluntary motor or sensory function
Somatization Disorder- somatoform disorder marked by numerous recurring
physical ailments without an organic basis (Briquets Syndrome)
Pain Disorder Associated with Psychological Factors- marked by pain, with
psychosocial factors playing a central role in the onset, severity, or continuation of
the pain
Factitious Disorder = Munschausen Syndrome
Preoccupation Somatoform Disorders- people misinterpret and overreact to
minor, even normal, bodily symptoms or features
Body Dysmorphic Disorder- marked by excessive worry that some aspect of ones
physical appearance is defective (dysmorphophobia)
Primary Gain- psychodynamic theory where the gain achieved when hysterical
symptoms keep internal conflicts out of awareness
Secondary Gain-gain achieved when hysterical symptoms elicit kindness from
others or provide an excuse to avoid unpleasant activities
Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder- not wanting sex
Nocturnal Penile Tumescence (NPT)- Erection during sleep
Dyspareunia- disorder in which a person experiences severe pain in the genitals
during sexual activity
Masturbatory Satiation- Beat the fetish out of you
Geropsychology- psych of old people
 Delirium- Rapid developing clouding of consciousness; the person has great
difficulty concentrating, focusing attention, and following an orderly sequence of
thought
Dementia- a syndrome marked by severe problems in memory and in at least one
other cognitive function
Neurofibrillary tangles- twisted protein fibers that form within certain brain cells
as people age
Senile Plaques- sphere shaped deposits of beta-amyloid protein that form in the
space between certain brain cells and in certain blood vessels as people age
Vascular Dementia- caused by a cerebrovascular accident, or stroke, which
restricts blood flow to certain areas of the brain