Download psych mod 22 terms

Chapter 22 Vocabulary
Insanity: means not knowing the difference between right and wrong
Mental Disorder: a prolonged or recurring problem that seriously interferes with an
individual’s ability to live a satisfying personal life and function adequately in society
Phobia: an anxiety disorder characterized by an intense, excessive, and irrational fear
that is out of all proportion to the danger elicited by the object or situation
Medical model approach: mental disorders involve genetic, physiological, or
neurological factors that cause symptoms that can be diagnosed and treated. Similar to
doctors using drugs to treat physical diseases, psychiatrists use psychoactive drugs to
treat mental disorders
Cognitive-behavioral approach: emphasizes that mental disorders result from deficits
in cognitive processes, such as thoughts and beliefs, and from behavioral problems, such
as deficits in skills and abilities
Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic approach: focuses on unconscious or repressed
conflicts underlying mental disorders
Statistical frequency approach: says that a behavior may be considered abnormal if it
occurs rarely or infrequently in relation to the behaviors of the general population
Social norms approach: says that a behavior is considered abnormal if it deviates
greatly from accepted social standards, values, or norms
Maladaptive behavior approach: a behavior as psychologically damaging or abnormal
if it interferes with the individual’s ability to function in one’s personal life or in society
Clinical assessment: A systematic evaluation of an individual’s various psychological,
biological, and social factors, as well as identifying past and present problems, stressors,
and other cognitive or behavioral symptoms
Clinical interview: a method of gathering information about a person’s past and current
behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, emotions, and problems. Some are unstructured, while others
are structured.
Personality tests: Includes two different types of tests: objective tests, such as MMPI,
which consists of specific statements or questions to which the person responds with
specific answers, and projective test’s, such as the Rorschach inkblot test, which have no
set answers but consist of ambiguous stimuli that a person interprets or makes up a story
about
Clinical diagnosis: a process of matching an individual’s specific symptoms to those that
define a particular mental disorder
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-Test Revision (DSM-IVTR): a uniform system for assessing specific symptoms and matching them to almost 300
different mental disorders
Labeling: identifying and naming differences among individuals, the label, which places
individuals into specific categories, may have either positive or negative associations.
Generalized anxiety disorder: characterized by excessive or unrealistic worry about
almost everything or feeling that something bad is about to happen. These anxious
feelings occur on a majority of days for a period of at least six months
Panic disorder: recurrent and unexpected panic attacks. Plus, the person is so worried
about having another panic attack that this intense worrying interferes with normal
psychological functioning
Panic attack: a period of intense fear or discomfort in which four or more of the
following symptoms are present: pounding heart, sweating, trembling, shortness of
breath, feelings of choking, chest pain, nausea, feeling dizzy, and fear of losing control or
dying
Phobia: an anxiety disorder characterized by an intense and irrational fear that is out of
all proportion to the possible danger of the object or situation. Because of this intense
fear, which is accompanied by increased physiological arousal, a person goes to great
lengths to avoid the feared event. If the feared event cannot be avoided, the person feels
intense anxiety.
Social phobias: irrational, marked, and continuous fear of performing in social
situations. The individuals fear that they will humiliate or embarrass themselves.
Specific phobias: called simple phobias, are marked and persistent fears that are
unreasonable and triggered by anticipation of, or exposure to, a specific object or
situation. (Flying, heights, spiders, seeing blood)
Agoraphobia: anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be
difficult or embarrassing if a panic attack or panic like symptoms (sudden dizziness or
onset of diarrhea) were to occur
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: consists of obsessions, which are persistent, recurring
irrational thoughts, impulses, or images that a person is unable to control and that
interfere with normal functioning, and compulsions, which are irresistible impulses to
perform over and over some senseless behavior or ritual (hand washing, checking things,
counting, putting things in order)
Exposure therapy: gradually exposing the person to the real anxiety-producing
situations or objects that he or she is attempting to avoid and continuing exposure
treatments until the anxiety decreases.
Somatoform disorders: marked by a pattern of recurring, multiple, and significant
bodily (somatic) symptoms that extend over several years. The bodily symptoms (pain,
vomiting, paralysis, blindness) are not under voluntary control, have no known physical
causes, and are believed to be caused by psychological factors
Somatization disorder: begins before age 30, lasts over several years, and is
characterized by multiple symptoms-including pain, gastrointestinal, sexual, and
neurological symptoms- that have no physical causes but are triggered by psychological
problems or distress
Conversion disorder: changing anxiety or emotional distress into real physical, motor,
sensory, or neurological symptoms (headaches, nausea, dizziness, loss of sensation,
paralysis) for which no physical or organic cause can be identified
Mass hysteria: a condition experienced by a group of people who, through suggestion,
observation, or other psychological processes, develop similar fears, delusions, abnormal
behaviors, or physical symptoms
Taijin kyofusho, or TKS: a kind of social phobia characterized by a terrible fear of
offending others through awkward social or physical behavior such as staring, blushing,
giving off an offensive odor, having an unpleasant facial expression, or having trembling
hands
Conduct disorder: a repetitive and persistent pattern of behaving that has been going on
for at least a year and that violates the established social rules or the rights of others.
Problems may include aggressive behaviors such as threatening to harm people, abusing
or killing animals, destroying property, being deceitful, or stealing
Case study: an in-depth analysis of the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences,
behaviors, or problems of a single individual
Cognitive-behavioral therapy: involves using a combination of two methods: changing
negative, unhealthy, or distorted thoughts and beliefs by substituting positive, healthy,
and realistic ones; and changing limiting or disruptive behaviors by learning and
practicing new skills to improve functioning
Exposure therapy: consists of gradually exposing the person to the real anxietyproducing situations or objects that he or she is attempting to avoid and continuing
exposure treatments until the anxiety decreases