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TERMS CHAPTER 1
behaviour therapy , 25 –
Array of therapy methods based on the principles of behavioural and cognitive science as well as principles of learning as applied to clinical problems. It considers specific behaviours rather than inferred conflict as legitimate targets for change.
behavioural model , 23 –
Explanation of human behaviour, including dysfunction, based on principles of learning and adaptation derived from experimental psychology.
behaviourism , 17 –
Explanation of human behaviour, including dysfunction, based on principles of learning and adaptation derived from experimental psychology.
catharsis , 18 –
Rapid or sudden release of emotional tension thought to be an important factor in psychoanalytic therapy.
classical conditioning , 23 –
Fundamental learning process first described by Ivan Pavlov. An event that automatically elicits a response is paired with another stimulus event that does not (a neutral stimulus). After repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that by itself can elicit the desired response.
clinical description , 8 –
Details of the combination of behaviours, thoughts, and feelings of an individual that make up a particular disorder.
course , 8 –
Pattern of development and change of a disorder over time.
defence mechanisms , 19
Common patterns of behaviour, often adaptive coping styles when they occur in moderation, observed in response to particular situations. In psychoanalysis, these are thought to be unconscious processes
Deviance
is the criterion that Dr. Bloom's notes address. Deviance pertains to whether a person's behaviour deviates from the social norm. Taking into consideration a person's environment and culture allows a clinician to better assess whether the person's behaviour is abnormal. You needed to identify that this is Dr. Bloom's goal when making a note to investigate whether Becky's behaviour is socially acceptable.originating in the ego.
dream analysis , 21
Psychoanalytic therapy method in which dream contents are examined as symbolic of id impulses and intrapsychic conflicts.
ego , 19
In psychoanalysis, the psychical entity responsible for finding realistic and practical ways to satisfy id drives.
ego psychology , 21
Derived from psychoanalysis, this theory emphasizes the role of the ego in development and attributes psychological disorders to failure of the ego to manage impulses and internal conflicts.
etiology , 8
Cause or source of a disorder.
extinction , 24
Learning process in which a response maintained by reinforcement in operant conditioning or pairing in classical conditioning decreases when that reinforcement or pairing is removed; also the procedure of removing that reinforcement or pairing.
free association , 21
Psychoanalytic therapy technique intended to explore threatening material repressed into the unconscious. The patient is instructed to say whatever comes to mind without censoring.
id , 19
In psychoanalysis, the unconscious psychical entity present at birth representing basic drives.
incidence , 8
Number of new cases of a disorder appearing during a specific time period (compare with prevalence).
intrapsychic conflicts , 19
In psychoanalysis, the struggles among the id, ego, and superego
introspection , 24
Early, nonscientific approach to the study of psychology involving systematic attempts to report thoughts and feelings that specific stimuli evoked.
lifetime prevalence , 8 –
Number of people in the population who have ever had the disorder.
mental hygiene movement , 16 –
Mid-20th-century effort to improve care of the mentally disordered by informing the public of their mistreatment.
moral therapy , 15
Nineteenth-century psychosocial approach to treatment that involved treating patients as normally as possible in normal environments.
neurosis (neuroses plural) , 20
Obsolete psychodynamic term for a psychological disorder thought to result from unconscious conflicts and the anxiety they cause.
psychotherapy process , 23
How psychotherapy works.
reinforcement , 26
In operant conditioning, consequences for behaviour that strengthen it or increase its frequency. Positive reinforcement involves the contingent delivery of a desired consequence; negative reinforcement is the contingent escape from an aversive consequence. Unwanted behaviours may result from their reinforcement, or the failure to reinforce desired behaviours.
scientist-practitioner , 7
Expectation that mental health professionals will apply scientific methods to their work. They must keep current in the latest research on diagnosis and treatment, they must evaluate their own methods for effectiveness, and they may generate their own research to discover new knowledge of disorders and their treatment.
self-actualizing , 22
Process emphasized in humanistic psychology in which people strive to achieve their highest potential against difficult life experiences.
shaping , 26
In operant conditioning, the development of a new response by reinforcing successively more similar versions of that response. Both desirable and undesirable behaviours may be learned in this manner.
superego , 19
In psychoanalysis, the psychical entity representing the internalized moral standards of parents and society.
systematic desensitization , 25
Behavioural therapy technique to diminish excessive fears, involving gradual exposure to the feared stimulus paired with a positive coping experience, usually relaxation.
transference , 21
Psychoanalytic concept suggesting that clients may seek to relate to the therapist as they do to important authority figures, particularly their parents.
unconditional positive regard , 22
Acceptance by the counsellor of the client’s feelings and actions without judgment or condemnation.
unconscious , 18
Part of the psychic makeup that is outside the person’s awareness.
TERMS – CHAPTER TWO
Affect
conscious, subjective aspect of an emotion that accompanies an action at a given time.
agonists
Chemical substances that effectively increase the activity of a neurotransmitter by imitating its effects.
antagonists
In neuroscience, chemical substances that decrease or block the effects of a neurotransmitter.
brain circuits
Neural pathways or neurotransmitter currents in the brain.
cognitive science
Field of study that examines how humans and other animals acquire, process, store, and retrieve information
cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)
Group of treatment procedures aimed at identifying and modifying faulty thought processes, attitudes and attributions, and problem behaviours; often used synonymously with cognitive therapy.
diathesis–stress model
Hypothesis that both an inherited tendency (a vulnerability) and specific stressful conditions are required to produce a disorde
dopamine
Neurotransmitter whose generalized function is to activate other neurotransmitters and to aid in exploratory and pleasure-seeking behaviours (thus balancing serotonin). A relative excess of dopamine is implicated in schizophrenia (though contradictory evidence suggests the connection is not simple) and its deficit is involved in Parkinson’s disease.
Emotion
Pattern of action elicited by an external event and a feeling state, accompanied by a characteristic physiological response
epigenetics
Study of factors other than inherited DNA sequence, such as new learning or stress, that alter the phenotypic expression of genes
equifinality
Developmental psychopathology principle that a behaviour or disorder may have several different causes.
flight-or-fight response
Biological reaction to alarming stressors that musters the body’s resources (e.g., blood flow, respiration) to resist or flee the threat.
gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)
Neurotransmitter that reduces activity across the synapse and thus inhibits a range of behaviours and emotions, especially generalized anxiety.
norepinephrine (also noradrenaline)
Neurotransmitter that is 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 in general and indirectly to panic attacks and other disorders.
observational learning
Type of learning that does not require direct experience; rather, an organism can learn by observing what happens to another organism and later imitating the other organism’s behaviour (also known as modelling).
prepared learning
Certain associations can be learned more readily than others because this ability has been adaptive for evolution.
reuptake
Action by which a neurotransmitter is quickly drawn back into the discharging neuron after being released into a synaptic cleft.
serotonin
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 behaviours, all of which may be involved in different psychological disorders. Its interaction with dopamine is implicated in schizophrenia.
synaptic cleft
Space between nerve cells where chemical transmitters act to move impulses from one neuron to the next.
vulnerability
Susceptibility or tendency to develop a disorder.
TERMS – CHAPTER 5
agoraphobia
Anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult.
animal phobias
Unreasonable, enduring fear of animals or insects that usually develops early in life
anxiety
State of mood characterized by marked negative affect and bodily symptoms of tension in which a person apprehensively anticipates future danger or misfortune. Anxiety may involve feelings, behaviours, and physiological responses.
behavioural inhibition system (BIS)
Brain circuit in the limbic system that responds to threat signals by inhibiting activity and causing anxiety.
blood-injury-injection phobias
Unreasonable fear and avoidance of exposure to blood, injury, or the possibility of an injection. Victims experience fainting and a drop in blood pressure.
fear
Immediate emotional alarm reaction to present danger or life-threatening emergencies.
fight/flight system (FFS)
Brain circuit in animals that, when stimulated, causes an immediate alarm and escape response resembling human panic.
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
Anxiety disorder characterized by intense, uncontrollable, unfocused, chronic, and continuous worry that is distressing and unproductive accompanied by physical symptoms of tenseness, irritability, and restlessness.
natural environment phobias
Extreme fear of situations or events in nature, especially heights, storms, and water.
Panic
Sudden overwhelming fright or terror.
panic attack
Abrupt experience of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by physical symptoms such as dizziness or heart palpitations.
panic control treatment (PCT)
Cognitive-behavioural treatment for panic attacks, involving gradual exposure to feared somatic sensations and modification of perceptions and attitudes about them.
panic disorder (PD)
Recurrent unexpected panic attacks accompanied by concern about future attacks and/or a lifestyle change to avoid future attacks.
separation anxiety disorder
Excessive enduring fear in some children that harm will come to them or their parents while they are apart.
situational phobias
Anxieties involving enclosed places (e.g., claustrophobia) or public transportation (e.g., fear of flying).
somatic symptom disorders
Disorders involving extreme and long-lasting focus on multiple physical symptoms for
which no medical cause is evident; previously known as somatization disorders.
trichotillomania
People’s urge to pull out their own hair from anywhere on the body, including the scalp,
eyebrows, and arms.
TERMS – CHAPTER 7
acute stress disorder
Severe reaction immediately following a terrifying event, often including amnesia about the event, emotional numbing, and derealization. Many victims later develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
adjustment disorders
Anxious or depressive reactions to life stress that are generally milder than in acute stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder but that are nevertheless impairing in terms of interfering with work or school performance, interpersonal relationships, or other areas of living.
alters
Shorthand term for alter egos, the different personalities or identities in dissociative identity disorder.
attachment disorders
Developmentally inappropriate behaviours in which a child is unable or unwilling to form normal attachment relationships with caregiving adults.
depersonalization
Term given to an alteration in perception that causes someone to temporarily lose the sense of their own reality.
depersonalization-derealization disorder
Dissociative disorder in which feelings of depersonalization are so severe they dominate the client’s life and prevent normal functioning.
derealization
Situation in which the individual loses his or her sense of the reality of the external world.
disinhibited social engagement disorder
a similar set of child-rearing circumstances—perhaps including early persistent harsh punishment— would result in a pattern of behaviour in which the child shows no inhibitions whatsoever to approaching adults. Such a child might engage in inappropriately intimate behaviour by showing a willingness to immediately accompany an unfamiliar adult figure somewhere without first checking back with a caregiver.
dissociative amnesia
Dissociative disorder featuring the inability to recall personal information, usually of a stressful or traumatic nature.
dissociative disorders
Disorders in which individuals feel detached from themselves or their surroundings, and reality, experience, and identity may disintegrate.
dissociative fugue
Dissociative disorder featuring sudden, unexpected travel away from home, along with an inability to recall the past, sometimes with assumption of a new identity.
dissociative identity disorder (DID)
Formerly known as multiple personality disorder, a disorder in which as many as one hundred personalities or fragments of personalities coexist within one body and mind.
dissociative trance disorder (DTD)
Altered state of consciousness in which the person believes firmly that he or she is possessed by spirits; considered a disorder only where there is distress and dysfunction.
generalized amnesia
Condition in which a person loses memory of all personal information, including his or her own identity.
localized amnesia
Memory loss limited to specific times and events, particularly traumatic events. Also known as selective amnesia.
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Enduring, distressing emotional disorder that follows exposure to a severe helplessness- or fear-inducing threat. The victim re-experiences the trauma, avoids stimuli associated with it, and develops a numbing of responsiveness and an increased vigilance and arousal.
reactive attachment disorder
Attachment disorder in which a child with disturbed behaviour neither seeks out a caregiver nor responds to offers of help from one; fearfulness and sadness are often evident.
selective amnesia
Memory loss limited to specific times and events, particularly traumatic events. Also known as localized amnesia.
Content validity
The extent to which a measure captures all parts of a defined construct (subjective). Ex: measuring intelligence (includes reason, plan, solve problems, learning quickly, etc.) must include questions/items to assess all components. The criteria for the diagnosis should reflect the way most experts in the field think of the disorder.
complicated grief
Grief characterized by debilitating feelings of loss and emotions so painful that a person has trouble resuming a normal life; designated for further study as a disorder by the DSM-5.
cyclothymic disorder
Chronic (at least two years) mood disorder characterized by alternating mood elevation and depression levels that are not as severe as manic or major depressive episodes.
disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
Condition in which a child has chronic negative moods such as anger and irritability without any accompanying mania.
double depression
Severe mood disorder typified by major depressive episodes superimposed over a background of dysthymic disorder.
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Biological treatment for severe, chronic depression involving the application of electrical impulses through the brain to produce seizures. The reasons for its effectiveness are unknown.
hypomanic episode
ess severe and less disruptive version of a manic episode that is one of the criteria for several mood disorders.
integrated grief
Grief that evolves from acute grief into a condition in which the individual accepts the finality of a death and adjusts to the loss.
interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)
Therapy that focuses on resolving problems in existing relationships and learning to form important new interpersonal relationships.
learned helplessness theory of depression
Seligman’s theory that people become anxious and depressed when they make an attribution that they have no control over the stress in their lives (whether in reality they do or not).
maintenance treatment
Combination of continued psychosocial treatment or medication designed to prevent relapse following therapy.
major depressive disorder
Mood disorder involving one (single episode) or more (separated by at least two months without depression, recurrent) major depressive episodes.
major depressive episode
Most common and severe experience of depression, including feelings of worthlessness, disturbances in bodily activities such as sleep, loss of interest, and the inability to experience pleasure, persisting at least two weeks.
Mania
Period of abnormally excessive elation or euphoria, associated with some mood disorders.
mixed features
Condition in which the individual experiences both elation and depression or anxiety at the same time. Also known as dysphoric manic episode or mixed manic episode.
mood disorders
Group of disorders involving severe and enduring disturbances in emotionality ranging from elation to severe depression
Neurohormones
Hormones that affect the brain and are increasingly the focus of study in psychopathology.
persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)
Mood disorder involving persistently depressed mood, with low self-esteem, withdrawal, pessimism, or despair; present for at least two years, with no absence of symptoms for more than two months.
bulimia nervosa
Eating disorder involving recurrent episodes of uncontrolled excessive (binge) eating followed by compensatory actions to remove the food (e.g., deliberate vomiting, laxative abuse, excessive exercise).
purging techniques
In the eating disorder bulimia nervosa, the self-induced vomiting or laxative abuse used to compensate for excessive food ingestion
TERMS – CHAPTER 10
breathing-related sleep disorders
Sleep disruption leading to excessive sleepiness or insomnia, caused by a breathing
problem such as interrupted (apnea) or laboured (hypoventilation) breathing.
circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders
Sleep disturbances resulting in sleepiness or insomnia caused by the body’s inability to
synchronize its sleep patterns with the current pattern of day and night.
dyssomnias
Problems in getting to sleep or in obtaining sufficient quality sleep.
hypersomnolence disorders
Sleep dysfunction involving an excessive amount of sleep that disrupts normal routines.
insomnia disorder
Condition in which insufficient sleep interferes with normal functioning.
microsleeps
Short, seconds-long periods of sleep that occur in people who have been deprived of sleep.
narcolepsy
Sleep disorder involving sudden and irresistible sleep attacks.
nightmares
Frightening and anxiety -provoking dreams occurring during rapid eye movement (REM)
sleep. The individual recalls the bad dreams and recovers alertness and orientation quickly.
parasomnias
Abnormal behaviours such as nightmares or sleepwalking that occur during sleep.
polysomnographic (PSG) evaluation
Assessment of sleep disorders in which a client sleeping in the lab is monitored for heart,
muscle, respiration, brain wave, and other functions.
rapid eye movement (REM)
Periodic intervals of sleep during which the eyes move rapidly from side to side, and
dreams occur, but the body is inactive.
rebound insomnia
In a person with insomnia, the worsened sleep problems that can occur when medications
are used to treat insomnia and then withdrawn.
sleep apnea
Disorder involving brief periods when breathing ceases during sleep.
sleep efficiency
Percentage of time actually spent sleeping of the total time spent in bed.
sleep terrors
Episodes of apparent awakening from sleep, accompanied by signs of panic , followed by
disorientation and amnesia for the incident. These occur during non-REM sleep and so do
not involve frightening dreams
sleepwalking
Parasomnia that involves leaving the bed during NREM—deep, nondreaming—sleep.
TERMS - CHAPTER 13
antisocial personality disorder
Cluster B (dramatic, emotional, or erratic) personality disorder involving a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others. Similar to the non-DSM-label psychopathy, but with greater emphasis on overt behaviour rather than on personality traits.
avoidant personality disorder
Cluster C (anxious or fearful) personality disorder featuring a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to criticism.
borderline personality disorder
Cluster B (dramatic, emotional, or erratic) personality disorder involving a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, affects, and control over impulses.
anhedonia
Inability to experience pleasure, associated with some schizophrenic and mood disorders.
asociality
Lack of interest in or motivation for social interactions; a preference for solitary activities
associative splitting
Separation among basic functions of human personality (e.g., cognition, emotion, perception) that is seen by some as the defining characteristic of schizophrenia.
attenuated psychosis syndrome
Disorder involving the onset of psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, which puts a person at high risk for schizophrenia; designated for further study by the DSM-5.
Avolition
Apathy, or the inability to initiate or persist in important activities.
brief psychotic disorder
Psychotic disturbance involving delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech or behaviour, but lasting less than one month; often occurs in reaction to a stressor.
Catatonia
Disorder of movement involving immobility or excited agitation.
catatonic immobility
Disturbance of motor behaviour in which the person remains motionless, sometimes in an awkward posture, for extended periods of time.
Delusion
Psychotic symptom involving disorder of thought content and presence of strong beliefs that are misrepresentations of reality
delusional disorder
Psychotic disorder featuring a persistent belief contrary to reality (delusion) but no other symptoms of schizophrenia.
dementia praecox
Latin term meaning “premature loss of mind,” an early label for what is now called schizophrenia, emphasizing the disorder’s frequent appearance during adolescence.
disorganized speech
Style of talking often seen in people with schizophrenia that involves incoherence and a lack of typical logic patterns.
disorganized symptoms
Least understood symptoms of schizophrenia that include erratic behaviours that affect speech, motor behaviour, and emotional reactions.
double bind
According to an obsolete, unsupported theory, the practice of transmitting conflicting messages that was thought to cause schizophrenia.
expressed emotion (EE)
Hostility, criticism, and overinvolvement demonstrated by some families toward a family member with a psychological disorder; this can often contribute to the person’s relapse
flat affect
Apparently emotionless demeanour (including toneless speech and vacant gaze) when a reaction would be expected
folie à deux
Psychotic disturbance in which an individual develops a delusion similar to that of a person with whom he or she shares a close relationship. Also called shared psychotic disorder.
hallucination
Psychotic symptom of a perceptual disturbance in which things are seen or heard or otherwise sensed although they are not real or actually present.
Hebephrenia
Silly and immature emotionality, a characteristic of some types of schizophrenia.
inappropriate affect
Emotional displays that are improper for the situation
negative symptoms
Less outgoing symptoms, such as flat affect and poverty of speech, displayed by some people with schizophrenia.
Paranoia
Person’s irrational beliefs that he or she is especially important (delusions of grandeur) or that other people are seeking to do him or her harm.
positive symptoms
More overt symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, displayed by some people with schizophrenia.
prodromal stage
Period during which some symptoms appear but before development of full symptoms.
Psychosis
Term used to characterize many unusual behaviours, although in its strictest sense it usually involves delusions and hallucinations.
psychotic disorder due to another medical condition
Condition that is characterized by hallucinations or delusions and that is the direct result of another physiological disorder, such as stroke or brain tumour
