EXAM REVIEW

Chapter 1
Why is it so hard to define abnormal behavior?
o We dont know what normal is. No accurate or scientific way to measure
normality
o Common definition- behavior that is personally disturbing or disabling or
culturally so deviant that others judge as maladaptive, inappropriate, or
unjustifiable.
o Positivism-truth exists, objectivity (insanity exists)
o Constructivism- we construct our reality. Subjectivity, context, circumstances,
lens in which we view it
o Different contexts affect or perception of behavior. Ex: Rosenhan article- pacing
back and forth. In a hospital, any normal behavior seen as abnormal b/c we
assume that person there is abnormal. (Type II error)
o Patients recognized normalcy b/c viewed other patients through a different lens.
o Stickiness of labels. Once a person designated abnormal, all other behaviors and
characteristics are colored by that label.
Psychological disorder: psychological dysfunction with distress or impairment in functioning
that isnt a typical or culturally expected response.
KEY WORDS- psychological dysfunction, distress, isnt a typical or culturally expected
response.
Early biological models of mental disorders
Demonology- doctrine that an evil being or spirit can dwell within a person and control his or
her mind and body
Exorcism- treatment for the belief that odd behavior was caused by possession. Ritualistic
casting out of evil spirits.
Hippocrates- father of modern medicine 5th century
Rejected belief that gods sent mental disturbances as punishment and insisted that such
illnesses had natural causes and should be treated like other, more common maladies,
such as colds and constipation.
Regarded brain as organ of the consciousness, intellectual life, and emotion. Thought
disordered thinking and behavior were indications of some kind of brain pathology.
Earliest proponent of notion that something wrong with brain disturbs thought and action.
BRIAN FUNCTIONING DEPENDENT ON DELICATE BALANCE AMONG 4
HUMORS OR BODILY FLUIDS
- blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. Imbalance of humors produces
disorders. Sluggish/dull- too much phlegm. Melancholia- too much black bile.
Irritability- too much yellow bile. Temperament- too much blood.

MENTAL DISORDER IN 3 CATEGORIES

- mania, melancholia, and phrenitis or brain fever
Left behind records of symptoms now recognized in seizure disorders and alcohol dependence
Human behavior affected by bodily structures of substances and odd behavior is produced by
some kind of physical imbalance or even damage. Naturalistic approach.
Syphilis
- Louis Pasteur established germ theory of disease. Posited that disease caused by infection of the
body by minute organisms. Demonstrated relation between syphilis and general paresis. Causal
link established between infection, destruction of certain areas of the brain, and a form of
psychopathology (general paresis). If one type of psychopathology had biological cause, so
could others. Biological approaches gained credibility.
Asylums
Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) - considered a primary figure in movement for humanitarian
treatment of people with mental illness in asylums.
-In charge of large asylum in Paris during French Rev.
-Treated patients as sick human beings rather than beasts. Light and airy rooms replaced
dungeons.
-Approached people with compassion and understanding and treated with dignity
-If a persons reason left them b/c of severe personal and social problems, it might be
restored to them through comforting counsel and purposeful activity.
-Treated people of upper classes well, not lower classes.
Moral treatment- patients had close contact with attendants, residents led lives as close to normal
as possible and took responsibility for themselves. Abandoned in latter part of 19th century

KNOW FREUD
-psychoanalytic theory: psychopathology results from unconscious conflicts in
individual.
-ID, EGO, SUPEREGO. (pleasure principle (unconscious), mediator (conscious),
superego (conscience)
-defense mechanisms- strategy used by ego to protect itself against anxiety
-psychoanalysis- goal of therapist to understand persons early childhood experiences, the
nature of key relationships, and the patterns in current relationships. Listening for core
emotional and relationship themes that surface again and again (free association,
transference: patients response to his or her analyst that reflect attitudes and ways of
behaving toward important people in patients past. , interpretations- focus on defense
mechanisms).
-Psychosexual development- Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latent, Genital

BEHAVIOR AND LEARNING MODELS

Behaviorism- focuses on observable behavior rather than consciousness or mental functioning.
Classical conditioning-

Operant conditioning- behavior that operates on environment.

-law of effect- behavior that is followed by consequences satisfying to the organisms will
be repeated, and behavior that is followed by unpleasant consequences will be
discouraged.
-Positive reinforcement: strengthening of a tendency to respond by virtue of
presentation of a pleasant event, called positive reinforce. Ex: thirsty pigeon with repeat
behaviors that give it water
- Negative reinforcement: strengthens response but does so via removal of an aversive
event, such as an electric shock.
-Punishment- decrease the behavior that precedes it.
-Negative punishment (take something away)- punishment by removal. Ex: after
getting in a fight with his sister over playing with the new toy, mother takes away toy.
-Positive punishment (add aversive stimulus) presenting a negative consequence
after an undesired behavior is exhibited, making behavior less likely to happen in the
future. Wear your favorite baseball cap to class, but reprimanded by instructor for
violating schools dress code. Child picks his nose during class and teacher reprimands
him in front of classmates.
Chapter 2
Paradigm- a conceptual framework or approach within which a scientist works. Set of basic
assumptions, a general perspective, that defines how to conceptualize and study a subject, how to
gather and interpret relevant data, even how to think about a particular subject.
OR set of basic assumptions or general perspective used to conceptualize and study a specific
topic.
-genetic, neuroscience, and cognitive behavioral
GENETIC PARADIGM
- Almost all behavior is heritable to some degree (involves genes), despite this
genes do not operate in isolation from the environment. Throughout our life
span, the environment shapes how our genes are expressed, and our genes also
shape our environments. (nature vs nurture).
- Behavior is polygenic
- Epigenetics: study of how environmental factors affect how a gene operates.

Heritability: estimate of the extent to which variability in a given behavior

(or disorder) in a population can be accounted for by genetic factors. Depends
on environment.
Genes make proteins that make body and brain work. Some proteins switch or
turn, on and off other genes in process called gene expression.
Pathology is polygenic- meaning several genes turn themselves on and off as
they interact with a persons environment.
WE DO NOT INHERIT MENTAL ILLNESS FORM OUR GENES. WE
DEVELOP MENTAL ILNESS THROUGH THE INTERACTION OF OUR
GENES WITH OUR ENVIORNMENTS.
Shared and non- shared environment. Ppl think non- shared experiences have
much more to do with development of mental illness than shared.
Behavior genetics- study of the degree to which genes and environmental
factors influence behavior.
SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) refers to differences between people
in a single nucleotide. Studied in schizophrenia and mood disorders
Reciprocal gene-environment model- genes may predispose us to seek our
certain enviroments that then increase our risk for developing a particular
disorder. Ex: genetic risk of alcohol use disorder may predispose persons to
life events that put them in high-risk situations for alcohol use such as being in
trouble with the law.
Diathesis stress model- explains behavior as a predispositional vulnerability
together with stress from life experiences. The diathesis or predisposition,
interacts with the subsequent stress response of an individual. Stress serves as
a catalyst to the development of a disorder. Explores how biological or genetic
traits (diathesis) interact with environmental influences (stressors) to produce
disorders. Asserts that if combo of predisposition and stress exceeds a
threshold, the person will develop a disorder. OR psych disorders are result of
interaction btwn inherited vulnerability and environmental events (stress)
Something can trigger vulnerability.
o Diathesis can be biological (neurological abnormality, illness, or
injury) or psychological (cognitive, schema, personality traits).

STRUCTURE OF NERVOUS SYSTEM

HPA axis- (Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis) System by which cortisol is released by
the adrenal gland. Involved in stress response.
Neurotransmitters- chemicals released form one nerve cell to another across the synaptic cleft

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL PARADIGM

Cognition: Mental processes of thinking, perceiving, recognizing, reasoning and attention.

-A-B-C model: the interpretation (B) of an event (A) leads to emotional and behavior
response (C)
-Schema: set of mental structures used to organize information and experience. OR
person fits new info into an organized network of already-accumulated knowledge.
-Implicit/Unconscious Cognition
-Implicit memory: refers to idea that person can, without being aware of it, be
influenced by prior learning. Ex. A person may be shown a list of words so
quickly that he or she cannot identify the words. Later, the person will be able to
recall the words even though the words were not consciously perceived during the
rapid initial presentation. Ex. Want to say color of word but implicitly know the
color. People with social anxiety and depression have trouble with these tasks.
-Unconscious reflects the incredible efficiency and autonomaticity of the brain.
Social Learning: Bandura
-personal experience not necessary for learning- can learn vicariously (through
observation)
-Importance of modeling and social context
Intervention- behavior (exposure therapy) modeling (coping model). After the way ppl perceive
events
Interpersonal factors: attachment, and social support
Attachment theory- a type or style of an infants attachment to his or her caregivers can
set stage for psychological health or problems later in life.
Interpersonal therapy- emphasizes the importance of current relationships in a persons
life and how problems in these relationships can contribute to psychological symptoms
Sociocultural factors- cultural beliefs and practices, gender, socioeconomics.

Ch. 3
Reliability: consistency in measurement. Ex. Wooden ruler
Inter-rater reliability: degree to which two independent observers agree on what they
have observed. Ex. Two umpires may or may not agree as to whether the ball is fair or
foul
Test-retest reliability: consistency over time. Ex. Evaluating intelligence tests
Internal consistency: consistency of responses/ reaction to criteria that is supposed to
represent something. Whether items on a test are related. Ex. One would expect the items on an
anxiety questionnaire to be interrelated, or to correlate with one another, if they truly tap anxiety.
Person with a dry mouth in a threatening situation would be expected to report increases in
muscle tension as well, since both are characteristics of anxiety.
Validity: measuring what you say or set out to measure
Content validity: refers to whether a measure adequately samples the domain of interest.
Ex: whether diff items tap into or reflect depression

Criterion validity: accurately predict behavior. Ex: measure of overly negative thoughts
that are believed to play important role in depression. Show that people with depression score
higher on the test than ppl without depression. OR can be assessed by evaluating the ability of
the measure to predict some other variable that is measured at some point in the future. Measure
of negative thinking could be used to predict depression
Construct validity: things we cant measure directly. Good collection of samples.
Construct is inferred attribute such as anxiousness or distorted cognition. If questionnaire has
construct, people who obtain diff scores on test really will differ in anxiety proneness.
CANT HAVE VALIDITY WITHOUT RELIABILITY
DSM (Diagnostic System of the American Psychiatric Association)
-current version of DSM- 5
- first published by American Psychiatric Association in 1952
-revised 5 times since then
-MAJOR RENOVATIONS- symptoms for a given diagnosis are spelled out precisely, and
clinical symptoms are defined in a glossary
-characteristics of each diagnosis are described much more extensively than in DSM II
-multiaxial classification system- focus on cultural issues as well as separate dimensions,
or axes, to rate people.
-changes in personality disorder diagnosis, new diagnoses, combining diagnoses, clearer
criteria, ethnic and cultural considerations in diagnosis. Culture bound syndromes.
System of classifying psych disorders based on symptoms
-Comorbidity: Meeting criteria for more than one disorder at a time. Issue with
VALIDITY because of an overlap in symptoms.
Categorical vs. Dimensional Approach
Categorical
-focus on what kind of problem person is experiencing
-divides people into similar types or groups
-defines essential features
-based on criteria sets
-there are defined boundaries between categories.
-forces clinicians to define one threshold as diagnosable
-more scientific
Dimensional
-focuses on extent a person is experiencing (rating scale)
-overlapping characteristics with few clear boundaries
-heterogeneous or diverse groups with overlapping symptoms and risk factors
-symptoms along continuum (like autism spectrum)

Stigma: pernicious beliefs and attitudes held by a society that are ascribed to groups considered
deviant in some manner. Social injustice. Unjust treatment in housing, employment, health care.
Criminalization of mental illness (ppl in jail who arent treated for mental illness)
Poor treatment decisions.
1. Label is applied to a group that distinguishes them from others (ex. Crazy)
2. Label is linked to deviant or undesirable attributes by society (ex crazy ppl are
dangerous)
3. Ppl with label seen as essentially different (you vs. them)
4. Ppl with label discriminated against unfairly (ex. denied housing, employment)
Clinical assessment- refers to systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological,
biological, and social factors in an individual presenting with a possible psychological disorder
Structured- questions are set out in prescribed fashion for the interviewer
Clients response to one question determines the next question that is asked. Also
contains detailed instructions to the interviewer concerning when and how to probe in detail and
when to go on to questions about another diagnosis. Achieves good intterrater reliability
Unstructured: through years of training and clinical experience, each clinician develops
way of asking questions that he or she is comfortable with and that seem to draw out the info that
will be of max benefit to the client. Must rely on intuition and gen. experience.
Personality assessment- person asked to complete a self-report questionnaire indicating whether
statements assessing habitual tendencies apply to him or her. Objective
-MMPI, projective (Rorschac) (TAT) responses will be determined by unconscious
processes and will reveal his or her true attitudes.
Standardization- process of administering tests to many people and establishing statistical norms.
Intelligence Test- way of assessing a persons current mental ability. (attention, concentration,
memory, reasoning, comprehension). Look at scores on subtests to identify cognitive strengths
and weaknesses.
IQ DOES NOT EQUAL INTELLIGENCE
Reps an estimate of intelligence
Different intelligence tests conceptualize and measure intelligence in different ways
Used to diagnose learning disorders and identify areas of strengths and weaknesses for
academic planning
Help determine whether a person has intellectual development disorder
Identify intellectually gifted children so that appropriate instruction can be provided at
school
As part of neuropsychological evaluations; for ex. periodically testing a person believed
to be suffering from dementia, so that deterioration of mental ability can be followed over time

Behavioral assessment- direct observation of behavior in real life ad the lab. Interviews and selfreport measures
-aspects of environment might contribute to symptoms (ex an office location next to a noisy
hallway contributes to concentration problems
-characterstics of a person (ex. clients fatigue may be caused in part by cognitive tendency
toward self deprication manifested in statements like I never do anything right, so whats the
point in trying?
- Frequency and form of problematic behaviors (ex. procrastination taking the form of missing
important deadlines)
-consequences of problem behaviors (when client avoids a fear situation, partner offers
sympathy, keeping client from facing his/her fears)
NeuroimagingCAT scan: assesses structural brain abnormalities
MRI- produces pictures of higher quality and does not rely on even small amount or radiation
required by CT
Functional MRI- measure both brain structure and function. Measures blood flow in brain.
PET scan- measurement of both brain structure and function.
Neuropsychological Assessment
Often used in conjunction with brain imaging techniques both to detect brain dysfunction and
help pinpoint specific areas of behavior that are impacted by problems in brain. Can identify
extent of brain damage suffered by a stroke
Psychophysiological Assessment
Concerned with the bodily changes that are associated with psychological events. Measures such
as heart rate, tension in muscles, blood flow in various parts of the body, and electrical activity in
the brain to study physiological changes when ppl are afraid, depressed, asleep, imagining,
solving problems, etc.
-provide important info about a persons reactivity and can also be used to compare ppl.
Culture Bias in Assessment- notion that a measure developed for one culture or ethnic group may
not be equally reliable and valid with a different cultural or ethnic group.
Chapter 4
Theory- set of propositions meant to explain a class of observations
Hypotheses- expectations about what should occur if a theory is true
Case study- involves recording detailed info about one person at a time.
Correlation method- studies address questions of the form do variable x and variable y vary
together (co-relate). Variables are measured as they exist in nature. Distinct from experimental
research in which researcher manipulates variables.

DIFFERENT
MANIPULATED.

FROM

EXPERIMENTAL IN

THAT A VARIABLE

IS

NOT

Epidemiology- study of distribution of disorders in a population. Data gathered about rates of

disorder and its correlates in large sample. REPRESENTATIVE of population
-prevalance: the proportion of people with disorder either currently or during their lifetime
-incidence- proportion of people who develop new cases of disorders in some period, usually
year
-risk factors- variables that are related to the likelihood of developing a disorder.
Behavior genetics- comparison of family members, comparison of pairs of twins, and
investigation of adoptees.
Family method- used to study a genetic predisposition among members of a family because the
average number of genes shared by two blood relatives is known.
Adoption studies, twin studies
Cross sectional design- comparisons of diff people at diff ages on a particular characteristic
Longitudinal designs- evaluate same people over time and assess changes directly
Independent variable- what is being manipulated
Dependent variable- what is being measured
Internal validity- refers to extent to which experimental effect can be attributed to independent
variable. Must include at least one control group.
External validity- defined as the extent to which results can be generalized beyond the study. If
ppl find that a treatment works on a group of patients, they will want to conclude that this
treatment is effective for other similar groups, at other times, and in other places. Pg 116
Single subject design: experimenter studies how one person responds to manipulations of the
independent variable. Have high internal validity.
-A-B design: One baseline phase and one intervention phase
-A-B-A OR A-B-A-B (reversal): series of alternating baseline and intervention phases
-initial time period, baseline (A)
- period when treatment is introduced (B)
-reinstatement of conditions of baseline period (A)
-reintroduction of treatment (B)