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Abnormal Psychology
Chapter 3 and 4
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| reliability | degree to which a measurement is consistent, for example, over time or among different raters |
| validity | degree to which a technique measures what it purports to measure |
| standardization | process of establishing specific norms and requirements for a measurement technique to ensure it is used consistently across measurement occasions |
| clinical assessment | systematic evaluation of psychological, biological, and social factors in someone with a possible psychological disorder |
| diagnosis | process of determining whether a presenting problem meets established criteria for a specific psychological disorder |
| mental status exam | relatively coarse preliminary test of a client’s judgment, orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state; typically conducted during an initial interview |
| behavioral Assessment | measuring, observing, and systematically evaluating (rather than inferring) the client’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviour in the actual problem situation or context |
| self-monitoring | action by which clients observe and record their own behaviours as either an assessment of a problem and its change or a treatment procedure that makes them more aware of their responses |
| projective test, neuropsychological test | psychoanalytically based measures that present ambiguous stimuli to clients on the assumption that their responses will reveal their unconscious conflicts |
| personality inventory | self-report questionnaires that assess personal traits by asking respondents to identify descriptions that apply to them |
| intelligence quotient | score on an intelligence test, abbreviated IQ, estimating a person’s deviation from average test performance |
| neuropsychological test | assessment of brain and nervous system functioning by measuring an individual's performance on behavioral tasks |
| false positive | assessment error in which pathology is reported when none is actually present |
| false negative | assessment error in which no pathology is noted when one is actually present |
| neuroimaging | sophisticated computer-aided procedure that allows nonintrusive examination of nervous system structure and function |
| psychophysiological assessment | measurement of changes in the nervous system reflecting psychological or emotional events, such as anxiety, stress, and sexual arousal |
| electroencephalogram | measure of electrical activity patterns in the brain taken through electrodes placed on the scalp |
| classification | assignment of objects or people to categories on the basis of shared characteristics |
| taxonomy | system of naming and classification (e.g., of specimens) in science |
| nosology | classification and naming system for medical and psychological phenomena |
| nomenclature | in a naming system, the actual labels or names that are applied |
| classical categorical approach | classification method founded on the assumption of clear-cut differences among disorders, each with a different cause |
| dimensional approach | method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than a binary, either-or, or all-or-none basis |
| prototypical approach | system for categorizing disorders using both essential, defining characteristics and a range of variation on other characteristics |
| comorbidity | presence of two or more disorders in an individual at the same time |
| labeling | applying a name to a phenomenon or a pattern of behaviour |
| behavioural inhibition system (BIS) | brain circuit in the limbic system that responds to threat signals by inhibiting activity and causing anxiety |
| norms | a group of people who are similar to the patient in gender, age, cultural background, and so on |
| stigma | combination of stereotypic negative beliefs, prejudices, and attitudes resulting in reduced life opportunities for the devalued group in question |
| hypothesis | educated guess or statement to be supported by data |
| cohort effect | observation that people of different age groups also differ in their values and experiences |
| cohorts | participants in each age group of a cross-sectional research study |
| Correlation | degree to which two variables are associated |
| Cross-Generational Effect | limit to the generalizability of longitudinal research because the group under study may differ from others in culture and experience |
| Effect Size | statistical measure that shows the amount of difference among the members of a group in a clinical study |
| Human Genome Project | ongoing scientific attempt to develop a comprehensive map of all human genes |
| incidence | number of new cases of a disorder appearing during a specific time period |
| proband | in genetics research, the individual displaying the trait or characteristic being studied |
| Repeated Measurement | when responses are measured on more than two occasions (not just before and after intervention) to assess trends |
| Retrospective Information | literally “the view back,” data collected by examining records or recollections of the past. It is limited by the accuracy, validity, and thoroughness of the sources |
| Sequential Design | combination of the cross-sectional and longitudinal research methods involving repeated study of different cohorts over time |
| Testability | ability of a hypothesis, for example, to be subjected to scientific scrutiny and to be accepted or rejected, a necessary condition for the hypothesis to be useful |
| Treatment Outcome Research | studies of the effectiveness of clinical interventions, including the comparison of competing treatments |
| Trend | direction of change of a behaviour or behaviours (e.g., increasing, decreasing) |
| Variability | degree of change in a phenomenon over time |
| Patient Uniformity Myth | tendency to consider all members of a category as more similar than they are, ignoring their individual differences |
| placebo control groups | in outcome experiments, control groups that do not receive the experimental manipulation but are given a similar procedure with an identical expectation of change, allowing the researcher to assess any placebo effect |
| prevalence | number of people displaying a disorder in the total population at any given time |
| Research Design | plan of experimentation used to test a hypothesis |
| Dependent Variable | in an experimental research study, the phenomenon that is measured and expected to be influenced |
| Independent Variable | phenomenon that is manipulated by the experimenter in a research study and expected to influence the dependent variable |
| Internal Validity | extent to which the results of a research study can be attributed to the independent variable after confounding alternative explanations have been ruled out |
| External Validity | extent to which research study findings generalize, or apply, to people and settings not involved in the study |
| Confound (Confounding Variable) | any factor occurring in a research study that makes the results uninterpretable because its effects cannot be separated from those of the variables being studied |
| Control Group | group of individuals in a research study who are similar to the experimental subjects in every way but are not exposed to the treatment received by the experimental group |
| Randomization | method for placing individuals into research groups that assures each one of an equal chance of being assigned to any group, to eliminate any systematic differences across groups |
| analogue models | approaches to research that use subjects who are similar to clinical clients, allowing replication of a clinical problem under controlled conditions |
| generalizability | extent to which research results apply to a range of individuals not in the study |
| Statistical Significance | probability that obtaining the observed research findings merely by chance is small |
| Clinical Significance | degree to which research findings have useful and meaningful applications to real problems |
| case study method | research procedure in which a single person or small group is examined in detail |
| Correlation Coefficient | computed statistic reflecting the strength and direction of any association between two variables |
| Negative Correlation | association between two variables in which one increases as the other decreases |
| Epidemiology | psychopathology research method examining the prevalence, distribution, and consequences of disorders in populations |
| Experiment | research method that can establish causation by manipulating the variables in question and controlling for other alternative explanations of any observed effects |
| Placebo Effect | behavior change resulting from the person's expectation of change rather than from experimental manipulation |
| Double-Blind Control | procedure in outcome studies that prevents bias by ensuring that neither the subjects nor the providers of the experimental treatment know who is receiving treatment and who is receiving placebo |
| Comparative Treatment Research | outcome research that contrasts two or more treatment methods to determine which is most effective |
| Single-Case Experimental Design | research tactic in which an independent variable is manipulated for a single individual, allowing cause-and-effect conclusions, but with limited generalizability |
| withdrawal design | removal of a treatment to note whether it has been effective |
| Baseline | measured rate of a behaviour before introduction of an intervention that allows comparison and assessment of the effects of the intervention |
| dream analysis | psychoanalytic therapy method in which dream contents are examined as symbolic of id impulses and intrapsychic conflicts |
| informed consent | ethical requirement whereby research subjects agree to participate in a research study only after they receive full disclosure about the nature of the study and their own role in it |
| multiple baseline | single-case experimental design in which measures are taken on two or more behaviours, or on a single behaviour in two or more situations |
| phenotypes | observable characteristics or behaviours of an individual |
| genotypes | specific genetic makeup of individuals |
| endophenotypes | genetic mechanisms that contribute to the underlying problems causing the symptoms and difficulties experienced by people with psychological disorders |
| family studies | genetic studies that examine patterns of traits and behaviours among relatives |
| adoption studies | in genetics research, the study of first-degree relatives reared in different families and environments |
| twin studies | comparison of two offspring produced by the same pregnancy with unrelated or less closely related individuals |
| gene linkage analysis | studies that seek to match the inheritance pattern of a disorder to that of a genetic marker |
| genetic marker | inherited characteristic for which the chromosomal location of the responsible gene is known |
| association studies | research strategies for comparing genetic markers in groups of people with and without a particular disorder |
| cross-sectional design | methodology to examine a characteristic by comparing individuals of different ages |
| longitudinal designs | systematic study of changes in the same individual or group examined over time |
Created by:
amystill