Summary Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology Notes Research in Abnormal Psychology Research is particularly important in the field of abnormal psychology because a wrong belief in this field can lead to great suffering. Ex: Schizophrenia—in the mid-20th century, schizophrenia was blamed on bad parenting and treated with lobotomies. Clinical researchers, also known as clinical scientists aim to discover universal laws of abnormal psychological functioning. They search for a nomothetic understanding o Nomothetic Understanding: A general understanding of the nature, causes, and treatments of abnormal psychological functioning, in the form of laws or principles. Clinical researchers do not typically assess, diagnose, or treat individual clients. o This is the job of clinical practitioner. To gain a nomothetic understanding of abnormal psychology, clinical researchers use the scientific method. They use the scientific method to explain relationships between variables. o A variable is any characteristic or event that can vary, whether from time to time, place to place, or person to person. Age, sex, and race are human variables. Clinical researchers must depend on three methods of investigation—the case study, the correlational method, and the experimental method. o As a group, these methods enable scientists to form and test hypotheses.  Hypothesis: A hunch or prediction that certain variables are related in certain ways. A tentative explanation offered to provide a basis for an investigation.  Clinical researchers use nomothetic understanding, clinical practitioners use an ideographic understanding. A case study is a detailed account of a person’s life and psychological problems. It describes the person’s history, present circumstances, and symptoms. Case studies offer a source of new ideas about behavior and “open the way for discoveries”. A case study can offer tentative support for a theory. A case study can also serve to challenge a theory’s assumptions. Case studies can prove the value of new therapeutic techniques or unique applications of existing techniques. Case studies offer opportunities to study unusual problems. Case studies are accompanied by a variety of limitations. Abnormal Psychology Notes Case studies are reported by biased observers (therapists who have a personal stake in seeing their treatments succeed). o Therapists choose what to include in a case study, and this may be self-serving. Case studies rely on subjective evidence. Case studies have low internal validity. o Case studies provide little basis for generalization. Case studies also have low external validity, meaning they cannot be generalized to the general population. Limitations of case study are help addressed through the correlational and experimental research methods. The features of the correlational and experimental methods enable clinical investigators to gain general, or nomothetic insights: 1. Researchers typically observe many individuals so they can collect ample information or data to support a conclusion. 2. Researchers apply procedures uniformly so the process of replication may take place. 3. Researchers use statistical tests to analyze the results of a study. These tests can indicate whether broad conclusions are justified. The correlational method is a research procedure used to determine how much events or characteristics vary along with each other. This research procedure used to determine the co-relationship between variables. The people chosen for a study are the participants. The participants in a given study are collectively called its sample. A correlation is created by the line of best fit that represents the data. A correlation can be negative or positive, strong, weak, or not exist at all (no correlation). If the line of best fit, a slope upward and to the right indicates a positive direction and correlation. In a negative correlation, the value of one variable increases as the value of the other variable decreases. The third possible outcome is that the variables under study may be unrelated, meaning there is no consistent relationship between them. The direction and magnitude of a correlation are often calculated numerically and expressed by a statistical term called the correlation coefficient, which can vary from -1.00 to +1.00. o The sign signifies the direction, the number signifies the magnitude. Most correlations in psychological research fall short of a perfect correlation. Scientists test conclusions of correlations through statistical analysis of data. This basically determines how likely it is that the data results occurred by chance. Cut-off point, often known as “p<.05”, helps researchers determine whether the findings are said to be statistically significant The correlational method possesses high external validity. Researchers can easily repeat correlational studies using new samples of participants to check the results of earlier studies. Abnormal Psychology Notes On the other hand, correlational studies do not possess high internal validity. Correlations allow researchers to describe a relationship, but it does not explain a relationship—there is no manipulated variable. Special Forms of Correlational Research Epidemiological studies measure the incidence and prevalence of a disorder in a given population. o Incidence is the number of new cases that emerge during a given period of time. o Prevalence is the total number of cases in the population during a given period.  Prevalence includes both existing and new cases. Researchers also refer to these studies as “descriptive studies” because the goal is to describe, not predict or explain. Over the past 40 years, clinical researchers throughout the United States have worked on one of the largest epidemiological studies of mental disorders ever conducted, called the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study. o Such studies help researchers identify groups at risk for particular disorders. o Women have higher rates of anxiety and depression than men, while men have a higher rate of alcoholism. Elderly people are more likely to commit suicide, and HispanicAmericans experience posttraumatic stress disorder the most. Longitudinal studies, also called high-risk or developmental studies, are studies that observe the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time. o Longitudinal studies cannot determine causation, but the reported order of the events is helpful in determining such. The Experimental Method Experiment: Research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the manipulation’s effect on another variable is observed. Independent Variable—the manipulated variable Dependent Variable—the observed variable The true cause of changes in the dependent variable should be able to be separated from other possible causes. Experimenters must try to eliminate all confounds o Confounds are any variable other than the independent variable that may also affect the dependent variable. o To guard against confounds, researchers should include a control group, random assignment, and a blind design. A control group is a group of participants in an experiment who are not exposed to the independent variable. An experimental group is a group of participants who are exposed to the independent variable under investigation. Investigators who conduct experiments must do a statistical analysis on their data to find out how likely it is that the observed differences are due to chance. Abnormal Psychology Notes It is important to distinguish between statistical significance and a notion called clinical significance. o Clinical significance indicates whether the amount of improvement is meaningful in the individual’s life. Statistical significance indicates whether a participant is improving in functioning because of treatment. Random Assignment: The make up of the experimental and control groups are very important. To reduce the effects of preexisting differences, experimenters use random assignment. This is the general term for any selection procedure that ensures every participant in the experiment is as likely to be placed in one group as the other. Blind Design: To avoid bias on behalf of the experimenter and the participants, experiments use a strategy known as a blind design, meaning individuals are not told which group they are in. Placebo Therapy: A simulated treatment that the participant in an experiment believes to be genuine. An experimenter may also be confounded by experimenter bias—experimenters may have expectations that they unintentionally relay to the participants. o Rosenthal Effect o Experimenters can reduce this bias by arranging to be blind themselves. Double-Blind Design: Both the participants and experimenter are kept blind in the study. Alternative Experimental Designs The most common variation of experimental designs are the quasi-experimental design, the natural experiment, the analogue experiment, and the single-subject experiment. In quasi-experiments or mixed designs, researchers do not randomly assign participants to groups, but instead use groups that already exist in the world at large. Researchers often try to address the confound problems of quasi experiments by using matched control participants, which means they match the experimental participants with control participants of similar age, sex, race, SES, etc. Natural Experiments: An experiment in which nature, rather than an experimenter, manipulates an independent variable. Natural experiments can also be seen as a kind of quasi-experiment. Natural disasters and catastrophes provide opportunity for natural experiment. Analogue Experiment: A research method in which the experimenter produces abnormal-like behavior in laboratory participants and then conducts experiments on the participants. Analogue studies often use animals as participants because they are easier to gather and manipulate than humans, and their presence poses fewer ethical issues. Single-Subject Experimental Design: A research method in which a single participant is observed and measured both before and after the manipulation of an independent variable. Participant is observed before and after manipulation as experimenters rely on baseline data. Abnormal Psychology Notes Reversal Design, also called ABAB, is a kind of single subject design in which a participant’s reactions are measure and compared during the baseline period (condition A) and after the introduction of the independent variable (condition B). They remove the independent variable and measure both conditions once more. Independent variable is manipulated systematically so the investigator can confidently draw conclusions about the cause of an observed effect. Protecting Human Participants Human research participants have needs and rights that must be respected. The researchers’ primary obligation is to avoid harming the human participants in their studies, physically or psychologically. Institutional Review Board (IRB): An ethics committee formed in a research facility that is empowered to protect the rights and safety of human research participants. It reviews and may require changes in each proposed study at the facility before approving or disapproving the study. Each research facility has an IRB, consisting of five or more members who review and monitor every study conducted at that institution. If research is conducted at an institution, the institution MUST have an IRB. The IRBs aim to ensure that each study grants the following rights to its participants: o The participant enlists voluntarily o Participant is adequately informed o Participants have right to withdrawal at any point o Benefits outweigh costs/risks o Protection from physical and psychological harm o Privacy protection, confidentiality, anonymity A limitation is that IRB consent forms are written by well-educated individuals and are better understood by well-educated participants. Abnormal Psychology Notes Summary of Chapter 2 What do Clinical Researchers Do? Clinical researchers use the scientific method to uncover nomothetic principles of abnormal psychological functioning. They attempt to identify and examine relationships between variables and depend primarily on three methods of investigation—case study, correlational method, and experimental method. The Case Study The case study is a detailed account of a person’s life and psychological problems. It can serve as a source of ideas about behavior, provide support for theories, or offer an opportunity to study an unusual occurrence. Tend to have low internal and external validity. The Correlational Method Correlational studies are used to systematically observe the degree to which events or characteristics occur together. This method allows researchers to draw broad conclusions about abnormality in the population at large. A correlation may have a positive or negative direction and may be high or low in magnitude. Two widely used forms of the correlational method are epidemiological studies and longitudinal studies. The Experimental Method Researchers manipulate suspected causes to see whether expected effects will result. Alternative Experimental Designs Clinical experimenters must often settle for experimental designs that are less than ideal, including the quasi-experiment, the natural experiment, the analogue experiment, and the single-subject experiment. Protecting Human Participants Each research facility has an Institutional Review Board that has the power and responsibility to protect the rights and safety of human participants in all studies conducted in that facility. The IRB protects the right of informed consent, acceptable risk/benefit balance, and privacy. The Use of Multiple Research Methods Research participants have rights that must be respected because the origins of behavior are very complex. Researchers must take into account their own biases and possible participant behavioral bias. Abnormal Psychology Notes Chapter 3: Models of Abnormality In science, the perspectives used to explain events are known as models, or paradigms. A model is a set of assumptions and concepts that help scientists explain and interpret observations. Each model spells out the scientist’s basic assumptions, gives order to the field under study, and sets guidelines for its investigations. The Biological Model—Biological theorists view abnormal behavior as an illness brought about by malfunctioning parts of the organisms, typically problems in brain anatomy or brain chemistry. The cortex is the outer layer of the brain, the corpus callosum connects the brain’s two cerebral hemispheres, the basal ganglia plays a crucial role in planning and producing movement, the hippocampus helps regulate emotions and memory, and the amygdala plays a key role in emotional memory. The cerebrum = cerebral cortex, corpus callosum, basal ganglia, hippocampus, and amygdala. The brain is made of approximately 100 billion nerve cells, known as neurons. Within the brain, large groups of neurons form distinct areas, or brain regions. Biological researchers have figured out that psychological disorders can be related to problems in the transmission of messages from neuron to neuron. An impulse is first received by a neuron’s dendrites. Then it travels down the axon and is transmitted through the nerve ending. Synapse: The tiny space between the nerve ending of one neuron and the dendrite of another. o When an electrical impulse reaches a neuron’s ending, the nerve ending is stimulated to release a chemical, called a neurotransmitter, that travels across the synaptic space to receptors on the dendrites of neighboring neurons. Abnormal Psychology Notes In addition to neurons and neurotransmitters, researchers have learned that mental disorders can also derive from abnormal chemical activity in the body’s endocrine system. Endocrine glands throughout the body work with neurons to control vital activities such as growth, reproduction, sexual activity, heart rate, body temperature, energy, response to stress. The glands release chemicals called hormones into the blood stream, and these chemicals propel body organs into action. Source of Biological Abnormalities- Why do some people have different brain structure/activity? Three factors have received particular attention: genetics, evolution, and viral infections. Genetics and Abnormal Behavior Abnormalities in one’s brain structure or chemistry are sometimes the result of genetic inheritance. Studies suggest that inheritance plays a part in mood disorders, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders. Gene: Chromosome segments that control the characteristics and traits we inherit. Precise identification of various genes of mental disorders have become clearer in recent years. Evolution and Abnormal Behavior-- According to evolutionary theorists, many of the genes that contribute to abnormal functioning are actually the result of normal evolutionary principles. Viral Infections and Abnormal Behavior— Studies have found that mothers contracting the flu while pregnant relates to occurrence of schizophrenia in child. Biological Treatments The three leading kinds of biological treatments used today are drug therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and psychosurgery. Drug therapy is by far the most common. In the 1950s, researchers discovered several effective psychotropic medications. Psychotropic medications: Drugs that mainly affect the brain and reduce symptoms of mental dysfunctioning. Four major psychotropic drug groups are used in therapy: antianxiety, antidepressant, antibipolar, and antipsychotic drugs. Antianxiety drugs, also called minor tranquilizers or anxiolytics, help reduce tension and anxiety. Antidepressant drugs help improve the mood of people who are depressed. Antibipolar drugs, also called mood stabilizers, help steady the moods of those with bipolar disorder. Antipsychotic drugs help reduce confusion, hallucinations, and delusions of psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, marked by a loss of contact with reality. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): A treatment for depression in which electrodes attached to a patient’s head send an electrical current through the brain, causing a seizure. Psychosurgery: Also known as neurosurgery and involves brain surgery for mental disorders. Abnormal Psychology Notes The Psychodynamic model is the oldest and most famous of the modern psychological models. Psychodynamic theorists believe that a person’s behavior, whether normal or abnormal, is determined largely by underlying psychological forces of which they are not consciously aware. Psychodynamic theories often look into one’s past and tie psychological conflicts to past experiences. How did Freud explain normal and abnormal functioning? Freud believed that three central forces shape the personality—instinctual needs, rational thinking, and moral standards. He believed all of these forces operated on the unconscious level. Freud called these forces the id, the ego, and the superego. Id: Psychological force that produces instinctual needs, drives, and impulses. o Operates in accordance with the pleasure principle/seeking gratification. The Ego: Psychological force that employs reason and operates in accordance with the reality principle. o The Ego develops basic strategies called ego defense mechanisms. These are strategies developed by the ego to control unacceptable id impulses and to reduce the anxiety they arouse. o These defense mechanisms include repression, denial, rationalization, displacement, intellectualization, projection, and regression. Abnormal Psychology Notes Superego: Psychological force that represents a person’s values and ideals and operates by the morality principle. o According to Freud, these three forces of the personality are often in some degree of conflict—if they are in excessive conflict, a person’s behavior may show signs of dysfunction. Developmental Stages- Freud proposed that at each stage of development, new events challenge individuals and require adjustments to their id, ego, and superego. If the adjustments are successful, they can lead to personal growth. If not, the person may become fixated, or stuck, at an early age of development. Oral stage  Anal Stage  Phallic Stage  Latency  Genital Stage Three of today’s most influential psychodynamic theories are ego theory, self theory, and object relations theory. Ego theory: The psychodynamic theory that emphasizes the ego and considers it an independent force. Self theory: The psychodynamic theory that emphasizes the role of the self—a person’s unified personality. Object relations theory: The psychodynamic theory that views the desire for relationships as the key motivating force in human behavior. Psychodynamic therapies seek to uncover past traumas and the inner conflicts that have resulted from them. They try to help clients resolve, or settle those conflicts and to resume personal development. To aid the process, therapists rely on techniques such as free association, therapist interpretation, catharsis, and working through. Free association: Technique in which the patient describes any thought, feeling, or image that comes to mind, even if it seems unimportant. The goal is to discover unconscious events and conflicts within oneself. Therapist Interpretation Resistance: An unconscious refusal to participate fully in therapy. Transference: The redirection toward the psychotherapist of feelings associated with important figures in a patient’s life, now or in the past. Dreams: A series of images that form during sleep. o Many psychotherapists try to help patients interpret their dreams. Catharsis: The reliving of past, repressed feelings in order to settle internal conflicts and overcome problems. Psychodynamic therapists believe a patient must experience this in order to settle internal conflicts and overcome their problems. Working Through: Psychoanalytic process of facing conflicts, reinterpreting feelings, and overcoming one’s problems. Abnormal Psychology Notes Current Trends in Psychodynamic Therapy: Short-term psychodynamic therapies and relational psychodynamic therapies Short-term Psychodynamic Therapies: Patients choose dynamic focus to work on. Relational Psychodynamic Therapy: Form of therapy that considers therapists to be 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. The Behavioral Model: Concentrates on behaviors, the responses an organism makes to its environment. Behavioral theorists base their explanations and treatments on the principle of learning, the processes by which these behaviors change in response to the environment. Conditioning: A simple form of learning aided by stimuli and rewards. Operant Conditioning: Process of learning in which behavior that leads to satisfying consequences is likely to be repeated. Modeling: Process of learning in which a person acquires responses by observing and imitating others. Classical Conditioning: Process of learning that occurs by Before After temporal association—in which two events that repeatedly Conditioni Conditioni occur close together in time become tied together in a person’s ng ng mind and so produce the same response. o Unconditioned Stimulus (US), Unconditioned Response CS: Tone → CS: Tone → (UR), Conditioned Stimulus (CS), Conditioned Response No response CR: (CR) Salivation Abnormal behaviors can be acquired by classical conditioning. US: Meat → US: Meat → Behavioral therapies aim to identify the behaviors that are causing a person’s problems and then try to replace them with more appropriate one’s by employing the principles of conditioning. Systematic Desensitization: A behavioral treatment that uses relaxation training and a fear hierarchy to help clients with phobias react calmly to the objects or situations they dread. The behavioral model can be tested in laboratories whereas the psychodynamic model cannot. Some critics hold that the behavioral view is too simplistic and the concepts fail to account for the complexity of behavior. Albert Bandura (1977) argued that in order to feel happy and function effectively, people must develop a positive sense of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy: The belief that one can master and perform needed behaviors whenever necessary. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies: Therapy approaches that seek to help clients change both counterproductive behaviors and dysfunctional ways of thinking. This is considered a bridge between the behavioral and cognitive model. The Cognitive Model Abnormal Psychology Notes This model was started by Ellis and Beck in the 1960s; they proposed that cognitive processes are at the center of behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. According to cognitive theorists, abnormal functioning can result from several types of cognitive problems. People make assumptions and adopt attitudes that are disturbing and inaccurate. Illogical thinking processes are a source of abnormal functioning. o Ex: Overgeneralization Cognitive Therapy: Developed by Aaron Beck, a therapy that helps people identify and change the maladaptive assumptions and ways of thinking that help cause their psychological disorders. Therapists help clients recognize negative thoughts, biased interpretations, and errors in logic that dominate their thinking and cause them to be depressed. The cognitive model focuses on the process of human thought. New wave of cognitive therapies Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Mindfulness-based techniques The Humanistic-Existential Model People are driven to self-actualize. Self-actualize: The humanistic process by which people fulfill their potential for goodness and growth. People can only do this if they recognize and accept their weaknesses, strengths, and personal values. Carl Rogers, considered a pioneer of the humanistic perspective, developed client-centered therapy. Client-centered Therapy: Clinicians try to help clients by being accepting, empathizing accurately, and conveying genuineness. According to Rogers, dysfunction can begin as early as infancy. We are born with a need to receive positive regard. o Those who receive unconditional positive regard early in life are likely to develop unconditional self-regard, meaning they recognize that they are not perfect but also recognize their worth. Clinicians who practice client-centered therapy try to create a supportive climate in which clients feel able to look at themselves honestly and acceptingly. The therapist must display three important qualities throughout the therapy: unconditional positive regard, accurate empathy, and genuineness. Therapists use these qualities to move a client toward greater self-awareness. Gestalt Theory and Therapy: Humanistic therapy developed by Fritz Perls in which clinicians actively move clients toward self-recognition and self-acceptance by using techniques such as role playing and self-discovery exercises. Abnormal Psychology Notes Unlike client-centered therapists, they may try to achieve this goal by frustrating their clients, a technique known as skillful frustration. Like humanists, existentialists believe that psychological dysfunction is caused by self-deception. Existential Therapy: A therapy that encourages clients to accept responsibility for their lives and to live with greater meaning and value. Most existential therapist place emphasis on a genuine client-therapist relationship. Existential therapists do not believe experimental methods can accurately test the effectiveness of their treatments. The Sociocultural Model—Abnormal behavior is best understood in light of the broad forces that influence an individual. Composed of two major perspectives: the family-social perspective and the multicultural perspective. The family-social perspective focuses on broad forces that operate directly on an individual as he or she moves through life—this entails family relationships, social interactions, and community events. Family-social theorists pay attention to three factors: social labels and roles, social networks, and family structure and communication. Family Systems Theory: A family is a system of interacting parts who interact with one another in consistent ways and follow rules unique to each family. Group Therapy: A therapy format in which a group of people with similar problems meet together with a therapist to work on those problems. Self-Help Group: A group made up of people with similar problems who help and support one another without the direct leadership of a clinician. Family Therapy: A therapy format in which the therapist meets with all members of a family and helps them to change in therapeutic ways. Structural family therapy and conjoint family therapy Couple/Marital Therapy: Therapist works with two people who share long-term relationship. Often focuses on structure and communication patterns. Community Mental Health Treatment: Treatment approach that emphasizes community care. Community workers recognize three types of prevention- primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary Prevention- efforts to improve community attitudes and policies. Secondary Prevention- identifying and treating mental disorders in the early stages. Tertiary Prevention- provide effective treatment as soon as it is needed to prevent moderate or severe disorders from becoming long-term problems. Abnormal Psychology Notes Biopsychosocial Theories: Explanations that attribute the cause of abnormality to an interaction of genetic, biological, developmental, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, social, and societal influences. Chapter 3 Summary Models of Psychological Abnormality The Biological Model The Psychodynamic Model The Behavioral Model The Cognitive Model The Humanistic-Existential Model The Sociocultural Model Abnormal Psychology Notes Chapter 4: Clinical Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment Assessment: The process of collecting and interpreting relevant information about a client or research participant. Clinical assessment used to determine how and why a person is behaving abnormally, and what can be done to help. The tools used for a clinical assessment depend on the clinician’s theoretical orientation. The hundreds of clinical assessment techniques fall into three categories: clinical interviews, tests, and observations. o To be useful, these tools must be standardized and must have clear reliability and validity. All clinicians must follow the same procedures when they use a particular assessment tool. Standardization: The process in which a test is administered to a large group of people whose performance then serves as a standard or norm against which any individual’s score can be measured. Reliability: A measure of the consistency of test or research results. o Test-retest reliability, interrater reliability Validity: The accuracy of a test’s study’s or results; that is, the extent to which a test or study actually measures or shows what it claims. o Face validity—makes sense o Predictive validity—ability to predict o Concurrent validity—degree to which variables from other assessment techniques agree A clinical interview is a face-to-face encounter between a therapist and client. This interview is often the first contact between to two, and clinicians use it to collect detailed information about the person’s problems, feelings, lifestyle, relationships, and other personal history. Clinical interviewers give special attention to topics they consider most important. Unstructured Interview: Clinician asks open-ended questions Structured Interview: Clinician asks prepared, specific questions o Many structured interviews include a mental status exam, a set of questions and observations that systematically evaluate the client. Unstructured interviews typically appeal to psychodynamic and humanistic therapists, while structured formats are used by behavioral and cognitive clinicians. Interviews can lack validity. Client can mislead the therapist; interviewers can make mistakes. Interviewers may also lack reliability. Clinical tests are devices for gathering information about a few aspects of a person’s psychological functioning. More than 500 clinical tests are currently in use in the Unites States, the six kinds that are used by clinicians most often are: projective tests, personality inventories, response inventories, psychophysiological tests, neurological and neuropsychological tests, and intelligence tests. Projective Tests: A test consisting of ambiguous material that people interpret or respond to. Abnormal Psychology Notes Rorschach test, Thematic Apperception Test, sentence-completion tests, and drawings. Thematic Apperception Test: Shown black and white cards with pictures, asked to develop story about each picture. Until the 1950s, projective tests were the most commonly used method for assessing personality. The tests do not show reliability or validity. Projective test pose issues in regards to variety in culture, ethnicity, etc. Personality Inventories: Measures broad personality characteristics, consisting of statements about behavior, beliefs, and feelings that people evaluate as either characteristic or uncharacteristic of them. Response Inventories: Tests designed to measure a person’s responses in one specific area of functioning, such as affect, social skills, or cognitive processes. Unlike personality inventories, these tests focus on one specific area of functioning. Affective Inventories measure the severity of emotions such as anxiety, depression, and anger. Social skills inventories measure participants responses to situations Cognitive inventories reveal a person’s typical thoughts and assumptions Psychophysiological Tests: Tests that measure physiological responses as possible indicators of psychological problems. These arose after the discovery that states of anxiety entail physiological changes. The polygraph is an example of one of these tests. Neurological Tests: Tests that measure brain structure or activity. An example is an electroencephalogram (EEG) which records brain waves. Other tests can take pictures of brain structure/activity—this is known as neuroimaging or brain scanning techniques. These include CT scans, CAT scans, PET scans, MRIs, and fMRIs. Neuropsychological Tests: A test that detects brain impairment by measuring a person’s cognitive, perceptual, and motor performances. Clinicians interpret abnormal performances as an indicator of an underlying brain problem. Intelligence Tests: Tests designed to measure a person’s intellectual ability. They consist of a serious of tasks and the general score derived from this is termed an intelligence quotient (IQ), which represented a person’s mental age to his or his chronological age, multiplied by 100. Clinical observations consist of clinicians systematically observing behavior. Naturalistic and Analog Observations—Naturalistic observations take place in homes, schools, or institutions. Often observations are made by “participant observers”. If a naturalistic observation is not practical, clinician’s resort to analog observations. Observers can make errors that affect the validity of their observations. Examples are known as observer drift, a steady decline in accuracy as a result of fatigue, or observer bias. A client’s reactivity may also limit the validity of clinical observations. Clinical Picture: Clinicians use information from interviews, tests, and observations to construct an integrated picture of the factors that are causing and maintaining a client’s disturbance. Abnormal Psychology Notes Diagnosis: Determination that a person’s psychological problems constitute a particular disorder. When certain symptoms occur regularly together, a cluster of symptoms is called a syndrome. Clinicians use classification systems in order to assign individuals to diagnostic categories based off of the description of their symptoms. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) created by Emil Kraepelin in 1883, was the first modern classification system for abnormal behavior. The content of the DSM has changed significantly over time. DSM-5- The DSM-5 lists more than 500 mental disorders and describes the criteria for diagnosing the disorder, and the key clinical features of the disorder. The DSM requires clinicians to provide both categorical and dimensional information as a part of a proper diagnosis. Categorical refers to the category of the disorder while dimensional refers to the severity of the disorder. Anxiety Disorders—People with anxiety disorders may experience general feelings of anxiety and worry (generalized anxiety disorder), fears of specific situations, objects, or activities (phobias), anxiety about social situations (social anxiety disorder), repeated outbreaks of panic (panic disorder), or anxiety about being separated (separation anxiety disorder) Depressive Disorders—People with depressive disorders may experience extreme sadness (major depressive disorder), persistent and chronic sadness (persistent depressive disorder), or severe premenstrual sadness and related symptoms (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) Is the DMS-5 an effective classification system? A classification system is judged by its reliability and validity. Reliability, in this case, means that different clinicians are likely to agree on the same diagnosis, given they use the same system. The validity of a classification system regards the accuracy of the information that the diagnostic categories provide. Chapter 4 Summary The Practitioner’s Task Clinical Assessment Diagnosis DSM-5 Dangers of Diagnosis and Labeling Treatment