Final Psych 270
Terms
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- External Validity
- generalize findings to other circumstances
- If an Experiment has Internal Validity
- Then changes in the DV (what is measured) can be accurately attributed to changes in the IV (what was manipulated)
- 6 Methods of Construct Validation
- 1. Syndrome identification: systematic description 2. Boundary Identification: demonstrated distinctiveness 3. Follow-up studies: longitudinal course 4. Treatment response: distinctive outcomes 5. Family studies: shared genetics 6. Identification of "more fundamental" correlates: psychological or biological abnormalities (enlarged ventricals in SCHZ, low baseline cortisol in PTSD)
- Epidemiology
- The study of the frequency and distribution of disorders within a population
- Incidence
- number of NEW cases of a disorder that appear in a population during a specific period of time
- Prevalence
- total number of active cases that are present in a population during a specific period of time
- Paradigm
- comprised of a specific theory and a set of assumptions about how the theory is tested; thus the paradigm itself limits the field of possible factors to be evaluated
- Holism
- assumes that whole is more than the sum of the parts
- Reductionism
- assumes that the sum of its parts and can be understood by examining its smaller components
- Equifinality
- a psychological disorder may have multiple causes; there are many routes to the same destination
- Multifinality
- the same event can lead to different outcomes (abuse can lead to very different outcomes in different children)
- Reciprocal causality
- the direction of causality can bein both directions simultaneously
- Diathesis
- a predisposition to develop a disorder (usually..but not necessarily a heredity factor)
- stress
- a difficult life experience
- Concordance Ratings
- - High for both: shared environment - Low for both: nonshared environment (experiences that are unique to one twin, for example) - if MZ > DZ: there is a genetic component for that trait or disorder
- Biological Paradigm
- Mental illness is understand as a physical illness (medication & psychosurgery & Electroconvulsive therapy)
- Psychodynamic Paradigm
- promotes insight into unconscious motivations and defenses and the influences of the past on the present (transference interpretations)
- Cognitive-behavioral Paradigm
- teaches new ways of thinking and acting to produce more adaptive functioning (classical conditioning techniques, systematic desensitization, flooding) etc.. outcome orientated
- Humanistic Paradigm
- goal is to increase emotional awareness and genuine emotional expression and to help people take responsibility for their own life choises (unconditional positive regard)
- Efficacy
- CAN specific treatments work? ...studies are tightly controlled - Strong internal validity but uncertain external validity
- Effectiveness
- DOES treatment work in the real world?
- Diagnosis
- refers to the identification or recognition of a disorder based on its characteristic symptoms
- Categorical Approach
- distinctions are QUALITATIVE, either in a category or not
- Dimensional approach
- attributes seen as falling on a continuum and continous
- Axis I
- most mental disorders, often involving episodic periods of difficulty
- DSM-IV-TR
- - disorders grouped under broad headings - defined by INCLUSION, EXCLUSION as well as DURATION
- Axis II
- stable, long-lasting problems (personality disorders and mental retardation)
- Axis III
- medical conditions RELATED to abnormal behavior (can cause symptoms of axis I or II..or a physiological stressor)
- Axis IV
- psychosocial and environmental problems affecting functioning or treatment (life events from the past year)
- Axis V
- global rating of adapative functioning (level of fcning 1-100)
- Reliability
- the consistency of a measurement (diagnosis) - Kappa measures inter-rater reliability
- Validity
- the usefulness, meaning or importance of a measurement (diagnosis)
- Phenomenology
- first person subjective experience
- Emotion
- a state of arousal defined by subjective feeling states
- Affect
- pattern of observable behaviors associated with emotion
- Mood
- pervasive and sustained emotional state