Abnormal Psychology: Key Concepts and Definitions, Exams of Nursing

A concise overview of key concepts and definitions in abnormal psychology. It covers topics such as the characteristics of abnormal behavior, the definition of abnormal psychology, psychopathology, epidemiology, prevalence, comorbidity, etiology, prognosis, social cognition, schema, stereotype, social identity theory, stigma, and various historical and contemporary perspectives on mental health treatment. It also includes definitions of research methods used in the field, such as naturalistic observation, case studies, correlational research, and experimental designs. Useful for students studying abnormal psychology or related fields, providing a foundational understanding of the core principles and terminology.

Typology: Exams

2025/2026

Available from 11/17/2025

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Abnormal Psych- Module 1
Characteristics of abnormal behavior -
personal distress, psychological disfunction, deviance from social norms, dangerousness ๎˜โ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
to self and others, and costliness to society
Define Abnormal Psychology -
the scientific study of abnormal behavior, with the intent to be able to predict reliability, โ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
explain, diagnose, identify causes of, and treat maladaptive behavior
Psychopathology -
scientific study of psychological disordersโ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
Epideimology -
scientific study of the frequency and causes of diseases and other health-related things in โ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
specific populations
Mental health epidemiology -
the study of the distribution of mental disorders in a populationโ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
Prevalence -
percentage of people in a population that has a mental disorderโ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
point prevalence -
The percentage of people in a given population who have a given disorder at any โ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
particular point in time. (# of active cases)
period prevalence -
all cases of a disease within a period of timeโ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
lifetime prevalence -
the percentage of people in the population who have had a disorder at some point in their โ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
lives
Comorbidity -
The coexistence of two or more disorders.โ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
Etiology -
cause of diseaseโ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
course -
a disorder's pattern (acute, chronic)โ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
prognosis -
a prediction of the course of a diseaseโ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
social cognition -
the processes by which we collect information from the world around us and interpret itโ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
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Abnormal Psych- Module 1

Characteristics of abnormal behavior -  โ˜‘๏ธ personal distress, psychological disfunction, deviance from social norms, dangerousness to self and others, and costliness to society Define Abnormal Psychology - โ˜‘๏ธ the scientific study of abnormal behavior, with the intent to be able to predict reliability, explain, diagnose, identify causes of, and treat maladaptive behavior Psychopathology - โ˜‘๏ธ scientific study of psychological disorders Epideimology - โ˜‘๏ธ scientific study of the frequency and causes of diseases and other health-related things in specific populations Mental health epidemiology - โ˜‘๏ธ the study of the distribution of mental disorders in a population Prevalence - โ˜‘๏ธ percentage of people in a population that has a mental disorder point prevalence - โ˜‘๏ธ The percentage of people in a given population who have a given disorder at any particular point in time. (# of active cases) period prevalence - โ˜‘๏ธ all cases of a disease within a period of time lifetime prevalence - โ˜‘๏ธ the percentage of people in the population who have had a disorder at some point in their lives Comorbidity - โ˜‘๏ธ The coexistence of two or more disorders. Etiology - โ˜‘๏ธ cause of disease course - โ˜‘๏ธ a disorder's pattern (acute, chronic) prognosis - โ˜‘๏ธ a prediction of the course of a disease social cognition - โ˜‘๏ธ the processes by which we collect information from the world around us and interpret it

Schema - โ˜‘๏ธ a set of beliefs or expectations about something that is based on past experience stereotype - โ˜‘๏ธ A generalized belief about a group of people social identity theory - โ˜‘๏ธ states that people categorize their social world into meaningfully simplistic representations of groups of people stigma - โ˜‘๏ธ a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. Public Stigma - โ˜‘๏ธ When members of a society endorse negative stereotypes of people with a mental disorder and discriminate against them label avoidance stigma - โ˜‘๏ธ avoiding treatment or care in order not to be labeled as being mentally ill self-stigma - โ˜‘๏ธ internalization of social stigma; leading to denial, avoidance, isolation, etc Trephination - โ˜‘๏ธ An ancient operation in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a circular section of the skull, which was believed to let evil spirits escape Exorcism - โ˜‘๏ธ the act of freeing someone from demonic possession Humors - โ˜‘๏ธ Four body fluids - blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile - that, according to an ancient theory, control personality. Mental disorders occurred when there was an imbalance mass madness - โ˜‘๏ธ group hysteria in which a great many people exhibit similar symptoms that have no apparent physical cause Humanism - โ˜‘๏ธ A belief that emphasizes faith and optimism in human potential and creativity Moral Treatment Movement - โ˜‘๏ธ a crusade to institute more humane treatment for people with mental illness mental hygiene movement - โ˜‘๏ธ movement to treat mental patients more humanely and to view mental disorders as medical diseases somatogenic perspective - โ˜‘๏ธ the view that abnormal psychological functioning has physical causes

โ˜‘๏ธ A single subject research design that contains a baseline (A1), treatment (B1), a second baseline (B2) and a second treatment phase (B2) multi-method approach - โ˜‘๏ธ the use of several research techniques in the same research project