Abnormal Psychology: Key Concepts and Definitions, Exams of Nursing

This overview covers key concepts in abnormal psychology, including characteristics of abnormal behavior, definitions, psychopathology, epidemiology (prevalence, comorbidity), etiology, prognosis, social cognition (schema, stereotype, social identity theory, stigma), and historical treatments (trephination, exorcism, humors, mass madness, humanism, moral treatment, mental hygiene). It also addresses perspectives (somatogenic, psychogenic), methods (cathartic, scientific), research designs (correlational, single-subject), and approaches (multi-method). Useful for introductory psychology or abnormal psychology students, it provides clear definitions for understanding fundamental principles.

Typology: Exams

2025/2026

Available from 11/18/2025

DrShirley
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Abnormal Psych- Module 1
Characteristics of abnormal behavior -
personal distress, psychological disfunction, deviance from social norms, dangerousness to๎˜โ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
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 particularโ˜‘๏ธ๎˜‚
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๎˜‚
Schema -
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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 syndrome - โ˜‘๏ธ A group of symptoms typical of a particular disease or condition

multi-method approach - โ˜‘๏ธ the use of several research techniques in the same research project