PSY 333 Quiz 1 Study Guide: Abnormal Psychology Foundations Review
Abnormal Psychology - ✔✔-branch of psychology that studies abnormal behaviors and ways of
helping people affected by psychological disorders
-(another definition, his fav): the scientific study whose objectives are to describe, explain,
predict, and control problematic behaviors
Psychopathology - ✔✔field concerned with the nature, development and treatment of mental
disorders
Symptoms - ✔✔-what characteristics are present that distinguish the disorder
Prevalence - ✔✔-number or percentage of the population who have the disorder at a given
time
o Point in time is point estimated prevalence
o By year is year prevalence
o Usually percentage by year
Lifetime prevalence - ✔✔-percent of the population who has ever had the disorder at any
point in their life
- know the info from large surveys
Incidence - ✔✔-how many new cases appear each year
-This can be useful bc sometimes see disorders that wax and wane
-Ex: for 15 yrs, disorder prevalence was accurate, and then suddenly huge increase so have to
figure out why
Typical Age of Onset - ✔✔-when does the onset typically happen
,-if we know this we can usually exclude things
Anticipated Course or Prognosis - ✔✔-Are these symptoms acute and come on suddenly? Are
they chronological? Is it sporadic or does it gradually get worse?
Comorbidity - ✔✔-presence of 2 or more disorders at the same time
-Ex: often times person depressed and also anxiety disorder
-Rare for a person to only have one disorder
Description - ✔✔symptoms, prevalence, lifetime prevalence, incidence, typical age of onset,
anticipated course or prognosis, comorbidity
Etiology - ✔✔-causes of disorders (not usually just one)
Causes of disorders - ✔✔1. physiological
2. psychological
3. sociocultural
Physiological causes of disorders - ✔✔Ex: Neurotransmitter problems, genetics, brain problem
Psychological causes of disorders - ✔✔Ex: Personality characteristics, stress in environment,
thought processes
Sociocultural causes of disorders - ✔✔Ex: environment live in, neighborhood, poverty, SES
Explanation - ✔✔etiology
, Prediction - ✔✔Directly related to understanding causes or influences
Treatment - ✔✔-depends on hypothesized cause and what has been effective
-psychotherapies
-biological therapies
Psychotherapies - ✔✔-treatment
-deal with thought processes
Biological Therapies - ✔✔-treatment
-Help deal with underlying conflicts that you're not aware of and once solve them, symptoms of
depression go away
Control - ✔✔treatment
What is Abnormal Behavior? - ✔✔1. Statistical infrequency (is it unusual ex: hallucinations,
delusions)
2. Deviance from social norms (cultural inappropriateness) (just bc diff from norm doesn't mean
disorder. Ex: person with tattooed face)
3. Dysfunction (psychological disability) (behavior so bad that interferes with life. Ex: depressed
so don't go to work and lose wife and job)
4. Distress (subjective distress)
5. Dangerousness (to self or others)
Who would you consult? - ✔✔•If individual meets this criteria, refer them to psychiatrist,
clinical psychologist, counseling psychologist, social worker, etc.
Historical Perspectives - ✔✔1. Supernatural Models
Abnormal Psychology - ✔✔-branch of psychology that studies abnormal behaviors and ways of
helping people affected by psychological disorders
-(another definition, his fav): the scientific study whose objectives are to describe, explain,
predict, and control problematic behaviors
Psychopathology - ✔✔field concerned with the nature, development and treatment of mental
disorders
Symptoms - ✔✔-what characteristics are present that distinguish the disorder
Prevalence - ✔✔-number or percentage of the population who have the disorder at a given
time
o Point in time is point estimated prevalence
o By year is year prevalence
o Usually percentage by year
Lifetime prevalence - ✔✔-percent of the population who has ever had the disorder at any
point in their life
- know the info from large surveys
Incidence - ✔✔-how many new cases appear each year
-This can be useful bc sometimes see disorders that wax and wane
-Ex: for 15 yrs, disorder prevalence was accurate, and then suddenly huge increase so have to
figure out why
Typical Age of Onset - ✔✔-when does the onset typically happen
,-if we know this we can usually exclude things
Anticipated Course or Prognosis - ✔✔-Are these symptoms acute and come on suddenly? Are
they chronological? Is it sporadic or does it gradually get worse?
Comorbidity - ✔✔-presence of 2 or more disorders at the same time
-Ex: often times person depressed and also anxiety disorder
-Rare for a person to only have one disorder
Description - ✔✔symptoms, prevalence, lifetime prevalence, incidence, typical age of onset,
anticipated course or prognosis, comorbidity
Etiology - ✔✔-causes of disorders (not usually just one)
Causes of disorders - ✔✔1. physiological
2. psychological
3. sociocultural
Physiological causes of disorders - ✔✔Ex: Neurotransmitter problems, genetics, brain problem
Psychological causes of disorders - ✔✔Ex: Personality characteristics, stress in environment,
thought processes
Sociocultural causes of disorders - ✔✔Ex: environment live in, neighborhood, poverty, SES
Explanation - ✔✔etiology
, Prediction - ✔✔Directly related to understanding causes or influences
Treatment - ✔✔-depends on hypothesized cause and what has been effective
-psychotherapies
-biological therapies
Psychotherapies - ✔✔-treatment
-deal with thought processes
Biological Therapies - ✔✔-treatment
-Help deal with underlying conflicts that you're not aware of and once solve them, symptoms of
depression go away
Control - ✔✔treatment
What is Abnormal Behavior? - ✔✔1. Statistical infrequency (is it unusual ex: hallucinations,
delusions)
2. Deviance from social norms (cultural inappropriateness) (just bc diff from norm doesn't mean
disorder. Ex: person with tattooed face)
3. Dysfunction (psychological disability) (behavior so bad that interferes with life. Ex: depressed
so don't go to work and lose wife and job)
4. Distress (subjective distress)
5. Dangerousness (to self or others)
Who would you consult? - ✔✔•If individual meets this criteria, refer them to psychiatrist,
clinical psychologist, counseling psychologist, social worker, etc.
Historical Perspectives - ✔✔1. Supernatural Models
