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ABAB design
Experiment design where data is collected to serve as a baseline condition, then a treatment is introduced. A second, untreated test is done to see if the condition shows again, and then a second round of the same treatment is done to see if the results from the first round of treatment are attainable again.
abnormal behavior
Maladaptive behavior detrimental to an individual and/or group.
Short in duration.
analogue studies
When an approximation rather than the true subject of a study is observed.
Historically, these were institutions meant solely for the care of the mentally ill.
behavioral perspective
A theoretical viewpoint organized around the theme that learning is central in determining human behavior.
School of psychology that formerly restricted itself primarily to the study of overt behavior.
case study
In-depth examination of an individual that draws from a number of sources, including interviews and psychological testing.
Discharge of emotional tension associated with something, such as by talking about past traumas.
classical conditioning
A basic form of learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired repeatedly.
When two or more mental disorders are present in the same person.
comparison or control group
A group of subjects who are comparable to the criterion group in all respects except that they don't have the disorder being studied.
criterion group
Group of subjects who exhibit the disorder under study.
Movement to close mental hospitals and treat people with severe mental disorders in the community.
dependent variable
The factor that is observed to change due to changes in the independent variable.
direct observation
Method of collecting research data that involves directly observing behavior in a given situation.
dream analysis
Method involving the recording, description, and interpretation of a patient's dreams.
Study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviors within a population.
Religiously inspired treatment procedure designed to drive out evil spirits.
experimental research
Research that involves the manipulation of a given factor or variable with everything else held constant.
family aggregation
The clustering or certain traits, behaviors, or disorders within a given family that can arise from genetics or environmental similarities.
free association
Method for probing the unconscious by having patients talk freely about themselves, their feelings, and their motives.
Occurrence rate of a given disorder in a given populace.
independent variable
Factor whose effects are being examined and is manipulated while all other factors are constant.
Assigning a person to a particular diagnostic category.
lifetime prevalence
The proportion of living persons in a population who have ever had a disorder up to the time of the epidermilogical assessment.
mass madness
Historically, widespread occurrence of group behavior disorder that were apparently cases of hysteria.
mental hygiene movement
Movement that advocated a method of treatment focused almost exclusively on the physical well-being of hospitalized mental patients.
Theories of  "animal magnetism" (hypnosis) formulated by Anton Mesmer.
moral management
Wide-ranging method of treatment that focuses on a patient's social, individual, and occupational needs.
Nancy School
Group of physicians in19th century Europe who accepted the view that hysteria was a sort of self-hypnosis.
negative correlation
A relationship between two variables such that a high score on one variable is associated with a low score on another variable.
A formalized naming system.
observational research
Research that's conducted by observing different groups without manipulating variables.
1-year prevalence
The number of cases of a specific condition or disorder that is documented in a popular within a one-year period.
operant conditioning
Form of learning in which if a particular response is reinforced, it becomes more likely to be repeated on similar occasions.
point prevalence
The number of cases of a specific condition or disorder that can be found in a population at one given point in time.
positive correlation
A relationship between two variables such that a high score on one variable is associated with a high score on another variable.
The proportion of active cases of a disorder that can be identified at a given point in time.
prospective strategy
Method that often focuses on individuals who have higher-than-average likelihood of becoming psychologically disordered before abnormal behavior is observed.
Methods Freud used to study and treat patients.
psychoanalytic perspective
Theory of psychopathology, initially developed by Freud, that emphasized the inner dynamics of unconscious motives.
retrospective research
Research approach that attempts to retrace earlier events in the life of subject.
The process of selecting a representative subgroup from a defined population of interest.
The tendency to jump to conclusions about what a person is like based on beliefs about that group in the culture.
Negative labeling.
In psychoanalytic theory, a major portion of the mind, which consists of a hidden mass of instincts, impulses, and memories and is not easily available to conscious awareness yet plays an important role in behavior.
self-report data
single-case research design
An experimental research design that involves only one participant.
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