Psychology- Psychopathology Key Terms

a psychological or behavioural state leading to impairment of interpersonal functioning and/or distress to others

behaviour violating accepted social rules

an inability to cope with day-to-day living

failure to meet the criteria for perfect psychological well-being

definitions of what is 'normal functioning' vary from culture to culture and are equally valid

a model of abnormality perceiving mental disorders as illnesses with physical causes

a branch of medicine dealing with the study, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness

chemicals facilitating communication between brain and nerve cells

the study of chemical processes in living organisms

a branch of biology dealing with the transmission of inherited factors

a psychological approach perceiving mental disorders as arising from unresolved, unconscious childhood traumas

the irrational, conscious part of personality developing due to environmental interactions

the irrational, pleasure-seeking, selfish part of personality present at birth

the moralistic part of personality seeking to block unnacceptable urges of the id

tactics developed by the ego to protect against anxiety

the unconscious exclusion of painful desires, fears and memories

a psychological approach perceiving mental disorders as abnormal behaviours

a method of learning where innate reflexes become paired with other stimuli through repeated association

a method of learning where the likelihood of a behaviour occurring is increased or decreased through the use of rewards

a method of learning occurring through the observation and imitation of others

a psychological approach perceiving mental disorders as due to negative thoughts and illogical beliefs

the three types of illogical thought processes which result in irrational, negative feelings about oneself and lead to depression

treatments of abnormality based on the biological model

treatment of mental disorders with medicines

treatment of mental disorders by applying an electrical voltage to the brain

treatments of mental disorders based on psychological rather than biological explanations

a psychodynamic treatment of mental disorders, seeking to give patients insight into the origins of their disorders

a cognitive therapy that challenges and restructures abnormal ways of thinking into useful, rational ones