PSYC 412 MIDTERM 1 VERIFIED STUDY GUIDE
Psychological Disorders - Answers - A pattern of behavioural, cognitive, or physical
symptoms that includes one or more of these features:
1) some degree of distress in the subject
2) behaviour indicating some degree of disability
3) increased risk of suffering, death, pain, disability, or important loss of freedom
Jean-Marc Itard - Answers - Introduced case of Victor (muted, lived alone), in which he
tried to reverse his mental disabilities and taught him how to learn the alphabet, identify
objects etc
**this case was a landmark in the effort to assist children with special needs
Psychoanalytic theory - Answers - - A theory developed by Freud that attempts to
explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious
determinants of behaviour
- first to link mental disorders to childhood experiences
- shifted view from children being innocent to one of human beings in turmoil
Behaviourism - Answers - - Pavlov and John Watson
- Classical conditioning - Little Albert
Nosologies - Answers - - Efforts to classify psychiatric disorders into descriptive
categories
- Organization of behavioural and emotional dysfunction into meaningful groupings
- EX: In the DSM-5, which attempt to find common denominators for disorders
Behaviour therapy - Answers - - Emerged ruing 1950s & early 1960s
- For child and family disorders
- Based on lab techniques that modified undesirable behaviours and shaped adaptive
abilities
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - Answers - A special education law
that requires schools to educate students with disabilities in least restrictive
environments to the greatest extent of their abilities using plans tailored to the individual
needs of the students.
- IEP, culturally appropriate tests, etc
- removing physical, linguistic, social and cultural barriers
Stigma - Answers - Cluster of negative attitudes and beliefs that motivates fear,
rejection, avoidance, and discrimination with respect to people with mental illnesses
**important to remember that labels describe behaviour, not people
,Competence - Answers - Ability to successfully adapt in the environment and extent to
which they achieve normal developmental milestones
developmental tasks - Answers - Tasks that tell how children typically progress within
each domain as they grow
Infancy to preschool tasks - Answers - Attachment to caregiver, language, differentiation
of self from environment
Middle childhood tasks - Answers - Expected to control behaviour, comply with parent's
requests, school adjustment, academic achievement, getting along with peers, following
moral rules of society
Adolescence tasks - Answers - Expected to follow rules set by home, school, and
society without direct supervision; successful transition to high school, academic
achievement, extracurriculars, close friendships, cohesive sense of self-identity
Developmental pathway - Answers - - Sequence and timing of particular behaviours and
possible relationships between behaviours over time
- Development is an active, dynamic process
Multifinality vs. Equifinality - Answers - Multifinality - various outcomes may stem from
similar beginnings (child maltreatment)
Equifinality - similar outcomes may follow from different early experiences
Risk factor - Answers - a variable that precedes a negative outcome of interest and
increases the chances that the outcome will occur
Protective factor - Answers - a personal or situational variable that reduces the chances
for a child to develop a disorder
Resilience - Answers - - the ability to avoid negative outcomes despite being at risk for
psychopathology
- varies according to the type of stress, context, etc
Triad of resources and health-promoting events - Answers - Strength of individual,
strength of family, strength of school/community
Poverty and SES disadvantage - Answers - Children from poor and disadvantaged
families suffer more conduct disorders, chronic illness, school problems, emotional
disorders, and cognitive/learning problems than children who are not poor
May be due to the pronounced effect on prefrontal cortex development stemming from
the social inequalities of poverty, resulting in reduced impulse control and judgment
, Internalizing problems - Answers - Including anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms,
and withdrawn behaviour; more common in girls
externalizing problems - Answers - more acting-out behaviours such as aggression and
delinquent behaviour; more common in boys over time
Race & ethnicity - Answers - Once the effects of SES, sex, age, and referral status are
controlled for (ie. the unique contribution of these factors are removed or accounted for),
few differences in the rate of children's psychological disorders emerge in relation to
race or ethnicity
Cultural Issues - Answers - Children express their problems differently across cultures
EX: Shyness and oversensitivity in children have been found to be associated with peer
rejection and social maladjustment in Western cultures, but to be associated with
leadership, school competence, and academic achievement in Chinese children in
Shanghai
Non-accidental trauma - Answers - Being the victim of violence at school or being
exposed to violent acts at home or community; very costly
Sexual minority youths - Answers - Young people who are LGBT have higher rates of
mental health problems; more likely to be victimized by peers and family
Defining abnormal behaviour - Answers - 1) Norm violation - does it violate an important
norm in one's culture
2) Statistical rarity - a person's trait, thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it is
rare or statistically unusual
3) Personal discomfort -
4) Maladaptive behaviour
5) Deviation from an ideal
Abnormal behaviour - Answers - Defined as a pattern of symptoms associated with:
- distress
- disability
- increased risk for further suffering/harm
Developmental benchmarks - Answers - 0-2: Eating, sleeping, attachment
2-5: Language, toileting, self-care skills, self-control, peer relationships
6-11: Academic skills and rules, rule-governed games, simple responsibilities
12-20: romantic relations, personal identity, separation from family, increased
responsibilities
Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) - Answers - An instrument used to
assess the development of children between birth and 6 years of age.
Looks at developmental milestones of young children
Psychological Disorders - Answers - A pattern of behavioural, cognitive, or physical
symptoms that includes one or more of these features:
1) some degree of distress in the subject
2) behaviour indicating some degree of disability
3) increased risk of suffering, death, pain, disability, or important loss of freedom
Jean-Marc Itard - Answers - Introduced case of Victor (muted, lived alone), in which he
tried to reverse his mental disabilities and taught him how to learn the alphabet, identify
objects etc
**this case was a landmark in the effort to assist children with special needs
Psychoanalytic theory - Answers - - A theory developed by Freud that attempts to
explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious
determinants of behaviour
- first to link mental disorders to childhood experiences
- shifted view from children being innocent to one of human beings in turmoil
Behaviourism - Answers - - Pavlov and John Watson
- Classical conditioning - Little Albert
Nosologies - Answers - - Efforts to classify psychiatric disorders into descriptive
categories
- Organization of behavioural and emotional dysfunction into meaningful groupings
- EX: In the DSM-5, which attempt to find common denominators for disorders
Behaviour therapy - Answers - - Emerged ruing 1950s & early 1960s
- For child and family disorders
- Based on lab techniques that modified undesirable behaviours and shaped adaptive
abilities
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - Answers - A special education law
that requires schools to educate students with disabilities in least restrictive
environments to the greatest extent of their abilities using plans tailored to the individual
needs of the students.
- IEP, culturally appropriate tests, etc
- removing physical, linguistic, social and cultural barriers
Stigma - Answers - Cluster of negative attitudes and beliefs that motivates fear,
rejection, avoidance, and discrimination with respect to people with mental illnesses
**important to remember that labels describe behaviour, not people
,Competence - Answers - Ability to successfully adapt in the environment and extent to
which they achieve normal developmental milestones
developmental tasks - Answers - Tasks that tell how children typically progress within
each domain as they grow
Infancy to preschool tasks - Answers - Attachment to caregiver, language, differentiation
of self from environment
Middle childhood tasks - Answers - Expected to control behaviour, comply with parent's
requests, school adjustment, academic achievement, getting along with peers, following
moral rules of society
Adolescence tasks - Answers - Expected to follow rules set by home, school, and
society without direct supervision; successful transition to high school, academic
achievement, extracurriculars, close friendships, cohesive sense of self-identity
Developmental pathway - Answers - - Sequence and timing of particular behaviours and
possible relationships between behaviours over time
- Development is an active, dynamic process
Multifinality vs. Equifinality - Answers - Multifinality - various outcomes may stem from
similar beginnings (child maltreatment)
Equifinality - similar outcomes may follow from different early experiences
Risk factor - Answers - a variable that precedes a negative outcome of interest and
increases the chances that the outcome will occur
Protective factor - Answers - a personal or situational variable that reduces the chances
for a child to develop a disorder
Resilience - Answers - - the ability to avoid negative outcomes despite being at risk for
psychopathology
- varies according to the type of stress, context, etc
Triad of resources and health-promoting events - Answers - Strength of individual,
strength of family, strength of school/community
Poverty and SES disadvantage - Answers - Children from poor and disadvantaged
families suffer more conduct disorders, chronic illness, school problems, emotional
disorders, and cognitive/learning problems than children who are not poor
May be due to the pronounced effect on prefrontal cortex development stemming from
the social inequalities of poverty, resulting in reduced impulse control and judgment
, Internalizing problems - Answers - Including anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms,
and withdrawn behaviour; more common in girls
externalizing problems - Answers - more acting-out behaviours such as aggression and
delinquent behaviour; more common in boys over time
Race & ethnicity - Answers - Once the effects of SES, sex, age, and referral status are
controlled for (ie. the unique contribution of these factors are removed or accounted for),
few differences in the rate of children's psychological disorders emerge in relation to
race or ethnicity
Cultural Issues - Answers - Children express their problems differently across cultures
EX: Shyness and oversensitivity in children have been found to be associated with peer
rejection and social maladjustment in Western cultures, but to be associated with
leadership, school competence, and academic achievement in Chinese children in
Shanghai
Non-accidental trauma - Answers - Being the victim of violence at school or being
exposed to violent acts at home or community; very costly
Sexual minority youths - Answers - Young people who are LGBT have higher rates of
mental health problems; more likely to be victimized by peers and family
Defining abnormal behaviour - Answers - 1) Norm violation - does it violate an important
norm in one's culture
2) Statistical rarity - a person's trait, thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it is
rare or statistically unusual
3) Personal discomfort -
4) Maladaptive behaviour
5) Deviation from an ideal
Abnormal behaviour - Answers - Defined as a pattern of symptoms associated with:
- distress
- disability
- increased risk for further suffering/harm
Developmental benchmarks - Answers - 0-2: Eating, sleeping, attachment
2-5: Language, toileting, self-care skills, self-control, peer relationships
6-11: Academic skills and rules, rule-governed games, simple responsibilities
12-20: romantic relations, personal identity, separation from family, increased
responsibilities
Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) - Answers - An instrument used to
assess the development of children between birth and 6 years of age.
Looks at developmental milestones of young children
