UAB PSY 218 abnormal psychology EXAM 1
Christina Rodriguez- Questions and Answers
personality inventories self-report questionnaire that assesses personal traits by asking
respondents to identify descriptions that apply to themselves
Neuroimaging sophisticated computer-aided procedure that allows nonintrusive
examination of nervous system structure and function
psychophysiological assessment assessment strategies that measure brain structure, brain
function, and nervous system activity
what makes either of these more or less reliable?
classical categorical approach method founded on the assumption of clear cut differences
among disorders, each with a different known cause
dimensional approach Method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than
on a binary, either-or, or all-or-none basis.
prototypical approach system for categorizing disorders using both essential, defining
characteristics and a range of variation on other characteristics
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual manual of psychological disorders and their symptoms
,why do we classify disorders? Communication
Information retrieval
Accurate description
Prediction
Theory formulation
what creates diagnostic (un)reliability informational variance (what you find out)
interpretive variance (what you think it
means)
criticisms of DSM Comorbidity: two or more diagnoses
simultaneously
Reliability emphasized over validity?
Pathologizing normal behavior?
The non-continuum approach (incl. personality
disorders)
independent variable variable that is manipulated
dependent variable a variable (often denoted by y ) whose value depends on that of
another.
, internal validity confidence that our IV produced
changes in DV
external validity confidence that our results extend
beyond the study
how to improve internal validity Minimizing Confounds (contaminating factors that could
be alternate explanations of changes in the DV)
correlational study a research project designed to discover the degree to which two
variables are related to each other
experimental study the researcher manipulates one of the variables and tries to determine
how the manipulation influences other variables
placebo control group control for changes that might
simply be expected
double blind control group neither the participants nor the
researcher know if they are getting a placebo or which
group they have been assigned
Christina Rodriguez- Questions and Answers
personality inventories self-report questionnaire that assesses personal traits by asking
respondents to identify descriptions that apply to themselves
Neuroimaging sophisticated computer-aided procedure that allows nonintrusive
examination of nervous system structure and function
psychophysiological assessment assessment strategies that measure brain structure, brain
function, and nervous system activity
what makes either of these more or less reliable?
classical categorical approach method founded on the assumption of clear cut differences
among disorders, each with a different known cause
dimensional approach Method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than
on a binary, either-or, or all-or-none basis.
prototypical approach system for categorizing disorders using both essential, defining
characteristics and a range of variation on other characteristics
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual manual of psychological disorders and their symptoms
,why do we classify disorders? Communication
Information retrieval
Accurate description
Prediction
Theory formulation
what creates diagnostic (un)reliability informational variance (what you find out)
interpretive variance (what you think it
means)
criticisms of DSM Comorbidity: two or more diagnoses
simultaneously
Reliability emphasized over validity?
Pathologizing normal behavior?
The non-continuum approach (incl. personality
disorders)
independent variable variable that is manipulated
dependent variable a variable (often denoted by y ) whose value depends on that of
another.
, internal validity confidence that our IV produced
changes in DV
external validity confidence that our results extend
beyond the study
how to improve internal validity Minimizing Confounds (contaminating factors that could
be alternate explanations of changes in the DV)
correlational study a research project designed to discover the degree to which two
variables are related to each other
experimental study the researcher manipulates one of the variables and tries to determine
how the manipulation influences other variables
placebo control group control for changes that might
simply be expected
double blind control group neither the participants nor the
researcher know if they are getting a placebo or which
group they have been assigned
