Abnormal Psychology Exam 1 Study Guide Spring 2014 new
Please regard this document as a general framework to help you organize your
study.
Please read carefully all the assigned sections within a chapter.
Chapter 1:
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What is psycho- diagnosis? Etiology?
What are the 4 criteria used in determining abnormality? Give examples
What is the meaning of cultural universality and cultural relativism in the
context of abnormal behavior?
 What conditions were found to be universal?
 Be familiar with the concepts of epidemiology, prevalence, incidence
History:
 prehistoric: trephining, exorcism,
 Naturalistic explanations of the Greco-Roman period;
 Middle Ages : Supernatural explanations (pp. 13-14);
 The Reform movement
 The biological viewpoint, Kraepelin, Syndrome, general paresis- p.17
 The psychological viewpoint (Mesmer, Freud, p. 17-18)
Chapter 2: See Instructor ppt at the bottom of the list on my website
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What is a model?
Be familiar with the main assertions of the biological, psychological, social
and socio-cultural models (p. 29)
Biological factors: pp. 32-37
 The structure of the neuron
 Division of the human brain
 Biochemical theories: Neurotransmitters and mode of neural transmission
 Genetic explanations: Genotype and phenotype
 Biologically- based treatment techniques
 Multipath implications of biological explanations – the field of Epigenetics:
reciprocal gene-environment interactions.
Chapter 3: Page 66; pp.77- 82
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Biological research strategies: Epigenetics; genetic linkage studies (note the
concept of the proband) ; the Endophenotype concept. P. 66
Diagnosis and classification of abnormal behavior
 The DSM; culturally-focused interview;
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Evaluation of the DSM classification system
The categorical vs. the dimensional approach to diagnosis
Some concerns (p. 80-82)
Chapter 4: Anxiety and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders pp. 86-111)
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Fear vs. anxiety
Brain function in anxiety (p. 88))
Genetic influence (p.89)
Interaction between biological and environmental (p. 89)
The main features of the phobias, agoraphobia, panic, generalized anxiety
disorder ; etiology;
Obsessive –Compulsive disorder
Body-Dysmorphic disorder
For each of this disorders- the main symptoms and etiology.