1
Review for Midterm – Psychology of the Exceptional Child
Carolyn R. Fallahi, Ph. D.
Your exam will consist of the following: short essays and “ID’s” (Identification). The IDs should be 2-3
sentences long. The short essays are ½ to 1 page.
Introduction to the study of abnormal child psychology
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
Jean-Marc Itard (19thC) and Victor (the wild child)
The case of Genie
Psychoanalytic theory
Behaviorism
Defining abnormal behavior – what is the critiera that we use to determine if a child has a
disorder?
Developmental pathways. Know the difference between multifinality (similar early
experiences lead to different outcomes) versus equifinality (different early experiences lead
to similar outcomes).
Risk and resilience
Why are certain disorders seemingly increasing? We talked about the history of ADHD and
current issues in the Autistic spectrum disorders.
What are some of the well known risk factors with the development of a psychiatric
disorder?
Sex differences in the development of a psychiatric disorder – remember the magic age is 3
years old.
Rates and expressions of mental disorders, e.g. ethnicity. Why do different minority groups
get diagnosed with psychiatric disorders more often?
Models of psychopathology – Who is at risk?
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
What does etiology mean?
What is the diathesis stress model?
What is the liability threshold model?
Know Gregor Mendel’s story.
Phenotype versus genotype
Huntington’s disease or Huntington’s chorea
Multifactorial transmission
Categorical approach to classification, e.g. DSM-IV-TR
Issues with the upcoming DSM-V (2012)
Dimensional approach to classification
2
11) Family research used for figuring out the genetic loading, e.g. identical versus fraternal
twins, concordance rates
12) Can genes be modified? Understand the role of immediate early genes
13) Neural plasticity and the role of experience
14) Brandi Binder case
15) Research looking at rats in an enriched environment
16) David Snowden’s work with nuns
17) The research that links some disorders to malfunctions in parts of the developing brain, e.g.
brain stem, thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, forebrain, limbic system = all believed to
be involved with psychopathology. Know the parts of the brain that we covered in class in
regards to their function (not where they are located).
18) Neurotransmitters implicated in psychopathology, e.g. serotonin, benzodiazepine-GABA,
norepinephrine, and dopamine.
19) Atrophy or pruning
20) Myelination
21) Other models that contribute to our understanding of psychopathology, e.g. behavioral and
cognitive explanations, emotional influences (emotional reactivity or emotional regulation)
Conducting research in childhood psychopathology
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)
17)
18)
19)
20)
Case studies
The case of Dora
Transference and countertransference
The case of little Hans
The three faces of Eve
The Mask of Insanity
Epidemiology
Prevalence
Incidence
The liability threshold model (risk factors and protective factors that might lead to the
development of a psychiatric disorder)
Daniel Scruggs of Meriden CT
Ho and Ha hypotheses
Independent and Dependent variables
Operationalizing your DV
What are confounding variables? Can you get rid of confounding variables?
Matching versus randomization
What is an analog study?
Know the different designs presented in class, e.g. ABAB, within subjects design, between
subjects design, mixed designs
Interviews, surveys, clinical interviews
Cross-sectional versus longitudinal designs
3
21) Experiment
22) Correlational studies
23) Probability, p-values, statistical versus practical significance
Ethical issues
1) We have a number of laws that govern psychologist’s conduct. What are some of those
laws? (e.g. sexual contact, confidentiality, keeping records).
2) APA professional organization – what can they do if there is an ethical breech?
3) An understanding that ethical behavior reflects the culture – examples?
4) How do you handle an ethical situation when there is a difference between what the patient
(child) wants and what the parent wants out of therapy? Remember the case of Karen.
5) Ethics involved in doing research with children, e.g. informed consent versus assent.
6) Know some of the horrible research practices in the history of our country, e.g. the 1896
study examining whether or not we could give a spinal tap without harm; how
institutionalized children were experimented upon; the Tuskegee study; the Willowbrook
state school study.
7) The famous Parham v. J. R. (1979) landmark case.
8) Know the basic APA principles for psychologists, e.g. beneficence vs. nonmaleficence.
9) What is confidential with children and what isn’t?
10) Can we force children to participate in research? Therapy?
11) IRB or HSC (Institutional Review Board or Human Subjects Committee).
Assessment, classification, and treatment
1) Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalytic theory
2) Eros versus thantos
3) Methods Freud used for the treatment of hysteria, e.g. the talking cure, free association,
dream interpretation, hypnosis. Later methods include projective tests, e.g. Rorschach, TAT,
CAT, Incomplete sentences blank. Understand the theory behind projectives.
4) The structure of personality: preconscious, unconscious, conscious.
5) Catharsis
6) Id, ego, superego
7) The psychosexual stages of development
8) Fixation
9) The oedipal complex
10) Defense mechanisms
11) Carl Rogers and Person-Centered Therapy
12) Gloria
13) Congruence, unconditional positive regard, empathy
14) Self-actualization
15) The difference between psychoanalysis and Rogerian approaches?
4
16)
17)
18)
19)
20)
21)
22)
Behavioral treatments, e.g. Pavlov, Watson, classical conditioning and operant conditioning
Albert Ellis and RET
The Dictionary of Disorders; Rosenhan’s article; Szaz’s article
The antipsychiatry movement
Issues related to diagnosis – are they reliable? Stigma, etc.
DSM-IV-TR
Why would psychologists want to classify a patient with the DSM?
Behavioral disorders
1) Understand the symptoms involved with diagnosing Conduct Disorder (CD) and Oppositional
Defiant Disorder (ODD)
2) Know the case study of the The Boston Boy Fiend
3) What are the issues with defining “bad behavior”?
4) Should ODD and CD be on a continuum?
5) Frick et al (1993)’s meta-analytic study of CD.
6) Problems with CD diagnosis, e.g. lack of developmental norms, the same diagnostic label
being applied to children of very different behavioral presentations, not taking into account
the environmental influences that might lead to the diagnosis of CD.
7) Associated problems with CD, e.g. intelligence, achievement, academics, problems with
family and peers.
8) Common co-occurring diagnoses associated with CD.
9) Differences in behavioral presentation for boys versus girls.
10) Etiological explanations for CD, e.g. genetic and environmental explanations, birth
complications, parental explanations, neurophysiological responding, temperament.
11) What are some of the treatments we use for CD? ODD?
12) Understand the symptoms involved with diagnosing ADHD. What are the different types or
presentations?
13) What are the current issues with diagnosis?
14) What are the common co-occurring disorders associated with ADHD?
15) What are the common problems associated with ADHD?, e.g. intelligence, academics,
emotion dysregulation, parent and peer problems, sleep problems, etc.
16) What is the developmental course of ADHD?
17) What are the genetic explanations for ADHD? Deficits in arousal? Brain structure
abnormalities? Neurotransmitter research? Pregnancy and birth complications?
18) How do we treat ADHD?