Abnormal Psych test.txt

Process of determining whether a presenting problem meets the established criteria for a specific psychological disorder.

Method of categorizing characteristics on a continuum rather than on a binary, either-or, or all-or-none basis.

Procedure in outcome studies that prevents bias by ensuring that neither the subjects nor the providers of the experimental treatment know who is receiveing treatment and who is receiving placebo.

Psychopathology reaserch method examining the prevalence, distribution, and consequences of disorders in populations.

Extent to which research results apply to a range of individuals not included in the study.

Specific genetic makeup of an individual.

Phenomenon that is manipulated by the experimenter in a research study and expected to influence the dependent variable.

Ethical requirement whereby research subjects agree to participate in a research study only after they receive full disclosure about the nature of the study and their role in it.

Systematic study of changes in the same individual or group examined over time.

Relatively coarse preliminary test of a client's judgement, orientation to time and place, and emotional and mental state; typically conducted duringan initial interview.

Association btwn two variables in which one increases as the other decreases.

Sophisticated computer aided procedures that allow nonintrusive examination of nervous system structure and function

Observable characteristics or behaviors of an individual

In an outcome experiment,a control gropu that does not receive the experimental manipulation but is given an similar procedure with an identical expectation of change, allowing the researcher to assess any placebo effect

Behavior change resulting from the persons expectation of change rather than from the experimental manipulation

Association btwn two variables in which one increases as the other increases

Psychoanalytically based measures that present ambiguous stimuli to clients on the assumption that their responses will reveal their unconscious conflicts. Lack high reliability and validity

Method for placing individuals into research groups that assures each one of an equal chance of being assigned to any group, to eliminate any systematic differences across gropus.

Degree to which a measurement is consistent ie over time or among different raters

Research tactic in which an independent variable is manipulated for a single individual, allowing cause-and-effect conclusions but with limited generalizability

Probability that obtaining the observed research findings merely by chance is small

In genetics research, comparisons of twins with unrelated or less closely related individuals. If twins, particularly monozygotic twins who share identical genotypes, share common characteristics such as a disorder even if they were reared in different environments, this is strong evidence of genetic involvement in those characteristics.

Degree to which a technique actually measures what it purpots to measure.