Abnormal Psychology | EssayIvy.com

Running head: ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 1

Abnormal Psychology

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2

Abnormal Psychology

Question 1

Idiographic and nomothetic are terms used to describe two different approaches to

knowledge, each corresponding to a different intellectual tendency and each again corresponding

to a different branch of the academic environment. Idiographic in itself describes the effort to

understand the meaning of contingent, particular and subjective incidences (Comer, 2015).

Nomothetic generalizes and describes the efforts to derive laws that explain categories of actual

occurrences.

Question 2

Reliability and validity both deal with the results of tests or research. However, reliability

concentrates on the consistency of test or research results and validity majors on the accuracy of

the of a test’s result.

Test-retest and interrater reliability are types of reliability but differ in ways in which the

results are arrived at. In test-retest reliability, a test is given to the same people on different

occasions, and the results from the events should correlate while in interrater reliability, a test

that is given to an individual and the scores are judged by different evaluators (Comer, 2015).

Face validity is the degree to which a test tool appears to be valid just because it makes

sense, predictive validity is the ability of an assessment tool to predict the future behaviors, and

finally, concurrent validity is the extent to which measures got from one tool concurs with

measures gathered from other assessment methods.

Question 3

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 3

Unstructured interviews are usually open-ended questions that a clinician uses to assess a

client while in a structured interview, the clinician mostly uses prepared questions (Comer,

2015). A formal interview is more reliable compared to the unstructured one.

Question 4

Projective tests are used to help assess the unconscious drives and conflicts that are

believed to be the primary cause for abnormal functioning. The different kinds of projective tests

differ in various ways. For example, in the Rorschach test, a viewer is provided with images

(inkblots) that are believed to correspond to their psychological condition (Comer, 2015). The

Thematic Apperception Test, individuals, are given black and white pictorials of people in vague

situations, and they are asked to give a story of the happenings in the pictorials. The other test is

sentence completion where a client is asked to complete a series of open-ended questions that

will pinpoint their biggest problem. Draw-a-person tests differ from the rest because a person is

requested to draw human pictures. This test dwells on the assumption that a drawing tells

something about its creator.

Question 5

The clinical and validity scales of MMPI-2 are that this tool was used on wider and more

diverse group of people. The scores were results revised and thus more accurate.

Question 6

The types of affection inventories differ in their ways of functioning. For instance, the

social skill lists are singularly used by a behavioral and family-social clinician to assess how

respondents react to different social situations while cognitive inventories help in revealing an

individual’s typical thoughts and assumptions (Comer, 2015).

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 4

Question 7

A psychophysiological test measures the psychical responses such as heart rate and

muscle tension.

Question 8

Examples of neurological tests include electroencephalogram and neuroimaging

techniques such as the computerized axial tomography. And an example of neuropsychological

tests is the intelligence test.

Question 9

Examples of intelligence analysis include the Stanford-Binet IQ test, Wechsler

Intelligence Scales. The shortcomings to these tests are that factors that have nothing to do with

intelligence such as low motivation can profoundly influence the test. Also, the tests may contain

cultural biases.

Question 10

The advantage of clinical observations is that a clinician can observe a client’s different

behaviors in a closed or free environment and at various times. However, these observations

have drawbacks too, like many clinicians that follow an individual focus on the various aspects

of behavior and thus arrive at different conclusions (Comer, 2015). Additionally, observers may

suffer from overload and hence make errors that affect the validity of their observations.

Question 11

Axis 1 the dominant disorder, axis two personality disorder, axis three neurological

problems. Axis 4 psychosocial stressors and axis 5 level of function.

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 5

Question 12

The DMS-5 will change from using Roman numerals to using Arabic numerals.

Question 13

Psychotherapy treatment is effective. This is because most therapists use various

approaches to tailor their treatment according to the client’s needs.

Question 14

Anxiety is a response to a vague sense of threat while fear is the reaction to a serious

threat to one’s well-being.

Question 15

Common and persistent feelings of worry and anxiety are the common symptoms. Any

adult is vulnerable to suffer from general anxiety disorder.

Question 16

Neurotic anxiety happens when there is a direct conflict the id and ego while realistic

stress occur when the is a real or external threat to an individual.

Question 17

Psychodynamic perspectives help individuals in controlling their fears while in

humanistic therapies, the clinicians assist the clients by being accepting and empathizing

accurately (Comer, 2015).

Question 18

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 6

Cognitive therapies treat anxieties by helping clients identify and change their irrational

assumptions while biological therapies use drugs to help people relax.

Question 19

Anti-anxiety drugs have a lot of side effects and also very difficult to choose the among

the drugs advocated for treatment of anxiety.

Question 20

Phobias are persistent and unreasonable fear of something while fear is a real threat.

Question 21

Agoraphobia is the fright of being in public places. Social phobia is severe and persistent

fear of embarrassment.

Question 22

People of age 15-20 years suffer phobias the most.

Question 23

In classical conditioning, different events occur together in relatively close in time

causing an individual to react in a similar way to both events.

Question 24

Systematic desensitization and flooding differ in that in systematic desensitization; a

person is encouraged to slowly relax while facing the situation they fear while flooding is the

exposing the clients to their fear at once (Comer, 2015). In modeling, it is the therapist that faces

the feared object.

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 7

Question 25

Symptoms of panic disorders are palpitations of the heart, tingling, sweating and

dizziness. Women are more vulnerable than men.

Question 26

Cognitive approaches such as the rational-emotive therapy help in treating phobia by

reducing the social fears of a person.

Question 27

Lack of sleep and intense anxiety. Men suffer this disorder more than women

Question 28

Obsessions are persistent thoughts and ideas that evade an individual’s consciousness

while compulsions are repetitive and rigid behaviors that people feel must do to reduce anxiety.

Rituals help calm stress.

Question 29

Types of compulsions include cleaning compulsions, checking compulsions, touching

and verbal compulsions.

Question 30

These perspectives treat OCD by helping people to uncover and overcome their repressed

conflicts and defenses by using the methods of free association and therapist interpretation.

Question 31

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 8

When faced with a stressor, human bodies produce fear reaction via two reactions. In

one, the hypothalamus signals the sympathetic nervous system which activates critical organs

(Comer, 2015). In the second pathway, the hypothalamus sends a message to the pituitary gland

which then signals the adrenal cortex to unleash corticosteroids into the circulation system.

Question 32

Acute stress disorder is a disorder in which individual experiences fear soon after a

traumatic event while a PTSD is a disorder in which personal experiences fear long after a

traumatic event. Women are more likely to experience these disorders.

Question 33

Combat, disasters, abuse, and victimization can result in psychological stress disorders.

Question 34

Biological and genetic factors play a role in that the disorder leads to transmission of

biochemical abnormalities to the offspring of the person with the disorder. Personality factors

such as attitudes and coping styles are likely to develop psychological stress disorders.

Childhood experiences leave certain people at risk of later stress disorders (Comer, 2015).

People with weak social support systems are more vulnerable to experience the disorders.

Multicultural factors also contribute to stress disorders through ethnic profiling. Finally, the

severity of the traumatic event also determines the extent of stress disorder a person experiences.

Question 35

The therapies help in controlling the tension and reducing specific symptoms in people

with stress disorders.

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 9

Question 36

Cognitive approaches such as the rational-emotive therapy help in treating phobia by

reducing the social fears of a person.

Question 37

Some physical disorders can be influenced by psychological factors such as stress and

personality.

Question 38

PNI is the study of the brain, nervous system and the immune system function about each

other.

Question 39

Physiological stress regulates the release of cortisol which influences major bodily

metabolic and immunological functions. Stressors affect the mood, sense of well-being and thus

changing the behavior (Comer, 2015). Social support is essential in affecting physical and

psychological health.

Question 40

In biofeedback, the therapist uses electrical feedback from the body to train individuals

how to psychological processes such as heart rates.

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 10

References

Comer, R. (2015). Abnormal psychology. New York (N.Y.): Worth Publishers.

Place new order. It's free, fast and safe

Paper type

Deadline

Page count

550 words

Total price: $ 15.00

Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

USA, Student

"I'm fully satisfied with the essay I've just received. When I read it, I felt like it was exactly what I wanted to say, but couldn’t find the necessary words. Thank you!"

Ian McGregor

UK, Student

"I don’t know what I would do without your assistance! With your help, I met my deadline just in time and the work was very professional. I will be back in several days with another assignment!"

Shannon Williams

Canada, Student

"It was the perfect experience! I enjoyed working with my writer, he delivered my work on time and followed all the guidelines about the referencing and contents."