Abnormal Psych Ch 2

A set of assumptions and concepts that help scientists exlain and interpret observations. Also called a paradigm.

A nerve cell

The tiny space between the nerve ending of one neuron and the dendrite of another

A chemical that, released by one neuron, crosses the synaptic space to be received at receptors on the dendrites of neighboring neurons

Endocrine glands, located throughout the body, work along with neurons o conrol such vital activities as growth, reporduction, sexual activity, heart rate, body temp, energy, and responses to stress

The chemicals released by endocrine glands into the bloodstream

Chromosome segments that control the characteristics and traits we inherit

Drugs that primarily affect the brain and reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunctioning

A form of biological treatment, used primarily on depressed patients, in which a brean seizure is triggered as an electric current passes through electrodes attached to the patient's forehead

Also called neurosurgery, brain surgery for mental disorders

Unavailable to immediate awareness

According to Freud, the psychological force that produces instinctual needs, drives, and impulses

According to Freud, the psychological force that employs reason and operates in accordance with the reality principle

The knowledge we acquire through experience that it can be unacceptable to express our id impulses outright

According to psychoanalytic theory, strategies developed by the ego to control unacceptable id impulses and to avoid or reduce the anxiety they arouse