Psychology Exam Prep: Developmental and Mental Disorders

Written on April 8, 2026 in English with a size of 5.56 KB

Attachment Theory and Developmental Milestones

Ainsworth's Strange Situation: A procedure used to observe attachment relationships between a caregiver and a child.
Mary Ainsworth: Researched secure vs. insecure attachment styles.
John Bowlby: Identified the phases of attachment as indiscriminate, discriminate, and specific.
Harry Harlow: His research showed that an infant monkey attached to a cloth mother rather than a wire one.
Stranger Anxiety: This developmental milestone typically occurs at 6 to 7 months of age.
Aaron: Associated with the disorganized attachment style.

Jean Piaget: Defined object permanence within the sensorimotor stage.
Conservation: Demonstrated by Piaget using the ball of clay experiment to show children's understanding of physical properties.
Preoperational Stage: Illustrated by the cognitive development of Jane and Alice.
Language Development: An example of underextension is when a toddler calls a horse 'horsy' but not a dog.
Neural Development: The overgrowth of neurons involves the processes of arborization and pruning.
Developmental Periods: Refers to critical and sensitive periods that are specific or optimal for growth.
Object Permanence: A common developmental milestone; a lack of object permanence is seen in very young infants.

Authoritative Parenting: This style is most likely to result in children with high self-esteem.
Authoritarian Parenting: Characterized by high control but a lack of warmth.
Permissive Indulgent Parenting: As a result of this style, a child may become a narcissist.
Permissive Parenting Example: Arnold's parenting is permissive; he immediately returned and came back with a phone for Sally.

Schizophrenia: A person hearing a voice from God is experiencing a delusion of grandeur or an auditory hallucination.
Positive Symptoms: In schizophrenia, these include delusions of persecution.
Catatonic Schizophrenia: Characterized by waxy flexibility.
Paranoid Schizophrenia: Illustrated by the case of Bob.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Mike is worried constantly, which is a hallmark of this disorder.
Panic Disorder: People with this disorder may eventually develop agoraphobia.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A feature where people do not know things for certain; compulsions are performed to reduce anxiety.
Phobias: The reduction in anxiety following avoidance reinforces their avoidance behavior.
Somatoform Disorders: Involves a physical complaint with no biological cause.
Conversion Disorder: Sigmund Freud asserted that this involves higher-level psychological conflicts.
Munchausen Syndrome: A disorder where an individual feigns sickness or pain.
Psychogenic Fugue State: Occurs when someone physically leaves their home and identity behind.
Dissociative Disorders: The central diagnostic category for disruptions in memory or identity.

Trephination: A historical practice performed by people who held demonological views of mental illness.
General Paresis: A historical disease that provided an early biological model for mental illness.
Exposure Therapy: The aim of exposure is to reduce an individual's fear response to phobic stimulation.
Cognitive Perspective: Views maladaptive and self-defeating thoughts as the root of psychological issues.
Vulnerability-Stress Model: An example of vulnerability in this model is genetics.
Defining Abnormality: If your roommate's behavior is deviant, it is often considered a disorder if the behavior is distressing.
Reliability: A key factor in the diagnosis of Corey's panic disorder.
David Barlow: Researched the genetic predisposition for anxiety.
Subjective Emotional States: Defined as feelings of tension and apprehension.
Anxiety Assessment: If you are driving to school and feel nervous, it is not a disorder if the anxiety is not out of proportion to the situation.
Brain Surgery Case: After Clara underwent brain surgery, Ronald will remember the specific clinical outcomes.

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