G6 Glossary
the regular classroom teacher or special
education teacher should make.
Independent variable A variable that a
researcher manipulates.
Inpatient treatment Treatment that occurs
while a patient is in a psychiatric hospital
or in a psychiatric unit of a general
hospital.
Internal validity A characteristic of a
study, indicating that it measures what
it purports to measure because it has
controlled for confounds.
Interoceptive exposure The behavioral
therapy method in which patients
intentionally elicit the bodily sensations
associated with panic so that they can
habituate to those sensations and not
respond with fear.
Interpersonal therapy (IPT) The form of
treatment that is intended to improve the
patient’s skills in relationships so that they
become more satisfying.
Interpretation The psychodynamic
technique in which the therapist infers the
unconscious meaning or motivation behind
a patient’s words and behaviors and shares
these inferences with the patient.
In vivo exposure The behavioral therapy
method that consists of direct exposure
to a feared or avoided situation or
stimulus.
Irresistible impulse test The legal test in
which a person is considered insane if
he or she knew that his or her criminal
behavior was wrong but nonetheless
performed it because of an irresistible
impulse.° L °
Learned helplessness The state of “giving
up” that arises when an animal is in an
aversive situation where it seems that no
action can be effective.
Learning disorder A psychological disorder
characterized by a signifi cant disparity
between an individual’s academic
performance and the expected level of
performance based on his or her age,
intelligence, and education level.
Lithium The oldest mood stabilizer; it is
administered as a salt.
Longitudinal studies (in studies of
psychopathology) Research studies that
are designed to determine whether a given
variable is a risk factor by using data
collected from the same participants at
various points in time.° M °
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) A
neuroimaging technique that creates
especially sharp images of the brain
by measuring the magnetic properties
of atoms in the brain; MRI allows
more precise diagnoses when brain
abnormalities are subtle.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)
A neuroimaging technique that uses
magnetic resonance to assess levels of
neurotransmitter substances in the brain.Major depressive disorder (MDD) The mood
disorder marked by fi ve or more symptoms
of an MDE lasting more than 2 weeks.
Major depressive episode (MDE) A mood
episode characterized by severe depression
that lasts for at least 2 weeks.
Male erectile disorder A sexual dysfunction
characterized by a man’s persistent or
recurrent inability to attain or maintain an
adequate erection until the end of sexual
activity; sometimes referred to as impotence.
Male orgasmic disorder A sexual
dysfunction characterized by a man’s delay
or absence of orgasm.
Malingering Intentional false reporting
of symptoms or exaggeration of existing
symptoms, either for material gain or to
avoid unwanted events.Managed care A type of health insurance
plan that restricts access to specialized
medical care by limiting benefi ts or
reimbursement.Manic episode A period of at least 1 week
characterized by abnormal and persistent
euphoria or expansive mood or irritability.
Maudsley approach A family treatment
for anorexia nervosa that focuses on
supporting parents as they determine how
to lead their daughter to eat appropriately.
Mendelian inheritance The transmission of
traits by separate elements (genes).
Mental contents The specifi c material that
is stored in the mind and operated on by
mental processes.Mental processes The internal operations
that underlie cognitive and emotional
functions (such as perception, memory, and
guilt feelings) and most human behavior.Mental retardation Intelligence that is
signifi cantly below normal—an IQ
approximately equal to or less than 70
(where the mean IQ is set at 100)—and
that impairs daily functioning; also
referred to as intellectual disability.Meta-analysis A research method that
statistically combines the results of a
number of studies that address the same
question to determine the overall effect.
M’Naghten test (or rule) The legal test in
which a person is considered insane if,
because of a “defect of reason, from disease
of the mind,” he or she did not know
what he or she was doing (at the time of
committing the act) and that it was wrong.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors
(MAOIs) Antidepressant medications
that increase the amount of monoamine
neurotransmitter in the synapse.
Monozygotic twins Twins who have
basically the same genetic makeup
(although it may differ in how often
specifi c genes are repeated) because they
began life as a single fertilized egg (zygote),
which then divided into two embryos; also
referred to as identical twins.
Mood A persistent emotion that is not
attached to a stimulus; it exists in the
background and infl uences mental
processes, mental contents, and behavior.
Mood disorders Psychological disorders
characterized by prolonged and marked
disturbances in mood that affect how
people feel, what they believe and expect,
how they think and talk, and how they
interact with others.
Mood stabilizer A category of medication
that minimizes mood swings.
Moral treatment The treatment of the
mentally ill that provided an environment
in which people with mental illness were
treated with kindness and respect and
functioned as part of a community.
Motivational enhancement therapy A form
of treatment specifi cally designed to boost
a patient’s motivation to decrease or stop
substance use by highlighting discrepancies
between stated personal goals related to
substance use and current behavior; also
referred to as motivational interviewing.° N °
Narcissistic personality disorder
A personality disorder is characterized
by an infl ated sense of importance, an
excessive desire to be admired, and a lack
of empathy.
Negative punishment The type of
punishment that takes place when a
behavior is followed by the removal of a
pleasant or desired event or circumstance,
which decreases the probability of that
behavior’s recurrence.