bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychophysiology (Peripheral)
Authors: Zisner Aimee R. , Beauchaine Theodore P.
Published: January 2015

Peripheral psychophysiological techniques, through which autonomic nervous system activity and reactivity are measured, have been used for at least a century to make inferences about psychopathological processes. In appropriately designed experiments, cardiovascular reactivity, including heart rate and its sympathetic and parasympathetic components, provides information about general autonomic arousal, reward processing, and emotion regulation capabilities, among other constructs. Electrodermal responding provides additional information about extinction‐related processes and sensitivity to punishment. Such data may have important implications for early identification of individuals who are vulnerable to psychopathology, improving our understanding of etiology, and developing more effective prevention and intervention strategies.
Delirium
Authors: Wheaton Viva R. , Jackson James C.
Published: January 2015

Delirium is a complex and multifaceted acute brain syndrome that occurs commonly in both general medical and intensive care unit (
ICU
) patients, with prevalence rates of up to 80% reported. Delirium is associated with a number of adverse outcomes including prolonged hospitalization, increased costs, higher mortality, and cognitive impairment. The pathophysiology underlying delirium remains unclear; however, research has shown that neurotransmitters, amino acids, inflammation, and impaired metabolism may be involved. Risk factors associated with delirium have implications for patient care and should be carefully evaluated. There are a number of scales that are reliable and valid measures for assessing incidence and severity of delirium. Multicomponent interventions to treat delirium are effective and should be implemented. Future studies should evaluate specific interventions, including pharmacological treatment, with the intent to prevent and treat delirium.
Mentalization‐Based Treatment
Authors: Fonagy Peter , Allison Elizabeth
Published: January 2015

Mentalization‐based treatment (
MBT
) is a manualized, evidence‐based psychodynamic psychotherapy technique originally developed and evaluated in work with patients with borderline personality disorder (
BPD
) in a partial hospital setting, but now applied to a variety of disorders in a range of settings. Mentalizing is the capacity to understand other people's and one's own behavior in terms of mental states. The
MBT
approach assumes that the acquisition of this capacity is influenced by the quality of early relationships with caregivers, including experience of trauma, that it is vulnerable to disruption under interpersonal stress, and that core symptoms of
BPD
can be understood in terms of impaired mentalizing capacity in the context of attachment relationships.
MBT
aims to facilitate mentalizing in the context of interpersonally challenging situations.
Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
Authors: Anastassiou‐Hadjicharalambous Xenia , Essau Cecilia A.
Published: January 2015

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment could arise (e.g., public speaking), and is considered a debilitating disorder that negatively impacts many areas of the affected individual's life. This entry reviews the extant empirical literature on social anxiety disorder, beginning with a brief overview of the disorder's clinical features and diagnostic criteria. The entry describes the differential diagnoses that are often implicated in misdiagnosis of social anxiety symptomatology, followed by an overview of empirically supported assessment instruments. The next section covers the epidemiological data on the prevalence of the disorder. Coverage of the developmental considerations and clinical course of the disorder are included, following by a discussion of the evidence‐based status of treatment approaches for social anxiety disorder.
Susto
Authors: Weller Susan C. , Catalina Triana A.
Published: January 2015

Susto is considered a “culture‐bound” syndrome, a condition that has limited meaning outside of specific cultural contexts. It is, however, widely recognized and prevalent among many Latino groups in North and Central America and is now included in the

DSM

because of its prevalence. Susto is translated literally as “fright” or “fright sickness” and is sometimes called
espanto
(fear) or soul loss. It is thought to be caused by a traumatic experience (hence the name) and affected individuals experience a variety of symptoms, including severe anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and a loss of interest in life. Susto appears to be a cultural expression for distress and is linked to emotional stress and depressive symptoms.
Barlow,DavidH. (b. 1942)
Authors: Morris Sarah Herrick , Franklin Martin E.
Published: January 2015

David Harrison Barlow (b. 1942) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Barlow's work was instrumental in advancing the field's cognitive, behavioral, and biological conceptualization of panic disorder. He is known for his investigations of multiple behavioral techniques to treat anxiety disorders. His early trials tested exposure to somatic cues, cognitive therapy, and relaxation therapy and their combination. Barlow contributed to the nosology of anxiety and mood disorders during his work with the Anxiety Disorders Work Group for theDSM. He and his colleagues created the Anxiety Disorders Inventory Schedule (ADIS), which allows for differential diagnoses among anxiety and mood disorders. Barlow continues to develop and test theories in the field of clinical psychology and has more recently promoted a more unified approach to treating emotional disorders than has been typically espoused in the field.
L
azarus,
A
rnold (1932–2013)
Authors: Babeva Kalina N. , Hummer Justin F. , Davison Gerald C.
Published: January 2015

Arnold A. Lazarus (1932–2013) was an acclaimed clinical psychologist, distinguished professor and author of both scholarly works and popular books. In the early stages of his career, he contributed to the development of behavior therapy at a time when psychodynamic approaches were dominant. He became widely known for his significant contributions to the movement to expand behavior therapy to include cognitive techniques, an effort culminating in the conception of a novel, flexible, eclectic approach termed multimodal therapy (
MMT
). Lazarus was also the founder of the Multimodal Therapy Institute and the cofounder of the Lazarus Institute. Through his teaching, clinical work and scholarly writing, Lazarus influenced not only his numerous students, patients and colleagues, but also the practice of psychotherapy.
F
reud,
S
igmund (1856–1939)
Authors: Mendelsohn Robert
Published: January 2015

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was an Austrian psychiatrist who developed psychoanalysis as a treatment for emotional disorders. In doing so, he provided the foundation for the field of individual “talk” psychotherapy. Freud also applied his insights to create a theory of personality. In works such as
Interpretation of Dreams
and
Three Essays on a Theory of Sexuality
, Freud applied Darwin's theory of evolution, to the development of human psychology. He observed that human development includes sexual development, both physically and psychologically, and he suggested that humans are prone to blockages in sexual development that, under certain circumstances, can lead to neurosis. Freud suggested that all behavior, cognition, and emotion (both conscious and unconscious) originate so humans can seek pleasure and avoid pain, and that neurosis is the result of the failure of mechanisms designed to block awareness of painful cognitions and emotions.
Molecular Genetics
Authors: Vrshek‐Schallhorn Suzanne
Published: January 2015

In clinical psychology, molecular genetics research examines the relationship of specific individual differences in the genetic code to an array of constructs relevant to psychopathology. This entry provides a condensed introduction to the human genome, the genetic code, individual differences in the genetic code, molecular genetics research methods in clinical psychology, select research findings in personality and psychopathology, and several novel molecular genetics research directions. Focus is given to practical information useful for understanding the molecular genetics literature or beginning to integrate molecular genetics into a research program.
Phenomenology (Philosophical)
Authors: Vincini Stefano , Gallagher Shaun
Published: January 2015

Phenomenology is a philosophical tradition that deals with fundamental philosophical problems but also has relevance for clinical psychology. Edmund Husserl (1859 –1938) defined phenomenological method in terms of an investigation of consciousness and intentionality. His noncausal notion of motivation, which portrays the person as a being intentionally related to her surrounding world and striving towards the realization of meaning, can serve as a premise for psychology as a human science. Later thinkers, like Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) and Jean‐Paul Sartre (1905–80), developed an existential phenomenology. Others, like Maurice Merleau‐Ponty (1908–61), shifted the focus to embodied experience and set the stage for more contemporary encounters with cognitive science. Throughout this history, psychologists and psychiatrists, like Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) and Ludwig Binswanger (1881–1966), found useful phenomenological insights and distinctions that inform clinical practice.
Adjustment Disorders
Authors: Maercker Andreas , Bachem Rahel , Simmen‐Janevska Keti
Published: January 2015

Adjustment disorder has been a diagnostic category in classification systems of mental disorders since the 1970s but has received little attention from basic or treatment research. It is particularly common in consultation liaison services. Evaluation is problematic since it may be mistaken for major depression, generalized anxiety, or nonpathological reactions to stress. Its measurement by structured interview is difficult since it is not included in many instruments and, in others, cannot be diagnosed once the threshold for another disorder is reached. There are new approaches to diagnose adjustment disorder in line with a stress‐response model of the disorder. Few evidence‐based treatments exist. Adjustment disorder generally carries a favorable prognosis, but in some individuals risk of self‐harm and suicide is elevated.
Psychotherapy Process and Outcome Research
Authors: Tompkins Kelley A. , Swift Joshua K.
Published: January 2015

Psychotherapy process and outcome research is defined as the scientific investigation of psychotherapy as a treatment for mental and behavioral health problems. This area of research examines both the effectiveness of psychotherapy as a treatment (outcome research) and the means by which psychotherapy produces its effects (process research). This area of research has important implications for clinical practice, including implications regarding what types of treatments should be used in clinical settings as well as implications about how those treatments should be provided. In this entry we review the methods that are frequently used in this field of study, its history, and future directions.
Multiple Determinants and Effect Size
Authors: Strube Michael J
Published: January 2015

Effect sizes such as correlation coefficients and standardized mean differences gain meaning in the context of how the relevant variables are measured and the causal model in which the variables are embedded. Whether a particular effect size is judged to be
small
or
large
hinges on how much measurement error is present, whether the relevant target variables share causal variables, and the redundancy of those shared influences. Effect sizes are attenuated by measurement error and are larger when target variables share many rather than few causal determinants, especially when the causal determinants are correlated.
Jaspers,Karl (1883–1969)
Authors: Gorski Mike
Published: January 2015

Karl Jaspers'Allgemeine psychopathologieappeared in 1913 when he was just 30 years old. Although he wrote next to nothing else on psychopathology in a long and distinguished career, his book remains one of the truly great achievements in the field. In it Jaspers sought to create a new methodology for the study of mental disorder—one that wholeheartedly embraced the human as well as the natural sciences: his approach to the description of delusion, for example, is evidence of its originality and power.
F
iske,
D
onald
W
. (1917–2003)
Authors: Shrout Patrick E.
Published: January 2015

Donald W. Fiske (1916–2003) was a personality psychologist who influenced the fields of both personality and clinical psychology with his careful analysis of how psychological constructs were related to purported measures of those constructs. He insisted on using multiple methods to assess psychological variables, and discovered over the course of his career that different measurement strategies led to different inferences about global traits such as personality. His classic paper with Campbell described how a matrix of correlations among multiple measures of multiple traits could clarify personality measurement, but in fact these method revealed deep difficulty with general constructs that ignored social context, temporal sequences of behavior, and life course. In his later years he worked with collaborator Starkey Duncan to provide a rigorous foundation of behavioral measurements in the context of face‐to‐face interactions.
Therapist Adherence and Competence in Psychotherapy Research
Authors: Dinger Ulrike , Zilcha‐Mano Sigal , Dillon Justina , Barber Jacques P.
Published: January 2015

Therapist adherence
refers to the extent to which a therapist uses the specific techniques of a particular therapy approach; competence is the degree of skillfulness in their delivery. Both are essential to ensure treatment integrity, which is especially important when conducting studies on the efficacy of a specific form of psychotherapy. Although adherence and competence measures have been developed to assess treatment integrity, they are also used to test whether high levels of adherence and competence are associated with good therapeutic outcome. Across studies, however, the reported associations of both adherence and competence with therapeutic outcome are heterogeneous, which points to a complex relationship between therapeutic techniques and patient improvement. Future directions include a refinement of existing measures and research designs as well as an examination of the interdependence of technical and relationship variables in psychotherapy research.
C
attell,
J
ames
McKeen
(1860–1944)
Authors: Sokal Michael M.
Published: January 2015

James McKeen Cattell (1860–1944) helped establish the context within which clinical psychology emerged and evolved through his late‐nineteenth‐century program of mental tests, his influential 1904 programmatic statement explicitly calling for the development of a practical psychology, and his attempt (in the 1920s) to promote such a practical psychology through The Psychological Corporation, which he founded.
Multicultural Issues in Training and Practice
Authors: Graham Jessica R. , Roemer Lizabeth
Published: January 2015

Multicultural counseling is described as both a helping role and therapy process that recognizes the diverse identities of clients. This approach to counseling emphasizes prevention and intervention efforts that are consistent with the life experiences, contexts, and cultural values of clients. This entry reviews terminology, constructs, theory, and training models for multicultural counseling.
Scientific Metaphysics and Ontology
Authors: O'Donohue William , Epstein Emerson M.
Published: January 2015

The phrase
scientific metaphysics
is controversial and reveals some of the key developments in twentieth‐century analytic philosophy and philosophy of science. This entry reviews some of the major arguments concerning scientific metaphysics in the twentieth century. The logical positivists thought that metaphysics was meaningless and, as such, could have only a pernicious role in science. However, with the demise of logical positivism, other philosophers—that is, Karl Popper (1902–94), Imre Lakatos (1922–74), and W. V. O. Quine (1908–2000)—had much more positive conceptions of the role of metaphysics in science. Other scholars have explicated the more specific roles of metaphysical statements in science.
G
all,
F
ranz
J
oseph (1758–1828)
Authors: Stephenson Hugh
Published: January 2015

Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828) was a pioneer in the study of brain anatomy. He made significant contributions to the understanding of brain physiology and was an early advocate for localization of function. In his public lectures, he argued that the relative size of brain areas reflected specific abilities and determined the external shape of the skull. His theories were adapted and further popularized by his assistant, Johann Gasper Spurzhiem (1776–1832), who used the term
phrenology
to describe the practice of personality assessment through analysis of skull shape. Phrenology was both popular and controversial in Europe and the United States, and it was largely discredited by the mid‐nineteenth century.
C
ummings,
N
icholas
A
. (
b
. 1924)
Authors: Austad Carol Shaw
Published: January 2015

Nicholas A. Cummings (b. 1924) is a psychologist, an entrepreneur, an educator, and clinical innovator whose accomplishments championed the growth of clinical psychology. Creating a model of psychotherapy, focused intermittent psychotherapy throughout the life cycle, he moved psychotherapy into the Kaiser Permanente health care system as a routine benefit. He spearheaded the Hawaii Medicaid Project, demonstrating that appropriate psychotherapy improves health and reduces medical costs. An activist in the American Psychological Association (APA), Cummings chaired numerous committees and increased the APA's involvement in national policy making. He served as the 87th president of the APA. Cummings founded the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP). He formed American Biodyne in the 1980s, serving millions of patients nationally. He established the Nicholas A. Cummings Behavioral Health Program at Arizona State University, the first to award a Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH). He and his wife, Dorothy, currently pursue philanthropical interests through the Cummings Foundation for Behavioral Health.
Generalizability Theory
Authors: Li Min , Shavelson Richard J. , Yin Yue , Wiley Ed
Published: January 2015

Generalizability (G) theory is a psychometric theory based on a statistical sampling approach that partitions scores into their underlying multiple sources of variation. It offers a framework that can be used to pinpoint and estimate the source of measurement error from which decisions can be made to optimize the measurement procedures. As an overview of G theory, this entry introduces basic concepts of G theory and its applications in conducting generalizability and decision studies of one‐facet and multifacet designs.
Natural Kinds
Authors: O'Donohue William , Maragakis Alexandros
Published: January 2015

Natural kindsrefer to groupings that are thought to exist in nature and that are not dependent on human cognition. To a scientific realist, science finds natural kinds when it finds that certain groupings result in lawful behavior. The chemical elements would be canonical exemplars of natural kinds, whereas balls and strikes in baseball would not be natural kinds—as these depend on human decisions. The social constructionists argue that natural kinds simply do not exist—all of science is dependent on contingent human decisions.
Missing Data
Authors: Rubin Donald B. , Zell Elizabeth R.
Published: January 2015

The problem of missing data is ubiquitous in many fields, including clinical psychology. This entry begins by providing a brief overview of basic concepts describing types of missing data, patterns of missing data, and mechanisms that create missing data. It then goes on to consider common analytic approaches to deal with this problem and describes why most of them are unsatisfactory. The entry then turns to simple imputation‐based approaches, which are also generally unsatisfactory, as well as to multiple imputation approaches, which can lead to satisfactory inferences.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Authors: Hsu Kean J. , Davison Gerald C.
Published: January 2015

The American Psychological Association (APA) focuses on the science, application, and dissemination of psychology as the world's largest membership organization of psychologists. Formed with an initial emphasis towards psychology as a field of basic scientific research,APAhas developed over the past century and across two World Wars to serve a wider range of interests befitting its diverse membership and 56 separate special interest divisions. These organizational interests include involvement in science, public policy, clinical practice, education, and training. Its membership spans all levels of training and experience in psychology, from undergraduates to professors, mental health advocates to research scientists.
Epidemiology
Authors: Kang Yae‐Ri , Halik Murnizam Hj , Essau Cecilia A.
Published: January 2015

Epidemiological‐based research is the cornerstone of clinical psychology. Psychiatric epidemiology can be defined as the distribution and determinants of a disorder in a specific population. This entry begins with the definition of psychiatric epidemiology and its contribution to scientific understanding of psychiatric disorders and public health policy. The next section covers methods in epidemiological research, including sampling and study design. The methods and main findings of some selected epidemiological studies in adults, adolescents and children are described.
Forensic Hypnosis
Authors: Lynn Steven Jay , Lemons Peter , Green Joseph P. , Mazzoni Giuliana , Kirsch Irving , Lilienfeld Scott O.
Published: January 2015

Hypnosis has long generated controversy as a recall‐enhancement method. Concerns about hypnosis are warranted by findings of a tradeoff between the number of memories recalled and memory accuracy. Moreover, witnesses often express confidence in hypnotically augmented remembrances, regardless of their accuracy, increasing the risk of juror bias stemming from convincing yet inaccurate information. Although misleading questions appear to be equally or more problematic, raising concerns about singling out hypnosis as a uniquely prejudicial technique, other recall‐improvement methods (e.g., cognitive interview; asking individuals to do their best to recall events) appear to pose fewer memory risks than hypnotic procedures.
Group Psychotherapy
Authors: Markin Rayna D. , Kasten Jessica
Published: January 2015

Research suggests that group psychotherapy is an effective and cost‐efficient form of treatment for many patients. This entry begins with a review of the important characteristics of group psychotherapy, the history of group therapy, the therapeutic factors believed to lead to a successful group experience, and the process by which groups develop over time. Process and outcome research on group psychotherapy is then reviewed to summarize our current understanding of the effectiveness of group psychotherapy and, moreover, why it is effective.
P
opper,
K
arl (1902–94)
Authors: Bluhm Robyn
Published: January 2015

Karl Popper (1902–94) was one of the most influential philosophers of science in the twentieth century. This entry discusses his philosophy of science, with particular attention to the role of falsifiability in science, and its relation to his broader epistemology and his philosophy of mind. The influence of Popper's early work in child psychology on his philosophical work is also addressed.
Measurement of Stressful Life Events
Authors: Monroe Scott M. , Yoder Andrew S.
Published: January 2015

Although stress and related concepts have long been thought to be influential in health and disease, it was not until the 1960s that formal methodologies were developed to measure stress in the form of life events. Since that time, different approaches to measuring life events have been developed and refined, and debates have ensued regarding their reliability, validity, and practicality. One approach employs self‐report checklists of life events, and the other approach employs interview‐based procedures. Research comparing the two approaches indicates that they yield different information. Analysis of discrepancies between the two methods suggests that participants often interpret what constitutes a life event quite differently from what the researcher intends. Interview‐based methods, however, require much greater time and effort. Current controversies over gene–environment interactions suggest that future research will require the more rigorous but precise interview‐based methods to detect stress effects and interactions with specific genes or other vulnerability factors.
School Psychology
Authors: Albers Craig A. , Felt Jacquelyn
Published: January 2015

School psychology is a specialty within psychology that attends to the academic, social, behavioral, and emotional needs of school‐aged individuals. Through consultation and the provision of services to students, parents, educators, and other professionals, school psychology is considered to be a scientist‐practitioner model that is reliant on research to provide guidance regarding evidence‐based practices. This entry examines the historical implications of school psychology development, provides an overview of the profession, and identifies current emphases and future needs within the profession.
Bronner, Augusta F. (1881–1966)
Authors: Woodward William R. , Hills Courtney
Published: January 2015

Augusta Bronner (1881–1966) recast juvenile delinquency as a social problem rooted in the home and community, challenging the emphasis on heredity and personality. She used mental tests as tools to determine the unique abilities and disabilities of the child, and then provided guidance to the child, the parents, and the juvenile courts, making it possible for delinquent children to be placed in families or private schools rather than be incarcerated. She emphasized reward rather than punishment, gave attention to ethnicity in child placement, and provided training for foster families. Through her books and advocacy, child guidance clinics aided children and the court system as well. The child guidance movement also proved a boon to the professions of psychology and social work by creating employment opportunities.
Existentialism
Authors: Porter Douglas
Published: January 2015

The term existentialism refers to a broad array of philosophical thought and cultural analysis. Existentialism proved to be a particularly productive point of intersection between the disciplines of philosophy and psychology. Conceptually, existentialism marked a move away from a Cartesian model of mind and traditional philosophical ideas about human nature that were felt to be too abstract. Existentialism refocused on concrete experiences of freedom and responsibility encountered by flesh‐and‐blood persons in their everyday existence. Clinically, existentialism was associated with a renewed emphasis on clarifying the subjective world of the patient. Psychopathology was characterized by existentialists in terms of distortions in the patient's mode of being‐in‐the‐world including distortions in the perception of time and space. The existential emphasis on freedom and responsibility was associated with unique psychological notions about anxiety, guilt, and authenticity that were translated into a point of therapeutic emphasis among existentially oriented clinicians.
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (
IPT
)
Authors: Didie Elizabeth R.
Published: January 2015

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a structured, time‐limited psychotherapy first developed for the treatment of depression. It examines the ways in which relationship problems contribute to psychological symptoms and emotional distress. Interpersonal psychotherapy is a manualized, empirically validated psychotherapy that involves three distinct phases of treatment. It assumes that psychiatric disorders, regardless of etiology, occur within an interpersonal context. Treatment focuses on resolving one or two interpersonal problem area(s) most related to the patient's current symptoms (grief/ loss, role transitions, interpersonal role disputes, and interpersonal deficits) and enhancing and utilizing social supports. This entry provides an overview of IPT, its history, conceptual model, therapy structure, and content.
Sudden Gains
Authors: Tang Tony Z.
Published: January 2015

Psychotherapy theorists have long speculated on the existence of critical sessions. Sudden gains in cognitive therapy of depression were first investigated in order to identify such critical sessions. They are sudden and drastic symptom improvement experienced by patients in one between‐session interval. Since its introduction a little over 10 years ago, sudden gains have been investigated in cognitive therapy of depression as well as many other treatments of various disorders. This entry reviews the current state of sudden gains research and discusses its implications for psychotherapy research and practice.
T
hurstone,
L
ouis
L
. (1887–1955)
Authors: Wheaton Michael G.
Published: January 2015

Louis Leon Thurstone (1887–1955) was a quantitative psychologist and past president of the American Psychological Association who is best known for advancing the methods of factor analysis, statistical methods used to explore latent factors underlying sets of observed variables. With these methods, Thurstone also made significant contributions to the study of intelligence, advancing a new model for how mental abilities are organized. Thurstone focused on the role of multiple specific mental abilities rather than a single general intelligence factor. Over the course of his career, Thurstone also made significant contributions to psychological measurement, test theory, and the assessment of attitudes. He developed a new system for scaling psychological variables (Thurstone scaling) based on what he called the law of comparative judgment.
Neuropsychological Testing
Authors: Dawson Casey J. , Jacquin Kristine M.
Published: January 2015

Neuropsychological testing is the applied aspect of the field of neuropsychology. Neuropsychologists have specialized knowledge of neurology and psychology, and they utilize psychometric testing to analyze brain–behavior relationships. Through assessment, neuropsychologists can address the variety of complaints related to cognitive functioning. Specifically, neuropsychological testing yields information related to diagnosis, prognosis, functional abilities, symptom progression, and treatment effects. Neuropsychologists perform assessments in multiple settings and across various domains of functioning. This entry includes a brief discussion of the history of inquiry into the relationship between behavior and the brain, the development of the field of neuropsychology, and the domains generally assessed in a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation.
Medical Model of Mental Disorders
Authors: Blaney Paul H.
Published: January 2015

The medical model of mental disorders is multifaceted. Saying that a mental disorder is an illness may mean one or more of the following: that the condition is undeniably substandard, that the affected person has reduced responsibility, that the condition is categorical, that its symptoms are mere indications of an underlying condition, that the condition is physical and biological, or that society's economic and legal structures should handle it as they handle physical and biological illnesses.
End of Life (Forensic Issues)
Authors: Tobias Kristen , Rosenfeld Barry
Published: January 2015

Advancements in clinical care have the potential to prolong survival and, at times, dramatically improve one's quality of life during the days, weeks, or months leading up to death. Yet these advancements have engendered considerable controversy regarding the optimal or appropriate implementation of the available alternatives. Important forensic issues that arise at the end of life include the use of advanced directives, the right to refuse or terminate life‐sustaining treatment, and in many jurisdictions, the choice to use physician‐assisted suicide or euthanasia to hasten one's death. Surrounding each of these potential interventions are questions as to when and how to determine whether individual patients possess the requisite capacity to make a legally valid (i.e., “informed”) decision regarding these options. The analysis and application of these potential end‐of‐life interventions necessitates a balance between preserving the decision‐making autonomy of terminally ill patients while identifying and protecting that subset of individuals who may have impaired decision‐making capacity.
Record Keeping
Authors: Wiger Donald E.
Published: January 2015

Record keeping is a very important component of providing psychological services. High‐quality record keeping is crucial for obtaining and keeping mental health services for clients, protecting the therapist in potential legal matters, obtaining payment for services, and communicating accurate clinical information to other professionals.
Psychiatric Advance Directive
Authors: Shrode Tiffany Milana
Published: January 2015

Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) are legal documents utilized most frequently by persons with mental illness. In the event of a psychiatric crisis which requires hospitalization, a PAD can convey the mental health treatment preferences of a person who may be deemed incompetent to make such decisions for themselves at the time. PADs are flexible and may include a variety of different treatment preferences, which include: consent to or refusal of treatments and medications, preferred hospitals or treatment centers, and the authorization of another person to make mental health‐care decisions on their behalf (a proxy). PADs have the potential to be an important tool legally and from a recovery framework to empower clients.
Phenomenological Concept of Intentionality
Authors: Wiggins Osborne P. , Schwartz Michael Alan
Published: January 2015

According to the phenomenological concept of intentionality, every mental process is aware of something other than itself. Mental life is aware of objects in many ways. Intentional objects can be real or unreal, emotionally colored, and acted upon. Understanding the structure of conscious mental processes reveals the nature of our preobjective worlds, including how we experience space, time, and ourselves. A great deal of phenomenological work in clinical psychology has involved methods for understanding the experiences of others, especially clients.
Confirmation versus Falsificationism
Authors: Percival Ray Scott
Published: January 2015

Confirmation and falsification are different strategies for testing theories and characterizing the outcomes of those tests. Roughly speaking, confirmation is the act of using evidence or reason to verify or certify that a statement is true, definite, or approximately true, whereas falsification is the act of classifying a statement as false in the light of observation reports. This simple picture hides profound problems in the methodology of science and epistemology. In reaction to the skeptic's attack on the possibility of certain or certified truth, many writers have opted for what they regard as the next best feasible substitute: probable, reliable, or consistent theories. Within the philosophy of science there is a long‐running debate about the meaning, relative importance, and feasibility of confirmation and falsification and their role in the advancement of science. Although not confined to the issue of induction in science, the debate centers on this issue.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Authors: Garakani Amir , Siever Larry J.
Published: January 2015

Schizotypal personality disorder (
SPD
) was first conceptualized based on observations of otherwise healthy relatives of patients with schizophrenia. Genetic and familial studies, along with molecular studies that have identified several candidate genes, provide evidence of a phenotypic association between
SPD
and schizophrenia. Persons with
SPD
are noted to have odd, stereotyped behaviors; suspiciousness; difficulty relating to others; lack of empathy; and magical thinking. Cognitive impairments and neural abnormalities are evident in these individuals as well; neuropsychological, psychophysiological, and neuroimaging findings suggest a pattern of functioning that is intermediate between those of persons with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Although
SPD
is a chronic disorder that affects social and occupational functioning, psychiatric hospitalizations are rare, and antipsychotic treatments are seldom needed. A focus of treatment is to address cognitive deficits in
SPD
using dopamine agonists. Further work is needed to understand the genetic, biological, and clinical lines between
SPD
and other schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Jury Decision Making
Authors: Levett Lora M. , Henderson Kelsey S. , Behl Joshua D.
Published: January 2015

The jury is generally a competent decision making body, rendering decisions that vary appropriately with the strength of evidence. Researchers have studied juries through mathematical modeling, using social psychological theory, and using explanation‐based models to understand the deliberation and individual juror decision‐making processes. In addition, researchers have examined how jurors evaluate individual pieces of evidence, finding that they may inaccurately evaluate evidence or can be influenced by extraevidentiary factors in decision making. Reforming the structure of the jury to increase their impartiality or aid their memories may help improve the quality of the jury's decision.
Offender Rehabilitation
Authors: Manchak Sarah M. , Henderson Samantha , Louden Jennifer Eno
Published: January 2015

Offender rehabilitation refers to the process of working with criminal offenders while they are under the supervision of the criminal justice system to reduce their likelihood of reoffending in the future. In the United States, the notion that offenders can change their behavior and desist from crime is relatively recent. Confidence in the prospect of rehabilitation has grown alongside mounting empirical evidence identifying the circumstances under which it will produce meaningful reductions in criminal recidivism. Nevertheless, research has not always reached practice; when it has, there have been challenges in implementation. This entry provides a brief historical background of offender rehabilitation, a model for effective recidivism reduction, a description of the current state of offender rehabilitation programs, and a summary of challenges of implementing evidence‐based practices in real‐world settings. It concludes with a discussion of the steps that can be taken to advance the field.
Clinical Interviewing in Child Sexual Abuse Cases
Authors: Krackow Elisa
Published: January 2015

Disclosures of child sexual abuse in clinical contexts provide mental health professionals, who are mandated reporters, with a challenge because there are often no medical indicators of sexual abuse. The clinician must conduct an interview to obtain the most accurate information from which to make a judgment as to whether the child's disclosure meets mandated reporting criteria. This entry discusses investigative interview protocols with empirical support in the children's eyewitness memory literature. Also, it reviews key literature on interviewing techniques that were developed with the intention of aiding children's eyewitness reports but have not been found to do so. The entry closes with interviewing recommendations for mental health professionals when a child makes a disclosure of sexual abuse in the context of psychological assessment or treatment.
Correlational Designs
Authors: MacDonald Danielle E. , Wong Elizabeth , Dionne Michelle M.
Published: January 2015

Correlational designs are study designs that observe and describe relationships between two or more variables. There are numerous types of correlational designs used in clinical psychology, including cross‐sectional designs, case–control designs, longitudinal designs, cohort designs, and retrospective records reviews. Correlational designs are used for a variety of purposes in clinical psychology, including establishing relationships, investigating mechanistic processes, studying variables that cannot be manipulated directly, and the development and validation of psychometric tools. Because variables are not directly manipulated, the conclusions drawn from correlational designs are restricted to describing relationships rather than inferring causality. Nevertheless, correlational designs have a number of important uses in clinical psychology, including investigating naturally occurring variables, or variables that cannot be manipulated for practical or ethical reasons, as well as to establish relationships between variables before undertaking larger and more costly studies.
W
iggins,
J
erry
S
. (1931–2006)
Authors: Pincus Aaron L. , Widiger Thomas A.
Published: January 2015

This entry describes the life and major contributions of the American personality psychologist Jerry S. Wiggins (1931–2006). The development of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory content scales, the seminal text
Personality and Prediction: Principles of Personality Assessment
, contributions to interpersonal theory and measurement, and his final integrative book on the paradigms of personality assessment are highlighted.
Intoxication Defenses
Authors: Thompson John W. , Georges Hébert
Published: January 2015

The courts have struggled for centuries with how to apply the principles of fairness and justice to people who commit crimes under the influence of alcohol or drugs. When a harmful act is committed under involuntary intoxication, the insanity standard has been used to determine culpability. However, the issue of voluntary intoxication and criminal responsibility has generated more controversy. The early courts adopted the full responsibility doctrine. This eventually softened over time due to the evolving views of society on addiction and justice. The scientific school of thought contributed to more leniency towards intoxicated offenders but the rise in the rate of crimes secondary to drugs and alcohol reversed the stance of some jurisdictions to the full responsibility doctrine of the early courts. Similar to the insanity defense, the justice system continues to have a divided approach on the use of intoxication as a defense to unlawful acts.
Technology and Delivery of Psychological Services
Authors: Gale Bruce M.
Published: January 2015

In the twentieth century, technology developments paved the way for the emergence of a broad range of technology‐based approaches to help consumers. As clinicians gain new skill sets to be able to provide a range of treatments, the gap between technological advantages and policies guiding the provision of therapeutic services has hampered widespread use of such intervention approaches. Most clinicians view the use of technology as an adjunctive approach, especially for more serious mental health concerns. The type and variety of self‐help approaches has been expanding steadily, although means to maintain confidentiality remain a concern.
Ethics Code,
APA
Authors: Vasquez Melba
Published: January 2015

This entry describes the original development of the American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (
APA
Ethics Code), and provides a description of the intent and purpose of the Ethics Code for psychologists. It is a “living document,” and various versions of the code have been produced by the
APA
Ethics Committee. The enforceable standards are written in a broad manner in an attempt to apply to all psychologists in their varied roles. Membership in the
APA
commits members to comply with the standards of the
APA
Ethics Code as well as to the Rules and Procedures used to enforce them.
Risk Management
Authors: Stewart Lindsay M.
Published: January 2015

Risk management refers to the process of identifying, treating, and monitoring risk in order to minimize the likelihood of adverse consequences for patients and others with whom patients interact. Common areas of risk include the risks of self‐harm, suicide, abuse, and neglect. An important but sometimes overlooked aspect of risk management involves the process of building resilience and recovery in service users. This entry discusses the concept of positive risk management, strategies involved in risk assessment and risk management, and suggestions for incorporating these processes into everyday clinical practice.
Folk Psychology
Authors: Murphy Dominic , Donovan Caitrin
Published: January 2015

Folk psychology is the knowledge human beings have that enables them to predict and understand the behavior of other people. Modern philosophers have tended to see it as depending on the possession of a body of knowledge, akin to a scientific theory. This theory includes laws governing the interaction between beliefs, desires, and behaviors. Some philosophers have argued that the theory is false and needs to be revised or replaced with knowledge that draws more fully on the science of the mind; others have denied we even have such knowledge at all. Although the term “folk psychology” tends to be limited in scope to the attribution of belief and desire, more recent work has discussed the basis of commonsense thought about other mental states, especially affective and abnormal ones.
J
uvenile Delinquency
Authors: Watson Stuart , Tang Selina , Modecki Kathryn L.
Published: January 2015

Adolescents engage in more illegal behavior than any other age group. Known as the age‐crime curve in offending, a number of theoretical perspectives attempt to account for this phenomenon. In particular, research on physiological change during adolescence has invigorated developmental perspectives on delinquency, though the court's treatment of adolescent offending does not reflect these ideas at present. In fact, there has been significant historical change in treating juvenile offenders in the United States, but the period since the mid 1990s has been characterized by punitive approaches to juvenile crime. Based on developmental, criminological, and clinical approaches to juvenile delinquency, law‐enforcement agencies, educational institutions, correctional institutions and the courts implement a wide range of treatment programs that vary in effectiveness. However, just as there is no one explanation for juvenile delinquency, there is no one approach that categorically resolves it, and continued research on the etiology and treatment of delinquency is needed.
Endogenous versus Reactive
Authors: Overstreet Cassie , Hawn Sage , Amstadter Ananda
Published: January 2015

This entry examines the evolution of the classification of depression from the endogenous‐reactive model, which proposed that the causal sources were either internal (brain based/biological) or external (a reaction to a stressful life event) to the integrative model that is widely accepted today. The original concept's historical roots are briefly summarized, followed by a discussion of several lines of genetically informed research that have shed light on the etiologic sources of psychiatric conditions such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. More specifically, gene‐environment correlation (rGE) research has aided in the shift away from the once commonly held belief that depression was dichotomously categorized into endogenous (biological) or reactive (environmental) forms.