bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neurotransmitters
Authors: Thorne B. Michael
Published: January 2010

A neurotransmitter is a chemical substance that carries a “message” from the terminal bouton (button) of one nerve cell or neuron across a tiny gap (synapse) to receptor sites on another neuron. Neurotransmitters are, in general, synthesized in the neuron's cell body and stored in tiny sacs called synaptic vesicles.
N
igeria, Psychology in
Authors: Gire James T.
Published: January 2010

Psychology is relatively new to Nigeria. Its origins can be traced to the offering of courses in counseling and educational psychology in departments of education at the few universities in the country at that time. As an academic discipline, psychology is said to have started in 1964 when the first department of psychology was established at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with 16 students and two lecturers (Olomolaiye, 1985). Psychology's identity in Nigeria has been that of a social‐science discipline (Obot & Gire, 1995).
Norm‐Referenced Testing
Authors: Kanjee Anil
Published: January 2010

A norm‐referenced test (NRT) refers to a test on which the score of an examinee is reported in comparison to a distribution of scores of other examinees in a reference group. The standards for comparisons are called norms, and the group in which the norms are obtained is called a norm group. Norm‐referenced testing differs from criterion‐referenced testing (CRT), in that the primary purpose of CRTs is to determine how examinees perform in comparison to a predetermined performance level or outcome. NRTs provide information on how well an examinee performs in comparison to other examinees, whereas CRTs provide information on what an examinee knows and can do. A mathematical test used to determine an examinee's performance against specific curriculum outcomes is an example of CRT. By comparison, when assessing mathematical aptitude of examinees, the reference point becomes a specific comparison group.
Obesity
Authors: Perri Michael G. , Nackers Lisa M.
Published: January 2010

Over the past three decades, the prevalence of obesity in the United States has increased at an alarming rate: almost one‐third of the adult population is now obese. The seriousness of this phenomenon is highlighted by the fact that in the United States 5 of the 10 leading causes of death are directly linked to obesity. Excess body weight increases morbidity, decreases life expectancy, and diminishes quality of life. We summarize the scope and seriousness of the obesity epidemic, and we describe the effectiveness of behavioral and pharmacological interventions for the management of obesity.
Occupational Interests
Authors: Leong Frederick T. L. , Golubovich Juliya
Published: January 2010

The literature on interests offers many definitions of the term. Interests may be defined, for example, as activities or stimuli that engage one's attention and curiosity. Edward K. Strong, one of the most influential authorities on interests, proposed that interests involve enduring attention, positive feeling, and action directed toward the object of interest, as well as preference for that object over another. Occupational interests in particular may be understood as “patterns of likes, dislikes, and indifferences regarding career‐relevant activities and occupations.” Notably, interests only relay information about the likelihood that an activity will be initiated and continued; interest in the activity does not guarantee that the activity will be carried out successfully. For career interests this means that an individual's interest in a career does not carry the promise of his or her high performance in it. Additional factors, such as abilities, bridge the gap between interest and performance.
Oedipus Complex
Authors: Barratt Barnaby B.
Published: January 2010

The Oedipus complex is a psychoanalytic concept that refers to psychological conflicts experienced by every individual. The complex was named by Sigmund Freud in 1910 after the Greek tragedy of King Oedipus (Freud, 1910/1957). As a baby, Oedipus narrowly escaped being killed by his father. Later he unknowingly killed his father and inadvertently married his mother. When he came to realize what he had done—that the man he had killed was his father, and that the woman he was having sex with was his mother—he was so horrified that he blinded himself and gave up his kingdom. The story suggests how there may be aggressive competition between fathers and sons. It also shows how powerful is the taboo against incest, and how incestuous feelings may cause intense guilt. Freud held that every boy struggles with such feelings. Later he extended this theory to girls, because they have feelings of rivalry toward their mother figures as a consequence of harboring secret erotic feelings toward their father figures (Freud, 1933/1964). Psychoanalysts view these conflicts as entirely normal, although they are often the source of conflicts in later life (Young, 2001).
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Authors: Barry Tammy D. , Lochman John E.
Published: January 2010

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a recurrent pattern of negativistic, disobedient, and hostile behavior by young people toward authority figures. A diagnosis of ODD requires that four or more of the following eight symptoms have been present over the course of at least 6 months: (1) losing one's temper, (2) arguing with adults, (3) actively defying adults' requests or rules, (4) deliberately annoying others, (5) blaming others for mistakes, (6) being easily annoyed, (7) being angry and resentful, and (8) being spiteful or vindictive (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Those receiving a diagnosis of ODD exhibit such behaviors at a frequency above what is considered to be developmentally appropriate, and such behaviors lead to significant impairment in social or academic functioning. These symptoms need only be present in one setting to warrant a diagnosis, and children sometimes exhibit symptoms in the home setting without concurrent problems at school or in the community. Likewise, teachers may identify ODD symptoms among students who do not show the same severity of problems in nonacademic settings (Drabick, Gadow, & Loney, 2007).
Oxytocin
Authors: Young Larry J.
Published: January 2010

Oxytocin is a nonapeptide hormone and neuromodulator with a range of physiological and psychological effects related to reproduction, social cognition, and behavior (Burbach et al., 2006). Oxytocin is produced predominantly in the hypothalamus and is projected to the posterior pituitary for release into circulation, where it acts as a hormone. Oxytocin released into circulation plays important roles in regulating both lactation and the progression of labor. Oxytocin is the most uterotonic substance known, and pitocin, a synthetic oxytocin, is widely used by physicians to stimulate the progression of labor. Nipple stimulation during nursing stimulates synchronous firing of hypothalamic neurons via a reflex arch, resulting in the pulsatile release of oxytocin from the mother's pituitary gland. This elevation in oxytocin stimulates milk ejection by causing myoepithelial cells in the mammary gland to contract.
Pain Theories
Authors: Melzack Ronald
Published: January 2010

The traditional theory of pain, which evolved during the early twentieth century, holds that pain is a specific sensation produced by a direct‐line pain pathway from pain receptors in the body to a pain center in the brain. Research based on this theory focuses on acute pain evoked by noxious stimulation and has investigated physiological mechanisms at every level of the pathway from receptors to cerebral cortex (Dostrovsky & Craig, 2006). Although acute pain due to injury or surgery is now generally well controlled by a variety of drugs, the direct‐line theory of pain has failed to reveal new therapies to control chronic pain such as the neuralgias and fibromyalgia.
Paradoxical Sleep
Authors: Thorne B. Michael
Published: January 2010

Paradoxical sleep is a sleep stage characterized physiologically by a lack of muscle tone; rapid eye movements (REMs), which are not always rapid; and an awake cortical electroencephalographic (EEG) pattern. The paradox refers to the disparity between the alert EEG pattern, implying that the person is awake or nearly so, and the indications that the person is actually more deeply asleep than at other times (difficulty in arousing, reduced muscle tone). The lack of muscle tone prevents the sleeper from performing the activities reflected in the alert EEG pattern.
REM without atonia
or
REM behavior disorder
is a sleep disorder in which the atonia fails to occur, with the result that the sleeper may actually perform his or her REM sleep actions.
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Authors: Harper Robert G.
Published: January 2010

Most people recognize the term
paranoid
as unwarranted suspiciousness or mistrust of others' actions or intentions due to belief that others are seeking harm or harboring ill will toward them. Anyone can have such concerns for a time, but when it becomes a pervasive and enduring feature of one's way of dealing with the world, then this can constitute a paranoid personality disorder. Among mental health disciplines, there is consensual agreement reflected in the American Psychiatric Association's (APA)
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
(
DSM;
the gold standard for diagnosis of psychiatric disorders) that a personality disorder is an enduring, inflexible pattern of behavior across a broad range of functional contexts that produces either clinically significant personal distress or disruption and impairment in a person's social, occupational, or “other important areas of functioning” (APA, 2000). The prevalence of paranoid personality disorder (PPD) has been estimated to range from 0.5–2.5% in the general population, to be four times more prevalent in outpatient psychiatric settings, and to occur 10–30% in inpatient psychiatric facilities (APA, 2000). It is also thought to be more prevalent among males. Though it is a comparatively uncommon condition, its impact can be pervasive. Many would agree that dramatic examples in history of paranoid personalities include Joseph Stalin and perhaps Saddam Hussein.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Authors: Quigley Karen S.
Published: January 2010

The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is one of the divisions of the autonomic nervous system that controls the function of organs and glands in the body (the efferent portion), and the PNS senses changes in these visceral systems (the afferent portion); the other autonomic division is the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The neurons that comprise the efferent PNS (also called the craniosacral system) arise from either the cranial nerves, which exit from the brain stem and spinal cord, or from the sacral portion of the spinal cord. Cranial nerve parasympathetic fibers innervate the viscera of the head, neck, chest, and upper abdomen, including the upper portions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Sacral parasympathetic fibers innervate the lower GI tract and other organs of the pelvis.
Partner Abuse
Authors: Schumacher Julie A. , O'Leary K. Daniel
Published: January 2010

Partner abuse is variously referred to as domestic violence, battering, wife beating, spouse abuse, spousal assault, partner aggression, and intimate partner violence. Partner abuse is a very broad term, most typically referring to three distinct types of abusive behaviors that occur within the context of an intimate relationship: physical, psychological, and sexual. Physical abuse includes behaviors ranging in severity from those that are unlikely to result in injury, such as pushing and grabbing, to those that can be life‐threatening, such as choking, kicking, beating, and using a weapon against a partner. The definition of psychological abuse is broad, encompassing behaviors that range from insulting or swearing at a partner, to threatening a partner, to engaging in jealous behaviors, to isolating a partner from friends and family. Sexual abuse refers to any undesired sexual contact that is psychologically or physically coerced and includes behaviors such as insisting a partner have sexual intercourse without a condom and using physical force or threat of force to obtain oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse. Because of the greater research emphasis on physical abuse than on psychological and sexual abuse, physical partner abuse is our focus here.
Passive‐Aggressive Personality Disorder
Authors: Zagelbaum Adam , Carlson Jon
Published: January 2010

The concept of Passive‐Aggressive Personality Disorder (PAPD) is less controversial than its validity. The disorder used to be known as Negativistic Personality Disorder (NEGPD) and has undergone several changes in terms of its classification, criteria, and appearance within empirical studies. Its original appearance in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders
was in 1952 (
DSM‐I;
American Psychiatric Association [APA]). Criteria for this disorder centered on dispositional qualities of individuals who would passively resist demands related to everyday routines (Rotenstein et al., 2007). Subsequent versions of the
DSM
would lead to revised criteria by which PAPD was identified within clinical fields. Clinicians responsible for these revisions often related their rationale for doing so because of clients' tendencies to show pervasive oppositional thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that also manifested themselves within interpersonal relationships (Ritzler & Gerevitz‐Stern, 2007).
P
avlov,
I
van
P
etrovich (1849–1936)
Authors: Haynie N. A.
Published: January 2010

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was the eldest of 11 children. He learned about hard work and responsibility at an early age. In 1860, Pavlov entered a theological seminary, but in 1870 he changed his mind and went to the University of St. Petersburg to study to begin a long career in physiological research. He earned his doctorate in 1883 from the Military Medical Academy. In 1891, he was appointed director of the Department of Physiology at the Institute of Experimental Medicine in St. Petersburg, and in 1897, he became a professor at the university. In 1904, his research work on the primary digestive glands was recognized with the Nobel Prize.
Perceptual Control Theory
Authors: Marken Richard S.
Published: January 2010

Perceptual control theory (PCT) is a theory of mind that was developed by William T. Powers and his colleagues to explain the purposeful behavior of living organisms (Powers, Clark, & McFarland, 1960). Purposeful behavior is seen in the ability of organisms to produce preselected results in a disturbance‐prone world, as in the human ability to drive to a preselected destination despite unpredictable disturbances like road closures and car problems. Powers's use of control theory to explain purposeful behavior was based on his experience as a control engineer, which gave him the opportunity to see that the controlling done by artificial control systems, such as a thermostat, is equivalent to the purposeful behavior carried out by living systems, such as a driver. In both cases, systems are producing preselected results in the face of unpredictable disturbances. PCT is a theory of how systems, living and artificial, produce results on purpose, that is, how they exert control.
Performance‐Based Personality Measures
Authors: Viglione Donald J.
Published: January 2010

Performance‐based personality measures are assessment techniques that require the respondent to perform a task and that are designed to uncover or elicit information or insight into the personality in action. These tasks might, for example, involve completing a sentence, telling a story, or characterizing an emotion or verbalizing a statement in response to a depicted situation. Performance tests bring aspects of relevant behavior, associations, perceptions, organizations, emotions, and interpersonal attitudes and styles into the consulting room to be observed (Levy, 1963). The task itself is typically incomplete, contradictory, or ambiguous. With little external structure, direction, or guidance provided, respondents must rely on themselves in formulating a solution, which maximizes the effects of individuals' interpretation, processing, and personality on their performance.
Personality, Biological Bases of
Authors: Zuckerman Marvin
Published: January 2010

The topic of the biological bases of personality was largely theoretical in the first half of the twentieth century because of the primitive stage of the science of neuropsychology, particularly in regard to the brain. Gardner Murphy's 1947 book on personality was subtitled “a biosocial approach,” but there was little on biology as a source of personality differences, just some discussion of body types and speculations about the potential role of endocrine hormones and other peripheral physiological variants.
Personnel Selection
Authors: Schmitt Neal
Published: January 2010

Personnel selection represents an attempt to identify knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KASO) that predict who from among a group of job applicants will perform some job well. Because the objective of personnel selection is to make accurate inferences about some job behavior or outcome, these efforts begin with knowledge and/or theories about job performance.
Personology
Authors: Millon Theodore
Published: January 2010

The word
personality
is derived from the Latin term
persona,
originally representing the theatrical mask used by ancient dramatic players. As a mask assumed by an actor, persona suggests a pretense of appearance, that is, the possession of traits other than those that actually characterize the individual behind the mask. In time, the term
persona
lost its connotation of pretense and illusion and began to represent not the mask, but the real person's observable or explicit features. The third meaning that personality acquired delves beneath the surface impression to turn the spotlight on the inner, less often revealed, and hidden psychological qualities of the individual. Thus, through history, the meaning of the term has shifted from external illusion to surface reality to opaque or veiled inner traits. The fourth conception of personality
,
which is labeled
personology,
comes closest to contemporary use. Today, personality is seen as a complex pattern of deeply embedded psychological characteristics that are expressed automatically in almost every area of psychological functioning; that is, personality is viewed as the patterning of unique characteristics that penetrate the entire matrix of the person.
Phobic Disorder
Authors: Epstein Alyssa M. , Craske Michelle G.
Published: January 2010

Whereas most individuals have some level of fear or anxiety about certain situations, objects, or events, phobias are considered to be more extreme, persistent, and irrational fears that produce a conscious avoidance of the feared stimulus. According to the
DSM‐IV,
phobic disorder is diagnosed when the following symptoms are present: a marked and persistent fear of a situation or stimulus, exposure to this feared situation or stimulus almost invariably invokes anxiety or panic attacks, the feared situation or stimulus is avoided or endured with intense anxiety or distress, and the avoidance interferes with the individual's functioning or there is marked distress about the phobia (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Adults with this disorder realize that the fear is excessive, although children may not have this insight. Whereas phobic disorders share in common features of threat‐relevant responding (i.e., anxious apprehension, fear, and avoidance), they differ in the object and breadth of threat.
Physical Attractiveness
Authors: Hatfield Elaine , Rapson Richard L.
Published: January 2010

Physical attractiveness has been defined as “that which represents one's conception of the ideal in appearance; that which gives the greatest degree of pleasure to the senses” (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986, p. 4).
Play Therapy
Authors: Silvern Louise , McClintic Brook , Nuttall Amy K.
Published: January 2010

The term
play therapy
is employed in at least two ways to describe child psychotherapy. First, the term sometimes refers to particular child psychotherapy approaches that centrally emphasize children's play as a means of therapeutic communication and as a modality through which children's dilemmas can be solved (e.g., Davenport & Bourgeois, 2008; Landreth & Bratton, 2006; Schaefer, 1993). Second, the term
play therapy
is sometimes imprecisely employed to describe individual child psychotherapy generally, given that virtually all therapies rely on children's play at least as a mode of communication (Johnson, Rasbury, & Siegel, 1997). Child therapy approaches, however, do differ in whether play is considered relatively central versus relatively incidental to the process of change.
Prejudice and Discrimination
Authors: Denmark Florence L.
Published: January 2010

Although often employed interchangeably and certainly related by laypersons and the media, the terms
prejudice
and
discrimination
possess distinct meanings for most social scientists. Prejudice denotes the possession of negative attitudes of a particular kind regarding members of a specific group or category. As commonly used in psychology, prejudice is not merely a statement of opinion or belief, but an attitude that includes feelings such as contempt, dislike, or loathing. Discrimination is a term applied to the negative actions that result from prejudicial attitudes and that are directed against the targets or victims of prejudice. Someone who is prejudiced may, in certain situations, practice discrimination. Prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination often go hand‐in‐hand, but it is also possible to have one without the others.
Premarital Counseling
Authors: Schilling Elizabeth A.
Published: January 2010

The importance of marriage to family and individual functioning, and thus to society, is hard to overemphasize. As well as serving the economic and practical functions of nurturing the next generation, marriage in Western culture is expected to fulfill the emotional, sexual, and social needs of both partners, a very tall order. Thus, it is not surprising that many couples discover that their marital satisfaction deteriorates over the course of the first few years of marriage, and many eventually divorce. Through premarital counseling, mental health professionals work with couples to provide them with knowledge and skills, with the goal of preventing the development of marital distress and divorce and the accompanying pain and disruption in the family.
Primary Mental Abilities
Authors: Schaie K. Warner
Published: January 2010

One of the earliest accomplishments of the science of psychology was the objective measurement of mental abilities. In 1904, the British psychologist Charles Spearman argued that intelligence could be characterized as comprising a general factor (
g
), common to all meaningful activity, and of specific factors (
s
) that are unique to the different tasks used to measure intelligence. Binet and Simon (1905) in France and Terman (1916) in the United States introduced test instruments that applied the concept of general intelligence. However, American psychologists engaged in educational and occupational selection activities found the concept of general intelligence not very useful for predicting success in specific jobs or other life roles. In addition, the work of Thorndike and Woodworth (1901) on transfer of training had suggested that the notion of generalizability of a single ability dimension was not justified.
Probability
Authors: Rossi Joseph S.
Published: January 2010

Probability theory is important to psychology because it is the foundation on which statistics and statistical inference are based, and statistics are the tools for conducting empirical research. The basic notions of probability and chance have a very long history. Gambling, throwing dice, and randomization procedures such as drawing lots are very ancient, if not prehistoric. Although these concepts were vague by modern standards, it is surprising that even the simplest sort of probability calculus was not invented until relatively recent times. Why this did not take place much earlier is a matter of some mystery and controversy.
Prosocial Behavior
Authors: Huber Charles H.
Published: January 2010

Of those aspects that distinguish humans from other species, the degree of cooperation, helping, and altruism among people is typically espoused as most important (Fehr & Fischbacher, 2003). Prosocial behavior, that is, behavior that has no obvious benefits for the responder but is beneficial to the recipient (i.e., actions that benefit another person without any expected reward for the self) (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998), has traditionally been considered as the basis of human relationships. A significant number of studies have found evidence of concern for others beginning in infancy and developing throughout childhood and adolescence. Girls have generally been thought to be (or be capable of being) more prosocial than boys; however, the majority of research has not found appreciable gender differences in prosocial behavior. Both internal and external mechanisms have been proposed as determinants of prosocial behavior, as have genetic contributions (Knafo & Plomin, 2006a, 2006b).
Pseudodementia
Authors: Abeles Norman
Published: January 2010

Brown (2005) raises the question as to whether the term
pseudodementia
is still valid and useful. He points out that many specialists have taken a second look at this diagnosis and have essentially abandoned it. With that in mind, it seems important to look at and see what this diagnosis is all about. Jenike (1988) points out that many elderly patients with depression show cognitive changes that include deficits in memory performance. The term
pseudodementia
(literally, “false dementia”) is used to describe cognitive changes associated with depression that can be reversed with adequate treatment (p. 128). One should not assume, he warns, that cognitive disorders are necessarily a consequence of neurological disease. The danger appears to be that cognitively impaired patients can be viewed as hopelessly demented, warranting no further treatment for depressive symptoms. He suggests that although diagnosis is certainly important, the distinction between a psychiatric disorder and a neurological disorder may not be crucial, as long as one can determine that the course of the illness is not progressive.
Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual
Authors: Gordon Robert M.
Published: January 2010

The
Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual
(
PDM
; PDM Task Force, 2006) is the first psychological diagnostic classification system that considers the whole person in various stages of development. A task force of five major psychoanalytic organizations and leading researchers, under the guidance of Stanley I. Greenspan, Nancy McWilliams, and Robert Wallerstein, came together to develop the
PDM
. The resulting nosology goes from the deep structural foundation of personality to the surface symptoms that include the integration of behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning.
Psychological Measurement, Bias in
Authors: Malgady Robert G.
Published: January 2010

The issue of reliable and valid assessment of mental health status has been faced in clinical practice since the inception of efforts to evaluate intelligence, dating at least to Spearman's theory of general intelligence. G‐theory, as it became known, presumed that individuals possess an overall intelligence, as opposed to more varied intelligences in diverse areas, as later expressed by Thurstone (1927), and more recently rearticulated by Gardner (1983). Unfortunately, efforts to develop psychological assessment instruments have historically focused and been standardized on white middle‐class males. Little or no consideration was given to the diversity of the U.S. population with respect to gender, race, ethnicity, religiosity, or any other relevant demographic characteristic. Even within the United States, various verbal expressions are unclear or uninterpretable among some native born Americans in all parts of the country.
Psychological Systems
Authors: Pear Joseph J.
Published: January 2010

A psychological system is a way of conceptualizing and organizing the basic phenomena of psychology. It is similar to what in advanced sciences Kuhn (1962) called a paradigm. Like a paradigm, a psychological system subsumes under a single umbrella theories that are based on similar assumptions and use a similar language to describe phenomena. Over the history of psychology, four distinct systems have emerged: cognitive, psychodynamic, behavioral, and humanistic psychology (Pear, 2007). Although other classifications have been proposed, the one used here is the most parsimonious.
Psychology, History of
Authors: King D. Brett
Published: January 2010

The subject matter of psychology captured the human imagination long before psychology became a science. Throughout antiquity, Chinese, Babylonian, Egyptian, Indian, Hebraic, and Persian scholars explored psychological topics ranging from sensation, emotion, and cognition to education, personality, and mental disorders. In ancient Greece, many enduring figures, including Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Leucippus, and Democritus, made contributions important to Western intellectual history. Rejecting popular supernatural explanations, Hippocrates (c. 460–c. 377B.C.E.) introduced a naturalistic approach to medicine that encompassed both physical and mental illness. He also formulated the first classification system of mental disorders.
Psychoneuroimmunology
Authors: Krippner Stanley
Published: January 2010

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) can be defined as the study of adaptive interactions among the behavioral, neurological, endocrinal, and immunological systems. PNI emerged from the realization that the immune system does not operate autonomously, as had been assumed by those who had conceptualized it as a closed system. This former perspective assumed the immune system was driven by challenges from foreign substances (antigens) and was regulated by soluble products that were produced and released by immune cells (e.g., lymphokines, cytokines, monokines). Although antigens do initiate immune responses, and cytokines (such as interleukin‐1) do regulate immune processes, data now demonstrate that there are bidirectional communication pathways between the immune system and the central nervous system (CNS), with each providing important regulatory control over the other (Maier, Watkins, & Fleshner, 1994).
Psychooncology
Authors: Nezu Arthur M. , Greenberg Lauren M. , Nezu Christine Maguth
Published: January 2010

The set of diseases known collectively as cancer represents the second most common cause of death in the United States. About 565,650 Americans were expected to die from cancer in 2008, accounting for 25% of deaths. An estimated 1.4 million new cases were diagnosed in 2008, with prostate and breast cancers being most frequent in men and women, respectively, followed by lung cancer, which is the most lethal, then colorectal cancers (American Cancer Society, 2008). The lifetime risk for cancer in men is 1 in 2, and in women, 1 in 3. Because of improvements in prevention and medical care, the 5‐year relative survival rate for all cancers diagnosed from 1996 to 2003 has increased to 66%; in children, it has increased to 80%. Although death rates from cancer are declining, incidence rates of many cancers continue to rise. African Americans and people of low socioeconomic status have the highest rates of new cancers and cancer deaths.
Psychopathology
Authors: Fulford Daniel , Johnson Sheri L.
Published: January 2010

Psychopathology is a term derived from the Greek rootspsych(meaning “mind” or “soul”),path(referring to “feeling” or “suffering”), andology(“the study of”). Thus, one can define the term most broadly as the study of the suffering of the mind. More specifically, psychopathology can be defined as the study of mental illness or the understanding of behaviors and experiences that may indicate mental illness or impairment.
Psychopathy Checklist
Authors: Hart Stephen D.
Published: January 2010

The Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL‐R; Hare, 1991, 2004) is a standardized psychological test of lifetime psychopathic (antisocial) personality disorder symptoms intended for use with adult correctional offenders and forensic psychiatric patients. It has proved to be particularly useful in forensic mental health evaluations and is in wide use, both in the original English and in numerous foreign language translations. The PCL‐R is administered most often as part of comprehensive assessments of risk and treatability for sentencing, civil commitment, institutional classification, and release decision making.
Psychophysics
Authors: Robinson George H.
Published: January 2010

Psychophysics is the quantitative study of the relation between stimulus and sensation or sensory response. As such, it is concerned with the following questions: (1) How much stimulation is required to produce a sensation or sensory response? (2) How much must a stimulus be changed for the change to be detected? (3) In what way or ways must a stimulus be changed to be perceptually equivalent to another? (4) How does the sensation or sensory response change with changes in stimulus magnitudes? Answers to these questions (among others) are provided by psychophysical methods. These consist of the three classical methods—limits, adjustment, and constant stimuli—that were advanced, but not originated, by Gustav T. Fechner (1801–1887) for use in determining thresholds, for numerous suprathreshold psychophysical scaling methods used for deriving measures of sensation magnitude, and for signal detection theory methods used in providing measures of basic sensory sensitivity, minimally contaminated by motivational and attitudinal biases. Although employed primarily with human subjects, several of the psychophysical methods have been adapted for studying nonhuman sensitivity (Stebbins, 1970).
Psychosexual Stages
Authors: McKinney John Paul
Published: January 2010

In Sigmund Freud's (1938) personality theory, development is described in terms of stages defined by the specific expression of sexual, or libidinal, urges. Those areas of the body—the erogenous zones—that give rise to libidinal pleasure at specific ages are identified as the focus of each developmental stage. Thus the pleasure derived from sucking liquids and mouthing foods is the focus of the first developmental period, the oral stage. The satisfaction surrounding the retaining and expelling of feces defines the second, the anal stage. The phallic stage refers to the period in which the young child begins to explore and derive pleasure from the genitals. These three stages, called the pregenital stages, span, respectively, the first year of life, the second 2 years, and the years from 3 to 5, roughly.
Psychosurgery
Authors: Oscar‐Berman Marlene , Valmas Mary M.
Published: January 2010

Psychosurgery is the surgical removal or destruction of healthy brain tissue for relief of severe, persistent, and debilitating psychiatric symptomatology. Cranial surgery can be traced back, with early archaeological evidence of trepanation, to around 7300–6220
B.C.
(Lillie, 1998). However, the first widespread application of psychosurgery procedures to psychiatric patients began in the late 1930s, reached its peak in the 1960s, and began to decline in the 1970s (Weingarten & Cummings, 2001).
Psychotherapy
Authors: Crits‐Christoph Paul , Connolly Gibbons Mary Beth
Published: January 2010

What is psychotherapy? Although originally defined as one‐on‐one sessions of a patient and therapist with the intent of changing the inner workings of the patient's psychological life, over the past several decades, psychotherapy has broadened in its formats, participants, procedures, and focus (there are now more than 250 different forms of psychotherapy), so that any definition of psychotherapy must be far‐ranging enough to encompass the full spectrum of different psychotherapies. What relaxation therapy, family therapy, cognitive therapy, group therapy, insight‐oriented therapy, play therapy (with children), and exposure therapy—to name a few—have in common is a set of psychological or behavioral procedures, delivered by one or more therapists, designed to change the thoughts, feelings, somatic symptoms, or behaviors of one or more participants who are seeking help.
Pygmalion Effect
Authors: Rosenthal Robert
Published: January 2010

The term
Pygmalion effect
refers broadly to the effects of interpersonal expectations, that is, the finding that what one person expects of another can come to serve as a self‐fulfilling prophecy. These effects of interpersonal self‐fulfilling prophecies have come to be called Pygmalion effects in general, and especially so when the interpersonal expectancy effects occur in an educational context.
Qualitative Research Methods
Authors: Fischer Constance T.
Published: January 2010

Qualitative psychological research addresses people who are living through particular situations. Findings are presented discursively (descriptively) or through listed interrelated themes. Examples of studied phenomena are the experiences of being criminally victimized, being joyful, awaiting biopsy results, and the formation of white‐space Rorschach responses as described by clients. Two related forms of qualitative research, conversation analysis and discourse analysis, identify people's interactive ways of gaining or maintaining influence. Examples of these studies are interdisciplinary team meetings with patients in a psychiatric facility, marital discussions, and psychotherapy sessions. These situations as lived by participants are not amenable to experimental methods, which require manipulation and measurement in terms of predetermined categories. Hence, qualitative—descriptive—methods have been developed to access situations as they unfold in the life world. Qualitative research is not opposed to categorical, quantitative research, which historically has been essential to psychology's becoming scientific and has provided our ever‐evolving body of knowledge. Qualitative research is in the beginning stages of providing an empirical body of understanding.
Radical Behaviorism
Authors: Rutherford Alexandra
Published: January 2010

Radical behaviorism is the philosophy of the science of behavior articulated by American psychologist B. F. Skinner (1904–1990). Radical behaviorism is often contrasted with the methodological behaviorism of Skinner's predecessor, John B. Watson (1878–1958). Watson insisted that observable behavior replace consciousness as psychology's subject matter, and that the prediction and control of behavior be adopted as psychology's ultimate theoretical goals. Watson formulated his position in direct response to what he saw as the limitations of the introspective study of consciousness that had dominated psychology during its first 30 years. Skinner was influenced by Watson's position, which he read in an account by Bertrand Russell just prior to undertaking graduate studies in psychology at Harvard University. Skinner was also influenced by the work of Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov.
Rank Order Correlation
Authors: Long Jeffrey D.
Published: January 2010

Rank order correlation is often used when researchers want to consider only the ordinal aspects of their data. This might be considered when researchers believe their data represent only ordinal aspects of the measurement constructs. There may also be statistical reasons, as when a researcher does not want to assume normality or believes that monotonicity as opposed to strict linearity is plausible.
Rasch Model
Authors: Bond Trevor G.
Published: January 2010

Proponents of the Rasch model (RM; Rasch, 1980) claim that it is distinctive in terms of its focus on the production of interval‐level measurement (Andrich, 1988). There is an important emphasis that tests and questionnaires should produce data that fit the model, and the RM sets out the criteria for successful measurement. From that perspective, the Rasch model is indispensable for the construction of invariant measurement scales and the monitoring of their performance across samples and over time, as in the calibration of large item banks. The RM is widely adopted in educational and psychological testing as well as for rehabilitation and quality‐of‐life indicators in health settings.
Reading Disability
Authors: Riddle Margaret W.
Published: January 2010

Reading disability was first described at the end of the nineteenth century, when British physician W. Pringle Morgan (Morgan, 1896) described the case of a bright 14‐year‐old boy who was unable to read any but the simplest words, in spite of clearly being intelligent and great efforts having been made to teach him. Reports of similar cases followed, describing a condition with the major elements of what currently is recognized today as reading disability, or dyslexia, which fundamentally refers to unexpected underachievement in reading that is not primarily the result of sensory impairment, intellectual disability, or lack of adequate instruction.
Reading Skill
Authors: Juhasz Barbara J. , Rayner Keith
Published: January 2010

Reading involves the orchestration of a number of component mental activities and coordination between the eye‐movement system, the language‐processing system, and memory. Here we review some important aspects of skilled reading.
Reciprocal Inhibition
Authors: Friesen W. Otto
Published: January 2010

The central nervous system (CNS), together with peripheral sensory inputs, provides the basis of all animal movements. It has long been recognized that the CNS is primarily responsible for generating the motor neuron firing patterns that underlie repetitive movements, that is, those that have a rhythmic expression (Delcomyn, 1980). A central aim of neuroethology is to identify the neuronal circuits underlying these rhythmic behaviors and to understand how the rhythmic motor patterns arise from neuronal interactions and nerve cell properties (Marder & Calabrese, 1996).
Relationship Psychotherapy
Authors: Hess Allen K.
Published: January 2010

Relationship psychotherapy refers to the systems of psychotherapy in which the relationship between the psychotherapist and the patient forms the curative essence. Often termed interpersonal psychotherapy, its modern origins can be traced to Harry Stack Sullivan (Evans, 1996; Sullivan, 1953). The core of Sullivan's work is presented here, followed by brief reviews of the main contributors to relationship or interpersonal psychotherapy.
Reliability
Authors: Coolidge Frederick L. , Segal Daniel L.
Published: January 2010

Reliability refers to the consistency or stability of a measurement. A test with good reliability means that the respondent will obtain the same score upon repeated testing, as long as no other extraneous factors affect the score. In actuality, a respondent will rarely obtain exactly the same score over repeated testing, because repeated assessments of any phenomenon are likely to be affected by chance errors. Thus, the goal of testing is to minimize chance errors and maximize the reliability of the measurement, with the recognition that a perfectly reliable measure is rarely attainable.
Repetition Compulsion
Authors: Cogan Rosemary
Published: January 2010

One remarkable feature of the human condition is that people repeat unhappy or troublesome experiences. As he developed psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud recognized that the unrelenting repetition of unhappy experiences was a hallmark of psychopathology. In 1914, in “Remembering, Repeating, and Working Through,” Freud (1914/1958) described the repetition compulsion, in which a patient in psychoanalysis repeats something important from the past without recognizing the repetition. Freud noted that the compulsion to repeat often occurs at the beginning of treatment and also when the transference is hostile or intense. As the meaning of the repetition becomes clearer, it becomes increasingly possible for analyst and analysand to recognize and talk about the conflicts in the mind involved in the repetition. Understanding the mental conflict helps to reduce the pressure of the unconscious conflict and the compulsion to repeat.
Resilience
Authors: Farris Jaelyn R. , Borkowski John G.
Published: January 2010

Resilience refers to successful adaptation in the face of major risks or stressors. Three aspects of the definition are noteworthy: (1) resilience refers to a process or pattern of adaptation rather than a characteristic of a person; (2) resilience is based on inferences about adaptation in the face of adversity, which implies that in order to be considered resilient, an individual has to be exposed to a risk or major challenge; and (3) a resilient person must maintain or return to adequate levels of functioning following exposure to risk. A person may be resilient in one domain of functioning but not in another, in one situation but not in another, and at one point in time but not at another. Therefore, resilience refers to a specific type of positive adaptation in a specific situation at a specific point in time, following exposure to one or more risk factors.
Response Set
Authors: Risko Evan F.
Published: January 2010

The response set is composed of the group of acceptable responses in a given experimental context. The response set represents the mapping between a given stimulus and the correct response. For example, in a Stroop task, if the instruction is to “name the ink color of the color word” and the ink colors used are red and green, then the response set consists of the responses “red” and “green.” Response set needs to be differentiated from the stimulus set. In the previous example, the response set (i.e., “red” and “green”) and the stimulus set (i.e., the colors red and green) are the same, but this need not be the case. For example, participants could be instructed to respond “green” to the ink color red and “red” to the ink color green. The response set and the stimulus set together form the task set. There are a number of empirical phenomena associated with the study of response set. Major areas of interest include the effect of (1) the relation between stimulus set and response set, (2) response set membership in selective attention tasks, (3) response set size, and (4) switching response sets. Together, the work on response set has increased our understanding of how behavior is both organized and controlled.
Rewards and Intrinsic Interest
Authors: Sarafino Edward P.
Published: January 2010

It is usually assumed that giving rewards for performing a task increases future motivation for and engagement in that activity. A large body of research supports this assumption (Baldwin & Baldwin, 1998; Sarafino, 2001). In the early 1970s, however, studies began to find that under certain conditions, the opposite effect seemed to occur: External rewards for performing an intrinsically interesting activity undermined subsequent interest in and performance of that task.
Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale
Authors: Reynolds William M.
Published: January 2010

The Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) was first published in 1987 and since then has become one of the most used self‐report measures of depression in adolescents. In 2002, the second edition of the RADS was published (RADS‐2; Reynolds, 2002), which included the development of four empirically derived subscales that reliably evaluate meaningful components of depression in adolescents; extension of the age range to include 11‐ to 20‐year‐olds; a new standardization sample of 3,300 adolescents; standard scores (
T
scores) to assist in interpretation and comparisons across subscales; a new empirically derived clinical cutoff score; a quick scoring carbonless test protocol; and an expanded test manual with extensive psychometric information and interpretive procedures.