AL Psych Juris key terms

A framework holding that psychological disorders emerge when a person's underlying vulnerability, such as genetic risk or early temperament, is activated by stressful life events. Neither predisposition nor stress alone is usually sufficient.

A measurable internal trait, such as a physiological or cognitive marker, that sits between genes and observable symptoms and appears in unaffected relatives of people with a disorder. It helps identify heritable risk that is not visible behaviorally.

The phenomenon in which the effect of a genetic predisposition depends on environmental exposure, or vice versa, so that risk is not simply additive. The same genotype can yield different outcomes across different rearing conditions.

Chemical modifications that alter gene expression without changing the DNA sequence, often triggered by experience or environment. These changes can persist and may be transmitted across generations, linking biology with developmental history.

The nervous system's capacity to reorganize its structure and function in response to experience, injury, or learning. It underlies recovery after brain damage and the effects of psychotherapy on neural activity.

A lasting increase in synaptic strength following repeated high-frequency stimulation of a pathway, widely considered a cellular basis of learning and memory. Its counterpart, long-term depression, weakens synapses.

A hormonal feedback system in which the hypothalamus signals the pituitary, which prompts the adrenal cortex to release cortisol. It governs stress responding and is often dysregulated in chronic stress and mood disorders.

The cumulative physiological wear produced by repeated or prolonged activation of stress systems. High load is associated with cardiovascular, immune, and cognitive problems over the lifespan.

A limited-capacity system that temporarily holds and manipulates information for ongoing tasks such as reasoning and comprehension. It is distinct from long-term storage and is often assessed with span tasks.

A set of higher-order control processes, including inhibition, planning, cognitive flexibility, and monitoring, that regulate goal-directed behavior. Deficits appear in many conditions and are central to developmental and neuropsychological assessment.

A learning process in which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response after repeated pairing with a biologically relevant stimulus. It explains many fear and physiological responses relevant to anxiety treatment.

Learning in which the frequency of a behavior changes because of the consequences that follow it, such as reinforcement or punishment. Schedules of reinforcement strongly influence persistence of the behavior.

The process by which a person evaluates an event's meaning and personal significance, shaping the emotional response that follows. Different appraisals of the same event can produce very different emotions and coping efforts.

A therapeutic technique that helps clients identify distorted or unhelpful thoughts and replace them with more accurate, balanced interpretations. It is a core component of cognitive therapy for depression and anxiety.

A treatment in which a client confronts feared stimuli or situations in a controlled, gradual manner without escape, allowing fear to extinguish. It is a first-line intervention for anxiety disorders and OCD.

Changing one's behavior or expressed beliefs to match those of a group, often in response to perceived social pressure. It can occur even when the group's judgment is clearly wrong.

Compliance with directives from a person perceived to hold legitimate power, sometimes overriding personal values. Classic research showed that situational pressure can lead ordinary people to harmful actions.

The tendency to overemphasize dispositional explanations for others' behavior while underestimating situational influences. It is less pronounced when people explain their own actions.

The finding that individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when others are present. Diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance help explain the pattern.

The tendency to favor members of one's own group and to evaluate them more positively than outsiders. It can arise from even trivial or arbitrary group assignments.

Automatic, unintentional associations that influence judgments and behavior toward social groups outside conscious awareness. Measures such as reaction-time tasks are used to index these associations, though their predictive validity is debated.

A generalized belief about the characteristics of a social group that is applied to individual members regardless of their actual traits. Stereotypes can operate automatically and contribute to prejudice and discrimination.

A structured approach to understanding how a client's cultural identity, explanatory models, stressors, and supports shape presentation and treatment. It is used to reduce misdiagnosis and improve engagement.

Systematic error in testing when items, norms, or administration procedures favor one cultural group over another, distorting scores. Fairness review and appropriate norms help reduce this error.

The capacity to attribute mental states, such as beliefs and desires, to oneself and others, and to understand that others may hold false beliefs. It develops markedly in early childhood and is relevant to autism assessment.

The understanding that objects continue to exist when they are out of sight, typically emerging in infancy. Its absence is a hallmark of early cognitive development stages.

An enduring emotional bond between an infant and caregiver that shapes expectations about relationships and safety. Patterns described as secure or insecure predict later social and emotional functioning.

A lifespan model proposing eight sequential stages, each defined by a developmental crisis whose resolution shapes personality and adjustment. Later stages address identity, intimacy, generativity, and integrity.

A limited developmental window during which specific experiences must occur for typical development of a function, such as language. Deprivation during this window can produce lasting deficits.

The consistency of scores across occasions, forms, or raters. It is necessary but not sufficient for validity and is often estimated with internal consistency or test-retest coefficients.

The degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretations and uses of test scores for a particular purpose. It is treated as a unified argument rather than a single fixed property of the instrument.

An index of the typical amount of error in an individual's observed score, derived from reliability and score variability. It supports confidence intervals around a score rather than treating it as exact.

A procedure that evaluates the probability of obtaining results at least as extreme as observed if the null hypothesis were true. It does not by itself establish effect size or practical importance.

A quantitative index of the magnitude of a difference or association, independent of sample size. It helps interpret practical significance alongside statistical significance.

The probability of correctly rejecting a false null hypothesis, determined by effect size, sample size, and the chosen alpha level. Low power raises the risk of false negatives and inflates published effect estimates.

The process of providing prospective clients or research participants with information about procedures, risks, benefits, and alternatives so they can make a voluntary decision. It requires capacity and may be withdrawn at any time.

The ethical and legal duty to protect client information, together with the recognized exceptions when disclosure is permitted or required. Exceptions commonly include danger to self or others, abuse reporting, and court orders.

A legal duty, arising from case law, to take reasonable steps to protect identifiable third parties when a client poses a serious threat of violence. Specific requirements vary by jurisdiction.

A situation in which a psychologist holds another role with a client, supervisee, or their close associates, such as business partner, friend, or relative. Not all are unethical, but they require careful management of risk.

A structured, evaluative relationship in which a more experienced clinician oversees a trainee's or colleague's clinical work, ensuring competence and client welfare. Boundaries, feedback, and due process are essential components.