405 Exam 1

4 D’s

Deviance, Distress, Dysfunction, Danger

Deviance

abnormal behavior compared to society

different, extreme, unusual, sometimes bizarre

examples: chewing with mouth open or staring at others

Distress

behaviors/ideas/emotions typically cause distress before labeled abnormal

unpleasant and upsetting

examples: substance abuse or social isolation

Dysfunctional

interfering with ability to conduct daily activities in constructive way

examples: ignore hygiene or goals/work

Danger

behavior considered careless, hostile, confused

put self and others at risk

Abnormality

general criteria selected and then used to judge particular cases

today theorist look into circumstances and coping challenges

Abnormality v Eccentricity

A: requires intervention

E: unusual pattern others cannot interfere with

Ecceentricity

person who deviates from common behavior patterns or displays odd or whimsical behavior, chosen freely and provides pleasure, no sign of dysfunction

Three essential features of all therapy

1. A sufferer who seeks relief from the healer

2. A trained, socially accepted healer, whose expertise is accepted by the sufferer and the sufferer’s social group

3. A series of contacts between the healer and the sufferer, through which the healer… tries to produce certain changes in the sufferer’s emotional state, attitudes, and behavior

Ancient Civilization

believe abnormal behavior originated from evil spirits/magic

force demons out of the body by opening skull

Trephination

stone instrument/trephine used to cut away circular section of skull as treatment for severe abnormal behavior

Later societies Egyptians, Chinese, Hebrew

believe abnormal behavior caused by demonic possession

treatment via exorcism by shaman/priest, perform magic, drink bitter potions, even extreme exorcism such as whipping and starvation

Greek and Romans

Hippocrates the father of modern medicine taught illness had natural causes

believed abnormal behavior is disease from internal physical problems and brain pathology was the culprit

ideology shared by Plato, Aristotle, and influential physicians

Yellow Bile

Hippocrates 1 of 4 fluids

excess result in mania a state of frenzied activity

Black Bile

Hippocrates 1 of 4 fluids

excess result in melancholia a unshakable sadness

treatment: quiet life, diet of vegetables, temperance, exercise, celibacy, and even bleeding

Humors

four fluids idea created by Hippocrates in Greek/Roman time

yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm

Europe in Middle Ages

Reemergence of demonology and exorcisms/torture, religious beliefs dominated and people blamed the Devil for all negatives with fear of possession

Outbreaks of mass madness (shared delusion) and hallucinations (imagined)

Tarantism and Lycanthropy (Middle Ages)

aka Saint Vitus dance, group of people started to dance/jump then go into convulsions, they were convinced they were bit by wolf spider/tarantula, performed dance called tarantella to “cure” disorder

people believed they were possessed by wolves or other animals, acted wolflike and imagined fur was growing all over body

Renaissance

individuals treated at home were aided financially by parish, religious shrines devoted to humane treatment for mental disorders such as Gheel in Belgium

mid sixteenth century turning point into asylums for mental illness, soon overcrowding lead to becoming prisons with cruelty and filth, Bedlam became popular attraction for people to pay to look at mental illness on chains

Johann Weyer (Renaissance)

founder of modern study of psychopathology

German Physician first to specialize in mental illness, believed mind just as susceptible to illness as body was

Nineteenth Century Moral Treatment rise and fall

moral guidance, humane, and respectful techniques

Pine (physician at first asylum reform La Bicêtre) & Tuke (asylum reform in northern england) created methods of reform

U.S moral reform spread by Benjamin Rush, legislative change by Dorothea Dix

end of century lead to decline due to shortage in money, staffing leading to overcrowding and recovery decline, new wave of prejudice calling them strange and dangerous, went back to long term hospitalization

Benjamin Rush (19th century)

father of American Psychiatry

eminent physician at Pennsylvania Hospital

believed in reading, talking, walking, and gifting patients

Dorothea Dix (19th century)

Boston school teacher, made humane care a public/political concern in the U.S

went state to state and to congress speaking of horrors in asylums and advocated for reform, lead to greater government funding and each state responsible for developing effective hospitals

Somatogenic Perspective

abnormal psychological functioning has physical causes

Emil Kraepelin developed first modern system for classifying abnormal behavior

Richard von Krafft-Ebing did syphilis on patients with general paresis lead to belief of physical factors for mental disorders

Many treatments such as tooth extraction, tonsillectomy, hydrotherapy, lobotomy, and sterilization

Psychogenic Perspective

abnormal functioning has psychological causes

hypnotism, hysterical disorders, hypnosis

Friedrich Anton Mesmer created Mesmerism which allegedly cured hysterical disorders through inducing a trancelike state, two physicians in France validated this belief and also discovered it can cause/cure physical dysfunction, Josef Breuer found patients were freed of hysterical symptoms after hypnosis

Psychoanalysis

created by Sigmund Freud

formed outpatient therapy that offered psychoanalytic treatment

believed many forms of abnormal and normal psychological functioning are psychogenic, unconscious psychological processes are root of functioning

Psychotropic Medications

drugs that primarily affect the brain and reduce symptoms of mental dysfunction

antipsychotic: corrected extremely confused and distorted thinking

antidepressant: lifted mood of depressed people

antibipolar/mood stabilizers:steady mood of those with bipolar disorder

anti-anxiety/minor tranquilizers/anxiolytics: reduce tension and worry

Deinstitutionalization

releasing hundreds of thousands of patients from public mental hospitals, influenced by new drugs and public outcry over conditions in the hospitals

21st century mental health treatment

outpatient care is now primary mode of treatment, psychotherapy now more widely covered by insurance and medication given to those in need

we now have exclusive psychological care such as suicide prevention, substance abuse programs and more

Prevention

interventions aimed at deterring mental disorders before they can develop

community programs try to correct social conditions that underly psychological problems, not always successful but promising

Positive Psychology

study and enhancement of positive feelings such as optimism and happiness

practitioners teach people coping skills that may help protect them from stress and adversity, encouraging them to become more involved in their life

Multicultural Psychology

seek to understand how culture, race, ethnicity, gender, and similar factors affect behavior, thoughts, and psychological view

Health Insurance Coverage

dominant insurance now have managed care programs which manage therapist, cost of sessions, and number of sessions a client can be reimbursed for

typically disliked as it shortens therapy, unfairly favors short therapy, pose hardship for those with severe disorders, insurance choice instead of therapist

Obamacare brought improvements to mental health coverage, still imbalance to coverage compared to other aspects of healthcare

Psychotherapy services

Psychiatrist (M/D), Psychologist (D), Social worker (M or D), Counselor (various)

similar techniques but different education and training programs

Clinical Researcher

determine which concepts best explain and predict abnormal behavior, most effective treatment, and changes required, discover broad laws/principles (nomothetic = general)

often works in universities, medical schools, laboratories, mental hospitals, health centers, and other clinical settings around the world

Clinical Practitioner

seek an idiographic or individualistic understanding of abnormal behavior

assess, diagnose, and treat individual clients

Impact of technology on mental health issues and services

new triggers for abnormal behavior, convenient tool for negative behavior to be promoted or used on others across the internet. Contributes to psychological dysfunction, increase in peer pressure, fears, withdrawal, and spread of misinformation.

can be used to maintain close bonds with others socially, provide accurate information for help and guidance, creation of positively inclined apps to improve mental health, greater affordability, accesibility, convenience, and outreach

smart trackers and telemental health

Telemental Health

remote technology used to provide real-time therapy sessions, propelled during COVID-19 and social distancing, lead to mandated insurance coverage and waived unintended violations, giving therapist opportunity to practice without consequence

Scientific Method

collect/evaluate information through careful observation, enable them to pinpoint and explain relation between different variables

Case study: typically focuses on one individual’s life and psychological problems

Correlational/experimental method: approaches usually used to gather information about many individuals

as a group they help form and test hypotheses (tentative explanation)

Animal Subjects

learned human functioning from animal experiments

research such as shock, separation, brain alterations, and killings

questionable ethics have lead to the APA issuing rules and guidelines for animal research to ensure ethical treatment for research

Internal Validity/accuracy

accuracy with which a study can pinpoint one factor as the cause of a phenomenon

External Validity/accuracy

degree to which the results of a study may be generalized beyond that study

Case Studies

strengths: source of new ideas, techniques, and behaviors, may offer tentative support, can also challenge a theory’s assumptions, provide opportunities to study unusual problems

limitations: biased observers, subjective evidence internal/external validity

Correlation

degree to which events or characteristics vary with each other

positive correlation: study more = higher grades (same direction)

negative correlation: speed increase = arrive at destination faster (opposite direction)

no correlation: scatter plot

Magnitude of Correlation

relationship between two variables, larger correlation and sample the more statistically significant and noteworthy

P-value: p < 5% = statistically significant, less than 5% chance of being chance results

Correlational Studies

strengths: higher external validity, easily repeat studies

limitations: lack internal validity, able to describe relationship between two variables but not explain them

Experimental Studies

research procedure in which a variable is manipulated (independent variable) and the effect of that manipulation on another variable is observed (dependent variable)

strengths: clear cause and effect, high control, easy replication, reduced bias

limitations: artificial setting, ethical limit, costly, mistakes or behavior changes

WEIRD study

college students as participants

western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic

greater risk takers

Confounding Variables

variable other than independent variable that is also acting on the dependent variable

guards against them are control group, random assignment, and masked design

Control Group

a group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable, but whose experience is otherwise similar to that of experimental group

Experimental Group

participants who are exposed to the independent variable under investigation

Statistical vs Clinical significance

SS: indicates whether participant improvement in function occurred because of treatment

CS: indicates whether the amount of improvement is meaningful in the individual’s life

Random Assignment

selection procedure that ensures participants are randomly placed in either a control or experimental group

Masked/Blind Design

feature of a experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or control condition

Double Mask: when both participants and experimenters are unaware

Placebo Therapy

pretend treatment that participants believe to be genuine

Quasi-experimental Studies

research design that fails to include key elements of a “pure” experiment and'/or intermixes elements of both experimental and correlational studies.

Variations include match design, natural experiment, analogue experiment, single-case experiment, longitudinal study, and epidemiological study

Matched Design

research design that matches the experimental participants with control participants who are similar on key characteristics, cannot create child abuse have to use already abused people for an experiment

Natural experiment

experiment in which nature manipulates an independent variable, unpredictable events such as floods, earthquakes, plane crashes, and fires, participants selected by accident of fate rather than controlled studies

Analogue Experiment

research method in which experimenter produces abnormal-like behavior in laboratory participants and then conduct experiments on the participants

often use animals as participants, Martin Seligman used animals to investigate the cause of depression by exposing them to negative events(shock, loud noise, failure)

Single-subject experimental design

research method in which a single participant is observed and measured both before and after the manipulation of an independent variable, effective for individualized treatment or research

Strengths: focus on one participants unique analysis and data

Limitations: low external validity, variable manipulation is ethical concern

ABAB/Reversal Design

initial observation, introduce independent variable, back to no independent variable, and introduce again to ensure variable indeed caused change

Longitudinal Studies/High-risk/Developmental Studies

study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time from weeks to years

typically utilized for finding longterm impacts or changes

strengths: found biological changes or patterns of disorders, and likelihood of other factors, provide compelling clues about likely consequences

limitations: cannot definitively pinpoint causes, complex and unpredictable tracking

Epidemiological Study

study that measures the incidence and prevalence of a problem, such as disorder in a given population

Strengths: useful for finding trends for external validity and comparing with other sub categories such as race or gender studies

Limitations: evidence does not confirm or prove suspicions of causation

Incidence

number of new cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time

Prevalence

total number of cases of a disorder occurring in a population over a specific period of time

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

ethics committee in research facilities that protect the rights and safety of human participants

Informed Consent

ethical/legal process where participants agree to partake in and understand what they are signing up for. information include purpose, procedure, risk/benefits, and right to withdraw at any time

less then 50% of participants fully understand what they are signing or agreeing to participate in

Model/Paradigm

set of assumptions and concepts that help scientists explain and interpret observations

Demonological Model

influenced by religion, superstition, and warfare

explanation of demonic entities causing abnormal functioning during the middle ages, treatment would’ve been used to drive out spirits from the body

Neuron

a nerve cell

information communicates through electrical impulses in the brain that travels from neuron to neuron

impulse - dendrite - axon - ending - neurotransmitter - receptors

Biological Model

full understanding of thoughts, emotions, and behavior must therefore include an understanding of biological basis

view abnormal behavior as an illness brought about by malfunctioning parts of the organism, typically point to problems in the brain as root of behavior

most effective treatment would be biological ones (meds, brain stimulation, psychosurgery)

limitations: point only to biological factors for reason behind reason and cures, can cause undesirable effects

Brain Circuits

network of particular brain structures that work together, triggering each other into action to produce a distinct reaction

flawed interconnectivity may lead to abnormal functioning

key to psychological disorders rather than on dysfunction within a single brain structure or single brain chemical

Genes

chromosome segments that control the characteristics and traits a person inherits, have about 20,000 genes

studies show inheritance can play a part in certain mental health disorders, variations of genes can show signs of both function and dysfunction

Evolutionary Theories

many of the genes that contribute to abnormal functioning are actually a result of normal evolutionary principles

controversial and rejected in the field, imprecise and almost impossible to research thus explanations are unacceptable

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

two electrodes attached to forehead and a electrical current of 65/140 is passed briefly to the brain, causes brain seizure

Depression BS techniques

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): electromagnetic coil is placed on/above a person’s head sending a current into certain areas of the brain

Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS): pulse generator is implanted in a person’s neck to help stimulate the vagus nerve (extends from brain to neck to abdomen)

Psychosurgery

brain surgery for mental disorders, derived from lobotomy, only used when other treatments fail for severe disorders

deep brain stimulation: electrodes implanted in specific ares of a person’s brain and connected to a pacemaker in the chest

helpful for severe hard to treat depression

Psychodynamic Model

created by Sigmund Freud through psychoanalysis to explain both normal and abnormal psychological functioning as well s a corresponding method of treatment

believe that a person’s behavior (normal or abnormal) is determined largely by underlying psychological forces of which the person is not consciously aware

conflict in dynamic can be abnormal symptoms, deterministic assumption that no symptom or behavior is accidental and is a result of past experiences

limitations: hard to research, limited research support

Three Central Forces (Freud)

instinctual needs, rational thinking, and moral standards. All operate on a unconscious level, unavailable to immediate awareness and are dynamic/interactive

id, ego, superego

healthy personality is one that has a working/acceptable compromise in the three forces, if excessive conflict = signs of dysfunction

ID

instinctual needs, drives, and impulses

operates in accordance to pleasure principle, always seeking gratification, tends to be sexual and tied to childhood pleasure (nursing, masturbating, etc)

EGO

unconsciously seeks gratification in accordance to the reality principle, employing reason to guide us to know when we can/cannot express impulses

ego defense mechanism: control unacceptable ID impulses and avoid/reduce anxiety they arouse, such as repression which prevent impulses from reaching consciousness

SUPEREGO

personality force that operates by the morality principle, sense of what is right and what is wrong, we develop a conscience

Developmental Stages

each stage of development pose new challenges that require adjustment and growth, without it people become fixated or stuck at early stage development leading to abnormal functioning in the future, caused by parents

Repression

person avoids anxiety by simply not allowing painful or dangerous thoughts to become conscious

Denial

person simply refuses to acknowledge the existence of an external source of anxiety

Projection

person attributes their own unacceptable impulses, motives, or desires to other individuals

Rationalization

person creates a socially acceptable reason for an action that actually reflects unacceptable motives

Displacement

person displaces hostility away from a dangerous object and onto a safer substitute

Intellectualization

person represses emotional reactions in favor of overly logical responses to a problem

Regression

person retreats from an upsetting conflict to an early developmental stage in which no one is expected to behave maturely or responsibly

Modern Psychodynamic Theory

self theorist: emphasize role of self, unified personality, basic human motive is to strengthen the wholeness of the self

object relations theorist: propose that people are motivated mainly by need to have relationships with others and that severe problems in relationships can lead to abnormal development

Free Association

psychodynamic technique in which the patient describes any thought, feeling, or image that comes to mind, even if it seems unimportant

Resistance

an unconscious refusal to participate fully in therapy, unable to free associate or change subject to avoid topic

Transference

redirection toward psychotherapist of feeling’s associated with important figures in a patient’s life in past or present

Catharsis

reliving of past repressed feelings in order to settle internal conflicts and overcome problems

used in Working Through process, often takes years to understand

Current Trends Psychodynamic Therapy

short-term: choose a single dynamic focus to work on

relational psychoanalytical: therapist should also disclose things about themselves, particularly their own reactions to establish more equal relationships with patients

Cognitive Behavioral Model

focuses on the behaviors people display and the thoughts they have, interested in the affect between behaviors and thoughts, also impact of behavior-cognition on feelings and emotions

strengths: can be tested in laboratory (unlike psychodynamic), impressive research performance

limitations: unclear of abnormal behavior role, does not help everyone, too little attention on early life experiences and relationships, narrow focus of only behavior and cognition

Conditioning

a simple form of learning

Classical Conditioning

process of learning by temporal association in which two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become fused in a person’s mind and produce the same response

Modeling

process of learning in which an individual acquires responses by observing and imitating others