Psych 101 usc Levens final

Anxiety

The condition of feeling uneasy or worried about what may happen

Generalized anxiety disorder

continually tense and uneasy for no apparent reason. They tend to have anxious thoughts, feel irritable an on edge and have trouble sleeping

OCD

suffer from obsessions (persistent ideas, thoughts or urges) usually centered on "unacceptable" thoughts. many experience compulsions, repetitive behaviors that help reduce anxiety

PTSD

when people experience a traumatic event, they can develop this anxiety disorder

phobia

an intense fear of an object or a situation that's greatly out of proportion to its actual threat

depression

feelings of worthlessness, decreased pleasure and interest. inborn tendencies, stressful events, interpersonal relationships

Manic episode

dramatically elevated mood, decreased need for sleep, increased energy, inflated self-esteem, increased talkativeness, and irresponsible behavior

Bipolar disorder

alternating between depression and mania

Schizophrenia (negative symptoms)

toneless voice, expressionless face, rigid posture, blunted affect, apathy, social withdrawal

Schizophrenia (positive symptoms)

hallucinations, delusions, bizarre behavior, incoherence, disassociated thoughts, illogicality

Antisocial personality disorder

lack of conscience for wrongdoing, may be ruthless

Borderline personality disorder

condition marked by extreme instability in mood, identity, and impulse control

Fear conditioning

classical conditioning where one experience causes you to be scared of that certain thing/object

Stimulus generalization

experiences cause you to be more cautious of a certain experience, but more generalized (traumatic event with a breed of dog, then being scared of all dogs)

Reinforcement

any event that strengthens or lessens the behavior it follows

observational learning

observing others fearing a certain object/thing can make you cautious of the same thing/object

Evolution

we are scared of what our ancestors were scared of

genes

genes influence people's levels of neuroticism (tendency to be high-strung, guilt-prone and irritable

physiology

with unusually high frontal lobe activity, (where info is filtered, prioritized, organized) people can't seem to get troubling thoughts out of their minds

Brain abnormalities

-ventricles (cushion and nourish the brain) are usually enlarged.

-Increase in the size of the sulci (spaces between ridges of the brain)

-decreases in: size of temporal lobes, activation of the amygdala and the hippocampus, and symmetry of the brain's hemispheres

Brain abnormalities- genetics

more likely to get the disorder of someone in your family had/has it. Gene C4

Brain abnormalities- stress

how the environment effects your genes- stressors trigger vulnerability.

adolescents that seem socially uncomfortable may be with predisposition

Brain abnormalities- maternal virus

most schizophrenic people are born in the winter and spring months because certain viral infections that affect pregnant women are most common in winter months

children of women who had the flu during their second trimester of pregnancy, suffered starvation early in pregnancy, or experienced complications are more susceptible

Biological causes of mood disorders

specific variations in the serotonin transporter gene play a role in depression, especially in conjunction with life experiences

linked to low levels of norepinephrine

social-cognitive causes of mood disorders

depression is caused by negative beliefs and expectations.

Three components: negative views of yourself, the world, and the future

Reinforcement of negative experiences leads to depression

DSM-V

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

3 criteria:

-clinically significant dysfunction (negatively affects some aspect of your life)

-internal source (no drugs or meds)

-involuntary source (not faking it)

8 clinical diagnostic tools

interview

history (family and medical)

direct observation

IQ tests

personality tests

projective tests

brain imaging

DSM

panic disorder

sudden intense dread (feel like you're suffocating)

biomedical therapies

directly alter the brain's chemistry or physiology

antipsychotic drugs

treats psychotic disorders through the blockage of dopamine

traditional antipsychotic drugs

only relieved positive symptoms

side effects: dizziness, nausea. blurred vision

newer antipsychotic drugs

reduce both positive and negative symptoms without the motor side effects

antianxiety drugs

reduce anxiety, most helpful for generalized anxiety disorders

ex: benzodiazepines (valium, xanax, ativan

anti anxiety drugs side effects

lightheadedness, slurred speech, drowsiness

antidepressants

effect serotonin and calm depression

ex: prozac, paxil, zoloft

side effects: anxiety, agitation, insomnia, sexual problems

Prozac

pros: feel more relaxed, experience improvement in sleep and appetite, ability to focus

cons: serotonin withdrawal, flulike symptoms, sleep problems, anxiety, orgasms, erections, desire&arousal

Lithium drug

used in treatment of bipolar disorder, helps to level manic and depressive episodes

side effects: only works for 70-75% of patients, toxic at high doses, weight gain

ECT (electroconvulsive therapy)

a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient

treatment occurs in series, once very 2-3 days for two weeks

side effects: temporary memory loss, some relapse

Deep brain stimulation

involves implanting an electrode deep within your brain to send electrical impulses. used to treat parkinson's, chronic pain, depression, ocd

vagus nerve stimulation

electrical impulses to the vagus nerve (connects brain stem to body)

used for epilepsy, depression

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

noninvasive form of brain stimulation using strong magnets to briefly interrupt normal brain activity

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

systemic desensitization

A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias.

aversive conditioning

a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol)

token economy

giving rewards for desired behaviors

Albert Ellis Rational Emotive Therapy

negative thinking patterns influence your mental health

motivational interviewing and CBT

increases motivation for and commitment of the intervention, especially when treatments are challenging

Aaron Beck and homework

change self-defeating thinking and behavior (give homework- diaries, getting out of the house, exercising, meeting new people

Humanistic therapies

focuses on self-fulfillment (past is not important, conscious, responsibility for one's feelings, promote growth)

Carl Roger's Client-Centered Therapy

unconditional positive regard. responding positively but truthfully to whatever client has to say. therapist hopes to increase self esteem to where client is able to be honest about even most difficult topics

Psychodynamic

understanding of current symptoms by exploring childhood

- face-to-face, fewer sessions, deemphasizes sexual conflict

psychoanalysis (Freud)

bring repressed childhood feelings into conscious awareness

prejudice

unjustifiable and unusually negative attitude towards a group

prejudice cognitive roots

stereotypes come from how we cognitively simplify the world. we overestimate the similarity of people within groups different from our own

social roots

social inequalities, ingroup vs outgroup, tendency to favor one's own group

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

ex: Napolitan and Goethels

Napolitan and Goethels

Williams College students talked to a girl who was either aloof and critical or warm and friendly. Half the students were not told anything about her behavior, and the other half were told that she had been instructed to act a certain way. However, everyone attributed her demeanor to her personality and not instructions.

attitudes guiding behaviors

will occur if outside influences are minimal; the attitude is specifically relevant to the behavior

behaviors guiding attitudes

foot-in-the-door phenomenon (tendency for people who agree to small action to comply later with a larger one)

role-playing (Zimbardos' prison experiment)

cognitive dissonance theory- we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent

conformity

ash line experiments; when asked which two lines were the same, other people's answers influenced their own

obedience

milgram's shock experiments- people kept delivering shocks, since they were told to, even though they thought they were hurting other people

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

deiner and trick-or-treat experiment

group polarization

the enhancement of a group's attitudes through discussion within the group

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives