Exam 3 Psychosocial Development, Personality, and Disorders Review

Practice flashcards for Psychology Exam 3 covering Developmental Psychology, Personality Theories, Psychological Disorders, and Treatment Methods.

What did Harlow's monkey experiments compare regarding attachment?

The cupboard theory of attachment versus contact comfort.

According to Bowlby and Ainsworth, what is attachment?

An emotional bond whose purpose is to provide safety and security for the child.

What child behaviors are associated with a secure attachment style?

The child uses the parent as a secure base, is distressed when the parent leaves, and is easily comforted upon their return.

What parent behaviors are associated with avoidant attachment?

Parents who are often insensitive or unresponsive to the child's needs.

Describe the behavior of a child with a resistant/ambivalent attachment style.

The child shows extreme distress when the parent leaves but remains angry or resistant to comfort when the parent returns.

What is the hallmark of a disorganized/disoriented attachment style?

The child shows inconsistent, contradictory, or confused behavior towards the caregiver.

What are the four adult attachment styles described in the notes?

Secure, Dismissing, Preoccupied, and Fearful.

Which parenting style is characterized by high warmth/caring but low control/demands?

Permissive parenting style.

Which parenting style is associated with high control and low warmth/caring?

Authoritarian parenting style.

What is the indifferent/neglectful parenting style?

A style where parents show low levels of both caring and control.

Which parenting style is considered the best for child development and why?

Authoritative parenting, because it balances high caring with clear, firm control and communication.

How is Erikson's theory of psychosocial development different from previous theories?

It adopts a lifespan perspective rather than focusing only on childhood.

What is the focus of Erikson's stages compared to Freud's?

Erikson focused on psychosocial development and social relationships, whereas Freud focused on psychosexual development.

What is the age range and conflict for Erikson's first stage?

Birth to $1.5$ years, the conflict is Trust vs. Mistrust.

What is the conflict and age range for Erikson's second stage?

1.5 to 3.5 years, the conflict is Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt.

What is the primary focus of Kohlberg's stages of development?

Moral development.

What does the term 'sandwich generation' refer to?

Individuals in middle adulthood who are simultaneously caring for their aging parents and their own children.

According to biologists, why is there a limit to the human lifespan?

There are inherent biological limits to how many times cells can divide and repair themselves.

How does personality explain 'individual differences'?

It differentiates our behavior from the behavior of others.

How does personality explain behavior over time and across situations?

It explains the consistency and stability in our own behavior.

What percentage of variation in major personality traits is estimated to be genetically influenced?

$50\%$.

What is temperament?

The stable aspects of personality present from birth.

Can innate temperament be modified?

Yes, it can be modified by environmental factors.

What are the three basic assumptions of Freud's psychoanalytic model?

Unconscious influences on behavior, unconscious conflict, and early childhood experiences directing lifelong development.

Which part of the personality is guided by the pleasure principle?

The Id.

When does the Ego develop and what principle does it follow?

It develops after the Id and follows the reality principle.

What are the primary drives according to Freud?

Sex and aggression.

What behavior is associated with someone fixated in the oral stage?

Overeating, smoking, or excessive talking.

What personality traits are associated with fixation in the anal stage?

Extreme neatness (anal retentive) or messiness (anal expulsive).

What are defense mechanisms and why do we have them?

Unconscious strategies used by the Ego to reduce anxiety caused by conflict between the Id and Superego.

How is regression defined as a defense mechanism?

Returning to an earlier stage of development when faced with stress.

What is the defense mechanism of projection?

Attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else.

What is the defense mechanism of displacement?

Redirecting an impulse (like anger) away from a threatening target to a safer, substitute target.

What is sublimation?

Transforming unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable actions or behaviors.

According to Learning theory, why is personality changeable?

Because behavior is the result of specific patterns of reinforcement, which can always be changed.

What is 'situationism' in learning theory?

The idea that behavior is almost completely determined by the situations we are in rather than consistent internal traits.

What is the focus of Bandura's social cognitive theory?

Beliefs, expectations, and attitudes, with a specific focus on self-efficacy.

What is self-efficacy?

The belief in one's own ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task.

What are the major concepts of Humanistic theory?

Free will, positive view of human nature, and an innate drive toward self-actualization.

Who are the two best-known humanistic theorists?

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.

In Humanistic theory, what are 'conditions of worth'?

Requirements or expectations set by others that a person must meet to earn positive regard.

What causes incongruence in Rogers' theory?

A lack of harmony or overlap between the real self and the ideal self.

What is the purpose of Trait theories?

They are descriptive and use factor analysis to identify the basic traits essential to describe individual differences.

Name the factors in the 'Big Five' personality theory.

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

What psychological test is used to measure the Big Five factors?

The NEO-PI.

What is reliability in personality testing?

The consistency of a test's results over time.

What is validity in personality testing?

The ability of a test to measure what it is actually intended to measure.

What are the major characteristics of objective/structured personality tests?

They use standard questions with fixed answer choices (like true/false) and are scored mathematically.

What is the most commonly used objective personality inventory?

The MMPI and MMPI 2.

What are validity scales in the MMPI?

Scales designed to detect if a person is lying, faking, or being inconsistent in their answers.

What are projective personality tests?

Tests where a person is shown an ambiguous stimulus and asked to describe it, supposedly projecting their unconscious thoughts.

Why is there concern over the reliability and validity of projective tests?

They are highly subjective and interpretations can vary significantly between different scorers.

What are the '4 Ds' used to define abnormality?

Deviation from average, deviation from ideal, personal distress, and dysfunction.

How does the medical perspective explain psychological disorders?

They are seen as having physical causes like genetics, biochemical imbalances, or brain structure changes.

How does the cognitive perspective explain dysfunctional behavior?

It results from irrational thoughts about the world and one's place in it.

According to the humanistic perspective, what leads to anxiety and depression?

Lack of congruence between the real and ideal self caused by conditions of worth.

What is the DSM-5?

A manual used to classify and diagnose mental disorders.

What alternative system is used globally for diagnosing mental disorders outside the US?

The ICD (International Classification of Diseases).

What did Rosenhan's study of 'pseudopatients' demonstrate?

The problems and biases associated with labeling people with mental health diagnoses.

What are some examples of anxiety disorders mentioned in the notes?

Phobias, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety.

How common is major depression in the general population?

$15\text{-}20\%$ lifetime prevalence.

How common is Bipolar 1 disorder compared to major depression?

Bipolar 1 is much less common, with approximately $1\text{-}2\%$ lifetime prevalence.

What is mania?

A state of intense elation, high energy, or activity often seen in Bipolar disorder.

What is the prevalence ratio of depression in women compared to men?

Approximately $2\text{-}3:1$.

What is the prevalence ratio of Bipolar disorder between men and women?

Approximately $1:1$.

What type of attributions are associated with depression?

Negative attributions that are internal, global, and stable.

Whose theory is associated with 'negative automatic thoughts'?

Beck's theory of depression.

What are the three components of Beck's 'cognitive triad'?

Negative views about the self, the world, and the future.

What are somatic symptom disorders?

Disorders involving the experience of physical symptoms for which there is no clear physical or medical cause.

What is lost/not integrated in dissociative disorders?

Usually integrated functions like memory, identity, or consciousness.

What are the hallmark symptoms of schizophrenia?

Hallucinations, delusions, and severe disruptions in thinking and emotion.

How does Schizophrenia differ from Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Schizophrenia involves a split from reality, while DID involves a split into multiple personalities.

What is the difference between a hallucination and a delusion?

A hallucination is a false sensory perception, while a delusion is a false belief.

Who is Elyn Saks?

A legal scholar and person with schizophrenia who made points regarding the treatment of patients in hospitals.

What is the Dopamine hypothesis?

The theory that schizophrenia is caused by excessive activity in the dopamine neurotransmitter system.

What is the risk of developing schizophrenia if an identical twin has it?

$48\%$.

What was 'trephining' or 'trepanning' as a historical treatment?

Chipping a hole in the skull to allow evil spirits to escape.

Which neurotransmitters do antidepressant medications like Prozac work on?

Norepinephrine and Serotonin.

Which neurotransmitters do antianxiety drugs like Valium work on?

GABA and Serotonin.

Which neurotransmitters do antipsychotic drugs work on?

Dopamine and Serotonin.

What biological treatment is used for severe major depression when drugs don't work?

ECT (electroconvulsive therapy).

What is cingulotomy and what is it used for?

A form of psychosurgery used for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

What is the goal of psychodynamic therapy?

To gain insight into unconscious conflicts.

What are common techniques in psychoanalytic therapy?

Free association, dream interpretation, and interpretation of resistance and transference.

What is the goal of behavioral therapy?

To decondition problematic associations and learn new behaviors.

What is the difference between flooding and systematic desensitization?

Flooding involves immediate exposure to the feared object, while systematic desensitization is gradual.