Psych Notes

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

A mood disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness,hopelessness, and a lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities.

Bipolar Disorder

A mental health condition marked by extreme mood swings, including manic and depressive episodes.

Manic Episodes

Increased energy, euphoria, reduced need for sleep,grandiosity, impulsive behavior, racing thoughts.

Depressive Episodes

Similar to MDD symptoms, including sadness,hopelessness, and loss of interest.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

A chronic disorder characterized by excessive, uncontrollable worry about various aspects of life.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

A mental health disorder characterized by unwanted, intrusive thoughts(obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) performed to reduce anxiety

Obsessions

Fears of contamination, harm, or losing control; intrusive thoughts that cause significant anxiety.

Compulsions

Ritualistic behaviors such as excessive cleaning, checking,counting, or organizing to alleviate anxiety.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A mental health disorder triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, characterized by flashbacks, avoidance, and heightened arousal.

Schizophrenia

A severe mental disorder characterized by distortions in thinking, perception,emotions, language, and sense of self.

Positive Symptoms

Hallucinations (hearing voices), delusions (false beliefs), and disorganized thinking.

Negative Symptoms

Lack of motivation, emotional flatness, and social withdrawal.

Cognitive Symptoms

Impaired memory, attention, and decision-making

Eating Disorders

Serious mental health disorders characterized by unhealthy eating behaviors and preoccupation with body image.

Anorexia Nervosa

Extreme restriction of food intake, intense fear of gaining weight, distorted body image

Bulimia Nervosa

Binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as purging, excessive exercise, or fasting.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity

Genetic Factors

Hereditary predisposition; often runs in families.

Neurobiological Factors

Differences in brain structure and function, particularly in areas related to attention and impulse control

Environmental Factors

Prenatal exposure to tobacco or alcohol, lead exposure, and early childhood trauma.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A developmental disorder that affects communication, behavior, and social interaction.

Substance Use Disorders

Disorders characterized by the harmful use of psychoactive substances leading to significant impairment or distress.

Panic Disorder

A type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, unexpected panicattacks.

Social Anxiety Disorder

An intense fear of social situations that may lead to embarrassment or humiliation.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

A personality disorder characterized by unstable moods, behavior, andrelationships.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

A severe dissociative disorder characterized by the presence of two or moredistinct personality states or identities.

Specific Phobias

Intense, irrational fears of specific objects or situations, leading to avoidancebehavior.

Sigmund Freud

The founder of psychoanalysis.

Id

The primal part of the psyche that seeks immediate gratification (pleasure principle).

Ego

The rational part that mediates between the id and the external world (reality principle).

Superego

The moral conscience, shaped by societal norms.

Defense Mechanisms

Strategies the ego uses to protect itself from anxiety, such as repression (pushing thoughts out of awareness), projection (attributing one’s feelings to others), and denial.

Psychosexual Stages

Freud believed that personality developed through five stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. Unresolved conflicts at any stage could lead to fixation, influencing adult personality.

Carl Jung

The founder of analytical psychology

Collective Unconscious

Jung proposed a layer of the unconscious shared among all people, containing universal symbols and themes (archetypes), such as the Shadow (repressed traits), the Hero, and the Anima/Animus (gendered aspects of the psyche).

Individuation

Jung believed that achieving wholeness required balancing conscious and unconscious parts of the self, leading to personal growth.

B.F. Skinner

A leading figure in behaviorism

Operant Conditioning

Skinner demonstrated that behaviors could be increased or decreased through reinforcement (positive or negative) or punishment. For example, rewards for a behavior increase its likelihood, while punishment decreases it.

Skinner Box

Skinner developed an apparatus to study animal behavior systematically, allowing him to control and measure responses to various reinforcements.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Skinner’s research identified fixed and variable reinforcement schedules, showing that different schedules impact the rate and strength of learning.

Ivan Pavlov

A Russian physiologist known for discovering classical conditioning, Pavlov showed that animals could learn to associate a neutral stimulus with an automatic response.

Classical Conditioning

Pavlov’s experiments with dogs demonstrated that a neutral stimulus (a bell) could become a conditioned stimulus when paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food), eventually eliciting a conditioned response (salivation).

 Jean Piaget

Known for his theory of cognitive development, Piaget proposed that children go through four stages of development that shape their understanding of the world.

Sensorimotor (0-2 years)

Infants learn through sensory experiences and object manipulation.

Preoperational (2-7 years)

Children develop language and imagination but struggle with logical thinking and perspective-taking.

Concrete Operational (7-11 years)

Children can think logically about concrete objects and understand conservation and reversibility.

Formal Operational (12+ years)

Adolescents develop abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking.

Schema

Mental models that represent a set of ideas or actions that are related.

Assimilation

The process of fitting new information into existing schemas.

Accommodation

The process of adjusting or creating new schemas when new information doesn't fit into existing ones.

Erik Erikson

Developed a psychosocial development theory that describes eight stages from infancy to adulthood, each marked by a conflict essential for psychological growth.

Identity Development

Erikson focused on the adolescent identity crisis, where individuals explore different roles to develop a cohesive sense of self.

Abraham Maslow

Creator of the hierarchy of needs

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s pyramid includes physiological needs at the base, followed by safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization at the top.

Self-Actualization

Maslow believed the highest form of psychological health involves fulfilling one’s potential and seeking personal growth.

William James

Often called the father of American psychology

Functionalism

James argued that mental processes should be studied for their utility, not just their structure.

Pragmatism

James’s pragmatic approach focused on practical uses of psychological concepts, particularly in emotion and consciousness studies.

Carl Rogers

A key figure in humanistic psychology

Client-Centered Therapy

Rogers believed that therapists should provide a supportive environment to help clients achieve self-acceptance and growth.

Elizabeth Loftus

A cognitive psychologist known for her research on the malleability of memory, especially in eyewitness testimony.

Memory Reconstruction

Loftus’s studies revealed that memories could be altered by suggestion or misinformation, challenging the reliability of eyewitness accounts.

Albert Bandura

Developed social learning theory, demonstrating that people learn behaviors through observation. He introduced the concept of self-efficacy and conducted the Bobo doll experiment.

Observational Learning

Bandura showed that people, especially children, learn through observing and imitating others.

Self-Efficacy

Bandura emphasized belief in one’s abilities as critical for motivation.

Aaron Beck

Known for developing cognitive therapy, which aims to change negative thought patterns to improve mental health.

 Stanley Milgram

Conducted obedience experiments, showing that people are willing to follow authority figures to surprising extents, even when it conflicts with their morals.

Philip Zimbardo

Known for the Stanford prison experiment, which examined the effects of power dynamics and social roles on behavior.

Daniel Kahneman

Nobel Prize-winning psychologist known for his work in behavioral economics, studying decision-making and cognitive biases.

Positive Reinforcement

It involves adding a desirable stimulus immediately following a behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future.

Negative Reinforcement

It involves the removal of an unpleasant or aversive stimulus to increase a behavior.

Positive Punishment

It introduces an aversive stimulus following an undesired behavior to decrease the likelihood of that behavior happening again.

Negative Punishment

It involves taking away a desirable stimulus following an undesired behavior to reduce that behavior.

Extinction

occurs when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer followed by reinforcement, leading to a gradual decrease in that behavior.

Shaping

is a technique where successive approximations of a desired behavior are reinforced until the final behavior is achieved.

Schedules of Reinforcement

These schedules define the timing and frequency of reinforcement, which influences the rate and persistence of behaviors.

Fixed-Ratio

Reinforcement occurs after a set number of responses (e.g., every 5 correct answers). This schedule leads to high response rates.

Variable-Ratio

 Reinforcement happens after a random number of responses, leading to highly persistent behaviors (e.g., gambling).

Fixed-Interval

 Reinforcement is provided after a specific amount of time has passed (e.g., a weekly paycheck).

Variable-Interval

Reinforcement occurs at random time intervals, resulting in steady response rates.

Discriminative Stimuli

is a cue or signal indicating that a certain behavior will be reinforced.

Primary Reinforcers

These are naturally reinforcing and satisfy basic needs, like food, water, and warmth.

Secondary Reinforcers

These are learned through association with primary reinforcers, such as money, praise, or awards.

Law of Effect

 Proposed by Edward Thorndike, this principle states that behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes are more likely to be repeated, while those followed by unpleasant outcomes are less likely.

Operant Chamber (Skinner Box)

Developed by B.F. Skinner, this is a controlled environment with mechanisms (e.g., a lever or button) that animals can manipulate to receive reinforcement or avoid punishment.

B.F. Skinner’s Contributions

Skinner developed operant conditioning, emphasizing reinforcement’s role in shaping behavior.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner

He studied schedules of reinforcement and developed behavior modification techniques.

Behavior Modification

applies operant conditioning principles to change behavior by reinforcing desired actions and punishing or ignoring undesired ones.

Token Economy

individuals earn tokens for desired behaviors that can be exchanged for rewards.

Premack Principle

This principle states that a more preferred activity can reinforce a less preferred one.

Prenatal development

encompasses the stages a human undergoes before birth, progressing through three main phases.

Germinal Stage (0-2 weeks)

Begins at conception, with the fertilized egg becoming a zygote and attaching to the uterine wall.

Embryonic Stage (3-8 weeks)

Major organs and body systems develop; critical period for the impact of teratogens (e.g., drugs, alcohol) which can cause birth defects.

Fetal Stage (9 weeks-birth)

Continued growth and development, with the maturation of organs and physical characteristics.

Infancy

is a period of rapid physical and neurological development, where sensory, motor, and emotional foundations are established.

Physical Growth

Infants double their birth weight by 5-6 months and triple it by one year.

Attachment

Infants form emotional bonds with caregivers, critical for emotional security and social development.

Motor Skills

Basic reflexes (grasping, rooting) evolve into voluntary movements like sitting, crawling, and walking.

Toddlerhood

marks a period of increasing independence, language acquisition, and initial social skills.

Language

Vocabulary grows rapidly, often resulting in a "vocabulary explosion."