psyc 360 exam 3

WOOOOO

What causes distress according to mindfulness and contemplative theory?

• we suffer from a case of mistaken identity – we are victims of our own creation

  • creating a self-image that is not true, we don’t really identify with

How do mindfulness and contemplative theories view identity?

• what we do and say reflects who we think we are; our “self” is substantially different from our usual assumptions

• self sense is constructed from thoughts, images, and emotions – most of us suffer from a case of mistaken identity ; we obsess over self image when it’s just a concept, not ourself

• painted an ugly picture of ourself, mistook it as ourself, and then cringed

Describe the differences between prepersonal, personal, and transpersonal stages. What are the other terms used for each stage?

• prepersonal/preconventional

  • born into this one; no coherent sense of self or social conventions

• personal/conventional

  • mature/acculturate into; establish a coherent sense of self and accept larger cultural assumptions about the world – STEPPING STONE

• transpersonal

  • enlightenment past conventional

Describe the differences between basic needs, hedonic needs, and metamotives.

• basic needs

  • basic income/possessional needs

• hedonic needs

  • sensory satisfaction, emotional fulfillment, and aesthetic appeal

• metamotives

  • higher motives - self actualization, self-transcendence, and selfless service – essential elements of psych nature that need to be exercised

What is the hedonic treadmill and how can we get off it?

• a barrier to happiness that causes people to rapidly adapt to good things by taking them for granted; as one gets more and more things, their expectations also rise

• need more drug for a bigger high

Describe what the three poisons are and how they can hold us in iron chains or golden chains.

• delusion

  • unrecognized dullness/mindlessness/uncons that misunderstands mind, reality, and self – these misunderstandings turn into destructive behaviors beliefs and motives 

• craving

  • compulsive necessity – “childish demandingness” and addiction to anything, really

• aversion

  • compulsive avoidance of undesirable stimuli - produces pain

• iron chains

  • addictions to material goods (money, power, prestige)

• golden chains

  • addictions to ideals (being good, never being angry)

What is the meaning of pain in mindfulness? How can one handle it?

pain is caused by false identification; mistaking ourselves for a mere image and then living to defend it is painful

What is meant by the good news and the bad news in mindfulness and contemplative theory?

• bad news: our ordinary state of mind is less developed, controlled, and functional than we usually recognize – results in unnecessary suffering

• good news: we can train and develop our minds (far beyond conventional lvls) to have enhanced mental capacities, well-being, and maturity

What are the goals of mindfulness and contemplative based therapies?

• rigorous scrutiny of perceptual-cognitive process

• awaken from the “waken dream”

• recognize and reduce distortions

• improve concentration, perceptual clarity, insight, and compassion

What are the primary methods of psychotherapy in mindfulness and contemplative therapies?

• mediation/yoga

  • calming the mind, enhanced awareness of, disidentification, rebalancing mental elements

• be ethical

• redirect motivation

• emotional transformation

• training attention

• refining awareness

• wisdom

What are the six stages of practice in mindfulness and contemplative therapies?

1. recognize lack of control

2. recognize patterns

3. refined awareness brings insight

4. exceptional abilities emerge

5. transpersonal experiences emerge

6. stabilization

How do we train our attention?

essential for well-being

How do we develop wisdom?

• nuanced insight into themselves and life as a whole; requires understanding of knowledge not just having it

• cultivating wisdom is a goal of life; seek company with the wise, study their writings, meditate, and reflect on life/death

Who is a good candidate for mindfulness and contemplative therapies?

individuals seeking to increase self-awareness and improve well-being in a holistic way

What variables explain behavior according to the theory of personality?

• stress is caused by the variables (CONTINGENCIES) in the environment

  • learning: is the learned behavior adaptive or maladaptive?

  • situational cues: what will cue the behavior? (ex: pain → cigarette)

  • temperament: what is the person’s general tendency to respond to the environment (ex: reactive, non reactive)

Explain the difference between operant conditioning and classical conditioning.

• OPERANT CONDITIONING

  • change through use of reinforcement & punishment

  • assuming behavior is controlled by the environment 

    • contingencies: environmental “variables” - if i do X, Y will happen 

  • how it works:

    • reinforcement: increases likelihood of behavior

      • (+) giving something desirable (prizes)

      • (--) taking something aversive (taking away anxiety)

    • punishment: decreases likelihood of behavior

      • (+) giving something aversive (hitting, yelling)

      • (--) taking something desirable (fine $)

  • discrimination learning & generalization

  • vicarious/observational vs rule-governed/instructional

• CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

  • environmental cues: repeatedly pairing stimuli together

  • a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response through repeated pairing

What are the goals of behavior therapy?

• CHANGE BEHAVIOR!

  • correcting maladaptive learning experiences

    • what function did the behavior serve?

  • introduce adaptive learning

    • how can we find a better behavior?

Discrimination Learning

learning that remains context specific (only in X environment does Y work)

Generalization

learned behavior can be used/displayed in multiple/any environments

Vicarious Learning

observing other people’s behavior and learning the environmental contingencies (watching another student misbehave & be punished)

Rule-governed behavior/Instructional learning

do not have to see/experience contingencies to know them (know not to yell because it’s against the rules, even if you haven’t seen someone get in trouble)

 Stimulus control

• a behavior being under the control of a specific cue or stimulus

• arranging the environment in a way that a given response is more or less likely to occur (ex: only doing homework in library so you can sleep in your bed)

• CONTROL

  • control stimuli in the environment

• EXTINGUISH

  • extinguish stimuli with inappropriate control

• DEVELOP

  • develop adaptive conditioning

Reinforcement

• “the presentation of a reward or removal of aversive state”

• increases the likelihood of a behavior !!

Punishment

• an aversive event/state likely to terminate behavior

• decreases the likelihood of a behavior

Differential reinforcement

reinforcing the absence of unwanted behaviors and the occurrence of alternate, desired behaviors

How is the therapeutic relationship viewed in behavior therapy?

• can bolster motivation! trust, rapport, & confidence in treatment (“buy-in”)

• relationship should be direct and transparent

  • step-by-step instructions with clear rationale 

According to behavior therapy, why do people become distressed?

conditioning can give rise to maladaptive behaviors/developing maladaptive habits OR people are maintaining behaviors through cues in their environment

What are the different types of exposure and how do they differ?

• in vivo exposure

  • exposure to feared situations in real life

• imaginal exposure

  • exposure to feared mental imagery

    • used mostly for those who fear/suppress their thoughts – ex: PTSD/SA victims exposing themselves to the memories

• interoceptive exposure

  • purposefully experiencing frightening physical sensations until they’re no longer frightening

What is response prevention and why is it an important aspect of exposure therapy?

• response prevention

  • inhibiting an unwanted behavior to break the association between a stimulus and a response 

    • ex: behavior is reaching for a mint; hold hands down

    • ex: behavior is an OCD ritual of hand washing; no sinks around 

  • clients are encouraged to tolerate discomfort/introduce a competing behavior

What are the key differences between contingency management and token economy?

• contingency management

  • reinforcement; changing a client’s environment so that their unwanted behaviors are no longer reinforced

• token economy

  • short-term reinforcement for specific behaviors by giving them “tokens” than can be accumulated and exchanged for rewards

• CM taking away reinforcement; token is encouraging a behavior

What might a therapist consider when conducting a behavioral assessment?

• identify target behaviors to be treated, consider information sources

• functional analysis

  • identify variables responsible for maintaining target behaviors

Why did Aaron Beck find psychoanalysis to be insufficient in describing the development of distress?

• lack of empirical evidence

• believed depression is caused by anger turned inward + people are biased with the information that they perceive; changes the way they think about things

How is personality shaped according to cognitive theory?

• personality = temperament + cognitive schemas

  • clusters of attributes

  • styles of responding

 Catastrophizing

blow circumstances out of proportion by making problems bigger than they are/have to be

Personalization

the tendency to take the blame for everything that goes wrong in your life

Overgeneralizing

the tendency to make broad generalizations based upon a single event or minimal evidence

Emotional Reasoning

the tendency to interpret your experience based upon how you’re feeling in the moment

Shoulding & Musting

the tendency to make unreasonable and unrealistic demands for yourself and others

Magnification & Minimization

the tendency to magnify the positive attributes of another person and minimize your own

Core beliefs

foundation of maladaptive schemas

Underlying assumptions

give rise to automatic thoughts; shapes perceptions and provides interpretation and meaning

Automatic thoughts

spontaneous and triggered by circumstance

Voluntary thoughts

most accessible and stable thoughts

What is the cognitive triad of depression?

negative view of self, future, & world

Outline the mechanisms that cause anxiety in cognitive models.

• exaggerated perception of danger

• difficulty recognizing cues of safety

• minimizing the ability to cope

What are the important aspects of the therapeutic relationship in cognitive therapy?

• collaborative!!

• therapist is a guide and catalyst for change

• warmth, empathy, genuineness, and curiosity

• emphasizes patient responsibility 

What is the goal of cognitive therapy?

• correct faulty information processing!

  • not substituting pos beliefs for neg ones, but treating them as testable hypotheses

Why do therapists often assign homework to their clients in cognitive therapy?

• often assign homework as patient shares responsibility for treatment

• helps therapy proceed more quickly and gives client an opportunity to practice newly learned skills and perspectives outside of office

Identify and explain the parts of the structure of treatment in cognitive therapy.

• initial phase:

  • assessment, contract, and skills education

• middle & later:

  • identify themes in automatic thoughts

  • challenge core beliefs

• ending treatment

  • relapse prevention!

Describe techniques for challenging cognitive distortions.

• decatastrophizing: helping patients prepare for feared consequences (what-ifs)

• reattribution: testing automatic assumptions by considering alternative causes of events

• redefining: redefine the issue that feels beyond personal control

  • ex: i feel lonely → i need to reach out to people more

• decentering: realizing you’re not the focus of everyone’s attention thru observation

Who are the best candidates for cognitive therapy?

• CT is best for cases in which problems can be “delineated” and cognitive distortions are apparent

• patients who have adequate reality testing (no delusions), good concentration, and sufficient memory functions; people who can focus on their automatic thoughts and are willing to take responsibility, and recognise the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors 

What is the education for the oppressed model?

• 1973: dominant models maintain inequality; develop critical counseling

• teaches people to become aware of their circumstances and changed them through a dialectical convo with their world

• asking critical questions helps clients examine what matters and their purpose, being, and position in life

What is co-counseling?

two or more individuals listen to each other to recover from the effects of all the -isms; catharsis of emotions

What are some reasons we consider culture?

• culture impacts our:

  • beliefs, emotions, behaviors, attitudes, expectations, interpersonal style, treatment selection, and treatment response

How does cultural adaptation occur?

• involve diverse people in development

• include collectivistic values

• attend to religion

• pay attention to relevance of acculturation

• acknowledge side effects of oppression

What is cultural competence and what are the steps to it?

cultural destructiveness, cultural incapacity, cultural blindness, cultural pre-competence, and cultural competence

What are the features of therapists who are culturally competent?

value diversity, manage dynamics of difference, acquire and incorporate cultural knowledge into interventions, increase their multicultural skills, conduct self-reflections and assessments, and adapt to diversity and context of their clients

What’s the difference between ethnorelative and ethnocentric?

• centrism: one’s culture/worldview is inherently superior and desirable

• relative: appreciating other cultures, being able to value them and their connection with your own culture

What are the goals of multicultural therapy?

• empowering clients by fostering their cultural identity development!!!!!!

• address cultural trauma

• experience is valuable knowledge

• healing results from

  • empowerment, sharing multiple perspectives, and anchored in meaningful and relevant contexts

What are some of the possible dynamics that can arise between therapist and client with transference and countertransference?

• TRANSFERENCE

  • INTERethnic: overcompliance, mistrust, denial, ambivalence

  • INTRA: views therapist as omniscient and omnipotent, traitor, autoracist

• COUNTERTRANS

  • INTERethnic: deny cultural differences, become overly curious about differences at the expense of needs, guilt or pity

  • INTRA: overidentification, shared victimization, distancing, survivor’s guilt, cultural myopia (can’t see clearly)

Please explain the stages of minority identity, white American identity and sexual orientation identity development.

• MID: 

  • conformity, dissonance, resistance-immersion, introspection, synergistic

• WAD:

  • contact, disintegration, reintegration, pseudo-independence, and autonomy

• SOI:

  • confusion, comparison, tolerance, acceptance, pride, synthesis

How do worldviews play a role in therapy?

• collectivistic

  • individual’s identity is associated with others

• individualistic

  • members view themselves independently

Explain the multicultural assessment.

• explanatory model of distress

• cultural formation and analysis

• cultural genogram

• ethnocultural assessment

What do multicultural therapists emphasize and why?

• context

• empowerment (increase their own access, developing options to choose improve self-esteem, and overcome internalized oppression)