Psyc 1000 exam notes

Difference between motivation and emotion

• Motivation → why we act; internal processes that initiate, guide, and maintain behaviour

• Emotion → how we feel; psychological reationss to stimuli

what is motivation?

• A set of internal and external factors that energize behaviour and direct it toward goals

motives

• Internal processes that make us behave in certain ways

• can be:

  • biological, social, cognitive

primary motivation - need to belong

• Humans have a fundamental need for connection and relationships

• Social bonds improve survival, mental health, and emotional well-being

loneliness

• A distressing feeling that occurs when social needs are not met

• Not the same as being physically alone, it’s a lack of meaningful connection

love- a motivational system

• Love is treated as motivation, not just an emotion, because it drives behaviour

two theories of love

1. Stenburg’s Triangular Theory

2. Attachment t=Theory

Stenburgs Triangular Theory

• Intimacy (emotional closeness), passion (arousal, attraction), commitment (decision to stay together)

• Different combinations = different types of love

Attachment theory (adult relationships)

• Secure, anxious, avoidant

• These styles shape how people give/receive love

Theories of motivation

1. Drive reduction theory

2. Incentive theories

3. Push-Pull Theory

4. Humanistic theory (maslow)

5. Arousal Theory

6. Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

7. Social cognitive theory

Drive reduction theory

• Behaviour is motivated by a desire to reduce internal tension caused by an unmet needs

• Driven by biological needs (hunger, thirst)

• Homeostasis: the body’s attempt to maintain stable internal balance

Incentive theories

• Motivation comes from external rewards or goals

• Intrinsic = do it because you want to/enjoy it

• Extrinsic = do it for reward

Push - Pull Theory

• Push - internal drives (hunger)

• Pull - external incentives

• Motivation - both working together

humanistic theory (maslow)

• Needs arranged in a hierarchy: basic needs → growth needs

• Motivation increases as you move toward self-actualization

arousal theory

• People are mostly motivated when they have: autonomy, competence, and relatedness

social cognitive theory

• Motivation shaped by thoughts: expectations, values, and self-efficacy

• People act based on goals and beliefs, not just needs

Emotion theories

James-Lange theory

Cannon-Bard

Two-factor theory

James-Lange theory

• Event → physical reaction → emotion

• We feel emotion because of our bodily reactions

Cannon-bard

• Emotion + bodily reaction happen at the same time

• one does NOT cause the other

Two-factor theory

• Emotion = arousal + interpretation

• Same arousal can become different emotions depending on how we label it

Universal emotions

• Basic emotions seen in all cultures: joy, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, fear

Display rules

• Cultural rules about when/how to express emotion

Emotional Dialects

• Cultures express the same emotion with different facial movements

Health

• Health: full physical, mental, and social well-being

• Illness: presence of disease

HRQOL

• Functioning: self-care, daily roles, social life

• Well-being: emotions, pain energy

Health Psychology

• How behaviours + decisions affect health

• Many early deaths = lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, obesity, inactivity)

Approaches to Health and Illness

• Biomedical model: Illness = biological problem

• Biopsychosocial model: bio + psych + social (cultural) factors

• Most modern professionals use this model

Acute conditions

Sudden, short-term (flu, injury)

Chronic conditions

Long lasting (diabetes, heart condition)

Health Issues

1. Cancer

2. AIDS

3. Smoking

4. Obesity

5. Alcohol

Cancer

• Abnormal cell growth; linked to genes + lifestyle

AIDS

• Immune system failure; caused by HIV

Smoking

• Major cause of cancer, lung disease, heart disease

Obesity

• High body fat; increased risk of diabetes, heart disease

Alcohol

• Liver disease, addiction, accidents, mental health impacts

Psychosocial issues

• Poverty & discrimination: more stress, fewer resources → poorer health

• Interpersonal relationships: strong support = better health

Stress

• Physical and psychological response to a threat or challenge

Stressors

• Events that cause stress

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

1. Alarm (fight/flight)

2. Resistance (trying to cope)

3. Exhaustion (resources run out)

What causes stress?

• Major life events

• Daily hassles

• Trauma

• Conflict

• Lack of control

Physiology of stress

-Activates sympathetic nervous system + cortisol release

Stress response - The 5 F’s

• Fight, flight, freeze, faint, fawn

Transactional model of stress

• Stress depends on how you interpret the situation

Mechanics of stress

• Appraisal → physiological response → coping attempt

Effects of stress

• Headaches

• Sleep problems

• Weakened immune system

• Anxiety

• Burnout

PTSD

• Trauma-related disorder

  • Flashbacks

  • Avoidance

  • Hyperarousal

Psychoneuroimmunology

• Study of how stress affects the immune system

Stress & Heart Diease

• High stress + Type A (hostile, competitive) = increased heart disease risk

Stress, brain, and heart diease

• Chronic stress damages hippocampus (memory) and increases risk for illness

Appraising stressors

• Primary: Is it a threat?

• Secondary: Can I handle it?

Personal factors

• Optimism: better stress outcomes

• Pessimism: worse outcomes

• Hardiness: commitments, control, challenge = resilience

• Social support: buffers stress

Coping types

• Problem-focused

• Emotion-focused

• Positive coping

Problem-focused coping

• Change the stressor (plan, solve)

Emotion-focused coping

• Manage feelings (relax, talk, distract)

Positive coping

• Healthy strategies (exercise, support, planning)

Exercise

• Reduces stress, boosts mood

Meditation/relaxation

• Decreases arousal, improves focus

Resilience

• Ability to bounce back after challenges

Post-Traumatic Growth

• Positive change after trauma (new perspecitve, strength)

Psychopathology

• The study of mental disorders: causes symptoms, and development

Diagnosis

• Identifying and labeling a mental disorder using symptoms

• Helps guide treatment, but labels can have drawback

Culture & Mental Health

• Culture influences

  • how symptoms appear

  • what is considered “normal”

  • stigma and how people seek help

Early Classification Systems

• Very basic, often moralistic (example: ‘madness’, ‘lunacy’)

• Not scientific; often harmful

DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

• Standard tool used by clinicians in North America

• Categorizes disorders based on symptoms

Historical Background

• Early DSM editions focused on psychoanalytic ideas

• Later editions moved toward medical/scientific description

Maladaptive coping/behaviour

• Behaviour that may temporarily reduce stress but negatively impact functioning (e.g. avoidance, substance use)

• Often part of mental disorder criteria

Critiques of the DSM

• Can over-pathologize normal behaviour

• Cultural bias

• Medicalizes human experience

• Labels can shape identity

Power of a diagnosis

• Can validate experiences and provide access to support

Labels - positive

• access to treatment/support

• shared language for professionals

• personal clarity/understanding

Challenges (very testable)

• Blinders: people may ignore other explanations for behaviour

• Biases: leads to steryotyping and “otherness”

• Self-fulfilling: individuals internalize the label (“I am this disorder”)

• Collateral damage: side effects of medications

• Impact on rights/opportunities: work, school, insurance, mortgages

A mental disorder is:

• A syndrome with clinically significant disturbances in:

  • cognition

  • emotion regulation

  • behaviour

• Reflects psychological, biological, or developmental dysfunction

• Associated with distress or disability

Mental disorders are NOT

• If it’s an expectable response to stress (grief)

• Behaviour is socially deviant unless dysfunction

• Conflict between individual and society without disfunction

DSM as a powerful text

• Shapes how society understands mental illness through medical lens

• Locates the “problem” within individual, often ignoring context

• Influences how families and relationships experience mental health issues

Stigma & Social Impact

• DSM labels can often cause stigma and social isolation

• Can lower self confidence and create distrust in the system

• Impact is stronger for marginalized, radicalized, and Indigenous groups

Language of mental illness

• Words like mental illness/disorder shape personal family identity

• People learn diagnostic language through lived or observed experiences

• Can either help understanding or add pressure/stigmas

Assessment outside the medical model

• Focuses on strengths, stories, and context instead of symptoms

• Dynamic, individualized, and less medicalized

• Can be the starting point for therapeutic change

Diagnoses in the classroom

• Most commonly ADHD

Mental disorder defence (diagnoses in the courtroom)

• Very rare and rarely successful

Involuntary commitment (diagnoses in the courtroom)

• Allowed if dangerous or unable to self-care

CTOs (diagnoses in the courtroom)

• Community-based treatment instead of hospitalization

Anxiety disorder causes

• Genetic + environment stress

• Overactive threat system in the brain

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

• Obsessions: unwanted recurring thoughts

• Compulsions: repetitive actions to reduce anxiety

Major depressive disorder

• Persistent low mood

• Loss of interest

• Fatigue

Bipolar disorder

• Alternating depressive and manic episodes

• Mania = very high energy impulsivity

Personality disorders - manifestations

• Cognitive

• Affective

• Interpersonal

• Impulse control

General points - schizophrenia

• Neurodevelopment disorder

• Usually appears in adolescence/early adulthood

Schizophrenia Symptoms

• Positive: hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech/behaviour

• Negative: Flay emotions, low motivation, reduced speech

Genetics - Schizophrenia

• Higher risk if a biological relative has it

• Not caused by a single gene - many factors involved

Schizophrenia and the nervous system

• Excessive synaptic pruning in adolescence → fewer neural connections

• Dopamine and other neurotransmitter system disruptions

• Reduced volume in the frontal lobe, hippocampus, amygdala, etc.

Neurodevelopment Hypothesis - development of schizophrenia

• Early-life disruptions (genetic, prenatal, environmental) change brain development

Adolescent brain - development of schizophrenia

• Synaptic pruning becomes excessive → cognitive → emotional difficulties

Environment and social influences - development of schizophrenia

• Stress, trauma, urban living, discrimination increase risk

Culture and schizophrenia

• Cultural beliefs influence symptom interpretation and help-seeking

What causes personality disorders

• Early child disruption (trauma, neglect)

• Coping strategies that were once protective become unhelpful in adulthood

• Viewed as a response to earlier life circumstances

Stigma

• Personality disorders are highly stigmatized

• Stigma affects self-esteem, access to care, and relationships

Reducing stigma

• Education

• Respectful language

• Support

• Inclusion

Suicide in Canada

• Major public health concern

• Rates may vary by age and region; higher in marginalized communities

Suicide prevention focuses on:

• Support

• Mental health care

• Reducing stigma

• Connection

Therapy - psychological interventions

• Help with emotional, behavioural, relationship problems

• 600+ therapies avaliable