PSY 120 Ch. 13, 15-16

Psychological disorder

a condition characterized by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

Thomas Szasz

Wrote “The Myth of Mental Illness”

argued that the mental disorder classification system is an attempt by society to control those who are different

did not like medical model, preferred term “problems in living”

DSM-5

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

standard reference manual for disorder diagnoses and classification

Overdiagnosis effect

leads to: people who might actually need help will be treated the same way as people who may not desperately need help

Panic Disorder– 

An anxiety disorder in which a person experiences recurring panic attacks, feelings of impending doom or death, accompanied by physiological symptoms such as rapid breathing and dizziness

Phobias

unrealistic fear of a specific situation, activity, or object

Agoraphobia

A set of phobias, often set off by a panic attack, involving the basic fear of being away from a safe place or person

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

When a person who has experienced traumatic events has symptoms such as numbing, reliving of trauma, detachment, relationship challenges, self-destructive behaviors

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Disorder where: Person feels trapped in repetitive thoughts and behaviors that are designed to reduce anxiety

Person is aware that the ritual behavior is senseless, but becomes anxious if action is not performed

Major Depressive Disorder

Mood disorder affecting loss of interest i usual activities, thoughts of hopelessness, excessive sadness, and fatigue and loss of appetite

Biological Theory of depression

Genetics and brain chemistry cause depression

Social Theory of depression

the stressful circumstances of people’s lives cause depression

Attachment Theory of depression

problems with close relationships cause depression

Cognitive Theory of Depression

negative/maladaptive habits of thinking or interpreting events causes depression

Diathesis Stress Model of Depression

Combination on other theories of depression, Person has an underlying biological vulnerability, which is then triggered by stressors in the environment

Bipolar Disorder

A mood disorder in which a person alternates between episodes of depression and mania, driven primarily by brain chemistry

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

A disorder characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance and self-absorption

Paranoid Personality Disorder

a disorder characterized by habitually unreasonable and excessive suspiciousness and jealousy

Borderline Personality Disorder

A disorder characterized by unstable in self-image, mood, and behavior; unstable and intense relationships with others; behavior is impulsive, unpredictable, and sometimes self-damaging; inappropriate and intense anger

Antisocial Personality disorder

A disorder characterized by antisocial behavior such as lying, stealing, manipulating others, and sometimes violence; and a lack of guilt, shame and empathy

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Disorder marked by the appearance within one person of two or more distinct personalities, each with its own name and traits

Sociocognitive rebuttal of DID

Disorder is not an actual fragmenting of the identity or multiple personalities, but is simply an extreme manifestation of the different roles we all hold

Positive Symptoms

something abnormal is present

Negative Symptoms

something abnormal is absent

Positive symptoms of Shizophrenia

Delusions, hallucinations, incoherent speech, inappropriate behavior

Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Lack of loss of motivation and social withdrawal

Delusions

false beliefs that often accompany schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

Hallucinations

Sensory experiences that occur in the absence of actual stimulation

Diathesis-Stress Model

Model that suggests environmental stressors can trigger physical vulnerabilities, which could be genetic, a brain abnormality, or in neurotransmitter levels

Dopamine

Glutamate

major excitatory neurotransmitter

Industrial/ Organization Psychology

a branch pf psychology that studies how human behavior and psychology affect work and how they are affected by work

Industrial psychology

studies job characteristics, applicant characteristics, and how to match them; also studies employee training and performance appraisal

Organizational Psychology

studies interactions between people working in organizations and effects of those interactions on productivity

Hawthorne Effect

effect that is an increase in productivity who are being observed by a researcher or supervisor

Organizational Culture

the values, visions, hierarchie, norms, and interactions among its employees

Observable artifacts- Organizational Culture

symbols of language, narratives, and practices that represent the underlying cultural assumptions

Espoused Values- Organizational Culture

concepts/beliefs that management or entire organizations endorse

Basic Assumptions- Organizational culture

usually unobservable

Transactional Leadership

leadership that focuses on supervision and organizational goals achieved through a system of rewards and punishments

Transformational leadership

leaders are charismatic role models, inspirational, intellectually stimulating, and seek to change the organization

Theory X- Scientific management

manager assumes workers are inherently lazy and unproductive; managers must have control and use punishments

Theory Y- scientific Management

manager assumes workers are people who seek to work hard and productively; managers and workers do not need to be controlled or punished

Team Halo Effect

teams get credited for team successes, individuals within team get blamed for team failures

Performance Appraisals

appraisal on an employees defined job responsibilities and specific goals agreed upon between employee and supervisor

Task-oriented Advertising

lists in detail the tasks that will be performed for the job

Worker Oriented Advertising

describes characteristics required of the worker to successfully perform the job

Factors of Job Satisfaction

Autonomy

Work Content

Constructive feedback

Feelings of fairness

Recognition

Positive relationships

Challenges within teamwork

Social Loafing and Groupthink

Biological Treatments

involves usage of drugs, electroconvulsive therapy, brain surgery, or other methods that affect body or brain chemistry

publication bias

positive results are more reported and documented than negative results

placebo effect

improvement in symptoms because you believe the medication will make you better rather than actual chemical reasons

Long term effects of Biological Treatments

Addiction, Diabetes, Tardive dyskinesia

Psychosurgery

any surgical procedure that destorys selected areas of the brain believed to be involved in emotional disorders or impulsive behavior

Frontal Lobotomy

Type of psychosurgery, destroys or separates parts of the frontal lobes, leads to flat affect and interferes with functioning in planning and socially appropriate behavior

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

shock therapy, used in cases of severe depression, produces retrograde amnesia

Antipsychotic drugs

drugs that block or reduce sensitivity of brain receptors that respond to Dopamine

Antidepressants

drugs that elevate the production of dopamine/ serotonin/ norepinephrine

Monoamine exidase inhibitors- Antidepressant

elevate norepinephrine/ serotnin in brain by blocking an enzyme that deactivates them

i.e Nardil, Parnate

Tricyclic antidepressants

boosts norepinephrine and serotonin in brain by preventing normal reuptake of these substances

i.e. Elavil, Tofranil

Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s)

inhibit reuptake of serotonin to boost levels

I.e. Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil

Psychodynamic Therapy

therapy approach that uses various techniques to explore the unconscious as a route to identifying and solving problems

Free Association- Psychodynamic Therapy

a method of uncovering unconscious conflicts by saying freely whatever comes to mind

Transference- Psychodynamic Therapy

a critical step in which the client transfers unconscious emotions or reactions onto therapist

Behavioral Methods of therapy

(Behavioral Therapy)

therapy approach that apply prince\iples and techniques of classical conditioning and operant conditioning to help people change self-defeating or problematic behaviors

Systematic Desensitization- Behavioral Therapy

slowly confornting anxious things, slowing losing snesitivity and anxiousness over repeated exposure, often used in treatment of phobias

Aversive Conditioning- Behavioral Therapy

punishing undesirable behaviors to condition someone to stop behaving that way

Cognitive Therapy

Therapy approach that aims to have people identify and understand maladaptive thought patterns, then change them

Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT)-Albert Ellis

therapy tactic in which the therapist challenges the client’s existing beliefs

Cognitive-behavioral Therapy

integrative therapy approach that uses behavioral methods to change cognitions, builds self-efficacy, effecitve through self-talk

Humanistic Therapy

therapy approach that emphasizes people’s free will to change, instructions are usually non-directive

Person-Centered Therapy- Carl Rogers

therapy that emphasizes empathy with client, seeing the worl as client does, holding client with unconditional positive regard

Reflective Listening- Humanistic Therapy

rephrasing or repeating back what the client says to facilitate insight

Family-System Therapy

therapy with individuals or families that focuses on how each member forms part of a larger interacting system

Group Therapy advantages

people can learn from growth of others, show people that they are not alone

Group Therapy disadvantages

lack of confidentiality, social issues like groupthink

Therapeutic Alliance

client and therapist working together to better the client’s self

Scientist-Practitioner Gap

a substantial, serious disconnect between scientists who research and those who practice

Practicioners disregard scientific evidence because it is not relevent; leads to misdiagnoses and poor treatment methods

Scientists undervalue human elements of therapy, believe in a one-size-fits-all approach