psych final

sigmund freud

Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis.

psychoanalytic theory

focus on the role of the unconscious in affecting conscious behavior

Psychic determinism

Freud's assumption that all our mental and behavioral responses are caused by unconscious traumas, desires, or conflicts.

Id

basic instincts/impulses, sex/agression (demon)

ego

reality, conciousness (person)

superego

morality, right v wrong, guilt (angel)

defense mechanisms

the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

denial

psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities.

regression

returning psychologically to a younger and safer time

-sucking thumb during stressful college exam

reaction formation

transforming an anxiety producing experience into its opposite

-developing hatred for someone you are sexually attracted to but shouldnt be

projection

unconscious attribution of our negative qualities onto others

-guy who has sexual impulses complains that women are always "after him"

displacement

directing an impulse from a socially unacceptable target onto a more acceptable one

-Golfer throws putter into woods instead of green

rationalization

providing reasonable sounding explanations for unreasonable failures

-saying that you didn't actually want the job after bombing an interview

sublimation

transforming a socially unacceptable impulse into a desirable and admired goal

-school bully becomes a boxer

oral stage

(birth-18 mo.): focuses on mouth, sexual pleasure from sucking and drinking, prone to unhealthy eating, drinking, smoking

anal stage

18 mo.-3 years): first time child comes face to face with conflict, wnats to alleviate tension by moving bowels, but must wait for toilet. If toilet training is too harsh or lenient, adult becomes anally fixated.

phallic stage

(3y to 6): freud believed paramount importance in explaining personality. For boys, oedipus complex. For girls, electra complex (competition with her mother for her father's affection) and penis envy (anxiety upon realization that they do not have a penis). If complexes are left unresolved, psychological problems arise later in life.

latency stage

(6-12): calm after the storm, sexual impulses are moved to the subconscious. This where those of the other sex are yucky and unappealing.

genital stage

(12+): sexual impulses reawaken, romantic relationships emerge. Difficulty establishing intimacy if earlier problems weren't resolved.

three main problems with Freuds theories

unfalsifiability, overemphasis on sex, failed predictions

According to a behavioral perspective of personality, how is personality defined? Causes of personalities?

Bundles of habits acquired by classical and operant conditioning. Personalities dont cause behaviors, they ARE the behaviors. Differences in perosnalities stem from differences in each individuals learning history/exeperiences. Extraverted people tend to have many friends and attend many parties, but not BECAUSE they are extraverted.

circular reasoning fallacy

error of basing a claim on the same claim reworded in slightly different terms

Big Five Traits (OCEAN)

openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

MMPI

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, most widely used object of personality test;

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

a personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types

Scores don't stay stable every time you take it, results don't relate to big 5 or job preferences.

Rorschach inkblot test

the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

P.T. Barnum effect

tendency of people to accept descriptions that apply to almost everyone as applying specifically to them

demonic model of mental disorders

demonic spirits plague the mind

medical model of mental disorders

abnormal behavior is a disease

Deinstitutionalization

1960s and 1970s governmental policy that focused on releasing hospitalized psychiatric patients into the community and closing mental hospitals

DSM

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Clarifies disorders and their symptoms, does NOT address causes or cures

Most prevalent disorder?

anxiety disorder (29%)

anxiety disorder

Continual feelings of worry, anxiety, physical tension, 60% of day spent worrying

panic attack v panic disorder

panic disorder is constant fear of panic attacks

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience

phobia

A phobia is an intense fear of an object or situation that is out of porportion to the actual situation. It must restrict our life or cause considerable distress

OCD

Persistent ideas or thoughts that are unwanted (obsessions) that can only be relieved by repetitive behaviors or acts (compulsions).

three ways anxieties can be learned

classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observing misinformation

What brain regions are highly activated in someone with OCD?

High metabolic activation in the frontal lobe

systematic desensitization

A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias.

flooding

large scale and sudden exposure

Benzodiazepines

The most common group of antianxiety drugs, which includes Valium and Xanax.

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

exposure therapy

Very similar to flooding, used to treat OCD. Exposed to a situation that would bring about compulsive behavior, but they are prevented from engaging in it.

SSRIs

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. increase serotonin levels in the brain by blocking the reabsorption of the neurotransmitter. Treat anxiety and depression.

major depressive disorder

A mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or a medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities.

recurrent v chronic depression

Recurrent is 5-6 episodes, each lasting 6-12 months. Chronic depression lasts for decades with no signs of getting better, accounting for 20% of cases.

dysthymic disorder

a mood disorder involving a pattern of comparatively mild depression that lasts for at least two years

behavioral model of depression

Few reinforcers-> try different behaviors but still get very few reinforcers-> eventually stop engaging/give up

Stop participating-> even less of a chance to contact reinforcement. The solution is to add reinforcers.

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

brain differences for someone with depression

Increased activity in the amygdala, decreased activity in the frontal lobe

postpartum depression

a new mother's feelings of inadequacy and sadness in the days and weeks after giving birth

postpartum psychosis

a rare and severe form of depression that occurs in women just after giving birth and includes delusional thinking and hallucinations

What four things are the focus in cognitive-behavioral therapy for treating postpartum depression?

Identifying struggles, communication skills, highlighting strengths, regulating emotions

manic episode

Elevated mood, no sleep, high energy, increased talkativeness, irresponsible behavior. Increases over the course of multiple days.

bipolar disorder

mood disorder in one experiences both manic and depressed episodes

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Impulsive, unpredictable emotions, unstable relationships. (fatal attraction)

psychopathic personality

Guiltless, dishonest, manipulative, callous, self-centered, but also charming, personable, charismatic, engaging, and rational. The amygdala and prefrontal cortex are typically underactive. (ted bundy)

antisocial personality disorder

A personality disorder in which the person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.

dissassociative identity disorder

Two or more distinct states/alters, Severe abuse leads to about 90% of cases. (class video with jenny)

schizophrenia

a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions

What is a brain ventricle? What is it filled with? What do the ventricles look like in someone with schizophrenia? How is dopamine involved in schizophrenia?

A fluid-filled cavity within the brain that is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and in people with schizophrenia, these ventricles tend to be enlarged. A dopamine imbalance can lead to schizophrenia.

What are delusions? What are the common themes for delusions? Be able to recognize examples of each.

Strongly held fixed beliefs(delusions) that have no basis in reality. Prosecution (coworkers tapped phone), grandeur (thinking that they are the best or an expert at something that they are not), bodily (infested with parasites), romance (John Hinkley assassinating Reagan)

most common schizophrenic hallucination?

auditory

disorganized speech

Language skips from topic to topic in an incredibly disorganized way, can be a word salad.

diathesis stress model of schizophrenia

that schizophrenia is the result of a genetic predisposition that interacts with stress early in neurodevelopment through illness or trauma

Catatonia Schizophrenia

a state of unresponsiveness to one's outside environment, usually including muscle rigidity, staring, and inability to communicate

disorganized behavior

Poor self-care & personal hygiene, can laugh, cry, swear at incredibly inappropriate times.

psychosurgery

surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior

posttraumatic v sociocognitive models of dissociative identity disorder

Severe abuse leads to about 90% of cases. Sociocognitive model states that hypnosis and repeated prompting of alters suggest to patients that their puzzling symptoms are the products of identities. The number of alters greatly increases when hyponisis is used, patients show few clear cut signs prior to therapy.

electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient. Used for severe depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Over 50% relapse rate in the first 6 months, possible attention/memory problems.

What is a neuron? What is a dendrite and what does it do? What is an axon and what does it do? What is the synapse and what happens in the synapse?

Neuron is a nerve cell specialized for communication. A dendrite in the input receiving portion of the neuron. Conducts the electrical impulses (action potential) in the neurons. A synapse is the place where neurons connect & communicate.

Piaget's conservation task

-2 glasses filled, asks the child are they the same thing, pour one glass into a taller glass and ask the child the same question

-child can't differentiate between the filled glasses

occipital lobe

vision

temporal lobe

hearing, understanding speech, language

parietal lobe

receives sensory input for touch and body position

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

classical conditioning

a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

Heuristic

a rule-of-thumb problem-solving strategy

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units to easier remember

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

a failure to consider situational variables while making an attribution, leading to an overestimation of dispositional contributions when observing the behavior of others

Milgram's primary conclusion

people are highly likely to obey authority figures, even when it goes against their own judgment or desires

positive reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

negative reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.)

positive punishment

the administration of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring

negative punishment

the removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring

flashbulb memory

A clear and vivid long-term memory of an especially meaningful and emotional event.

Harry Harlow's attachment research

-developmental psychologist Harry Harlow studied infant attachment using monkeys

-used wire frame and cloth-covered "mothers" to study the impact of nurturing touch, warmth, and food on infant monkey attachment