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Motivation

Need/desire that energizes and directs behavior

Instinct Theory

Focuses on genetically predisposed behaviors

Drive Reduction Theory

Focuses on how we respond to our inner pushes

Arousal Theory

Focuses on finding the right levels of stimulation

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Focuses on the priority of some needs over others

Instinct

Complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned

Homeostasis

Tendency to maintain a balanced/steady internal state

Incentives

Learned positive or negative stimuli that help meet our needs and reinforce our drives

CNS arousal

Humans are motivated to engage in behaviors that either increase/decrease arousal levels

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Arousal levels can help performance but too much arousal can interfere with performance

Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Described human motives as a pyramid of priorities

The Need to Belong

Feelings of love/acceptance activate brain reward/safety systems

Stress

Process of which we perceive and respond to certain events (stressors), that we think of as threatening or challenging

Stress reactions

Physical or emotional responses to a stressor

Appraisal Model of Stress

Whether we experience stress depends on cognitive appraisal of the event and the resources we have to deal with it

Stressors

Catastrophes, significant life events/changes, or daily hassles/social stress

Chronic stress

Increases vulnerability to heart disease and is a strong predictor of high blood pressure and coronary heart disease

Type A

Competitive, sense of urgency, driven to succeed, impatient, prone to anger/hostility

Type B

Easygoing/relaxed

Personal Control

An important personal/cognitive factor that explains how people account for what happens in their lives

Internal Locus of Control

You determine the outcomes in your life

External Locus of Control

Factors beyond your control determine outcomes in your life

Learned helplessness

Explanatory Style

Social Support

Resources provided by others in times of need, emotional support, practical advice, etc.

Coping

The ways in which we try to change or reinterpret circumstances to make them less threatening

Problem Focused Coping

Attempting to directly change the stressor or the way we interact with it

Emotion Focused Coping

Attempting to relieve or regulate the emotional impact of a stressful situation

Syndrome

Collection of symptoms marked by a clinically significant disturbance in a person's cognitions (thoughts), emotional regulations (feelings), or behavior

Distress

Persons thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that cause personal distress to themselves or others. Includes being a danger to themselves (suicide/ bad thoughts) or others

Dysfunction

Persons' thoughts, feelings, or behaviors impair their functioning, such as social relationships (job, school, work, hygiene, sleep, eating, driving, housework, etc..)

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V

Standard system used in the U.S to diagnose and classify abnormal behavior

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)

Cutting, burning, hitting oneself, inserting objects under nails/skin, etc. Painful but not fatal

NSSI Motivation

Gain relief from intense negative thought through distraction of pain

NSSI Attention Seeking

Gain attention for help with emotional pain

NSSI Self-Punishment

Relieve guilt by self-punishment

NSSI Behavior Change

Get others to change their negative behavior (bullying/criticism)

Anxiety Disorders

Marked by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

Panic Disorder

An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations

Specific Phobias

Anxiety disorders characterized by excessive fear of a specific object or situation

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

An anxiety disorder that can occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event

Hospitalization Rate

3-5% hospitalization rate

Hyperactive Danger-Detection System

Some individuals are more prone to notice and remember information perceived as threatening

Panic attacks

Sudden episodes of intense dread.

Physical symptoms of panic attacks

Irregular heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath, choking, trembling, dizziness.

Agoraphobia

Fear of avoidance of public situations from which escape may be difficult (should a panic attack occur).

Specific Phobias

Anxiety disorders marked by a persistent and irrational fear and avoidance of some object, activity, or situation.

Examples of Specific Phobias

Fear of particular animals, insects, heights, blood, or closed spaces.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Characterized by persistent and repetitive obsessions (thoughts), compulsions (actions), or both.

Obsessions and Compulsions

Obsessions cause anxiety; compulsions relieve the anxiety.

Impact of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Occurs when obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors persistently interfere with everyday life and cause distress.

Prevalence of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Most common among teens and young adults; twin studies reveal a strong genetic basis.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia lingering for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

Demographics of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Often includes military veterans, and survivors of accidents, disasters, and violent/sexual assaults; women are at a higher risk (1:10) vs men (1:20) of developing this disorder after a traumatic event.

Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders

Somatic symptom disorder (formerly somatoform disorder) where symptoms (often stress related) take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause.

Examples of Somatic Symptoms

Dizziness, tingling, numbness, blurred vision, etc.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Person interprets normal sensations as symptoms of a dreaded disease.

Example of Illness Anxiety Disorder

A headache is interpreted as a brain tumor.

Mood Disorders

Involves significant and persistent disruptions in mood or emotions that cause impaired cognitive, behavioral, and physical functioning.

Major Depressive Disorder Criteria

The DSM-5 identifies major depressive disorder as the presence of at least 5 symptoms over a 2-week period of time.

Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder

Depressed mood most of the time, significant changes regarding weight/appetite, etc.

Vicious Cycle of Depressed Thinking

Stressful experiences, negative explanatory style, depressed mood, cognitive and behavioral changes.

Bipolar Disorder

Characterized by a person alternating between depression and a state of euphoria, excitement, physical energy, wild optimism, and rapid thoughts/speech (mania).

Schizophrenia

Psychological disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished, inappropriate emotional expression.

Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Presence of inappropriate behavior.

Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Absence of inappropriate behavior.

Hallucinations

Hearing, seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling things that only exist in the mind.

Delusions

False beliefs that are not true in reality (+).

Types of Delusions

Persecution (paranoia), grandiosity, mind control, etc.

Selective Attention Breakdown

Breakdown in selective attention leading to thought derailment (difficulty maintaining focus/easily distracted).

Word Salad

Senseless speech.

Diminished and Inappropriate Emotions

Emotions that do not match the situation.

Flat Effect

Emotionless, a state of no apparent feeling.

Impaired Theory of Mind

Difficulty reading other people's facial emotions and states of mind.

Inappropriate or Disruptive Motor Behavior

Senseless, compulsive actions or motionless catatonia.

Dissociative Disorders

Controversial, rare disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct/alternating personalities.

Personality Disorders

Inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even towards friends/family members.

Lack of Empathy

Often impulsiveness, fearlessness, or irresponsibility.

Sociopaths or Psychopaths

Individuals with antisocial personality disorder.

Anorexia Nervosa

(Usually female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight.

Deadliest Psychological Disorder

Anorexia nervosa is the deadliest of all psychological disorders.

Incidence Rate of Anorexia

Incidence rate in America is 0.6%.

Diagnostic Criteria for Anorexia

Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements, leading to significantly low body weight.

Intense Fear of Gaining Weight

Fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, or persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain.

Disturbance in Body Weight Experience

Disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced.

Bulimia Nervosa

Person alternates between binge eating (usually of high calorie foods) with purging.

Incidence Rate of Bulimia

Incidence rate in America is 1%.

Diagnostic Criteria for Bulimia

Recurrent episodes of binge eating characterized by eating an amount of food that is larger than most people would eat.

Lack of Control Over Eating

Feeling that you can't stop eating or control what/how much you are eating.

Inappropriate Compensatory Behavior

Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior to prevent weight gain.

Average Frequency of Bulimia Episodes

The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors both occur, on average, at least once a week for 3 months.

Binge Eating Disorder

Significant binge eating followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging or fasting.

Incidence Rate of Binge Eating Disorder

Incidence rate in America is 2.8%.

Diagnostic Criteria for Binge Eating Disorder

Recurrent episodes of binge eating characterized by eating an amount of food that is larger than most people would eat.

Binge Eating Disorder

A disorder characterized by lack of control over eating during episodes, associated with eating rapidly, feeling uncomfortably full, eating large amounts when not hungry, eating alone due to embarrassment, feeling disgusted or guilty afterwards, marked distress, occurring at least once a week for 3 months, and not associated with compensatory behaviors.

Eating Rapidly

Consuming food much more quickly than normal.

Eating Until Uncomfortably Full

Continuing to eat until feeling an uncomfortable level of fullness.