bergner final exam 4

What is emotional intelligence?

the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

What is the attitude of Emotional Intelligence advocates towards the idea that we should listen to our feelings and let them be our ultimate guide in choosing our actions?

a. You shouldn't always listen to your feelings
b. Listen to your feelings and thinking about what they are telling you and in the end let thought and principle dictate what you do

Among the different elements that go into Emotional Intelligence, what key idea was stressed in class?

People should have the ability to govern or control own behavior on the basis of thought and principle, and not be ruled by emotions

How would an Emotional Intelligence theorist respond to a person who said this: "When you are angry, it is important not to dam it up, but to let that anger out."?

E.I. theorist would respond by saying go clear your head, calm down and come back when you cooled off and can think with reason and principle

What are the characteristics of bulimia?

a. Recurrent episodes of binge eating
b. Feelings of lack of control
c. Regular purge activity
d. Chronic concern with body weight and shape

According to Marshall's theory of bulimia, what are the characteristic of an ideal pattern of parenting?

Discovery, appreciation, support of who child is(within ethical & prudential limits)

According to Marshall, what are the characteristics of the typical pattern of parenting experienced by bulimics growing up?

a. A priori (without any observation) prescriptive; disregarding of child's natural inclinations and personality
b. Over controlling
c. Extreme concern with child looking good in the eyes of the world (beyond normal concern, parents want child to be #1 in every aspect of life)
d. Child adopts parental values and modes of governing/controlling self

According to Marshall, what is the destructive cycle that bulimic individuals are caught up in?

a. Person as a self-governor (coerces self, disregards self, deprives self, is hyerconcerned with looking good)
b. Which leads to person rebels: binge eating
c. Leads to person recoils from rebellion
d. Back to the first point and cycle continues

According to Bergner's definition, what is self-esteem?

One's summary, appraisal, as a critic of oneself, of one's own worth or value

What are the primary consequences of a person having low self-esteem?

a. A sense of eligibility for valued forms of life participation; affects behavior
b. Affects emotional state ex: depression
c. Affects vulnerability to other's criticisms
d. Affects ability to believe positive input

What are three patterns of self-criticism that cause persons to have low self-esteem?

a. Private self-degradation: person brands self with destructive label. Stops there
b. Perfectionism (to the extreme. if its not a 10 its a 0 no in between)
c. The "hanging judge metaphor" (overkill on the vindictiveness on judgement)

According to Bergner, what are the different steps in therapy for persons suffering from low self-esteem?

a. Get client to see what s/he is doing as critic of self
b. Get client to "own" critic behaviors
c. Establish what client is trying to accomplish with self- criticism (ex: self-improvement)
d. Present alternative ideas and behaviors
e. Practice alternative, more constructive ways to criticize self

What is a disability/dysfunction definition of psychopathology?

Psychopathology refers to behavioral disability as dysfunction or functional impairment

How does Ossorio define psychopathology?

A person is in a pathological state when there is a significant restriction in their ability to engage in deliberate action, and equivalently, to participate in the social practices of the community

According to Ossorio's definition, if you knew that Jill was starving herself, should you conclude on this basis that she has a psychopathological condition (mental disorder)? Why or why not?

Yes, because she couldn't engage

According to Ossorio, what is "normality"?

"Normal"= not abnormal, not pathological; its simply absence of pathology (Healthy="not sick")

According to Ossorio, what is "positive mental health?"

Person is not in a pathological state, but beyond this, is very capable of participating in life in meaningful and fulfilling ways

What is a phobia?

A persistent and unreasonable fear of a particular object, activity, or situation (12% of people will experience)

What are some typical kinds of phobia?

-agoraphobia
-animals (cats, dogs, snakes)
-inanimate objects (heights, darkness, flying)
-social anxiety disorder

What is the behavioral explanation of phobias?

Due to classical conditioning; some neutral stimulus gets paired with another one that naturally elicits a fear response, and thereby acquires ability to elicit that fear response

What causes phobias in the first place and what causes them to persist?

Phobias occur because extinction doesn't occur--person doesn't learn that X (cats) is safe, and continues to avoid X (cats)

What are the two psychoanalytic explanations of phobias? What is each of these explanations saying?

Freudian psychoanalysis- phobic person is really afraid of something else. Apparent feared object is really a "displacement object"

Freud's neurotic symptoms- stressful life events drain energy from ego and/or give additional energy to repressed contents

What is post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

A psychological syndrome that is triggered by a specific traumatic event or ongoing traumatic situation

What are some PTSD symptoms?

-Chronic anxious arousal and hyper vigilance
-Re experience the event (Flash backs)
-Avoidance
-Reduced responsiveness (Emotional numbness)
-Survivor guilt

What is anxiety?

Living in expectation of reliving/repeating events

What is reliving?

Flashbacks, dreams, they want to repeat it and see if they can solve it, attempted problem solving, when dreams are solved they go away

What is emotional numbness?

All energy is going toward the event

What is survivor guilt?

You survived when others didn't

What is an "exposure therapy?" Why do such therapies tend to work in the majority of cases?

Being exposed to worst fears, immigration opposed to reality

What is panic disorder?

Person has recurrent sudden, intense panic attacks of short duration

What is agoraphobia?

Most common phobia, person is afraid to leave safe home base and have something terrible happen (Sheila in Shameless)

How is agoraphobia related to panic disorder?

Panic disorder is usually accompanied by agoraphobia, they go hand in hand

What is the cognitive "misinterpretation theory" of panic disorder?

Stress: panic reaction due to cognitive factor, a misinterpretation of anxiety-related bodily events

What is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)?

Person is in high anxiety state much or all the time; can't identify source of fear; worries excessively (6% of people will suffer from this disorder)

What is the "dangerous world view" held by many GAD sufferers?

-The world is a dangerous place
-I can't handle the things that happen out in the world

What are the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Recurrent obsessions and compulsions

What explanations were considered in class regarding the sense of which obsessions make?

Distressing, anxiety-provoking thought, images, and temptations which intrude into person's consciousness and which a person can't get rid of

What explanations were considered in class regarding the sense of which compulsions make?

Actions, overt or mental, which person feels compelled to engage over and over

What is the relationship between obsessions and compulsions?

Compulsions act upon obsessions

What is the cognitive-behavioral theory of OCD?

Person reduces anxiety from obsessions by engaging in compulsive acts

According to the class discussion of his therapy, why did Ben F. have a compulsion to turn off electrical switches?

Because he kept doing it over and over again to prevent ruin (electrical fire or issues with his parents)

What is conversion disorder?

-Lost or altered physical function (Psychosomatic)
-No physical bias
-Person doesn't fake it, they cannot control it
-Person seems oddly indifferent to problem (not anxious)

According to psychoanalytic theory, why did "Bear" develop a conversion disorder?

Bear unconsciously solved the problem of guilt by paralyzing himself (punished himself)

What is dissociative identity disorder (aka "multiple personality disorder")?

A person develops two or more distinct personalities

What is Bliss' explanation for dissociative identity disorder?

-Person experiences early trauma (87% of people)
-Person copes by creating an alternative personality to deal with the problem
-Person is gifted at autohypnosis (Able to induce amnesia)

Psychophysiological (AKA Psychosomatic) Disorders definition

disorder in where psychological states cause actual physical pathology

How are conversion disorders different from Psychophysiological disorders?

Conversion disorders have no physical basis; They also cause emotional stress

What is the diathesis-stress model for Psychophysiological disorders?

Stress + Diathesis (a biological vulnerability that predisposes them to a disorder = production of disorders.

In Holmes and Rahe's research on the effect of life changes on people, what was their basic overall finding? What did they find about positive life changes such as getting married or getting a major promotion at work?

Found that Stress-diatheses produces disorder; Positive life changes can be stressful. Person may feel like they have to succeed.

Is it possible to have a psychosomatic disorder without any diathesis?

It is possible to have this disorder with no diathesis. If stress is prolonged enough, it may result in disorders.

What are Worden's four tasks of mourning? Be able to explain what each task is about. When does Worden say that mourning is completed?

Task #1: To accept reality of the loss
Task #2: To process the pain
Task #3: To adjust to a world without deceased
Task #4: To emotionally relocate and move on from life.

Mourning is completed when all the tasks are done, but sometimes mourning is not necessarily complete.

What are the symptoms of depression?

Emotional- little to no pleasure, anger
Motivational- social withdrawal, lack of drive
Behavioral- less active' stays in bed
Cognitive- negative views of self, easily distracted
Physical- general pain, disturbance in sleep and appetite.

What distinguishes unipolar from bipolar depression?

Bipolar depression has symptoms of mania and depression. Unipolar is strictly depression.

The leading biological theories of depression stress factors having to do with brain chemistry. What two biochemical factors are stressed by these theories?

Two factors: low activity of serotonin and norepinephrine

What evidence supports the general position that depression is primarily due to biological factors?

More than 50% of patients respond to drugs

What is the ABC diagram presented in class basically saying about what causes emotions?

A- event
B- interpret
C- reaction

According to Beck's theory, what sorts of early experiences are often involved in persons later being prone to depression?

Early experiences leading to depression; facing losses, rejection

According to Beck, what is a "schema?"

A deeply held belief

According to Beck, what sorts of faulty information processing do depressed persons usually engage in?

P makes logic errors- interpret events with own perception, generalizes from one case to all cases

According to Seligman's learned helplessness theory, what basically causes depression?

People become depressed when they think they no longer have control over their rewards and punishments and that they are responsible for this state.

According to psychoanalytic theory, what causes depression?

This theory focuses on how a persons anger is turned inward towards oneself

What symptoms of mania were cited in class?

symptoms include; elevated mood, grandiosity (sense of unlimited behavior), hyperactivity, and flight of ideas

With respect to bipolar disorder, what is the standard or most popular (but not necessarily correct) view today of what causes manic episodes?

entirely biological

According to Wechsler's theory, what sort of events trigger manic episodes? How does the manic person respond to such events in such a way that he or she becomes manic?

Negative life events trigger manic episodes. These are precipitating events; P responds by being desperate, unrealistic, self affirming behavior

Know and understand the following from Shneidman's theory of suicide:
The common stimulus for suicide is________.
The common stressor for suicide is________.
The common purpose in suicide is________.
The common internal attitude in suicide is________.
The common cognitive style in suicide is________.

The common stimulus is: UNENDURABLE PAIN
The common stressor is: FRUSTRATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS
The common purpose is: TO SEEK A SOLUTION
The common internal attitude is: AMBIVALENCE (mixed feelings)
The common cognitive style is CONSTRICTION

According to Kirsch's theory of suicide, what is the explanation for why people make suicide attempts?

People attempt suicide possibly because they are in a problematic relationship. This is an attempt to reinstate self to lost position

Why speak of "the schizophrenias" rather than "schizophrenia"?

Schizophrenia is a group of disorders, rather than just one. That is why it is plural.

What alternative interpretation is there to the position that schizophrenic thought is actually disordered? Related to this, what is the point of the "Francis Gary Powers" story told in lecture?

that it means something; like a riddle for a meaningful message.

What is a delusion? What is a delusion of influence? Of grandeur? Of reference? Of persecution?

A delusion is a strong belief despite facts
Of influence- Being controlled
Of Grandeur- Belief that Person comes from heir or a higher power
Of reference- believe something refers back to him or her even in the face of strong evidence to the contrary.
Of persecution- Being plotted/discriminated against

What is Type I Schizophrenia?

Marked by "positive symptoms"
Thought disorder
Hallucinations and Delusions
Linked to excess of dopamine
Responds to anti-psychosis
Decent prognosis
Big overlap with ACUTE SHIZ

What is Type II Schizophrenia?

Marked by "Negative Symptoms"
Flat or blunted affectSocial
Withdrawals / Loss of motivation
Linked to brain damage
Does not respond to anti-psychosis
Poor prognosis
Overlap with CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIA

According to Bergner's theory, what sense do paranoid delusions make?

the delusion is a cover story to preserve their self-esteem.

What do all sexual disorders have in common--this something may be regarded as the defining characteristic of sexual disorder?

Unable to participate in the social practice of "making love"

What are "sexual dysfunctions?" (Distinguished from "sexual disorder")

Disabilities having to do with performance of the sexual act or satisfactions derived from it. To qualify as a dysfunction it must be (chronic vs occasional) (could be global or specific)

What are the varieties of sexual dysfunctions that were mentioned in class

Disorders of desire, disorders or excitement, disorders of orgasm, sexual pain disorder

Disorders of Desire

Male hypoactive sexual desire, female sexual interest/arousal disorders

Disorder of excitement

male erectile disorder

Disorders of Orgasm

early ejaculation, delayed ejaculation, female orgasmic disorder - difficulty achieving orgasm

Sexual Pain Disorder

Sex is physically painful

What psychological causes of sexual dysfunction were mentioned in class?

1. Negative emotional state: anger, anxiety
2. Negative sexual experiences: rape, incest
3. Negative views of sex; taught it was dirty, sinful
4. Dysfunctional cognitions: maladaptive thoughts during sexual encounters

Sexual misunderstanding - what is the common difference between men & women in the significance they attach to the act of sexual intercourse? How can this difference lead to problems in their relationship?

Female: thinks he doesn't care about her anymore, just wants her body. She doesn't think sex is a way to make them become closer.
Male: thinks she is unloving, asexual, and manipulative. Sec is a way to express closeness but if there is anger in the relationship, sex is a way to restore the closenessIssues because they both have views that are different but not true.
If they are not close, she will not initiate sex but he will and that will make her think that he just wants her body and doesn't want to work out the issues. She will try other bids to try to become close, like talking, and he thinks that she is turned down by him.

What is a paraphilia?

Persistent sexual behavior patterns in which unusual objects or situations are required for sexual satisfaction.
1. Not a choice
2. An addiction
3. Doesn't necessarily mean person must change

Fetishism

sexual attraction to inanimate objects or non-erotic body parts

Transvestism

Turned on by dressing up in the opposite gender clothing

Exhibitionism

compulsive need to expose one's body, particularly the genitals, to an unsuspecting stranger

Pedophilia

abnormal sexual desire in adults for children

Sadism

Turned on by inflicting pain onto someone else

Masochism

Turned on by receiving pain

Can classical conditioning theory explain paraphilia completely? Partially? At all?

It can explain why they develop these paraphilias but doesn't explain why there is little to no interest in sexual Intercourse, why addiction, and why worse after a blow to self-esteem

How does John Money, in his famous "Lovemap Theory", explain paraphilia?

1. A person's sexual blueprint (preferred sexual scenario). Captures what is most erotically charged for person.
2. Childhood indoctrination of later paraphile: love bs lust (taught sin is sinful and dirty)
3. Paraphilia as "turning tragedy into triumph" tragedy us loss of possibility of loving sexual Intercourse. Triumph is "rescue of lust from total wreckage and obliteration and it's attachment to a reigned love map." Object choice determined by chance childhood encounters and/or personal attitudes toward self and/or others
4. Paraphilic act and act of "defiant self-assertion" (refuse to renounce my sexuality, will preserve sexuality even if I have to attach it to something else

Bergner's Amendment to Money's theory of paraphilia

Child is degraded. Being degraded creates need for recovery. Paraphilic ritual = enactment of a preferred scenario that represents attempted recovery from degradation. Why are urges so powerful? (Normal sexual drive + need to recover from degradation = powerful "sexual cocktail.") however, rituals fail because in most cases it isn't real affirmation and recovery, or when person self-affirms, he or she simultaneously violated own anti-sexual beliefs, and degrades self...thus creating a need to repeat and setting up an addictive cycle.

What 4 criteria are used to determine the severity of an individual's substance use disorder?

1. loss of control: unsuccessful efforts to cut down use
2. Impairment in social and/or work functioning
3. Tolerance effects: need more and more of substance to achieve desired effect
4. Withdrawal reactions: hangover, sweating, confusion, anxiety

What general theory was advocated in lecture as to the nature of the inherited factor in alcoholism?

Nature of possible genetic factor: an individual difference in drug responsiveness. Possibly related to pleased derived from alcohol. Concordance rates: population baseline 13.2%. Fraternal twins: 38%. Identical twins: 54%

What effects of alcohol were mentioned in class that make it an attractive drug for most people, but in the bargain also make it attractive for some people to abuse?

Pleasure, tension/anxiety reduction, disinhibition, relieves withdrawal symptoms, removes "conditioned cravings", replaces depleted endorphins

What is the "endorphins compensation hypothesis?"

When we are depressed the endorphins are depleted. When this happens, they put something in their body (alcohol), this is replacing the depleted endorphins so they feel good again. "Self-medicating"

What was the primary theory of why Jonathan B drank?

History: as a child he was overprotected, treated as fragile and sickly, secluded from other childrenResulting self concept: inadequate, incompetent (except music), not a man, helplessWhen he leaves parental home; high anxiety due to sense that "I'm way over my head; I can't handle independent living."
Result: drinks to reduce anxiety

What, if any, role might Jonathan's wife have played in his drinking?

She is an enabler. She covers him, therefore he never has to face the consequences of his alcoholism.

What are the primary characteristics of narcissistic personality and disorder?

1. Exaggerated sense of personal specialness, importance? And being set apart from and above others
2. Sense of entitlement to special treatment
3. Ignorance of and disregard for other's rights and feelings
4. Extreme preoccupation with receiving affirmation from others
5. Don't let others get too close; romantic relationships = love them and leave them

What is Freud's definition of the term "narcissism?"

The inability to cathect (be invested in) other except insofar as they gratify themself in some way. (Inability to care for someone except as far as they can give them.) 1. Narcissism the opposite of love, which in all its forms (romantic, parental, etc) has the essential feature that one is invested in the well-being of the other for other's own sake.

What is Kernberg's explanation for why the narcissist is so addicted to the attention, praise and admiration of other persons?

Because esteem is a need and a narcissist has low self-esteem