Abnormal Psychology Chapter 2

Developmental Psychopathology

o Most disorders are chronic and episodic
o Some type of vulnerability sets the stage (a predisposition)
o Some event precipitates the problem
o Consider factors that maintain or prolong symptoms
o There is some predisposition, that is yet to be identified, and unknown environmental event that may trigger
♣ One cannot tell who does or who does not have the predisposition for a disorder

Integrated systems

o Consider different levels of analysis
o Diathesis-Stress models
o There are multiple pathways to disorder

The correlational method

o Ex. Stress and depression are correlated
o Which came first?
o This is known as the "directionally problem"
o Brain functions may differ in depressed people, but experience (and drugs can alter the brain
o Only types of studies that work
♣ Treatment outcome study - randomly assigned
Animal analog studies

"directionally problem"

For correlation - which came first?
ex. depression or stress

Paradigm

a set of shared assumptions that includes both the substance of a theory and beliefs about how scientists should collect data and test hypothesis
o The Four broad theories of abnormal behavior
♣ Biological paradigm
♣ Psychodynamic paradigm
♣ Cognitive-behavioral paradigm
♣ Humanistic paradigm

Biopsychosocial model

an effort to integrate evidence on these broad contributions to mental disorders
o Biological contributions - range from brain chemistry to genetic predisposition
o Psychological contributions - range from troubled emotions to distorted thinking
o Social and contributions - range from conflict in family relationships to sexual and racial bias

The Biological paradigm

looks for biological abnormalities that cause abnormal behavior, for example, brain diseases, brain injuries, or genetic disorders
o Specific biological causes, many genetic, probably will be discovered for a very small amount of mental disorders

The Biological paradigm example

General paresis (general paralysis) is caused by syphilis, a STD
♣ In 1798, John Haslam, distinguished general paresis from other forms of "lunacy" based on its symptoms, which include delusions of grandeur, cognitive impairment, and progressive paralysis, which inspired the search for the cause of the disorder - took 100 years to solve the mystery

Methods involved in the biological paradigm

♣ First step: accurate diagnosis
♣ Second: identifying a specific biological cause
♣ Third: developing a treatment that prevents, eliminates, or alters the cause

The Psychodynamic paradigm

Asserts that abnormal behavior is caused by unconscious mental conflicts that have roots in early childhood experience
o Outgrowth of Freud's theories (1856-1939)
o Freud trained in Paris by Jean Charcot, who used hypnosis to treat hysteria
o Freud's conclusions about hysteria led him to theorize that many psychological processes are unconscious
o Internal mental conflict

Psychoanalytic theory

Refers specifically to Freud's theorizing
♣ Not commonly taught in psychology classes today - rich in theorizing but weak in science

Id

present at birth and houses biological drives, such as hunger, as well as two key psychological drives: sex and aggression

Ego

part of the personality that must deal with the realities of the world as it attempts to fulfill id impulses as well as perform other functions
o Operates on the Reality principle
o Begins developing in the first year of life, evolving during the preschool years
o Resides in conscious awareness, unlike id

Superego

** conscience **
o Contains societal standards of behavior, particularly rules that children learn in their preschool years from trying to be like their parents

Moral Anxiety

♣ Ego mediates between the two others
• Superego and ego conflict between moral anxiety and
• Id and ego conflict between neurotic anxiety

Neurotic Anxiety

♣ Ego protects itself from neurotic anxiety by utilizing *defense mechanisms* - unconscious self-deceptions that reduce conscious anxiety by distorting anxiety-producing memories, emotions, and impulses

Defense mechanisms

1. Denial - insistence that something did not occur
2. Displacement - feelings or actions are transformed from one person or object to another
3. Projection - Attributing one's own feelings or thoughts to other people
4. Rationalization - Intellectually justifying a feeling or event
5. Reaction formation - converting a painful unacceptable feeling into its opposite
6. Repression - Suppressing threatening material form consciousness but without denial
7. Sublimation - diverting id impulses into constructive and acceptable outlets

Psychosexual development

Argues that different stages of child development are defined by sexual conflicts

Oedipal conflict

boys harbor sexual desire from their mothers - boys resolve this impossible impulse by identifying with their fathers

Electra complex

girls yearn for something their fathers have and they are "missing" - a penis

The Cognitive-Behavioral Paradigm

views abnormal behavior as a product of learning
o Wilhelm Wundt - 19th century
o Ivan Pavlov 1928
o B.F. Skinner (1953)
o John B. Watson

Ivan Pavlov 1928

♣ Experiment: rang a bell when he fed meat powder to dogs. After repeated trials the sound of the bell alone elicited salivation
♣ Classical conditioning = learning through association, involving 4 key components
• Unconditioned stimulus (meat powder)
• Unconditioned response (salivation
• Conditioned stimulus (bell)
• Conditioned response (salivation
♣ Extinction = gradually occurs once a conditioned stimulus no longer is paired with an unconditioned stimulus

B.F. Skinner (1953)

♣ Operant conditioning = asserts that behavior is a function of its consequences - increases when rewarded, decreases when punished
• Positive reinforcement - the addition of a stimulus increases the frequency of a behavior
• Negative reinforcement - the taking away of a stimulus increases the frequency of a behavior
• Positive punishment - the addition of a stimulus decreases the frequency of a behavior
• Negative punishment - the taking away of a stimulus decreases the frequency of a behavior

John B. Watson

argued for behaviorism - suggesting only observable behavior was appropriate subject matter for the science of psychology

The Humanistic Paradigm

argues that human behavior is the product of free will, the view that we control, choose, and are responsible for our actions
o This is a reaction against determinism - the scientific assumption that human behavior is caused by potentially knowable factors
o Explicit positive view of human nature
o All psychologists are technically humanists in the sense that their ultimate goal is to improve the human condition

The Problem with paradigms

o They can direct and misdirect scientists - our assumptions can lead us to overlook possible answers
o The biological paradigm can overemphasize the medical model - the analogy between physical and psychological illnesses
o The psychodynamic paradigm can be unyielding in focusing on childhood experiences, unconscious conflicts, and interpreting Freud literally
o The cognitive-behavioral paradigm can overlook the rich social and biological context of human behavior
o The humanistic approach can be antiscientific

Systems Theory

an integrative approach to science, one that embraces not only the importance of multiple contributions to casualty but also their interdependence

Holism

the idea that the whole is more important than the sum of its parts

Reductionism

attempts to understand problems by focusing on smaller and smaller units, suggesting that the smallest account is the "true" cause

Equifinality

there are many routes to the same destination = "multiple pathways"

Multifinality

the same event can lead two different outcomes

Diathesis-stress model

mental disorders develop when a stress is added on top of a predisposition

A Diathesis

a predisposition toward developing a disorder

A Stress

a difficult experience risk factors

Reciprocal causality

mutual influences where "cause" and "effect"
- Introduced byAlbert Bandura to refer to the mutual influence between three sets of factors: personal factors (e.g., cognitive, affective and biological events), the environment, behavior.

Correlational study

when the relation between 2 factors is studied systematically

Correlation coefficient

measures how strongly two factors are related

Reverse causality

indicates that causation could be operating in the opposite direction: Y could be causing X

The third variable problem

indicates that a correlation between any two variables might be explained by their join relation with some unmeasured factors - a third variable

Developmental psychopathology

an approach to abnormal psychology that emphasizes change over time

Developmental norms

aged-graded averages - standards by which the progress of a child's development can be measured

Premorbid history

a pattern of behavior that precedes the onset of the disorder

Prognosis

predictable course for the future

Neurons

tiny nerve cells that form the basic building blocks of the brain

Soma

the cell body and largest part of the neuron
♣ This is where most of the neurons metabolism and maintenance are controlled and performed

Dendrites

branch out from the soma and serve as the primary function of receiving messages from other cells

Axon terminal

the end of the axon, where messages are sent out to other neurons

Synapse

a small gap filled with fluid that separates the axon terminal from other cells

Neurotransmitters

chemical substances in the vesicles of the axon terminal
♣ Serotonin and dopamine

Receptors

receive the neurotransmitters that are released into the synapse
♣ On the dendrites or soma of another neuron

Reuptake

captures some neurotransmitters in the synapse and returns the chemical substances

Neuromodulators

chemicals that can influence communication among many neurons by affecting the functioning of neurotransmitters

Mind-Body dualism

the mistaken view that the mind and body are somehow separable

Cerebral hemispheres

Most of the forebrain
♣ Left = language and related functions
♣ Right = spatial organization and analysis
♣ Many brain functions are lateralized = one hemisphere serves a specialized role as the side of specific cognitive and emotional activities

Cortex

wrinkled surface of the brain involved in many complex tasks, including memory, language, and perception - divided into 4 lobes

Frontal lobe

movement, speech, reasoning, and emotion

Parietal lobe

integrates sensory information and spatial reasoning

Occipital lobe

interprets visual information

Temporal lobe

processes sound and smell, regulates emotions, and is involved in aspects of learning, memory, and language

Limbic system

a group of central brain structures that regulate emotions, basic learning, and basic behaviors
- links the forebrain and midbrain

Amygdala

part of the limbic system, contributes to some emotions

Hippocampus

part of the limbic system, affects ability to learn, identifies sensory information worth learning

Ventricles

filled with cerebrospinal fluid - each of the four connected fluid-filled cavities in the center of the brain

Planum temporal

involved in understanding speech, larger in the left hemisphere

Dura

leathery covering over the brain

Pituitary gland

secretes hormones, connected to the brain through hypothalamus

Hypothalamus

helps control basic biological urges like eating, drinking, and sex, regulates blood pressure and heart rate

Corpus Callosum

links the left and right hemisphere

Thalamus

receives an integrates sensory information from sense organs and from higher brain structures

Midbrain

involved in some movements, especially related to fighting and sex

Cerebellum

motor movements

Brain stem

forms connections with spinal cord, allowing brain-body communication

Medulla

part of brain stem, controls functions, including heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure

Hindbrain

control basic bodily functions - includes the medulla, pons, and cerebellum

Midbrain

involved in the control of some motor activities, especially fighting and sex
♣ Reticular activating system - regulates sleep and walk

Forebrain

site of most sensory, emotional, and cognitive processes

Schizophrenia

the ventricles of the brain are enlarged, and asymmetries are also found in other brain structures

Psychophysiology

the study of changes in the functioning of the body that result from psychological experience
o Responses include: pounding heart, flushed face, tears, sexual excitement

Endocrine system

a collection of glands found at various locations throughout the body
♣ Ex. Ovaries and testes and the pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands
♣ Endocrine glands produce responses by releasing hormones - chemical substances that affect the functioning of distant body systems and sometimes act as neuromodulators

Adrenal glands

prepare the body to respond and deal with stress or an emergency

Central nervous system

♣ Brain
♣ Spinal Cord

Peripheral Nervous system

1. Somatic NS - mostly controls voluntary movements
2. Autonomic NS - not voluntary - heart, stomach, organs

Autonomic nervous system

regulates the functions of the various body organs, such as heart and stomach, and is completely involuntary (as opposed to the somatic nervous system - muscular control - which is voluntary

Sympathetic nervous system

controls activities associated with increased arousal and energy expenditure

Parasympathetic nervous system

controls the slowing of arousal and energy conservation

Genes

ultramicroscopic units of DNA that carry information about heredity
♣ Located in chromosomes

Genetics

the study of genes and their hereditary functions

Behavior genetics

Studies broad genetic influences on normal and abnormal behavior, focusing on whether genes are more or less important in development
♣ Today many experts in genetics and behavior genetics are working together in the hope of identifying specific genes involved in normal and abnormal behavior

Genotype

an individual's actual genetic structure

Phenotype

the expression of a given genotype
♣ Different genotypes can produce the same phenotype
♣ Environment affects a phenotype, but cannot change a genotype

Alleles

alternate forms of genes

Dominant/Recessive inheritance

occurs when a trait is caused by a single or autosomal gene that has only two alleles

Polygenic inheritance

influenced by multiple genes and by the environment
♣ Usually the cause for mental disorders

Family Incidence studies

Ask whether diseases "run in the family"
o Identify normal and ill probands, or index cases, and tabulate the frequency with which other members of their families suffer from the same disorder
♣ If a higher prevalence of illness is found in the family of an ill proband, this is consistent with genetic causation and environmental causation
♣ Cannot lead to firm conclusions about the role of genes versus the environment because families share environments and genes

Twin Studies

o Provide strong evidence about genetic and environmental contributions
o Monozygotic (MZ) twins - identical - one egg is fertilized by one sperm and create identical genotypes
o Dizygotic (DZ) twins - fraternal - two eggs are fertilized by two sperm - on average share about 50% of their genes

Concordance rate

♣ Twin pair is concordant when both twins either have the same disorder or are free from the disorder - ex. Both have schizophrenia
♣ Twin pair is discordant when one twin has the disorder but the other does not
♣ Scientists should find a concordance rate of 100% for MZ twins and a discordant rate of 50% for DZ twins
♣ High concordance rates point to the influence of the shared environment, experiences twins share in common
♣ Low concordance rates point to the influence of the nonshared environment, experiences unique to the one twin

Adoption studies

o People who were adopted are compared with their biological versus their adoptive relatives in terms of concordance for a disorder
o If concordance is higher for biological than adoptive relatives, then genetic factors are involved adopted children share their biological relatives' genes but not their environment
o If children are more similar to their adoptive than to their biological relatives, then environment is casual adopted children share their adoptive relatives' environment but not their genes
o Possible problems: the fact that adoption placement can be selective

Gene-environment interaction

genetic predispositions and environmental experiences combining to produce more than their separate influences

Gene-environment correlation

the fact that our experience is correlated with our genetic makeup

Evolutionary psychology

the application of the principles of evolution to understanding the animal and human mind