Psych Final Exam

distress/ disability

an individual experiences debilitating functioning, producing risk of physical and/or psychological deterioration or loss of freedom of action.

maladaptiveness

Acting in a way that prevents you or others to reach a goal

irrationality

An individual acts or speaks in ways that are incomprehensible to others

Unpredictability

An individual behaves incongruently with environmental demands, often as though the person experiences a loss of control

Unconventionality & Statistical Rarity

An individual violets norms of socially acceptable behavior in a manner that is statistically rare

Observer discomfort

An individual behaves such that it makes others uncomfortable because they feel threatened or distressed

ETIOLOGY

factors that contribute to the development of a disorder or illness.

Hippocrates' humors posited that...

traits and disorders corresponded to circulating levels of bodily fluids

Hippocrates' humors

blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm

Etiology current

focus on somatogenic and psychogenic factors

Taxonomy/Classification

grouping like elements together

DSM-M

American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th Edition). Widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

supernatural

attribute mental illness to possession by evil or demonic spirits.

Somatogenic

disturbances in physical functioning resulting from either illness, genetic inheritance, or brain damage or imbalance.

Psychogenic

focus on traumatic or stressful experiences, maladaptive learned associations and cognitions or distorted perceptions

Trephination

The drilling of a hole in the skull, presumably as a way of treating psychological disorders.

mood disorders

psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes

major depressive disorder

Mood disorder in which person for no apparent reason, experiences 2 or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities

major depressive disorder: DSM criteria

5+ symptoms during 2 week period. One of the symptoms is either depression or loss of interest/pleasure.

bipolar disorder

Mood disorder in which person alternates between hopelessness and lethargy of depression and overexcited state of mania.

Types of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar I, Bipolar II, Cyclothymia

Bipolar I

Manic episodes with periods of norma or depressed mood

Bipolar II

Hypomanic episodes with periods of depressed mood

Cyclothymic

relatively frequent periods of alternating hypomania and depressive mood for at least 2 years.

Manic Episode

Mood disorder marked by hyperactive, widely optimistic state

manic episode: DSM criteria

1 week and 3+ symptoms

Hypomanic Criteria

4 days

first generation of antidepressant

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors, Tricyclic Antidepressant

second generation antidepressant

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) --> key for curing depression

third generation antidepressant

Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors & Serotonin-Norepinephrine reuptake Inhibitors (NARIs) or SNRIs)

New antidepressant

Try to limit neurotransmitter, Fewer side effects, Still increase brain activity

BDNF

brain derived neurotrophic (brain growth) factor

rTMS

making action potentials reduce depression

ECT

reduces depressive state ( memory lost is a side effect)

Bipolar treatment

Lithium (mood stabilizer)

Other Treatments

Antidepressants, Antipsychotics, Anticonvulsants , Benzodiazepines

anxiety disorder

Distressing, persistent anxiety

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Person is tense, apprehensive and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal (flight or fight arousal). No identifiable cause

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Criteria

6 months with 3+ symptoms (only 1 symptom for kids)

Panic Disorder

Minutes-long episode of intense dread which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking or other frightening sensation. Significant maladaptive change in behaviour. Recurrent and unexpected panic attacks

Panic Disorder Criteria

under 10 mins & 4+ symptoms

agoraphobia

Exposed to the world → to the point that it is dysfunctional. clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of functioning.

agoraphobia Criteria

two (or more) of the five situations. lasting 6 months

Specific Phobia

Persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation

Social Anxiety Disorder

Greater severity than shyness (and is very uncomfortable) Not to the point of dysfunction

Social anxiety disorder performance only

fear is restricted to speaking or performing in public

Do social anxiety patients fixate more on eyes or mouths?

eyes

post traumatic stress disorder

an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia

post traumatic stress disorder criteria

four weeks+ after a traumatic experience

obsessive-compulsive disorder

Unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

Schizophrenia

"Split Mind" → break from reality. Disorganized, Delusional thinking, Disturbed, Disturbed

Positive sypmtoms of Schizophrenia

delusions and hallucinations. adding something that isn't there

negative symptoms of schizophrenia

absence of appropriate behaviors. removing something that is already there

Early Antipsychotics of schizophrenia

make patients more 'manageable" but was effective against positive symptoms but produced motor impairments

Dompamine hypothesis

schizophrenia is caused by an excess of dopamine activity in the brain.

Mesolimbic System

From ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) and cortex --> activated when you encounter stimuli, or conditioned cues/contexts, that have incentive value - cake, cocaine, sex etc.

Nigrostriatal system

substantia nigra (SN) to the basal ganglia - extrapyramidal motor system. responsible for the initiation and termination of volitional movements

atypical antipsychotics schiz

have minimal Parkinsonian effects and are effective against both positive and negative symptoms.

Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory

Assumption that problems are caused by psychological tension between unconscious impulses and life constraints

Psychoanalysis

Freud believed patient's free associations (what comes to mind), resistances, dreams, and transferences, and therapist's interpretations of them, released previously repressed feelings, allowing patient to gain self-insight

Resistance

Unconscious opposition of the patient to confronting anxiety-laden material ( avoidance = emotional weight { conflict in consciousness})

Interpretation

Analysts note supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviours to promote insight

Transference

Patient's transfer to analyst of emotions linked with other relationships (transfer of feelings to therapists)

Steps in Psychoanalysis

confrontation, clarification, interpretation, and working through

Humanism

encompassed practices and methods enhancing the potential of the average human being toward greater levels of performance and greater richness of experience. True potential = self actualization

client-centered therapy

a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to facilitate clients' growth. (Also called person-centered therapy.)

Stress

Process by which people perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that are appraised as threatening or challenging

cognitive therapy

teaches new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy

integrated therapy that uses cognitive therapy to change self-defeating thinking combined with learning techniques to modify behaviour. Currently, dominant approach in psychotherapy

Mindfulness

Actively being in the present rather than dwelling on the past or future.

Memory

Persistence of learning over time. Involves storage, retention, and retrieval of information. Limitless

Types of Memories

Implicit vs explicit. Procedural vs Declarative. Semantic vs Episodic

implicit memory

availability of information through memory without conscious effort

explicit memory

conscious effort to recover information

procedural memory

memory for how to do things

declarative memory

recollection of facts and events

semantic memory

facts not associated with a specific time

episodic memory

tied to time and space

sensory memory

Brief memory, least complex, complete image of stimulus

visual sensory memory

iconic memory

auditory sensory memory

echoic memory

working/short term memory

More relevant in day to day, Actively thinking right now, Has a capacity

Properties of STM

limited capacity and duration (but longer than sensory memory)

STM strategies

rehearsal (repeating) and chunking (grouping)

4 components of working memory

phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer, central executive,

working memory

Foundation for moment-by-moment fluidity of thought and action & integration of information

long-term memory

most organized, more structure. large capacity

retrieval cues

stimuli available as you search for a particular memory

2 tests of memory

recall and recognition

Cue overload principle

if one cue is associated with too many memories, retrieval will suffer.

levels of processing theory

info processed at a deeper level is more likely to be retained

Structural encoding

(aka visual encoding) = paying attention to the structural properties of words & how it looks (shallow)

phonological encoding

(sounds) = paying attention to the sound qualities of words (intermediary)

Semantic encoding

(meaning of words)= paying attention to the meaning of the words (deepest processing)

Ebbinghaus

designed the first methods used in systematic study of forgetting:

first methods used in systematic study of forgetting:

Use of nonsense syllables & rote learning. Recall decreases most in short period after learning, but levels off over timedue to savings

Forgetting

Interference is when retrieval cues do not point effectively to one specific memory

Proactive interference

old info is interfering new stuff

Retroactive interference

new info is interfering old info

Transience

Information is temporary and fades with time