Chapter 4 - Psychological Theories

Psychodynamic theory - Freud

Unconscious mental processes that develop in early childhood control personality

True or False: According to Freud, when the 3 parts of the personality are in conflict children can become maladjusted which ultimately leads to delinquency

True

Id

- Basic biological and psychological drives

- No distinction between reality and imagination

- Antisocial, knows no rules, limits, or limitations

Ego

- Grows from the Id

- Problem-solving dimension of personality

- Differentiates reality from fantasy

- Teaches delayed gratification

Superego

- Develops from the ego

- Comprises moral code, norms, and values acquired through life

- Responsible for guilt and shame (conscience)

Sigmund Freud - What makes up the personalituy

Id, Ego, Superego

Sublimation (psychodynamic theory)

The channeling of energy from the negative to the positive

- a defense mechanism

Attachment theory

The bond between a child and a caregiver significantly relates to child development

- buffers and protects against development of antisocial behavior

- morally socializes children

- helps to regulate emotions and conduct

- instills self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-concept

Oedipus Complex

An unconscious desire of a child to have the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite sex

Behavioral theory

Behavior reflects interactions with others throughout life

Skinner - behavioral theory

Children repeat rewarded behavior and stop punished behavior

Alber Bandura - social learning theory

Children learn by modeling and imitating others

Social Cognition

how people perceive, think, learn and behave in particular ways as a result of their interactions in the social world

Moral disengagement

An individual's tendency to use mechanisms that are conducive to a selective disengagement of moral censure

- self-serving behaviors that limit negative emotions such as guilt

Morality of constraint

Children think rigidly about moral concepts and believe that breaking the rules should be punished

Morality of cooperation

Children employ moral flexibility and learn that behavior has no absolute moral standard

LL Thurstone - Five Factor model of personality

A structural model of personality measured by the NEO personality inventory

- 5 factors and 6 facets make up the human personality

Neuroticism

Assessed by anxiety, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, and vulnerability to stress

Extraversion

Assessed by warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement seeking, and positive emotion

Openness to experiences

Assessed by fantasy, aesthetic, feelings, actions, ideas and values

Aggreeableness

Assessed based on trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, and tendermindedness

Conscientiousness

Assessed by competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, and deliberation

Egocentric bias

Delay in moral development and immaturity that becomes an almost child-like self-centeredness

Reactive aggression

Impulsive, thoughtless, and unplanned

- driven by anger

- occurs as a reaction to a perceived provocation

Proactive aggression

Premeditated means of obtaining a goal in addition to harming the victim

Indirect aggression

Verbal

- not as easily visible

- gossip, ostracism, etc.

Direct aggression

Physical

- easy to be seen

- hitting, kicking, punching, biting, etc.

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

Pattern of anger, irritability, argumentativeness, defiant behavior, or vindictiveness

- Lasts over 6 months

- symptoms exhibit during interaction with at least 1 non-sibling individual

Prodrome

An early, nonspecific symptom (or set of symptoms) that indicates the start of a disease before the disease symptoms appear

- ODD is seen as a prodrome for conduct disorders

Comorbidity

Children who have both ODD and conduct disorder at the same time

Conduct disorder

repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate social norms/rules are violated

Psychopathy

Personality disorder that impairs interpersonal, affective, and behavioral functions

- closely linked to antisocial behavior

Etiological

Sociopath

Antisocial personality

the set of characteristics that describe someone's deviant beliefs and deviant ways of thinking, and antisocial behaviors

Psychopathology

A set of behaviors and attitudes that show clinical evidence of psychological impairment