Abnormal Psych chapter 1 & 2

Abnormal Psychology

understanding, treating, and preventing psychological dysfunction; focuses on behaviours that are atypical or unexpected. (AKA psychopathology)

4 D’s of Abnormality

Dysfunction

Distress

Deviance

Dangerousness

Dysfunction

Behaviours, thoughts and feelings are dysfunctional when they interfere with the person's ability to function in daily life, to hold a job, or to form close relationships

Distress

How a person's behaviour affects those around them is very important

Deviance

Behaviour that deviates from the social norm is another way to assess abnormality since behaviours are influenced by cultural norms and practices within our community

Dangerousness

Behaviours like suicidal gestures are potential harm to the individual; like excessive aggression could potentially harm others

Once an individual's behaviours or feelings cross that line, we might justify that there is something "wrong" with that person or think that a psychological disorder may be present

Cultural relativism

the view that there are no universal standards or rules for labeling a behaviour abnormal; instead, behaviours can be labeled abnormal only relative to cultural norms

Biological theories

theories of abnormality that focus on biological causes of abnormal behaviors

Supernatural theories

theories that see mental disorders as the result of supernatural forces, such as divine intervention, curses, demonic possession, and/or personal sins; mental disorders then can be cured through religious rituals, exorcisms, confessions, and/or death

Psychological theories

theories that view mental disorders as caused by psychological processes, such as beliefs, thinking styles, and coping styles

Examples of Ancient theories

Ancient China: Ying/Yang

“Wandering uterus”

Exorcisms to drive away evil spirits

Skull drilling to “allow the spirits to depart”

Medieval views/Renaissance

Witchcraft, Psychic epidemics

Psychic Epidemics

a phenomenon in which large numbers of people engage in unusual behaviors that appear to have a psychological origin

Ex. Dance frenzies/manias

Mental Hygiene Movement

movement to treat mental patients more humanely and to view mental disorders as medical diseases

Moral treatment

type of treatment delivered in mental hospitals in which patients were treated with respect and dignity and were encouraged to exercise self-control

General Paresis

disease that leads to paralysis, insanity, and eventually death; discovery of this disease helped establish a connection between biological diseases and mental disorders

Mesmerism

* a treatment for hysterical patients based on the idea that magnetic fluids in the patients’ bodies are affected by the magnetic forces of other people and objects


* the patients’ magnetic forces are thought to be realigned by the practitioner through his or her own magnetic force

Classic Conditioning (Pavlov)

a form of learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally elicits a response, thereby making the neutral stimulus itself sufficient to elicit the same response

John Watson (1878 - 1958)

* this person studied phobias and other forms of important human behaviours and __rejected psychoanalytic and biological theories__ of abnormal behaviours (e.g. phobias)
* they explained them entirely on the basis of the individual's history of conditioning

Thorndike (1874-1949) and Skinner (1904-1990)

Behaviour followed by positive consequences are more likely to be repeated

Behaviourism

The study of the impact of reinforcements and punishments on behavior

Self-efficacy beliefs

The study of the impact of reinforcements and punishments on behavior

Patients’ Rights Movement

a movement to ensure that mental patients retain their basic rights and to remove them from institutions and care for them in the community

Deinstitutionalization Movement

a movement in which:

* thousands of mental patients were released from mental institutions
* was a result of the patients’ rights movement
* was aimed at stopping the dehumanization of mental patients and at restoring their basic legal rights

Community Mental Health Care Movement

a movement launched in 1963 that attempted to provide coordinated mental health services to people in community-based treatment centers

Halfway Houses are…

living facilities that offer people with long-term mental health problems the opportunity to live in a structured, supportive environment while they are trying to reestablish employment and ties to family and friends

Day Treatment Care Centers are …

mental health facilities that provide more intensive psychiatric, occupational, and rehabilitative therapies for persons with mental illness during the day while clients live at home during recovery

What is Managed Care?

a health care system in which:

* all necessary services for an individual patient are supposed to be coordinated by a primary care provider
* the goals are to coordinate services for an existing medical problem and to prevent future medical problems

Psychiatrists are…

MDs and trained in diagnostics

Clinical Psychologists are…

PhDs and specialize in treating and researching psychological problems

Marriage and Family therapists are…

Therapists that specialize in helping families, couples, and children

Clinical social workers…

Have a master’s in social work and help people overcome social conditions contributing to psychological problems

Licensed Mental Health counselors…

Have Graduate training in counseling but __NO PhD__

Psychiatric nurses…

Have a nursing degree with specialization in treatment of psychological disorders

This man had a pole drive through his left frontal lobe, leaving a drastic change in personality from kind and friendly to socially inappropriate

Phineas Gage

Hindbrain (4 parts)

* Medulla
* Pons
* Reticular formation
* Cerebellum

What section of the **hindbrain** controls breathing and reflexes?

the Medulla

What section of the **hindbrain** is important for attentiveness and timing of sleep?

the Pons

What section of the **hindbrain** is a network of neurons that control arousal and attention to stimuli?

the Reticular Formation

What section of the **hindbrain** is primarily concerned with the coordination of movement?

the Cerebellum

Midbrain (3 parts)

* Superior colliculus


* Inferior colliculus
* Substantia nigra

What section(s) of the **midbrain** relays sensory information and controls movement?

the Superior/Inferior colliculus

What section of the **midbrain** is a crucial part of the pathway that regulates responses to reward?

the Substantia Nigra

Forebrain (2 parts)

* Cerebral cortex
* Subcortical structures (4 parts)

What section of the **forebrain** regulates complex activities, such as speech and analytical thinking?

the Cerebral cortex

Subcortical structures (4 parts)

* Thalamus
* Hypothalamus
* Limbic system
* Hippocampus

What section of the **forebrain** is a __subcortical structure__ that directs incoming information from sense receptors (such as vision and hearing) to the cerebrum?

the Thalamus

What section of the **forebrain** is a __subcortical structure__ that regulates eating, drinking, sex, and basic emotions?

the Hypothalamus

What section of the **forebrain** is a __subcortical structure__ that relays information from the primitive brain stem about changes in bodily functions to the cortex (where the information is interpreted)?

the Limbic System

What section of the **forebrain** is a __subcortical structure__ that is involved in memory and the stress response?

the Hippocampus

Neurotransmitters

Biochemicals released from a sending neuron that transmit messages to a receiving neuron in the brain and nervous system

Synapse (aka synaptic gap)

space between a sending neuron and a receiving neuron into which neurotransmitters are first released

Receptors

molecules on the membranes of neurons to which neurotransmitters bind

Reuptake

a process in which a sending neuron reabsorbs some of the neurotransmitter in the synapse, decreasing the amount left in the synapse

Degradation

a process in which a receiving neuron releases an enzyme into the synapse, breaking down neurotransmitters into other biochemicals

Types of Neurotransmitters (4)

* Serotonin
* Dopamine
* Norepinephrine
* GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

What is a chemical that is part of the endocrine system and carries messages throughout the body, potentially affecting a person’s mood, level of energy, and reaction to stress?

a Hormone

What is a major gland that is part of the endocrine system that  that lies partly on the outgrowth of the brain (below the hypothalamus), produces the largest number of different hormones, and controls the secretions of other endocrine glands?

the Pituitary gland

Corticotropin-release factor (CRF)

* neurons carried from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland through a channel-like structure
* stimulates the pituitary to **release adrenocorticotrophic hormones** (ACTH) which then are carried by the bloodstream to the adrenal glands and to various other organs in the body

Behavioural genetics

study of the processes by which genes affect behavior and the extent to which personality and abnormality are genetically inherited

Electroconvulsive therapy

treatment for depression that involves the induction of a brain seizure by passing electrical current through the patient’s brain while he or she is anesthetized

Psychosurgery

rare treatment for mental disorders in which a neurosurgeon attempts to destroy small areas of the brain thought to be involved in a patient’s symptoms

Unconditioned stimulus

(in classical conditioning) the stimulus that naturally elicits a reaction, as food elicits salivation in dogs

Unconditioned response

(in classical conditioning) the response that naturally follows when a certain stimulus appears, such as a dog salivating when it smells food

Conditioned stimulus

(in classical conditioning) the previously neutral stimulus that, through pairing with a natural stimulus, becomes sufficient to elicit a response

Conditioned response

(in classical conditioning) the response that first followed a natural stimulus but that now follows a conditioned stimulus

Operant Conditioning (Thorndike)

a form of learning in which behaviors lead to consequences that either reinforce or punish the organism, leading to an increased or a decreased probability of a future response

Modeling

(in operant conditioning) the process of learning behaviors by imitating others, especially authority figures or people like oneself

Observational learning

(in operant conditioning) learning that occurs when a person observes the rewards and punishments of another’s behavior and then behaves in accordance with the same rewards and punishments

Behavioural therapies

psychotherapeutic approaches that focus on identifying the reinforcements and punishments contributing to a person’s maladaptive behaviors and on changing specific behaviors

Systematic Desensitization Therapy

type of behavior therapy that attempts to reduce client anxiety through relaxation techniques and progressive exposure to feared stimuli

Cognitive theories (Aaron Beck)

theories that focus on belief systems and ways of thinking as the causes of abnormal behavior

Global assumptions

fundamental beliefs that encompass all types of situations

Ex. It is better to avoid problems than face them

Cognitive behavioural therapy

treatment focused on changing negative patterns of thinking and solving concrete problems through brief sessions in which a therapist helps a client challenge negative thoughts, consider alternative perspectives, and take effective actions

Psychodynamic approaches

theories developed by Freud’s followers but usually differing somewhat from Freud’s original theories; suggests that all behaviours, thoughts, and emotions, whether normal or abnormal,  are influenced to a large extent by unconscious processes

Psychoanalysis

a form of treatment for psychopathology involving alleviating unconscious conflicts driving psychological symptoms by helping people gain insight into their conflicts and finding ways of resolving these conflicts

Catharsis

an expression of emotions connected to memories and conflicts, through hypnosis, which, according to Freud, leads to the release of energy used to keep these memories in the unconscious

Repression

a defense mechanism in which the ego pushes anxiety-provoking material back into the unconscious

Types of Psychodynamic ***theories*** (4)

* Object relations
* Self psychology
* Relational psychoanalysis
* Collective unconscious

Object relations

(a psychodynamic theory) a view held by a group of modern psychodynamic theorists that one develops a self-concept and appraisals of others in a four-stage process during childhood and retains them throughout adulthood

Self psychology

(a psychodynamic theory) a form of psychoanalytic theory and therapy developed by Heinz Kohut in which psychopathology is viewed as being the result of disrupted or unmet developmental needs

Relational psychoanalysis

(a psychodynamic theory) a subfield of psychoanalysis that emphasizes internalized relationships with other people based on the influences of early formative relationships with parents and other attachment figures

Collective unconscious

(a psychodynamic theory) according to Carl Jung, the wisdom accumulated by a society over hundreds of years of human existence and stored in the memories of individuals

Psychodynamic Therapies

therapies focused on uncovering and resolving unconscious conflicts that drive psychological symptoms

Types of Psychodynamic ***therapies*** (4)

* Free association
* Transference
* Working through
* Interpersonal therapy (IPT)

Free association

(a psychodynamic therapy) a method of uncovering unconscious conflicts in which the client is taught to talk about whatever comes to mind, without censoring any thoughts

Transference

(a psychodynamic therapy) the client’s reaction to the therapist as if the therapist were an important person in his or her early development; the client’s feelings and beliefs about this other person are transferred onto the therapist

Working through

(a psychodynamic therapy) a method used in psychodynamic therapies in which the client repeatedly goes over and over painful memories and difficult issues as a way to understand and accept them

Interpersonal therapy (IPT)

(a psychodynamic therapy) a more structured, short-term version of psychodynamic therapies

Humanistic theories

views that people strive to develop their innate potential for goodness and self-actualization; abnormality arises as a result of societal pressures to conform to unchosen dictates that clash with a person’s self-actualization needs and from an inability to satisfy more basic needs, such as hunger

Self-actualization

the fulfillment of one’s potential for love, creativity, and meaning

Humanistic therapy

a type of therapy in which the goal is to help the client discover his or her place in the world and to accomplish self-actualization through self-exploration; based on the assumption that the natural tendency for humans is toward growth (also called person-centered therapy)

Types of Humanistic therapies (2)

* Client Centered therapy (CCT)
* Reflection therapy

Client centered therapy (CCT)

a Carl Rogers’ form of psychotherapy, which consists of an equal relationship between therapist and client as the client searches for his or her inner self, receiving unconditional positive regard and an empathic understanding from the therapist

Reflection therapy

a method of responding in which a therapist expresses his or her attempt to understand what the client is experiencing and trying to communicate

Family systems theories

theories that see the family as a complex system that works to maintain the status quo

Family systems therapy

psychotherapy that focuses on the family, rather than the individual, as the source of problems; family therapists challenge communication styles, disrupt pathological family dynamics, and challenge defensive conceptions in order to harmonize relationships among all members and within each member

Third-wave approaches

modern psychotherapeutic techniques that combine elements of the first- and second-wave approaches—behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy, respectively—with mindfulness meditation practices derived from Zen Buddhism to help people accept, understand, and better regulate their emotions

Multiculturalism

the recognition and inclusion of cultural factors, such as client and counselor worldviews, ethnicity/race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and social justice