Abnormal Psych Exam 1

What are the three "age-old" philosophical issues that we discussed as helping to shape the field of Abnormal Psychology

Nature, Mind-Body Problem, Supernatural Views vs. Natural Views

What is the nature vs. nurture debate?

Relative contributions of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) to individual's traits

What do "nativists" and "empiricists" believe?

Nativists- Nature
Empiricists- Nurture

What is the contemporary view of this nature vs nurture?

Integrative (biopsychosocial) perspective

Who were the three early philosophers who were discussed in nature vs. nurture and who believes what?

1. Thomas Hobbes- Original sin view, similar to Freuds
2. Jean Jacques Rousseau- Innate goodness, similar to Rogers humanisitc view
3. John Locke- Tabula Rasa, similar to Watson/ Skinner

What is tabula rasa?

blank slate

What is the mind-body problem?

the issue of how the mind is related to the brain and body

What is mind-body dualism?

The mind and body are viewed as separate and relatively independent of one another, Descartes

What is the contemporary view of the mind-body problem in Abnormal Psychology?

mind and body are indistinguishable (interdependent), this view is referred to as monism.

What is trephination? Why?

An ancient operation in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a circular section of the skull, perhaps to treat abnormal behavior.

What is mass madness?

An exhibition of disordered behavior by a group of people that appears to be caused by hysteria. Decline of the Roman Empire and Greek Culture, COVID

what is the witches hammer?

-provided a guide for hunting and persecuting witches
-was to give guidance in assessing witchcraft/ possession

What did Johan Weyer have to say about the Witches Hammer?

•Criticized "The Witches' Hammer" and argued against the view that psychological problems were due to witchcraft

What is the "Four Humor Theory," ? Who proposed it?

-blood- changeable mood
-black bile- melancholy
-yellow bile- hot temper
-Phlegm- sluggishness
Hippocrates proposed it

What did Paracelsus believe?

Was a Swiss physician who rejected common ideas that psychological disorders were caused by devils, demons, and witches.

Who was Benjamin Rush?

Father of American Psychiatry

How is "General Paresis" related to syphilis?

Mental patients manifested a syndrome with physical and psychological symptoms

What are the major modes of genetic transmission?

-Autosomal Dominant Inheritance
-Autosomal Recessive Inheritance
-Sex-Linked Inheritance
-Chromosomal Anomalies
-Polygenic Inheritance

Dominant vs. Recessive

dominant only needs one allele to show, recessive needs 2 of the same traits

Homozygous vs. Heterozygous

Having identical alleles for the same gene vs. having different alleles for the same gene

Genotype vs. Phenotype

-Genotype : Collection of alleles
-Phenotype : Physical expression of alleles

Genetic vulnerabilities for most mental disorders are transmitted via which mode of genetic transmission?

polygenic inheritance

hindbrain

-medulla- heart rate, blood pressure, respiration
-pons- regulates sleep stages
-cerebellum- physical coordination

midbrain

-coordinates movement with sensory input
-Contains parts of the reticular activating system (RAS)

Thalamus and hypothalamus

-relays between the brain stem and forebrain
-behavioral and emotional regulation

Limbic system

-Emotions, basic drivers, impulse control
-Strong links with psychopathology

Frontal lobe

-thinking and reasoning abilities, memory

Temporal lobe

sight and sound recognition, long-term memory storage

Parietal lobe

touch recognition

Occipital lobe

integrates visual input

Somatic

transmits information from sense organs to muscles responsible for voluntary movement

Autonomic

directs activity of endocrine glands

Sympathetic system

prepares for "fight or flight" and slow digestion

Parasympathetic

Engages in energy conservation, restores normal functions after emergency, and stimulates digestion

What is the HPA axis? What does it do with stress?

the endocrine system
integration of endocrine and nervous system
-the Hypothalamic Pituitary- Adrenalcortical Axis (HPA axis)
horomones

What is a neuron

nerve cell

What are the major parts of the neuron?

-Dendrites- collect electrical signals
-cell body- integrates incoming signals and generates an outgoing signal to axon
-Axon- passes electrical signals to dendrites of another cell or to an effector cell

What is a synapse?

Gap between neurons

What are neurotransmitters?

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

What is Insulin Shock Therapy?

Using insulin when the body did not need it to send you into a coma

What is a lobotomy?

a surgical operation involving incision into the prefrontal lobe of the brain

What is hydrotherapy?

The application of water in any form (liquid, vapor or solid) in the treatment of disease and/or maintenance of health.

What is electroconvulsive therapy?

a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient

theory of animal magnetism

led to an early demonstration of the placebo effect and influences early hypnosis researchers as well as Sigmund Freud's emphasis on the unconscious

What is an instinct?

a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned

What are the four sources of instinct?

-Source- a bodily deficient or biological requirement
-aim- to remove the deficiency
-Object- experiences or external objects that,
-Impetus- strength or drive of the instinct.

What are the three major types of instincts?

-life- basic life preservation
-sexual (libido)- the most important and controversial instinct in Freud's theory
-Death- drive to return to the inorganic state that preceded life

What are the divisions of the mind?

-Superego- idealistic goals, perfection
-Ego-a balance between the two
-Id-pursuit of pleasure

How do defense mechanisms operate in attempts to allow instincts to be expressed in a socially acceptable way?

Shifts sexual or aggressive impulses to a more acceptable or less threatening target.

What is the sublimation defense mechanism?

Funneling of an unacceptable impulse into a socially acceptable activity.

ex: person who loves cutting and blood, becomes a surgeon instead of a murderer.

What is the goal of psychoanalysis?

make the unconscious conscious

In what ways did Freud try to "uncover" a patient's unconscious mind?

free association

What is the core tendency in human development?

to actualize one's inherent potentialities

What are the core characteristics in human development?

nature and nurture, continuity and discontinuity, universal and context- specific development

What is unconditional positive regard?

an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

What is conditional positive regard?

positive regard that is given only when the person is doing what the providers of positive regard wish

What are three characteristics of Roger's Client-Centered Therapy?

Congruence, unconditional positive regard, accurate empathic understanding

Maslows Hierarchy of Human needs

A theory that arranges human needs in order of their priority with lower-level needs being met before higher needs can be recognized and fulfilled

stimulus generalization

the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response

Stimulis Discrimination (Operant Conditioning)

A stimulus is sufficiently dissimilar and it will not elicit the conditioned response.

How did Mary Cover Jones use it as a basis for counterconditioning in the "Little Peter Study"?

showing mice often lets the fear leave a children's body

What is Joseph Wolpe's systematic desensitization treatment?

A behavioral therapy technique to diminish excessive fears

What is operant?

any behavior that is voluntary

What are the two types of reinforcement?

positive and negative

what is punishment in operant conditioning?

using conditioning to reduce the occurrence of a behavior

How is punishment different from negative reinforcement?

negative reinforcement- removal of condition to strengthen behavior
Punishment- weakening behavior

token economy

an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats

behavior modification

the use of operant conditioning techniques to bring about desired changes in behavior

behavioral activation

behavioral therapy for depression in which the clinician helps the client identify activities associated with positive mood

Bobo doll experiment

nursery school students observed an adult play aggressively (yelling & hitting) with an inflatable clown (Bobo); when children were later allowed to play with the Bobo, those children who witnesses the Bobo doll performed the same aggressive actions and improvised new ways of playing aggressively

Banduras concept of modeling

students learn from observing role models

What is participant modeling?

technique in which a model demonstrates the desired behavior in a step-by-step, gradual process while the client is encouraged to imitate the model

What major treatment is Aaron Beck primarily known for?

Developed cognitive therapy to treat depression based on negative thoughts about the world, the self, and the future

What is learned helplessness?

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Family Systems Perspective

an approach to doing therapy with individuals or families by identifying how each family member forms part of a larger interacting system

identified patient

The family member whose symptoms or behaviors are stated by the family as the reason for coming to therapy.

scapegoat

a person or thing carrying the blame for others

Three types of prevention

-primary- intervention to prevent the onset of new cases of a disorder or problem
-secondary- intervention to prevent further development of a disorder once early signs of the disorder are present
-tertiary prevention-interventions to control the severity of a disorder, after the disorder is fully developed

Psychopolitical validity

criteria for judging the impact of a community intervention

Integrative Perspective

the belief that human sexual identities are determined by both social and biological factors

etiology

cause of

Bandura's Principle of Reciprocal Determinism

a person's behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment

Understand the diathesis-stress model

diathesis (genetic vulnerability)- ex. genetic tendency to become alcoholic
diathesis + life events (stressor) can either = a disorder or not, depending on the levels (think of a cup getting filled)
if your diathesis for alcoholism is low but you binge drink a lot- probably won't be an alcoholic
high diathesis + binge drinking could push you over the edge to being an alcoholic

Gene-Environment Correlation Model

Hypothesis that people with a genetic predisposition for a disorder may also have a genetic tendency to create environmental risk factors that promote the disorder.

vulnerability factors

increase people's susceptibility to stressful events

Resiliency factor

Decreases the likelihood of someone having a negative outcome

risk factors

Actions or behaviors that represent a potential health threat

Resource/Protective Factors

buffering characteristics that, if present in one's environment, decrease persons likelihood of developing a disorder

What is a "Critical Period" in development?

when certain things must occur for normal development

Principle of Equifinality

From developmental psychopathology
Several paths to a given outcome
Paths vary by developmental stage

principle of multifinality

many ends. a single action (one cause) may produce many different effects or outcomes.

What is Pinel's Moral Treatment?

A psychosocial approach in the 19th century that attempted to treat patients as normal individuals, while also providing moral guidance, humane and respectful interventions, and kindness

Who is Dorethea Dix?

Made the mental hygiene movement- this was a mid-19th century effort to improve the care of the mentally ill by informing the public of their mistreatment.

What is deinstitutionalization?

the practice of releasing hundreds of thousands of patients from mental hospitals (began in 1960)

Efficacy of Antipsychotic Medications

1950

Community Mental Health Center Movement

1960

What is the M'Naghten Rule?

States that someone can not be held responsible for his actions if (1) he did not know what he was doing or (2) he did not know that his actions were wrong

Assessment-Treatment- Cycle

Formal assessment> multidisciplinary> DSM-5 > Treatment Plan > Treatment Implementation > Clinical Interview, mental status exam, and observation >

On Being Sane in Insane Places

In Rosenhan's study, sane people checked into mental hospitals and found their normal behaviors interpreted as symptoms of insanity