Chapter 14&15 Key Figures

Roy Baumeister

Theorizes that personal illusions are a matter of degree and that there is an "optimal margin of illusion"

Considered extreme distortions of reality maladaptive, but small illusions as beneficial.

Walter Cannon

Describes the fight or flight response: a physiological reaction to threat in which the autonomic nervous system mobilizes the organism for attacking or fleeing an enemy

Noticed in fight or flight cats had an immediate acceleration in their breathing and heart rate while a reduction in their digestive processes

Robin DiMatteo

Leading expert on patient behaviour

Mentions reasons people delay seeking medical attention

Misinterpret and downplay the significance of their symptoms

Fret about looking silly if they problem turns out to be nothing

Worry about "bothering" their physician

Are reluctant to disrupt their plans

Wasting time on trivial matters

Albert Ellis

Described the phenomenon of catastrophic thinking: the tendency to become highly self critical in response to stress

Causes, aggravates and perpetuates emotional reactions to stress that are highly problematic

Believed people can change their emotional reactions to stress by altering their appraisals of stressful events

Devised rational emotive therapy

Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman

Two cardiologists

Found connection b between coronary risk and a Type A personality

Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe

Explored the idea that life changes, including positive events, represent a key type of stress

Developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) to measure life changes as a form of stress

Richard Lazarus

Developed a scale to measure everyday stressors

"We developed the Hassle Scale because we think scales that measure major events miss the point. The constant, minor irritants may be much more important than the large, landmark changes."

His colleague (Anita Delongis) has shown routine hassles may have significant harmful effects on mental and physical health

Discussed different appraisals of stress with Folkman distinguishing between primary and secondary appraisal

Neal Miller

Further developed Kurt Lewin's three types of conflict

Approach Approach

Approach Avoidance

Avoidance Avoidance

Hans Selye

Identified and named the concept of stress

Animal testing concluded stress reaction are nonspecific

Reactions do not vary according to specific type of stress

Shelley Taylor

Discovered that Asians benefit from a different kind of social support than Americans

Americans' generally seek and prefer explicit social support while Asians benefit from implicit support (spending time with close others without discussing problems)

Martin Antony

A contemporary clinical psychologist known for his research on anxiety disorders, especially phobias, panic disorder, and OCD.

He has contributed to the development and evaluation of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques, particularly exposure-based treatments.

His work is often cited in discussions of evidence-based treatments for anxiety.

Aaron Beck

A highly influential psychiatrist who developed cognitive therapy, one of the foundations of modern CBT.

He proposed that psychological disorders—especially depression—are largely caused by distorted thinking patterns, such as negative beliefs about oneself, the world, and the future (the cognitive triad).

His work shifted psychology toward understanding how thoughts influence emotions and behavior, making CBT one of the most widely used treatments today.

Robert Hare

Leading world expert on psychopathy (antisocial personality disorder)

His book Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us is an important resource for scholars and layperson alike

Developed the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

Conduct study to which psychopathy will predict sex offenders

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema

Found that depressed people who ruminate about their depression remain depressed for longer than those who try to distract themselves

Believes women have a greater tendency to ruminate than man and that is why there is a disparity in depression between men and women

David Rosenhan

Rosenhan study sent pseudopatients complaining of one symptom, hearing voices except for that single symptom they acted as they normally would and gave accurate information

All pseudopatients were admitted and the average length of their trip was 19 days

Regina Schuller

According to her, "growth in clinical psychology over the first half of the twentieth century resulted in an increased demand from the legal system for clinical evaluations and diagnosis of mental disorders"

An expert on the interface of psychology and Canadian law

Martin Seligman

Concept of preparedness (1971)

He suggests that people are biologically prepared by their evolutionary history to acquire some fears more easily than others

His theory would explain why people develop phobias of ancient sources of threat (e.g snakes or spiders) much more readily than modern sources of threat (e.g., electrical outlets or hot irons

According to Seligman (1990) people who exhibit a pessimistic explanatory style are especially vulnerable to depression

Thomas Szasz

"Strictly speaking, disease or illness can affect only the body; hence there can be no mental illness"

Argued against the medical model