PSYCH270 Exam 1 (UMich, Chang)

Psychological disorder

Dysfunction associated w/ distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected

Clinical/counseling psychologists

PhD, 5yr grad school, research/treat disorders

Psychiatrists

MD, 3-4yr residency, diagnose/research/treat with an emphasis on medication

Psychiatric social workers

Master's in social work, treat disorders with an emphasis on family issues

Scientist-practitioners

Professionals who keep up w/ developments, evaluate their treatments, and research for new information

Clinical description

Unique combo of behavior, thoughts, and feelings that make up a disorder

Prevalence

How many people of the population as a whole have a disorder

Incidence

How many new cases occur during a given period

Chronic course

When a disorder lasts a long time

Episodic course

When someone recovers from a disorder only to suffer another bout later on

Acute onset

When a disorder begins suddenly

Insidious onset

When a disorder develops gradually

Prognosis

Anticipated course of a disorder

Etiology

The study of origin; i.e. why does a disorder begin?

Humoral theory

Created by Galen; idea of 4 humors (blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm); an imbalance in these humors were the cause of disease

John P. Grey

Believed the cause of insanity was physical; contributed to hospital conditions improving

Emil Kraepelin

The first to distinguish among different disorders and approach psychopathology in an empirical/scientific way (in the lab); biogenic theory; classified symptoms into syndromes (e.g. change in sleep patterns + change in eating patterns + change in energy levels = depression)

Moral therapy

19th century approach; treated patients as normally as possible w/ social interaction; made asylums habitable; cured people

Dorothea Dix

Mental hygiene reformer; improved the standards of care and prisons/hospitals; lead to more patients, but institutions were often understaffed

Catharsis

Emotional release

Psychoanalytic perspective

Structure of mind vs. personality clash; intrapsychic forces; defense mechanisms; psychosexual development; Freud

Id

Source of aggressive feelings/strong sexual drive; the "animal" within us; operates off the pleasure principle and primary process

Libido

Inherent/instinctual psychic energy; we are born with a fixed amount

Ego

Mediator between id and ego; operates off the reality principle and secondary process; logic/reason; if the ego doesn't mediate properly, there is intrapsychic conflict and disorders may develop

Superego

Moral principles/compass; conflicts with id

Displacement

Defense mechanism; redirecting unacceptable feelings to a "safer" target

Sublimation

Defense mechanism; redirecting unacceptable feelings into something socially acceptable

Projection

Defense mechanism; attributing your own unacceptable feelings/thoughts to another person

Denial

Defense mechanism; refusal to acknowledge reality

Rationalization

Defense mechanism; reassuring self about unacceptable feelings/thoughts w/ incorrect logic

Fixation

When there was not enough gratification in one psychosexual stage/a psychosexual stage left a strong impression; that stage will reflect through adulthood; basically getting "stuck" at a stage

Phallic stage

From ages 3-5/6; characterized by genital self-stimulation w/ (for boys) sexual fantasies of mother; Oedipus complex (kill dad, possess mom)

Castration anxiety

Fear in boys that their fathers will punish them by removing their penis because of their lust for their mothers

Neuroses/neurotic disorders

According to Freud, all nonpsychotic disorders came from unconscious conflicts, the resulting anxiety, and defense mechanisms

Anna Freud

Proposed ego psychology; if the ego is deficient in controlling impulses or deploying defense, abnormal behavior occurs

Object relations

Idea that children incorporate the memories and values of people who are close and important to them (you seee the world through the eyes of your loved ones)

Carl Jung

Proposed collective unconscious, the idea that wisdom is stored in memories that are passed down generationally

Alfred Adler

Proposed inferiority complex; both he and Jung believed in self-actualization

Erik Erikson

Proposed psychosocial development; e.g. mature stage, when older adults review their life and either feel like a failure or satisfied

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy

Form of psychothreapy with more effort on identifying trauma; a mix of tactics; still some focus on unconscious; briefer than psychoanalysis; de-emphasizes personality reconstruction; focus on relieving suffering while living with a disorder

Free association

Created by Freud; a method where patients say whatever comes to mind (repressed material/emotional information)

Dream analysis

When the therapist interprets the symbolic meaning of the client's dreams

Transference

When patients come to relate to their therapist like they did with other figures (usually parents)

Humanistic perspective

Explanation of behavior with a more optimistic view and emphasis on realizing potential

Self-actualization

Everyone can reach their highest potential if we have the freedom... but there may be obstacles to reaching that potential

Carl Rogers

Founded person-centered therapy and unconditional positive regard; thought that misery/illness comes from too many conditions of worth (societal expectations) w/out unconditional positive regard

Person-centered therapy

Therapy where the therapist is more passive and makes fewer interpretations; more focus on client

Unconditional positive regard

Accepting/nonjudgemental attitude towards client to foster growth/self-acceptance/change

Behavioral perspective

Explanation of behavior that says behavior is learned through environment; focus on what is physically close to us; all behaviors represent samples (rather than signs) of a general class of behaviors; behaviors are overt or covert; all behaviors are situation-specific; comes up with simpler explanations for behavior

Ivan Pavlov

Discovered classical conditioning

Classical conditioning

When a neural stimulus is paired w/ a response until the stimulus elicits that response

Stimulus generalization

Tendency to demonstrate the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus

Unconditioned response

CC; a natural response elicited in everyone that requires no learning (e.g. drooling)

Unconditioned stimulus

CC; the stimulus that elicits the unconditioned response (e.g. food)

Conditioned response

CC; the now conditioned/learned response to the previously neutral stimulus (e.g. drooling when hearing bell)

Conditioned stimulus

CC; the formerly neutral stimulus that, now associated, elicits the conditioned response (e.g. bell)

Extinction

When the conditioned response disappears after presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus

Reification

Regarding something abstract as a material/concrete thing; related to the dismissal of social factors in the biological model

Basic assumptions of psychopathology

1.) Human behavior can be scientifically studied; 2.) An individual is unique and behaves in complex ways; 3.) Emphasize the importance of interacting psychology and biology

Sigmund Freud

Father of psychoanalysis; first to offer a comprehensive model for human behavior/thought; our motives are unconscious and we try to hide them; psychic determination (Freudian slip, there are no accidents); emphasized early childhood ("everyone is traumatized")

Manifest content

Recalled content of a dream

Latent content

The underlying meaning of a dream

Repression

Defense mechanism; when unwanted impulses are pushed back into the unconscious

Problem w/ Freud & psychosexual development

Bases a premise on a conclusion; how are we supposed to know in advance how someone's life will progress? Freud's model is based on what has already happened in a life rather than before

Pros of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic perspective

First systematic psychological approach in understanding abnormal behavior; influenced art, literature, and other important domains of life; resulted in contemporary extensions (e.g. scar hypothesis)

Cons of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic perspective

Almost no empirical evidence (not falsifiable); limited, culturally/racially biased original sample (n = 12, white, European, female), so problems drawing inferences; YAVIS clients (young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, successful (financially))

Existential perspective

Philosophical stance that focuses on the existing individual instead of searching for truth in distant universal concepts; existentialism is concerned w/ authentic concerns of individuals as they face choices and decisions in daily life

Soren Kierkegaard

Father of existentialism; importance of the "I"; believed the best way to live was religiously (a direct connection w/ God, no church)

Friedrich Nietzsche

Eternal reoccurence (everything that has happened is happening and will happen again; perspectivism (valued different schools of thoughts and perspectives/viewpoints)

Jean-Paul Sartre

"Man is condemned to be free"; "existence precedes essence (rather than being born with a predetermined purpose or being put into categories, we exist and can be anything and are shaped through our actions/choices)

Albert Camus

Wrote The Stranger (man detatched from emotions, surviving in an absurd world); Myth of Sisyphus (according to Camus, we should strive to keep perserving in the face of meaningless and absurdity)

Pros of exisentialist perspective

Emphasis on the world of the client; more optimistic than psychoanalysis; respects individual differences

Cons of existentialist perspective

Unscientific and elitist (in a way similar to psychoanalysis); too focused on momentary, conscious experiences and adult development; naive romanticism

John Watson

Founder of behaviorism; conducted Little Albert experiment (learning fear through classical conditioning); thought psychology could be scientific/empirical; student Mary Jones found that fear could also be unlearned

Edward Thorndike

Behaviorist focusing on consequences; proposed Law of Effect (satisfying consequences lead to the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated)

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist focusing on practical application; studied the environmental contingencies on behavior; proposed operant conditioning (influenced by Watson and Thorndike)

Operant conditioning

Learning behaviors based on their consequences through reinforcement/shaping

Reinforcement

OC; any event that strengthens the behavior it follows; includes positive and negative

Shaping

OC; the steps of reinforcing to a final, desired behavior

Positive reinforcement

OC; when a behavior increases after introduction of a desirable stimulus

Negative reinforcement

OC; when a behavior increases after removal of an averse stimulus (something unpleasant)

Punishment

OC; when behavior decreases after the introduction of an averse stimulus (something unpleasant)

Schedule of reinforcement

OC; arrangement on when/how to reinforce a behavior; includes fixed ratio, fixed variable, variable ratio, variable interval; variable ratio schedules are most efficient

Pros of behavioral perspective

Strong focus on objectivity and the scientific method; development of effective interventions

Cons of behavioral perspective

Theory is too simplistic (no free will?); concerns about controlling behavior

Cognitive perspective

Rooted in stoicism; posits that abnormal behavior is a result of mental processing; perspective grew in reaction to behaviorism; assumes a basic link between internal mental processes and behavior

Albert Ellis

Founder of Rational Emotive Therapy (cogpsy); said that when irrational beliefs are actuated, they lead to negative emotions

Aaron Beck

Founder of cognitive therapy (cogpsy); distorted, negative, and automatic thoughts lead to negative emotions

Cognitive appraisal

Interpretation of environmental stimuli (life events) made by an individual; e.g. "why did this happen to me?"

Albert Bandura

Proposed Social Learning Theory, outcome expectations, and efficacy expectations

Outcome expectations

Bandura's term for our personal predictions about the outcomes of our behavior

Efficacy expectations

Bandura's term for the expectancies we have about our ability to effectively execute a given behavior (strongest source of self-efficacy is past performance)

Pros of cognitive perspective

Easy and effective intervention (i.e. "just change your mindset"); supported through empirical evidence

Cons of cognitive perspective

Cognition isn't directly observable; changing someone's way of thinking may not be appropiate/right

Sociocultural perspective

Psychologial perspective that emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior

Effects of social life on mental illness

Individual symptoms represent social pathology (e.g. Manhattan Project); negative impacts of social stress, poverty, racism, forced social rules

Effect of labeling on mental illness

Process of labeling creates a social role of the mentally ill person, self-fulfilling prophecy; upper class (including mental health professionals) view lower class's response to stress as abnormal/disturbing

Effect of racism on mental illness

Yes, race matters; Pavkov et al. study of psychiatric diagnoses of different races, depressed white people more likely to be diagnosed correctly while depressed Black people diagnosed incorrectly w/ schizophrenia

Western culture

Individualism (focus on individual's wellbeing); Renes Decartes "cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"); development of independent self

Eastern culture

Collectivism (focus on group's wellbeing); development of the interdependent self