(A1) psychological theories + positive psych

Psychological Perspectives

• Cognitive Perspective 

• Humanistic Perspective 

• Evolutionary Perspectives 

• Biological Perspective

• Sociocultural Perspective 

• Psychodynamic Perspective 

• Behavioral Perspective 

Cognitive Perspective

perspective that studies conscious thought and how we learn (mind)

• controlled by thoughts/perception of reality

• disorder: due to maladaptive thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, or emotions

Humanistic Perspective

perspective that encourages personal growth and being true to oneself instead of dwelling on past (optimistic)

• controlled by nothing

• disorder: due to lack of social support & inability to fulfill full potential

Evolutionary Perspectives

perspective suggests that behaviors are controlled by adaptive survival needs (Darwin theory)

• controlled by survival needs

• disorder: due to maladaptive forms of behaviors that enabled human survival

Biological Perspective

perspective suggests that behaviors are controlled by biology (medical)

• controlled by genes and neurons

• disorder: due to genetic of physiological predispositions

Sociocultural Perspective

perspective suggests that social interaction and culture influence our behavior (environment)

• controlled by race, gender, class, etc

• disorder: due to problematic social & cultural contexts

Psychodynamic Perspective

perspective suggests that unconscious thoughts and early childhood experiences influence behavior (subconscious/trauma)

• controlled by trauma and subconscious

• disorder: due to unresolved childhood trauma and unconscious thoughts

Behavioral Perspective

perspective that suggests observable behaviors can be changed through learning a behavior through the environment (conditioning)

• controlled by reinforcement and punishment.

• disorder: due to maladaptive learned associations

psychological disorder

a pattern of disturbance in people’s thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that causes interfere with their day-to-day life.

Maladaptive Thoughts, Behaviors, Relationships

thoughts or behaviors that hinder overall functioning and mental health.

dysfunction

refers to impairments in mental or behavioral processes that disrupt normal functioning.

distress

often the result of dysfunction

stigma

a negative stereotype or belief that leads to discrimination against individuals

American Psychiatric Association (APA)

a professional organization that publishes diagnostic criteria and guidelines for mental disorders w goal of improving mental health care (research, publishing)

• Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR)

a comprehensive classification system used by mental health professionals to diagnose and describe mental disorders. (APA created)

World Health Organization

an international public health agency that provides leadership on global health issues and publishes the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

a global standard for diagnosing and classifying all diseases including mental and behavioral disorders, published by the World Health Organization.

Eclectic Approach

a therapeutic approach that combines techniques and theories from various psychological schools of thought to best address an individual's needs.

medical model

explains that/how diseases (ie psychological disorders) have medical psychical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and often cured, in a hospital

Biopsychosocial Model

a comprehensive framework that takes into account both biological and environmental factors in understanding health and illness.

Diathesis-Stress Model

explains that/how genetic predispositions (diathesis) combine with Enviromental stressors (stress) to influence psychological disorder

• Diathesis: predisposition toward a state especially one that is abnormal

• ie taijin kyofusho in Japan: fear that others are judging their bodies

Epigenetic research

the study of how environmental factors can affect gene expression without altering the DNA sequence, influencing behavior and mental health.

• “above” or “in addition to” (epi) genetics

• supports diathesis stress method

Moral treatment

an early approach in psychiatry emphasizing compassion, kindness and dignity of individuals with mental disorders, promoting patient well-being.

• The goal was to treat patients as rational beings and help them regain control of themselves.

Required Ethical Practices

Respect for persons

• informed consent (for adults)

• confidentiality

• debriefing

Beneficence

• protect from Greater-than-Usual Harm

• Animal Welfare

Justice

• Institutional Review Board

• Informed Assent (for minors)

Informed Consent

giving potential participants enough info (risks and benefits) about a study to choose if they want to participate

Informed Assent

the process of obtaining agreement from individuals who are not fully able to give informed consent, such as children or those with cognitive impairments, ensuring they understand the nature of the research.

Confidentiality

the ethical principle that protects participant information from being disclosed without consent, ensuring privacy and trust in research.

Debriefing

the process of providing participants with complete info about a study after its completion, including its purpose and any deception involved.

Protect from Greater-Than-Usual Harm

an ethical guideline that safeguards participants from experiencing harm beyond what is typically encountered in daily life during research or treatment.

Animal Welfare

the ethical obligation to ensure the humane treatment, care, and protection of animals used in research and education.

Institutional Review Board

a committee that reviews research proposals to ensure ethical standards are upheld, protecting the rights and welfare of participants.

Positive Psychology

the study of what makes ppl happy & how to implement it

subjective well-being

a persons perception of how they most often feel AND how they think their life is going

self-report

a method of measuring by simply asking ppl abt their feeling beliefs and behaviors, often through surveys or questionnaires.

feel-good-do-good phenonmenon

if you feel good u are more likely to help others

meta-analysis

a method of measurement that combines multiple studies to develop mathematical conclusion

Affective Forecasting

our predictions about our own state of feelings in the future

Impact Bias

• the tendency to overestimate the emotional impact of a future event, both in terms of its intensity and its duration

Hedonic Adaptation

•  process of getting accustomed to positive/negative stimulus such that the emotional effects of the stimulus are attenuated over time “we get used to stuff” (explains mis-wanting)

Psychological Immune System

• A set of unconscious psychological mechanisms that help us recover from bad events 

Savoring

• the act of stepping outside of an experience to review and appreciate it

Negative Visualzation

• the act of thinking about the opposite of a good thing (bad counterfactual)

Reference Point

• a salient (but often irrelevant) standard against which we compare whatever is going on in our lives

Social Comparison

• the act of evaluating one's own salary/status/possession/etc, relative to those of other people

bottom-up attention

•  can't help but notice → beginning with the sensory receptors, and working its way to the brain’s integration of sensory info

top down attention

attention that is allocated effortfully and consciously → as we draw from our experience and expectations when constructing perceptions

change blindness

• visual phenomenon where a person fails to notice changes in a visual scene even when clearly visible

mind-wandering

 a shift in the contents of thought away from an ongoing task and/or from events in the external environment to self-generated thoughts and feelings

fixed mindset

• the belief that a persons basic qualities are fixed traits

growth mindset

• the belief that a persons qualities can change an dbe developed through dedication and hard work

Distanced Self-Talk

 the act of talking to yourself in second-person or third-person to increase psychological distance

Ironic Process Theory

• an idea which posits that deliberate attempts to suppress thoughts/emotions make them more likely to resurface

Hot-Cold Empathy Gap

• a bias in which people underestimate the influence of their current internal state on their attitudes, preferences, and behaviors

confirmation bias

the tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions (look for order in random events)

cognitive based behavioral therapies

• therapies that focus on defeating negative, self-defeating thinking (sometimes to aid behaviors). usually treats: anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, insomnia, and depression

types include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (cognitive-behavior)

• Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) (soley cognitive)

CBT

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps break thought to distressing behavior habit loop

• fix behavior by fixing thought pattern

REBT

rational-emotive behavior therapy was developed by Albert Ellis that focuses on shifting from “woe is me” mentality to agency

• criticized for very strict protocol/steps

group & family therapy

therapy in fam or group to help heal stressful relationships

• best w/o disorders, inc oxytocin

• work best w/ specific topic (AA)

Behavioral conditioning therapies

• therapies that focus on modifying dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors

psychodynamic therapy

a treatment for mental disorders that involves talking with a therapist to help ppl understand and change their thoughts & emotions; usually focus on unconcious conflicts

evidence-based practice

• a therapeutic approach that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise and patient values to guide treatment decisions.

therapeutic alliance

a bond of trust & mutual understanding between a therapist & client

executive functions

cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, & implement goal-directed behaviors/activities

belief perseverance

the tendency to maintain beliefs even when faced with contradictory evidence, often leading to poor decision-making.

Attribution theory

the theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation (a situational attribution) or the person’s stable, enduring traits (a dispositional attribution)

Fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analysing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition. (same as actor-observer bias)

actor-observer bias

 the tendency for those acting in a situation to attribute their behavior to external causes, but for observers to attribute others’ behavior to internal causes (Fundamental attribution error)

ingroup bias

tendency to favor our own groups

deinstitutionalization

the process, begun in the late twentieth century, of moving people with psychological disorders out of institutional facilities

biomedical therapy

prescribed medication or procedures that act directly on the person’s physiology

electric approach

an approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from various forms of therapy

psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud's therapeutic technique. Freud believe that patients resistances, dreams, free associations, and transferences – the analysts interpretation of them – released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight

transference

in therapy, the redirection of feelings for one person to another, usually the therapist.

Insight therapies

therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person’s awareness of underlying motives and defenses

person-centered therapy (nondirective counseling)

a humanistic therapy, developed by carl rogers, in which the therapists use techniques such as active listening (unconditional positive-regard) an empathetic environment to help clients resolve own issues thru self-understanding & acceptance (treats: mild-moderate depression)

unconditional positive regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgemental attitude which carl rogers thought would help clients develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

behavior therapies

therapy that uses learning principles to reduce unwanted behaviors

includes:

• counterconditioning

  • aversive conditioning

  • exposure therapy

    • systematic desensitization

• token economy

counterconditiong

behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors (exposure therapy and aversive conditioning)

exposure therapies

a conditioning behavioral technique: treat anxieties by exposing people to the things they fear/avoid

• ie systematic desensitization and virtual reality exposure therapy

systematic desensitization

a type of condition exposure therapy: associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggered stimuli. (used to treat phobias)

aversive conditioning

associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol)

token economy

a behavioral technique that reinforces desired behaviors through the systematic application of tokens or rewards that can be exchanged for privileges or items.

habit loop

cue → routine → reward

chameleon effect

the unconscious mimicry of the gestures, mannerisms, and other behaviors of another person, often to facilitate social connection.

conformity

the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms, often influenced by peer pressure or cultural expectations.

flow

a mental state of complete immersion and engagement in an activity, leading to improved performance and enjoyment.

social proof

the psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior in a given situation.

social benchmark

comparing one’s behavior, performance, status, or outcomes to those of others (peers, a reference group, or social norms), in order to inform, motivate, or regulate one’s behavior.

psychology is a science bc

its findings are the result of a scientific approach — careful observation and testing

hindsight bias

“I knew it all along phenomenon” is the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we have foreseen it.

overconfidence

tendency to think we know more than we do

peer reviewers

scientific experts who evaluate a research article’s theory, originality, and accuracy - does it work?

falsifiable

the possibility that an idea/hypothesis/theory can be proven false (disproven) by observation or experiment

• can it be proven false?

operational definition

carefully defined variables in an experiment (aids in replication)

• ie. “sleep deprived” = at least 2 hrs less than a persons normal sleep

replication

the process of repeating an experiment to confirm results and increase reliability.

5 research methods

non-experimental: to observe and record behavior

1. case studies

2. naturalistic observation

3. directed observation

4. participant observation

5. correlation studies

experimental: cause & effect

case study

a non-experimental research method: in-depth analysis of a single individual, group, or event (hope = find universal principle)

naturalistic observation

a non-experimental research method: observing behaviors in their natural environment without manipulation or intervention

directed observation

a non-experimental research method: observing behaviors with environment manipulated (ex: no phones in school)

participant observation

a non-experimental research method: involving the observer actively engaging with the participants in their environment.