UQ PSYC1030 - Mini Test 1 - Clinial Psychology

UQ 2025 semester 1. At time of creation, this test is a multiple-choice only test. This flashcard set only covers the online learning because I am tired

Requirements for a MDD (Major Depressive Disorder) diagnosis

• 5+ symptoms for 2 weeks, most of the day and nearly every day

• One of the symptoms must be either persistent sad mood or loss of interest in previously pleasurable things

• Children may present irritability instead of sadness

Anhedonia

A loss of interest of pleasure in previously enjoyed activities

The 9 symptoms of MDD

• sad mood

• loss of interest or pleasure in doing things that were previously enjoyable

• a significant change in weight or appetite

• a change in sleep patterns

• fatigue

• psychomotor agitation or retardation

• thoughts of worthlessness or guilt

• difficulty concentrating or indecisiveness

• recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

Psychomotor retardation

movement really reduced (ex. cannot get out of bed)

Psychomotor agitation

fidgety, cannot sit still

Dysthymia

a term used by medical professionals for PDD (persistent depressive disorder)

Requirements for a PDD (Dysthymia) diagnosis

• (MUST) A depressed mood more days than not for 2+ years

• For children and adolescents, 1 year instead of 2

• 2 of the following symptoms:

• poor appetite or overeating

• insomnia or hypersomnia

• low energy or fatigue

• low self esteem

• poor concentration or problems making decisions

• a sense of hopelessness

The prevalence of MDD over a 12-month period in western nations is…

6-7% for adults

Double depression

meeting the criteria for both of these disorders simultaneously

MDD onset can occur…

at any age, but the likelihood increases significantly with puberty

Features associated with lower rates of recovery for MDD are…

symptom severity, personality disorders, and/or psychotic features

The 3-year naturalistic course for depression is…

MDD to PDD to Double Depression

Causes of depression

• genetic predisposition

• prejudicial childhood experiences (trauma, abuse, neglect)

• stressful life events

• physiological health complications

• neurotransmitter issues

CBT model of depression suggests…

depression is maintained by a lack of positive reinforcement, feeding into a sense of learned helplessness

Pessimistic explanatory style

good things that occur in my life are from outside factors, and bad things are my own personal failings

Treatments of depression

• antidepressants

• CBT or IPT (interpersonal therapy)

• ECT (electro-convulsion therapy, only for severe)

• behavioural activation (setting homework tasks to do things the individual previously enjoyed)

• cognitive restructuring (identify thoughts that contribute to depression and evaluate thought accuracy)

3 systems of anxiety

cognitive, behavioural, physiological

Diagnostic criteria of specific phobia

• extreme fear of the object/situation when confronted

• avoided or endured with extreme anxiety out of proportion to the stimulus

• experienced for 6+ months

Diagnostic criteria for social anxiety

• extreme fear of the situation when confronted

• avoided or endured with extreme anxiety out of proportion to the stimulus

• experienced for 6+ months

Prevalence of social anxiety in western countries is…

around 7% for adults

Diagnostic criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• symptoms present for 6+ months

• 3 or more physiological symptoms (the list is rlly long)

• not explained by any other mental or physical ailment

• causes distress and impairment of the person’s ability to do life functions

• hypervigilance

Diagnostic criteria for panic disorder

• at least one panic attack and then one or both of the following symptoms for at least a month directly after the panic attack

• persistent anticipatory anxiety

• significant and problematic behavioural change related to the panic attack

Comorbidity

where a person meets criteria simultaneously for more than one diagnosis

Causes of anxiety

• genetics

• temperament

• trauma

• accumulation of stressful life events

• parenting behaviours (overprotectiveness, etc)

• a complex interaction between biological and environmental factors

CBT model of anxiety suggests…

there are 3 pathways of anxiety, the direct experience, instructional learning, and vicarious learning

CBT anxiety treatments

• psychoeducation

• cognitive restructuring

• exposure therapy

Non-CBT anxiety treatments

Medication

Behavioural approach to personality

the idea that personality is under the control of genetic factors as well as environmental reinforcers and punishers

B. F. Skinner - One of the main proponents of behaviourism - what did he believe?

Our behaviour is strictly deterministic, we don’t choose how we behave, and our behaviour is determined by unconscious variables around us (environment)

Albert Bandura - what did he believe?

Our environment influences our behaviour, but cognition is still important in terms of behaviour and how we express personality. Personality is an interaction between our traits, thoughts, and environment.

Reciprocal determinism

the idea that behavioural, cognitive and environmental variables interact to produce personality

Humanistic approach to personality

how positive motivations can be related to expressions of personality

Conditions of worth

the expectations or rules society puts on our behaviour

Carl Rogers - what did he believe?

personality is a function of the organism, so interactions and inconsistency between the Conditions of Worth and our self-concept are barriers to personality development

Abraham Maslow (hierarchy of needs guy) - what did he believe?

personality as tendency to strive for self-actualism, or the desire to fulfill their potential

Humoral theory

the old idea that you could characterize someone based on their excess of body fluids

Traits

factors that are responsible for causing patterns of behaviour

What traits does the Big Five personality test measure?

OCEAN

• openness

• conscientiousness

• extraversion

• agreeableness

• neuroticism

Behavioural inhibition system (BIS)

sensitivity to punishment

Behavioural approach system (BAS)

sensitivity to reward

projective tests

• present an ambiguous stimuli and ask people what they see in the image

• most famous are rorschach tests

• Low validity and low reliability

• can be used to build rapport between a therapist and their client

objective tests

• personality tests like the Big Five test

• scores can be influenced, but questions are designed to be as neutral as possible

Worldwide prevalence of schizophrenia

0.5-1%

Schizophrenia is a high-impact disorder because of…

• its impact on the individual

• its impact on family and friends

• its economic impact

Schizophrenia usually develops between the ages of…

15 - 35

Direct costs of schizophrenia

• medication

• accomodation

• employment support services

Indirect costs of schizophrenia

• economic productivity losses

• informal carer costs

• lost income because of no tax revenue

• costs associated with absenteeism

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia - meaning

behaviours in deficit, like lack of personal hygiene

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia - meaning

behaviours in excess, like hallucinations and delusions

Diagnositic criteria for schizophrenia

• symptoms present for 6+ months

• 1+ month of active symptoms

• 2+ symptoms of the following

• delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behaviour, negative symptoms

Delusions

positive symptom - can be persecution or grandeur

Hallucinations

positive symptom - mainly auditory, sometimes visual, olfactory, gustatory, or tactile

Disorganized speech

positive symptom - neologism (making up a word or combining two existing words to form a new one), word salad, extreme tangentiality and failure to return to original topic

Disorganized motor behaviour

positive symptom - personality changes, psychomotor agitation, excessive purposeless activity, catatonia (lack of response to stimuli)

Negative symptoms

• flat affect (tone and facial expression significantly reduced)

• alogia (poverty of speech, a lack of spontaneous speech)

• avolition (lack of motivation)

• lack of personal hygiene

Alogia

poverty of speech, a lack of spontaneous speech

Avolition

lack of motivation, occurs in many mental disorders

3 phases of schizophrenia

prodromal, active, residual

Prodromal phase

characterized by a decline in functioning, negative symptoms appear, lasts for days, weeks, or months

Active phase

positive symptoms appear, sometimes mixed with negative symptoms

Residual phase

individual presents as significantly more well-off compared to the active phase, positive symptoms typically remitted but some negative symptoms remain

Causes of schizophrenia

• genetics

• structural brain abnormalities

• exposure to pregnancy and birth complications

• biochemical abnormalities

The diathesis stress model of schizophrenia proposes…

with schizophrenia, there is an underlying vulnerability that is likely related to genetic disposition

Treatment of schizophrenia

• medication (works better for positive profiles)

• psycho-education of individual and loved ones

• using behavioural strategies to develop social skills

• CBT

• support of the individual’s family members/carers

Primary aging

normal mental and physiological deterioration that comes with age

Secondary aging

issues with aging that come from genetic factors, lifestyle choices, etc

Heterogeneity

the diversity range in a group of people - increases with time and experience

Cohort effect

when people born in a certain time go through a certain set of experiences and thus share a relatively similar outlook

WHO definition of health

“A complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Older adult likelihood to develop a mental illness

15-25%

Dementia

• influenced by genetics

• risk is doubled if you smoke

• secondary aging

Dementia symptoms

• memory loss that disrupts

• aphasia (new problems with speech)

• large-scale changes in mood or personality

• difficulty completing familiar tasks

Number of people worldwide with Alzheimer’s?

Between 27 and 36 million

Eight dimensions of living criteria for making old people friendly cities

• built environment

• transport

• housing

• social participation

• respect and social inclusion

• civic participation and employment

• communication and community support

• health services

The four questions of an intelligence test in order for it to be usable by scientists - is it…

• standardised

• reliable

• valid

• biased

The population you standardize the test on has to be…

relevant for the people you’ll be testing

Why is it important to standardize tests?

it provides us with information that helps us to work out how someone has performed on the test

Alternate forms reliability

evaluation of 2 different versions of the same test

Split half reliability

the test is jumbled up and split into 2 parts randomly

Test retest reliability

the test is given to a group once and after a time given to the same group again, scores are compared

Predictive validity

whether or not scores on the test match with later outcomes (a high score on an intelligence test pre-hiring compared to 6 month job performance post-hiring)

Criterion validity

The matching of scores on a test with another measure - either a previous measure or a concurrent measure of the same thing

Construct validity

The idea (not a test) that when we design a measure for something, the way we’ve designed the measure follows the underlying theory we thing represents the concept we are measuring (building an intelligence test based on 6 constructs, then we must assess all of the constructs in the test)

Test bias

extent to which everyone has the same chances to do well on the test

Binet-Simon scale

standardised test that assigned mental age to children based on their performance in the test (precursor to IQ tests)

An IQ of 100 means…

the child is performing at the expected level for their age

How do you calculate IQ?

(mental age*100) / (physical age)

Issues with the first IQ tests - why IQ is now standardised

It really only measured up to age 16 - after that, scores would decrease as age went up but cognitive functioning remained relatively stable

Idea of general intelligence

there is a thing we call general intelligence which underlies all of our abilities

Multiple intelligence perspective

a number of subskills that make up our intelligence

Two-factor theory of intelligence

• “G factor” - general intelligence

• “S factor” - specific intellectual abilities