Abnormal Psychology Module 2

Abnormal Psychology Module 2

Etiology

study of causation and origination of psychological disorders

Necessary cause

a condition that guarantees the occurrence of a disorder

Sufficient cause

a condition that guarantees the occurrence of a disorder

Contributory cause

a condition that guarantees the occurrence of a disorder

Distal

causal factors that occur early

Proximal

causal factors that occur shortly prior to onset

Diathesis-stress model

vulnerability with added stress leads to disorder

Biological viewpoint

disorders are diseases of the nervous system and endocrine systems that are inherited or caused by pathological process

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal-Cortical Axis

stress response system, problems in this system related to depression and PTSD

Diathesis

vulnerability to a disorder

Temperament

a child’s characteristic emotional/arousal response to various stimuli

Psychoanalytic theory

emphasizes the role of early childhood experiences and the unconscious in the development of disorders

Id

pleasure principle

Ego

reality principle

Superego

operates like conscience

Repression

banish the painful thought down into unconscious

Regression

retreat to an earlier stage

Reaction formation

form the opposite reaction

Projection

attribute thoughts to other people

Rationalization

intellectualize a solution

Displacement

disguise your impulse by directing it at a more acceptable target

Ego-Psychology

delay gratification, appropriate defense mechanisms

Object-relations theory

external and internal objects, improving relationships with others

Interpersonal

who we are is a reflection of relationships

Mary Ainsworth

created the “stranger situation” experiment

Classical conditioning

previous neural stimulus comes to elicit a specific response

Operant conditioning

process in which behaviors are modified based on consequences

Behavioral perspective

maladaptive behavior is the result of a failure to learn necessary adaptive behaviors and learning of ineffective response

Schema

an underlying representation of knowledge that guides the current processing of information

Assimilation

the tendency to work new experiences into our existing schema

Accomodation

changing our existing framework to make it possible to incorporate new information that doesn’t fit

Aaron Beck

believed that different forms of psychopathology are characterized by maladaptive schemas that develop as a function of adverse early learning experiences

Attribution theory

the process of assigning causes to things

Equifinality

many pathways lead to the same outcome

Multifinality

similar experiences may lead to different outcomes