Exam 3 - Psych

Social Behavior - people affect one another, situations impact behavior

Behavioral Influencer

Situationism - behavior caused by environment and situation

Dispositionism - behavior determined by internal factors, like personality, temperament, etc.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Other’s behavior…overemphasize impact of dispositional factors

underestimate the situation itself

Our own Behavior…

Positive outcome - personal disposition

Negative outcome - situation or reasons outside ourself to explain negative behavior

Why this? Actor-Observer Bias, Self-Serving Bias

Self-Presentation

Terms

• Social Roles - part people play as members of a social group

• Social Norms - a group’s expectation for what is considered acceptable behavior

Stanford Prison Experiment - Philip Zimbardo, how roles influence attitudes and behavior, participants assigned to be a prisoner or guard (behavior tracked), results: prisoners tried rebelling, guards were aggressive. Evidence of social roles and social norms through experimental manipulation and adoption of roles based on their role.

Attitudes and Persuasion

Cognitive Dissonance - competing or inconsistent thoughts, beliefs or actions, mind seeks to reduce dissonance, hypocrisy literally lol

Changing Attitudes

• Central Route Persuasion

  • Use evidence and arguments to change attitudes

  • typically more durable

• Peripheral Route Persuasion

  • Does not engage in systematic thinking

  • Relies on snap judgement

  • Example: celebrity endorsements and influencer culture

Behaviors and Attitudes

Foot in the door - agree to small request, comply with a larger request later on, drive: consistency

Door in the face - large, unsuccessful request, comply with a small request later, drive: reciprocity

Social Influence

Group Behavior

• Social Facilitation

  • We perform better in other people’s presence

  • But not on novel, difficult, tasks

• Social Loafing

  • Diminished effort during group tasks

  • Less accountable, contributions less important and free ride

Deindividuation - loss of self-awareness and self-restraint, happens when we feel activated and anonymous, explains why we might do things in groups we might not do individually

Asch’s Conformity Study - people conform to group decisions more than their own, we tend to want to conform to the group more because of social pressure

Conformity

• Conformity - adjusting our behavior or thinking to meet group standards

• Informational Conformity (Social Influence) - conform to group based on belief group has correct information

• Normative Conformity (Social Influence) - we conform to avoid rejection or gain social approval (natural selection)

Groupthink - going along with a group’s decision to preserve harmony even though internally we think the opposite, override of appraisals of alternate options

Milgram’s Obedience Study - Do people obey others even when they have concerns with behavior? Subjects given ‘shock’ instruction by experimenter, how obedient was the patient?

AntiSocial behavior

Prejudice - “prejudgement”

cognition - stereotypes

affect - feelings of hostility or fear (prejudice)

behavior - discriminate against others

explicit prejudice - consciously held and expressed attitudes, behaviors, and thoughts (expressing a racist or sexist attitude)

implicit prejudice - unconsciously held (unaware) prejudice that is not expressed directly, possible impacts: friendliness, getting a job

Implicit Association Task - helps us identify implicit prejudice, gives you results if you have these biases, helps us be more aware

Sources of Prejudice

• Social Inequities

  • just-word-phenomenon

  • Good is rewarded and evil is punished

• In and out group thinking

  • social identity theory - belonging to groups benefits us and makes us feel more safe and secure

• Scapegoat theory

  • looking for someone to blame

Cognitive roots of prejudice

• categorization - we tend to categorize things into groups

• Out-group homogenecity effect - tend to treat out-group members as being the same

• vivid cases - terrorism

Outcome of prejudice - Aggression

Aggression - behavior with intent to harm or pain someone

• Hostile Aggression - goal is to inflict pain

• Instrumental Aggression - aggression used to achieve a different goal

Social and cultural causes of aggression - evolutionary benefits? Averse and environment events (heat, crowds, pain), social learning, Frustration-aggression principle- aggression arises out of specific emotions

Bystander Effect - when bystanders do not intervene or show apparent apathy, Kitty Genovese Murder (37-38 witnesses but only 2 people actually called the police)

Prosocial Behavior

helping and benefitting people

Altruism and Empathy

Altruism - desire to help others even if the costs outweigh the benefits

Empathy - capacity to understand other’s perspective and emotional experience

Why do we engage in altruism? - evolutionary, it doesnt make sense. Social Exchange theory - weigh the social costs and benefits of a certain behavior

Relationships

• most influential predictor of forming a new relationship is proximity and contact

• Reciprocity and self-disclosure predicts relationship success

Predictors of attraction

Proximity - mere exposure effect, repeated exposure leads to more liking

Similarities - interests, attitudes, beliefs

Social and physical attributes

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Love

Passion, commitment, intimacy = consummate love

Stress and Health

what is stress?

• stimulus based definition - a demanding event or situation

• response based definition - physiological responses to a demanding or threatening situation

stress is a process of appraisals - primary: whether the event is threatening or challenging, secondary: whether we can cope with that threat

we perform at our optimal level when we have a little bit of stress in our lives

general adaptation syndrome - body’s reaction to stress, 3 phase response to stress: alarm reaction, resistance, exhaustion

Physiological stress response - Walter Canon: Fight or flight and sometimes freeze and fawn, sympathetic system: stress response, parasympathetic: relaxation response

Two types of stress:

• acute - sweating, cold limbs, increased heart rate

• chronic - pain, fatigue, indigestion

Common stressors: trauma, life changes, occupational stress

trauma

traumatic events - exposure to actual, threatened, death or serious injury

can lead to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)- painful memories, hyper vigilance, negative emotions

Life changes

social readjustment rating scale (SRRS), 43 life events that cause stress

both positive negative events - death of a family member, illness, change in job or school

occupational

varies according to career, can be chronic or acute

burnout - emotional exhaustion/detachment, elevated rates of mental illness, low job satisfaction

managing stress, health and stress

problem-focused coping: change the stressor or how you react

emotion-focused coping: we believe we cannot change a situation

Personal control:

internal locus of control - belief in control over own destiny

external locus of control - belief chance or outside forces control destiny

learned helplessness:

uncontrollable events lead to passive resignation- dog with the collar and shock vs no shock on either side of the box, dog gave up moving because it knew it would get shocked on either side and no internal locus of control over the situation, no ability to make changes

optimists: tend to better cope with stress, respond to stress with smaller increases in blood pressure

pessimists: tend to have lower grades, less resilient to setbacks

social support: promotes health and happiness, reduced blood pressure, lowers stress hormone levels, better immune system function

effective coping: meditation, social support, exercise, nutrition, sleep

Happiness

elements of happiness: joy, positive emotion, sense of meaning or purpose

hedonic happiness: achieved through experience of pleasure and joy (icecream, shopping, watching movies)

eudaimonic happiness: achieved through experience of meaning and purpose (family, friends, giving back, lasts for longer periods of time)

Seligman’s 3 types of happiness:

the pleasant life - enjoying daily pleasures

the meaningful life - contributing to the greater good

the good life - using skills for enrichment

predictors of happiness:

• intimate relationships: marriage, high number of friends and social support

• money but only up to a certain point

• education, religiosity, adherence to cultural values

life satisfaction: positive gains over time possible, disrupting events have temporary influence

positive psychology: the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive (optimism, gratitude, “flow”)

optimism

gratitude - thankfulness and appreciation, gratitude practices becoming more common, positive benefits: lower stress, better mood and relationships

Flow- flow state, period of time when we are engaged in our experience, lose yourself in that activity, effortless concentration and focus, times seems to pass more quickly than usual, linked to creativity, fulfillment and lower stress

acute stress and PTSD

diagnosis - exposure to a traumatic event (exposed to death or threatened death, severe injury, sexual assault)

can experience oneself or be experienced by close other, vicarious exposure must be life threatening

can be due to exposure to details and outcomes of trauma, like first responders

at least one intrusive symptom

• distressing memories

• dreams and nightmares

• dissasociation or flashbacks

• upset when exposed to triggers

• physical reactions

• avoidance of trauma induced environment

• negative impacts on thoughts or mood

• heightened arousal or reactivity

Acute vs ptsd

acute - onset, symptoms within 4 weeks, duration - lasts less than a month

ptsd - onset, symptoms begin at any time, duration - lasts longer than a month

common causes - combat, disasters, accidents, physical assault

biological factors

• dysfunctional stress pathways, circuits

  • sympathetic nervous system and HPA pathway

  • amygdala, hippocampus

• inherited predisposition

Childhood factors

• predisposition acquired rather than inherited

  • epigenetics

• chronic neglect and abuse

• poverty, death, catastrophe

Developmental Psychopathology

intersection of biology, developmental stage and timing, type of trauma, environmental support

mood disorders

major depressive disorder (MDD)

• “common cold” of mental health

• symptoms must last two weeks or longer, most days

• symptoms: depressed mood, lack of interest and enjoyment, sleeping concerns, appetite concerns

depression theories

psychodynamic theory - anger turned inwards

cognitive behavioral theory - maladaptive thoughts lead to depressive behavior and mood, automatic negative thoughts, magnification of thoughts

sociocultural theory - caused by social and cultural factors (isolation, discrimination)

biological theory - too little serotonin in the nervous system

bipolar disorder (BPD)

alternating cycle between manic and major depression, manic episodes last 7 days or longer, abnormally elevated mood, distractibility, less sleep

BPD subtypes - 1: MDD and mania, 2: MDD and hypomania, 3: Cyclothymia: mild depression and hypomania

Schizophrenia

positive symptoms

• delusions

• hallucinations

• disorganized speech

• inappropriate affect

negative symptoms

• poverty of speech

• blunted/flat effect

• apathy

• social withdrawal

• catatonia

Onset and development

age of onset - 18-35

chronic vs. acute

can appear abruptly or build over time

comorbid with substance abuse and depression

nature vs nurture

nature - genetic risk factors, brain differences

nurture - maternal diabetes, older parents at birth, separation from parents, abuse, social stress

likely a mix of: early risk factors, vulnerability, environment, schizophrenia

dissociative disorders

• common symptoms:

  • feeling detached from body or sensations

  • perception that world around them is unreal

  • memory loss-especially with autobiographical memory

• dissociative fugue

  • unplanned travel/wandering, making a new identity

• dissociative amnesia

  • temporary loss of memory due to trauma or stress

  • this is typically personal information that is forgotten

• depersonalization disorder

  • periods of detachment from self or surroundings

  • feeling ‘unreal’

  • specifically detached from the sensory world

• Dissociative identity disorder

  • historically: multiple personality disorder

  • presence of alternate personalities

  • in some cases up to 100 distinct personalities, unique behaviors and emotions and memories

  • primary host personality and then sudden dramatic shifts to a different personality

  • sometimes people are aware of the change, other times not

childhood disorders

• childhood anxiety and depression:

  • depression uncommon in children

    • lack of cognitive development because they don’t have the frontal lobe developed to the extent yet

  • symptoms look more behaviors or somatic in nature

    • depression: lack of interest in things they used to like to do with toys, if they are sluggish, sleep difficulties

    • anxiety: avoidance of school, upset stomach, nausea

• externalizing disorders

  • oppositional defiant disorder

  • conduct disorder

  • symptoms:

    • anger

    • defiance

    • physical aggression

    • property destruction

• Attention deficit hyperactivity ADHD

  • inattention to tasks

  • overactivity

  • impulsivity

    • ADHD subtypes:

    • Predominantly inattentive type (ADD. but outdated term)

      • difficulty with just paying attention

    • Predominantly hyperactive type

      • difficulty sitting still, restlessness

    • Combined type

      • mix of all, most common form in children or adolescents

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

  • wide variety of strengths, abilities, needs, and challenges

    • keep that in mind when going through symptoms

  • current diagnoses is a combination of past diagnoses

    • Asperger’s Disorder, Autism, Pervasive Developmental disorder

    • believed to be one of the reasons for rise in rates of diagnoses

    • no evidence that vaccines are linked to autism diagnoses

    • ASD: unresponsive to to others, communication difficulties, rigid and repetitive behaviors interests or activities, sensory concerns

Personality Disorders

• Personality disorder: inflexible and enduring patterns that impair functioning

• impairment

  • sense of self

  • emotional experience

  • goal setting

  • empathy

  • intimacy

• The 3 Personality Disorder

  • Cluster A: The odd eccentric cluster

    • paranoid personality disorder

    • schizoid personality disorder

    • schizotypal personality disorder

  • Cluster B: the dramatic unpredictable cluster

    • most common cluster

    • erratic behavior, high emotionality, relationship concerns, lack of empathy

    • Antisocial disorder

    • Borderline personality disorder

    • Histrionic personality disorder

    • Narcissistic personality disorder

  • Cluster C: pervasive anxiety

    • fear of being ridiculed, rejected, or criticized

    • avoidant personality disorder

    • dependent personality disorder

    • obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

therapy and treatment

therapy - intentional treatment, helper and helpee, many forms such as talk therapy or medications

evolution of treatment:

• ancient times

  • psychopathology: caused by evil spirits

  • trephination and exorcism

• 500 B.C.-500 A.D.

  • psychopathology: imbalance of humors (internal fluids)

  • balance humors (blood letting)

• 500-1400 A.D.

  • psychopathology: demons

  • exorcism, torture

• Renaissance (1400-1800 A.D.)

  • psychopathology: illness

  • insane asylums and hospitals

• 19th Century

  • psychopathology: illness

  • moral and humane approaches in hospitals

• 20th Century

  • Deinstitutionalization

    • 1963- Community mental health act

    • Massive reduction in hospital care

      • 600,000 in 1955

      • 38,000 in 2021

    • increase in community care

• treatment in eastern cultures

  • psychopathology:

    • physical pathology

    • mind-body connection

    • disharmony with nature and surroundings

    • treatment: balance in life

types of treatment

different approaches to talk therapy

• psychodynamic: frued

  • based on freud’s approach

  • bring unconscious to the surface to our conscious

  • techniques:

    • free association

    • interpretation

  • focus on early relationships

• humanistic: carl rogers

  • client-centered

  • awareness and acceptance

    • active listening

    • unconditional positive regard

  • basic skills

    • paraphrase, reflection

    • fewer conditions of questioning their worth with positive regard

• behavioral

  • behavioral: problem to be addressed

  • exposure therapy

    • systematic desensitization

    • virtual reality exposure therapy

  • token economies

    • sticker charts! think liam and cameron, shaping behavior with reinforcement, operant conditioning

• cognitive

  • focused on thoughts

  • identity irrational thoughts

    • replace with helpful thoughts

  • cognitive triad (negative view of the self, word, and future)

• cognitive-behavioral

  • combination of the last two

  • likely the most common form of therapy today

  • focus on the connection between thoughts and behaviors

    • irrational thoughts: overgeneralization, magnification, selective abstraction

    • how do these thoughts impact behavior

    • change the thought or behavior to break the cycle

• Is therapy effective?

  • therapy is shown to be effective

    • effect size: .8 (large!)

  • dodo bird verdict

    • everybody has won, all must have prizes

    • no differences between specific approaches

    • common factors between therapies all make similar outcomes and make therapy effective

      • expectancy for hope

      • installation of hope

      • emotional arousal

      • change outside therapy

      • self-understanding

      • corrective emotional experience

• culture and therapy

  • people from marginalized groups terminate prematurely

    • race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, SES, etc.

  • increase the sense of shared cultural values

  • multicultural competence

  • research suggests that therapy needs to move towards more diverse culturally

• beyond talk therapy

  • drug therapies

    • antipsychotics (thorazine), for schizophrenia

    • anti anxiety (xanax, ativan)

    • antidepressant (zoloft, prozac)

    • mood stabilizers (lithium)

  • brain stimulation

    • ECT

    • magnetic stimulation
      

therapy modalities

individual therapy

• one client and one therapist

• therapeutic relationship is important

  • better relationship predicts better outcome

• theoretical orientation guides treatment

  • cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, etc.

  • treatment targeted to alleviate client concern, might prefer different theory over the other and help theory guide the conversation based on what the client needs

group therapy

• multiple clients

  • one or two therapists common

• client concerns can be the same or vastly different

• opportunity to work on interpersonal patterns

couples therapy

• the couple is not the client

  • not just one member

• typically focused on interpersonal dynamics

  • unresolved problems

  • communication differences

  • conflict

family therapy

• the family system is the client

  • not just one person

• focus

  • relationship between members

  • specific mental health concerns

barriers to treatment

• structural

  • physical access to treatment, lack of treatment provided

  • cost

• psychological

  • stigma associated with mental illness

  • fears of disclosing personal information