Untitled Flashcards Set

•Exam 4 Review

•Chapter 13-14, a little of 15 (16 we cover today!)

•Chapter 13: I/O Psychology

•Hawthorne
Effect

•Refers to the increase in performance of people when they are noticed, watched, and paid attention to by researchers or supervisors.

•Derived from Elton Mayo’s studies conducted at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works (1929-39)

•Origin of organizational psychology.

•Job interview styles

•Job-related vocab!

•GOALS, TEAMWORK & WORK TEAMS

•Teams and Gender Diversity

•Cons – Diversity can introduce communication and interpersonal-relationship problems.

•Pros – Diversity can increase the team’s skill set.

•Hoogendoom, Oosterbeek, & van Praag (2013):

•Found that gender-balanced teams performed better than predominantly male teams.

•Did not identify which mechanism accounted for performance improvement.

•Types of Teams

•Problem resolution teams – created for the purpose of solving a particular problem.

•Creative teams – used to develop innovative possibilities or solutions.

•Tactical teams – used to execute a well-defined plan or objective.

•Research on the virtual team:

•Examines how groups of geographically disparate people brought together using digital communications technology function.

•Chapter 14: stress, lifestyle and health

•Eustress vs. distress

•Eustress – ‘good stress’, associated with positive feelings, optimal health and motivation to perform well.

•Distress - ”Bad” stress, causing people to feel burned out, (fatigued and exhausted), and performance to decline.

•FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE

•Set of physiological reactions that occur when a person encounters a perceived threat

•Produced by activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system.

•In response to a threatening stressor, the adrenal glands release epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) which causes physiological changes in the body, as shown below.

•EARLY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY
OF STRESS

•Walter Cannon (Early 20^th Century)

•First to identify the body’s physiological reactions to stress.

•First articulated and named the fight-or-flight response, which he suggested is a built-in mechanism that stabilizes physiological variables at levels optimal for survival.

•Hans Selye’s GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME

•Alarm Reaction – The body’s immediate reaction to a threat, physiological reactions that provide energy to manage the situation.

•Resistance – The body has adapted (readjusted) to the stressor but remains alert and prepared to respond (with less intensity). Physiological reactions diminish.

•Exhaustion – Person can no longer adapt to the stressor (depletion of physical resources). Physical wear takes its toll on the body’s tissues and organs. May result in illness, disease, or death.

•Chapter 15: psychological disorders

•DEFINITION OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER

•**There is no single definition of psychological abnormality or normality**

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•General definition: A condition characterized by thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are atypical, dysfunctional, or dangerous.

•Just because something is atypical, does not mean it is disordered.

•Cultural norms and expectations makes this issue more complicated: eg. hallucinations

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•Psychological disorders as harmful dysfunction (Wakefield, 1992):

•Dysfunction occurs when an internal mechanism (e.g., cognition, perception, learning) breaks down and cannot perform its normal function.

•For a dysfunction to be be classed as a disorder, it must also be harmful – leads to negative consequences for the individual or for others, as judged by the standards of the individual’s culture.

•DEFINITION OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER

•**There is no single definition of psychological abnormality or normality**

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•American Psychological Association (APA) Definition

•A psychological disorder is a condition that consists of the following:

•Significant disturbances in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

•Outside of cultural norms.

•The disturbances reflect some kind of biological, psychological, or developmental dysfunction.

•The disturbances lead to significant distress or disability in one’s life.

•E.g. difficulty performing appropriate and expected roles.

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•Comorbidity = the co-occurrence of two disorders

•SUPERNATURAL PERSPECTIVES

•For centuries, psychological disorders were viewed from a supernatural perspective.

•Supernatural perspective – psychological disorders attributed to a force beyond scientific understanding.

•Practitioners of black magic (sorcery).

•Possessed by spirits.

•Witchcraft.

•Treatments included torture, beatings, and exorcism.

•In The Extraction of the Stone of Madness, a 15th century painting by Hieronymus Bosch, a practitioner is using a tool to extract an object (the supposed “stone of madness”) from the head of an afflicted person.

•BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

•View psychological disorders as linked to biological phenomena:

•Genetic factors, chemical imbalances, and brain abnormalities.

•Supported by evidence that most psychological disorders have a genetic component.

•A person’s risk of developing schizophrenia increases if a relative has schizophrenia. The closer the genetic relationship, the higher the risk.

•DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL

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•Integrates biological and psychosocial factors to predict the likelihood of a disorder.

•People with an underlying predisposition for a disorder (diathesis) are more likely than others to develop a disorder when faced with adverse environmental or psychological events.

•A diathesis can be a biological or psychological vulnerability.

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•SPECIFIC PHOBIAS

•Involves excessive, distressing, and persistent fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation.

•People may realize their fear and anxiety is irrational but may still go to great lengths to avoid the stimulus.

•Prevalence - affects 12.5% of the U.S. population at some point in their lifetime.

•Common specific phobias include:

•Acrophobia – heights.

•Aerophobia – flying.

•Arachnophobia – spiders.

•Claustrophobia – enclosed spaces.

•Agoraphobia:

•Listed as a separate anxiety disorder.

•Characterized by intense fear, anxiety, and avoidance of situations in which it might be difficult to escape or receive help if one experiences a panic attack.

•These situations include public transportation, crowds, being outside the home alone.

•MOOD DISORDERS

•Characterized by massive disruptions in mood and emotions that can cause a distorted outlook on life and impair ability to function.

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•Depressive Disorders

•Depression (intense and persistent sadness) is the main feature.

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•Bipolar and Related Disorders

•Mania (extreme elation and agitation) is the main feature.

•Manic episode – “a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased activity or energy lasting at least one week.” (APA, 2013).

•MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

•Diagnosis Criteria

•“Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day” (APA, 2013).

•Loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities.

•At least 5 symptoms for at least a two-week period.

•Symptoms cause significant distress or impair normal functioning and are not caused by substances or a medical condition.

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•Major depressive disorder is episodic (symptoms are usually present at their full magnitude for a certain period of time and then gradually diminish).

•MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

•Prevalence

•Affects around 6.6% of the U.S. population each year and 16.9% of the U.S. population in their lifetime.

•More common among women than men.

•Comorbidity

•Comorbid with anxiety disorders and substance abuse disorders.

•Risk Factors

•Unemployment.

•Low income.

•Living in urban areas.

•Being separated, divorced, or widowed.

•SUBTYPES OF DEPRESSION

•Seasonal pattern – applies to situations in which a person experiences the symptoms of major depressive disorder only during a particular time of year.

•Peripartum onset (postpartum depression) – major depression during pregnancy or in the four weeks following the birth.

•Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) – depressed moods most of the day nearly every day for at least two years, as well as at least two of the other symptoms of major depression.

•Chronically sad but do not meet all the criteria for major depression.

•BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOOD DISORDERS

•Genetics

•Major Depressive Disorder: Relatives have double the risk of developing the disorder.

•Identical twins – 50% concordance rate.

•Fraternal twins – 38% concordance rate .

•Bipolar Disorder: Relatives have over 9 times the risk.

•Identical twins – 67% concordance rate.

•Fraternal twins – 16% concordance rate.

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•Hormones

•Elevated levels of cortisol (stress hormone) are found in depression.

•Cause or consequence of depression?

•A risk factor for future depression.

•Cortisol activates the amygdala and deactivates the prefrontal cortex (disturbances connected to depression).

•BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOOD DISORDERS

•Neurotransmitters: Mood disorders often involve imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine.

•These neurotransmitters are involved in bodily functions that are disrupted in mood disorders.

•Many medications designed to treat mood disorders work by altering neurotransmitter activity in the neural synapse.

•Medications for depression – usually increase serotonin and norepinephrine activity.

•Medication for bipolar – Lithium, which blocks norepinephrine activity at the synapse.

•BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOOD DISORDERS

•Neurotransmitters: Mood disorders often involve imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine.

•These neurotransmitters are involved in bodily functions that are disrupted in mood disorders.

•Many medications designed to treat mood disorders work by altering neurotransmitter activity in the neural synapse.

•Medications for depression – usually increase serotonin and norepinephrine activity.

•Medication for bipolar – Lithium, which blocks norepinephrine activity at the synapse.

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•BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOOD DISORDERS

•Brain Anatomy

•Depression:

•Amygdala – important in assessing the emotional significance of stimuli and experiencing emotions.

•Depressed individuals react to negative emotional stimuli, such as sad faces, with greater amygdala activation than do non-depressed individuals.

•More prone to react emotionally to negative stimuli.

•Chapter 15: therapy and treatment

•TYPES OF TREATMENT

•BIOMEDICAL THERAPIES

•Psychotropic medications – medications used to treat symptoms of psychological disorders but does not cure the disorder.

•Antipsychotics – treat positive psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia by blocking dopamine.

•Atypical antipsychotics – treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia (eg. withdrawal and apathy) by targeting both dopamine and serotonin receptors.

•Anti-depressants – alter levels of serotonin and norepinephrineà for depression and anxiety.

•Anti-anxiety agents – depress central nervous system activationà for anxiety, OCD, PTSD, panic disorder and social phobia.

•Mood stabilizers – treat episodes of mania as well as depression (Bipolar disorder).

•Stimulants – improve ability to focus on a task and maintain attention (ADHD).

•Electroconvulsive therapy – induces seizures to help alleviate severe depression.

•Transcranial magnetic stimulation – magnetic fields stimulate nerve cells to improve depression symptom.

•Guest lecture

•Early clinical counseling psychology and involvement in service areas link to WWII veterans

•What are the professional activities associated with clinical & counselling psychologists?

•Forms of therapy for depression treatment

•Aspects of therapy that differentiate it from talking to friend/family

•When is a psychologist legally required to break their clients confidentiality?

•What is evidence-based practice in clinical and counseling psychology?

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