CH 3 Causal Factors and Viewpoints Flashcards

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1
Q

3.1 Distinguish between risk factors and causes of abnormal behavior

A

Risk Factors - A correlate that occurs before some outcome of interest

Causes - can be distinguished as due to biological makeup/prior experience or current challenges/stressors

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2
Q

3.2 List perspectives that psychologists take to understand the causes of abnormal behavior

A

Biological (cognitive, emotional, behavioral), psychological, & social (cultural)

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3
Q

3.3 Explain what the biological perspective tells us about abnormal behavior & explain the biological causal factors of abnormal behavior

A

The biological perspective tells us to look at the destruction of brain tissue and disruption of brain functioning by physical or biochemical means to look for neurological diseases, as well as abnormalities in things like neurotransmitter systems

Factors:
1. Genetic vulnerabilities - gene/chromosomal abnormalities & polymorphisms

  1. Brain dysfunction & neuroplasticity - genetic factors guide brain function, but there is significant plasticity
  2. Neurotransmitter & hormonal abnormalities in the nervous system - Neurotransmitter imbalances cause abnormal behavior (excessive production/release of neurotransmitter substance, deactivation upon release, or receptors are too/not sensitive)

Hormonal imbalances can lead to maladaptive behavior

  1. Temperament - Consistent over time
    5 dimensions include fearfulness, irritability, positive affect, activity level, and attentional persistence/effortful control

Dimensions relate to 3 dimensions of adult personality - neuroticism, extraversion, and constraint

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4
Q

3.4 Describe the most prominent psychological perspectives on abnormal psychology

A

Psychodynamic - Freud, the unconscious,
Id, Ego, Superego

5 psychosexual stages - oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

The first systematic approach to showing how human psychological processes can result in mental disorders

 Ego Psychology - Anna Freud, 
 Psychopathology develops when the ego 
 doesn't adequately control impulse 
 delay/gratification or doesn't use 
 defense mechanisms adequately

 Object relations theory - Focus on an 
 infant's interaction with objects (i. e. real 
 or imagined people) and their use of 
 symbolic representations for people in 
 their lives

 Interpersonal - Emphasise on 
 social/culture

 Attachment Theory - Early attachment is 
 emphasized 

Behavioral - Relies on observable
behaviors, accurate but also oversimplified

 Learning 

 Classical & Operant Conditioning - 

 Generalization & Discrimination - G) CS 
 becomes generalized to other stimuli (D) 
 CS is distinguished for different stimuli

 Observational learning -  learning by 
 watching others

Cognitive-behavioral perspective - Internal reinforcement & mental processes, thought & info processing

 Schemas & Cognitive distortion - bad 
 schemas relate to mental disorders, 
 implicit memory and unconscious thought

 Attributions - The process of assigning 
 attributes to situations/objects, 
 Attribution styles impact worldview

 Cognitive therapy
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5
Q

3.5 Describe 3 social factors known to contribute to abnormal behavior

A

1) Early deprivation/trauma

 parents are unable to provide for their 
 kids, 
 e.g. institutionalization

 Neglect, abuse, and separation 

2) Problems in parenting style

 parent-child relationship is bidirectional 
 warmth and control

3) Marital discord & divorce

 leads child to have relationship issues
 divorce is very stressful for everyone
 can lead to insecurity/ feeling rejected
 divorce > bad marriage
 rate of violence @ home is higher when 
 living w/ stepparent

4) Low socioeconomic status

 antisocial personality disorder is strongly 
 linked w/ socioeconomic status
 perception of SES is strongly linked w/ 
 mental illness, as is unemployment

5) Maladaptive peer relationships

 bullies have high pro & reactive 
 aggression
 popularity/rejection, pro/antisocial
 failure to develop friends in dev. years 
 has BAD consequences

6) Prejudice & discrimination (race, gender, & ethnicity)

 access v. treatment prej. 
 disc. increases risk-taking behavior
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6
Q

3.6 Explain how cultural differences can influence perceptions of abnormal behavior

A

Different cultures have different norms, so behavior that is normal in one place may be considered abnormal in another

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7
Q

Causal risk factor

A

A variable risk factor that, when changed, changes the likelihood of the outcome of interest (e.g., if effectively treating depression decreased the risk of suicide, we would call it a causal risk factor).

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8
Q

Variable risk factor

A

Risk factor that can change within a person

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9
Q

Fixed vs. Variable marker

A

F: Risk factor that cannot change within a person

V: Variable risk factor that, when changed, doesn’t influence the outcome of interest

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10
Q

Causal risk factor

A

A variable risk factor that, when changed, changes the likelihood of the outcome of interest

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11
Q

Necessary Cause

A

A characteristic that must exist for a disorder to occur

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12
Q

Sufficient cause

A

Guarantees the occurrence of a disorder

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13
Q

Contributory causes

A

One that increases the probability of a disorder developing but is neither necessary nor sufficient for the disorder to occur

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14
Q

Protective factors

A

Decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes among those at risk

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15
Q

Polymorphisms

A

Naturally occurring variations of genes

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16
Q

Genotype-environment interaction

A

Genetic factors often aren’t necessary/sufficient to cause mental disorders but can contribute to a vulnerability or diathesis to develop psychopathology if there is stress in one’s life

17
Q

PKU-induced intellectual disability

A

They cannot metabolize phenylalanine and its build-up causes brain damage

18
Q

Genotype-Environment correlations

A

Genes shape environmental experiences

19
Q

Linkage analysis

A

Genetic research strategy in which the occurrence of a disorder in an extended family is compared with that of a genetic marker for a physical characteristic or biological process that is known to be located on a certain chromosome

20
Q

Agonist vs. antagonist

A

Agonists facilitate effects of a neurotransmitter and antagonists inhibit them

21
Q

Sex hormones are produced by the ________ glands.

A

gonadal

22
Q

Id

A

The source of instinctual drives, develops first

23
Q

Ego

A

Develops after a few months, meets Id demands and mediates between instincts and control, realistic

24
Q

Superego

A

The conscience

25
Q

Anxiety

A

Body’s natural warning system

26
Q

Ego-defense mechanisms

A

Ego resorts to irrational protective measures (Displacement, fixation, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, repression, sublimation)

27
Q

Humanistic perspective

A

Views humanity as “good,” self-concept, focus on individuals, self-actualizing

28
Q

Existential perspective

A

Individualism, existence is given, essence is what we make of it

29
Q

T or F
Children raised in institutions show a slight reduction in both grey and white brain matter

A

FALSE

SIGNIFICANT reduction in grey and white brain matter

30
Q

Differentiate between parenting styles

A

Authoritative - high warmth, moderate cntrl
Authoritarian - low warmth, high cntrl
Permissive - high warmth, low cntrl
Neglectful - low warmth, low cntrl