CH 3 Causal Factors and Viewpoints Flashcards
3.1 Distinguish between risk factors and causes of abnormal behavior
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
3.2 List perspectives that psychologists take to understand the causes of abnormal behavior
Biological (cognitive, emotional, behavioral), psychological, & social (cultural)
3.3 Explain what the biological perspective tells us about abnormal behavior & explain the biological causal factors of abnormal behavior
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
- Brain dysfunction & neuroplasticity - genetic factors guide brain function, but there is significant plasticity
- 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
- 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
3.4 Describe the most prominent psychological perspectives on abnormal psychology
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
3.5 Describe 3 social factors known to contribute to abnormal behavior
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
3.6 Explain how cultural differences can influence perceptions of abnormal behavior
Different cultures have different norms, so behavior that is normal in one place may be considered abnormal in another
Causal risk factor
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).
Variable risk factor
Risk factor that can change within a person
Fixed vs. Variable marker
F: Risk factor that cannot change within a person
V: Variable risk factor that, when changed, doesn’t influence the outcome of interest
Causal risk factor
A variable risk factor that, when changed, changes the likelihood of the outcome of interest
Necessary Cause
A characteristic that must exist for a disorder to occur
Sufficient cause
Guarantees the occurrence of a disorder
Contributory causes
One that increases the probability of a disorder developing but is neither necessary nor sufficient for the disorder to occur
Protective factors
Decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes among those at risk
Polymorphisms
Naturally occurring variations of genes
