Chapter 14, 15, 16 Flashcards
personality
A distinctive and relatively stable pattern of behaviour, thoughts, motives, and emotions that characterizes an individual.
trait
a characteristic of an individual, describing a habitual way of behaving, thinking, or feeling.
psychoanalysis
a theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy developed by Sigmund Freud; it emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts.
psychodynamic theories
theories that explain behaviour and personality in terms of unconscious energy dynamics within the individual.
Freud’s theory
personality consists of three major systems: the id, the ego, and the superego.
id
in psychoanalysis, the part of personality containing inherited psychic energy, particularly sexual and aggressive instincts.
libido
in psychoanalysis, the psychic energy that fuels the life or sexual instincts of the id.
ego
in psychoanalysis, the part of personality that represents reason, good sense, and rational self-control.
superego
in psychoanalysis, the part of personality that represents conscience, morality, and social standards.
defence mechanisms
methods used by the ego to prevent unconscious anxiety or threatening thoughts from entering consciousness.
Ego defence mechanisms
- Repression
- Projection
- Displacement
- Regression
- Denial
psychosexual stages
in Freud’s theory, the idea that sexual energy takes different forms as the child matures; the stages are oral, anal, and phallic (oedipal), latency, and genital.
Oedipus complex
in psychoanalysis, a conflict occurring in the phallic (Oedipal) stage, in which a child desires the parent of the other sex and views the same-sex parent as a rival.
collective unconscious
in Jungian theory, the universal memories and experiences of humankind, represented in the symbols, stories, and images (archetypes) that occur across all cultures.
archetypes
universal, symbolic images that appear in myths, art, stories, and dreams; to Jungians, they reflect the collective unconscious.
object-relations school
a psychodynamic approach that emphasizes the importance of the infant’s first two years of life and the baby’s formative relationships, especially with the mother.
objective test (inventories)
standardized questionnaires requiring written responses; they typically include scales on which people are asked to rate.
factor analysis
a statistical method for analyzing the intercorrelations among various measures or test scores; clusters of measures or scores that are highly correlated are assumed to measure the same underlying trait or ability (factor).
The five central ‘robust factors’ of personality
- Extroversion versus introversion
- Neuroticism (negative emotionality) versus emotional stability
- Agreeableness versus antagonism
- Conscientiousness versus impulsiveness
- Openness to experience versus resistance to new experience
temperaments
physiological dispositions to respond to the environment in certain ways; they are present in infancy and in many nonhuman species and are assumed to be innate.
heritability
a statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in some trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals within a group.
reciprocal determinism
in social-cognitive theories, the two-way interaction between aspects of the environment and aspects of the individual in the shaping of personality traits.
non-shared environment
unique aspects of a person’s environment and experience that are not shared with family members.
culture
a program of shared rules that governs the behaviour of members of a community or society and a set of values, beliefs, and attitudes shared by most members of that community.
individualist cultures
cultures in which the self is regarded as autonomous, and individual goals and wishes are prized above duty and relations with others.
collectivist cultures
cultures in which the self is regarded as embedded in relationships, and harmony with one’s group is prized above individual goals and wishes.
humanist psychology
a psychological approach that emphasizes personal growth, resilience, and the achievement of human potential.
unconditional positive regard
To Carl Rogers, love or support given to another person with no conditions attached.
existentialism
a philosophical approach that emphasizes the inevitable dilemmas and challenges of human existence.
Abraham Maslow
- trouble with psychology was that it ignored many of the positive aspects of life, such as joy, laughter, love, happiness, and peak experiences (rare moments of rapture caused by the attainment of excellence or the experience of beauty).
- self actualization: the person who strives for a life that is meaningful, challenging, and satisfying.
- personality development could be viewed as a gradual progression toward self-actualization.
Carl Rogers
- was interested not only in why some people cannot function well but also in what he called the ‘fully functioning individual’.
- fully functioning people experience congruence, or harmony, between the image they project to others and their true feelings and wishes.
- to become fully functioning people, we all need unconditional positive regard, love and support for the people we are, without strings attached.
- the child can learn that the behaviour, not the child, is what is bad.
Rollo May
- belief in free will.
- existentialism, which emphasizes such inevitable challenges of human existence as the search for the meaning of life, the need to confront death, and the necessity of taking responsibility for our actions.
Mental Disorder
Any behaviour or emotional state that causes an individual great suffering, is self-destructive, seriously impairs the person’s ability to work or get along with others, or endangers others or the community.
Problems with the DSM
- The danger of over diagnosis
- The power of diagnostic labels
- The confusions of serious mental disorders with normal problems
- The illusion of objectivity and universality
culture-bound syndromes
Disorders that are specific to particular cultural contexts.
projective tests
Psychological tests used to infer a person’s motives, conflicts, and unconscious dynamics on the basis of the person’s interpretations of ambiguous stimuli.
Rorschach Ink-blot Test
consists of 10 cards with symmetrical abstract patterns. The test taker reports what he or she sees in the ink blots, and the clinician interprets the answers according to the symbolic meanings emphasized by psychodynamic theories.
created in 1921 by Hermann Rorschach
objective tests
Standardized objective questionnaires requiring written responses; they typically include scales on which people are asked to rate themselves.
generalized anxiety disorder
A continuous state of anxiety marked by feelings of worry and dread, apprehension, difficulties in concentration, and signs of motor tension.
post-traumatic stress disorder
A trauma- and stressor-related disorder in which a person who has experienced a traumatic or life-threatening event has symptoms such as psychic numbing, reliving of the trauma, and increased physiological arousal.
panic disorder
An anxiety disorder in which the person experiences recurring panic attacks, periods of intense fear, and feelings of impending doom or death, accompanied by physiological symptoms such as rapid heart rate and dizziness.
phobia
an exaggerated, unrealistic fear of a specific situation, activity, or object.
agoraphobia
a set of phobias, often set off by a panic attack, involving the basic fear of being away from a sage place or person.
fear of heights
acrophobia
fear of thunder
brontophobia
fear of cats
ailurophobia
fear of the colour purple
porphyrophobia
fear of dirt and germs
mysophobia
fear of the number thirteen
triskaidekaphobia
obsessive-compulsive disorder
A disorder in which a person feels trapped in repetitive, persistent thoughts (obsession) and repetitive, ritualized behaviours (compulsions) designed to reduce anxiety.
major depression
A mood disorder involving disturbances in emotion (excessive sadness), behaviour (loss of interest in one’s usual activities), cognition (thoughts of hopelessness), and body function (fatigue and loss of appetite).
bipolar disorder
A mood disorder in which episodes of both depression and mania (excessive euphoria) occur.
vulnerability-stress models
Approaches that emphasize how individual vulnerabilities interact with external stresses or circumstances to produce mental disorders.
paranoid personality disorder
A disorder characterized by unreasonable, excessive suspiciousness and mistrust, and irrational feelings of being persecuted by others.
narcissistic personality disorder
A disorder characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance and self-absorption.
borderline personality disorder
A disorder characterized by intense but instable relationships, a fear of abandonment by others, an unrealistic self-image, and emotional volatility.
psychopathy
A personality disorder characterized by a lack of remorse, empathy, anxiety, and other social emotions; the use of deceit and manipulation; and impulsive thrill seeking.
antisocial personality disorder (APD)
A personalty disorder characterized by a lifelong pattern of irresponsible, antisocial behaviour such as law breaking, violence, and other impulsive, reckless acts.
Factors involved with psychopathy
- Abnormalities in the central nervous system.
- Impaired frontal-lobe functioning.
- Genetic influences.
- Environmental events.
Biological model of addiction
due primarily to a person’s biochemistry, metabolism, and genetic predisposition.
Learning model of addiction
- Addiction patterns vary according to cultural practices and the social environment.
- Policies of total abstinence tend to increase rates of addiction rather than reduce them.
- Not all addicts have withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking a drug.
- Addiction does not depend on properties of the drug alone but also on the reasons for taking it.
dissociative identity disorder
A controversial disorder marked by the apparent appearance within one person of two or more distinct personalities, each with its own name and traits; formerly known as multiple personality disorder.
psychosis
An extreme mental disturbance involving distorted perceptions and irrational behaviour; it may have psychological or organic causes.
schizophrenia spectrum disorder
A psychotic disorder marked by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized and incoherent speech, inappropriate behaviour, and cognitive impairments.
Contributing factors of schizophrenia
- Genetic predispositions
- Structural brain abnormalities
- a decrease in the volume of the temporal lobe or hippocampus, reduced neuronal connections in the prefrontal cortex, or enlargement of the ventricles. - Neurotransmitter abnormalities.
- dopamine levels are much higher in schizophrenic patients. - Prenatal problems or birth complications.
- can occur if the mother suffers from malnutrition, or if the mother gets the flu virus during the first four months of prenatal development. - Adolescent abnormalities in brain development.
psychotic
total break from reality
neurotic
you know something is wrong
antipsychotic drugs (neuroleptics)
Drugs used primarily in the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; they are often used off label and inappropriately for other disorders such as dementia and impulsive aggressiveness.
antidepressant drugs
Drugs used primarily in the treatment of mood disorders, especially depression and anxiety.
tranquilizers
Drugs commonly but often inappropriately prescribed for patients who complain of unhappiness, anxiety, or worry.
lithium carbonate
A drug frequently given to people suffering from bipolar disorder.
placebo effect
The apparent success of a medication or treatment due to the patient’s expectations or hopes rather than to the drug or treatment itself.
Common antipsychotics
Thorazine Haldol Clozaril Risperdal Seroquel
Common antidepressants
Prozac Nardil Elavil Paxil Wellbutrin Cymbalta Remeron
Common anti-anxiety drugs
Valium
Xanax
Klonapin
Beta blockers
therapeutic window
The amount of a drug that is enough but not too much, taking into account the fact that the same dose of a drug may be metabolized differently in men and women, old people and young people, and different ethnic groups.
psychosurgery
Any surgical procedure that destroys selected areas of the brain believed to be involved in emotional disorders or violent, impulsive behaviour.
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
A procedure used in cases of prolonged and severe major depression, in which a brief brain seizure is induced.
psychoanalysis
A theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy, originally formulated by Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts.
transference
In psychodynamic therapies, a critical process in which the client transfers unconscious emotions or reactions, such as emotional feelings about his or her parents, onto the therapist.
behaviour therapy
A form of therapy that applies principles of classical and operant conditioning to help people change self-defeating or problematic behaviours.
graduated exposure
In behaviour therapy, a method in which a person suffering from a phobia or panic attacks is gradually taken into the feared situation or exposed to a traumatic memory until the anxiety subsides.
flooding
In behaviour therapy, a form of exposure treatment in which the client is taken directly into the feared situation and remains there until his or her panic subsides.
systemic desensitization
In behaviour therapy, a step-by-step process of desensitizing a client to a feared object or experience; it is based on the classical conditioning procedure of counter conditioning.
in which a stimulus (such as a dog) for an unwanted response (such as fear) is paired with some other stimulus or situation that elicits a response incompatible with the undesirable one.
behavioural self-monitoring
In behaviour therapy, a method of keeping careful data on the frequency and consequences of the behaviour to be changed
skills training
In behaviour therapy, an effort to teach the client new skills that he or she may lack, as well as new constructive behaviours to replace self-defeating ones.
cognitive therapy
A form of therapy designed to identify and change irrational, unproductive ways of thinking and, hence, to reduce negative ones.
rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)
A form of cognitive therapy devised by Albert Ellis, designed to challenge the client’s unrealistic thoughts.
Aaron Beck
Devised a form of cognitive therapy that avoids direct challenges to the client’s beliefs.
The beliefs are not irrational, rather, they are
unproductive or based on misinformation.
-used for depression
Donald Meichenbaum
Developed a form of cognitive-behaviour therapy called “stress inoculation” to treat anxiety.
- Has three stages:
1. Education Phase (identify situations causing anxiety)
2. Rehearsal Phase (taught how to manage anxiety with practice in stressful situations)
3. Implementation Phase (client deals with anxiety-provoking stimuli in a real-world situation)
humanist therapy
A form of psychotherapy based on the philosophy of humanism, which emphasizes the client’s free will to change rather than past conflicts.
client-centred (non-directive) therapy
A humanist approach, devised by Carl Rogers, which emphasizes the therapist’s empathy with the client and the use of unconditional positive regard.
existential therapy
A form of therapy designed to help clients explore the meaning of their existence and face the great questions in life, such as death, freedom, alienation, and loneliness.
family-systems perspective
An approach to doing therapy with individuals or families by identifying how each family member forms part of a larger interacting system.
therapeutic alliance
The bond of confidence and mutual understanding established between therapist and client, which allows them to work together to solve the client’s problems.
randomized controlled trials
Research designed to determine the effectiveness of a new medication or form of therapy, in which the people with a given problem or disorder are randomly assigned to one or more treatment groups or to a controlled group.
