Chapter 2 Flashcards
The null hypothesis
proposes that the prediction made from the theory is false
4 general aims of theory about mental disorders
1- explain the etiology or causes of origins of the behaviour
2- identify the factors that maintain the behaviour
3- predict the course of the disorder
4- design effective treatments
Neurotransmitters
the chemical substances that carry the messages from one neuron to the next
Abnormal behaviour can result from 4 different disturbances in neurotransmitter systems:
1- too much or too little of the neurotransmitter produced or released into the synapse
2- too few or too many receptors on the dendrites
3- an excess or a deficit in the amount of the transmitter-deactivating substance in the synapse
4- the reuptake process may be too rapid or too slow
Brain plasticity
The ability of intact brain cells to compensate for damaged cells and take over their function.
Behavioural genetics
The study of the way in which inherited features interact with the environment to produce behaviour
Genotype- environment interaction
genes may influence behaviours that contribute to environmental stressors, which, in turn, increase the risk of psychopathology.
concordance
when the disorder that characterizes one person (the index case) also occurs in another person, the two are said said to display concordance. The degree of concordance is thought to reveal the influence of genetics.
genetic linkage studies
Studies in which researchers examine families that have a high incidence of a particular psychiatric disorder looking for the presence of genetic markers that can be linked to the occurrence of the disorder.
Molecular biology
a field in which researchers have been able to compare specific DNA segments, identify the genes that determine individual characteristics, and pinpoint the defective genes that cause various medical and psychological disorders
Categorical vs. Dimensional Classification
- Movement towards dimensional
- DSM is moving from not just a yes or no but a spectrum of different levels of the same disorder
Epidemiology
The study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviours in a given population
Prevalence
- The number of active cases in a population during any given period of time
- Prevalence is typically expressed as percentages
- Different types of prevalence estimates include point prevalence, one-year prevalence, and lifetime prevalence
Incidence
- The number of new cases in a population over a given period of time
- Incidence figures are typically lower than prevalence figures, because they exclude already existing cases
Etiology
The causes or origins of abnormal behaviour
Single-Factor Explanation
Attempts to trace the origins of a disorder to one factor (notes); attributes the supposed causal chain of dysfunctional behaviour to a single factor (text)
Interactionalist
- Views behaviors as the product of the interaction of a variety of factors
- Take into account biology and behavior of individual as well as the cognitive, social, and cultural environment
Diathesis-stress model
Diathesis: a vulnerability or contributory cause that is not sufficient to cause the disorder; Biological, social, and psychological factors
Stress: the response of an individual to demands perceived as taxing; Biological, social, and psychological triggers
Diathesis-stress model – A model that posits that abnormal behavior problems involve the interaction of a vulnerability or predisposition and stressful life events or experiences.
Protective factors
- Influences that modify a person’s response to environmental stressors, making adverse consequences less likely
- Outlets, eating, sleeping well
Resilience
the ability to adapt successfully to even very difficult circumstances
Viewpoints for Understanding Causes of Abnormal Behaviour
- Help professionals organize observations
- Provide systems of thought
- Suggest areas of focus
5 categories of biological factors relevant to the development of maladaptive behaviour
- **Neurotransmitters and hormonal imbalances in the brain
- ** Genetic vulnerabilities
- Temperament/other constitutional liabilities
- Brain dysfunction/neural plasticity
- Physical Deprivationédisruption
Genotype vs. Phenotype
Genotype: a person’s total genetic endowment
Phenotype : the observed structural and functional characteristics
3 effects an individuals genotype has on the environment
- A passive effect: resulting from the genetic similarity of parents and children
- An evocative effect: the child’s phenotype may evoke particular kinds of reactions from the social and physical environment
- An active effect: the child seeks out or builds an environment that is congenial
Psychodynamic viewpoint
- Founded by Freud
- claim that behaviour is controlled by unconscious forces of which the person is unaware
Behavioural viewpoint
- John B. Watson
- assume that all human behaviour, including abnormal behaviour, is learned
Cognitive-behavioural viewpoint
- both thinking and behaviour are learned and, therefore, can be changed
- ones patterns of thinking and perceiving are maintained by conseuences
Phenomenology
- Edmund Husserl
- It is through experience that people form their sense of themselves and of the world
- experience is not the objective observation of external events, but rather the accumulation of perceptions of the world
Existential viewpoint
- See the individual’s awareness of his or her own existence as a critical feature of human functioning
- Stress responsibility for choices and actions
Humanistic viewpoint
- Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
- emphasized the dignaty and potential of humans and saw experience as providing the basis for improving oneself
- according to Rogers abnormal behaviour results from a person’s distorted view of him/herself, which in turn arises from an inability to trust experience.
4 features that control behavior and thinking (Freud’s psychodynamic theory)
- Levels of consciousness: Accessibility
- Structures of personality: Embodiment of the controlling forces
- Stages of psychosexual development: Points in life experiences where problems can arise
- Defense mechanisms: Means by which people channel psychic energy functionally or otherwise, Use defense mechs to decrease anxiety
Levels of Consciousness (Psychodynamic theory)
- Conscious
- Contains information we’re currently aware of
- Things you can think about, things that are readily available to you - Unconscious
- Holds the primary processes that drive our behavior
- Cannot access the info
- Pushing personality forward (make you, you), cant think about or change - Preconscious
- Holds information that isn’t entirely within our awareness but can be brought into awareness
- Includes practiced behaviors
- Ex. driving home without thinking about where you are going
Structures of Personality (Psychodynamic)
- The id: the source of instinctual drives; body wants and doesn’t care how it gets; ex. want for food, sleep, etc.
- The ego: which mediates between the demands of the id and the realities of the external world; keeps things in check
- The superego: the outgrowth of internalizing the taboos and moral values of society; controls the things that make you want to be successful, kind, etc.
Repression
Unconscious hiding or forgetting (rape victim hides memories)
Freud’s 5 psychosexual stages of development:
Oral stage (0–2 yrs. old) Anal stage (2–3 yrs. old) Phallic stage (3–5/6 yrs. old) Latency stage (6–12 yrs. old) Genital stage (after puberty)
Oedipus complex and Electra complex
- Occur if fixated at the phallic stage
- A boy with an Oedipus complex are presumed to develop sexual desires for their mother and see their father as a cometitor for their mother’s love
- The Electra complex is the female counterpart of the Oedipus complex
- Electra complex: a girl wants to seduce her father to gain what they truly desire: a penis.
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning – A form of learning in which a response to one stimulus can be made to occur to another stimulus by pairing or associating the two stimuli.
ex. Pavlovians Dogs
Operant conditioning
A form of learning in which behavior is acquired and strengthened when it is reinforced.
Reinforcement
Changes in the environment (stimuli) that increase the frequency of the preceding behavior.
Positive reinforcers
Reinforcers that, when introduced, increase the frequency of the preceding behavior.
Negative reinforcers
Reinforcers that, when removed, increase the frequency of the preceding behavior.
Punishment
Application of aversive or painful stimuli that reduces the frequency of the behavior it follows.
Generalization
when a response is conditioned to one stimulus it can be evoked by other similar stimuli
Discrimination
when a person learns to distinguish between similar stimuli
Social learning theory
A learning-based theory that emphasizes observational learning and incorporates roles for cognitive variables in determining behavior.
Modeling
Learning by observing and imitating the behavior of others.
Expectancies
Beliefs about expected outcomes; formed through modeling.
Rational-emotive behaviour therapy
REBT – A therapeutic approach that focuses on helping clients replace irrational, maladaptive beliefs with alternative, more adaptive beliefs.
Rational emotive behavior therapists help clients substitute more effective interpersonal behavior for self-defeating or maladaptive behavior.
Aaron Beck
Beck proposes that depression may result from errors in thinking or “cognitive distortions,” such as judging oneself entirely on the basis of one’s flaws or failures and interpreting events in a negative light (through blue-colored glasses, as it were).
Schema
an underlying representation of knowledge that guides the current processing of information
We hold all different kinds about all different things in life (how to get job, how to be a parent)
Cognitive therapists
Cognitive therapists encourage clients to recognize and change errors in their thinking, called cognitive distortions, that affect their moods and impair their behavior.
Cognitive therapists have clients record the thoughts that are prompted by upsetting events and note the connections between their thoughts and their emotional responses.
The cognitive-behavioural perspective
focuses on how thoughts and information processing can become distorted and lead to maladaptive emotions and behaviour
Focuses on changing thoughts and behaviour
The ABC approach
Ellis used an “ABC approach” to explain the causes of the misery. Being fired is an activating event (A). The ultimate outcome, or consequence (C), is emotional distress.
But the activating event (A) and the consequences (C) are mediated by various beliefs (B).
Albert Ellis
Ellis believed that negative emotions such as anxiety and depression are caused by the irrational ways in which we interpret or judge negative events, not by negative events themselves.
Content-specificity
Different types of beliefes are considered to be related to different kinds of abnormal behaviour
Self-actualization
Maslow; In humanistic psychology, the tendency to strive to become all that one is capable of being. The motive that drives one to reach one’s full potential and express one’s unique capabilities
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
- Physiological; 2. Safety; 3. Love/belonging; 4. Esteem; 5.Self-actualization
Person-centered therapy
Person-centered therapy – The establishment of a warm, accepting therapeutic relationship that frees clients to engage in self-exploration and achieve self-acceptance.
Person-centered therapy is nondirective.
No goal, focus on whatever they want to discuss
The therapist uses reflection —the restating or paraphrasing of the client’s expressed feelings without interpreting them or passing judgment on them.
Psychosocial factors
- Psychosocial factors are those developmental influences that may handicap a person psychologically
- Include:
- Early deprivation or trauma
- Inadequate parenting styles
- Marital discord and divorce
- Maladaptive peer relationships
Sociocultural viewpoint
The sociocultural viewpoint is concerned with the social environment as a source of vulnerability to mental disorder and resistance to mental disorder
Biopsychosocial perspective
The biopsychosocial perspective examines the contributions of multiple factors representing biological, psychological, and sociocultural domains, as well as their interactions, in the development of psychological disorders.
Public vs Self stigma
Public - the typical societal response that people have to stigmatizing attributes
Self - the internalized psychological impact of public stigma
