Content Area 5 Flashcards
Personality
An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
Psychodynamic Theories
Posit that behavior is the dynamic interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind
Conscious Mind
The sensations, perceptions, memories, feeling, and fantasies inside of our current awareness
Preconscious Mind
The thoughts you aren’t actively thinking of but can call to mind easily given the right trigger
Unconscious Mind
A reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that occur outside of our conscious awareness
Free Association
The mental process by which one word or image may spontaneously suggest another without any apparent connection
Ego
Operates on the reality principle; seeks to realistically gratify the id’s impulses to bring long-term pleasure; contains perceptions, thoughts, judgments, and memories
Superego
Focuses on ideal behavior; strives for perfection; acts as moral conscience
Id
Operates on the pleasure principle; unconsciously strives to satisfy basic drives to survive, reproduce, and aggress
Pleasure Principle
The instinctive seeking of pleasure and avoiding of pain to satisfy biological and psychological needs
Reality Principle
the ego’s control of the pleasure-seeking activity of the id in order to meet the demands of the external world
Psychosexual Stages
Oral (0-18 months) Pleasure centers on the mouth—sucking, biting, chewing
Anal (18–36 months) Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control
Phallic (3–6 years) Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings
Latency (6 to puberty) A phase of dormant sexual feelings
Genital (puberty on)Maturation of sexual interests
Repression
underlies all other defense mechanisms. It is sometimes incomplete and may be manifested as symbols in dreams or slips of the tongue
Defense Mechanisms
The ego protects itself with tactics that reduce and redirect anxiety by reality distortion.
Function indirectly and unconsciously
Regression
Retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated
Reaction Formation
Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites
Projection
Disguising one’s own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
Rationalizing
Offering self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for one’s actions
Displacement
Shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person
Denial
Refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities
Neo-Freudians
Accepted many of Freud’s ideas
Placed more emphasis on the conscious mind and on social motives than sexual- or aggression-related ones
Contemporary Psychodynamic Theorists
Reject Freud’s emphasis on sexual motivation
View mental life as primarily unconscious
Projective Test
Personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli
Designed to trigger the projection of one’s inner dynamics and reveal unconscious motives
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Self-Actualization
Maslow focused on the potential for healthy personal growth and people’s striving for self-determination and self-realization.
People are motivated by hierarchy of needs and strive for self-actualization and self-transcendence
Person-Centered Perspective
Roger posited that characteristics of growth-promoting environment include genuineness, acceptance, and empathy.
Unconditional positive regard and self-concept are key components of Rogers’ theory
Trait Theorists
See personality as a stable and enduring pattern of behavior
Describe differences rather than trying to explain them
Use factor analysis to identify clusters of behavior tendencies that occur together
Suggest genetic predispositions influence many traits
Factor Analysis
Statistical procedure used to identify clusters of test items to tap basic components of intelligence
Biology & Personality
Brain-activity scans of extraverts indicate they seek stimulation because normal brain arousal is relatively low.
Dopamine and dopamine-related neural activity tend to be higher in extraverts.
Stigma of Introversion
Introversion is often misunderstood as shyness, but introverted people often simply seek low levels of stimulation from their environment
Personality Inventory
Questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors
The Big 5 Factors (OCEAN)
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
Social-Cognitive Perspective
Views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context
Emphasizes interaction of our traits with our situations
Applies principles of learning, cognition, and social behavior to personality
Reciprocal Determinism
Describes the interaction and mutual influence of behavior, internal personal factors, and environmental factors
Social-Cognitive Theorists
Build on concepts of learning and cognition
Contend the best way to predict behavior in a given situation is to observe that behavior in similar situations
Downplay the importance of unconscious motives, emotions, and biologically influenced traits
Self-Esteem
Our feeling of self-worth
Self-Efficacy
Our sense of competence on a task
High self-esteem correlates with less pressure to conform, with persistence at difficult tasks, and with happiness. But the direction of the correlation is not clear
Excessive Optimism
May lead to complacency
May prevent recognition of real risks
May be self-defeating when dealing with temptations
May be directed toward a group (illusionary optimism)
Self-Serving Bias
Involves a readiness to perceive the self favorably
Suggests people accept more responsibility for good deeds than for bad, and for successes rather than for failure
Often creates a better-than-average effect
May underlie a range of conflicts
Defensive Self-Esteem
Fragile, threatened by failure and criticism, and more vulnerable to perceived threats that feed anger and feelings of vulnerability
Secure Self-Esteem
Less fragile, less contingent on external evaluations, and more likely to achieve a greater quality of life
Psychological Disorders
Marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior
Disturbed or dysfunctional thoughts, emotions, or behaviors are maladaptive
DSM-5
American Psychiatric Association, fifth edition
Describes disorders and estimates their occurrence
Changes
Some label changes (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability)
New or altered diagnoses (e.g., disruptive mood dysregulation disorder; prolonged bereavement/ depression); some are controversial
New categories: hoarding disorder, binge-eating disorder
DSM-5 Criticisms
Antisocial personality disorder and generalized anxiety disorder did poorly on field trials.
DSM-5 contributes to the pathologizing of everyday life.
System labels are society’s value judgments
DSM-5 Benefits
System helps mental health professionals communicate and is useful in research
Anxiety Disorders
Marked by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal
Panic Disorder
Person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread and often lives in fear of when the next attack might strike
Phobia
Person experiences a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Characterized by persistent and repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both
Obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors interfere with everyday life and cause distress
More common among teens and young adults than among older people
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia lingering for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience
Often affects battle-scarred veterans (7.6 percent of combatants; 1.4 percent of noncombatants) and survivors of accidents, disasters, and violent and sexual assaults (two-thirds of prostitutes)
Conditioning
Classical conditioning research helps explain how panic-prone people associate anxiety with certain cues.
Stimulus generalization research demonstrates how a fearful event can later become a fear of similar events.
Reinforcement (operant conditioning) can help maintain a developed and generalized phobia.
Biology
Genes: Genetic predisposition to anxiety, OCD, and PTSD
The brain: Trauma linked to new fear pathways, hyperactive danger detection, impulse control, and habitual behavior areas of brain
Natural selection:Biological preparedness to fear threats; easily conditioned and difficult to extinguish
Major Depressive Disorder
Person experiences, in the absence of drugs or another medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be either
(1) depressed mood
(2) loss of interest or pleasure
Persistent Depressive Disorder
Person experiences mildly depressed mood more often than not for at least two years, along with at least two other symptoms
Bipolar Disorder
Disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania; formerly called manic-depressive disorder
Mania
A hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgment is common
Depressed Brain
Brain activity slows during depression
Left frontal lobe is less active
Norepinephrine and serotonin levels decline
Less active left frontal lobe
Social-Cognitive Perspective
Explores how people’s assumptions and expectations influence their perceptions
Self-defeating beliefs and a negative explanatory style contribute to the cycle of depression
Views depression as an ongoing cycle of stressful experiences (interpreted through negative beliefs, attributions, and memories) which lead to negative moods and actions and fuel new stressful experiences
Suicide
Affects 1 million people worldwide
Higher risk with diagnosis of depression but may occur with rebound
More likely to occur when people feel disconnected from or as if they are a burden to others
Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)
Cutting, burning, hitting oneself, pulling out hair, inserting objects under nails or skin, self-administered tattooing
Why NSSI (Nonsuicidal Self-Injury)?
Gain relief from intense negative thoughts through the distraction of pain
Ask for help and gain attention
Relieve guilt by self-punishment
Get others to change their negative behavior (bullying, criticism)
Fit in with a peer group
Psychotherapy
Psychological techniques derived from psychological perspectives
Trained therapist uses psychological techniques to assist someone overcome difficulties or achieve personal growth
Biomedical Therapy
Treatment with medical procedures
Trained therapist, most often a medical doctor, offers medications and other biological treatments
Eclectic Approach
Uses techniques from various forms of therapy
Psychoanalysis Goals
Bring patients’ repressed feelings into conscious awareness
Help patients release energy devoted to id–ego–superego conflicts so they may achieve healthier, less anxious lives
Psychoanalysis Techniques
Historical reconstruction, initially through hypnosis and later through free association
Interpretation of resistance, transference
Psychodynamic Goals
Help people understand current symptoms; explore and gain perspective on defended-against thoughts and feelings
Psychodynamic Techniques
Client-centered face-to-face meetings; exploration of past relationship troubles to understand origins of current difficulties
Interpersonal Therapy
Brief 12- to 16-session form of psychodynamic therapy that has been effective in treating depression
Humanistic Goals
Reduce inner conflicts that interfere with natural development and growth; help clients grow in self-awareness and self-acceptance promoting personal growth
Humanistic Techniques
Client-centered therapy; focus on taking responsibility for feelings and actions, and on present and future rather than past
Counterconditioning
Uses classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors
Exposure Therapies
Treat anxieties by exposing people (in imaginary or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid
Systematic Desensitization
Associates a pleasant, relaxed state with gradually increasing, anxiety-triggering stimuli
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
Treats anxiety by creative electronic simulations in which people can safely face their greatest fears, such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking
Aversive Conditioning Goals
Substitute a negative response for a positive response to a harmful stimulus
Condition an aversion to something the person should avoid
Aversive Conditioning Goals
Unwanted behavior is associated with unpleasant feelings
Ability to discriminate between aversive conditioning situation in therapy and other situations can limit treatment effectiveness
Operant Conditioning Therapy
Consequences drive behavior; voluntary behaviors are strongly influenced by their consequences
Behavior Modification
Desired behavior is reinforced; undesired behavior is not reinforced, and sometimes punished
Token Economy
People earn a token for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for privileges or treats
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)
Aims to alter the way people act AND the way they think
Helps people learn to make more realistic appraisals
Group Therapy
Conducted with groups rather than individuals
Used when client problems involve interactions with others
Group therapy benefits
Saves therapists’ time and clients’ money
Encourages exploration of social behaviors and social skill development
Enables people to see that others share their problems
Provides feedback as clients try out new ways of behaving
Family Therapy
Attempts to open up communication within the family and help family members to discover and use conflict resolution strategies
Treats the family as a system
Views an individual’s unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members
Psychotherapy Specific Problems
Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies:anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder
Behavioral conditioning therapies: bed-wetting, phobias, compulsions, marital problems, and sexual dysfunctions
Psychodynamic therapy: depression and anxiety
Nondirective (client-centered) counseling: mild to moderate depression
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Some effectiveness shown—not from the eye movement but rather from the exposure therapy nature of the treatments
Light Exposure Therapy
Provides relief from depression symptoms for persons with a seasonal pattern of major depressive disorder by activating a brain region that influences arousal and hormones
Clinical Psychologists
Most are psychologists with a Ph.D. (includes research training) or Psy.D. (focuses on therapy) supplemented by a supervised internship and, often, post-doctoral training. About half work in agencies and institutions, half in private practice
Psychiatrists
Psychiatrists are physicians who specialize in the treatment of psychological disorders. Not all psychiatrists have had extensive training in psychotherapy, but as M.D.s or D.O.s they can prescribe medications. Thus, they tend to see those with the most serious problems. Many have their own private practice
Clinical or Psychiatric Social Workers
A two-year master of social work graduate program plus postgraduate supervision prepares some social workers to offer psychotherapy, mostly to people with everyday personal and family problems. About half have earned the National Association of Social Workers’ designation of clinical social worker
Counselors
Marriage and family counselors specialize in problems arising from family relations. Clergy provide counseling to countless people. Abuse counselors work with substance abusers and with spouse and child abusers and their victims. Mental health and other counselors may be required to have a two-year master’s degree
Psychopharmacology
Study of drug effects on mind and behavior
Has helped make drug therapy the most widely used biomedical therapy
Antipsychotic Drugs
Mimic certain neurotransmitters (e.g., block or increase activity of dopamine); reduce overreaction to irrelevant stimuli
May produce sluggishness, tremors, twitches, and tardive dyskinesia; Thorazine
Successfully used with life-skills programs and family support to treat schizophrenia
Antianxiety Drugs
Depress CNS activity; Xanax, Ativan
Used in combination with psychological therapy
May reduce symptoms without resolving underlying problems; withdrawal linked to increased anxiety and insomnia
Antidepressant Drugs
Increase availability of norepinephrine or serotonin; promote birth of new brain cells
Slow synaptic vacuuming up of serotonin (SSRIs)
Effectiveness sometimes questioned due to spontaneous recovery and placebo effect
Mood-Stabilizing Drugs
Depakote: Controls manic episodes
Lithium: Levels out the emotional highs and lows of bipolar disorder
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
Manipulates the brain by shocking it
Involves administration of a general anesthetic and muscle relaxation to prevent convulsions
Causes less memory disruption than earlier versions
AMA concluded that ECT methods have some of the most positive treatment effects; reduce suicidal thoughts
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tDCS)
Administers a weak (1- to 2-milliamp) current directly to the scalp. Skeptics argue that such a current is too weak to penetrate to the brain; studies do not confirm cognitive benefits
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)
Sends magnetic energy to brain surface through coiled wire held close to brain; fewer side effects; modest effectiveness
Deep Brain Stimulation
Manipulates the depressed brain via pacemaker; stimulates inhibition activity related to negative emotions and thoughts
Psychosurgery
Removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior
Is irreversible; least used biomedical therapy
Lobotomy
Psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients
Cuts the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain (Moniz)
Today, less invasive techniques are used; MRI-guided surgery may be performed in severe disorders
Therapeutic Lifestyle Change
Alter lifestyle through adequate exercise, sleep, nutrition, and other changes
Drug Therapies
Alter brain chemistry through drugs
Brain Stimulation
Stimulate brain through electroconvulsive shock, mild electrical stimulation, magnetic impulses, or deep-brain stimulation
Resilience
Personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and trauma
