Personality & Abnormal Psych Flashcards
E.G. Boring
Development of psych is not due to efforts of great people, but to zeitgeist beginning w tichener’s introspection, to functionalism, behaviorism, gestalt, cognitive, psychoanalysis, and humanism.
William Sheldon
Characterized people by body type, relating body type to personality type. Endomorphy (soft and round), mesomorphy (hard, muscular), and ectomorphy (thin,fragile).
Humanism
Arouse in opposition to psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Believes in free will and ppl should be treated as wholes. Maslow and Rogers
Phillipe Pinel
Reformed an asylum in 1792 to treat patients w humanity & the reform spread
Dorothea Dix
Advocate in mid 1800s for treating the mentally ill in a humane way.
General paresis
Delusions of grandeur, mental deterioration, death caused by syphilis. Brought to light that physiological factors could underlie mental disorders
Cerletti and Bini
Introduced electroshock for schizo patients (they were incorrect in thinking that the convulsions could cure this disorder).
Intro of antipsychotic drugs in the 1950’s
Surgeons stopped performing lobotomies and using Electro shock therapy
Emil Kraepelin
Wrote the precursor to the DSM. Described mental disorders and worked out a system of classifying these disorders
Psychodynamic theory
Structural dynamic model: Id (primary process, desire to relieve tension, obtain satisfaction now not later, mental image of the object is wish fulfillment), ego (the secondary process, the reality principle, promotes problem solving, thinking and reality testing; cannot be independent of the id), superego (similar to id in that it is not in touch w reality & strives for the ideal, moral branch, conscience- linked to punishment, ego-ideal- linked to reward)
Instincts
The propelling aspects of Freud’s dynamic theory of personality. Eros (instinct of life, linked to libido), Thanatos (instinct of death- unconscious wish for absolute state of quiescence)
Defense mechanism
Ego’s resource to releasing excessive pressures due to anxiety. They 1. Distort reality and 2. They are unconscious . There are 8 in total
- Repression 2. Suppression 3. Projection
- Unconscious forgetting of anxiety producing memories 2. More deliberate, conscious form of forgetting 3. When a person attributes his forbidden urges to others
- Reaction formation 5. Rationalization 6. Regression
- A repressed wish is warded off by its diametrical opposite 5. Developing a socially acceptable explanation for inappropriate behavior or thoughts 6. Reverting to an earlier stage of development
- Sublimation 8. Displacement
- Transforming unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behaviors 8. Pent-up feelings are discharged on objects and people less dangerous than the cause of the feelings
Carl Jung
Psychoanalyst that gives more emphasis to interpersonal, social, and cultural influences. Thinks of libido as a psychic energy (as opposed to sexual). Ego- conscious mind; & personal & collective unconscious
Collective unconscious
Shared among all humans & a residue of the experiences of our early ancestors. An archetype is a thought or image that has an emotional element, such as having a mother or father
Extroversion and introversion
Jung. Extroversion is an orientation to the external, objective world. Introversion toward inner, subjective world. Ordinarily one is dominant. Four functions of personality: thinking, feeling, sensing and intuiting
Alfred Adler
Originator of the inferiority complex- incompleteness, imperfection, socially and physically. Striving toward superiority that drives the personality. Striving enhances the personality when it’s socially oriented, when it’s not it becomes the root of personality disorders
Creative self and style of life.
Adler. 1. Force by which each individual shapes his uniqueness makes own personality. 2. Manifestation of creative self and describes a persons unique way of achieving superiority. Adler coined the term “lifestyle”
Fictional finalism
An individual is more motivated by his expectations of the future than by past experiences. (Fictional estimate of life’s values rather than past objective data)
Karen Horney
Moving away from others
Karen Horney cont.
Children use 3 strategies in his relationship w others- obtain good will of people who provide security, fighting ppl to obtain the upper hand, and withdrawing from ppl. Highly threatened children will use one of these strategies rigidly and exclusively
Ego psychologists
Anna Freud. More direct investigation of the conscious ego and it’s relation to the world, the unconscious, and superego is beneficial to psychoanalytic theory
Erik Erickson
Ego psychologist. Reworked Sigmund Freud’s stages to cover the entire lifespan
Object-relations theory.
Also psychodynamic. “Object” refers to the symbolic representation of a significant part of the young child’s personality. Look at creation and development of these objects. Melanie Klein, Winnicott, Mahler, and Kernberg
Psychoanalysis
Freud used hypnosis to free repressed thoughts from unconscious, but dropped it in favor of other methods. Free association (client says whatever comes to their mind). Dream interpretation- leads to understanding of unconscious mind. Resistance- (to therapy) is a major part of analysis. Transference involves attributing feelings to the therapist that developed in past relationships w others. Therapists can use this to recreate past experiences. Countertransference where therapist expresses feelings toward the patient- must be careful it doesn’t interfere w therapy
Neo-Freudian approach
Less expensive and time consuming than traditional psycho-analysis. Places more emphasis on current interpersonal relationships and life situations than on childhood
Behaviorism
Basic assumption of behavior theory regarding personality is that behavior is learned as ppl interact w their environment. John Dollard & Neal miller blended psychoanalytic concepts in a behavior stimulus-response reinforcement learning theory approach. Focused on conflicting motives in the devel of personality
B.F. Skinner
Considered personality to be a collection of behavior that happens to have been sufficiently reinforced to persist. So personality is the result of behavioral development of an organism
Bandura
Contends that learning principles are sufficient to account for personality development. Learning can also occur by observing other people’s behavior get reinforced- called vicarious reinforcement (or vicarious Learning)
Seligman’s learned helplessness theory of depression
Dogs were shocked & couldn’t escape. Later when they could escape, they didn’t try. Developed an external locus of control. Extrapolated this to human depression.
Behavior therapy
Abnormal behavior as a result of learning faulty coping patterns. Behaviorists consider the symptoms to be the disorder. Successful with phobias, impulse control, and personal care maintenance
Cognitive- behavior therapy
Blending cognitive and behavioral approaches. Tries to change & restructure patients distorted or irrational thoughts. I.e Beck’s cognitive therapy for depression and Ellis’s RET. (Both challenge irrational beliefs and replace them w more constructive ones)
Symptom substitution
Psychoanalysts do not believe that symptom relief is adequate. Because cause is still there, new symptoms will develop to replace the old one.
Phenomenological theorists
Similar to humanists bc they focus on that which distinguishes us from animals. Looks at internal processes rather than overt behavior. Also similar to existentialists. Gestalt has a holistic view of self, also close to both existentialist and humanism.
Kurt Lewin’s field theory
Puts little stock in constraints on personalities such as fixed traits, habits, or structures (eg id, ego, superego). Influenced by gestalt. Personality is dynamic and ever changing. Under optimal conditions, regions within personality fxn in an integrated fashion. Under stress, systems don’t work smoothly together
Maslow
Hierarchy of human motives and for his views on self-actualization. Peak experiences.
George Kelly
Described the notion of the individual as the scientist. A person who devises and tests predictions about the behavior of important ppl in their lives. Anxiety is caused by difficulty constructing and understanding the variables in his or her environment. Psychotherapy allows u to acquire new constructs that will allow to predict troublesome events.
Humanist- existential therapies
Find meaning in one’s life by making one’s own choices. Mental disorders stem from problems of alienation, depersonalization, loneliness, and a lack of meaningful existence. Humanistic therapy explores clients thoughts and feelings. Existential therapy includes empathy, understanding affirmation, and positive regard
Carl Rogers
Humanistic/ phenomenological. Known for his psychotherapy technique client- centered therapy, person- centered or nondirective therapy. Freedom to control own behavior. Client can reflect on problems, make choices & determine own destiny.
Unconditional positive regard
Rogers. Increase congruence btw what person thinks he/she should be and what person actually is. UPR is provided to enhance this situation
Victor Frankl
Survivor of Nazi concentration camps. Linked to human search to find meaning in one’s existence. Mental illness stems from a life of meaninglessness
Trait/type theorists
Type attempt to characterize people according to different types of personalities. Trait attempts to ascertain the fundamental dimensions of personality
Type A/Type B
Type tends to be competitive and compulsive and type B is more relaxed. Type A ⬆️heart disease and more prev amoung upper middle class white men
Raymond Cattell
Trait theorist who used factor analysis to measure personality in a more comprehensive way. Identified 16 basic traits that constitute the building blocks of personality
Eysenck
Also used factor analysis to devel a theory of personality. Broad dimensions of personality were types, which were followed by more specific traits. Used scientific method to test Jung’s extroversion/ introversion. Second dimension was stability- neuroticism. Psychoticism as third dimension.
Gordon Allport
Functional autonomy. Trait theorist. 3 basic types of traits: cardinal (organizes life), central (major characteristics), and secondary (more limited in occurrence).
Functional autonomy
Allport. A given activity or behavior may become an end goal in itself, regardless of the original reason for its existence. I.e hunting as an end rather than a means.
Idiographic vs. nomothetic
Allport. Idiographic-individual case studies. Nomothetic- focuses on groups. Allport was about the idiographic and not the nomothetic. Later named them morphogenic and dimensional.
McClelland
Personality trait- need for achievement.
Witkin
Tried to draw relationship btw personality & perception of world. field dependence. Rod & frame test
Julian rotter
Internal and external locus of control. Locus of control & self esteem are related. For high self esteem: success is internal & failure is external
Machiavellianism
Someone who is manipulative and deceitful. “Most ppl don’t really know what’s best for them”, “tell ppl what they want to hear” or “don’t trust anyone”
Androgyny
Sandra Bem. Ppl can achieve high scores on both masculinity and femininity on personality measures.
Mischel’s criticism
Challenges the concept of stable personality traits. Behavior is largely determined by the situation rather than the person
DSM-IV
APA 1994. Not based on theories of etiology or treatments of different disorders. Based on atheoretical descriptions of symptoms of the various disorders. I.e DSM doesn’t list neurosis. Axis I- clinical disorders w exception of personality disorders & mental retardation. axis II- personality disorders & mental retardation. Axis III- medical conditions. Axis IV- psychosocial or environmental stressors. Axis V- overall fxning level using the GAF.
ADHD
Symptoms usually attenuate in adolescence. More common in males than females. Usually aren’t diagnosed until start school.
Autistic disorder
Impairment in social skills, impairment in communication skills. Inflexible regimes. Occurs in 2-5/10,000 ppl and only a few of these are high functioning.
Tourette’s disorder
Usually diagnosed in adolescence. Occurs in 4-5 individual/ 10,000. Disorder is life-long, but periods of remission may occur.
Schizophrenia
Term coined in 1911 by Eugen Bleuler. Called dementia praecox. Gross distortions in reality and disturbance in affect and thought
Positive symptoms
Added to normal behavior. I.e delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, & disorganized or catatonic behavior. Psychotic dimension & disorganized dimension
Negative symptoms
Involve the absence of normal or desired behavior. I.e flat affect
Delusions
Delusions of reference- belief that others are talking about him. Persecution- being plotted against. Grandeur- belief that he is someone very important, historical, or famous. Delusions of thought broadcasting or thought insertion
Hallucinations
Can occur in all sensory modalities. Most common is auditory. I.e voices
Disorganized thought
Loosening of associations. Speech shifts from one subject to another. Sentences have no structure- word salad. May invent new words called neologisms
Affective symptoms
Blunting- severe reduction in the intensity of affect expression. Flat affect-no signs of affective expression. Inappropriate affect- affect is clearly discordant w the content of speech or ideation.
Catatonic motor behavior
Various extreme behaviors. Movement or activity may be greatly reduced or be rigid & refuse to move. Or useless and bizarre movements.
Prodromal phase
Before schizo is diagnosed, patient often goes through a period of maladjustment. Evidence of deterioration, social withdrawal, role functioning impairment, peculiar behavior and inappropriate affect. Followed by the active phase
Process and reactive schizophrenia
Process is slow and insidious, and recovery chances are poor. Reactive is sudden and intense and chances for recovery are better
Subtypes of schizophrenia
Catatonic- disturbance in motor behavior. Alternation btw withdrawal of behavior and excited behavior. Paranoid- preservation of cognitive and affective fxning; persistent auditory hallucinations. Disorganized- (hebephrenic) flat or inappropriate affect and disorganized speech. Undifferentiated- diagnosed when general criteria for other categories are not met. Residual- when there was a previous episode, but + symptoms are not displayed, but may show neg symptoms
Dopamine hypothesis
Dopamine plays an important role in movement & posture. This hypothesis suggests that the delusions, hallucinations, and agitation arise from an excess of dopamine activity at certain sites in the brain. A variant is that dopamine levels are normal, but there is an insensitivity to dopamine in the brain. Evidence comes from effectiveness of antipsychotics in treating schizo
Double bind hypothesis
As a child, person received contradictory and mutually incompatible message from his caregiver (usually the mother). Child may begin to feel anxious and these disorganized messages become internalized. Begins to see his perceptions of reality as unreliable. Not widely supported
Major depressive disorder
At least one major depressive episode. At least a 2 week period which there is a persistent depressed mood, or loss of interest in almost all activities. Appetite disturbances, weight changes, excessive guilt, decreased energy, difficult thinking or concentrating or thoughts of death or attempts at suicide. 15% of ppl with this disorder will die by suicide
Bipolar disorder (formerly manic- depression)
Characterized by both depression and mania. Manic- persistent elevated mood, decreased need for sleep. Flight of ideas and increased self esteem. Judgement is impaired. Rapid onset and briefer periods than depressive episodes. Bipolar I has these manic episodes, while bipolar II has hypomania- does not impair fxning, nor are there psychotic features.
Dysthymic and cyclothymic disorders
Don’t meet the criteria for MDD or bipolar; but are characterized by similar, less severe symptoms
Norepinephrine and serotonin (monoamine or catecholamine theory of depression)
Neurotransmitters that have been implicated in mood disorders. Too much norep & serotonin leads to mania, while too little leads to depression.
Phobia
Anxiety. An irrational fear of something that results in a compelling desire to avoid it. A specific phobia is when anxiety is produced by a specific object or situation. Agoraphobia is a fear of being in open spaces or an inability to escape. Might be afraid to leave home.
OCD
Repeated obsessions that produce tension and/ or compulsions that produce sig impairment in one’s life. Obsessions are thoughts and compulsions are behaviors
Somatoform disorders
Involve physical symptoms that suggest a medical condition, but are not fully explained by a medical condition. Not faking, really believes has medical disorder. I.e conversion disorder- unexplained symptoms affecting voluntary motor or sensory fxns like paralysis or blindness when there is no neurological basis. Hypochondriasis- fears that he has a serious disease. Misinterpretation of one or more bodily signs or symptoms, fears continue after they pass a medical exam
Dissociative disorders
Person avoids stress by escaping from his identity. Person otherwise has an intact sense of reality. Examples to follow.
Dissociative amnesia
Inability to recall past experience. Amnesia is not due to a neurological disorder
Dissociative fugue
Amnesia that accompanies a sudden, unexpected move from one’s home or location of usual daily activities. Confused about identity and may assume a new identity.
Dissociative identity disorder (formerly multiple personality disorder)
2 or more personalities that recurrently take control of a persons behavior. Results when components of identity fail to integrate. Can occur after severe physical or sexual abuse. After much therapy, personalities can be integrated into one.
Depersonalization disorder
Person feels detached like an outside observer of his mental processes and behavior. Still has intact sense of reality.
Anorexia nervosa
Refusal to maintain a minimal normal body weight. Distorted body image, believes overweight even when they are emaciated. Amenorrhea (cessation of period). 90% female and 10% of hospitalized cases result in death
Bulimia nervosa
Binge-eating accompanied by excessive attempts to compensate for it by purging, fasting, or excessive exercising. Maintains a minimally normal body weight. 90% cases are female
Personality disorders
Pattern of behavior that is inflexible and maladaptive causing distress in @ least 2 of the following areas: cognition, emotions, interpersonal fxning, or impulse control.
Schizoid personality disorder
Detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression. Little desire for social interactions, Few if any close friends & poor social skills
Narcissistic PD
Grandiose sense of self-importance, preoccupation with fantasies of success, need for constant admiration and attention, and feelings of entitlement. Fragile self-esteem. Marked feelings of rage, inferiority, shame, or humiliation when others view them negatively
Borderline personality disorder
Has features of both PDs and more severe psychological disorders. Pervasive instability in interpersonal behavior, mood and self- image. Relationships are intense and unstable. Uncertainty about self- image or sexual identity. Fear of abandonment. Suicide attempts and self- mutilation are common
Antisocial PD
Psychopathic disorder or sociopathic disorder. Disregard for the rights of others. Repeated illegal acts, deceitfulness, aggressiveness, and lack of remorse for actions,
Diathesis-stress model
Diathesis is a predisposition toward developing a certain mental disorder can be genetic or biochemical. Excessive stress operating on a person w diathesis may lead to the development of a specific mental disorder
Primary prevention
Efforts to seek out and eradicate conditions that foster mental illness and to est the conditions that foster mental health care. Proactive, not reactive
David Rosenhan (1973)
Studied whether it was possible to be judged sane in you are in an insane place. Reported hallucinations and admitted to a hospital and acted sane in every way, but their actions were judged to be insane by the staff. Once the label is placed on u, it never really goes away. Warned clinicians they need to be more careful.
Thomas Szaz
Outspoken critic of labeling ppl mentally ill argues that most disorders treated by clinicians aren’t disorders, rather they are traits that differ from the cultural norm. Labeling is a way to make ppl adhere to social norms, rather than allowing them to attack societal problems- The Myth of Mental illness
Galton
One of the first ppl to study individual differences. Influenced Cattell.
