Personality/Abnormal Psychology Flashcards
William Sheldon
Created an early theory of personality which defined physical and biological variables that he related to human behaviors. He characterized people by their body type and related that to personality type
Endomorphy
Term used by Sheldon to define a body which was soft and spherical
Mesomorphy
Term used by Sheldon to define a body which was hard, muscular, and rectangular
Ectomorphy
Term used by Sheldon to define a body which was thin, fragile, and lightly muscled
E.G. Boring
Psychological historian who believes that the development of psychology has been due to the changing of the zeitgeist, and not the findings of individual researchers.
Edward Titchener’s Method of Introspection
A method which formed structuralism, a system of psychology.
Humanism
A developed system in the mid 1900s in opposition to psychoanalysis/behaviorism. Asserts the notion of free will and the fact that people should be considered as wholes rther than in terms of stimuli and responses (behaviorism) or instincts (psychoanalysis). Key humanists include Maslow and Rogers
Philippe Pinel
In the late 1700s he ran an asylum and completely reformed it to care for patients like actual people. His concept of care spread and led to reforms of asylums throughout France.
Dorothea Dix
In the mid 1800s Dix was a advocate for treating people with mental illness humanely. She campaigned nationally and led to significant US reform for hospitalized mentally ill patients
Emil Kraepelin
Lived in late 1800s and is known for his published textbook where he classified different mental disorders and symptoms patterns. His system was a precursor to the DSM.
General Paresis
A disorder characterized by delusions of grandeur, mental deterioration, paralysis, and death. Caused by untreated syphilis which led to brain deterioration. One of the first times that a mental disorder was realized to be due to brain pathology and physiological factors.
Cerletti and Bini
Introduced the first use of electroshock for the artificial production of seizures in psychiatric patients. It was believed that the epileptic-like convulsions would cure schizophrenia (wrong). Often these shocks led to violent convulsions and injuring bones
Prefrontal Lobotomies
In the early-mid 1900s, this was thought to treat schizophrenia. Simply involved seperating the frontal lobes from brain tissue. Frequently these lobotomies led to patients being tranquil/apathetic since their frontal lobe was removed, making them easier to “handle” which is why it was originally seen as successful.
Introduction of Anti-Psychotic Drugs
Occurred during the 1950s to treat schizophrenia. Ended the use of lobotomies and electroshock, and led to a breakthrough in treatment modalities and quality of life for many mentally ill individuals
Freud: The Id
Consists of everything that is present at birth, functions according to the pleasure principle. The primary process of the Id is in response to frustration, and will bring a mental image to mind of the object which is desired (this is called wish fulfillment).
Freud: The Ego
The ego acts as the secondary process, and operates according to the reality principle (accounting for objective reality). It is thought that the ego never acts independently of the id, but simply organizes and maintains the id’s wishes.
Freud: The Super-Ego
The two subsystems of the superego are the conscience, which provides rules and norms of what is considered bad behavior, and the ego-ideal, which focuses on rules for good/appropriate behavior.
Freud: Instinct
An innate psychological representation (wish) of a bodily excitation (need). Instincts are propelling aspects of psycho dynamic theory
Freud: The Two Types of Instincts
Eros: life instincts, serving the purpose of survival. Performs its work with energy from libido.
Thanatos: the death instincts, representing an unconscious wish for the ultimate state of quiescence
Freud: Defense Mechanisms
The ego’s way of releasing excessive pressures due to anxiety. All defense mechanisms have two characteristics:
1: they deny, falsify and distort reality
2: they operate unconsciously
Freud: The Eight main Defense Mechanisms
Repression: unconscious forgetting
Suppression: deliberate forgetting
Projection: Place self on others
Reaction Formation: Repress wish by wanting opposite
Rationalization: Developing acceptable excuse
Regression: Reverting to earlier development stage
Sublimation: Transform unacceptable urges into acceptable behavior
Displacement: apply pent up feelings onto the wrong person/object
Ryan Supposedly Plays Rugby Really Roughly, but Susan Disagrees
Carl Jung
Created own system of psychoanalytic theories focusing on interpersonal, sociological, and cultural influences. Coined the thoughts of the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious.
Jung: Personal Unconscious
Similar to Freud’s theory of the unconscious
Jung: Collective Unconscious
A powerful and shared system which is in all humans and is thought to be residual from our shared early ancestors. This includes “images”, a record of common experiences (i.e. having a parent) and the images are built together to become archetypes
Jung: Archetypes
A thought or image that has an emotional element. The major elements include:
Persona: A mask adopted based upon cultural expectations
Anima: Feminine
Animus: Masculine
Shadow: The animal instincts, responsible for morally reprehensible thoughts/actions
Self: A point of unity between the conscious and unconscious
The self is the mandala (magic circle), which promotes harmony
Jung: Personality Typology
The Two Major Personality Orientations:
Extroversion
Introversion
Everyone has both, but there is generally one which is dominant for each person
Jung: Four Psychological Functions
Thinking, Feeling, Sensing, Intuiting
Typically for each person, one of these is more differentiated than the others.
Alfred Adler
Known for his theory on immediate social imperatives and their effects on the unconscious. Known for his ideas regarding the inferiority complex, and the strive towards superiority. Coined the term lifestyle, and believes family environment is crucial to molding a person.
Adler: What Drives Personality?
Striving towards superiority to avoid feelings of inferiority. When this drive is socially oriented (towards benefiting all), it enhances personality, but when it is selfish, it is the root of personality disturbances.
Adler: The Creative Self
The force which each individual shapes their uniqueness from and uses to make their personality
Adler: Style of Life
The manifestation of the creative self, which describes a person’s unique way of achieving superiority.
Adler: Fictional Finalism
The notion that an individual is more motivated by their expectations of the future than by their past experiences. Goals are based in subjective estimates of life value, rather than objective data from previous experience
Freud/Jung/Adler: What motivates behaviors?
Freud: Inborn Instincts
Jung: Inborn Archetypes
Adler: Striving for superiority
Karen Horney
Known for her theory of neurotic personality needs.
Horney: Neurotic Needs
Neurotic needs resemble healthy needs, except in four respects:
- Disproportionate in intensity
- Indiscriminate in application
- partially disregard reality
- provoke intense anxiety
Horney: Basic Anxiety
Proposes that a child’s early self-perception is vital. If a child feels helplessness it leads to insecurity and basic anxiety. To overcome anxiety, the child uses 3 strategies.
1. obtain the good will of people who provide security
2.moving against people or fighting to obtain upper hand
3.Moving away/withdrawing from people
Generally, healthy children/adults use all of these strategies based on the situation, but a threatened child will choose one to stick to rigidly, which caries over into adult personality.
Anna Freud
Freud’s daughter, thought of as the founder of ego psychology, and known for her investigations of the conscious ego and it’s relation to the world.
Erik Erickson
An ego psychologist, known for demonstrating how negative events could positively impact personality. His framework aimed to describe healthy people on their own terms, not just in opposition to unhealthy individuals.
Object Relations Theory
A part of the psycho-dynamic theory of personality, “object” is referencing the symbolic representation of an important part of a child’s personality. Object relation theorists study how children create/develop/internalize these objects.
Psychoanalysis
Long term, intensive treatment to uncover repressed memories and other unconscious shit stemming from psycho-sexual development. Belief is that by gaining insight into this shit, you can stop wasting energy on it and begin to develop further.
Freud: Hypnosis
Used in psychoanalysis to free repressed thoughts from the unconscious. Later this was not his preferred methodology.
Freud: Free Association
When patients would just say whatever came to mind with no filter, intended to help the client and analyst reconstruct the nature of their original conflict.
Freud: Dream Interpretation
Stemming from the belief that during sleep our defenses our relaxed, and so the mind will express forbidden/unconscious thoughts during dreams. Another method Freud used to determine the client’s unconscious conflicts.
Freud: Resistance
Defined as an unwillingness/inability to relate to certain thoughts/motives/analyses.Indications of resistance would be missing sessions, changing the topics, blocking associations, etc.