Post Midterm Behavioral Science Flashcards
What is classical conditioning?
Association of a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that naturally & involuntarily produces some Physiological response.
What is operant conditioning?
Association of a behavior & some event (stimulus) that follows the behavior (a reinforcing or punishing consequence)
What experiment involved stimulus generalization?
White rat+noise, white Rabbit, cotton + fear
What is the concept of classic extinction?
That a stimulus that once elicited a response, if given without the response for an extended time, will eventually stop eliciting the response.
What is the Bell and the Pad study?
A study in which sleeping pads were given to children who were experiencing nocturnal enuresis. The pads, in the presence of moisture would give off an alarm, that would wake the child.
What does PTSD treatment involve?
Most treatments involve exposure to fear -provoking stimuli (classical extinction) Exposure (recalling events associated with the trauma) leads to reduction in anxiety.
What is the learning theory of Operant Conditioning?
Behavior is increased or decreased as a result of the consequences that follow it. Involves primarily voluntary behavior The ‘Law of Effect’
What is Positive reinforcement in Operant conditioning?
A Stimulus is Applied following Behavior Behavior is Strengthened as a result Contingency
What is Negative reinforcement in operant conditioning?
An Aversive Stimulus is removed, terminated, or avoided following Behavior. The Behavior is Strengthened as a result When the behavior allows the subject to avoid an unpleasant stimulus it is referred to as avoidance behavior Seeking medical care to have pain or Sx removed is an example of negative reinforcement.
What factors effect reinforcement?
Immediacy, continuity, clarity of contingencies
How can a phobias negative reinforcement result in continued phobia?
By staying away from fearful situations we are negatively reinforcing the phobia by alleviating the anxiety of the stimulus by not interacting with it, this results in continued phobia.
How does the compulsive behavior in OCD relate to negative reinforcement in Operant conditioning?
In OCD PT’s obsession is dealt with by compulsive acts which reduce the anxiety brought on by the obsession, thus acting as Negative reinforcement for the obsession, by reducing the negative stimulus.
What is Operant Extinction?
Occurs when reinforcement is consistently withheld following a previously reinforced behavior
What is anticipitory immunosupression?
Women undergoing chemotherapy with an immunesuppressive drug showed immunosuppression prior to receiving drug when in presence of hospital CSs previously associated with its administration.
What is the difference between drug like effects and drug opposite effects?
- Conditioning of responses similar to the drug’s effect ie direct, or ‘drug-like effects’ 2.Conditioning of responses opposed to the drug’s direct effects ie ‘drug-opposite effects’, which represent the body’s compensatory responses to the drug
What does the term reggression to the mean refer to?
Natural tendency for a variable to change with time and return towards population average
B.F. Skinner and Radical Behaviorism
Behavior and actions are the result of reinforcement and our environment
What is the difference between obsessions and compulsions?
Obsessions are anxiety generating thoughts and compulsions are actions that are done to alleviate those thoughts.
How many americans smoke and how many would like to quite?
Just under ¼ of Americans smoke, most of whom report they would like to quit
What effect does physician counseling have on smokers?
A physician’s advice to quit increases cessation rates 30% (3 minutes of counseling doubles rate)
What are the stages of change model?
PRECONTEMPLATION CONTEMPLATION PREPARATION ACTION MAINTENANCE
What are the indicators of physical dependance?
The presence of withdrawal symptoms Difficulty of previous cessation attempts Number of cigarettes smoked, & their level of nicotine The Fagerstrom Questionaire of of Nicotine Dependence
What is the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependance?
How soon after awakening in the morning does the smoker smoke the first cigarette?? Does smoker smoke more frequently inmornings?? How many cigarettes smoked per day? Which cigarette would be most difficult to give up? Is it difficult not to smoke in inappropriate places? Does smoker smoke even if ill ?
When is Nicotine replacement therapy NOT recommended?
few withdrawal SxSx relapse > 2 weeks low FTND
When is Nicotine replacement therapy recommended?
history of withdrawal SxSx relapse < 1 week high FTND
What is motivational interviewing?
aimed at assisting Pt from one stage to another, 4 principles: 1.1.“Roll with the resistance” Expect resistance changing ingrained behavior takes time Don’t fight against it flow with it Patient must come to her/his own conclusion that it’s best to change The ‘righting reflex’: Can be hard for therapists & physicians to resist 2.2. “Develop Discrepancy” The patient is ‘stuck’, and needs your help to move along Help patient see the discrepancy between where they want to be, and where they are If they accept your invitation of assistance it will be because of their own reasons, not your brilliantly reasoned arguments. .3. “Express Empathy” Accepting the patient for who they are frees them up to change Judging or blaming is counterproductive Accepting & understanding the patient’s behavior does not necessarily mean agreeing with it. 4.4.“Enhance Self efficacy’ It is critical to behavior change You’ve got to believe you can do it if you are to have any hope of doing it Be supportive, get creative help the patient see what a difference behavior change will make in life
What is the ID?
The ‘Pleasure Principle’ The ‘Libido’
What is the Ego?
The ‘Reality Principle’
What is the superego?
The conscience
What is the Intrapsycich conflict?
Demands of Id, Ego & Superego are often in conflict When an unacceptable drive or impulse threatens to break into consciousness, defense mechanisms are employed Defense mechanisms are unconscious, distort reality, & allow for compromise in the satisfaction of the drive Defense mechanisms serve to protect our sense of self esteem They shield us from emotional pain by permitting only a distorted, non–threatening version of reality to be perceived
What are our defense mechanisms?
REPRESSION DENIAL PROJECTION REACTION FORMATION REGRESSION
When does a psychopathology occur?
Results when defense mechanisms are ineffective That is, when repressive defenses fail, forbidden drives threaten to intrude into voluntary behavior This results in the symptoms (psychological & physical) of different mental disorders Such symptoms are symbolically representative of the underlying conflict. These were originally considered Neuroses, but now are diagnosed as anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder or somatoform disorder.
What is the concept behind somatoform disorders?
Somatoform disorders involve physical symptoms without underlying organic pathology Freud referred to such disorders as ‘hysteria’ bodily symptoms reflect displaced unconscious conflict By focusing on these less threatening bodily symptoms, the patient avoids the anxiety associated with the unconscious conflict
How does the term Fixation relate to Freuds concept of psychopathology?
According to Freud the early years of development were crucial for proper development. If during this critical period needs are not sufficiently satisfied then Fixation can occur which can result in later pathology such as personality disorders.
What were the two methods that Freud used to access the unconscious?
- Free Association 2. Dream analysis
How does analysis of dreams allow us to evaluate the subconscious?
During dream state, our defenses are relaxed and the subconscious is allowed to express itself. dreams are the by product of this and allow us to access the subconscious that we otherwise have defenses against.
How does pyschological testing relate to cultural and social background?
Depending on a persons background they will respond to illness differently, by evaluating their response we can better understand their past experiences, lifestyle and personality.
Reliability
How consistent a test is; underlying concept is error= random fluctuation across subjects
Validity
Extent to which a test measures what it is designed to measure.
What are two examples of predictive Validity vs concurrent validity
Predictive validity: MCAT predictive of med school GPA Concurrent: HAM-D test, used by clinicians to asses depression in Patients.
Whats are the types of psychological tests?
Intellectual Ability Aptitude Achievement Personality Neuropsychological Batteries Vocational/Interest Inventories
What is IQ?
‘INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT’ Not absolute, but a comparison among people Tends to be stable throughout adulthood, but fluctuates in teens IQ is a Standard Score: Mean: 100 Standard Deviation: 15 The Wechsler Scales –most commonly used IQ tests
What are two examples of personality tests?
Objective; question format, norms & standardization e.g. MMPI–22 Projective; Subjective format & scoring e.g. Rorschach
What is the MMPI-2?
The most commonly used personality test for objective personality assessment. Useful in assessing personality variables associated with tendency to develop physical symptoms in response to emotional stress. 567 True/False questions, which yield scores on several scales 10 Clinical Scales, including Scale 1: “Hypochondriasis Scale 2: “Depression” Scale 3: “Hysteria”
What does the HAM-D depression test asses?
HAM–DD contains 21 items assessing: Somatic symptoms Insomnia, Working capacity & interest, Mood, Guilt Psychomotor retardation, Agitation, Anxiety, Insight
What is the projective hypothesis?
That when exposed to an ambiguous stimulus and asked to make sense of it, a persons own unconscious dynamics and conflicts will be exposed in their response. Stimulus from the environment is interpreted according to an individuals own needs and desires. Two projective tests include Rorschach and the TAT test, thematic apperception test.
What does Frequency measure?
Rate, Ratio, proportion,
What is Rate?
change in one quantity per unit change in another over time.
Proportion
a ratio where the numerator is always part of denominator. The numerator is always part of the whole
Ratio
a number that is achieved by dividing one quantity by another.
Prevalence
•proportion of the population at a given time that has the factor of interest. •Numerator– all those with the attribute at a particular time •Denominator–population at risk of having the attribute during that same time period (often, size of pop.)
Point prevalence
existing cases at a point in time
What is the equation for prevalence?
P=# of cases/Size of population
What is incidence?
•Incidence describes the proportion of a population, initially free of the outcome of interest, that develops the condition over a given period of time. •Incidence refers to NEW cases of disease or NEW outcomes
What are the two ways to measure Incidence?
A) Cumulative Incidence (RISK): Measures the rate of new events in a group of people of fixed size. measures the risk of developing the disease. = # of new cases/total persons initially at risk in a given time period B) Incidence density: Measures the number of new cases in a dynamic population, with people entering and leaving •Provides the “density” of new cases of disease in time and place using person-time at risk for the outcome event = # of new cases in a given time period/total person time
What is the diasadvantage of Case report/Case series?
There is no comparison group so results cannot be used for Tx decisions.
What are the differences between a case report and a case series?
A case report is based on 1 person, a case series is a group of patients.
Cross sectional studies
Aka. Prevalence Study •Very commonly used method •Exposure and disease status assessed at the same time •Individual is unit of observation and analysis •Typically descriptive in nature to quantify magnitude of the problem
Case control studies
Key comparison: Disease vs. No Disease •Find all cases that meet a defined criteria •Choose a representative group of controls (that are very much like the cases except they don’t have the disease) •Measure the risk of exposure in the Disease group vs. the No Disease group
What are the benefits of a case control study?
Excellent for rare or unusual diseases •Smaller in size, quick, easy, cost-effective •Can evaluate multiple risk factors for one disease •Can use secondary data •Can test hypotheses
Cohort study
•Key comparison: Risk Factor or No Risk Factor •Starts with people free of outcome of interest, but with varying Risk Factors (measures Incidence) •Aka. longitudinal studies •Moves from potential cause to effect •Useful when the exposure may be or is known to be harmful, and could not be randomly assigned by an investigator •If previous information is available on exposure, can use historical data to go forward in time (see schematic) Problem is needs large sample size.
