PSYCH 405 CH 3 Flashcards
What is the biological model?
thoughts and feelings are the result of biochemical and bioelectrical processes throughout brain and body
How do biological theorists explain abnormal behavior?
as an illness brought by malfunctioning part of the organism
What are neurons and glia?
neurons: a nerve cell
glia: support cells
How do neurons communicate?
- through electrical impulses that travel from one neuron to one or more others
What is a dendrite? axon? nerve ending?
dendrite: antenna-like extensions located at the end of the neuron
axon: a long fiber extending from the neuron’s body
nerve ending: the end of the axon
What is a synapse, neurotransmitter, and receptor?
synapse: separates one neuron form the next (a little space)
neurotransmitter: a chemical released by one neuron that is received by the receptors of another
receptors: a site on a neuron that receives the neurotransmitter
How do messages get from the nerve ending of one neuron to another?
neurotransmitters are released from one neuron and they bind to the receptors of another after crossing a synapse. The neurotransmitter tells the neuron to fire and so forth the message is passed along, until they receive a neurotransmitter that tells them to stop
low levels of what neurotransmitter(s) has depression been linked with?
serotonin, norepinephrine, glutamate
How are disorders linked to the endocrine system?
endocrine glands are located all around the body and work with neurons to control growth, reproduction, sex, etc….
What are hormones?
chemicals released by endocrine glands into the bloodstream that propel organs into action
What are brain structure?
large groups of neurons that form distinct regions
what is Huntington’s Disease? What is it linked to?
a disorder marked by involuntary body movements, violent emotional outbursts, memory loss, suicidal thinking, and absurd beliefs
it is linked to loss of neurons in the basal ganglia and cerebral cortex
what is a brain circuit? what is interconnectivity and how is it lined to healthy psychological connection?
A network of particular brain structure that work together, triggering each other into action to produce a distinct behavior/cognitive, emotional reaction
- interconnectivity is communication inside the circuit structure. More interconnectivity is linked to healthy brain function where flaws interconnectivity leads to abnormal functioning
What disorders are associated with flawed interconnectivity?
anxiety disorders
What are genes?
chromosomal segments that control the characteristics and traits a person inherits
- genes can possible make people more prone to certain diseases
what is a mutation?
an abnormal form of a gene that emerges by accident
Why do evolutionary theorists say fear is adaptive?
people with more fear in the ancient times were more alert of their surroundings and thus more likely to survive catastrophes. In return, they passed their genes on to their offspring
what are the three leading kinds of biological treatment?
drug therapy, brain stimulation, psychosurgery. Drug therapy is the most common
what are psychotropic medications?
drugs that mainly affect emotions and the thought process
What are the 3 major psychotropic drug groups and what do they help with?
- Anti-anxiety drugs (aka minor tranquilizers/anxiolytics): help reduce tension and anxiety
- Anti-bipolar drugs (mood stabilizers): steady the mood of those with a bipolar disorder
- Antipsychotic drugs: reduce confusion, hallucinations, and delusion of psychosis (found in schizophrenia)
What is brain stimulation? ECT?
brain stimulation: interventions that directly stimulate certain areas of the brain
ECT (electroconvulsive therapy): two electrodes are attached to a patient’ forehead and a current of 65-140 V is passed through the brain. It causes a brief seizure and patients are supposed to feel less depressed
What is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)?
electromagnetic coil is placed on/ above a person’s head, sending a current into certain areas of the brain.
what is vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)?
a pules generator is implanted into someone’s neck and helped stimulate their vagus nerve
what is psychosurgery?
brain surgery for mental disorders
What is deep brain stimulation?
a type of psychosurgery, electrodes are implanted in a specific area of a person’s brain and connect to a battery in the chest. Helps treat severe depression.
What shortcomings does the biological model have?
- seems to expect that all disorders can be treated biologically
- biological treatments can produce undesirable effects
What is the psychodynamic model?
- oldest and most famous psych models
- believes that a person’s behaviors is determined largely by unconscious factors
what are unconscious internal forces called?
dynamics
What is the deterministic assumption psychodynamic theories rest on?
that there is no accidental behavior, it is all determined by past experiences
Who formulated the psychodynamic model?
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
What is psychoanalysis?
type of therapy that aims to treat disorders via exploring the unconscious
What is the id? (3 things to list)
- instinctual needs, drives, impulses
- operate with pleasure principle; seeks gratification
-most sexual, Freud believed that a person’s libido fuels the id
what is the ego?
-the psychological force that operate with reason and reality principle, our experience
-ego defense mechanisms to defend us from id impulses/ reduce the anxiety caused by the id
What is repression?
person avoids anxiety by not allowing painful or dangerous thoughts to become concious
what is denial?
person refuses to acknowledge the existence of an external source of anxiety
what is projection?
person attributes their own undesirables to other people
what is rationalization?
person creates a socially acceptable reason for an action that actually reflects unacceptable motives
what is displacement?
person displaces hostility onto a safer substitute
what is intellectualization?
person represses emotional reactions in favor of overly logical responses to a problem
what is regression?
person retreats from conflict to a stage of earlier development as an excuse to not behave maturely or responsibly
What is the superego?
the personality force that operate morally, has a sense of what’s right or wrong
- developed socially through our conscience
What is being fixated according to Freud?
a condition where the id, ego, or superego don’t mature properly and are frozen at an early stage of development
Name the developmental stages and their times.
- anal (18mo-3yrs)
- phallic (3yrs-5 yrs)
- latency (5-12yrs)
- genital (12+ yrs)
What are self theorists?
the psychodynamic theory that emphasizes the role of our self–our unified personality; they believe that people are motivated by relationships with other
What are object relations theorists?
psychodynamic theory that views the desire for relationships as the key motivating force in human behavior
What is free association?
therapy in which the therapist tells the patient to describe any though, feeling, or image that comes to mind
What does it mean when a patient shows resistance?
they cannot free associate and change the topic to avoid painful discussion
what does it mean when a patient shows transference?
redirection of feelings towards important figures of a person’s life to a therpist
What is the definition of dreams?
A series of ideas and images that form during sleep
What is Manifest/latent content?
Manifest content: consciously remembered dream
latent: symbolic meaning
What is Catharsis?
the reliving of past repressed feelings in order to solve internal conflicts
What is ‘working through’?
when a patient and therapist must examine the same issues over and over in the course of many sessions
explain short-term psychodynamic therapies
patients choose a single problem to work on and therapist and patient work on the underlying psychodynamic issues related to it
what is relational psychoanalytic therapy?
when the therapist takes on a role of a neutral, distant expert during a treatment session
What are some limitations of the psychodynamic model?
- since most of the processes happen in the unconscious, ppl don’t really know if it exists at all
what is the cognitive-behavioral model?
focuses on the behaviors people display and the thoughts they have
define behavior
the responses an organism makes to its environment
what is conditioning? how was it conducted?
a simple form of learning. researchers would manipulate stimuli and rewards, then observe how the manipulations affected human and animal subject
what is classical conditioning?
a process in which 2 events that occur repeatedly close together in time become fused as one and the person responds the same to both
What is modeling?
individuals learn behavior by observing others
What is operant conditioning?
when individuals learn via reinforcements or punishments
What did Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck propse?
that we can treat abnormal functioning by focusing on cognitions, like the patient’s perceptions and thoughts
what are some characteristics of social anxiety disorder?
- hold unrealistically high social standard believing that they must perform perfectly
- viewing themselves as unattractive social beings
what is exposure therapy?
fearful people are repeatedly exposed to situations they dread until they get used to it
what are acceptance and commitment therapies (ACT)
clients accept many of their problems rather than judge them/change them. Become self aware
What do humanists believe?
that humans are born with a natural tendency to be friendly, cooperative, and constructive
what is self actualization?
humanistic process which people fulfill their potential for goodness and growth
what is self actualization?
humanistic process which people fulfill their potential for goodness and growth
What to existentialists believe?
human beings have an accurate awareness of themselves and live meaningful live in order to be psychologically well adjusted. they do not think people are born positive
what is client-centered therapy?
a warm and supportive approach to therapy. Therapist listen attentively and are approachable
what is conditional/unconditional self regard?
condition : judgement
unconditional: no judgement
kids who receive unconditional self regard are more psychologically happy and know their worth
According to Rogers, what must therapists do during therapy?
- have unconditional positive regard: full and warm acceptance of the client
- accurate empathy: skillfull listening and restating
- genuineness: sincere communication
What is Gestalt therapy and who was it developed by?
its is a humanistic therapy developed by Fritz Perls where clinicians actively move clients towards self recognition and acceptance by using role playing
what is existential therapy?
where people are encouraged to accept responsibility for their lives and their problems; emphasis on the relationship between the therapist and the client; do not believe in research
what is the sociocultural model?
abnormal behavior is best understood by the forces that influence and individual
what is the family systems theory?
a family is viewed as a system of interacting parts whose interactions exhibit consistent patterns and unstated rules
enmeshed family structure VS disengagement
enmeshed: family is grossly over-involved in one another’s activities
disengagement: rigid boundaries between the members
what is group therapy?
therapist meets with a group of clients who have similar problems, they all worked together and share stories, builds social skills
what is a support group?
people of similar problems come together and help support one another
What is primary prevention?
efforts to improve community attitudes and policies.
ex. school board, public workshops and stress reduction
secondary prevention
identifying and treating psych problems in the early stages before they become serious. work with teachers, ministers, police to identify problems
tertiary prevention
provide effective treatment to specific people who have already developed disorders
what is equifinality?
a number of different developmental routes can lead to the same psychological disorder
