Psych Explaitions Flashcards
What is a cognitive error?
A thinking error that affects how people interpret their thoughts.
What do people with ocd think
Everythought I have happens for a reason
What mistaken assumption do people with OCD commonly have about their thoughts?
They believe that all thoughts are meaningful or significant.
What is over-estimation of personal responsibility in the context of OCD?
The belief that one is solely responsible for preventing harm to others or oneself.
What behaviors might stem from the over-estimation of personal responsibility?
Compulsive washing, cleaning, and checking.
Define thought-action fusion (TAF).
The belief that imagining a behavior increases the likelihood of actually performing that behavior.
What is thought-event fusion?
The belief that imagining an event makes it more likely to happen.
Provide an example of thought-event fusion.
Imagining a friend dropping their laptop increases the belief that it will happen.
According to cognitive psychologists, what causes obsessional thinking?
The way certain thoughts are labelled and interpreted.
How might a person label a thought that leads to obsessional thinking?
As shameful or disgusting.
What dispositional factors might a person attribute to their thoughts?
Believing they are a shameful and disgusting person.
What is operant conditioning?
A learning theory that explains how behaviors are reinforced through their consequences.
How is avoidance behavior negatively reinforcing in the context of phobias?
It removes unpleasant feelings of anxiety.
What leads to the development of compulsive behaviors in OCD?
They help to reduce negative feelings such as anxiety, fear, guilt, and shame.
What happens to actions that reduce negative emotions in OCD?
They are reinforced and become more likely to occur.
What is Freud’s psychodynamic explanation of obsessive-compulsive disorder based on?
It draws on concepts of defense mechanisms and unresolved conflicts from the unconscious mind.
According to Freud, what may obsessional thoughts express?
Desires of the id that are not satisfied.
What can excessive guilt from an overly dominant superego lead to?
Compulsive acts.
What childhood experiences does Freud link to problems in OCD?
Experiences that involve the desire to gain approval from parents.
What developmental stage is linked to OCD according to Freud?
The anal stage of development (ages 1-3).
What does potty training that is too early or too harsh lead to?
Fixation at the anal stage, influencing personality development.
What personality traits may result from fixation at the anal stage?
- Obsessiveness about cleanliness
- Orderliness
- Conscientiousness
- Parsimoniousness
- Obstinacy
What term describes a personality associated with fixation at the anal stage?
Anally retentive personality.
What trait has been associated with OCD?
Perfectionism.
