psychological development and principles of psychotherapy Flashcards
collective aggregate of conscious and unconscious factors that influence personality, behavior and attitude
psychodynamics
Also used to refer to the clinical approach/theory
that sees personality as a result of these factors
method of treating mental and emotional disorders based around revealing and investigating the role of unconscious and conscious psychological processes
psychoanalysis
use of verbal methods to influence another person’s mental and emotional state
psychotherapy
freudian theory involves 4 things
- id
- ego
- superego
- ego defense
- “greedy inner child”
- primal instincts, basic nature, desires
- seeks gratification or pleasure no matter the cost
Id
why are most id instincts sexual
Freud thought sex is so critical to human survival
- “grown-up self”
- reason, self-control, compromise
- balances external constraints, consequences of actions, and desire for gratification
- May have to make decisions that cause anxiety
ego
strategies to reduce anxiety from thoughts, desires
when id impulses clash with superego restrictions
ego defense mechanisms
ego defense mechanisms can be either: (2)
- mature - does not compromise other functioning
- primitive - irrational, immature behavior; can be dysfunctional
ego defense mechanism we choose depends on: (3)
- psychological maturity
- developmental hx
- intensity of distress or anxiety
retreating to an earlier stage of development
regression
behaving as though things are different than they really are
if severe, can border on delusion
denial
attributing one’s own unacceptable feelings to another person
can be an excuse for one’s own feelings
projection
focusing on minor details of a situation rather than addressing the main conflict
intellectualization
placing disagreeable or unacceptable thoughts in subconscious mind rather than dealing with them
repression
expressing feelings or impulses toward one person or group onto another person, group, or object that is less threatening
displacement
reinterpreting an event by cognitively distorting the facts
making excuses or “lying to ourselves”
rationalization
disconnecting from stressful situation by pursuing an alternative reality
may be associated with a “fantasy world,” daydreaming, dissociative d/o
dissocation
person goes beyond denial; acts opposite to what they think or feel
may occur if a person feels two conflicting emotions
reaction formation
11 common ego defense mechanisms
- regression
- denial
- projection
- intellectualization
- repression
- displacement
- rationalization
- dissociation
- reaction formation
- suppression
- sublimation
similar to repression, but thoughts are put into subconscious intentionally and usually are dealt with a future date
suppression
channelling unacceptable impulses into socially appropriate activities, allowing one to use the energy in better ways
sublimation
what are the 2 common ego defense mechanisms that are considered mature and effective
- suppression
- sublimation
what is ego psychology
- adapted Freudian psychology to reflect a greater range of actions by the ego
- Therapy focuses on strengthening the ego so that it could better cope with pressures from the id, superego, and outside sources
distinguishes what is happening in one’s own mind from what is going on the outside world
reality testing
manages impulses without immediate discharge through behavior or symptoms
impulse control
modulating feelings without being overwhelmed
affect regulation
- acting responsibly
- identifying potential courses of actions, anticipating and evaluating consequences, deciding on course of action
judgement
organizing and unifying other functions within the personality
synthetic functioning
6 expended range of ego functioning
- reality testing
- impulse control
- affect regulation
- judgement
- synthetic functioning
- defense mechanisms
what is object relations psychology
- humans are shaped in relation to the significant others surrounding them
- Primary motivators are relationships, rather than sexual
or aggressive impulses - Can see object identities for single parts of an object
what is self psychology
- Believe that someone’s “self” is derived from their perception of their identity, personal awareness, and personal experiences, including self-esteem
what are the strengths and weaknesses of psychodynamic theory
strengths
- focuses on how past can influence present behavior
- acknowledges the impact of the subconscious
- therapy does seem to help many patients
weaknesses
- ignores biological components
- depends on therapist interpretation
- can focus too much on past
- not scientifically proven
3 psychodynamic theories
- ego theory
- object relations theory
- self theory
4 common psychological perspectives
psychodynamic
humanistic
behaviorist
Cognitive-Behavioral
Belief that human beings are basically good and will mature into emotionally healthy adults
humanistic perspective
psychopathology of humanistic perspective
failure of caregivers
what is client centered therapy
- part of humanistic perspective
- unconditional positive regard
- encourages to find own solution
- goal = self-actualization
- Belief that behavior is determined by the environment
behaviorist perspective
People are born as a ___ and behaviors that develop are the result of external stimuli
“blank slate” or “tabula rasa”
new behavior is learned through 2 ways:
- classical conditioning
- operant conditioning
what is the goal of behaviorist perspective
alter offensive stimuli or recondition oneself to constructive behaviors
- theory states that thoughts, feelings and behaviors are all connected
- Difficulty can be addressed by identifying and changing problematic thinking, behavior and emotional responses
cognitive theory
- theory that looks at people’s learned behaviors and how the environment has an impact on those behaviors
- Difficulty can be addressed by modifying our stimuli or our learned responses to stimuli
behavioral theory
Thoughts triggered by the day’s events that come in many forms - commentaries on actions, memories, circumstance-related thoughts
automatic thoughts
Distorted assumptions that people hold about the world and themselves without being aware of them
irrational assumptions
drawing unwarranted conclusions on the basis of little or no evidence
arbitrary interference
drawing conclusions on the basis of a single piece of data while ignoring contradictory data
selective abstraction
taking the blame for something that clearly is not one’s fault
personalization
6 errors in logic of cognitive-behavioral perspective
- arbitrary interference
- selective abstraction
- personalization
- overgeneralization
- magnification
- minimization
drawing a general conclusion on the basis of a single, sometimes insignificant event
overgeneraliation
overestimating importance of events
magnification
underestimating importance of events
minimization
goal of cognitive-behavioral perspective
discover processes through therapeutic relationship with the patient and allow them to become aware of the maladaptive cognition and challenge it
Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of needs where:
basic needs must be fulfilled before one can advance to the next level
5 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
- self-actualization
- self-esteem
- love and belonging
- safety and security
- physiological needs
A response that occurs naturally in response to one stimulus will eventually occur in response to an unrelated stimulus, if the two stimuli occur together consistently
classical conditioning
stimulus that produces response without any need for conditioning
unconditioned stimulus (US)
response to unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned response (UR)
neutral stimulus that later came to elicit the response
conditioned stimulus (CS)
response to conditioned stimulus
conditioned response (CR)
a stronger the unconditioned response (UR) effects the learning how?
faster learning occurs
Occurs when stimuli that have
not been conditioned produce the same response as the CS because they are physically or functionally similar to the original CS
Generalization
The process of “unlearning” a conditioned response so that the CS no longer produces the CR
Extinction
Learning occurs as a result of positive or negative repercussions to our actions.
operant conditioning
Stimulus increases the probability of the behavior occurring in the future
positive reinforcement
Removal of already present aversive stimulus increases the probability of the behavior occurring in the future
negative reinforcement
Application of aversive stimulus after a behavior decreases the behavior
punishment
Removing a positive reinforcer decreases the behavior
response cost
Stimuli that signal the availability of reinforcement
Discriminative Stimuli
- Occurs when behavior is no longer reinforced
- Rate depends on history of reinforcement
extinction
rapid extinction of operant conditioning
continuous reinforcement
slower extinction of operant conditioning
intermittent reinforcement
Instrumental behavior to get a stimulus has no usefulness itself but has been associated with a significant stimulus
secondary reward conditioning
Response to a cue is instrumental in avoiding a painful or otherwise harmful or negative experience
Avoidance conditioning
decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposures to the stimulus
habituation
if there is more frequent exposures what happens to habituation?
more rapid habituation
a very strong stimuli effects habituation how?
slower habituation
A strong aversive stimulus associated with the habituated stimulus can __ or ____the habituation
partially or fully reverse
