PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
1
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Independent variable
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The variable being altered by the experimenter.
2
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Dependent variable
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The variable being measured within the experiment.
3
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Extraneous variable
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An independent variable that can cause changes to the value of the dependent variable.
4
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Confounding variable
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Similar to extraneous variables, they change the value of the dependent variable systematically. If a confounding variable exists within an experiment, no valid conclusion is able to be drawn from the experiment.
5
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Hypothesis
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A clear statement predicting the effects of the independent variable on the value of the dependent variable.
6
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Null hypothesis
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States that a change in the independent variable will have no effect on the value of the dependent variable, any variation in results will be due to chance.
7
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Alternative hypothesis
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States a different relationship between the independent and dependent variables than was initially predicted.
8
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Control group
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This group is not exposed to the independent variable.
9
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Experimental group
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This group is exposed to the independent variable.
10
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Convenience sampling
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Makes use of people readily available, not representative of a wider population.
11
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Random sampling
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Each person within a population has equal chance of being selected, not necessarily representative of a wider population.
12
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Stratified sampling
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Attempts to eliminate confounding variables by making these variables evenly spread through the selected sample.
13
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Qualitative data
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Observations, opinions
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Quantitative data
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Numerical information/data, measurements
15
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Subjective data
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Based on opinion, no external criterion.
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Objective data
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Measured according to identifiable external criterion.
17
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Repeated measures design
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Everyone within the study participates in both experimental and controlled groups.
18
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Counterbalancing
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Participants are divided into two groups, with one under experimental conditions first, while the other is under controlled conditions first. These groups then swap. This design is used to eliminate confounding variables.
19
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Matched participants design
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Participants are matched up using key characteristics, eliminates confounding variables.
20
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Independent groups design
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Participants are randomly allocated to experimental and controlled groups.
21
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Twin and adoption studies
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Uses participants that are as naturally similar as possible.
22
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Longitudinal design
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The same participants are observed over different periods in their lives.
23
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Cross-sectional design
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Participants are different ages, cohorts etc. are observed at one point in time.
24
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Sequential design
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Attempts to eliminate limitations of both longitudinal and cross-sectional designs; a combination of both designs.
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Placebo effect
An inert treatment or substance that has no known effect. After a placebo or ‘dummy treatment’ is applied the person’s physical and mental health may appear to improve.
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Experimenter effect
Unintended influence of the experimenters behaviour on that of the participants in an experiment.
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Nominal data
Named data that can be labelled or classified into exclusive categories.
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Ordinal data
Data which is placed into some sort of order or scale.
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Interval data
Data measured in fixed units with equal distance between points on the scale.
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When can the generalisation of results to the population occur?
- Results show statistical significance
- All sampling procedures were appropriate
- All experimental procedures were appropriate
- All measures were valid
- All possible confounding variables were controlled
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Naturalistic observation
Observation of voluntary human behaviours in a natural environment.
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Controlled observation
Observation of voluntary human behaviours in a structured environment.
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Reliability
Refers to the consistency of a measuring instrument.
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Internal reliability
Measures whether several instruments proposed to measure produce similar scores.
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Inter-rater reliability
The degree to which different raters give consistent estimates of the same behaviour.
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Parallel form reliability
Measure of reliability obtained by administering different versions of an assessment tool.
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Test-retest reliability
Degree to which scale scores obtained from the same informants remain consistent over brief periods.
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Validity
The extent to which an instrument measure what it is supposed to measure.
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Internal validity
Examines whether results gained from a measure are truly due to the variable that it is thought to be measuring.
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Construct validity
A form of internal validity that involves deciding whether the test can be used to support the theory that is being tested.
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External validity
A criterion-related validity that refers to the extent to which results from this measure are comparable with other established measures of the variable.
42
What are the measures of variability?
- Range (highest-lowest)
- Variance (on average how much the scores differ from the mean)
- Standard deviation (how far on average the scores are different from the mean)
43
What are the measures of central tendency?
- Mean (average of all scores)
- Median (the middle number of the data)
- Mode (the most frequent score)
44
What is the P-value and how does it show statistical significance?
The P-value is an expression of the probability that the difference is caused by chance. A P-value below 0.05 means that the different is statistically significant, anything above, the difference is due to chance.
45
What are the ethical considerations you must abide by?
Confidentiality, voluntary participation, withdrawal rights, informed consent debriefing, and gain information about the study before taking part.
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T-test
Comparison of means in data that reveal how significant the differences are.
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Mann-Whitney U-Test
Typically used for ordinal data to test whether 2 means are equal or not.
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Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test
Compares two sets of scores from the same set of participants when the data is not normally distributed.
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Type 1 error
When the existence of a result is incorrectly assumed to be present.
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Type 2 error
When the absence of something is incorrectly assumed to be present.
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Explain correlation and the R-value
Correlation describes the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables. The R-value is the correlation coefficient expressed in a decimal in the range of -1.0 +1.0 where the - or + shows whether it is a positive or negative correlation.
*Correlation 0.00 means the two variables are not related in any way, 0.80 means that they are strongly related and 0.14 means that they are weakly related.
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Spearman Correlation
Measure of two ordinal variables that uses the ranked values for each variable to exmaine how they change together but not necessarily at a constant rate.
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Psychiatrist
Psychiatrists focus on prescribing treatments based on the medical model.
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Nature vs Nurture debate
- Involves the extent to which particular aspects of behaviour are a product of either inherited or acquired influences.
- Nature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors
- Nurture is generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception.
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Mind vs Body debate
- The body consists of physical entities including the brain and these entities can be measured physically in terms of size, mass, shape and density.
- The mind relates to our self-awareness, our ability to reflect, think and reason about ourselves and the world (consciousness)
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Psychology as a science
- Research based
- Scientific method
- Hypothesis generated
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Determinism vs Free will
- Revolves around the extent to which our behaviour is the result of forces over which we have no control
- Or whether people are able to decide for themselves whether to act or behave in a certain way.
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Heredity
The passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another.
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Social work
Promotes social change, development, cohesion and the empowerment of people and communities
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Phrenology
Proposes that different parts of the brain has different functions (first developed in 1796 by Franz Joesph Gall)
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Monism
View that the mind is the same thing as the brain.
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Dualism
View that the mind is a separate entity from the body.
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Trephination
Surgical procedure in which a hole is created in the skull by the removal of circular piece of bone. Was used during ancient Greek times.
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Barnum effect
Occurs when individuals believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them, despite that the description is actually filled with information that applies to everyone.
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Corpus callosotomy
Surgery used to treat epilepsy seizures when medications don't help. The surgery involves cutting a band of fibers (the corpus collosum) in the brain. Afterward, the nerves can't send seizure signals between the two halves of the brain.
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What are the non-invasive brain research methods?
- Brain imaging techniques (ESB, DBS, EEG)
- Neuroimaging (CT, PET, SPECT, MRI, fMRI)
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ESB (electrical stimulation of the brain)
Sends electrical impulses through a probe, activating different parts of the brain.
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DBS (deep brain stimulation)
Surgery to implant a device that sends electrical signals to the brain areas responsible for body movement.
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EEG (electroencephalograph)
Detects, amplifies and records electrical activity from brain, measures brain waves in response to stimuli, cannot show specific location of the activity.
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MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
Uses magnetic fields and radio waves, NOT show brain function, produces 2D and 3D, high resolution images of brain structure.
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fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
Specialised form of MRI, produces 3D images, measures real time brain activity via the amount of oxygen in the blood of the brain, shows which brain structures are activated for particular functions.
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CI (computed tomography)
Uses x-rays to create cross-sectional images of the brain, 3D high resolution image - identify disease affected areas, shows different brain structures, does NOT show brain function.
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PET (positron emission tomography)
Uses radioactive tracer attached to sugar compounds in blood, track area of most blood flow, gamma rays emitted from part of the brain using the most sugar, produces a coloured image of the brain and active sections, shows brain function corresponding with certain areas, can provide useful comparisons as a disease progresses.
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What is the nervous system comprised of?
The central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system, which includes the remainder of the body (limbs, facial nerves, skeletal muscles, organs and glands).
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CNS (central nervous system)
Includes the brain and the spinal cord, responsible for sending and receiving messages from the peripheral nervous system.
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PNS (peripheral nervous system)
Carries messages from senses and muscles to organs and glands.
*Further divided into the somatic nervous system (voluntary movement of skeletal muscles) and the autonomic nervous system (controls involuntary muscles (organs and glands)).
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What is the function of the PNS?
Communicate information from the body's organs, glands and muscles to the CNs from both the outside world and the inside world, and communicate information from the CNS to the body's organs, glands and muscles via motor neurons.
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Explain the autonomic nervous system
The sympathetic nervous system
- Responsible for activating the body in times when alertness or arousal is required.
The parasympathetic nervous system
- Involved in maintaining the body's regular, day-to-day levels of arousal and homeostasis.
79
What are neurons composed of?
Four elements: soma, axon, myelin sheath and dendrites (the soma is the cell body)
- The axon carries information way from the soma
- The end of each axon has terminal buttons that release a neurotransmitter whenever information is sent down the axon in the form of electrical impulses.
- Dendrites receive neurotransmitters from the synapse where they have been released from other neurons.
- The myelin sheaths are an insulating layer that forms around nerves.
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Sensory neuron
Neuron that recieves sensory information to pass on it.
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Motor neuron
Neuron that tells your muscles to do stuff
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Interneuron
Neuron that communicate information between other neurons.
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Post-synaptic neuron
Receives the neurotransmitter after it has crossed the synapse.
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How do our senses work?
Our senses work by sensory neurons transmitting information from an external stimulus to the CNS. Motor neurons engage a response to the stimulus by carrying signals from the brain back to muscle fibres.
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How do neurons communicate?
Neurons communicate with each other via electrical events called 'action potentials' and chemical neurotransmitters.
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Medulla
A continuation of the spine, controls breathing, heartbeat and digestion.
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Pons
Above medulla (below mid brain) and receives visual information, controls eye and body actions.
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Cerebellum
Walnut shaped, recieves information from pons and coordinates body movement.
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What is the midbrain and what does it include?
Located above the hindbrain and below the forebain and connects them. Responsible for reticular information, sleep regulation, motor movement and arousal.
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What is the brainstem and what is it made of?
Connects the spinal chord to the brain. It controls basic functions like breathing, heartrate, blood pressure and sleeping. The brainstem is made from the thalamus, midbrain, pons, medulla, ablongata, spinal chord and cranial nerves.
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What is the forebrain and what does it include?
Largest region of the brain and includes the thalamus, hypothalamus and cerebrum.
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Hypothalamus
A small structure below the thalamus which maintains survival functions (homeostasis).
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Thalamus
Located beneath the cerebral cortex divided into two halves. Passes information from the sense organs to the cortex.
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Cerebrum
Outer layer is the cerebral cortex and is seperated into different lobes. Initiates and coordinates movement and regulates temperature. Other areas enable speech, judgement, thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, emotions and learning.
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Cerebral cortex
Outer covering of the cerebrum. Centre of the human capacity to think, solve problems, plan and communicate using formal language.
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Left hemisphere
Controls the right side of the body, in charge of speech, language and comprehension.
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Right hemisphere
Controls the left side of the body, in charge of creativity and spatial ability, recognition of faces, places and objects.
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What connects the left and right hemispheres?
The corpus callosum.
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Parietal lobe
Located on the top back of the cerebrum, responsible for receiving information on sensation, body and spatial awareness.
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Temporal lobe
Located on the side of the hemisphere, responsible for auditory analysis.
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Occipital lobe
Located on the primary visual cortex, responsible for vision.
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Primary visual cortex
Located in the occipital lobe, receives visual information.
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Primary auditory cortex
In the temporal lobe, receives sound information.
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Primary motor cortex
In the frontal lobe, controls movement.
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Primary somatosensory cortex
In the parietal lobe, recieves information from skin.
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Limbic system
Responsible for behavioural and emotional responses, major structures include; hippocampus and amygdala.
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Hippocampus
One in each hemisphere, memory centre of the brain and also helps spatial orientation and navigation.
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Amgydala
Almond shaped and involved in emotional responses and responsible for our emotion memory.
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Pre-frontal cortex
Part of the frontal lobe, responsible for the non-motor functions of the frontal lobe such as complex cognitive behaviour.
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Broca's area
Located in inferior frontal gyrus and is responsible for coordination of speech.
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Wernick's area
Located in the left lobe and is responsible for comprehension and correct grammar.
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Geschwind's area
Located in inferior parietal lobule and is implicated in language.
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Define consciousness
Consciousness is an awareness of our thoughts, feelings and perceptions and our surroundings at any given moment.
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Explain consciousness as a continuum
Consciousness can be thought of as operating on a continuum, from a high level of consciousness (awareness) through to a low level and even on to the point of being unconscious (totally unaware).
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Normal waking consciousness
Experienced when awake and aware of our thoughts, feelings and perceptions generated from internal events and the environment.
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What happens if you deviate from waking consciousness?
We experience an altered state of consciousness, which may reflect either heightened or reduced awareness.
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Attention
Refers to the information you are actively processing consciously or unconsciously and usually involves focusing on a specific stimulus while excluding others.
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Controlled process
Processes that require mental effort to complete the task.
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Automatic process
Processes that require little to no attention.
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List 4 ways that states of consciousness can be measured
Self reports, measurement of physiological responses, measurement of performance on cognitive tasks and video monitoring.
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Brainwaves
The amplitude (intensity measure in Volts) and frequency (cycles person second measure in Hz) of the brain.
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Sleep
Reversible behavioural state of perceptual disengaging from an unresponsiveness to the environment.
*Sleep is an altered state of consciousness and a collection of different states of consciousness.
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Biological rhythm
A set and biological pattern of periodic fluctuations which are maintained by internal biological clock.
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Circadian rhythm
Roughly requires 24 hrs to complete a full cycle, controls over sleep-wake cycle, is cotrolled by the master clock which is the super chiasmic nucleus, hormone release, cortisol and melatonin and environmental cues.
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Infradian rhythm
Takes more than 24 hours to complete a full cycle, eg. menstruation.
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Ultradian rhythm
Takes fewer than 24 hrs to complete a full cycle, is repeated through the day multiple times, eg. sleep rythms from REM to NREM, urination movements.
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NREM sleep
Non rapid eye movement sleep consists of four main stages, and accounts for 80% of your sleep time.
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NREM stage 1
Transition between restfulness and awake (easily woken)
About (30 sec – 10 minutes) per cycle
Hallucinatory images, hypnic jerks, muscle twitches
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NREM stage 2
Where true sleep begins deeper than stage 1 but easily woken
20 minutes per cycle
Accounts for 50% of our sleep
Eyes stop movement, muscles continue to relax, breathing heart rate decrease.
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NREM stage 3
Brief transitional stage (beginning of deep sleep – difficult to wake)
If woken feel disoriented
Eyes don’t move, muscles relaxed, heart rate and breathing slow.
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Brief transitional stage
If woken feel disoriented.
Eyes don't move, muscles relaxed, heart rate and breathing slow.
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NREM stage 4
Deep sleep stage, difficult to wake
Low conscious awareness but sensitive to stimuli
Roughly 30 minutes in first cycle.
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REM sleep
Rapid eye movement sleep, distinct brainwave patterns experienced.
Light level of sleep – easy to wake
First cycle lasts roughly 10 minutes
Describe sleep cycles:
A sleep cycle is required to complete 5 stages of sleep, Humans typically complete 4-5 cycle a night.
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Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone released from the pineal gland that induces sleep, and is secreted in dark conditions. Upon light, melatonin ceases to be released.
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Evolutionary theory
Sleep evolved to enhance survival by protecting an organism through making it inactive (energy conservation) during the part of the day when it is most risky or dangerous (predator avoidance to move about).
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Restoration theory
Sleep provides time out to help us recover from activities during waking time that use up the body’s physical and mental resources.
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Superchiasmatic nucleus
The body's master biological clock, located in the hypothalamus above optic chiasm and regulates the timing and activity of the sleep wake cycle as well as body temperature and other functions.
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Partial sleep deprivation
Poor quality and not getting enough hours of sleep
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Total sleep deprivation
Complete lack of sleep for one or more nights
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Chronic sleep deprivation
Lack of good quality sleep for an extended period of time.
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Sleep debt
The accumulated amount of sleep lost from insufficient sleep.
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Sleep disturbance
Any sleep-related problem that disrupts an individuals normal sleep-wake-cycle.
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Sleep disorder
When a sleep disturbance regularly disrupts sleep.
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Primary sleep disorder
Cannot be attributed to something else.
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Secondary sleep disorder
Involves a sleep problem that is due to another condition or substance.
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Circadian phase disorder
Sleep disorders that affect a person's internal sleep wake clock.
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Dyssomnias
A broad classification of sleeping disorders involving difficulty falling asleep, remaining asleep or excessive sleepiness.
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Parasomnias
A broad classification of sleeping disorders which cause abnormal movement, behaviour and dreams during the night.
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Sleep-onset insomnia
A sleeping disorder in which the person has trouble falling asleep at the beginning of the night.
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Sleepwalking
A sleep disorder in which the person sleepwalks or carries out other automatic activities during stages 3 and 4 NREM sleep.
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Cognitive behaviour therapy (sleep)
Commonly used to treat insomnia. Occur on a weekly basis for six to eight sessions in which the person learns strategies.
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Bright light therapy (sleep)
Can be used to treat circadian phase disorders by resetting the biological clock regulating a person's sleep wake cycle to align with the schedule they desire.
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Intelligence
A hypothetical construct involving application of cognitive skills and knowledge to learn and solve problems as well as the ability to acquire and apply said knowledge and skills to new situations.
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Psychometric model of intelligence
Most common approach to describing intelligence and views intelligence as a map of the mind, explains intelligence via the analysis of different people.
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Biological model of intelligence
Explains intelligence through the structure and function of the brain, focusses on studying the brain using two different methods; case studies of brain damage patients and neuroimaging of patients with damaged brains.
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Bidirectional ambiguity
This exists in correlational studies where the direction of the correlation is unknown eg. chicken or the egg first?
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Contextual model of intelligence
Contextual approaches focus on the culture in which intelligence is defined and measured.
States that intelligence forms according to an individual’s cultural and environmental context.
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Neurotomy
Specific areas of the brain can be larger and more active and seen across generations.
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Heritability coefficient
A measure (derived from a correlation coefficient) of the extent to which a trait or characteristic is inherited eg. intelligence has a heritability coefficient of about 0.5, which means that about 50% of the differences in intelligence between people is due to heredity.
160
Multiple intelligences theory
Howard Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences. The theory suggests that people have many independent types of intelligence.
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Information processing theory of intelligence
The information processing theory of intelligence focuses on understanding cognitive processes that influence intelligence.
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Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions in oneself and in others.
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Psychometric tests
A psychometric test of intelligence is a standardised measure of an operational definition of intelligence. Eg. intelligence tests, aptitude tests, personality tests etc.
164
Stanford-binet intelligence scales
Stanford- Binet intelligence scales (SB- V) are designed to assess people according to age. An individual’s test score is compared with the norms of others in their age group.
Critique: Biased and has been completely scientifically discredited.
165
Wechsler's intelligence scales
Wechsler intelligence scales are the WAIS- IV and the WISC- IV. The WAIS- IV is for adults, and the WISC- IV is designed for children aged between 6– 17 years. The Weschler scales assess several areas of intelligence which can help with language barriers.
166
Adaptive testing
Tests designed to adjust their level of difficulty – based on the responses provided to match the knowledge and ability of a test taker.
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When is a test reliable
A test is reliable when the same results can be expected with the same subjects under the same conditions on other occasions.
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When is a test valid
An intelligence test is valid if it measures what it was designed to measure (i.e.intelligence and not familiarity with the English language).
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Cultural bias
Cultural bias is when a participant may have a normal or high intellectual ability but performs poorly on an intelligence test because some of the questions concern things, they are not familiar with due to cultural differences.
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Linguistic bias
Linguistic bias occurs when the words in an intelligence test are more familiar to people who speak one language than those who speak another
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Normal/typical behaviour
A behaviour is considered to be ‘normal’ when it is one that is accepted within the society and culture and is typical for the specific situation or context.
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Abnormal/atypical behaviour
A behaviour that is considered to be out of the normal, and does not allow a person to function independently as expected for their age.
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Situational approach to normality
States what is considered normal behaviour is determined by situational cues.
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Sociocultural approach to normality
States what is normal behaviour is based on cultural and societal cues.
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Historical approach to normality
Suggests what is considered normal is based on cues in different time periods.
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Statistical approach to normality
Identifies normal behaviour by looking how often a behaviour/characteristic occurs in a particular population.
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Functional approach to normality
States behaviour is considered normal if the individual is able to lead a functional life.
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Medical approach to normality
Views abnormality as a diagnosable mental disorder – biological explanation.
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Adaptive behaviours
Adaptive behaviours are age- appropriate ‘everyday living skills’ that develop through experience, help us to adjust to our environment, assist in our ability to relate to others and allow us to become independent adults who can function effectively within ours society and culture.
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Maladaptive behaviours
Maladaptive behaviours develop as a coping mechanism to significant stressors and usually involve avoidant strategies. Influences that contribute to the development of maladaptive behaviours include insecure attachment, unhelpful parenting, violence, abuse, genetics, personality predisposition, trauma, grief or loss, poverty, unemployment and natural disasters.
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Mental health
Mental health is a state of emotional and social wellbeing in which individuals can realise their own abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and contribute to their community.
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Mental health continuum
Mental health is impacted by many different variables, determining where a person lies on the mental health continuum is often based on a rage of symptoms.
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Mental health problem
Behaviours that shows signs of distress but these actions are reversible or easily managed and are not indicators a person is mentally ill. Can cause emotional, cognitive and behavioural difficulties that affect functioning.
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Mental disorder
Mental disorder is defined as: ʻa recognised, medically diagnosable illness that results in the significant impairment of an individual’s cognitive, affective (emotional) or relational abilities. Mental disorders can result from biological, developmental and/ or psychosocial factors and usually require treatment to be alleviated.’
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What are the types of mental illness?
Psychosis disorders and neurosis disorders.
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Psychosis disorders
Situations when there is some loss of contact with reality and the person may experience episodes, hallucinations or be unable to distinguish between the imaginary and reality eg. schizophrenia.
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Neurosis disorders
Non-psychotic illness where people have difficulties with thoughts, feelings and behaviours but a sense of reality remains eg. anxiety, depression
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What is DSM-5 and ICD-11?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and The Internal Classification of Diseases (ICD) represent the most widely used classification systems for clinical diagnosis of mental disorders.
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Comorbidity
The simultaneous presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.
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Psychological disorder
Any distress or dysfunction in an individual that affects their everyday functioning including impairment of mood, behaviour or cognition.
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Mood disorder
Mood disorders involve persistent feelings of sadness, periods of feeling overly happy or fluctuations from extreme happiness to extreme sadness. Eg. bipolar disorder, depression
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Major depressive disorder
When a person experiences very low moods and self esteem, lack of motivation and difficulty thinking for an extended time.
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Personality disorder
Disorders in which an individual shows consistent rigid unhealthy patterns of thinking, functioning and behaving.
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Borderline personality disorder
- Extreme instability of moods
- Instability of relationships
- May experience feelings of emptiness, impulsiveness, detachement
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Antisocial personality disorder
A tendency to appear calm and charming but is superficial symptoms include; self centred, instability of relationships (unable to love), no shame, remorse or empathy.
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Psychotic disorder
Cause abnormal thinking and/or behaviour and individuals are unable to distinguish the imginary from reality. Symptoms include; issues communicating, hallucinations, episodes of psychosis.
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Schizophrenia
Causes patients to suffer from deluded thinking, hallucinations and depression.
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Anxiety disorder
A disorder when the frequency and intensity of the anxiety is disproportionate to the situation, it interferes with a person’s ability to function normally. Eg. phobias, anxiety disorder.
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Phobia
Phobia is a form of anxiety disorder that is defined as a persistent, irrational and intense fear of a particular thing that is disproportionate to the level of danger experienced for a minimum of 6 months.
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General anxiety disorder (GAD)
Characterised by excessive anxiety about normal aspects of everyday life.
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OCD
Obsessive compulsive disorder is characterised by unwanted repetitive thoughts and engaging in behaviours because of these thoughts.
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Fight, flight, freeze response
Important survival response which releases stress hormones into the bloodstream, in those with anxiety, the level of this response is higher.
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GABA and glutamate neurotransmitters
When a person has low levels of GABA (inhibits fight, fight, freeze response) and high levels of Glutamate (has an excitatory role on nervous system), levels of anxiety increase.
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Predisposition and inherited vulnerabilities
The biological makeup that leads to vulnerability to anxiety disorders can be inherited – not the anxiety itself tho.
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Behavioural approaches
Uses principles of classical and operant conditioning to explain how stimuli can affect our behaviour.
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Cognitive approach
Examines how thought processes influences our behaviour and our feelings.
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Cognitive model
Suggests that it is our thought processes that dictate behaviour and that we may perceive that something is more of a threat than it is.
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Parent modelling
Research has shown a child who has a parent with a phobia is more likely to develop that same phobia.
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Risk factors (mental disorders)
Factors that contribute to the likelihood of a person developing or relapsing into a mental disorder
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Protective factors (mental disorders)
Factors that guard against the onset or relapse of a mental disorder by helping a person’s wellbeing or giving them resilience in the face of adversity
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Social factors (mental disorders)
Social factors include consideration of a person’s school or work environment, level of education, access to support services, and socioeconomic factors such as poverty.
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Psychological factors (mental disorders)
Psychological factors include an individual’s personality predisposition, their behavioural patterns, their perceptions, cognitions and motivations, and what they pay attention to.
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Biological risk factors (mental disorders)
Biological risk factors are physical factors that increase vulnerability to mental disorders, that include genetic vulnerability to specific disorders, poor response to medication due to genetic factors, poor sleep and substance abuse.
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Psychological risk factors (mental disorders)
Psychological risk factors are the person’s personality, thoughts feelings and behaviours that make them more susceptible to mental disorders. These include rumination, impaired reasoning and memory, stress and poor self- efficacy.
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Social risk factors (mental disorders)
Social risk factors are the culture of a community/society that can place expectations or additional stress on people which increases susceptibility. Social risk factors include disorganised attachment, loss of a significant relationship and the role of stigma as a barrier to accessing treatment.
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Biopsychosocial model (mental disorder)
The biopsychosocial model takes a holistic perspective on the assessment and treatment of mental and physical health disorders, taking into account biological, psychological and social factors.
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Psychotherapy (mental disorder)
Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods, such as CBT, psychodynamic therapy and systematic therapy, to help a person positively influence their mental health.
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Emotions
Emotions are the physical and psychological changes that influence our behaviour in response to a feeling or situation.
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Feeling
Mental experiences of body states which arise as the brain interprets emotions.
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Physiological change of emotion
The alterations in your body and psychology when you’re experiencing an emotion.
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Subjective feelings of emotion
Feelings are associated with an emotion; they are subjective as they are personal and cannot be objectively measured.
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Associated behaviour of emotion
Encompasses the behavioural changes that are a result of the subjective feelings and physiological changes.
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Appraisal theory of emotion
The appraisal theory of emotion suggests that we experience emotions based on our assessment of a situation or event. Term was developed by Magda Arnold and Richard Lazarus built on this theory.
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Primary appraisal
The process by which a person initially evaluates whether or not a situation is threatening or irrelevant. The person experiences an emotional response to the perceived situation.
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Secondary appraisal
The process of consciously assessing a situation is threatening or irrelevant. The person predicts the possible emotional impact of the new response.
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Coping potential
Someone’s ability to use either problem-focussed coping or emotion-focussed coping to respond
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Problem-focussed coping
Addressing a negative situation by using practical way to deal with it eg. pros and cons.
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Emotion-focussed coping
Reducing negative emotional responses eg. (fear, embarrassment) by using strategies such as meditation talking etc.
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Happiness
Happiness is a state of wellbeing; there are several factors that influence happiness such as age, health, culture, religion and income.
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Subjective wellbeing
Subjective wellbeing was developed by Ed Diener in 1984. Subjective wellbeing suggests that we evaluate our lives from three areas: domains of our lives, general feelings about our lives, and ongoing feelings about what is happening to us.
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Psychological wellbeing
The theory of psychological wellbeing was developed by Carol Ryff. It is a multi-dimensional model that states our wellbeing is dependent on an assessment of our autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life and self- acceptance.
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Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a set of skills that enables us to live effectively by paying attention in a specific way and reaching a level of acceptance about our lives.
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Attention (mindfulness)
In mindfulness, attention refers to the how we pay attention to stimuli, including time and preference.
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Acceptance (mindfulness)
Once an individual is able to regulate their attention and focus on the present they must also be able to recognise and identify these experiences. Acceptance is about acknowledging an experience for what it is and accept it without criticism or judgement.
What are mindfulness based therapies:
Mindfulness based stress relief therapy (MBSR) and acceptance based therapy
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Flow experience (and the 6 states)
A psychological state where a person is deeply focused in what they are doing to the point where basic needs are ignored and they may be unaware of anything else.
1: intense and focused concentration on the present moment
2: merging of action and awareness
3: loss of reflective self-consciousness
4: a sense of personal control over the situation/activity
5: an altered experience of time
6: experiencing the activity as rewarding.
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Motivation
Our motivation is the reason for many of our actions desires and needs.
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Cognitive evaluation theory (motivation)
CET tries to explain the effects of our external environment on motivation.
Extrinsic motivation is when people are motivated by external events; intrinsic motivation is when people are motivated by their own internal needs and desires.
CET has three aspects: information aspect, how we receive feedback; controlling aspect, how much we are completing an activity for ourselves; and a motivating aspect, which states that we are not motivated because we have decided we are not capable, or incompetent.
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Achievement theory (motivation)
Achievement goal theory suggests that people have greater motivation when they have clear goals that they are able to achieve.
Achievement goal theory implies that people can be task- oriented (motivated by mastering a skill) or ego- oriented (motivated by being better than someone else).
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Self-efficacy theory (motivation)
The self- efficacy theory of motivation states that people with high levels of self- belief in a specific task will be more motivated than those with lower levels of self- efficacy.
Self- efficacy theory states that if people have positive beliefs about the outcome of their efforts, they will be more committed to achieving their goal, and therefore will reach their goal.
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Goal-setting theory (motivation)
The goal- setting theory of motivation suggests that the more direct a goal is, the more likely people will achieve it.
The goal- setting theory states that a goal must be clear, challenging and have a good level of complexity, and a person must be committed to it and receive feedback. This will mean the person is more motivated to achieve the goal
