Psychology Test #5 part B Flashcards
What are the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder?
A chronic high level of anxiety that is not tied to any specific threat
Which of the three criteria for defining psychological disorders does generalized anxiety disorder meet?
This disorder meets the criteria of personal distress and maladaptive behavior.
What are two causes of anxiety disorders?
1) Biological factors: genes, neurotransmitters
2) Stress: Stress before onset of panic disorder.
3) Cognitive Factors (ways of thinking): misinterpret harmless situations as threatening
What are the symptoms of phobic disorder?
A persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger: crying, scared
Which of the three criteria for defining psychological disorders does phobic disorder meet?
personal distress, maladaptive behavior, defiance
What are three symptoms of dissociative identity disorder and two potential causes?
Symptoms
- multiple identities
- altered consciousness
- amnesia
Potential Causes
- childhood trauma
-sexual abuse
What are three symptoms of schizophrenia, and two potential causes?
Symptoms
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
- Disorganized speech and behavior
Causes
- Genes
- Neurotransmitters: excess dopamine
What are three symptoms of anti-social personality disorder?
Symptoms
- lack of empathy
- violent
- no conscience
Causes
- Reduced activity in frontal lobe
- premature birth or unstable family life
What are three symptoms of depression and 2 causes of depression?
Symptoms
- suicidal
- low self-esteem
- low energy
Causes
- Lack of serotonin and norepinepherine
- negative life events
How would you help someone with disassociate identity disorder?
Psychotherapy - psychoanalysis
Biomedical therapy - no medications
How would you help someone with schizophrenia?
Psychotherapy - cognitive therapy
Biomedical therapy - antipsychotics
How would you help someone with antisocial personality disorder?
No effective therapies or drugs
How would you help someone with depression?
Psychotherapy - Cognitive therapy
Biomedical therapy - antidepressant
In general, what are the pros and cons of using psychotherapy vs. biomedical therapy?
Biomedical Therapy
- Can be effective with severe disorders that other therapies can’t treat.
- some drugs can be addictive or have adverse side effects
- ETC: memory loss, or relapse of depression
Psychotherapy
- Therapies are superior to no treatment of placebo
- outcome judgments are subjective
- can effectively treat phobias, OCD, schizophrenia, eating disorders, etc
What is stress?
Any circumstance that threatens one’s well-being and tax one’s coping
What are some physiological responses to stress?
Increases heart rate, respirations and perspiration
What diseases are people more susceptible to when they are stressed?
heart disease, lower back pain, diabetes, impaired immune function and the common cold.
(Exam Question) Which of the following is a way to cope with stress?
All of the above
What are the ways of coping?
- Emotion focus coping
- Problem focused coping
What is emotion focus coping?
concentrates on the emotions the problem has caused
What is problem-focused coping?
Learning as much as possible about the problem from others to increase sense of control
What are some characteristics of a type A personality?
- strong competitive orientation
- Impatient
- angry and hostile (increased likelihood of heart disease)
- Type A leads to worse health problems
What are some characteristics of type B personality?
- Relaxed, patient, easygoing
What factors moderate the impact of stress?
- social support
- optimism
