Psychology Unit 4 Flashcards
1
Q
What are the assumptions of the humanistic–positive perspective of personality?
A
We have a natural interest in becoming the best person possible (self-actualization) - Maslow and Rogers - strive toward growth and fulfillment through unconditional positive regard (real self, ideal self)
2
Q
What are the assumptions of the psychoanalytic perspective of personality?
A
Our personality resides in the unconscious and early childhood experiences lay the foundation for adult personality
3
Q
What are the tenets of psychoanalysis?
A
Freud - unconscious, preconscious, conscious
4
Q
According to Freud, what are the three distinct “provinces,” or regions, that involve control and regulation of impulses? How do they differ from each other?
A
Id (based on pleasure-desire, impulse driven, “Do it:, developed at birth), ego (Based on realistic constraints, sense of “self”, “me” and “i”, developed at 2 or 3 years old), superego (Based on what should be, right-wrong (conscience), impulse control, “Don’t do it”, developed at 3 or 4 years old)
5
Q
How is the concept of “psychological mechanisms” defined? How do they operate?
A
the internal and specific cognitive, motivational, or personality systems that solve specific problems of survival and reproduction (ie Trust (survival) → conscientiousness and agreeableness (psychological mechanism))
6
Q
How are the different defense mechanisms described in the book?
A
unconscious strategies the mind use it protect itself from anxiety by denying and destroying reality in some way
- Repression - unconscious act of keeping threatening thoughts, feelings, or impulses out of consciousness
- Reaction formation - occurs when an unpleasant idea, feeling, or impulse is turned into its opposite (ie homophobia and how sometimes they have a fear of their own homosexual impulses)
- Projection - people deny particular ideas, feelings, or impulses and project them onto others (ie a many may desire a married women but instead of recognizing his feeling he projects his desire onto the women and believes that she is seducing him)
7
Q
What are the main components of Carl Jung’s psychoanalytic perspective of personality?
A
- personal unconscious - the form of consciousness that consists of all our repressed and hidden thoughts, feelings, and motives
- collective unconscious - form of consciousness that consists of shared universal experiences of our ancestors - God, mother, life, death, water, earth, aggression, survival - that have been passed down from generation to generation
- Archetypes : shadow (dark and morally objectionable part of ourselves), anima (female part of male personality), animus (male part of female personality)
8
Q
According to Carl Jung, what is the origin of archetypes?
A
(ancient or archaic images that result from common ancestral experiences)
9
Q
What is the focus of Karen Horney’s psychoanalytic theory?
A
neurosis originates into basic hostility (anger or rage that originates in childhood and stems from fear of being neglected or rejected by one’s parents) and basic anxiety (a feeling of being isolated and helpless in a world conceived as potentially hostile) , defenses against anxiety include 1) moving toward others 2) moving against others 3) moving away from others
10
Q
According to the book, how does Abraham Maslow characterize self-actualizing people?
A
1) spontaneity, simplicity, naturalness: appear childlike in ability to be spontaneous and straightforward 2) problem-centered: experience moments of profound personal importance or personal meeting (“peak experiences”) and these experiences shape their lives 3)creativity: readily solve problems with originality and novelty 4) deep interpersonal relations: have few but profound relationships 5) resistance to enculturation: less likely than most ot be influenced by ideas and attitudes of others, don’t looks to others for guidance on what to think or how to behave
11
Q
What are the main assumption of Carl Roger’s form of psychotherapy?
A
people naturally strive toward growth and fulfillment and need unconditional positive regard for that to happen
12
Q
How does Carl Rogers define psychological adjustment?
A
congruence between the real and ideal selves
13
Q
What is the core idea behind positive psychology?
A
Positive psychology: focus on positive states and experiences, such as hope, optimism, wisdom, creativity, spirituality, and positive emotions
14
Q
According to Robert McCrae (1949) and Paul Costa (1942), what are the two primary components of the Big Five theory?
A
basic tendencies and characteristic adaptations
15
Q
In the context of the Big Five, what do basic tendencies refer to?
A
underlying, innate dispositions or predispositions that shape an individual’s behavior across various situations
16
Q
From an evolutionary perspective, what do physical and psychological mechanisms refer to?
A
- Psychological mechanisms - the internal and specific cognitive, motivational, or personality systems that solve specific problems of survival and reproduction
- Physical Mechanisms: boldly organs and systems that solve survival and reproductive problems (ie Disease/parasites → immune system)
17
Q
What are the assumptions of the biological theories of personality?
A
assume that differences in personality are partly based on differences in structures and systems in the central nervous systems, such as genetics, hormones, and neurotransmitters
18
Q
What does cortical arousal and sensory threshold refer to?
A
- Cortical arousal: refers to how active the brain is at a resting state as well as how sensitive it is to stimulation
- Sensory threshold: refers to how much of a stimulus is required for it to be perceived
19
Q
What is the quantitative trait loci approach?
A
a technique in behavioral genetics that looks for the location on genes that might be associated with particular behaviors
20
Q
What methods do behavioral geneticists use to examine the relationship among genetics, behavior, and personality?
A
gene studies (ie Quantitative trait loci approach and Genome-wide association study) and twin adoption studies (uncovers the degrees to which traits are influenced by genetic forces)
21
Q
In the context of the quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach, what is the possible connection between dopamine and thrill seeking in humans?
A
People who are deficient in dopamine tend to seek out exciting situations as a way of increasing their dopamine release and making up for deficient levels of dopamine
22
Q
Which neurotransmitter is associated with physiological arousal?
A
Dopamine is associated with physiological arousal
23
Q
According to the book, what are the nongenetic determinants of personality differences among people?
A
1) Shared environment - consists of living conditions that individuals have in common, such as having the same parents, schools, and peers 2) non-shared environment - consists of living conditions that individuals do not have in common, such as having different parents, birth-order, schools, and peers 3) Error
24
Q
What is a shared environment?
A
living conditions that individuals have in common, such as having the same parents, schools, and peers
25
What do we know about universal changes in personality change across cultures?
from early to mid-adulthood, people become less anxious and extraverted and more open, agreeable, and conscientious
26
How are projective tests used?
personality assessments in which the participant is presented with a vagues stimulus or situation asked to interpret ir or tell as story about what he or she sees, will explain unconscious wishes, thoughts, and motives will be “projected” onto the other people or situations
27
Describe the Rorschach Inkblot Test.
a projective test in which the participant is asked to respond to a serious of ambiguous inkblots
28
What are the different methods used in personality questionnaires?
- rational (face valid) method - a method of developing questionnaire items that involves using reason or theory to come up with a question (ie “I feel anxious much of the time” is a face valid item for measuring anxiety),
-empirical method - including questions that characterize the group the questionnaire is intended to distinguish (ie if statement “I prefer baths to showers” is answered one way by anxious people and a different way by non anxious people it it used in questionnaire for anxiety)
29
In Freud's theory of personality, what is the role of the id, ego, and super ego. How are these aspects of personality defined?
- Id - deepest instinctual drives, body’s needs and desires (sexual and aggressive), impulsive
Ego - through contact with outer world allows us to deal with things practically and resist impulses
Superego - voice of conscious, set of guidelines and internal standard to live our lives
30
What are the different defense mechanisms in Freud's theory of personality?
- projection - project certain qualities that you don't want onto others
- reaction formation - unconsciously replace threatening thoughts we have with their opposite
- rationalization - reading an explanation that sounds reasonable to explain unacceptable feelings or behavior
- regression - deal with an inner conflict by stepping back down to an immature behavior or early state of development
- repression - underlies all defense mechanisms, motivated forgetting
- Displacement - channel conflict elsewhere
31
What is the Oedipus conflict? Which stage of psychosexual development is associated with?
Oedipus conflict - a man who unknowingly kills his father ends up marrying his mother, phallic stages (3-5 years)
32
What is comorbidity?
occurrence of two or more psychological disorders at the same time
33
Defined the following disorders: somatic symptom, factitious, dissociative, adjustment.
- Somatic symptom disorders - occur when psychological symptoms take a physical form even though no physical causes can be found, include hypochondriasis and conversion disorder
- Factitious disorder - characterized by the individual’s deliberate fabrication of a medical or mental disorder to gain medical attention
Dissociative disorder - involve a sudden loss of memory or change of identity
- Adjustment disorder - characterized by distressing emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor
34
What are the neurodevelopmental disorders discussed in the book? What are the major symptoms and behaviors?
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - symptoms - inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity; behaviors - fails to give close attention to detail or makes careless mistakes, cannot sustain attention, does not listen when spoken to, does not follow through on instructions, fidgets and talks excessively, blurts out answers before question is complete and cannot wait turn
- Autism spectrum disorder - symptoms - impaired social interaction, impaired communication, repetitive and stereotypical behaviors; behaviors - impaired eye-to-eye gaze and facial expressions, fails to develop peer relationships, impaired or severely delayed speech, language use is stereotypical or repetitive, shows preoccupation and repetitive interests or behaviors, inflexible routines
35
What are the causes of neurodevelopmental disorders?
genetic factors that may remain latent unless triggered by environmental condition, environmental condition such as a pregnant women smoking or not may cause ADHD
36
What are the factors that increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder?
maternal infection and inflammation (ie fever, pneumonia, bronchitis)
37
What is posttraumatic stress disorder? What are the symptoms and key features of this disorder?
a type of trauma and stressor-related disorder that involves the intrusive and persistent cognitive, emotional, and physiological symptoms triggered by catastrophic or horrifying events, Symptoms - intrusive thoughts, feelings, or memories of the traumatic event while awake or dreaming, flashbacks of the event, distorted self-image and self-blame associated with the trauma, persistent emotional and physiological reactivity, people with PTSD easily startled, may have hair-trigger tempers and may be reckless or self-destructive
38
How is the brain activity of people suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder?
hypothalamic pituitary axis (HPA), a major neuroendocrine system involved in the stress response, may be dysfunctional in those with PTSD, inability to recover from a quiet HPA excitation is a key feature of PTSD
39
What characterizes dissociative disorders?
psychological disorders characterized by extreme splits or gaps in memory, identity, or consciousness
40
What is dissociative identity disorder?
dissociative disorder in which a person develops at least 2 distinct personalities, each with its own memories, thoughts, behaviors, and emotions, some psychiatrists question the legitimacy of the disorder
41
What is a popular perception of dissociative identity disorder?
some professionals claim the diagnosis is not real but rather is produced unintentionally by therapists themselves
42
What are the causes of dissociative disorders?
highly traumatic experience (abuse, terrible accident, natural disaster), most explanations of dissociative disorders view them as a coping strategy gone wrong, develops in response to early childhood trauma when the individual’s identity is still malleable, also includes problem with attention and memory, disruptions in sleep-wake cycle, and exposure to trauma or intense stress
43
What are somatic symptom disorders? What is the main criteria of this disorder?
occur when psychological symptoms take a physical form even though no physical causes can be found, include hypochondriasis and conversion disorder
44
How are personality disorders defined?
patterns of cognition, emotion, and behavior that develop in late childhood or adolescence and are maladaptive and inflexible; they are more stable than clinical disorders
45
What are the three distinct clusters of personality disorders? What are the major symptoms of each cluster?
- Odd-eccentric: symptoms - lack of interest in social relationships, inappropriate or flat emotion, thought, and coldness (Schizoid); isolate, odd, and bizarre thoughts and beliefs (Schizotypal); extreme, unwarranted, and maladaptive suspicion (Paranoid)
- Dramatic-emotional: symptoms - wild, exaggerated behaviors, extreme need for attention, suicidal, seductive, unstable relationships, shifting moods (Histronic); shifting moods, dramatic, impulse, self injury (Borderline); grandiose thoughts and sense of one’s importance, exploitative, arrogant, lack of concern for others (Naricissitic), impulse, violent, deceptive, and criminal behavior; no respect for social norms, ruthless (Antisocial)
- Anxious-fearful: symptoms - anxious and worrying, sense of inadequacy, fear of being criticized, nervousness, avoids social interaction (avoidant); pervasive selflessness, need to be care for, fear of rejection, total dependence on and submission to others (Dependent); extreme perfectionism and anxiety over minor disruption of routine, very rigid activities and relationships, pervades most aspects of everyday life (obsessive-compulsive)
46
What are the different personality disorders corresponding to each cluster?
- Odd-eccentric - Schizoid, Schizotypal, Paranoid
- Dramatic-emotional - Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic, Antisocial
- Anxious-fearful - Avoidant, Dependent, Obssessive-compulsive
47
What are the origins of personality disorders?
being abused and living under constant threat, genetics interacts with abusive experience to create personality disorders
48
What is the source of hoarding described in the video?
traumatic events (ie abuse or robbery)
49
What is the most effective treatment for hoarding?
persuading them to throw out things
50
Which psychological disorder does hoarding represent?
OCD
51
What is personality?
relatively stable set of psychological characteristics and behavioral patterns that account for our individuality and consistency over time
- Learning experiences
- Biological factors
- Social and cultural influences
- Cognitive and developmental processes
52
What are trait perspectives?
- set of underlying traits account for the consistencies in behavior from one situation to another
- Used to predict how people are likely to behave in different situations (ie Carlos is extrovert so he’s likely to be at a party)
- Largely innate/inborn or acquired through experience
53
What is the Behaviorist perspective of personality?
personality consists of sum total of an individual’s learned behavior (Watson and Skinner)
54
What is social-cognitive perspective of personality?
individual’s learning history and ways of thinking
- Expectancies we hold about the outcomes of our behavior, Values we place on rewards, Learning that occurs when we imitate the behavior of others
- Albert Bandura: reciprocal determinism
55
What is the humanistic perspective of personality?
personalities expressed through our efforts to actualize our unique potential as human beings (Carl Rogers)
- Self-actualization
-self theory - focuses on the importance of the self, self as the executive part of one’s personality (sense of being “i” or “me”), primary function of the self: development of self esteem
- unconditional positive regard
- conditional positive regard
56
What is the psychodynamic view of personality?
emphasized unconscious influences on personality
57
What is the Gordon Allport Hierarchy of Traits?
- traits are building blocks of personality, connect and unify a person's reaction to varied stimuli, inherited, but influenced by experience
- cardinal traits - a pervasive dimension that define the individual’s general personality (ie Mother Teresa is selfless and defines her entire life)
- central traits - personality characteristics that have a widespread influence on the individual’s behavior across situations (ie competitiveness, generosity, arrogance)
- secondary traits - specific traits that influence behavior in relatively few situations (ie preference for particular styles of clothing, types of music, or food)
58
What is the Raymond Cattell Mapping of Traits?
- Surface traits - surface level, can be gleaned from observations of behavior (ie friendliness, combativeness, stubbornness)
- Source traits: deeper level of personality, are not apparent in observed behavior but must be inferred based on underlying relationships among surface traits (key dimensions of personality ie serious, practical), Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (from serious to happy-go-lucky and practical to imaginative)
59
What is the Hans Eysenck Simpler trait model?
- Extraversion (extravert vs introvert) - degree of sociability, extraverts: outgoing, friendly, and people-oriented, introverts: solitary, reserved, and unsociable
- Neuroticism (unstable vs stable) - emotional stability, unstable: tense, anxious, worrisome, restless, and moody; stable: relaxed, calm, controlled, even-tempered
- Psychoticism - degree to which reality is distorted, high: cold, antisocial, hostile, insensitive; low: warm, sensitive, concerned about others
60
What are the Eysenck Personality Inventory - 4 basic personality types?
extraverted-neurotic, extraverted-stable, introverted-neurotic, introverted-stable
61
What is the big 5?
1) Neuroticism 2)extraversion 3)Openness 4) Agreeableness 5)Conscientiousness (OCEAN)
62
What are the problems with the trait perspective?
describe behavior but does not explain it, personality characteristics do not remain consistent (ie you can introverted in some situations but extraverted in others)
63
What is reciprocal determinism by Albert Bandura?
cognitions, behaviors, and environmental factors influence each other (What we do also influences what we think) (ie driver is cut off so his environment (where he is) influences his cognitions making him upset so he speed up to catch (behavior) which influences the environment again)
- outcome expectancies - predictions of the outcomes of behavior, efficacy expectations - predictions about your personal ability to perform behaviors you set to accomplish
64
How do we develop self efficacy?
pay close attention to our prior successes and failures, direct reinforcement and encouragement from others
65
What is unconditional positive regard?
acceptance of a person’s basic worth regardless of whether their behavior pleases or suits us, leads to intrinsic worth
66
What is the first choice of treatment for schizophrenia?
drug treatments
67
What are phenothiazines? How do they work?
drug used to treat schizophrenia, helps diminish hallucinations, confusion, agitation, and paranoia but also has adverse side effects
68
What are the sides effects of antipsychotic drugs?
fatigue, visual impairments, and condition called tardive dyskinesia (repetitive, involuntary movements of the jaw, tongue, face, and mouth - ie grimacing and lip smacking)
69
What is the difference between traditional and atypical antipsychotics? Provide examples of each types of drugs.
- traditional antipsychotics: first medication to manage psychotic symptoms, phenothiazines and haloperidol
- Atypical antipsychotics: newer antipsychotic drugs that do not create tardive dyskinesia, includes Clozapine (Clozaril), olanzapine (Zyprexa), and Risperidone (Risperdal)
70
Under which circumstances is electroconvulsive therapy used?
(passing an electrical current through a person’s brain in order to induce a seizure) is used for severe cases of depression
71
What is the difference between transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)? How are these two methods defined?
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) - treatment for severe depression involving exposure of specific brain structure to bursts of high-intensity magnetic fields instead of electricity, can only stimulate outer layer of cortex
- Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) - method of treatment that can stimulate both cortical and deeper brain structures; unlike rTMS it can be used during movement
72
What is deep brain stimulation used for?
used for severe depression by stimulating certain area of the brain involved in emotion and reward it can leads to substantial improvements in moods
73
How is the effectiveness of SSRIs and tricyclics compared?
- SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) - drugs prescribed primarily for depression and some anxiety disorders that work by making more serotonin available in the synapse, inhibit reuptake process allowing more serotonin to bind with postsynaptic neuron, does not product undesirable side effects of tricyclics
- Tricyclic antidepressants: drugs used for treating depression as well as chronic pain and ADHD, work by blocking reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine equally so that more neurotransmitters available in the brain but tricyclic produce unpleasant side effects including dry mouth, weight gain, irritability, confusion, and constipation
74
According to the book, what is one of the major problems in treating schizophrenia?
persuading patients to continue taking their medication since the side effects cause many patients to stop taking them
75
Which symptom of schizophrenia does antipsychotic medication work best on?
positive symptoms like hallucinations and delusions
76
What are the fundamentals of psychoanalytic therapy?
based on Freud’s ideas, a therapeutic approach oriented toward major personality change with a focus on uncovering unconscious motives, especially through dream interpretation
77
What are the main assumptions of free associations and symbols in psychoanalytic therapy?
- Free associations - a psychotherapeutic technique in which the client takes one image or idea from a dream and says whatever comes to mind, regardless of how threatening, disgusting, or troubling it may be
- Symbols: dream images are thought of as representing, or being symbolic of, something else
78
How is transference in psychoanalytic therapy defined?
process in psychotherapy in which the client reacts to a person in a present relationship as though that person were someone from the client’s past(ie you see characteristics of your father in your boss)
79
From a psychoanalytic perspective, what is catharsis?
process of releasing intense, often unconscious emotions in a therapeutic setting
80
How are defense mechanisms central to psychodynamic theory and therapy?
dream interpretation and transference are used to uncover repressed defenses and unconscious wishes
81
What is basic assumption of client-centered therapy?
form of humanistic therapy in which the therapist shows unconditional positive regard for the patient
82
In client-centered therapy, how is unconditional positive regard introduced?
showing genuine acceptance and empathy for the client, regardless of what he or she has said or done
83
What is the main focus of positive psychotherapy?
increasing a person’s happiness, well-being, and positive emotions
84
What are the main objectives of group therapy? How does it work?
group serves as both a source of support and an aid to the therapeutic process by allowing several people with a common problem to listen to, discuss with, and critique one another
85
What is the most important function of the presence of others in group therapy?
presence of other people with same problem also helps remove feelings of isolation
86
How are support groups defined?
meetings of people who share a common situation, be it a disorder, a disease, or caring for an ill family member
87
What are the different psychodynamic therapeutic techniques discussed in the video?
free association, dream analysis, interpretations of thoughts and actions, analysis of resistance to treatment
88
What is the basic assumption behind humanistic therapies?
based on idea that human nature is positive and each of us has a deep desire to strive for personal improvement
89
According to the video, humanistic therapies began to take hold in reaction to what aspect of the psychodynamic approach?
psychodynamic approach has overly negative view of the human condition
90
What is the diagnostic criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
excessive anxiety more days than not for at least 6 months, person finds it difficult to control the worry, anxiety and worry are associated with 3 or more of the following symptoms for at least 6 months - 1) restlessness 2) easily fatigued 3)difficulty concentrating or mind going blank 4) irritability 5) muscle tension 6) sleep disturbance
91
What is abnormal behavior criteria?
- Distress or disability: suffering, loose freedom of action, impairs daily life goals
- Maladaptiveness: actions work against person’s well being (ie alcoholic drinking on a Tuesday night and doesn’t show up to work next morning so he gets fired)
Irrationality: acting or talking irrationally, hearing voices
- Unpredictability: behave unpredictable from situation to situation (ie entering Starbucks through a window)
- Unconventionality: appearance and actions extremely unconventional (ie man living with wolves)
- Observer discomfort: creating discomfort in others
- Violation of social norms: violates expectations for one ought to behave
- Danger - behavior may become dangerous to oneself or others (ie eating disorder causes you not to eat and starve)
92
What is the objectivity problem?
deviant behavior standards vary by culture, context and time (ie skinny dipping in Europe vs US)
93
What were the early beliefs of abnormal behavior?
ancient times - middle ages: people controlled by supernatural forces or possessed by demonic spirits
94
What were the medical model beliefs of abnormal behavior?
1800s, a framework for understanding abnormal behavior patterns as symptoms of underlying physical disorders or diseases, Philippe Pinel - sickness of the mind caused by severe stress, syphilis infections brain (makes connection between physical illness and mental illness), shift from religious dogma to scientific explanations
95
What were the psychodynamic model beliefs of abnormal behavior?
unconscious conflicts and motives underlying abnormal behavior, understand how symptoms represent or symbolize unconscious conflicts
96
What were the behavioral model beliefs of abnormal behavior?
learning experiences shape the development of abnormal behavior, understand how abnormal patterns of behavior learned and the role of the environment (ie Albert)
97
What were the sociocultural model beliefs of abnormal behavior?
social ills contributing to the development of abnormal behavior (poverty, racism, and prolonged unemployment), relationships between abnormal behavior and ethnicity, gender, culture, socioeconomic level
98
What were the biopsychosocial model beliefs of abnormal behavior?
interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors
- diathesis - stress model: certain people have a vulnerability or predisposition that increases their risks of developing a particular disorder
99
Why do we need to classify mental disorders?
Prescribe appropriate treatment, legal reasons (is a person competent to stand trial?, can they manage their state?), research purposes(study different aspects of psychopathology, evaluate treatments), economic reasons (certify cases of mental illness, payments by insurance companies and health plans)
100
What do we use to classify psychological disorders?
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
101
How are anxiety disorders defined?
characterized by excessive or inappropriate anxiety disorder, one of the most common in US
102
What is generalized anxiety disorder?
type of anxiety disorder involving persistent and generalized anxiety and worry, symptoms: worry, restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, tension, sleep disturbances
103
What are panic disorders?
type of anxiety disorder involving repeated episodes of sheer terror called panic attacks, symptoms: heart palpitations, perspiration, trembling, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness
104
What are phobias?
irrational or excessive fear of some object or situation
- Social phobia - type of anxiety involving excessive fear of social situations
- Specific phobia- phobia reactions involving specific objects or situations
- - Acrophobia - fear of walking on suspended bridges or high places
- - Claustrophobia
- - Agoraphobia - excessive, irrational fear of being in public places
105
What is obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)?
a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions) or both
- Obsessions: nagging, intrusive thoughts you can’t control
- Compulsion: repetitive behaviors or rituals people feel compelled to perform again and again
106
What are the biological factors of OCD and anxiety?
disturbed neurotransmitter functioning, runs in families, biochemical changes in the brain, heightened activity in parts of the brain in response to danger cues (problems with fight or flight response mechanism)
107
What are psychological factors of OCD and anxiety?
classical conditioning (ie being stuck on a crowded elevator for hours), operant conditioning (negative reinforcement - ie constantly washing hands to get rid of germs), observational learning (seeing mother being scared of dogs so you become scared of dogs)
108
How are mood disorders classified?
involves severe or persistent disturbances of mood
109
What is major depressive disorder?
characterized by periods of downcast of mood, feelings of worthiness, and loss of interests in pleasurable, “common cold of psychopathology” , 2x as likely to occur in women than men
- Symptoms: depressed mood, poor self-care, reduced energy/diminished activity, reduced concentration/attention, reduced self-esteem/self-confidence, ideas of guilt/worthiness, bleak/pessimistic views of the future, ideas of self harm/suicide, diminished appetite/loss of weight, loss of libido, early morning wakening, diurnal variation of mood, loss of interests/enjoyment
110
What are bipolar disorders?
characterized by alternating moods that shift between euphoric feelings and depression
- Manic episode Symptoms: pressured speech/grandiosity, disinhibited behavior, unusual euphoric feelings or extreme restlessness, excited/talkative/argumentative, boundless energy and little need for sleep, increased libido, impaired judgment, lack of insight, 1% of US population
111
What are psychological factors of mood disorders?
- psychodynamic model involves anger turned inward against the self
- behavioral model involves shortfall in reinforcement levels (ie being away from loved ones who provide reinforcement)
- cognitive model involves adoption of negatively biased or distorted way of thinking/ all or nothing thinking / misplaced blame (saying you aren’t cut out for a career because of failing a test but they don’t take into account they work full time and are a student) / explanatory style (either see something as stable of temporary, global or specific, internal or external) / learned helplessness model (perception of lack of control over the reinforcements in one’s life that may result from exposure to uncontrollable negative events)
112
What are biological factors of mood disorders?
chemical imbalances in the brain involving levels or activity of neurotransmitters, antidepressants increase levels of norepinephrine and serotonin, role of heredity
113
What is schizophrenia?
Severe and chronic psychological disorder characterized by disturbances in thinking, perception, emotions, and behavior, more common in men, develops in late adolescence or early adulthood, “cancer of mental illness”
114
What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?
psychotic disorder - characterized by a “break” with reality; positive symptoms - involve cognitive and behavioral excess (hallucinations, delusions - different themes like persecution / demons or devil trying to harm them), negative symptoms - deficits or disruptions to normal emotions and behaviors (emotional and social withdrawal, apathy, poverty of speech, other indications of absence or insufficiency of normal behavior, motivation, and emotion), cognitive symptoms - deficits in cognitive abilities specifically in executive functioning, attention, and working memory
115
What is the disorganized type of schizophrenia?
confused behavior, incoherent speech, vivid and frequent hallucinations, inappropriate emotions or lack of emotional expression, and disorganized delusions
116
What is the catatonic type of schizophrenia?
bizarre movements, postures, or grimaces, some persist in a motionless state for hours, forced grasping, opposition, resistance, waxy flexibility (patient’s resistance to being moved)
117
What is paranoid type of schizophrenia?
delusions accompanied by frequent auditory hallucinations, delusion themes (grandeur, persecution, or jealousy)
118
What is undifferentiated type of schizophrenia?
“grab-bag” category (mixed set of symptoms with thought disorders and features from other types)
119
What is the residual type of schizophrenia?
in remission
120
What are the causes of schizophrenia?
genetic factors, biochemical imbalance, brain abnormalities, psychosocial influences
121
What is social facilitation and social loafing? How are these two processes explained?
Social facilitation - a phenomenon in which the presence of others improves one’s performance, usually occurs for tasks we fine easy, know well, or we can perform well
Social loafing - a phenomenon in which the presence of others causes one to relax one’s standards and slack off
122
What is the role of diffusion of responsibility on social loafing?
diffusion of responsibility alters your behavior causing you too loaf (relax one's standards and slack off)
123
How are social norms defined?
rules about acceptable behavior imposed by the cultural context in which one lives
124
What is group think? What are the main causes of this group phenomenon?
situation in which the thinking of the group takes over, so much so that group members forgo logic or critical analysis in the service of reaching a decision, main causes include social media in which if enough people agree with something that opinion gains credibility even if it is factually wrong or juries that are hard-pressed to reach a verdict
125
How do minorities exert social influence?
when a small number of individuals in a larger group shifts majority opinion by presenting a consistent, unwavering message, they do this via means of informational social influence
126
How are attributions defined in the book?
inferences made about the causes of other people’s behavior
127
According to Heider, what is the difference between dispositional and situational attributions?
Dispositional - ascribe other people’s behavior to something within them, such as their personalities, motives, or attitudes (ie Chris flunked the test because he is too lazy to study.)
Situational - when they think that something outside the person, such as the nature of the situation, is the cause of his or her behavior (ie Chris failed because the exam was too hard.)
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What are self-serving biases?
the tendency to make situational attributions for our failures but dispositional attributions for our successes
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What is the fundamental attribution error?
tendency to explain others’ behavior in dispositional rather than situational terms
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Why are people not very good at detecting whether or not someone is lying?
our own ideas of how he world works influence our perceptions of it
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What are schemas? How they affect how we view our social worlds?
people develop models of the social world, called schemas, which function as lens through which we filter our perceptions
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What are stereotypes?
schemas of how people are likely to behave based simply on groups to which they belong; they are oversimplified perspectives of people based solely on their group membership
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What is the precursor of dehumanization?
tendency to portray a group of people as unworthy of human rights and traits - intended to make them feel unworthy, ie racial exclusion
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What are the consequences of perceiving others as different from oneself?
1) We sometimes evaluate and treat people differently because of the group they belong to.
2) our actions are based on in-group/out-group distinctions (“us” versus “them”)
3) it hurts to be excluded from a group
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How is the in-group/out-group bias defined?
tendency to show positive feelings toward people who belong to the same group as we do, and negative feelings toward those in other groups
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What is the out-group homogeneity effect?
tendency to see all members of an out-group as the same
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What is the relationship between social rejection and physical pain?
social connections are as important to use as physical safety so the brain’s physical pain circuits also evolved to signal when we have been excluded from the group
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How is prejudice and discrimination defined? How do these two terms differ from each other?
Prejudice: a biased attitude toward a group of people or an individual member of a group based on unfair generalizations about what members of that group are like, stems from stereotypes rather than careful observation of people’s behavior
Discrimination: preferential treatment of certain people, usually driven by prejudicial attitudes, result from institutionalized rules like that flight attendants cannot be excessively overweight
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How do social psychologists distinguish between explicit and implicit prejudice?
Explicit - plainly stated
Implicit - indirect, unconscious
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What was the Implicit Associations Test (IAT) designed to measure?
applied to concepts of race and ethnicity, faster response times on the test indicate people more readily associate 2 concepts while slower response times indicate a less automatic association
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How are attitudes defined?
an individual’s favorable or unfavorable beliefs, feelings, or actions toward an object, an idea, or a person
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What are the different components of attitudes?
Affective: feelings or emotions associated with the belief
Cognitive: rational thoughts and beliefs that make up the attitude
Behavioral: motive to act in a particular way toward the person or object of the attitude
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What is cognitive dissonance? How can you reduce this dissonance?
feeling of discomfort cause by information that is different from a person’s conception of himself or herself as a reasonable and sensible person, this can be reduced by:
1)We can change our behavior to make it consistent with dissonant cognition
2) we can attempt to justify our behavior by changing one of the cognitions to make it more consistent with our behavior
3) We can add new cognitions that are consistent with the behavior and that therefore support it
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How is aggression defined?
violent behavior that is intended to cause psychological or physical harm, or both, to another being
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What is hostile and instrumental aggression?
Hostile aggression - when aggression stems from feelings of anger (ie road rage)
Instrumental aggression - when aggression is a means to achieve some goal (ie defensive lineman tackles the guy with the ball to stop them from scoring)
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What is the bystander effect? What explains it?
phenomenon in which the greater the number of bystanders who witness and emergency, the less likely any one of them it to help
- Explanation for it: diffusion of responsibility - when there are many people around, an individual’s perceived responsibility to act decreases
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What are the components of Robert Sternberg's triangular theory of love?
idea that intimacy, passion, and commitment, in various combinations, can explain all forms of human love
- Intimacy - refers to close, connected, and bonded feelings in loving relationships
- Passion - the drives that lead to romance, physical attraction, and sexual consummation, accompanied by physiological changes and arousal
- Commitment - refers to booths the decision to love someone - or not - and the decision to keep loving that person for the long term
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Why are groups so important to our social identity?
they reflect who we identify ourselves as and with
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What are the positive and negative functions of groups?
Positive functions of groups: for protection, better at solving difficult problems
Negative functions of groups: prejudice, stereotype
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What is the relationship between the formation of groups and prejudice?
the formation of groups creates prejudice
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How are prejudice and discrimination described in the video?
Prejudice: an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude
Discrimination: an unjustifiable negative behavior
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What do we learn from Muzafer Sherif’s Robbers' Cave Experiment? How was conflict between the two groups resolved in this experiment?
Muzafer Sherif’s Robbers' Cave Experiment: out-groups can become in-groups if they learn to work together with each other
Conflict resolved: by giving the groups a task to complete together
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What are the goals of the therapeutic process?
1) Reaching a diagnosis about what is wrong
2) Proposing a probable etiology (cause of the problem)
3) Making a prognosis, or estimate, of the course of the problem
Prescribing and carrying out some form of treatment
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What are psychiatrists?
are medical doctors, can prescribe drugs
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What are psychoanalysts?
psychiatrists or psychologists, completed extended training in psychoanalysis
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What are counselors?
have a Master in psychology or counseling
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What are social workers?
have a MSW, specialize in psychological problems
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What is biomedical therapy?
a prescribed medication of medical procedure - acts directly on patient’s nervous system
- Biological rooted disorders (ie schizophrenia) - likely to be treated with biomedical therapy
- Biomedical therapies - psychiatrists, neurobiologists and others
- Electroconvulsive therapy, psychosurgery, and drug therapy
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What is psychological therapy (psychotherapy)?
Psychological based form of treatment used to help people better understand their emotional or behavioral problems and resolve them
- Psychological disorders (faulty behaviors) that are learned (ie phobias) are likely to be treated with psychotherapy
Ex: behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy, humanistic therapy, psychodynamic therapy
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What is biomedical therapy?
electroconvulsive therapy - treatment that involves inducing a brief seizure by delivering an electrical shock to the brain, used to treat severe depression, side effect: impaired short - term memory
Psychosurgery: involves the surgical destruction of specific brain areas
- Extreme side effects : memory loss, intellectual / emotional flatness, cannot plan ahead
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What is drug therapy?
- Neurotransmitter irregularities - implicated in wide range of psychological disorders (ex: anxiety, mood, eating disorders, schizophrenia)
- Drugs regulate functioning of neurotransmitters in the brain
includes: psychotropic drugs, antipsychotic drugs, antianxiety drugs, and antidepressant drugs
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What are psychotropic drugs?
ex: antipsychotic, antianxiety, antidepressants
- reduce symptoms of many psychological disorders - none can produce a cure
- side effects: drowsiness (antianxiety drugs), dry mouth and sexual response problems (antidepressant drugs), muscular tremors, rigidity, and severe movement disorders (antipsychotic drugs)
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What are antipsychotic drugs?
used to treat schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders:
Chlorpromazine (1st miracle drug) - reduces schizophrenic symptoms (delusion, hallucinations, social withdrawal and agitation)
Mood-stabilizing drugs: Lithium: regulates mood swings of manic depressive, toxic (needs monitoring), anticonvulsant drugs used in treatments of epilepsy
Newer generation: Clozapine (Clozaril): controls symptoms of schizophrenia, fewer side effects, may not prevent tardive dyskinesia (disabling motor disorder that may occur following regular use of antipsychotic drugs - tremors, involuntary movements)
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What are antianxiety?
help quell anxiety, induce calmness, and reduce muscle tension: Diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), make GABA receptors more sensitive enhancing the chemical’s calming (inhibitory) effects, dangerous if mixed with alcohol or other drugs
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What are antidepressant drugs?
used to treat depression:
- tricyclics: increase the availability of neurotransmitters (norepinephrine and serotonin) in the brain by interfering with their reuptake - dry mouth, difficulty urinating, heart irregularities, drowsiness
- MAO inhibitors: increase the availability of norepinephrine and serotonin by inhibiting the enzyme monoamine oxidase - less effective, help if not responding to other drugs
- SSRIs (serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors): newer generation of drugs - raise serotonin levels in the brain (interfere with reuptake) - more specific, mild nausea or headache, produce nervousness
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What is behavioral therapy?
changes problem behavior through use of learning-based techniques, apply principles of learning - help individuals make adaptive changes in their behavior, focuses on changing problem behaviors - rather that exploring client’s feelings, relatively brief
- classical conditioning
Systematic desensitization: method of reducing fear by gradually exposing people to the object of their fear, resembles shaping procedure
Flooding (exposure therapy) - exposes the person to the object of the phobia suddenly rather than gradually
Aversive conditioning: used to create an unpleasant response to stimuli associated with undesirable behaviors (ie make stimuli - cigarette nicotine elicit negative responses - nausea)
- operant conditoning
Token economies: used in mental hospitals - residents receive tokens, or plastic chips, as positive reinforcers for performing certain desirable behaviors (ie self-grooming, tidying their rooms and socializing appropriately with others)
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what is cognitive therapy?
Based on a collaborative effort between clients and therapists - help clients recognize and correct distorted patterns of thinking believed to underlie their emotional problems
- Rational - Emotive Behavior Therapy - Albert Ellis: irrational beliefs to lead to emotional distress and self-defeating behaviors, encourages patients to replace irrational beliefs with rational alternatives, “shoulds” and “musts” (Everyone “should” like me)
- ABC’s of emotional distress: negative emotional reactions (anxiety and depression) are not produced directly by life experiences, they stem from the irrational beliefs we hold about life experiences
A (activating event - giving a bad presentation in class) → B (beliefs - “I worry because I’m not good enough. I don’t deserve to be a student in the program here. I don’t belong here.”) → C (consequences - extreme anxiety when presenting in class)
Client only sees activating event and consequences
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What is humanistic therapy?
- Assume that human nature is generally positive
- Emphasize the natural tendency of each individual to strive for personal improvement
- Based on the assumption that psychological problems stems from feelings of alienation and loneliness - those feelings can be traced to failures to reach one’s potential
- Person - centered therapy: assumes that all individuals have a tendency towards growth and that this growth can be facilitated by acceptance and genuine reactions from the therapist
- Seeks to facilitate a client’s self-actualizing tendency (an inbuilt proclivity toward growth and fulfillment)
Acceptance - unconditional positive regard
Therapist congruence - genuineness
Empathic understanding
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What is social psychology?
the attempt to understand and explain how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by actual, implied, and imagined presence of others
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What are the 3 degrees of human presence?
actual (physically there), implied (the ways that social artifacts (man-made objects) in the environment imply the interests and presence of others), imagined (how you think other people might perceive you affects daily decisions)
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What did Kurt Lewin say?
Kurt Lewin: B(behavior) = f (P(personal characteristics) + E (environment)) - environment is the most important
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What are the 2 fundamental axioms of social psychology?
constructivism, the power of the situation
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What is the power of the situation?
primary determinant of behavior is the nature of the social situation in which that behavior occurs
- Social situations are characterized by the operation of social roles
- Social situations are characterized by the operation of rules (behavioral guidelines for specific settings)
- Stanford Prison Study (1971)
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What is social influence?
the ways in which people are affected by the real and imagined presence of others
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What is the continuum of social influence?
left is yielding to influence, right is resisting influence, differs based on how heavy handed the influence of another person or group is
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What is conformity?
the tendency to change our perception, opinions, or behaviors in ways that are consistent with group norms
- Solomon Asch (1951) - lines study
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What is normative influence?
influence that produces conformity when a person fears the negative social consequences of appearing deviant
- Public compliances: superficial change in overt behavior, without a corresponding change of opinion, produced by real or imagined group pressure
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What are factors the increase normative conformity?
associated with a fear of rejection, when people believe that not conforming might subject them to social punishments, when the group has an important role that can only be achieved by having all group members agree, in groups that are cohesive (similar to each other, respect each other, depend on each other)
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What is informational influence?
influences that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgements
- Private acceptance: the change of beliefs that occurs when a person privately accepts the position taken by others
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What factors increase informational influence?
influences that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgements
Private acceptance: the change of beliefs that occurs when a person privately accepts the position taken by others
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What is the difference between informational and normative influence?
private acceptance or public compliance
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What is compliance?
yielding to a direct request from a person of equal or lower status
- Elaborate manipulation - people often get others to comply with their requests by setting traps
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What are the basic principles of compliance?
- Authority - we are more willing to follow the lead of someone who is a legitimately constituted expert or authority
- Scarcity - things that are rare or diminishing in their availability are more attractive (we want them more)
- Liking - people are more willing to say ‘yes’ to a request of someone they know and like
- Commitment - once we’ve taken a position on an issue, we’re much more willing to say ‘yes’ to anything that is consistent with that commitment
- Reciprocity: we are obligated to give others the kind of behavior they have given us (someone does us a favor - we are more likely to say ‘yes’ when they ask for a favor in return)
- Consensus: we are more willing to say ‘yes’ to a request if we have information that lot of people around us are saying ‘yes’ to that request
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What is the compliance technique of foot-in-the-door technique?
an influencer sets that stage for the real request by getting a person to comply with a much smaller request (first get you put political sticker on window then they get you to put sign on lawn), why does it work - self perception theory (tries to understand how you get to know yourself by observing your own behavior), perceptual assimilation (you already say yes to small favor and the next favor is not that much bigger), commitment/consistency (you feel you have already committed yourself and want act accordingly)
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What is the compliance technique of door-in-the-face?
an influencer prefaces the real request with one that is so large that it is rejected, why does this work - perceptual contrast effects (10 is lot less than 100 dollars), reciprocal concessions (you feel you must reciprocate and give in to the smaller request) , self-image repair (ego maintenance - saying no makes you feel bad)
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What is the compliance technique of low-balling?
getting a person to agree to a good deal, that later becomes less wonderful, why does it happen - commitment/consistency
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What is the complaince technique of that's-not-all?
the influencer begins with an inflated request, then decreases its apparent size by offering discount bonus, why does this work - norm of reciprocity
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What is obedience?
yielding to a direct request from a position of authority
- Stanley Milgram’s Experiment (1963) - example of the power of the situation, unethical study (caused a lot of distress), convincing teacher they are shocking the learning and 65% went to 450 volts
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What are the factors influencing Milgram's results?
authority (authority figure and legitimate setting) - decreases when the authority figure is less important or the figure is not in the room, bringing participants to a less important setting decreases total obedience, victim - proximity (obedience will be less if the victim is right in front of the person), procedure - lack of responsibility and shocks gradual escalation
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Why does the bystander effect exist?
- Social influence - we use other people as cues to interpret novel or confusing situations
- Audience inhibition - evaluation apprehension - “what if the apparent situation is not such”
- Diffusion of responsibility - each bystander’s sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses increases
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What are the 5 steps to helping behavior?
notice that something is happening (distraction, self concerns), interpret event as an emergency (ambiguity, relationship between attacker and victim, pluralistic ignorance - No one else seems worried), take responsibility for providing help (diffusion of responsibility), decide how to help (lack of competence), provide help (audience inhibition - I’ll look a fool, cost exceed rewards)
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What did John Darley and Bib Latane?
each witness may have assumed that others would, or should, take responsibility and call the police
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What is the bystander effect?
the tendency for a group of bystanders to be less likely than an individual to provide assistance to a person in trouble
