Psychotherapy Flashcards
What is the Hawthorne effect?
Psychological improvement as a result of receiving attention
What are the aims of psychoanalysis?
To make the unconscious conscious and understand conflicts/behaviors
What is psychoanalysis used to treat?
Depression, Anxiety, Some personality disorders
What is the basis of interpersonal therapy?
Based on the idea that problematic attachments early in life predispose one to develop disorders that are expressed through troubled interpersonal relationships in present
What is the aim of interpersonal therapy?
To correct interpersonal difficulties
What are the four major interpersonal problems?
Loss and grief, role disputes, role transitions, interpersonal deficits
What is interpersonal psychotherapy used to treat?
Relationship problems, depression, eating disorders
What is the basis of family system therapy?
Idea that the identified patient reflects a dysfunction in the whole family system
Goal of family system therapy?
Help improve family’s relational health
Strategies for family systems therapy
Normalizing boundaries, redefining blame
What is family system therapy used to treat?
Children with behavioral problems, families dealing with conflict, teenagers with eating disorders or substance abuse
What is the goal of group therapy?
To treat people with common experiences, a particular disorder or interpersonal difficulties
What is the basis of behavioral therapy?
Behaviors are learned so all we have to do is unlearn them
What is behavioral therapy used to treat?
Phobias, depression, autism spectrum disorders, psychotic disorders
Describe classic conditioning. Ready, go!
Initially there is an unconditioned stimulus and an unconditioned response. A neutral stimulus is introduced preceding the unconditioned stimulus. The neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus causing a conditioned response
What is the process called when the neutral stimulus (conditioned stim) is performed continuously without the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned response decreases?
Extinction
Describe the concept of stimulus generalization
The magnitude of the conditioned response depends on how close the stimulus is to the original conditioned stimulus; you’re afraid of snakes so you might also be afraid of reptiles
What is stimulus discrimination?
An organism learns to differentiate among similar stimuli
What are applications of classical conditioning?
Phobias and addiction
In operant conditioning, what is a reinforcer?
A stimulus event that increase the probability that the operant behavior will occur again.
What is a positive reinforcer?
Stimulus that strengthens the response if it follows that response (add a positive stimulus to strengthen response)
What is a negative reinforcer?
An unpleasant stimulus that if removed, strengthens the response that removes the stimulus
What is the relationship between delay and size of reinforcement and response?
The shorter the delay and the larger the reinforcer, the more vigorous the behavior
What is a continuous reinforcement schedule?
Reinforcer delivered every time a particular response occurs
What is a partial/intermittent reinforcement schedule?
Reinforcement only given some time
What are the four types of partial reinforcement?
Fixed ratio (fixed number of responses required for reinforcement), variable ratio (number of responses required for reinforcement varies), fixed interval (fixed set of time must elapse before next opportunity for reinforcement), variable interval (time interval that must elapse before next opportunity for reinforcement varies)
What is punishment?
Presentation of an aversive stimulus or the removal of a pleasant one following some behavior
What’s the difference betwixt negative reinforcement and punishment?
NR strengthens behavior and punishment weakens behavior
What is positive punishment?
Introducing an unpleasant stimulus to decrease the frequency of a behavior; spanking
What is negative punishment?
Taking away a positive stimulus to decrease the frequency of a behavior;
What are the drawbacks of punishment?
Does not erase habit, must be immediately and consistently administered otherwise it will be ineffective
What is the goal of learning theory?
Understand learning principles maintaining the undesired behaviors and learn new responses in those situations
Clinical applications of learning theory
Systematic desensitization - envision anxiety-provoking stimuli, Flooding/implosion - direct exposure without the possibility of avoidance/escape, Positive reinforcement - used to alter problematic behavior (token economy), Aversive conditioning: classical conditioning used to associate physical/psychological discomfort with undesired behaviors, Self Monitoring - maintain detailed record of daily activities, used to est. consequences, Stimulus Control - modification of environmental cues that maintain/elicit behavior
What is the basis of cognitive therapy?
Correct errors in logic that lead to catastrophizing, overgeneralization, dichotomous thinking
