test 3 class notes Flashcards
what is attribution-helplessness theory about
experience something that feels beyond your control
- bad things happening and cannot do anything about them
- an out of control event
what is helplessness caused by
due to internal or external causes
internal: feel like it is your fault so brain makes it your fault
external: blaming things on external causes, can be a coping mechanism
explain global vs. specific and stable vs. unstable and what they are
they are all perspectives of problems
global = problem is widespread (not just failure on test but failure in life) specific = isolated to one problem/event
stable = constant (failure radiates through whole life) unstable = will not linger or happen overtime
when does helplessness come the most
when attribution is global and stable
-can be internal or external causes
what is the cognitive triad of depression
negative view of self, environment/world and the future
what is the self in cognitive triad of depression
perception of self is worthless, you have deficiencies and cannot achieve happiness
what is the environment in cognitive triad of depression
think of environment having excessive demands, environment is not fair to them
difference between ego dystonic and ego syntonic
dystonic: person feels like behaviors and moods are inconsistent with who they are (depressed, but know they should not be)
syntonic: behaviors and moods make sense to someone, behaviors fit with perceptions of reality (its everyone elses fault)`
what is the future in cognitive triad of depression
the future will suck, “even if i take another test i will fail that too”
what is plot correceting
trying to switch perspectives of life and the world, working to make them positive
what are some more cognitive factors that affect cognitive triad of depression (that add fuel to the fire)
self-evaluation, self-talk, having irrational ideas and beliefs, being pessimistic, over-generalizing, catastrophizing
what is self-evaluation
how we view our failures and imperfections, how we view our deficits
-learning what our deficits are
what is all or nothing thinking (dichotomous thought)
error in thinking, either positive or negative thinking and no in between
-decisions are complex so breathing them down to right or wrong is not accurate or reasonable
ex. trolley car dilemma
suicide world stats?
- one of the leading causes of death in the world (odd because we are usually survival based)
- 1 million people a year globally, 44,000 in US
- there are 650,000 to over a million unsuccessful attempts a year
what is an example that shows its hard to tell if it is a suicide or not
ex. car accident
what is a parasuicide
unsuccessful attempt at suicide
why is suicide not talked about
it is looked down upon so when people do kill themselves it is not talked about
explain “suicide contagion”
family member commits suicide, how do you get kids to think this is not a good thing? especially when people memorialize and bury those who die
-suicide can become attractive to people (eulogizing people-saying good things about person), may lead someone to believe that suicide makes everything better
is suicide in DSM
no, but it is included in psychopathology
can you call it suicide if a kid kills themselves
a debate, do they understand the finality of death? kids do not know what they are doing
what are some insurance policies about suicide
if you kill yourself kids will not get your money
what do people want to put in the DSM
suicidal behavior disorder, want to expanding definition of suicide
what are death seekers
conscious effort to end life
what are death intitators
engaging in behaviors to end lives but already think life is ending
death initiators vs. euthanization
don’t call it euthanization because people do not end others lives for the sake they do find a treatment for whatever is going on
what are death ignorers
don’t think that death is permanent (has religious routes)
what are death darers
ambivalent about death and careless about life (doing stunts, drugs, etc)
what is self injury
non-suicidal self injury, in DSM, afflicting wounds on selves without trying to kill self
- has to happen 5 times in one year to qualify for diagnosis
- similar pattern to OCD (compulsion- act reduces anxiety, but it comes back- loss of control)
how often does self injury occur
17% of people engage in these behaviors at least once
why is studying suicide hard
suicide committers are dead, so cannot interview (cannot go back in time)
- cannot interview families either because trauma
- hindsight bias is 20/20 only because it is untestable
why is there a stigma with suicide
because it doesn’t make sense to us
-we know it should be hard to inflict pain on self (painful and hard, have to be really sad to do it)
what is passive suicide and differences between men and women
a lot of suicide is passive, people will take pills and die after pills work
-women 3x more likely to commit, but men more likely to be successful because they use more active methods (guns, weapons, etc)
explain studies of unsuccessful suicides
we can study these, when we do case studies, average number of attempts is 12
what are some mediators of suicide rates
where you are from, religion (some say suicide inhibits you from going to Heaven), gender/sex, social environment and marital status
explain relationship status as a mediator of suicide
1/2 of people interviewed who had attempted said they had no friends or were divorced and never married
explain racial differences in US over suicide
whites are more likely to kill selves than other races, but not higher than Native Americans (high unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse, and access to weapons)
-Puerto Ricans have higher rate than other Hispanics
what can trigger a suicide
connected to mental illness and perspective (history of suicidal thoughts/plans)
-occurs with current event or condition in life (but the person has been suffering for a really long time before it, event precipitates it but does not justify it, the event is the last straw)
what group is at extremely high rates for suicide
veterans are at high risk for suicide
- combat stress is extremely traumatic
- killing others should not be comfortable
what long term stressors are risk factors
natural disaster, ongoing unemployment, serious illnesses, loved one with serious illness
-politics and social structure can also incite waves of suicide
(dictatorship, economic crashes, etc)
what can domestic violence do
lead to suicide
- people can be stuck in these situations, also at risk for homicide
- anytime our psyche is trapped it can lead to suicide
explain stats about drugs and suicide
25% of people who kill selves have drugs in system
-it is hard to kill self and alcohol disinhibits you
explain too much depression and suicide
people with depression sometimes feel so low they cannot kill themselves, so anti-depressants can make them kill selves
-anti-depressants increase suicide, switched to anti-psychotics to rid of this risk
what mental disorders have increased suicide risk
depression, alcoholism, schizophrenia
explain how celebrities can affect suicide
when there is a high profile person who commits suicide there is a spike in suicides
