Unit 3 Test Flashcards
Social Psychology
Social Psychology: The study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people
1. Interpreting the Behavior of Others – Social Cognition
2. Behaving in the Presence of Others – Social Influence
3. Establishing Relations With Others
Social Cognition
Social Cognition: The study of how people use cognitive processes – such as perception, memory, thought, and emotion – to make sense of others and themselves.
-How we think about others
-How impressions are formed
-How causes are attributed to behavior
-How are attitudes about people and things formed
Person Perception
Person Perception: our perceptions are influenced by sensory information received and our expectations
Our initial impression of a person considers physical features (usually the first information available) and our interpretation of those features.
Sensory Information: E.g., physical appearance:
-Attractive people assumed to have more positive characteristics.
Our interpretation:
Social Schemas: General knowledge structures in long-term memory relating to social experiences or people
-May be used to “categorize” others, guide how we treat them
Social Schemas
Used in Person Perception
Our interpretation:
Social Schemas: General knowledge structures in long-term memory relating to social experiences or people
-May be used to “categorize” others, guide how we treat them
-stereotype
Stereotypes
Stereotypes: Social schemas (collections of beliefs and impressions) held about the traits and behaviors of groups and their members.
-Group people into characteristics, which form stereotypes
-May be activated unconsciously and can be adaptive.
-Occur across all cultures worldwide.
-We are more susceptible to negative effects of a stereotype when angry, less when being praised
Self-fulfilling prophecy effect
Self-fulfilling prophecy effect:
When our expectations about the actions of another person lead that person to behave in the expected way.
-When you have expectations of someone this can cause them to behave in this way
-The tendency for people to behave as they are expected to behave.
-May result in positive or negative effects.
Stereotypes
Stereotypes: social schemas that suggest members of a particular group shares characteristics in common → can be good or bad characteristics
Prejudice
Prejudice: a negative evaluation of a person based solely on their group membership.
Recognize that people differ in a negative way because of their group membership
-Explicit (conscious) and Implicit (unconscious) Prejudice
Explicit prejudice
Explicit prejudice: refers to attitudes about a group that are consciously endorsed.
-Need to think about
-Think that you don’t like a certain person
Implicit prejudice
Implicit prejudice: occurs unintentionally and may not be consciously recognized or controllable.
-Holds implicit/negative views and doesn’t recognize they have them
-More harmful: not aware of them and can’t control them or change in a meaningful way
Discrimination
Discrimination: Discrimination occurs when those evaluations lead to behaviors that are directed against members of the group (explicit)
-Prejudice can be reduced by widespread and repeated exposure to individuals in the stereotyped group.
-Act in ways that are directed toward members of a certain group (when someone acts on their prejudice of a group)
Ex: race, gender, age, disabilities
Attributions
Attributions: to what we attribute someone’s behavior to
-The inference processes people use to assign cause and effect to behavior.
Make attributions about someone’s behavior: identify cause of someone’s behavior
-People usually attribute behavior to a negative characteristic
-Internal and External Attributions
External or Situational Attribution
attribute a behavior (our own or someone else’s) to: external event or situation
-One’s behavior is attributed to the situations
Internal Attribution
attribute a behavior (our own or someone else’s) to: an internal personality trait or disposition
-One’s behavior is attributed to their internal traits
Errors and Biases in Attributions
Actor-observer effect: tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal sources* but our own behavior to external sources (external attributions)
Self-Serving Bias: We tend to make internal attributions for own actions when they produce positive outcomes
Fundamental Attribution Error: tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors, underestimate the influence of external factors in someone else’s behavior
Actor-observer effect
Errors and Biases in Attributions
Actor-observer effect: tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal sources* but our own behavior to external sources (external attributions)
We attribute our behavior to external factors (not in our control) but attribute the behavior of others to internal sources (their traits)
-Come up with more favorable explanations for our behavior
-External attributions to our behaviors when the outcome is bad
Self-Serving Bias
Self-Serving Bias: We tend to make internal attributions for own actions when they produce positive outcomes
-My own behavior produced a positive outcome; I have made an internal attribution about it.
-Make internal attributions (say one has good traits and characteristics) to oneself when their are good outcomes
Fundamental Attribution Error
Fundamental Attribution Error: tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors, underestimate the influence of external factors in someone else’s behavior
-Overestimate internal factors (traits): overestimate that someone is stupid or not smart
-Underestimate external factors (one’s situations): underestimate one’s environment and culture
Cultural differences exist → fundamental attribution errors more prevalent in western cultures
Attitudes
Attitudes: Enduring positive or negative evaluations or beliefs held about an object or event, which in turn affect one’s behavior.
-Positive or negative evaluations of other people or objects
Three components:
-Cognitive: our knowledge and/or beliefs about the object or event
-Affective: emotions/feelings produced by the object
-Behavioral: predisposition to act in a certain way
-Formed through experience and learning, including classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning.
Our interpretation of experiences depends in part on our intellectual and personality traits.
Exposure can result in attitude change.
Three components of Attitudes
1 Cognitive: our knowledge and/or beliefs about the object or event
-Beliefs about person or object
2 Affective: emotions/feelings produced by the object
-Emotions produced
3 Behavioral: predisposition to act in a certain way
-Behavior response: tendency to act in certain ways
Elaboration likelihood model Attitude Changes
Elaboration likelihood model proposes two routes to attitude change:
1- Central route: when people are motivated, focused on message
2- Peripheral route: when people are either unmotivated or unable to process message, in which case source characteristics, such as attractiveness, power, fame of the presenter matter more.
-More common route
-Focus on characteristics of people presenting information → causes one’s attitude to change
Advertisers/political candidates tend to focus on __Peripheral__ route
Advertisers/political candidates tend to focus on ____ route?
Peripheral Route
-More focus more on the peripheral route in advertisements: celebrities endorsing products or people
Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance: the tension produced when people act in a way that is inconsistent with their beliefs.
Festinger and Carlsmith (1959): attitudes change when there is a discrepancy between what we believe and how we act or between two conflicting beliefs.
-We change to reduce the dissonance (tension).
Ex: smoking is bad for me and my health, but I continue to smoke- 2 conflicting beliefs
Ex: Bystander Effect
Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)
Festinger and Carlsmith (1959): attitudes change when there is a discrepancy between what we believe and how we act or between two conflicting beliefs.
-We change to reduce the dissonance (tension).
-People seek ways to reduce dissonance
-Ways they can feel better about the behavior they are engaged in
-Come up with ways to reduce the dissonance we have and make our thoughts more acceptable
Ex: A smoker who knows smoking is bad will say that they are cutting down on the amount of packs they smoke or say they don’t inhale
Behavior in the Presence of Others
Social facilitation: Performance enhanced
Social Interference: Performance impaired
Interacts with task difficulty: in relation to the difficult of the task
-Others facilitate performance of easy tasks, but they hinder performance of difficult ones
May happen because presence of others raises arousal
-Arousal increases performance to a certain point, but if it gets too high one’s performance drops
Social facilitation
Social facilitation: Performance enhanced with presence of others
-Eat more
-Run faster
-At the gym
-Increase level of performance
Social interference
Social interference: Performance impaired
-Stage fright
Harder tasks: giving speeches to a lot of people
-Performed declines
Altruism
Altruism: Acting in a way that shows unselfish concern for the welfare of others.
Act in a way that puts the welfare of others above my own welfare
-Acting selflessly
-Mother Teressa
Evolutionary explanation: Reciprocal altruism?
-Hope is that others will treat you the same way
Bystander Effect
Bystander Effect: reluctance to come to someone’s aid when others are present.
Diffusion of responsibility: Spreads out among those present (or presumed to be).
Exceptions if:
-Recently observed others being helpful: more likely to help if you recently observed others helping
-Others don’t have the ability to help
-Truly believe high potential danger exists
The Power of the Group
Social loafing, Deindividuation, Conformity, Ostracism
Social loafing
Social loafing: Tendency to put in less effort when working in a group than when working alone
-May be connected to the bystander effect, diffusion of responsibility
Deindividuation
Deindividuation: Loss of individuality that comes from being in a group – people might do things when in a large, rowdy group that they would never do alone
-May also relate to diffusion of responsibility (feel less accountable)
-Plays central role in prejudice, discrimination, racism
Conformity
Conformity: tendency to comply with the wishes of the group
-Most likely to occur when pressure comes from an in-group (a group of individuals with whom you have features in common).
-Often occurs outside our awareness.
-Decreases when at least one other member of the group dissents from the majority.
-Group membership of 3-5 sufficient.
-Seek approval/avoid risk of rejection by the group
Asch Conformity Experiment
Asch Conformity Experiment: Social Psychologist that did an unethical study
Has students sit at a table, showed lines of different lengths and told to say which lines are the same length
-Person starts to lie and other person conforms with what they say
-Has one other person not conform and the other person then is comfortable to share a different answer than the rest of the group
-We will conform to the wishes of a group to avoid rejection and maintain status in a group
Ostracism
Ostracism: being excluded and ignored by the group
Ostracism causes psychological consequences:
-Loss of belongingness, self-esteem, sense of control
-Increased sadness, pain, anger leading to stress related physical consequences.
-Reactions may be rooted in our evolutionary past when being excluded from the group reduced our chances of survival.
Group Decision Making
Group polarization
Groupthink
Group polarization
Group polarization: tendency for a group’s dominant point of view (usually the initial views of the majority) to become stronger, more extreme with time.
-Overtime all groups tend to move towards an extreme in their beliefs
-Consider terrorism, hate groups.
-May relate to conformity (seek approval/avoid risk of rejection by the group)
-Dissenting views less likely to be heard
Groupthink
Groupthink: tendency for members to become so interested in seeking consensus/decision that they ignore or suppress dissenting views
-Follow in line of what the group thinks to get a decision
-Can be countered by an impartial leader, encouraging dissent (an assigned devil’s advocate), being aware of the tendency
Obedience
Obedience: Compliance that occurs when people respond to orders of an authority figure
Milgram Obedience Experiment (1963)
Milgram Obedience Experiment (1963): Milgram’s experiment tested the predisposition of people to obey orders; how obedient would people be to unreasonable requests of an authority figure?
What we learn from it: Under certain circumstances, average people will obey extreme orders
-Experimenter instructed people to give someone an electrical shock if they got an answer wrong and increase the shock each time someone got an answer wrong: people obeyed the order that come from the authority figures running the study
Zimbardo: Stanford Prison Experiment
Recruited white males in the community to do a study of prison life: randomly assigned people to be prisoners and guards, they all started out equal
Only lasted 4 days before they needed to stop the study because the behavior of the guards became very harsh and the power went to the guards head
-Were treating prisoners very harsh and brutally
Cultural Factors
Western cultures promote an independent view of the self
-Leads to devaluing conformity, obedience, altruism
-Main way relate to others is independent: not as likely to conform as others in different cultures
Many non-Western cultures promote an interdependent view
-Example: Japanese culture strongly emphasizes belonging to, contributing to a collective
-Interdependence: people view themselves as part of a mutual community/group
How environment plays a significant role in Establishing Relations with Others
Proximity: likelihood of becoming friends strongly determined by how close, or near, someone lives.
-Familiarity, through frequent interaction, leads to attraction
Similarity: friends typically resemble each other
-e.g., social status, age, education, politics, religious beliefs, intelligence, physical attractiveness, appearance
Reciprocity: tendency to return in kind feelings that are shown toward us (but only if we believe and trust the other’s intentions)
Sternberg’s triangular view: 3 major dimensions of love
1: Passion – motivation component:
Arousal, physical attraction, sexual behavior
-Develops early, rapid, difficult to sustain for long periods
2: Intimacy – emotion component:
Closeness, connectedness, warmth
-Feelings of closeness, connectedness, and boundedness in a relationship
-Slow to develop, but grows and maintains itself in successful relationships
3: Commitment – decision-making component:
-Willingness of the partners to stay together in times of trouble
-Slow to develop, but can be long-lasting
Passion
Sternberg’s triangular view: 3 major dimensions of love
1: Passion – motivation component:
Arousal, physical attraction, sexual behavior
-The drives that lead to romance, physical attraction, and sexual consummation
-Develops early, rapid, difficult to sustain for long periods
Intimacy
Sternberg’s triangular view: 3 major dimensions of love
2: Intimacy – emotion component:
Closeness, connectedness, warmth
-Feelings of closeness, connectedness, and boundedness in a relationship
-Slow to develop, but grows and maintains itself in successful relationships
Commitment
Sternberg’s triangular view: 3 major dimensions of love
3: Commitment – decision-making component:
-Willingness of the partners to stay together in times of trouble
-Slow to develop, but can be long-lasting
Based on Sternberg’s three major dimensions of love, various types of love can occur:
Romantic love: has intimacy and passion, lacks commitment
Companionate love: has intimacy and commitment, lacks passion
Empty love: has commitment, lacks passion or intimacy
Romantic love
Romantic love: has intimacy and passion, lacks commitment
Based on Sternberg’s three major dimensions of love
Companionate love
Companionate love: has intimacy and commitment, lacks passion
Based on Sternberg’s three major dimensions of love
Empty love
Empty love: has commitment, lacks passion or intimacy
Based on Sternberg’s three major dimensions of love
He thinks Canadians are arrogant and smug. See’s a canadian and already assumes they are smug
Explicit Prejudice
Abnormal
Abnormal: deviating from the norm or average
-often, unusual in an unwelcome or problematic way
-more of a continuum than rigid categories.
Behavior must fit several of the following criteria to be labeled abnormal: DDDD
Deviance, Distress, Dysfunction, Danger
Deviance
-Statistical – occurs infrequently in a given population
-Cultural – violates rules or standards of a given culture
Emotional Distress – leads to unhappiness, torment
Dysfunction – experiencing difficulties with daily living, including relationships with others
Danger: to self or others
Insanity
Insanity: A legal, not a psychological or psychiatric, term
Insanity: Defined as inability to understand that certain actions are wrong, legally or morally, at the time of a crime
Insanity is not a disorder: is a condition
-Some with a disorder can be sane
-Can be labeled insane and not have a disorder
John Hinckley Jr., 1981
Attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan
Found not guilty by reason of insanity
-Didn’t know right from wrong, legally and morally, at the time he committed the crime
Jeffery Dahmer
Milwaukee serial killer and sex offender, 1978 to 1991
Considered legally sane: did know the difference between right and wrong when killing young males, cannibalizing their bodies
The Medical Model
The Medical Model: Considers abnormal behavior as a disease, an illness, with a cause and that can be cured with appropriate treatment.
Medical language and procedures deeply ingrained: psychiatrists, hospitals, medicines, symptoms, diagnoses.
-There is an illness, there is a cause for it, and there is a cure for it
-Dominant model in our western culture
Challenged by some: causes of mental illness often unclear; social, cultural contexts of symptoms are important, more so than for physical illness
Diagnostic Labeling Effects
Diagnostic labels can stigmatize and lead to negative reactions from others which can then lead to self-fulfilling prophecies.
Cultural differences exist in what is considered abnormal behavior and in how willing people are to acknowledge disorders and from whom, if anyone, they will seek help.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
Published by the American Psychiatric Association
Used for the diagnosis and classification of psychological disorders
DSM 1 (1952) listed about 60 disorders; the current edition DSM 5 (Fifth edition, Text Revision) published in 2022 lists over 300.
How to be Classified with a DSM Disorder
To be diagnosed with a disorder “Symptoms cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.”
-To be diagnosed with a disorder, disorder needs to cause one significant impairment of one’s daily life (interrupt one’s life)
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Disorders: Marked by excessive apprehension, worry that impairs normal functioning
-Women are more likely than men to suffer from anxiety disorders
-Men less likely to report depression and to seek treatment: more likely to self medicate with drugs and alcohol
Generalized anxiety disorder: “Free-floating” anxiety, chronic worrying lasting over 6 months
Panic disorder: Recurrent discrete episodes or attacks of extremely intense fear or dread
Phobic disorders (Phobia): Highly focused, irrational fear of a specific object or situation
Social anxiety disorder: Extreme anxiety in social situations in which scrutiny by others is possible, including performance in front of others
Generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder: “Free-floating” anxiety, chronic worrying lasting over 6 months
Just anxious all the time: cannot attribute it to one thing
Panic disorder
Panic disorder: Recurrent discrete episodes or attacks of extremely intense fear or dread
-Can be out of the blue
-Panic attack can be the fear of another panic attack
Phobic disorders (Phobia)
Phobic disorders (Phobia): Highly focused, irrational fear of a specific object or situation (e.g., animals, natural environment, elevators, spiders, needles)
-Irrational fear: cultural impact
-Irrational fear that is highly focussed and interferes with one’s functioning
Social anxiety disorder
Social anxiety disorder: Extreme anxiety in social situations in which scrutiny by others is possible, including performance in front of others
-Anxiety with social situations, expected to be in front of others and evaluated
-Avoid social situations and don’t go to things: diminishes social skills
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Persistent, uncontrollable thoughts or urges (obsessions) OR a compelling need to perform repetitive acts (compulsions)
-Obsessions or compulsions or both: in most cases both (doesn’t require both)
-Obsessions: persistent, uncontrollable thoughts or urges
-Compulsions: a compelling need to perform repetitive acts
Compulsive behaviors are attempts to reduce the anxiety produced by the obsessions (thoughts and urges).
-Freud believed obsessions were related to our unconscious sexual or aggressive urges.
-Compulsions meant to reduce sexual or aggressive obsessions
Depressive Episode
A major Depressive Episode includes:
5 or more of these symptoms for at least 2 weeks:
-Depressed mood for most of the day
-Loss of interest in normal daily activities
-Significant weight change (gain or loss)
-Insomnia or hypersomnia
-Psychomotor agitation or retardation
-Daily fatigue or loss of energy
-Feelings of worthlessness, excessive or inappropriate guilt
-Trouble concentrating or making decisions
-Recurrent thoughts of death; suicidal ideation, plan, attempt
Manic Episode
Bipolar Disorder
Manic episode: a distinct period lasting at least one week* of elevated, expansive or irritable mood with increased activity or energy.
-Hyperactive with high potential for dangerous consequences, talkative, decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts
-Impulsive/erratic behavior, irritable mood
-Marked impairment in social or occupational functioning *or requiring hospitalization
-Risky behaviors without thinking things through: grandiose
Hypomanic episode
Bipolar Disoder
Hypomanic episode: lasting at least four days; not severe enough to produce marked impairment or require hospitalization
-Less severe than manic episode
-Does NOT produce marked impaired or require hospitalization: someone’s sleep and speech affected, engage in irrational behavior but not enough to show marked impairment
Bipolar I
Bipolar I: At least one lifetime manic episode
-Once in their life someone has had a manic episode
Very extreme in swings: during up swings people feel very good and feel very bad in downswings
Bipolar II
Bipolar II: At least one hypomanic episode and at least one depressive episode
Cyclothymic disorder
Cyclothymic disorder: Over at least two years, periods w/depressive symptoms and periods w/hypomanic symptoms
A cycle: disorder cycles upward and downward several times in a two year period
Treatment of Bipolar and Related Disorders
Treatment: medicine
Suicide
Suicide: NOT a disorder (is a intentional, willfull act in one’s life, a behavior)
-One possible consequence of mood disorders (depressive and bipolar disorders)
-2nd leading cause of death among 10–24-year-olds (2022 Centers for Disease Control data)
-Risk factors besides mood disorders include alcohol and other drug use, other psychiatric diagnoses
-Another major predictor: Prior suicide attempt(s) and/or thoughts
Mood Disorders: Gender & Culture
Worldwide, women more likely than men to suffer from major depression
No gender difference for bipolar disorder
Women more likely than men to attempt suicide; men more likely to complete
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): directly experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event (watched it happen)
OR learning of a family member or friend impacted by traumatic event
-Learn of someone else’s trauma
OR repeated/continuous exposure to traumatic events (e.g., first responders)
-Flashbacks, distressing memories, amnesia, avoidance, increased arousal lasting at least one month
Complex PTSD
“Complex PTSD”—chronic, ongoing trauma
Ex: 4 women in a residential area had been kept imprisoned by a man in his house for years, had been sexually assaulted
How to be Diagnosed with PTSD
Flashbacks, distressing memories, amnesia, avoidance, increased arousal lasting at least one month
-Common among veterans and survivals of response
Amnesia: loss of memory
Avoidance: don’t go in situations that remind them of traumatic experience
-PTSD needs to be going on for at least ONE MONTH to be diagnosed
Acute PTSD: over shorter time period
Adjustment disorders
Adjustment disorders: emotional or behavioral symptoms within 3 months of an identifiable stressor.
-Within 3 months of an event, someone experiences symptoms
-Within 3 months of a divorce or losing a job experience systems
-Doesn’t rise to level of a stress disorder
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia: Involves fundamental disturbances in thought processes, emotion, and/or behavior; may be expressed in a variety of ways
-Chronic and life long: difficult to treat
-Significant disturbances in way people feel and think
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Positive symptoms: Observable expressions of abnormal behavior (positive does not mean good, positive= addition of something)
Hallucinations – auditory (most common), visual, olfactory
-Command hallucinations: voice is telling person to do something or commit an act
-Smelling or experiencing touch that is not actually there
Delusions - beliefs contrary to reality that are firmly held despite contradictory evidence
-Firmly held belief: cannot be convinced that it is not true
Disorganized speech, thoughts, motor behavior
Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative symptoms: Elimination or reduction of normal behavior (negative = removal of something)
Little or no emotional reaction to events; avolition; anhedonia
-Anhedonia: depression and lack of interest in pleasurable activities that they used to enjoy
Refusal to take care of self
Gender difference with Schizophrenia
No significant gender difference with Schizophrenia
-Men tend to develop schizophrenia earlier in life than do women
Occurs worldwide
Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa: Failure to maintain a minimally normal weight level (or BMI, body mass index) in an otherwise healthy person due to an intense fear of being overweight
-Prominent in Western cultures
Medical problems: Serious, chronic condition that can cause cessation of menstruation in women (lowered testosterone levels in men) and interfere w/reproduction; low blood pressure; loss of bone density; gastrointestinal problems
-High mortality rate, from medical complications or suicide
Bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa: Binge eating followed by purging, usually by vomiting, laxatives, diuretics or enemas; excessive exercise, restricting food intake.
-People who binge eat then purge (not eating, taking measures to get rid of food they eat, over exercising)
-Characterized by an obsessive desire to be thin.
-Primarily in western cultures; occurs more frequently, but not only, in women.
Medical complications- electrolyte balance (potassium and sodium) disrupted; cardiac problems, sometimes fatal; tooth and gum disease, gastrointestinal tract damage
Possible causes of Eating Disorders?
Genetic/biological factors: disrupted brain chemistry (decreased serotonin levels)
-Co-occurring psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance abuse, OCD, personality disorders)
Cultural factors: the celebration of thinness as attractive and healthy
Psychological factors:
-The pursuit of perfection
-Fear of loss of control
-The pursuit of absolute control
Personality Disorder
Personality Disorder: Chronic, enduring patterns of behavior leading to significant impairment in social functioning
-10 different types
PD’s usually ingrained, inflexible, maladaptive; resistant to therapy.
-No medicines found to be useful for personality disorders
-Narcissistic personality disorder, Antisocial personality disorder, Borderline personality disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder: grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy (the ability to recognize and understand another’s emotional point of view)
-Person thinks everything is about themselves
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder: disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others
-Disregard for rules
-Control over others
Borderline personality disorder
Borderline personality disorder: instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affect and marked impulsivity, including self-harm (e.g., cutting, burning)
-Love you one day and hate you the next day
-Rapid changes
How to Treat Personality Disorders
PD’s usually ingrained, inflexible, maladaptive; resistant to therapy.
-No medicines found to be useful for personality disorders
Biological Factors of Psychological Disorders
Biological Factors: Include physical problems with the body, brain, as well as genetic influences
-Neurotransmitter imbalances, Structural problems in the brain, Genetic contributions
-Interaction between biology and environment highly likely
Biological Factors of Psychological Disorders: Neurotransmitter imbalances
Neurotransmitter imbalances, e.g., dopamine excess and issues with glutamate, GABA and serotonin in schizophrenia; serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine involved in mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder), but exactly how is less clear
-Serotonin disorders
Biological Factors of Psychological Disorders: Structural problems in the brain
Structural problems in the brain, e.g., schizophrenia associated with enlarged ventricles, decreased frontal lobe activity, possible abnormal neuronal connectivity
-But not all people with schizophrenia or mood disorders show these brain related irregularities
Biological Factors of Psychological Disorders: Genetic contributions
Genetic contributions: inherited predispositions toward certain abnormalities are documented by research.
Concordance rates (the likelihood of sharing a disorder) for schizophrenia are significantly higher for identical twins and children born of two schizophrenic parents than for fraternal twins or siblings and much higher than among the general population
Cognitive Factors of Psychological Disorders
Cognitive Factors: thinking processes, what is going through people’s minds, maladaptive thought patterns may contribute:
Maladaptive attributions may play a role in depression e.g., negative event occurs, depressed person overgeneralizes, attributing it to:
-Internal: it’s my fault, a personal inadequacy of mine
-Stable: the inadequacy is long-lasting, it will continue
-Global: it’s widespread, will apply in lot of (or all) situations
Maladaptive attributions
Maladaptive attributions may play a role in depression e.g., negative event occurs, depressed person overgeneralizes, attributing it to:
-Internal: it’s my fault, a personal inadequacy of mine
-Stable: the inadequacy is long-lasting, it will continue
-Global: it’s widespread, will apply in lot of (or all) situations
Learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975)
Learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975): Acquired when people repeatedly fail in attempts to control the environment, then give up, become passive.
-May also contribute to depression.
-One’s attributions about the failure are likely significant by leading to hopelessness.
Environmental Factors of Psychological Disorders
Environmental Factors: do people learn to act abnormally?
Role of culture: may influence the kinds of delusions seen in schizophrenia
-The extent to which emotions are displayed openly; the amount of stress, anxiety, hopelessness generated by poverty, war, crowding, noise, social pressures
Conditioning may play a role as well
-Specific phobias may be acquired through classical conditioning or observational learning (evolutionary adaptive)
People living in different situations: people who live in poverty more likely to develop depression and hopelessness than people with a lot of resources
Psychological Disorders Factors
Biological Factors, Cognitive Facts, Environmental Facts
-No single factor can account for psychological disorders.
-Biological, cognitive and environmental factors all are believed to contribute to some extent.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is treatment designed to help people deal with mental, emotional or behavioral problems
Most kinds of psychotherapy are designed to do one of the following:
-Treat the body
-Treat the mind
-Treat the environment
Treating the Body: Biomedical Therapies
Drug Therapies (Antipsychotic drugs, antidepressants, antianxiety drugs)
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
Magnetic Seizure Therapy
Psychosurgery (destroy or alter brain tissue to affect behavior)
Drug Therapies
Drug Therapies: most common today
Antipsychotic drugs: reduce positive symptoms of schizophrenia
Antidepressant drugs: affect the synaptic activity of transmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine
- SSRIs inhibit the reuptake of serotonin, increasing its spread to the next receptor neuron (e.g., Prozac, Zoloft).
Antianxiety drugs (tranquilizers):reduce tension and anxiety by typically increasing the effectiveness of the neurotransmitter GABA, leading to a reduction of excitation.
Antipsychotic drugs
Antipsychotic drugs reduce positive symptoms of schizophrenia
-First used in 1950s to treat delusions and hallucinations by blocking or slowing neural transmission of dopamine
Hallucinations: positive symptoms of schizophrenia
-More recent medications target additional neurotransmitters and have fewer negative side effects.
Antidepressant drugs
Antidepressant drugs affect the synaptic activity of transmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine
-SSRIs inhibit the reuptake of serotonin, increasing its spread to the next receptor neuron (e.g., Prozac, Zoloft).
-Lithium-effective for bipolar disorder, especially in reducing mania
-Antidepressant SSRI’s have been found to be effective in reducing anxiety, with fewer known negative side effects than tranquilizers.
How Antidepressants Work
Action potential releases neurotransmitters across synapse → received by receptors in the dendrites of the other neuron
Problem with depression: some of the serotonin released by action potential does not make it across the synapse: reuptake, less serotonin is doing its job
Antidepressants: block reuptake of serotonin, reuptake inhibitors
Antianxiety drugs (tranquilizers)
Antianxiety drugs (tranquilizers) reduce tension and anxiety by typically increasing the effectiveness of the neurotransmitter GABA, leading to a reduction of excitation.
-GABA is the most prevalent inhibitory neurotransmitter: inhibits and slows down activity: by increasing levels of GABA people are calmed down
-Many tranquilizers have high potential for abuse and dependence with significant withdrawal symptoms.
-Some recent types are less addictive.
Pros and Cons of Drug Therapries
Pros: many have shown clear benefits and allow individuals to function effectively who otherwise might not.
Cons: many have side effects that can be negative and can reduce medication compliance.
-Some are addictive and long-term effects of some are unknown.
-All should be medically monitored.
-No meds known to be effective for personality disorders.
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): a brief electric current delivered to the brain generates a brief seizure, convulsions, loss of consciousness
-Primarily for severe depression
-A last resort (used when other means have not been successful)
-Controversial
Cause changes in brain chemistry or repair changes to the brain caused by severe, chronic depression
Magnetic Seizure Therapy
Magnetic Seizure Therapy: magnetic fields passed through the brain instead of electrical currents
-Not used much
-Newer procedure that uses magnetic fields to induce seizures
-Fewer side effects than ECT
Psychosurgery
Psychosurgery: Rarely used procedures that destroy or alter brain tissue to affect behavior
Prefrontal lobotomy (1930’s): separates the frontal lobes from the rest of the brain.
-Produces calming effects, but also serious cognitive deficits, sometimes death
-More modern surgical options exist, but still used extremely rarely.
Treating the Mind
Insight Therapies: designed to give clients self-knowledge (insight) into the contents of their thought processes.
Cognitive Therapies: An attempt to remove irrational beliefs, negative thoughts presumed to be responsible for psychological disorders
Humanistic Therapies: an attempt to help clients gain insight into and improve their fundamental self-worth, value as human beings
Insight Therapies
Insight Therapies: designed to give clients self-knowledge (insight) into the contents of their thought processes.
Psychoanalysis (Frued): An attempt to bring hidden impulses, memories out of the unconscious into awareness.
Psychoanalysis (Frued)
Insight therapry
Psychoanalysis (Frued): An attempt to bring hidden impulses, memories out of the unconscious into awareness.
Psychoanalysis: long term and very expensive
-Bring unconscious processes into consciousness awareness: can change and improve behavior
-Especially focused on emotional experiences of childhood’s stages of psychosexual development.
Free association: patient relaxes and freely expresses whatever comes to mind.
Dream analysis: to determine latent (symbolic) content of dreams.
Briefer, more focused versions known as psychodynamic therapy
Psychodynamic therapy:
Psychodynamic therapy: Briefer, more focused versions of Psychoanalysis
See therapist who uses these principles in a much shorter logical process: makes it more accessible to more people
-Shorter term that still utilizes many of Frued’s ideas
Cognitive Therapies
Cognitive Therapies: An attempt to remove irrational beliefs, negative thoughts presumed to be responsible for psychological disorders
-Identify irrational beliefs, maladaptive interpretations of events
-Challenge beliefs directly
-Encourage more rational beliefs and interpretations
Talk therapy
Rational Emotive Therapy (Ellis)
Cognitive Therapy
Rational Emotive Therapy (Ellis): therapist challenges irrational thought processes almost like a cross-examiner (talk therapy)
-Can be harsh and confrontational at times
Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive Therapy
Beck’s Cognitive Therapy: Less harsh and confrontational than rational-emotive therapy
-Encourages clients to identify irrational thought processes themselves
Humanistic Therapies
Humanistic Therapies: an attempt to help clients gain insight into and improve their fundamental self-worth, value as human beings
-Carl Rogers, Manslow
-Kinder and gentler school of thought
Carl Rogers Client- Centered Therapy
Carl Rogers Client- Centered Therapy: humanistic therapy
-Client, not therapist, holds the key to psychological health, happiness
-Didn’t assume the role of an expert: thinks the client is the expert
-Everything is about listening to the client, making them feel safe, unconditional positive regard
Problems stem from incongruence between self-concept and reality of everyday experiences
-Therapist is genuine, expresses feelings openly and honestly; demonstrates unconditional positive regard, does not place conditions of worth on client
Group Therapy
Group Therapy: Several people (typically 4-15) treated simultaneously in the same setting with one or two (therapist) facilitators.
-Facilitators are there to help the group and act less like therapists
-Specific problem/diagnosis focus or not
Time-limited vs. ongoing
Open vs. closed
Closed vs. Open Group Therapy
Open: anyone can stay or leave at any time, allow people to go and come
Closed: once group begins no more people can join
Advantages of Group Therapy
-Recognizes that most (all?) psych disorders occur in the context of relationships with others
-Provides the opportunity to be understood/responded to by others
-Provides the opportunity to try new behaviors in the presence of others
Family Therapy
Attempts to treat family as a social system
-Look at how the system of the family functions
-Behavior of 1 impacts the behavior of the others
Aims to improve communication and collaboration
Is often indicated when the behavior one family member (usually a child or adolescent) has become problematic, the “identified patient (IP)”
Couples Therapy
Focused on the relationship
Couples that are in a committed relationship
Treating the Environment: Behavioral Therapies
Systematic Desensitization: Use counterconditioning, extinction to reduce fear
Aversion Therapy: Replace a positive reaction to a harmful stimulus with something negative (counterconditioning)
Apply Rewards and Punishment: Primarily used in institutional settings
Social Skills Training: Uses modeling and reinforcement to shape appropriate adjustment skills
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): combines cognitive and behavioral therapy
Systematic Desensitization
Systematic Desensitization: Use counterconditioning, extinction to reduce fear
-Develop hierarchy of anxiety producing situations
Teach relaxation skills
-Imagine fearful situations (starting lower on the hierarchy) while remaining relaxed; then work up the list
Fear has arisen due to conditioning: have learned to be this way and try to help counter this learning with more effective ways of living your life
Aversion Therapy
Aversion Therapy: Replace a positive reaction to a harmful stimulus (e.g., smoking cigarettes or consuming alcohol) with something negative (counterconditioning)
Example: Give alcoholics a drug (Antabuse) that causes severe nausea when alcohol is ingested
-Give someone something that creates a negative reaction to harmful stimulus/behavior so that the behavior declines
-Most clients are resistant to this process
-Ethical concerns
-Usually, a last resort
Apply Rewards and Punishment
Apply Rewards and Punishment: primarily used in institutional settings
Token economies: Patients rewarded with small tokens, which can be exchanged for privileges, when they act appropriately
Punishment: Follow an undesirable behavior with something aversive, or remove something pleasant (punishment = remove)
-Doesn’t teach the desired behavior
-Ethical issues, e.g., punishing someone who may not be able to consent to the treatment.
Social Skills Training
Social Skills Training: Uses modeling and reinforcement to shape appropriate adjustment skills
-Therapist puts on a teacher hat: teach people how their behavior can improve
For example, to teach conversational skills, the therapist might:
-Discuss appropriate verbal response followed by a videotaped demonstration
-Role-play a conversation
-Assign client to practice skills before next session
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): combines cognitive and behavioral therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): a blend of cognitive therapy [attempts to alter irrational beliefs, maladaptive interpretations of events] with behavioral therapy [focused on changing specific behaviors through action steps]
-Assign them to do something between next session: assign someone to go to a social situation and say hi to one person
Emphasis on behavior: move toward trying to make person take action
-Pragmatic
Shorter term: costs less and insurance pays for it
Most used today
Sloan et al. (1975)
Sloan et al. (1975) contrasted effectiveness of different therapies for anxiety disorders
Sent to 3 different Groups: psychodynamic therapy, behavioral therapy, no treatment (control)
-2 types of therapy are relatively equal: suggests any type of therapy is better than none
-Both treatment approaches produced improvement, but little difference in effectiveness between them
Smith & Glass (1980)
Smith & Glass (1980): using meta-analysis, compared studies on the effectiveness of psychotherapy
-People who received some form of psychotherapy showed more improvement than 80% of the untreated control group members.
Controversies about effectiveness of therapy
Is therapy solely responsible for improvements?
Spontaneous remission: improvement that occurs without treatment.
-Estimated that up to 30% of psych disorders will improve “on their own.”
Over time things will work themselves out for some people
3 Types of Therapy
1 Cognitive: Depression
-Inner thoughts, how one thinks about themselves and others
2 Behavioral: Specific phobias
-Engage in behavior of fear, and counter condition
3 Cognitive behavioral: Depression, anxiety, phobias, PTSD, OCD, eating disorders
-OCD: Someone who has to vacuum house 3 times a day or something terrible happens
Client variables
Client variables: preferences for, tolerance of different therapies
-Rates of utilization of psychological services are lower for Asian Americans and Native Americans, relative to European Americans and African Americans.
-Drop-out rates and poor treatment outcomes are higher for Asian, Native, and African American groups than European Americans
Therapist variables
Therapist variables: cultural sensitivity, credibility
Problem with credibility: knowledgeable, have degree (licensed)
Helpful Factors
Support Factors, Learning Factors, and Action Factors
Support Factors:
-Empathy
-Acceptance
-Positive, trusting relationship
Learning Factors:
-Feedback: new ideas, thought processes, schemas, behaviors
-Looking to have new behaviors to reduce anxiety
Action Factors:
-Specific suggestions for action
-Taking on fearful situations
-Seek success experiences
Health psychology
Health psychology (part of behavioral medicine): seeks to understand the role of biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors in:
-The promotion of physical health
-The prevention of illness
Ex: Sports psychologists
Stress
Stress: The physical and psychological reactions people have to demanding situations (stressors).
-Reaction to demanding situation
-Places a demand on people
Stress: “the nonspecific response of the body to any demand” : Selye
In many ways, stress is an adaptive reaction, activating us to respond to a threat.
-Any kind of demand/ change in environment causes stress → very adaptable
Some degree of stress serves a useful purpose.
General Adaptation Syndrome (1936) Hans Selye
General Adaptation Syndrome (1936)
Hans Selye: physiological responses to stress
Alarm –> Resistance –> Exhaustion
Alarm - Fight or flight response (endocrine system and autonomic nervous system)
Resistance – If the threat continues but does not require continued alarm.
-Arousal level is still elevated, but the body can replenish some resources.
-If challenged by other stressors, however, they may suffer health problems.
-Immune system depleted by coping with stress and resources are depleted → more susceptible to illnesses and health problems
Exhaustion – If threat cannot be neutralized, energy reserves become depleted, resistance declines, irreversible damage or death may occur
Current Thinking on Stress
While Selye’s model is still influential, modern research suggests that different stressors produce different stress responses, both physical and psychological.
Positive outcomes and Emotional responses
Positive outcomes can result from stress:
-Empathy; tolerance of uncertainty; develop skills, confidence
-Plus, its adaptive value
-Stress can help us become more capable
Emotional reactions occur:
-Fear, anger, dejection, sadness, grief
Gender differences in Stress
Females more “tending and befriending,” calming and protecting offspring and themselves
Men’s reaction is more into flight or fight
-adaptive strategy/Evolutionary adaptation
-Most stress research has been conducted on males
Cognitive Appraisal
Current Thinking- Post Selye
Importance of cognitive appraisal – the way we perceive the stressor (if we have resources to deal with stressor).
1: A threat must be perceived and
2: We conclude that we may not have the resources to successfully deal with the threat (feel more stressed)
-Differences in cognitive appraisal can produce different outcomes.
External Sources of Stress
Significant Life Events
Daily Hassles
Environmental Factors
Significant Life Events
External Source of Stress
Significant Life Events: changes that disrupt everyday life
-Even “positive” events such as holidays and vacations can cause some stress
-Positive events can cause stress
Some studies demonstrate a connection between significant life events and physical and psychological problems.
-Differences in cognitive appraisal can produce different outcomes.
Holmes and Rahe (1967)
Holmes and Rahe (1967): Social Readjustment Rating Scale: ranked the stressfulness of different life events.
-Still in use, with some revisions.
Examples: Death of spouse = 100; vacation = 13
Daily Hassles
External Source of Stress
Daily Hassles: daily irritations and hassles of life
Cumulative effect can create more lasting stress than significant life events, with associated physical and psychological problems
-Overtime daily hassles can add up and be very stressful
Environmental Factors
External Source of Stress
Environmental Factors: when people are forced to live in situations where there is excessive stimulation, where movement is constrained, or resources are limited
Internal Sources of Stress
Perceived Control
Explanatory Style: internal, stable, global attributions
Personality Characteristics
Perceived Control
Internal Source of Stress
Perceived Control: Amount of influence you feel you have over a situation and your reaction
More perceived control → Less stress
Less perceived control → More stress
Explanatory Style
Internal Source of Stress
Explanatory Style: Internal, stable, global attributions → More stress
Internal attributions: something happens and it because of me and my disposition
Stable: it will always be like this
Global attributions: apply to all people in my life
-All cause more stress, but can be improved
Personality Characteristics
Internal Source of Stress
Personality Characteristics: optimistic, “Type B” people experience fewer stress-related ailments than hard-driving, ambitious, easily annoyed, impatient “Type A” people
“Type A”: hard wired, ambitious, quit to be angry, develop coronary artery disease
Type B: more laid back, open to experience, fewer stress related ailments
-High levels of expressed anger/hostility pose increased risk for coronary artery disease
Physical Consequences of Prolonged Stress
Immune system response lowered by chronic activation of stress hormones
-Can be measured by counting the number of lymphocytes (specialized white blood cells that attack and destroy foreign substances in the blood, such as viruses and bacteria).
-An active stress response lowers lymphocyte levels.
-Affects likelihood of contracting cold / flu viruses
-May affect cancer likelihood as well (controversial), ulcers, chronic back pain, multiple sclerosis
Cardiovascular system affected:
-Increased blood pressure
-Increased cholesterol levels in the blood, impacting kidneys as well as heart
Platelets - cells responsible for blood clotting, activated by stress response (adaptive in emergency situations).
-But with more chronic stress, “sticky” platelets in the arteries can lead to blockages and hazardous clots.
Lymphocytes
Immune system response measured by counting the number of lymphocytes
Lymphocytes: specialized white blood cells that attack and destroy foreign substances in the blood, such as viruses and bacteria
-An active stress response lowers lymphocyte levels.
Lymphocytes help fight infections: lymphocyte levels lowered when we have stress
-If we maintain a high level of stress activation, frequently chronically low in Lymphocytes, more susceptible to get infections
Platelets
Platelets - cells responsible for blood clotting, activated by stress response (adaptive in emergency situations).
-But with more chronic stress, “sticky” platelets in the arteries can lead to blockages and hazardous clots.
Platelets: component of blood that helps blood clot so you don’t bleed to death
-Is a lifesaver, but if blood stops flowing and are we very stressed, platelets become stickery, which leads to hardening of the arteries and coronary problems
Psychological Consequences of Prolonged Stress: DSM5-TR Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
CPTSD (Complex PTSD)
Burnout
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
DSM5-TR Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorder
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): after experiencing or witnessing* a traumatic event, e.g., war, terrorism, natural disasters, rape/sexual assault, mass shootings, murder, traffic collisions. (*or other factors)
-Flashbacks/nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event, chronic arousal, and negative changes in mood and cognition
-Can occur when you witnessed yourself, impacted by significant trauma, people who are close to the person who experienced traumatic events, people who exposed to trauma in a professional ways (first responders experience aftermath of trauma on a regular basis)
CPTSD (Complex PTSD)
CPTSD (Complex PTSD): after ongoing trauma, not a single event.
-Being held hostage for year
-Not an official diagnostic category at present in DSM-5
Trauma and Stressor Related Disorder
Burnout
DSM5-TR Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorder
Burnout: Physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion created by long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation
More common in people who approach stressful jobs with a strong sense of idealism, become disillusioned; career may have been a primary source of their identity; loss of control
-Over time idealism is lessened and realize they are not going to be able to do what they set out to do
Coping
Coping – efforts to manage or master conditions of threat or demand
Relaxation Techniques:
-Progressive muscle relaxation
-Meditation
-Mindfulness
-Biofeedback
Social Support:
-Comfort, caring or help from others
-Helps with emotion regulation, maintaining a healthy lifestyle
-Boosts confidence
Reappraisal: other interpretations (cognitive) of stressful events/situations that are less catastrophizing and make one less stressed
Resilience
Reappraisal
Coping Strategy
Reappraisal: other interpretations (cognitive) of stressful events/situations that are less catastrophizing and make one less stressed
-Our interpretation of many stressors is the most significant element in our stress response.
-Other interpretations that are less negative / less “catastrophizing,” that allow a greater sense of control
Different interpretations (+) of stressors → less stressed
Resilience
Resilience: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; the ability to successfully adapt to life tasks in the face of adverse conditions; the ability to “bounce back.”
Adaptive: how capable people are of bouncing back and coping with stressors
People with high resilience : typically more successful
