unit 8 Flashcards
psychotherapy
treatment involving psychological techniques
consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth
biomedical therapy
prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on a person’s physiology
eclectic approach
an approach to psychotherapy that uses techniques from different types of therapy depending on the person’s problem
insight therapies
a variety of therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing the person’s awareness of underlying motives and defenses.
client centered therapy
a humanistic therapy
therapist uses techniques like active listening
regression towards the mean
the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back toward their average
meta-analysis
a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies
evidence based practice
clinical decision making that integrates the best available research with the clinician’s expertise, and patients preferences and charachteristics
resilience
the personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity/trauma
behavior therapy
therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors
counterconditioning
behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors
exposure therapy
behavior techniques that treats anxieties by exposing people to the things they fear and avoid
can also be done with virtual reality
systematic desensitization
a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant, relaxed, state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli
aversive conditioning
type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (like nausea) with an unwanted behavior (like drinking)
token economy
operant conditioning procedure in which people can earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges/treats
cognitive therapies
therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking
based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reaction
rational-emotive behavior therapy
a confrontational cognitive therapy that vigorously challenges people’s illogical, self-defeating attitudes/assumptions
developed by albert ellis
cognitive behavioral therapy
integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy with behavioral therapy
anxiety disorders
psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
generalized anxiety disorder
an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal
panic disorder
an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations. often followed by worry over a possible next attack
phobia
an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specifc object, activity, or situation
social anxiety disorder
intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of such
agoraphobia
fear or avoidance of situations, such as corwds or wide open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic
ocd
a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)
ptsd
a disorder charactereized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience
posttraumatic growth
positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises
mood disorders
psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes
major depressive disorder
a mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or another medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure
the other symptoms may include weight/appetite increase or decrease, insomnia/hypersomnia, psychomotor aggitation/retardation, fatigue, feeling worthless/guilty, concentration problems/being indecisive, and/or frequent thoughts of death/suicide
mania
a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optemistic state
bipolar disorder
a mood disorder in which a person alternates between the hopeless and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania
rumination
compulsive fretting
overthinking about our problems and their causes
schizophrenia
a psychological disorder characterized by delusions, disorganized speech, hallucinations, and/or diminshed or inappropirate emotional expression
psychosis
a psychological disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas and distorted perceptions
delusions
false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders
hallucinations
false sensory experiences in the absense of a stimulus
dissociative identity disorder
2 symptoms
a disruption of identity in which the person experiences at least 2 distinct personality states - this disruption alters mood, behavior, consciousness, memory, cognition, motor function, or perception
gaps in memory of normal events, personal info, or traumatic events
dissociative amnesia
significant gaps in memory that the person usually isn’t aware of until confronted with it
depersonalization disorder
the experience of recurrent depersonalization/derealization episodes
depersonalization
feelings of detachment from own mind/self/body
derealization
feeling detached from the world around you
personality disorders
psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
antiosocial personality disorder
a personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even towards friends and family members.
may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist
conversion disorder
response similar to nervous system conditions (paralysis, seizures, loss of sensation, etc)
illness anxiety disorder
excessive concern/worry about getting a serious illness
somatic symptom disorder
distress about already present symptoms
facticious disorder
pretending to have symptoms for no obvious personal gain
personality disorder
an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deivates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culutre, is pervasive an inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable overtime, and leads to distress/emotional impairment
cluster a
schizotypal, paranoid, schizoid
disprutions in relationships due to peculiar, detached, or suspicious behaviors
paranoid
patterns of distrust and suspiciousness that other’s motives are interpretated as malevolent
schizoid
pattern of detachment from social relationships and restricted range of emotional expression
schizotypal
pattern of acute discomfort in close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentricities of behavior
cluster b
antisocial, histrionic, narcissistic, borderline
dramatic/erratic behaviors, extreme impuslivity, theatrics, promiscuousness, or law breaking
antisocial
pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, lack of remorse
histrionic
pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking through socially inappropriate behaviors
narcissistic
grandiose thinking about oneself, high need for admiration, lack of empathy for anyone who doesn’t provide that admiration, extreme envy, belittling/bullying
borderline
distored self-image, mood swings, unstable relationships, fear of abandonment, impulsive, self-injury, threats of suicide, risky behavior, feeling of emptiness, suspiciousness, inappropriate anger
cluster c
dependent, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive
pervasive anxiety as a personality trait
dependent
pattern of submissive and clinging behavior related to excessive need to be taken care of and fear of being abandoned
avoidant
pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, hypersensitivity to criticism from others
ocpd
pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control
what three elements do all forms of psychotherapy share?
all psychotherapies offer new hope for demoralized people, a fresh perspective, and (if the therapist is effective) an empathetic, trusting, and caring relationship. the emotional bond of trust and understanding between therapist and client, the theraputic alliance, is an important element in effective therapy.
how do the learning and biological perspectives explain anxiety disorders, ocd, and ptsd?
the learning perspective view anxiety disorders, ocd, and ptsd as products of fear conditioning, stimulus generalization, fearful-behavior reinforcement, and observational learning of others’ fears and cognittions (interpretations, irrational beliefs, and hypervigilence). the biological perspective considers the role that fears of life-threatening animals, objects, or situations played in natual selection and evolution; genetic predispositions for high levels of emotional reactivity and neurotransmitter production; and abnormal responses in the brain’s fear circuits.
how do the biological and social-cognitive perspectives explain mood disorders?
the biological persepctive on depression focuses on genetic predispositions and on abnormalities in brain structures and function. the social-cognitive perspective views depression as an ongoing cycle of stressful experiences (interpreted through negative beliefs, attributions, and memories) leading to negative moods and actions and fueling new stressful experiences.
how do brain abornormalities and viral infections help explain schizophrenia?
people with schizophrenia have icnrease dopamine receptors, which may intensify brain signals, creating positive symptoms such as paranoia and hallucinations. brain abnormalities associaed with schizophrenia include enlarged, fluid filled cerebral cavities and coresponding decreases in the cortex. brain scans reveal abnormal activity in the frontal lobes, thalamus, and amygdala. interacting malfunctions in multiple brain regions and their connections may produce schizophrenia’s symptoms. possible contributing factors include viral infections or famine conditions during the mother’s pregnancy and low wieght or oxygen deprivation at birth.
how do anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder demonstrate the influence of genetic and psychological forces?
in these eating disorders, psychological factors may overwhelm the homeostatic drive to maintain a balanced internal state. despite being significatly underweight, people with anorexia nervosa (usually adolescent females), continue to diet because they view themselves as fat. those with bulimia nervosa secretly binge and then compensate by purging, fasting, or excessively exercising. those with binge-eating disorder binge but do not follow bingeing with purging, fasting, or exercise. cultural pressures, low self-esteem, and negative emotions interact with stressful life experiences and genetics to produce eating disorders.
