Abnormal Psychology Chapter 1 &2 – Flashcards
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What is a psychological disorder?
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Within an individual associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected
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Psychological dysfunction breakdown
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-cognitive (thoughts) -behavioral -emotional a continuum
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Personal distress or impairment
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Appropriateness to situation
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DSM-5
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Diagnostic and Statistical Manual -prototypes/typical profiles
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Psychopathology
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the scientific study of psychological disorders
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Clinical description
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1. begins with the presenting problem 2. description aims to: distinguish clinically significant dysfunction from common human experience 3. describe prevalence and incidence of disorders 4. describe onset of disorders (acute vs. insidious) 5. describe course of disorders (episodic, time-limited, or chronic)
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What factors contribute to the development of psychopathology?
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-study of etiology (causation) -includes biological, psychological, and social dimensions
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How can we beat improve the lives of people suffering from psychopathology?
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-study of treatment development -includes pharmacologic, psych social, and/or combined treatments
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How do we know that we have alleviated psychological suffering?
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-study of treatment outcomes
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Historical conceptions of abnormal behavior
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-supernatural -biological -psychological
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Supernatural tradition
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- demonic possession, witchcraft, or sorcery (exorcism, torture, beatings, and crude surgeries) - moon and the stars (stages of the moon or the positions of the stars)
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Biological tradition 1. Hippocrates
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abnormal behavior as a physical disease -hysteria "the wandering uterus"
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Biological tradition 2. Galen
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extends Hippocrates work -assumed normal brain functioning was related to four bodily fluids or "humors" -foreshadowed modern views on chemical imbalances
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19th century 1. syphilis and biological link to madness
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-associated with several unusual psychological and behavioral symptoms -Louis Pasteur discovered the cause - bacterial organism -led to penicillin as a treatment -strengthened the idea that mental illness = physical illness and should be treated as such
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19th century 2. John Grey (1850s)
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-american proponent of the biological tradition -etiology = always physical -treatments = rest, diet, room temp. -improved hospital conditions
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Development of biological treatments
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1930s: -insulin shock therapy (put patients into comas) -brain surgery -electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
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Consequences of biological tradition
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-increased hospitalization ("untreatable conditions") -increased role of science in psychopathology
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Psychological tradition
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rise of moral therapy -involved more human treatment of institutionalized patients -encouraged and reinforced social interaction
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Asylum reform and decline of moral therapy
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declines in the mid-19th century -increased number of patients (immigrants & homeless) = "mental hygiene movement" (Dorothea Dix) -staffing problems -outcome = decreased treatment efficiency
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Psychoanalytic theory 1. Franz Anton Mesmer
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-"Mesmerism" and hypnosis
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Psychoanalytic theory 2. Jean Charcot
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-hypnosis as treatment -mentor to Freud
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Psychoanalytic theory 3. Josef Breuer
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-furthered hypnosis treatments -collaborator with Freud
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Psychoanalytic theory 4. Sigmund Freud
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conscious and unconscious -Id: pleasure principle (illogical, emotional, and irrational) -Ego: reality principle (logic and rational) (balance of id and superego) -Superego: moral principles
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Sigmund Freud's defense mechanisms
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coping with loss includes: -displacement -denial -rationalization -reaction formation -projection -repression -sublimation
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Psychoanalytic Theory 5. Carl Jung
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de-emphasize sexuality -collective unconscious -enduring personality traits (introversion vs. extroversion)
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Psychoanalytic Theory 6. Alfred Adler
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de-emphasize sexuality -birth order -inferiority complex -striving for superiority -self-actualization (realizing one's full potential)
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Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
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-designed to reveal the nature of unconscious mental processes and conflicts (laying on the couch and speaking freely)
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Psychoanalytic psychotherapy techniques
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-free association -dream analysis
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Psychoanalytic psychotherapy transference/counter-transference
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-client would treat the therapist like a person in their lives
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Psychoanalytic psychotherapy pros and cons
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PROS: -unconscious processes -emotions triggered by cues -"therapeutic alliance" -defense mechanisms CONS: -unscientific -untested
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Humanistic Theory: Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
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MAJOR THEMES: -that people are basically good -humans strive toward self-actualization HUMANISTIC THERAPY: -therapist conveys empathy and unconditional positive regard -minimal therapist interpretation
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Behavioral Model: Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and Classical Conditioning
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-classical conditioning is a ubiquitous form of learning -conditioning involves a contingency between neutral and unconditioned stimuli -stimulus generalization
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Behaviorism: John B. Watson
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-scientific emphasis -objective -"Little Albert" experiment
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Behavioral model: operant conditioning 1. E.L. Thorndike
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-law of effect: consequences shape behavior
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Behavioral model: operant conditioning 2. B.F. Skinner
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-behavior "operates" on environment -reinforcements -punishments -behavior "shaping"
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Behavioral Therapy
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-voluntary behavior is controlled by the consequences that follow behavior -is time limited and direct
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Present
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-psychopathology is multiply determined -BIO-PSYCHO-SOCIAL MODEL
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One-dimensional models
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explain behavior in terms of a single biological terms -tend to ignore other aspects -ex: depression is caused by strictly biological terms tendency to ignore info from other areas
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Multidimensional models
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-interdisciplinary, eclectic, and integrative -"system" of influences that cause and maintain suffering -draws upon info from several sources -one thing may cause a disorder but another can keep it occuring
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Multidimensional models major influences
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-role of genes -neuroscience -behavioral and cognitive sciences -emotions -cultural, social, and interpersonal factors
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What are genes?
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-long molecules of DNA -double helix structure -located on chromosomes (46 chromosomes in 23 pairs), (pairs 1-22 = body and brain development), (pair 23 = gender)
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Nature of genes
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-influence physical characteristics (ex: weight) -dominant vs. recessive -single-gene determinants (ex: huntington's disease) -polygenetic influences: (rule, not exception)
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Eric Kandel
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learning affects genetic structure of cells -activation of dormant genes -continued development in the brain -diathesis-stress model (ex: alcoholism)
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Diathesis
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-inherited tendency to express traits/behaviors -genetics
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Stress
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-life events or contextual variables -environmental
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Gene-environment correlation model
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-inherited predispositions or traits that increase one's likelihood to engage in activities or seek out situations -ex: divorce = family members' divorce + personality traits that influence certain engagements in activities
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Non-genomic inheritance of behavior
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epigenetics (above genetics) -genes are turned on or off by cellular material that is located just outside the gene
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Methyl groups
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DNA "instructions" made from carbon and hydrogen
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Histones
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proteins that DNA winds itself around; influences the amount of expression that a gene shows
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Functions of neurotransmitters
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-agonists and antagonists
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Agonists
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blocks re-uptake
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Antagonistic
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inhibit or block neurotransmitters
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Inverse agonists
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do opposite of a regular neurotransmitter
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Main types of neurotransmitters
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-serotonin (5-HT) -gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) -norepinephrine -dopamine
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Glutamate
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-excitatory
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GABA (anxiety disorder)
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-inhibitory -implicated in anxiety (benzodiazepines)
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Serotonin (5HT)
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-monoamine class -regulates behavior, moods, thought processes -less inhibition and with instability, impulsivity, and a tendency to overreact to situations
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Norepinephrine
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-stimulation of alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors -respiration, reactions, alarm responses (fight or flight) -implicated in panic
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Dopamine
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-"switch" function in brain circuits -implicated in schizophrenia and addiction -parkinson's disease (locomotor system = tremors, rigidity of muscles)
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Conditioning and cognitive processes
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-respondent and operant learning -learned helplessness (perceptions of control) -social learning -prepared learning (evolutionary basis, increases survival)
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The nature of emotion
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-fight or flight -fear response (cardiovascular, cortical, feeling terror, motivation for behavior, and complex arousal response) -short-lived
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Components of emotion
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-behavior -physiology -cognition
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The principle of equifinality
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-Chicchetti -several paths to a given outcome
