Psychology Final

What is Personality

- Personality is a person's distinctive and stable way of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Personality resides within people the same individual separated by many years remains recognizably the same person. - How personality is formed over time through three attempts: the psychodynamic theory, the humanistic theory, and the behavioral and social-cognitive theory. Trait theory, which emphasizes the ingredients that make personality rather than the way personality is formed over time.

Clinical Interviews

A clinical interview is a method of personality assessment in which the psychologist engages in conversation with the client A strength of structured interviews is that they are reliable and provide exactly the information the psychologist wants; a strength of unstructured interviews is that they let clients feel comfortable and expand upon what they think is most important. To capture both of these strengths, many psychologists compromise and give semi structured interviews, which strike a balance between a predetermined plan and a spontaneous conversation. Cultural competence is especially important during the clinical interview.

Current Thoughts on Trait Theory

A criticism of trait theory focuses on the overemphasis of the traits themselves, as opposed to external circumstances. If traits were all-powerful, people would behave exactly the same way in all situations.

What's Abnormal?

A psychological disorder is a pattern of behavior that interferes with a person's life by causing significant distress or dysfunction.

What Causes Abnormality?

A variety of explanations for abnormality compete with each other, each with researchers and other experts offering support. Four theories dominate contemporary discussions of what causes abnormality: (1) biological, (2) psychology, (3) sociocultural, and (4) biopsychosocial.

Distinguishing Abnormal from Normal

Abnormality can be based on infrequency, deviation from social norms, personal distress, or impairment in daily functioning. Infrequency-the simplest way to determine if a behavior is abnormal is to consider how statistically infrequent it is. By this definition, infrequent means abnormal and common means normal. This distinction makes sense for most psychological problems, such as the hallucinations of schizophrenia or the food refusal of anorexia, since these behaviors are quite infrequent. Infrequency is a useful, but imperfect, way to define abnormality. It only works with certain qualities. Deviation from Social Norms-abnormality can also be defined by the extent to which it deviates from social norms. Like infrequency, deviation from social norms can help to identify abnormality, but by itself it is an imperfect standard. Here's another complication regarding deviation from social norms: Our society is so varied that what is normal within one group might vary widely from what is normal in another group. Personal Distress Impairment in Daily Functioning- the definition of abnormality also includes the extent to which a thought, feeling, or behavior interferes with day-to-day life, the amount it impairs work, school, and relationships.

Stages of Development

According to Freud, the experiences we have as young children shape our personalities. Psychosexual stages: the five biologically based developmental stages of childhood during which personality characteristics are formed Psychosexual stages of development Oral: birth to 18 months, dependency on caretakers for feeding, psychological consequences of feeding behaviour, roots of optimism/pessimism Anal: 18 months to 3 years, new demands for self control toilet training, psychological consequences of toilet training, proposed roots of the need of control Phallic: 3-6 yrs, self-worth as reflected by parental interest, psychological consequences of attraction to the opposite sex parent, oedipus complex (desiring mother resenting father), roots of self worth. Latency: elementary school, no key issue Genital: Puberty and beyond, mature sexual relationships

Current thoughts on humanistic theory

An increasing number of therapists are now utilizing positive interventions or strength-based counseling. These treatments differ from more traditional styles, which focus on clients' problems and disorders, by emphasizing and building on clients' assets and abilities. Humanistic theory has also been criticized for being unscientific (like psychodynamic theory). Humanistic theory is also criticized for its strong endorsement of individualism.

Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Anxiety disorders are the group of DSM disorders in which the experience of excessive, unjustified anxiety is the primary symptom. Anxiety is a built-in alarm system that alerts you danger so you can react, perhaps by avoiding it or fighting against it. In some cases, a little anxiety may improve your performance by arousing you, keeping you focused, and motivating you to perform well. Anxiety becomes problematic when it occurs needlessly or in excess-that is, when there is more of it than the situation calls for. DSM-5 includes quite a few anxiety disorders, all of which share the same core of physical (heart racing, palms sweating) and psychological symptoms (worry, fear).

Who Gets Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Anxiety disorders are the single most common category of psychological disorders. Anxiety disorders happen to people of all ages, from young children to older adults. Anxiety disorders occur two to three times more often in females than males.

Assessing Personality

Any tool that assesses personality must measure what it claims to measure, and it must do so in a way that produces consistent results. Validity and reliability are what separate the professional assessment tools that psychologists use from the amateur "personality tests" posted on random Internet sites by people of unknown qualifications. Psychologists prefer multimethod assessment: an approach to personality assessment that emphasizes the use of multiple methods rather than only one method. Personality assessment depends heavily on the psychologist's cultural competence: the ability to work sensitively and expertly with members of a culturally diverse society.

Behavioral and Social-Cognitive Theories of Personality

Behavioral and social-cognitive theories of personality offer a perspective much more grounded in science than either psychodynamic or humanistic theory. The behavioral theory of personality emphasizes the influence of the environment and the importance of observable, measurable behavior. The social-cognitive theory of personality emphasizes the interaction of environment, thought processes, and social factors.

Behavioral Assessment

Behavioral assessment: an approach to assessment that assumes client behaviors are themselves the problems, rather than signs of deeper problems.

Carl Jung

Carl Jung was once so in line with Freud's way of thinking that Freud personally chose Jung as his successor, but their views eventually diverged so much Freud changed his mind. In contrast to Freud's notion that each of us created our own unique unconscious, Jung proposed the collective unconscious: common, inherited memories that are present in the minds of people of every culture. The idea is that the collective unconscious equips every person with basic, primal concepts that have become central to human life throughout the ages Jung called these primal concepts archetypes: specific symbols or patterns within the collective unconscious that appear consistently across cultures and time periods. Introverts are people who tend to focus inward and need little interaction with others. Extraverts are people who tend to focus outward and need lots of interaction with others.

The Diagnostic Manual: DSM

DSM is the book in which mental disorders are officially defined. DSM is used by psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, even physicians and nurses-anyone who might diagnose or treat an individual with a mental disorder. Its contents determine the psychological diagnoses professionals can assign to us, which in turn influences not only the treatments we might receive, but our own views of ourselves as well. The current (fifth) edition of DSM is a hefty book-over 900 pages describing hundreds of psychological disorders. It organizes these psychological disorders into 19 categories based on similar characteristics and common themes. For each disorder it names, DSM describes criteria for the disorder, how common it is, how it may appear differently across cultures, and how it may develop over time.

Techniques Based on Classical Conditioning

Exposure therapy is a form of behavior therapy based on classical conditioning in which anxiety is treated by gradually exposing the client to the thing or situation that causes the anxiety. In short, exposure therapy makes clients face their fears. It provides that new real-world experience. An anxiety hierarchy is a list of situations that involve the feared object or situation, ranked in order of least to most frightening. Imaginal exposures are often good initial steps for clients to take when actual exposure of any kind would be overwhelming. In vivo exposures, meaning that they happen in real life as opposed to one's imagination. Systematic desensitization: a form of exposure therapy, primarily for phobias, in which the client experiences the new pairing of relaxation (rather than anxiety) with the thing or situation that previously caused the anxiety Systematic desensitization is a therapeutic application of counterconditioning: a classical conditioning technique in which the trigger for an unwanted response is paired with a new stimulus that prevents the unwanted response.

The Five-Factor Model: Universal Human Traits

Five-factor model of personality: an explanation of personality that emphasizes five fundamental traits present in all people to varying degrees. Neuroticism-the tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and stress Extraversion- the tendency to be socially outgoing Openness to experience- the tendency to be receptive to new or unconventional ideas Conscientiousness- the tendency to be organized, responsible, and deliberate Agreeableness- the tendency to cooperate and comply with other people The Big Five predict your physical health and mental health. The Big Five predict your grades. The Big Five predict your job performance. The Big Five predict satisfaction with your romantic relationship. The Big Five predict what words you use. The Big Five predict how likable and popular you are. The Big Five predict how prejudiced you are. The Big Five predict how you use Facebook. The Big Five predict what kinds of dogs you like.

Depressive and Bipolar Disorders are the category of psychological disorders based on extreme moods or emotional states.

For people with these disorders, the emotional experiences are so intense or long-lasting that they significantly disrupt daily life. According to DSM, these disorders can occur in one or two specific ways: when a person becomes stuck at the low end of the mood range, where sadness prevails, or when a person skips over the middle range of mood and alternates between the lowest lows and highest highs. Major depressive disorder: a psychological disorder in which a person experiences at least 2 weeks of depressed mood and a loss of interest in most activities Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) is a psychological disorder characterized by a chronic, relatively low-intensity depressed mood.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Freud developed psychoanalysis: an approach to psychotherapy in which the main goal is to make the unconscious conscious- that is, helping the client become more aware of thoughts and feelings of which he or she was unaware at the start of therapy. Psychodynamic therapy: therapy that retains the goal of making the unconscious conscious, but compared to psychoanalysis, it is briefer and more focused on the client's current life than the past.

Freud's followers

Freud's followers held on to his core ideas: the unconscious, the significance of early childhood experiences, and the notion that the mind contained id, ego, and superego. The neo-Freudian theories revised, but did not entirely reject, the basics of Freud's original psychodynamic theory.

Translations for Freudian terms

Id- animal, thing, not human Superego- above me, rules from those in power over you, parents Ego- me, personality, handles conflict between two other components of the mind

The Structure of Personality

Id: the animalistic part of the mind that generates our most primal biologically based impulses such as sex and aggression. The pleasure principle-the force that guides the id toward immediate gratification. Superego: the part of the mind that opposes the id by enforcing rules, restrictions, and morality. Ego: the part of the mind that serves as a realistic mediator between the id and superego. The reality principle: the force that guides a person toward rational, reality-based behavior

Objective Personality Tests

In objective personality tests, the client responds to a standardized set of questions, usually in multiple choice or true-false format. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is a widely used and respected objective personality test that emphasizes mental disorders. The MMPI-2 was made by a process known as empirical test construction: a way to create objective personality tests in which items are included only if different groups respond differently to them. Also widely used is the NEO-personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3): an objective personality test that measures the Big Five personality factors. The primary downside of objective personality tests is their self-report format, which means clients answer questions about themselves. Some clients may knowingly give inaccurate answers in an attempt to deliberately fake a personality, which they may be able to do with some success in spite of validity scales and other attempts to catch them. In other cases, clients simply may not know themselves very accurately, and may unknowingly give answers that do not reflect their true personalities.

Projective Personality Tests

In projective tests, clients respond to ambiguous stimuli in a free-form way. Projective personality tests are based on the assumption that the way you interpret what you see reveals something about your personality. Rather than forcing clients into a multiple-choice or true-false response, projective tests allow them to respond however they choose, with no restrictions. Rorschach Inkblot Technique Rorschach inkblot technique: a projective personality test in which the client responds to 10 inkblot images. Administered in two phases. In the first phase, the psychologist shows the client each inkblot and asks what the client sees. In the second phase, the psychologist asks the client for an explanation of each response-What was it about the inkblot (its color, its shape, etc.) that made the client offer that response? Later, the psychologist codes the client's responses and calculates a variety of scores to describe the client's personality Thematic Apperception Test Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): a projective personality test in which the client creates stories in response to cards that show people in undefined situations. Projective personality tests are not as popular or respected as they once were, primarily because they lack the validity and reliability of many objective tests. This means that psychologists can't be completely confident that projective tests really measure the personality characteristics they claim to measure. The lack of standardization draws significant criticism and controversy for projective tests, and for many psychologists that lack is a deal breaker

Psychodynamic Therapy Today

Interpersonal therapy is a short-term therapy built around the assumption that depression grows out of stressful interpersonal relationships. The therapist therefore attempts to improve the client's ability to form healthy relationships, particularly by making the client more aware of his or her own thoughts, feelings, and expectations regarding those relationships. Interpersonal therapists specify four issues that cause many of these relationship problems: role transitions, such as when a grown child moves out, role disputes, such as figuring out who does what in a new marriage, interpersonal deficits, such as a lack of meaningful friendships, and grief, such as the death of a loved one.

Abraham Maslow and Self-Actualization

Like Rogers, Maslow reminded us that more basic needs (such as food, water, safety, and a feeling of belonging) must be secured before a person attempts to self-actualize. Only when you feel fed, safe, and loved can you move on to fulfilling your potential as a human being. Maslow also believed that we experience a higher number of peak experiences as we move closer to self-actualization. These peak experiences are moments in which we are overcome with transcendent joy and fulfillment.

Who Gets Depressive and Bipolar Disorders?

Major depressive disorder is about twice as common in females as in males, but bipolar disorder is diagnosed with about equal frequency across the sexes Generally, non-Western cultures tend to experience depression as more physical than psychological, just as they do anxiety disorders

Medical Student Syndrome: How This Chapter Might Affect You

Medical Student Syndrome: an experience common among medical students, and perhaps psychology students, in which they start to believe that they have the illnesses about which they are learning.

Techniques Based on Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is all about the consequences that follow a behavior. If those consequences are good, we learn to do the behavior more often. If those consequences are bad, we learn to do the behavior less often. One technique that behavior therapist use to change clients' contingencies is the token economy, in which clients earn tokens that are exchangeable for rewards when they perform target behaviors An issue with token economies is generalizability, the idea that what the client learns in one setting will transfer to other settings. Token economies are based on reinforcement, but punishment is also a powerful consequence to behavior. Aversive conditioning is a form of behavior therapy that aims to reduce unwanted behavior by pairing it with an unpleasant experience. Aversive conditioning punishes undesired behaviors Participant modeling: a technique in which a client watches a model perform the target behavior with the intent of the client imitating the model.

Behavioral Theory: The Importance of the Environment

People behave a certain way because of the conditioning outside them rather than any stable force inside them. As long as the conditioning remains the same, the behavior stays the same. If the conditioning changes, then the behavior changes.

History of Treatment of Psychological Disorders

Psychotherapy involves techniques used by a mental health professional to help a person overcome a psychological disorder or improve some aspect of emotional, cognitive, or behavioral functioning. Biomedical therapy involves medications or medical procedures that treat psychological problems by directly changing the biology of the brain.

Psychotherapies for Individual Clients

Psychotherapy often goes by the name talk therapy to distinguish it from treatments that involve medications.

6 types of defense mechanisms

Repression: Hides you id impulsion the unconscious to keep you unaware of it. Example, You have an id impulse to insult your parent, but it never reaches your consciousness. Denial: Blocks external events from consciousness because they are too threatening. Example, You're learn that you're good friends has a fatal disease but act as if everything is ok. Regression: Retreats to an earlier time in your life when the current stressor was absent. Example, soon after you take a stressful new job, you find yourself caring the comfort foods and TV shows you enjoyed as a child Projection: Projects your id impulse onto others, so it appears they have it rather than you. Example, You have an id impulse to cheat on your partner, but you accuse your partner of cheating on you Rationalization: Comes up with seemingly acceptable explanations for behaviors actually based on id impulse. Example, You give in to your impulse to order many boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, but tell yourself that you only did so to support a worthy cause Reaction formation: Overreacts against the id impulse by doing the exact opposite, as if overcompensating. Example, You have an id impulse to damage your friends' new house, but instead you buy them a housewarming gift. Displacement: Redirects the id impulse toward a safer target in order to minimize the consequences to you. Example, you have an id impulse to scream at your supervisor, but instead you scream at your dog. Sublimation: Redirects the id impulse in a way that actually benefits others. Example, You have an id impulse to hurt other people, so you become a soldier who can do so for the sake of national security

Biological Contributions to Personality

Research on behavioral genetics reveals the strong impact of genes on personality. Behavioral genetics: the study of the impact of genes (nature) and environment (nurture) on personality and behavior. Numerous researchers have estimated that about 50% of personality is determined by genes.

Why Do Depressive and Bipolar Disorders Develop?

Research suggests that both biological factors and psychological factors play a role. Depressive schema, which is a mental framework that biases a person toward viewing the environment in a negative way. Depressed people tend to ruminate, or think about their perceived shortcomings and failures over and over again, unable to let them go, which further worsens their mood.

Self actualization

Rogers assumed you have an inborn tendency toward self-actualization: fully becoming the person you have the potential to become. To self-actualize, you need what Rogers called positive regard: warmth, acceptance, and love from those around you. Prizing captures the tender appreciation of another person. Problems arise when those around you don't provide unconditional positive regard, but instead impose conditions of worth, or requirements that you must meet to earn their positive regard. The real self is the version of yourself that you actually experience in your day-to-day life. By contrast, the ideal self is the self-actualized version of yourself that you naturally strive to become. Incongruence- Rogers believed that this incongruence-a mismatch between your real self and ideal self- leads to unhappiness and mental illness. People experiencing incongruence feel like they can't be true to themselves but instead must edit themselves to gain others' approval (or even pretend to be someone they are not). Congruence- According to Rogers, the root of mental wellness is congruence: a match between your real self and your ideal self. People feel good when they are allowed to grow organically, according to their own natural tendencies. If they nurture it, and allow all of your branches to flourish, you are likely to fully develop into the person you naturally are. If they stifle it, and allow only some of your branches to flourish, you are likely to develop into a person who only partially resembles your true self.

Criticisms of DSM

Some find fault with the all-or-nothing way it defines disorders, which is similar to the way physicians define many medical problems. DSM says whether or not a person has a particular disorder. This approach illustrates a categorical model of psychopathology: a model in which psychological problems exist as either totally present or totally absent, as opposed to present to a certain extent. Recently, some psychologists have promoted an alternative to the categorical model of psychopathology: the dimensional model of psychopathology, in which psychological problems exist on a continuum as opposed to being fully present or absent.

Evolution-in the natural selection, survival-of-the-fittest sense- is also a factor in the development of anxiety disorders.

The anxious ones survived, and we are their descendants. The problem with anxiety arises when our evolved tendencies are exaggerated or applied at the wrong times. When that happens, we do into fight-or-flight mode unnecessarily. Triple vulnerability theory is an explanation for anxiety disorders that emphasizes the interaction of biological factors, general psychological factors, and specific psychological factors. A biological predisposition based on genes and brain abnormalities A general perceived lack of control over life events that may be caused by parenting styles or illogical thoughts; and Life experience that teaches the individual what, exactly, is threatening.

The Biological Theory of Abnormality

The biological theory of abnormality asserts that biological factors within the human body, such as brain structures, neurochemicals, and genes, are the primary causes of psychological disorders. These psychologist would also argue that biological treatment methods-such as medications-are necessary to treat.

The Biopsychosocial Theory of Abnormality

The biopsychosocial theory of abnormality is a contemporary theory of abnormality acknowledging that a combination of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors contribute to psychological disorders. Neither the body (biological), mind (psychological), nor life circumstances (sociocultural) of a person should be ignored in attempts to explain abnormality. Psychologist often use the diathesis-stress model as a specific explanation of how biological, psychological, and social factors interact to produce abnormality. In this model, diathesis refers to a vulnerability with which a person is born; stress is an event (or series of events) that turns that vulnerability into a full-blown psychological problem.

Humanistic Theory of Personality

The humanistic theory of personality, based on the ideas of Carl Rogers, emphasizes our inherent tendencies toward healthy, positive growth and self-fulfillment.

Why do Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Develop?

The most prominent are psychological factors and biological factors. Specific psychological factors that underlie anxiety disorders include illogical thoughts, learned reinforcements and punishments, the personality trait of neuroticism, and overprotective parenting. Biological factors that underlie anxiety disorders include genetics, brain abnormalities, and evolution. Illogical Thoughts often take the form of if-then statements that are not true and lead to unnecessary anxiety.

Bipolar Disorder

The term bipolar refers to the two poles of mood. Bipolar disorder: a psychological disorder characterized by alternating between extremely low moods. Mania, an emotional state of excessively elated mood and overabundant energy Bipolar I disorder features full-fledged manic episodes that last at least a week and cause significant impairment in daily functioning; in bipolar II disorder, the mania symptoms are typically briefer and less debilitating. DSM has a different diagnostic label for this experience: cyclothymic disorder, a long term, low-intensity version of bipolar disorder.

The Current Edition: DSM-5

The new edition of DSM was the culmination of an extensive, multistep process that lasted more than a decade and involved hundreds of experts from at least a dozen countries. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). It requires a combination of at least five emotional symptoms and physical symptoms to occur during most menstrual cycles. Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder occurs in children 6-18 years old who have an excessive number of temper tantrums per week over the course of a year. Binge eating disorder involves at least one out-of-control food binge per week for 3 months. Mild neurocognitive disorder is a less intense version of more serious neurocognitive problems like amnesia or dementia.

Current thoughts on psychodynamic theory

The problem is that when he proposed his theories, he claimed they held true for everyone, everywhere, at every time. The work of Horney, Chodorow, and Gilligan (described previously) underscores the notion that for women and girls, especially women and girls in different times and places from Freud's own, Freud's theories may not apply. Contemporary psychologists are likely to agree that sexuality is a key element in human motivation, but insist that attraction to the same sex (or both sexes) can be equally healthy as attraction to the opposite sex.

Psychodynamic Theory of Personality

The psychodynamic theory of personality is an explanation of personality, based on the ideas of Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes unconscious forces and early childhood experiences.

The Psychological Theory of Abnormality

The psychological theory of abnormality asserts that psychological factors-including emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and traits-are the primary causes of psychological disorders. When the inner workings of our minds are flawed in a significant way, they can produce psychological disorders. Within the psychological theory of abnormality, there are a variety of different explanations, namely psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and trait explanations. Psychodynamic explanations emphasize the influence of unconscious feelings and thoughts, much of which stems from early childhood experiences and primal instincts that focus on sex and aggression. Behavioral explanations of abnormality emphasize learning and conditioning. According to behavioral approaches, psychological disorders are behaviors that have been shaped by the reinforcements and punishments an individual has experienced as a result of his or her own behaviors. Cognitive explanations of abnormality point to the way we think, particularly our illogical thoughts, as major contributors to psychological disorders. Trait explanations highlight extremely high or low levels of a particular personality trait as the main reason behind a psychological disorder. The five-factor model of personality offers a short list of broad and enduring personality traits-neuroticism, openness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness-too much or too little of which could make a person vulnerable to certain psychological disorders.

The Sociocultural Theory of Abnormality

The sociocultural theory of abnormality asserts that social and cultural factors surrounding the person, rather than factors within the person, are the primary causes of psychological disorders. Abnormality may show itself within an individual person, but the problem actually lies within the social or cultural context in which that person lives.

Trait Theory of Personality

The trait theory of personality emphasizes the discovery and description of the basic components of personality. Trait theory attempts to explain what personality is made of. Trait theory has emerged in recent decades as a more scientific alternative.

A New Approach to Understanding Personality

Traits: stable elements of personality that influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors across most situations. Trait theorists don't concern themselves much with how a particular trait develops over the course of a person's life.

The Unconscious

Unconscious (unconscious mind): mental activity of which the person is unaware. Psychic determinism: the belief that all thoughts and behaviors, even those that seem accidental, arbitrary, or mistaken, are determined by psychological forces. The notion of psychic determinism suggests that your unconscious doesn't do a perfect job of locking in the material that we hope to keep hidden. Freudian slips: verbal or behavioral mistakes that reveal unconscious thoughts or wishes.

self concept

Your self-concept is your view of who you are. The way important people in your life treat you, particularly how they respond to your self-actualization tendencies, has tremendous power in shaping that view of yourself. The ways we think about ourselves are not inborn, but molded by the opinions of us that we receive from the most important people of our lives.

Specific Phobia

a disorder characterized by excessive anxiety toward a specific object or situation. A specific phobia involves intense anxiety triggered by a single known stimulus. People with specific phobias may live without much disruption as long as they avoid the feared object or situation.

Working Through

a lengthy phase of therapy in which interpretations are repeated, reconsidered, and given a chance to gradually sink in.

Alfred Adler

a psychiatrist colleague of Freud's, offered a different perspective on early child development. He pointed out that young children-particularly in comparison to the stronger, more capable adults they see in their lives- develop an inferiority complex that profoundly influences their development. Our primary motivation-which carries past childhood and into adulthood-is to strive for superiority over our own perceived weaknesses. Adler also shined the light on how personality is influenced by birth order, or place in the family into which a child is born. These birth order studies suggest that firstborns tend to be more conservative and conventional, while laterborns (any sibling born into a family with an older brother or older sister) tend to be more liberal and unconventional.

Learned Reinforcements and Punishments-

behavioral psychologists argue that people learn anxiety-related behaviors through experience, just like we learn any other behavior

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

disorder characterized by unwanted, repetitive thoughts and uncontrollable actions done in response to those thoughts. OCD centers on the interaction of two things: obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are thoughts- unwanted, intrusive, anxiety-provoking thoughts that seem to appear out of nowhere. Compulsions are actions- actions done with the intention of reducing the anxiety caused by the obsessions. It is a cycle: The obsession causes anxiety, and the compulsion reduces that anxiety. The problem is that the obsession occurs again, and again, and again, which makes the person feel the need to perform the compulsion again, and again, and again.

Brain Abnormalities

esearchers have found that in people with anxiety disorders, the amygdala, a part of the brain that " sounds the alarm" when danger approaches, is overactive, and the prefrontal cortex, which opposes the amygdala by signaling that all is well, is underactive. Certain neurochemicals tend to function abnormally in the brains of people with anxiety disorders.

Transference

happens when the client unconsciously and unrealistically expects the therapist to behave like an important person from the client's past.

Dream Analysis,

he therapist and client attempt to find the underlying meaning of the client's dreams. Many psychodynamic therapist see dreams as symbolic expressions of unconscious wishes.

Reflection

he therapist listens closely and actively, then restates the client's words in a way that highlights the client's feelings. They help client's recognize their own feelings more deeply, and consider the possibility that any feelings they have are important and acceptable.

Free Association

in free association, the therapist encourages the client to say whatever comes to mind without any censoring.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

involves anxiety symptoms that persist for a long time across a wide range of situations and activities. People with generalized anxiety disorder worry-about almost everything.

Cognitive Therapy

is a psychotherapy approach in which therapists help clients change the way they think about life events.

Person-Centered Therapy

is an approach based on the theories of Carl Rogers that emphasizes the tendency toward healthy growth inherent in each person The notion that clients have the capacity within themselves to overcome their own psychological problems is a unique characteristic of person-centered therapy. Nondirective therapy: a style of therapy in which the client, rather than the therapist, determines the course of therapy.

Behavior Therapy

is the application of operant and classical conditioning to change outward behavior, with little to no emphasis on the mental processes affecting that behavior. Behavior therapy shifts the focus from inner mental processes that can't be seen to behaviors-outward, visible actions- that can. As a result, behavior therapy lends itself to scientific testing to a greater extent than other kinds of psychotherapy

Motivational Interviewing

key element of motivational interviewing is tapping into the client's own motivation to change.

Erik Erikson

neo-Freudian. His greatest contribution, the eight-stage theory of psychosocial development, was closely related to Freud's five psychosexual stages. Erikson's first five stages correspond directly to Freud's, but the emphasis on biology and sex is replaced by an emphasis on social interaction with significant others.

Social Anxiety Disorder

people with social anxiety disorder (also called social phobia) have an intense and irrational fear of situations in which they may be judged or scrutinized. Some people with social anxiety disorder are anxious across most social situations- one-on-one conversations, small group interactions, parties, and many others. For others, social anxiety disorder is more limited, occurring only when they must perform in front of others in such situations as public speaking, athletic contests, or theater events. In both cases, they worry excessively about doing something in front of other people that will cause them embarrassment or humiliation. The anxiety this disorder produces includes both psychological symptoms (like worry and dread) and physical symptoms (like sweating, quickened breathing, and a racing heart). Some people question whether social anxiety disorder should be considered a disorder at all, since it is essentially a very high level of a personality trait- shyness, or introversion- that is considered normal. As with other disorders, DSM emphasizes that its symptoms must cause significant distress or disruption to qualify for the diagnosis

Neuroticism

personality trait that we all have to some degree: the tendency to think and react negatively to the events that happen to us.

Resistance-

psychodynamic therapists call this resistance: client behavior that blocks discussion or conscious awareness of anxiety-provoking topics.

Schizophrenia

severe psychological disorder in which the person exhibits bizarre disturbances in thinking, perception, feelings, and behavior. To describe this blatantly unrealistic way of perceiving the world, psychologist use the word psychosis: a significant impairment in the basic ability to tell the difference between the real world and imagination. Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia Positive symptoms of schizophrenia are experiences that are present or excessive in people with schizophrenia but largely absent in people without it. Delusions are completely false beliefs that a person with schizophrenia believes to be reality Hallucinations are false sensations or perceptions. Hallucinations are sounds, images, scents, or other physical sensations that the person with schizophrenia experiences even though those sensations do not exist in reality Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are behaviors that are lacking in people with schizophrenia, but are usually present in people without the disorder.

Defense Mechanisms

techniques used by the ego to manage conflict between the id and superego. When a person leans heavily on a particular defense mechanism, it can influence or even dominate his or her personality.

Genetic Factors

the genetic link is simple: anxious parents tend to have anxious kids.

Interpretation

the psychodynamic therapists attempt to make a connection between the client's unconscious material and his or her current behavior, thoughts, or feelings.

Genuineness

the therapist's truthfulness, realness, and honesty, as opposed to falsely playing the therapist role.

Empathy

therapist's ability to sense the client's emotions just as the client would, and to then respond compassionately. Empathy is a deep, nonjudgmental understanding of what it's like to be the client. Unconditional Positive Regard, or full acceptance of the client no matter what without any conditions or limitations. Regardless of what the client does, thinks, or feels, the person-centered therapist accepts him or her as a human being.

Panic Disorder

there is no identifiable trigger for people with panic disorder: an anxiety disorder characterized by sudden, intense, unpredictable brief bursts of anxiety. In panic disorder, no object or situation sets off the fear reaction. These episodes are called panic attacks for a reason: The reaction is unexpected and overwhelming, with powerful physical components (heart pounding, profuse sweating, gasping for air, dizziness) accompanying equally scary thoughts. Agoraphobia, concerned about the next panic attack. With agoraphobia, the person avoids situations from which escape might be difficult or impossible if they feel a panic attack coming on.

Karen Horney

was one of very few women among the first generation of neo-Freudians. Among her pioneering ideas was the notion that females develop differently than males, and that it would be a mistake to assume that Freud's theories apply equally to both. Boys must form their own identities by separating from mom and adopting a separate role model (usually dad, if he's available), but girls must form their identities by remaining connected to mom yet developing their own individuality.

Overprotective Parenting

when parents prevent or discourage their kids from experiencing any anxiety, they deny the kids the chance to realize how resilient they may be, and how much control they might have over a situation.