Psychology Exam 1

Freud: Mental Processes and Mental Contents

Life & death instincts, libido, pleasure, reality & perfection principles

Neurological Factors: Cerebrum and 4 Lobes and Major Functions

*brain has four major lobes on each side; divided in half -The four brain lobes: -Occipital lobe= at the very back of the brain; when the eyes are stimulated by light, their neural impulses are sent into the brain, and this love is the first area to process this information in detail; almost entirely dedicated to the function of vision -Parietal lobe= at the top, back of the brain; connected the occipital love via 1/2 major neural pathways; processes spatial information, such as the relative location of objects, and has other functions, including a role in self awareness -Temporal lobe= lies under the temple; connected to the occipital love via the 2nd of 2 major neural pathways; stores visual memories, processes auditory information, and decodes the meaning of speech; also contributes to the conscious experience *abnormal functioning in this love can produce intense emotions, such as elation when a person is manic -Frontal lobe= located underneath the forehead; receives information from the parietal and temporal loves; plays crucial roles in feeling emotions and using emotional responses in decision making, as well as in thinking and problem solving more generally

Freud: Defense Mechanisms

*employed by the ego; unconscious tools that work to transform conflicts in a way that prevents unacceptable thoughts and feelings from reaching consciousness; if successful, can decrease anxiety -Repression= considered most important DM; unintentionally keeping conflict-inducing thoughts/feelings out of conscious awareness *"forget"/black-out traumatic experience -Denial= not acknowledging the conflict-inducing thoughts/feelings to oneself (and others) *won't admit addiction, even though it's impairing functioning, etc. -Rationalization= justifying the conflict-inducing thoughts, feelings, or behaviors with explanations *father justifies hitting daughter by teeling himself it will build character -Projection= ascribing (projecting) the conflict-inducing thoughts or feelings onto others *instead of admitting you don't like a classmate, you say the person doesn't like you -Reaction formation= transforming the conflict-inducing thoughts/feelings into their opposite *feelings of attraction to your colleague at work are transformed into distaste/disgust and you begin to feel repulsed by them -Sublimation= channeling the conflict-inducing thoughts/feelings into less-threatening behavior *father's frustration and anger at teenage daughter are channeled by going for a run

Neurological Factors: Grey and White Matter

*types of tissue in the CNS -Grey matter= has a pinkish-grey color in the living brain; contains the cell bodies, dendrites and axon terminals of neurons, so it is where all synapses are -White matter= made of axons connecting different parts of grey matter to each other

Paradigms: Psychoanalytic Theory; Jung's Archetype and the Collective Unconsious

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Cognitive Psychology: Schema

- Schema= describes an organized pattern of thought or behavior that organizes categories of information and the relationships among them; can also be described as a mental structure of preconceived ideas, a framework representing some aspect of the world, or a system of organizing and perceiving new information -influence attention and the absorption of new knowledge: people are more likely to notice things that fit into their schema, while re-interpreting contradictions to the schema as exceptions or distorting them to fit -Negative schema= negative self-schema can be a large contributing factor to depression (Beck)

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Breuer and Catharsis

-1842-1925 Vienna Physician -Treated Anna O. (pseudonym); published her case study in his book Studies on Hysteria, written in collaboration with Sigmund Freud *her real name was Bertha Pappenheim; Austrian-Jewish feminist and the founder of the Jüdischer Frauenbund (League of Jewish Women) -Treated by Breuer for severe cough, paralysis of the extremities on the right side of her body, and disturbances of vision, hearing, and speech, as well as hallucination and loss of consciousness; she was diagnosed with hysteria *Freud implies that her illness was a result of the resentment felt over her father's real and physical illness that later led to his death -Her treatment is regarded as marking the beginning of psychoanalysis; Breuer observed that whilst she experienced 'absences' (a change of personality accompanied by confusion), she would mutter words or phrases to herself; in inducing her to a state of hypnosis, Breuer found that these words were "profoundly melancholy fantasies...sometimes characterized by poetic beauty" *Free association came into being after Anna/Bertha decided (with Breuer's input) to end her hypnosis sessions and merely talk to Breuer, saying anything that came into her mind; she called this method of communication "chimney sweeping", and this served as the beginning of free association -Hysterical conversion symptoms *Cure lasted longer if pt. recall & talked about original event under hypnosis -Catharsis Model= Anna is presented as the first case in which it was possible to "thoroughly investigate" hysteria and cause its symptoms to disappear; her statement that being able to verbalize her problem helped her to unburden herself is in accordance with the treatment later denoted in psychoanalysis as the "catharsis theory"; based on this case study the assertion that "those with hysteria suffer for the most part from their reminiscences", in other words from traumatic memories which can be "processed" by relating them, was formulated for the first time.

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Imbalance Within the Body and Humors

-Ancient Greeks viewed mental illness as a form of bodily illness arising from the imbalances of four humors (bodily fluids); these included black bile, blood, yellow bile, and phlegm -Each humor corresponded to one of the 4 basic elements (earth, air, fire, and water) -Differences in character reflected the relative balance of these humors, and an extreme imbalance of the humors resulted in illness- including mental illness *most prominent among the resulting PDs= mania (too much blood and yellow bile caused excessive uncontrollability) and melancholy (anguish and dejection, perhaps hallucinations, arising from too much black bile) -Goal= balance humors through diet, medicine, or surgery (like bleeding for too much blood humor)

Paradigms: Cognitive Psychology

-Arose in the late 1950s-Early 1960s -Area of psychology that studies mental processes and contents starting from the analogy of information processing by a computer *developed now, behaviorally based methods to track the course of hidden mental processes and characterize the nature of mental contents, which began to demystified -If a mental process operates on mental contents like a computer program operates on stored data, direct connections can be made between observable behavior, as well as personal experiences, and mental events

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Wundt

-1879 Leipzig, Germany -Medical doctor, professor of biology Created 1st psychology lab -Similar to Plato -"Father of experimental psychology" -Applied scientific method to psychology= introspection -Wundt analyzes the constituents of the mind by using a method called introspection, which involves the subjective observation of one's own experience; this became the reason why structuralism gradually faded out, based on the unreliability of this method -Separated psychology from philosophy by analyzing the workings of the mind in a more structured way, with the emphasis being on objective measurement and control. -Parts of Wundt's system were developed and championed by his one-time student, Titchener, who described his system as structuralism, or the analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind -This approach involved breaking consciousness down into elemental sensations and feelings; Wundt believed that scientific psychology should focus on consciousness and therefore centralizes on structuralism *one of Wundt's research assistants might describe an object such as an apple in terms of the basic perceptions it invoked (e.g., "cold", "crisp", and "sweet") **an important principal of introspection is that any given conscious experience must be described in it's most basic terms, so that a researcher could not describe some experience or object as itself, such as describing an apple as an apple; such a mistake is a major instrospection faux pas and is referred to as the "stimulus error"; through introspection experiments, Wundt began to catalog a large number of basic conscious elements, which could hypothetically be combined to describe all human experiences

Paradigms: Definition

-A conceptual, theoretical framework for understanding behavior; a particular perspective

Psychological Disorder: Definition (3 general criteria)

-A pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that causes significant personal distress, significant impairment in daily life, and/or significant risk of harm, any of which is unusual for the contest and culture in which it arises *3 criteria= distress, impairment (functioning), and risk of harm -Significant= diagnosis of PD is only applied when the symptoms have a substantial effect on a person's life

Pradigms: Humanism; Maslow

-Abraham Maslow reacted adversely to Freud's ideas, particularly the notions that mental processes are mechanistic (cause-and-effect relations that govern machines) and driven by sexual and aggressive impulses, and that humans don't really have free will because our behavior is in response to unconscious processes *proposed a different view of human nature and mental illness that came to be called humanistic psychology, which focuses on free will, innate goodness, creativity, and the self

Behaviorism: Pavlov

-Accidentally discovered an association between a reflexive behavior and the conditions that occur immediately prior to it (its antecedents) **created by a process sometimes referred to as Pavlovian conditioning (dogs) *contributed to understanding of how fears and anxieties that are a part of many PDs can arise= how neutral stimuli that have in the past been paired with fear-inducing objects/events can, by themselves, come to induce fear or anxiety

Neurological Factors: Neurons and Mechanisms (details)

-Action potentials are generated by special types of voltage-gated ion channels embedded in a cell's plasma membrane; these channels are shut when the membrane potential is near the resting potential of the cell, but they rapidly begin to open if the membrane potential increases to a precisely defined threshold value -When the channels open (in response to depolarization in transmembrane voltage), they allow an inward flow of sodium ions, which changes the electrochemical gradient, which in turn produces a further rise in the membrane potential; this then causes more channels to open, producing a greater electric current across the cell membrane, and so on *the rapid influx of sodium ions causes the polarity of the plasma membrane to reverse, and the ion channels then rapidly inactivate; as the sodium channels close, sodium ions can no longer enter the neuron, and then they are actively transported back out of the plasma membrane -Potassium channels are then activated, and there is an outward current of potassium ions, returning the electrochemical gradient to the resting state -After an action potential has occurred, there is a transient negative shift, called the afterhyperpolarization or refractory period, due to additional potassium currents; this mechanism prevents an action potential from traveling back the way it just came Two primary types of action potentials: -One type is generated by voltage-gated sodium channels= rapidly emitted and short duration -The other type by voltage-gated calcium channels= in some types of neurons, slow calcium spikes provide the driving force for a long burst of rapidly emitted sodium spikes. In cardiac muscle cells, on the other hand, an initial fast sodium spike provides a "primer" to provoke the rapid onset of a calcium spike, which then produces muscle contraction

Neurological Factors: Peripheral Nervous System

-Also divided into two parts, in this case the sensory-somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system -Sensory-somatic= involved in connecting the brain to the world, via both the senses (inputs) and the muscles (outputs)

Historical Models of Psychopathy: APAs (TWO)

-American Psychological Association (research)= publishes the 'Publication Manual'; fosters research; founded in 1892 -American Psychiatric Association (diagnose & treat)= publishes the DSM; 'medical specialty' organization; care and treatment

Cognitive Psychology: Negative Triad

-An irrational and pessimistic view of the three key elements of a person's belief system present in depression, proposed by Aaron Beck in 1976; the triad forms part of his cognitive theory of depression -The triad involves negative thoughts about: -The self (i.e., I am worthless) -The world/environment (i.e., the world is unfair), and -The future (i.e., the future is hopeless).

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Hippocrates and the Medical Model

-Ancient Greek physician; began the Greek emphasis on reasoning and rationality in their explanations of natural phenomena, and rejection of supernatural explanations -Suggested that the brain, rather than any other bodily organ, is responsible for mental activity, and that mental illness arises from abnormalities in the brain -Today, the term medical model is used to refer to Hippocrates' view that all illness, including mental illness, has its basis in biological disturbance *Galen= Roman doctor, extended ideas of the Greeks by proposing that imbalances in humors produced emotional imbalances- and such emotional problems in turn could lead to PDs

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Moral Treatment (US; Rush and Dix)

-Around the time that Pinel was unchaining the mentally ill in France, Dr. Benjamin Rush (physician @ Penn. Hospital), moved the mentally ill from filthy basement cells to rooms above ground level, provided them with mattresses and meals, and treated them with respect -Dorothea Dix= schoolteacher who had witnessed the terrible conditions in the asylums of New England and began to support moral treatment -Engaged in lifelong humanitarian efforts to ensure that the mentally ill were house separately from criminals and treated humanely, in both public and private asylums -Helped to raise millions of dollars for building new mental health facilities throughout the US -Moral treatment= new goals of sedation and management

Paradigms: Behavioral Genetics

-Behavioral genetics= field that investigates the degree to which the variability of characteristics in a population arises from genetic vs. environmental factors -Psychopathology= role of genetics and environment with a particular PD and the role of their interactions

Cognitive Psychology: Mental Processes and Contents in PDs

-Biases in mental processes: -Attention= results in selecting certain stimuli, including those that may be related to a disorder -Perception= results in registering and identifying specific stimuli, including misperceptions that contribute to disorders -Memory= involves storing, retaining, and accessing stored info., including that which is emotionally relevant to a particular disorder -Maladaptive or dysfunctional mental contents= cognitive distortions of reality

Broca

-Broca= Specific brain areas for specific functions; emotions in Le Grande Lobe Limbic Speech production area in left frontal lobe

Cognitive Psychology: Cognitive Bias

-Caused by focusing attention in particular ways that create biases in what one expects or remembers; in turn these biased memories appear to support the "truth" of one's inaccurate view about the danger of the stimulus that elicits their fear

Behaviorism: Classical Conditioning Definitions (responses and stimuli)

-Classical conditioning= type of learning that occurs when two stimuli are paired so that a neutral stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus that elicits a reflexive behavior; sometimes called Pavlovian conditioning -UCS= the stimulus that reflexively elicits a behavior without prior conditioning (loud noise with Little Albert study) -CS= the neutral stimulus that, when paired with the UCS, comes to elicit the reflexive behavior (the white rat) -UCR= reflexive behavior elicited by the UCS (startle response to the loud noise) -CR= the response that comes to be elicited by the previously neutral stimulus (the same as the UCR, bust as a response to the CS instead of the UCS) -Conditioned emotional responses= emotions and emotional responses that are classically conditioned; people who are highly emotionally reactive are more likely to develop -Stimulus generalization= conditioned responses that generalize, so that they are elicited by stimuli that are similar to the CS -Extinction= the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior decreasing or disappearing; in other words, conditioned behavior eventually stops -Spontaneous recovery= the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response; if the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated, extinction will occur very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery

Clinical Assessment: Types of Physicians and Therapists

-Clinical psychologist= generally has a doctorate degree, either a Ph.D. or a Psy.D., that is awarded only after several years of coursework and treating patients while receiving supervision from experienced clinicians -Counseling psychologist= might have a Ph.D. focused on counseling or an Ed.D. (doctor of education); similar training as clinical psychologists, but greater emphasis on vocational testing, career guidance, multicultural issues, and generally don't receive training in neuropsychology; tend to work with healthier people *both training to perform research on the nature, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness and provide psychotherapy -Psychiatrist= someone with an M.D. who chooses to receive further training in a residency that focuses on mental disorders; qualified to prescribe medications; usually have not been taught to interpret and understand psychological tests and have not been required to acquire detailed knowledge of research methods used in the field of psychopathology -Psychiatric nurses= has an M.S.N. (master of science in nursing), plus a C.S. (clinical specialization) certificate in psychiatric nursing; may also be a certified psychiatric nurse practitioner (N.P.); normally work in hospital/clinic to provide psychotherapy and are permitted in some states to monitor and prescribe meds. independently -Marriage and family therapists= M.F.T.s; have at least a master's degree and are trained to provide psychotherapy to couples and families -Psychiatric social workers= most have an M.S.W. degree and may have had training to provide psychotherapy to help individuals and families; teach clients hot to find and benefit from the appropriate social services offered in their community -Degrees: -Psy.D.= doctor of psychology -Ph.D.= doctor of philosophy -M.D.= doctor of medicine

Cognitive Psychology: Cognitive Restructuring

-Cognitive therapy treatment; involved shifting faulty beliefs and irrational thoughts that led/lead to PDs

Behaviorism: Watson

-Conducted the "Little Albert" study, which demonstrated how to produce a phobia by conditioning him to be afraid of white rats, using the basic procedure Pavlov used to condition his dogs -Whenever he saw the white rat, they would make a very loud sound; soon, he cried upon just seeing the rat -Classical conditioning

Neurological Factors: Other Brain Areas

-Corpus Callosum= a broad band of nerve fibers joining the two hemispheres of the brain -Septal Area= The septal nuclei (medial olfactory area) are a set of structures that lie below the rostrum of the corpus callosum, anterior to the lamina terminalis (the layer of gray matter in the brain connecting the optic chiasma and the anterior commissure where the latter becomes continuous with the rostral lamina) -The septal nuclei are composed of medium-size neurons which are classified into medial, lateral, and posterior groups; receive reciprocal connections from the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, midbrain, habenula, cingulate gyrus, and thalamus -The septal area (medial olfactory area) has no relation to the sense of smell, but it is considered a pleasure zone in animals; septal nuclei play a role in reward and reinforcement along with the nucleus accumbens

Neurological Factors: Parts of Neuron

-Dendrites= receiving end of a neuron; highly branched, so can receive many signals at once; received signals move along the dendrites into the cell body -Axon= sending end of a neuron -Soma= cell body; the middle part of a neuron; in some cases, directly receives inputs produced by other neurons and glial bodies -Glial bodies= involved in the "care and feeding" of neurons, and act as a kind of support system (glial= glue) -Myelin sheath= a wrapping of myelin around certain nerve axons, serving as an electrical insulator that speeds nerve impulses to muscles and other effectors; outgrowth of a type of glial cell -Axon terminal/button= where the neural impulse is fired from the neuron; lines up with the dendrite receptors of other neurons

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Psychology (emergence and goals)

-Describe, predict, understand, influence -Contemporary began with Benjamin Rush; empirical/scientific approach

Lowei

-Discovered the first NT (1921)= Acetylcholine

Neurological Factors: Genetics and Inheritance Types

-Dominant= a dominant allele produces a dominant phenotype in individuals who have one copy of the allele, which can come from just one parent -Recessive= a recessive allele to produce a recessive phenotype, the individual must have two copies, one from each parent -Polygenetic/complex inheritance= joint actions of sets of genes that give rise to traits that are expressed along a continuum; traits that arise from complex inheritance can't be linked to a few distinct genes, but emerge from the interactions among effects of numerous genes *almost all PDs with a genetic component arise in part through complex inheritance -Carrier= an individual with one dominant and one recessive allele for a gene will have the dominant phenotype, and are generally considered "carriers" of the recessive allele: the recessive allele is there, but the recessive phenotype is not, but it can be passed on -Co-dominant= when a trait has two alleles that are dominant and completely expressed -Incomplete dominant= an intermediate phenotype between the two parents, as there is no dominant allele; this pattern of inheritance is called incomplete dominance

Abnormal Behavior: 5 Ds

-Duh -Unexpected/unusual/unjustifiable -Dysfunction -Impaired functioning at school, at work, in adequate caring for self, or in relationships -DEGREE of impairment is atypical for the context -Distress -Anguish/suffering -Out of proportion for the situation -Deviance -Deviance from cultural norms -Deviance from statistical norms -Danger -Depression/hopelessness lead to attempted suicide -Hallucinations interfere with normal safety precautions -Distorted body image= starving oneself -ALSO, risk to others (auditory hallucinations command one to harm another, suicide attempts involving others, extreme paranoia leading to murdering others to "save" them, etc.)

Paradigms: Emotion and Definitions

-Emotion= short-lived experience evoked by a stimulus that produces a mental response, a typical behavior, and a positive or negative subjective feeling; initiating stimulus can be physical or mental -Affect= an emotion that is associated with a particular idea or behavior, similar to an attitude -Inappropriate affect= patient's expression of emotion is not appropriate to what they are saying or the situation -Flat affect= lack of, or considerably diminished, emotional expression, such as occurs when someone speaks robotically an shows little facial expression -Labile affect= patter in which affect changes very rapidly- too rapidly -Mood= persistent emotion that is not attached to a stimulus; lurks i the background and influences mental processes, mental contents, and behavior -Externalizing= characterized by too little control of emotion and related behaviors, such as aggression, and by disruptive behavior -Internalizing= characterized by negative internal experiences, such as anxiety, social withdrawal, and depression -Approach emotions= positive emotions, such as love and happiness; tend to activate the left frontal lobe more than the right -Withdrawal emotions= negative emotions, such as fear and sadness; tend to activate the right frontal lobe more than the left

Paradigms: PsychosocialTheory and Erikson

-Erik Erikson (1950, 1963) does not talk about psychosexual Stages, he discusses psychosocial stages; ideas were greatly influenced by Freud, going along with Freud's (1923) theory regarding the structure and topography of personality -However, whereas Freud was an id psychologist, =----Erikson was an ego psychologist= emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself, whereas Freud emphasized the conflict between the id and the superego -ego develops as it successfully resolves crises that are distinctly social in nature. These involve establishing a sense of trust in others, developing a sense of identity in society, and helping the next generation prepare for the future

Raul y Cajal

-First to visualize neuron

Cognitive Psychology: Aaron Beck

-Focused on how people's irrational and inaccurate thoughts about themselves and the world can contribute to PDs -Treatment= shifting, or restructuring, people's faulty beliefs and irrational thoughts that led to PDs -Negative schema and negative triad

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Dr. Mesmer

-Franz Anton Mesmer, M.D.; "mesmerize"; hysterical states were misdistributed magnetic fluids -Early hypnosis

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Jean Baptise Pussin

-Hospital superintendent who, along with his wife and colleague Marguerite, established more humane treatment of patients with mental disorders in 19th Century France **Helped physician Philippe Pinel appreciate and implement their approach which, together with similar initiatives in other countries, became known as moral treatment

Freud: Psychoanalytic Technique Terms

-Free association= exploring a person's unconscious through spontaneous word association; clients are encouraged to say whatever comes to mind when the therapist presents them with a word, no matter how trivial, illogical, or irrelevant the response may seem; it is the therapist's job to interpret the responses as patterns in the associations are identified -Transference= -Dream analysis= the investigation of repressed feelings that can be expressed in our dreams; psychoanalytic theory believes repressed feelings often manifest themselves in our dreams; this happens because our defenses are lowered when we sleep, and dream analysis helps uncover this unconscious material; dreams have two levels of content: -Latent content= hidden motives, wishes, or fears -Manifest content= this refers to the dream as it actually appears -Counter transference= redirection of a psychotherapist's feelings toward a client—or, more generally, as a therapist's emotional entanglement with a client -Primary process thinking= produces a memory image of an object needed for gratification in order to reduce the frustration of not having been gratified yet; this develops as the id encounters frustrations of its desires, and it works because for the id, an image is the same as an object ("an identity of perception"); primary process is preverbal and dreamlike, not rational as with the ego; called "primary" because it comes first in human development: for Freud if not for later theorists, the baby is, so to speak, all id -Secondary process thinking= he ego's reality-testing and energy-binding capability. In other words, thinking and reasoning

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Phillip Pinel and Mental Treatment

-French physician; great supporter of the humane treatment of people with PDs -Transformed the lives of asylum patients at the Salpetriere and Bicetre Hospitals in Paris; in 1793, removed their chains and stopped "treatments" involving bleeding, starvation, and physical punishment -Believed "madness" was a disease; carefully observed patients and distinguished between different types of "madness" *identified partial insanity, where a person is irrational with regard to one topic, but otherwise rational; believed that they could be treated through other psychological means, such as reasoning= one of the first mental treatments for mental disorders

Freud: Psychosexual Personality Theory

-Freud (1905) proposed that psychological development in childhood takes place in a series of fixed stages called psychosexual stages because each stage represents the fixation of libido (roughly translated as sexual drives or instincts) on a different area of the body -As a person grows physically certain areas of their body become important as sources of potential frustration (erogenous zones), pleasure or both. -Freud believed that life was built round tension and pleasure and that all tension was due to the build up of libido (sexual energy) and that all pleasure came from its discharge -In describing human personality development as psychosexual Freud meant to convey that what develops is the way in which sexual energy accumulates and is discharged as we mature biologically -Unresolved conflict/issue from an earlier stage leaves the person focused on issues related to that stage= fixation -Freud stressed that the first five years of life are crucial to the formation of adult personality; the id must be controlled in order to satisfy social demands; this sets up a conflict between frustrated wishes and social norms -The ego and superego develop in order to exercise this control and direct the need for gratification into socially acceptable channels; gratification centers in different areas of the body at different stages of growth, making the conflict at each stage psychosexual

Neurological Factors: Genetics Basics

-Gene= correspond to segments of DNA that control the production of particular proteins and other substances -Expressed= when the info. in them is used to produce proteins and other substances, which both produce bio. structures, and affect bio. processes -Chromosome= thread-like structures located inside the nucleus of animal and plant cells; each chromosome is made of protein and a single molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); passed from parents to offspring, DNA contains the specific instructions that make each type of living creature unique -Genotype= sum of an organism's genes -Phenotype= sum of an organism's observable traits; results from how the genotype is expressed in a particular environment -Allele= gene variants; often determine how the trait is manifested

Neurological Factors: Specific Neurotransmitters, Mechanisms and Effects

-Glutamate= registering pain, storing new info. in memory *too little= schizophrenia *too much= substance abuse -GABA= inhibits brain activity in specific areas *too little= anxiety or panic disorder (possibly) *too much= lack of motivation -Serotonin= mood, sleep, motivation *too little= depression and OCD *too much= lack of motivation -Norepinephrine= attention, fight-or-flight response *too little= distractibility, fatigue, depression *too much= anxiety disorders, schizophrenia -Dopamine= reward motivation, executive function (frontal lobes), and control of movements *too little= ADHD *too much= inappropriate aggression, schizophrenia

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Imbalance Within the Body and Qi

-Healers in China beginning in the 7th century BCE viewed PDs as a form of physical illness, reflecting imbalances in the body and spirit -View rests on the belief that all living things have a life force, called qi, which flows through the body along 12 channels to the organs -Illness results when qi us blocked or seriously imbalanced *underpins aspects of Chinese medicine to this day, including acupuncture and herbal medicine

Neurological Factors: Heritability and Twin Types and Studies

-Heritability= an estimate of how much of a variation of a characteristic within a population/specific environment can be attributed to genetics -Twin studies= compare some characteristic, or set of characteristics, in two groups of twins, identical and fraternal; control as much as possible for environment, which helps determine the relative contribution of genes to those characteristics in that environment -Adoption studies= twins who were separated at birth and raised in different homes, then compare them to twins who were raised in the same home; also study biologically unrelated children who were adopted and raised together -Monozygotic twins= genetically identical; began life as a single fertilized egg that divided into two embryos -Dizygotic twins= fraternal; no more genetically similar than two non-twin siblings; began life as two eggs

Neurological Factors: Hormones and Cortisol

-Hormone= chemicals released directly into the bloodstream that activate or alter the activity of neurons; produced by glands in the endocrine system -Cortisol= particularly important hormone; helps the body cope with challenges by making more resources available; produced by the adrenal glands; abnormal amounts linked to anxiety and depression

Freud: 3 Psychological Structures of the Mind

-Id= seat of sexual and aggressive drives, as well as of the desire for immediate gratification of physical and psychological needs; these physical needs (food/water) and psychological drives (sexual and aggressive) constantly require satisfaction -Governed by the pleasure principle, seeking gratification of needs without regard for consequences -Superego= seat of a person's conscience, works to impose morality; responsible for feelings of guilt, which motivate the person to constrain their sexual and aggressive urges (perfection principle) -People with an inflexible morality- an overly rigid sense of right/wrong- are thought to have too strong a superego -Ego= tries to mediate the id and the superego, as well as constraints of external reality' normally, handles these competing demands (reality principle) -When the ego is relatively weak, it is unable to manage to conflicts among the id, superego, and reality, which then causes anxiety and other symptoms

Psychosis: Definition

-Impaired ability to perceive reality to the extent that normal functioning is difficult or not possible *hallucinations and delusions are psychotic symptoms

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Moral Treatment (Europe)

-In the 1790s, a group of Quakers in England developed a treatment for mental illness that was based on their personal and religious belief systems= mental illness was seen as a temporary state during which the person was deprived of their reason -Moral treatment= providing and environment in which people with mental illness were treated with kindness and respect; residents lived out in the country, worked, prated, rested, and functioned as a community *over 90% of the residents treated this way for a year recovered, at least temporarily

Neurological Factors: Subcortical Structures

-Includes the limbic system, which plays a key role in emotions: -Hypothalamus= governs bodily functions associated with eating, drinking, and controlling body temperature, and it plays a key role in many aspects of our emotions and in our experience of pleasure -Amygdala= central to producing and perceiving strong emotions, especially fear -Hippocampus= works to store new information in memory of the sort that can be voluntarily recalled -Cingulate gyrus= part of the limbic cortex, is a part of the brain situated in the medial aspect of the cerebral cortex -It receives inputs from the thalamus and the neocortex, and projects to the entorhinal cortex via the cingulum; integral part of the limbic system, which is involved with emotion formation and processing, learning, and memory= highly influential in linking behavioral outcomes to motivation; highly important in disorders such as depression and schizophrenia -Also plays a role in executive function and respiratory control. -Cerebellum= The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control -May also be involved in some cognitive functions such as attention and language, and in regulating fear and pleasure responses, but its movement-related functions are the most solidly established= does not initiate movement, but it contributes to coordination, precision, and accurate timing -Receives input from sensory systems of the spinal cord and from other parts of the brain, and integrates these inputs to fine-tune motor activity; cerebellar damage produces disorders in fine movement, equilibrium, posture, and motor learning

Neurological Factors: Central Nervous System

-Includes the spinal cord and the brain; the seat of memory and consciousness, as well as perception and voluntary action

Behaviorism: Thorndike

-Law of effect= response is affected by consequence of a behavior; some behaviors are 'stamped in', while others are 'stamped out' -Rewarded behavior very likely to recur

Big Edie and Little Edie: Background and Abnormal Behavior

-Lived in huge mansion in NY, related to the Kennedy's -Reclusive; intelligent, unconventional, eccentric; flaunted tules of their time and social class -Lived in squalor; BE's bed was unusual nest of blankets -Small fridge and hot plate; up to 52 cats, but no litter box, so they went in the bed -BE= hadn't left the house in decades, couldn't let LE out of her sight without calling for her; broke her leg at age of 80 and refused to get help, which killed her from infection 7 mos. later *LE moved in with BE as an adult due to BE's depression -LE= disappointed and unhappy at situation and living with BE as her full-time caretaker; her distress was appropriate for the situation, but her ability to function independently was impaired, which increased the risk of harm to herself and BE

Neurological Factors: Frontal Lobe Functions

-Located underneath the forehead; receives information from the parietal and temporal loves; plays crucial roles in feeling emotions and using emotional responses in decision making, as well as in thinking and problem solving more generally -Also involved in programming actions and controlling body movements *because these functions are so important to the vital activities of planning and reasoning, it is sometimes referred to as the seat of executive functioning *abnormalities= variety of disorders, including schizophrenia

Neurological Factors: Brain Stem

-Medulla= The medulla oblongata often just referred to as the medulla, is the lower half of the brainstem continuous with the spinal cord. Its upper part is continuous with the pons; contains the cardiac, respiratory, vomiting and vasomotor centers dealing with heart rate, breathing and blood pressure

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Renaissance and Witchcraft

-Mental illness continued to be viewed as a result of demonic possession, and witches were held responsible for a wide variety of ills; blamed for other people's physical problems, and even for societal and environmental problems, such as droughts or crop failures -Treatment= as before, primarily focused on ridding the person of demonic forces, in one way or another -Witches were hunted and burned, because they were thought to be in league with the devil and to have inflicted possession on other people; spread throughout Europe and into the American colonies

Freud's Followers: Psychodynamic Theory

-Modification of psychoanalytic theory; focus on areas that Freud did not fully develop -Rested on a fundamental insight that was crucial for the development of later theories and treatments: -Mental processes= internal operations that underlie cognitive and emotional functions (such as perception, memorty, and guilt feelings) and most human behavior) -Mental contents= specific memories, knowledge, goals, and other material that are stored and processed in the mind

Neurological Factors: Neuron Types; Circuits and Systems

-Most neurons interact with other neurons, in some cases, they activate, or act to "turn on", other neurons, in other causes, neurons inhibit, or act to "turn off", other neurons -3 Types: -Sensory neurons= receive input from the sense organs -Motor neurons= carry output that stimulates muscles and glans -Interneurons= lie between other neurons and make up most of the neurons in the brain -Brain circuits= sets of connected neurons that work together to accomplish a basic process, such as making you recoil when you touch a hot stove -Brain systems= sets of brain circuits are organized into brain systems, which often can involve most of an entire lobe, or even large portions of several lobes; many forms of psychopathology arise because specific brain circuits aren't working properly, either alone or as part of a larger brain system

Neurological Factors: Neurotransmitters and Mechanisms of Action

-Neurotransmitters= chemicals released by the terminal buttons; involved in PDs, but no NT in works in isolation and no PD can be traced solely to the function of a single NT -Neurotransmitter mechanisms of action: -Agonist= amplify the postsynaptic effect, increasing or enhancing neurotransmitter flow -Antagonist= decreasing neurotransmitter flow and effect -Inverse agonist= an agent that binds to the same receptor as an agonist but induces a pharmacological response opposite to that agonist; a neutral antagonist has no activity in the absence of an agonist or inverse agonist but can block the activity of either -Reuptake inhibitor= Normally, reuptake absorbs remaining neurotransmitters in the synapse back into the terminal button; these NTs block this process

Behaviorism: Bandura and Observational Learning

-Observational learning= also called modeling; results from watching what happens to others (social factor) - From observations, we learn ways to behave as well as develop expectations about what is likely to occur when we behave the same way (psychological factor) *key= mental processes; who/what behaviors are paid attention to, how info. is perceived and interpreted, how motivated the individual is to imitate the behavior *social= who person is decides how likely we are to model their behavior

Freud: Psychosexual Stages (5)

-Oral (0-1) mouth as source of pleasure, oral gratification -Anal (1-3) toilet training, pleasure focuses on bladder & bowel elimination, control issues -Phallic (3-6) genital pleasure center; Oedipus & Electra complex create incestuous feelings -Latency (6-12) sexual energy dormant, focus on school work & play with same sex friends -Genital (12 >) reawakened sexual instincts with the goal of reproduction mature sexual relationships

Neurological Factors: The Cerebral Cortex

-Outer layer of cells on the surface of the brain that overlays all four of the lobes; contains the majority of the brain's neurons= cells that process information related to our physical, mental, and emotional functioning -Most of the brain functions just described are carried out primarily in the cortex of their corresponding lobes, but many others are carried out in subcortical areas, beneath the cortex

Koro: Description and Location

-PD that arises in some people from countries in SE Asia; someone with koro rapidly develops an intense fear that his penis, or her nipples of vulva, will retract into the body and possibly cause death *may break out in clusters of people, like an epidemic *similar types of genital-shrinking fears have been reported in India and in West African countries

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Charcot

-Paris (1825-1893) neurologist; hysterical states -Caused hysteria to be viewed as illness/disorder of the mind (instead of 'malingering' - faking real physical illness) -Famous students= Binet, Wundt, Breuer

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Plato

-Plato believed understanding came from thinking about things -Like Wundt -Nature/genetics/inherited

Neurological Factors: Autonomic Nervous System

-Plays a key role in how we respond to stress; controls many involuntary functions, such as those of the heart, digestive tract, and blood vessels -2 major components: -Sympathetic nervous system= revs you up so that you can respond to an emergency; speeds up the heart and dilates the pupils and slows down non-essential functions, such as digestion *result of activation= fight-or-flight response -Parasympathetic nervous system= settles you down after a crisis is over; does the opposite things as the sympathetic nervous system

Paradigms: Humanism; Rogers

-Proposed that symptoms of distress and mental illness arise when a potential route to personal growth is blocked, as can occur when a person lacks a coherent and unified sense of self or when there is a mismatch (incongruence) between the ideal self and the real self -Developed client-centered therapy= helps reduce such incongruences and helps patients create solutions to their problems by releasing their "real selves" *in accordance with self-empowered approach= stressed that his clients were not patients who are seen to be "suck" and lacking in power

Paradigms: Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory

-Proposes that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are the result of conscious and unconscious forces continually interacting in the mind -Also suggests that the mind is organized to function across 3 levels of consciousness: -Conscious= thoughts and feelings that are in awareness; this is normal awareness -Preconscious= thoughts and feelings that a person does not perceive, but that can be brought voluntarily into conscious awareness in the future -Unconscious= thoughts and feelings that can't be perceived or called into awareness on command, but which still have the power to influence a person

Paradigms: Behaviorism

-Radically different perspective of some psychologists in the early 20th century; focused only on directly observable behavior -Focuses on understanding directly observable behaviors rather than unobservable mental processes and contents; major contribution to understanding psychopathology was to propose scientifically testable mechanisms that may explain how maladaptive behavior arises -Focused research on the association between factors that trigger a behavior and on a behavior and its consequences; the consequences influence whether a behavior is likely to recur *most important insight of behaviorism= behavior, and maladaptive behavior, can result from learning *opened door for cognitive psychology

Neurological Factors: Genetics and Interaction with Environment

-Reciprocal gene-environment model= genes influence the environment; hypothesis that people with genetic predisposition for a disorder may also have a genetic tendency to create environmental risk factors that promote the disorder -Types of interaction: -Passive interaction= parents' genes affect the child's environment, and the child passively receives these influences *for example, shy parents who avoid social interactions, which is in part a result of their genes, which means their child has relatively few social interactions' the child may not have inherited shy temperament, but the parents' genes nonetheless act through the environment to affect the child -Evocative (reactive) interaction= person's inherited traits encourage other people to behave in particular ways, and hence the person's social environment will be affected by their genes *for example, if you are very large, others may respond to you cautiously, or others may approach/avoid you in response to your temperament; thus, even your circle of friends will be somewhat determined by your genes, and those friends will affect you in certain way, depending on their own characteristics -Active interaction= each of us actively seeks out some environments and avoids others, and our genes influence which environments feel most comfortable to us *for example, a person who is sensitive to environmental stimulation might prefer spending a quiet evening at home instead of going to a party

Paradigms: Neuropsychosocial Approach

-Refined the biopsychosocial approach; emphasized the brain rather than the body and maintains that no factor can be considered in isolation -Emphasis on feedback loops *allows understanding of how neurological, psychological, and social factors- which affect and are affected by one another through feedback loops- underlie PDs

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Asylums (St. Mary's of Bethlehem)

-Renaissance= widespread time of innovation and enlightened thinking; for some, this extended to their views on treating PDs humanely -Some founded asylums, institutions to house and care for people who were afflicted with mental illness; generally founded by religious orders (first opened in Valencia, Spain, in 1409) *before long, criminals and others who weren't necessarily mentally ill were sent to asylums, and they became overcrowded, and residents were treated more like inmates than patients -Most famous asylum of this era= St. Mary of Bethlehem in London (commonly referred to as "bedlam", which became a word meaning "confusion and uproar") -In 1547, shifted from being a gen. hospital to an asylum used to incarcerate the mad, particularly those who were poor; residents were chained to the walls or floor or put in cages and displayed to the paying public, much like animals in a zoo -Officials believed such exhibitions would deter people from indulging in behaviors believed to leda to mental illness

Paradigms: Diathesis-Stress Model

-Rests on the claim that a PD is triggered when a person with a predisposition (diathesis) for the particular disorder experiences and environmental even that causes significant stress

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Aristotle

-Scholar/philosopher; student of Plato -Aristotle studied life by observing it! **Like Skinner, Thorndike, and the behaviorists -Nurture/ environment or experience

Culture: Definition

-Shared norms and values of a society; these norms and values are explicitly and implicitly conveyed to members of the society by example and through the use of reward and punishment

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Supernatural Model

-Societies dating as far back as the Stone Age appear to have explained PDs in terms of supernatural forces- magical or spiritual in nature -Healers and common folk believed that the mentally ill were possessed by spirits/demons, and possession was often seen as a punishment for some religious, moral, or other transgression -Treatment often consisted of exorcism- a ritual or ceremony intended to force the demons to leave the person's body and restore the person to a normal state; led by the healer and in some cultures consisted of reciting incantations, speaking with the spirit, and inflicting physical pain *common in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and arose again in the Middle Ages in Europe (persists today in some cultures) -Trephaning= boring a hole in the school; believed to be in order to let the supernatural forces escape

Abnormal Psychology: Definition

-Subfield of psychology that addresses the causes and progression of psychological disorders

Delusion: Definition and Types

-Symptom of psychosis -Persistent false beliefs that are held despite evidence that the beliefs are incorrect or exaggerate reality; content of delusions can vary across PDs -Common themes: -Paranoid/persecutory delusion= other people/organizations are after the person -Delusional jealousy= intimate partner is dating or interested in another person -Grandiose delusion= more powerful, knowledgeable, or influential than is true in reality and/or they are a different person (president, Jesus, etc.) -Somatic delusion= body/body part is defective of functioning abnormally

Hallucination: Definition

-Symptom of psychosis -Sensations so vivd that the perceived objects or events seem real, although they are not; can occur in any of the 5 sense, but the most common type is auditory hallucinations, in particular, hearing voices

Neurological Factors: Neurotransmitters and Synapses

-Synapse= the place where the tip of the axon of one neuron nestles against another neuron, usually at a dendrite, and signals to it -Usually not actually touching; separated by a synaptic cleft, across which the chemicals carry their signals -Neurons receive chemical signals at their receptors= specialized sites that respond only to specific molecules located on the dendrites or cell bodies; work like locks unto which only certain kinds of keys will fit -NTs bind to the receptors and affect them either by exciting them (making the neuron more likely to fire) or by inhibiting them (making them less likely to fire) -Synaptic vesicles= store various neurotransmitters that are released at the synapse; release is regulated by a voltage-dependent calcium channel -Vesicles are essential for propagating nerve impulses between neurons and are constantly recreated by the cell

Neurological Factors: Epigenetics

-The expression of the genotype can be altered without any change in the DNA sequence -Epigenetics= involves changes in structures associated with chromosomes & DNA that affect gene expression without altering DNA sequence -Two of these changes are DNA methylation and histone acetylation -DNA strands roll over nucleosomes, which are a cluster of nine histone proteins, to form a chromosome. -Acetyl groups attached to the histones can affect the accessibility of the DNA. -Acetylation of histone proteins reduces the affinity between histones and DNA. RNA polymerase and transcription factors then have easier to access the DNA -Therefore, in most cases, -Histone acetylation enhances transcription -Histone deacetylation represses transcription -DNA methylation is the addition of a methyl group (CH3) directly to the DNA's cytosine base; it may affect gene transcription through several different mechanisms (usually repression of transcription) -The methylation pattern is heritable after cell division

Neuropsychosocial Approach: Etiology

-The factors that lead someone to develop a PD; considering etiology is the basis of the neuropsychosocial approach

Neurological Factors: HPA Axis

-The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis or HTPA axis) is a complex set of direct influences and feedback interactions among three endocrine glands: the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland (a pea-shaped structure located below the hypothalamus), and the adrenal (also called "suprarenal") glands (small, conical organs on top of the kidneys) -The interactions among these organs constitute the HPA axis, a major part of the neuroendocrine system that controls reactions to stress and regulates many body processes, including digestion, the immune system, mood and emotions, sexuality, and energy storage and expenditure

Paradigms: Biological/Medical Model

-The medical model= view that PDs have underlying biological causes -Once the biological causes are identified, appropriate medical treatments can be developed, such as medications (syphilis and antibiotics; prevent related mental illness also)

Cognitive Model: Top-down Processing

-Top-down processing= refers to how our brains make use of information that has already been brought into the brain by one or more of the sensory systems; top-down processing is a cognitive process that initiates with our thoughts, which flow down to lower-level functions, such as the senses

Behaviorism: Operant Conditioning Definitions (reinforcements and punishments)

-Type of learning in which the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated depends on the consequences associated with the behavior; usually involves voluntary behaviors (vs. classical involves reflexive) -Reinforcement= process by which the consequence of a behavior increases the likelihood of a behavior's recurrence -Positive= occurs when a desired reinforcer is received after the behavior, which makes the behavior more likely to occur again in the future -Negative= occurs when an aversive or uncomfortable stimulus is removed after a behavior, which makes that behavior more likely to be repeated in the future -Punishment= process by which an event of object that is the consequence of a behavior decreases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again -Positive= when a behavior is followed by an undesirable consequence, which makes it less likely to recur -Negative= when a behavior is followed by the removal of a pleasant/desired event or circumstance, which decreases the probability that it will recur -Learned helplessness= phenomenon in an aversive situation where it seems that no action can be effective, the animal/person stops trying to escape/improve it (depression and stress-related problems)

Freud: Unconscious Tensions

-Unconscious Motivation= Psychic Energy -Life Instincts= breathing, eating, sex (libido) -Libido= Psychic energy driven by the life instinct for sex; shifts from one part of the body to the other seeking gratification (stages); 'most important' because many problems revolved around these conflicts -Death instincts= destructive, aggressive

Behaviorism: Skinner

-Used operant conditioning -Used shaping= successful approximations of the behavior are reinforced -Continuous reinforcement= reinforcing every response; good for rapid acquisition *increases the numbers of responses made and less time is taken between responses; used when first learning new behavior -Partial reinforcement= reinforcing only some responses; best if unpredictable; used to maintain behavior (prevents extinction) -Schedules of Partial reinforcement: -Ratio (Number)= dependent on amount of work -Fixed ratio= piece work -Variable ratio= slot machines -Interval (Time): -dependent on amount of time that has passed (& a response being made) -Fixed interval: pay day, pain meds, scalloping w/ post-reinforcement pause -Variable interval: unannounced pop-quiz slow, steady responding

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Freud

-Viennese neurologist, played a major role in making the study of PDs a science; not only developed new methods for both diagnosis and treatment (many of which are still in use today), but also proposed a rish and intricate theory, which continues to have massive influence -Influenced by Charcot, initially used hypnosis; although he had some success, he fount that not everyone was equally hypnotizable, and that patients' symptoms often returned -Led Freud to develop the method of free association to help patients with hysteria= a technique in which patients are encouraged to say whatever thoughts occurred to them -Part of Freud's treatment that involved talking- often referred to as the "talking cure"- which rested on his idea that mental disorders in general arise in part because of unconscious conflicts, and talking freely would help a person reduce these conflicts, and so provide relief

Freud: Causes of Disorders

-Weak ego= unable to balance the competing demands of the superego, id, and reality -Unconscious conflicts that need to be dealt with

Neurological Factors: Treatments

-What are some treatments based on the medical model of abnormal behavior= medications and drug therapies

Neurological Factors: Neurons Firing and at Rest

-When a neuron has been sufficiently stimulated (typically by signals from other neurons), very small holes in the cell's outer covering open, and the neuron's internal balance of chemicals changes to the point where the neuron "fires"- and sends info. to other neurons -Registers the sum total of inputs, both activating and inhibiting ones, and balances them against each other; only fires if the activating inputs substantially outweigh inhibiting ones -Action potential= wave of chemical activity that moves from the cell body down the axon very quickly when a neuron fires; when it reaches the end, it typically causes chemicals to be released from where they are stored in terminal buttons, and these chemicals affect other neurons, muscles, or glands -If stimulations doesn't cause a neuron to fire when it should, the circuit of which the neuron is a part won't function correctly, and psychopathology may result

Historical Models of Psychopathy: Forces of Evil and Religious Views

-With the rise of Christianity in Europe, psychopathology came to be attributed to forces of evil during the Middle Ages, and the Greek emphasis on reason and science lost influence; PDs once again were though to result from supernatural forces -At this time, conceived as a consequence of a battle between good and evil for a person's soul; prophets and visionaries were believed to be possessed or inspired by the will of God (Joan of Arc) -In contrast, others who reported such experiences were usually believed to be possessed by the devil or were viewed as being punished for their sins -Treatment= attempts to end the position through exorcism, torture (with the idea that physical pain would drive out the evil forces), starvation, and other forms of punishment to the body *such inhumane treatment wasn't undertaken everywhere, though; as early as the 10th century, Islamic institutions were caring for those with PDs humanely