psych 341- exam 1

unconditional positive regard

-rogers held that abnormal behavior results from a distorted concept of the self -parents can help children develop positive self concept by showing them unconditional positive regard -by prizing them and showing them that they are worthy of love irrespective of their behavior at any given time -parents may disapprove of a certain behavior but they need to convey to their children that the behavior is undesirable, not the child

peripheral nervous system

-the peripheral nervous system is a network of neurons connecting the brain to our sense organs- our eyes, ears, and so on- as well as our glands and muslces -the neural pathways allow us to both sense the world around us and act on it by using our muscles to move our limbs -the peripheral nervous system consists of two main parts of divisions, called the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system

replication

-the process of repeating an experiment in other settings or at other times, or with samples drawn from other populations

genotype

-the set of traits specified by our genetic code is referred to as our genotype -our appearance and behavior are not determined by our genotype alone -we are also influenced by environmental factors such as nutrition, learning, exercise, accidents and illnesses and culture

social and cultural differences

-the standards we use in making judgments of abnormal behavior must take into account cultural norms -traditional healers, shamans, and medicine men and women are called on to treat indian sicknesses -when a problem is thought to have its cause outside the community, help is sought from "white man's medicine"

sympathetic nervous system

-the sympathetic division is most involved in processes that mobilize the body's resources during physical exertion or responses to stress such as when drawing energy from stored reserves to prepare a person to deal with imposing threats or dangers -when we face a threatening or dangerous sitation the sympathetic branch of the ANS kicks in by accelerating our heart rate and breathing rate, thereby peparing our body to either fight or flee from a threatening stimulus is associated with emotional responses such as fear or anxiety

medical model

-the term mental disorder is derived from the medical model perspective, which views abnormal behaviors as symptoms of an underlying illness or brain disorder -although the medical model is a major contemporary model for understanding abnormal behavior, we believe we need to take a broader view of abnormal behavior by incorporating psychological and sociocultural perspectives as well

the epidemiological method

examines rates of occurrence of abnormal behavior in various settings or population groups -one type of epidemiological study is the survey method

the community mental health movement

in 1963, the U.S. congress established a nationwide system of community mental health centers intended to offer an alternative to long term custodial care in bleak institutions -CMHC's were charged with providing continuing support and mental health care to former hospital residents released from state mental hospitals -the discharge of mental patients from state hospitals left many thousands of marginally functioning people in communities that lacked adequate housing and other forms of support they needed to function

systematic desensitization

-involves a theraputic program of exposure of a client to progressively more fearful stimuli while he or she remains deeply relaxed 1. relaxation technique 2. fear stimulus hierarchy -procedure continues until the person can remain relaxed while imagining the most distressing scene in the hiarchy

necessary criteria

-a common or shared element specific to abnormality/psychopathology

construct validity

-a conceptually higher level of validity -it is the degree to which treatment effects can be accounted for by the theoretical mechanisms or constructs represented in the independent variables -however it may lack construct validity if the drug does not work for the reasons proposed by the researchers

hysteria

-a condition characterized by paralysis or numbness that cannot be explained by an underlying physical cause

psychological disorder

-a pattern of abnormal behavior associated with states of significant emotional distress, such as anxiety or depression, or with impaired behavior ability to function, such as difficulty holding a job or distinguishing reality from family

deinstitutionalization

-a policy of shifting the burden of care from state hospitals to community based treatment settings, which led to a wholesale exodus from state mental hospitals -another factor that laid the groundwork for the mass exodus from mental hospitals was the development of a new class of drugs- the phenothiazines -this group of antipsychotic drugs, which helped quell the most flagrant behavior patterns associated with schizophrenia, was introduced in the 1950's -phenothiazines reduced the need for indefinite hospital stays and permitted many people with schizophrenia to be discharged halfway houses, group homes, and independent living -if deinstitutionalization is to succeed, patients need continuing care and opportunities for decent housing, gainful employment, and training in social and vocational skills -most people with severe psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, live in their communities, but only half of them are currently in treatment

comorbid (co-occuring) diagnoses

-it is not unusual for people to have more than one disorder at a ime

Albert Ellis

-a prominent cognitive theorist that believed that troubling events in themselves do not lead to anxiety depression or disturbed behavior -rather it is the irrational beliefs people hold about unfortunate experiences that foster negative emotions and maladaptive behavior -ABC approach to explain the causes of misery -being fired is an activating event (a) -the ultimate outcome or consequence is emotional distress (c) -the activating event and the consequence are mediated by various beliefs (b) -a= antecedents of behavior -b=behavior that is emitted -c=consequences of behavior -ex. "that was was the major thing in my life" "ill never be able to find another job as good" "i cant do anything about it" -these exaggerated and irrational beliefs compound depression, nurture helplessness and distract people from evaluating what to do -a model of therapy was developed called rational emotive behavior therapy to help people dispute these irrational beliefs and substitute more rational ones

the longitudinal study

-a type of correlational study in which individuals are periodically tested or evaluated over lengthy periods of time, perhaps for decades -by studying people over time, researchers seek to indentify factors or events in peoples lives that predict the later development of abnormal behavior patterns, such as depression or schizophrenia -prediction is based on the correlation between events or factors that are separated in time -this type of research is time consuming and costly -long term longitudinal studies are relatively uncommon

the experimental method

-allows scientists to demonstrate causal relationships by manipulating the causal factor and measuring its effects under controlled conditions that minmize the risk of other factors explainging the results -an experiment is a trial or test of a hypothesis -investigators usually limit the use of the term experimental method to refer to studies in which researchers seek to uncover cause and effect relationships by directly manipulating possible causal factors -in experimental research, the factors or variables hypothesized to play a causal role are manipulated or controlled by the investigator -these are called independent variables -factors that are observed in order to determine the effects of manipulating the independent variable are labeled dependent variables -dependent variables are measured, but not manipulated by the experimenter

inference

-allows us to jump from the particular to the general- to suggest laws and principles of behavior that can be woven into a model or theory of behavior -without a way of organizing our descriptions of phenomena in terms of models and theories, we would be left with a buzzing confusion of unconnected observations -controlling behavior means using scientific knowledge to help people shape their own goals and more efficiently use their resources to accomplish them

general paresis

-associated with physical symptoms and psychological impairment, including personality and mood changes and with progressive deterioration of memory functioning and judgment

evaluating learning models

-behavior therapy techniques have helped people overcome a wide range of psychological problems including phobias and other anxiety disorders, sexual dysfunctions, and depression -reinforcement based programs are now widely used to help parents learn better parenting skills and help children learn in the classroom -human experience can not be reduced to observable responses

punishment

-can be considered the flip side of reinforcement -aversive stimuli that decrease the frequency of the behavior they follow -punishment may take many forms, including physical punishment (ex. spanking), removal of a reinforcing stimulus (ex. turning off TV), assessment of monetary penalties (ex. parking tickets), taking away priveleges or removal from a reinforcing environment (ex. a time out) -the introduction or application of the aversive or painful stimulus weakens the behavior it follows -physical punishment may not eliminate undesirable behavior although it may suppress it for a time -the behavior may return when the punishment is withdrawn -may generate anger and hostility rather than constructive learning and may cross the boundry into abuse, especially when it is repetitive and severe -child abuse figures prominently in many abnormal behavior patterns including some types of personality disorers and dissosiative disorders -reinforcement is more desirable

psychosis

-characterized in general by bizarre behavior and thoughts and by faulty perceptions of reality, including hallucinations -speech may become incoherent; there may be bizarre posturing and gestures -schizophrenia is the major form of psychosis

syndromes

-clusters of symptoms that may be indicative of a particular disease or condition, as well as mental health, diagnosis, patient, mental patient, mental hospital, prognosis, treatment, therapy, cure relapse, and remission

social cognitive theory

-contributions of theorists such as bandura -expanded traditional learning theory by including roles for thining or cognition and learning by observation or modeling -people have an impact on their environment just as their environment impacts them -agree with traditional behaviorists such as wastson and skinner that theories of human nature should be tied to observable behavior -they argue that factos within the person such as expectencies and the values placed on particular goals also need to be considered to explain human behavior

description

-description allows us to recognize abnormal behavior and provides the basis for explaining it -descriptions should be clear, unbiased, and based on careful observation -our descriptions of behavior may be influenced by our expectations

dream analysis

-dreams represented royal road to the unconscious to freud -during sleep, the ego's defenses are lowered and unacceptable impulses find expression in dreams manifest content: the material of the dream the dreamer experiences and reports latent content: the unconscious material the dream symbolizes or represents

trephination

-drilling the skull to provide an outlet for those irascible spirits -fresh bone growth indicates that some people did survive this "medical procedure"

catharsis

-emotional discharge of feelings

autonomic nervous system

-emotional processing -autonomic means automatic -the ANS regulates the glands and involuntary processes such as heart rate, breathing, digestion, and dilation of the pupils of the eyes, even when we are sleeping -the ANS has two branches, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system -these branches have mostly opposing effects -many organs and glands are served by both branches of the ANS

humanistic models

-emphasizes the personal freedom human beings have in making conscious choices that imbue their lives with a sense of meaning and purpose -carl rogers -inborn tendency to self actualization- to strive to become all they are capable of being -each of us possesses a singular cluster of traits and talents that gives us our own set of feelings and needs and our own perspective on life -we need to understand the roadblocks that people encounter in striving for self actualization and authenticity -must learn to view the world from clients own perspectives -clients subjective views of their world lead them to interpret and evaluate their experiences in either self enhancing or self defeating ways -involves the attempt to understand the subjective experience of others the stream of conscious experiences people have of "being in the world" -we cannot fulfill all the wishes of others and remain true to ourselves -the pathway to self actualization involves a porcess of self disovery and self acceptance of getting in touch with our true feelings, accepting them as our own and acting in ways that genuinely reflect them -client centered therapy or person centered therapy -brought concepts of free choice, inherent goodness, personal responsibility, and authenticity into psychology -focuses on conscious experience

biopsychosocial perspective

-examines contributions of multiple factors spanning biological psychological and sociocultural domains

experimental validity

-experimental studies are judged on whether they are valid, or sound -there are many aspects of validity, including internal validity, external validity, and construct validity

internal validity

-experiments have internal validity when the observed changes in the dependent variable can be causally related to changes in the independent or treatment variable -experiments lack internal validity when they fail to control for other factors that might pose rival hypotheses for the results -experimenters randomly assign research participants to treatment and control groups to control for rival hypotheses -random assignment helps ensure that individual attributes- intelligence, motivation, age, race, and so on- are randomly distributed across the groups and are not likely to favor one group over the other -well designed studies include sufficiently large samples of research participants to be able to discern statistically significant differences between experimental and control groups

free asociation

-expressing whatever thoughts come to mind -believed to gradually break down the defenses that block awareness of unconscious processes -the ego continues to try to shield the self from awareness of threatening impulses and conflicts

humanistic therapy

-focus on client subjective conscious experiences -person centered therapy -carl rogers -non directive therapy -therapist uses reflection- the restating or paraphrasing of the clients expressed feelings without interpreting them or passing judgment on them -reflection communicates that the client is being heard and encourages the client to explore deeper feelings and parts of self that had been disowned because of social condemnation -warm environment -therapist must be unconditionally accepting of client -display empathy, genuineness and congruence

erik erikson

-focused on psychosocial development in contrast to freuds emphasis on psychosexual development -erikson attributed more importance to social relationships and formation of personal identity than to unconscious processes -whereas freuds developmental theoy ends with the genital stage, eriksons developmental theory beginning in early adolescence posits that our personalities contine to be shaped throughout adulthood as we deal with the psychosocial challenges or crises we face during each period of life -in eriksons view the major psychosocial challenge faced by adolescents is development of ego identity, a clearly defined sense of who they are and what they believe in

the biological perspective

-focuses on the biological underpinnings of abnormal behavior and the use of biologically based approaches, such as drug therapy, to treat psychological disorders -the biological perspective gave rise to the development of the medical model, which remains a powerful force in contemporary understanding of abnormal behavior -the medical model posits that abnormal behaviors represent symptoms of underlying disorders or diseases called mental illnesses that have biological causes -the medical model is not synonymous with the biological perspective however -ex. a behavior pattern such as shyness may have a strong genetic component but not be considered a symptom of any underlying disorder or illness

stages of psychosexual development

-freud argued that sexual drives are the dominant factors in the development of personality, even in childhood -freud believed that a childs basic relationship to the world in the childs first several years of ife is organized around the pursuit of sensual or sexual pleasure -in freuds view all activities that are physically pleasurable such as eating or moving ones bowels are in essence sexual -the drive for sexual pleasure represents in freuds view the expression of a major life instinct, which he called eros- the basic drive to preserve and perpetuate life -he called the energy contained in eros that allows it to fulfill its function libido or sexual energy -freud believed that libidinal energy is expressed through sexual pleasure in different body parts called orogenous zones as a child matures -in freuds view the stages of human development are psychosexual in nature because they correspond to the transfer of libidinal energy from one erogenous zone to another -freuds view the stages of human development are psychosexual in nature because they corespond to the transfer of libidinal energy from one erogenous zone to another -freud proposed the existence of five psychosexual stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital

transference relationship

-freud believed that the transference relationship provides a vehicle for the reenactment of childhood conflicts with parents -clients may react to the analyst with the same feelings of anger, love or jealousy they felt toward their own parents -transference neurosis -freud felt he transferred his underlying feelings onto his clients, perhaps viewing a young man as a competitor or a woman as a rejecting love interest -freud referred to the feelings that he projected onto clients as countertransference

single blind placebo control study

-research participants are randomly assigned treatment conditions in which they receive either an active drug or an inert placebo but are kept blind about which drug they receive -it is helpful to keep the researchers blind as well as to which substance the research participants receive so as to prevent the researchers own expectations from affecting the results

evaluating biological perspectives on abnormal behavior

-genetic factors, as well as disturbances in neurotransmitter functioning and underlying brain abnormalities or defects are implicated in many psychological disorders -for some disorders such as alzheimers disease, biological processes play the direct causative role -for most disorders we need to examine the interaction of biological and environmental factors -we each possess a unique and genetic code that plays an important role in determining our risks of developing many physical and mental disorders -a large body of evidence connects genetic factors to a wide range of psychological disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, alcoholism, autism, dementia due to alzheimers disease, anxiety disorders, dyslexia, and antisocial personality disorder -the hertiable characteristics that increase the risk of psychological disorders include genetic variations and genetic mutations -genes play important roles in determining vulnerability or susceptibility to many psychological disorders but genes dont tell he whole story when it comes to understanding the origins of these disorders -psychological disorders are complex behavioral phenomena that involve multiple genes acting together along with environmental factors -the so called nature versus nurture debate has shifted from one pitting nature against nurture to one framed in terms of how much of our behavior is a product of nature and how much is a product of nurture 1. genes do not dictate behavioral outcomes 2. genetic factors create a predisposition or likelihood that certain behaviors or disorders will develop 3. multigenic determinism affects psychological disorders 4. genetic factors and environmental influence interact with each other in shaping our personalities and determining our vulnerability to a range of psychological disorders

carl jung

-he developed his own psychodynamic theory which called analytical psychology -belived that an understanding of human behavior must incorporate self awareness and self direction as well as impulses of the id and mechanisms of defense -he believed that not only do we have a personal unconscious a repository of repressed memories and impulses but also that we inherit a collective unconscious -the collective unconscious contains primitive images or archetypes which reflect the history of our species, including vague mysterious mythical images like the all powerful god -although archetypes remain in the unconscious, they influence our thoughts, dreams, and emotions and render us responsive to cultural themes in stories and films

diathesis stress model

-holds that certain psychological disorders such as schizophrenia arise from a combination or interaction of a diathesis (a vulnerability or predisposition to develop the disorder, usually genetic in nature) with stressful life experiences -been applies to other psychological disorders including depression and ADHD -a diathesis or predisposition is usually genetic in nature

social causation model

-holds that people from lower socioeconomic groups are at greater risk of severe behavior problems because living in poverty subjects them to a greater level of social stress than taht faced by more well to do people

psychodynamic views on normality and abnormality

-in the freudian model, mental health is a function of the dynamic balance among the mental structures id ego and superego -in mentally healthy people the ego is strong enough to control the instincts of the id and to withstand the condemnation of the sueprego -the presence of acceptable outlets for the expression of some primitive impulses such as the expression of mature sexuality in marriage decreases the pressures within the id and at the same time lessens the burdens of the ego in repressing the remaingin impulses -being reared by reasonably tolerant parents might prevent the superego from becoming overly harsh and condemnatory -some unconscious impulses may leak into cosciousness, producing anxiety or leading to psychological disorders, such as hysteria and phobias -the symptom expresses the conflict among the parts of the persoanlity while it protects the self from recognizing the inner turmoil -ex. a person with a fear of knives is shilded from becoming aware of her own unconscious aggressive impulses to use a knife to murder someone or attack herself -if the superego becomes overly powerful it may create excessive feelings of guilt and lead to depression -people who intentionally hurt others without feeling guilty are believed to have an underdeveloped superego -the ego can weaken and in extreme cases lose the ability to keep a lid on the id -when the urges of the id spill forth untempered by an ego that is either weakened or underdeveloped, pscyhosis results

defense mechanisms

-in the unconscious the ego serves as a kind of watchdog or censor which screens impulses from the id -it uses defense mechanisms to prevent social unacceptable impulses from rising into consciousness -if not for these defense mechanisms, the darkest sins of our childhoods the primitive demands of our ids and the censures of our super egos might disable us psychologically -the use of defense mechanisms to cope with feelings such as anxiety guilt and shame is considered normal -these mechanisms enable us to constrain impulses from the id as we go about daily business -freud believed that slips of the tongue and ordinary forgetfulness could represent hidden motives that are kept out of consciousness by repression

modeling

-individuals learn desired behvaiors by observing others performing them -ex. client may observe and then imitate others who successfully interact with fear evoking situations or objects -behavior therapists use reinforcement techniques based on operant conditioning to shape desired behavior -token economy: seek to increase adaptive behavior by rewarding residents with tokens for performing appropriate behaviors

case studies

-intensive studies of individuals -some case studies are based on historical material involving subjects who have been dead for hundreds of years -case studies reflect an in depth analysis of an individual's course of treatment -they typically include detailed histories of the subjects background and response to treatment -form a particular clients experience in therapy, the therapist attempts to glean information that may be of help to other therapists treating similar clients -=despite the richness of material that case studies can provide, they are much less rigorous as research designs than experiments -distortions or gaps in memory are bound to occur when people discuss historical events, especially those of their childhoods -some people may intentionally color events to make a favorable impression on the interviewer; others aim to shock the interviewer with exaggerated or fabricated recollections -interviewers themselves may unintentionally guide the people they interview into reporting histories that mirror their theoretical preconception

demonology

-the notion of supernatural causes of abnormal behavior was prominent in western society until the age of enlightenment

the psychological perspective

-jean charcot experimented with hypnosis in treating hysteria, -freud reasoned that if hysterical symptoms could be made to disappear or appear through hypnosis- the mere "suggestion of ideas"- then they must be psychological, not biological, in origin -freud concluded that whatever psychological factors give rise to hysteria, they must lie outside the range of conscious awareness -this insight underlies the first psychological perspective on abnormal behavior- the psychodynamic model -breuer believed there was a strong psychological component to her symptoms -he encouraged her to talk about her symptoms, sometimes under hypnosis -recalling and takling about events connected with the appearance of the symptoms- especially events that evoked feelings of fear, anxiety, or guilt-provided symptom relief, at least for a time -anna referred to the treatment as the "talking cure" or when joking as "chimney sweeping" -the hysterical symptoms were taken to represent the transformation of these blocked up emotions, forgotten but not lost, into physical complaints -in anna's case, the symptoms disappeared once the emotions were brought to the surface and "discharged" -breuer labeled the therapeutic effect catharsis

kinship studies

-kinship studies attempt to disentangle the roles of heredity and environment in determining behavior -the structures we inherit make our behavior possible and at the same time place limits on us -heredity plays a role in determining not only our physical characteristics but also many of our psychological characteristics -the science of heredity is called genetics -genes are the basic building blocks of heredity -they regulate the development of traits -chromosomes, rod shaped structures that house our genes are found in the nuclei of the body's cells -a normal human cell contains 46 chromosomes, organized into 23 pairs -chromosomes consist of large, complex molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) -genes occupy various segments along the length of chromosomes -scientists believe there are about 20,000 to 25,000 genes in the nuclei of a human body cell

the biopsychosocial perspective

-many mental health professionals endorse the view that abnormal behavior is best undersstood by taking into account multiple causes represting the biological, psychological, and sociocultural domains -the biopsychosocial model, or interactionist model, informs this texts approach toward understanding the origins of abnormal behavior -we believe its essential to consider the interplay of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors in the development of psychological disorders -we must consider all possible pathways and account for multiple factors and how they interact with each other -perspectives on psychological disorders provide a framework not only for explanation but also for treatment -the perspectives scientists use also lead to the predictions, or hypotheses, that guide their research or inquiries into the causes and treatments of abnormal behavior -the medical model fosters inquiry into genetic and biochemical treatment methods

deinstitutionalization and the psychiatric homeless population

-many of the homeless wandering city streets and sleeping in bus terminals and train stations are discharged mental patients or person with disturbed behavior who might well have been hospitalized in earlier times, before deinstitutionalization was in place -many compound their problems by turning to illegal street drugs such as crack -an estimated 20% to 30% of the homeless population suffers from severe psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia -many also have neuropsychological impairments, including significant problems with memory, learning, and concentration, which leaves them disadvantaged in seeking and holding a job -as many as 50% of the homeless population also suffer from substance abuse problems that largely go untreated -the lack of available housing, transitional care facilities, and effective case management plays an important role in homelessness among people with psychiatric problems -we need intensive outreach and intervention efforts to help homeless people connect with the services they need as well as programs that provide a better quality of care to homeless individuals

surgeon general's report on mental health

-mental health reflects the complex interaction of brain functioning and environmental influences -effective treatments exist for most mental disorders, including psychological inventions, such as psychotherapy and counseling and psychopharmacological or drug therapies. treatment is often more effective when psychological and psychopharmacological treatments are combined -progress in developing effective prevention programs in the mental health field has been slow because we do not now the causes of mental disorders or ways of altering known influences, such as genetic predispositions. nonetheless, some effective prevention programs have been developed -although 15% of american adults receive some form of help for mental health problems each year, many who need help do not receive it -mental health problems are best understood when we take a broader view and consider the social and cultural contexts in which they occur -mental health services need to be designed and delivered in a manner that takes into account the viewpoints and needs of racial and ethnic minorities

samples and populations

-most surveys are based on a sample, or a subset, of the population -researchers must take steps when constructing a sample to ensure that it represents the target population -ex. a researcher who sets out to study smoking rates in a local community by interviewing people drinking coffee in late night cafes will probably overestimate its true prevalence -one method of obtaining a representative sample is to use random sampling -a random sample is drawn in such a way that each member of the population of interest has an equal probability of selection -random sampling is often confused with random assignment -random sampling refers to the process of randomly choosing individuals within a target population to participate in a survey or research study -by contrast, random assignment refers to the process by which members of a research sample are assigned at random to different experimental conditions or treatments

double blind placebo control design

-neither researcher nor the subject knows who is receiving the active drug or the placebo -double blind studies control for both subject and experimenter expectancies

psychodynamic therapy

-referring to forms of pscyhotherapy based on the freudian tradition that seeks to help people gain insight into and resolve the dynamic struggles or conflicts between forces within the unconscious mind believed to lie at the root of abnormal behavior -"where id was, there shall ego be" -psychoanalysis could help shed the light of awareness, represented by the conscious ego on the inner workings of the id -used free association, dream analysis, and analysis of the transference relationship -modern therapists explore their clients psychological defenses and transference relationships as "peeling an onion" -focus more on clients present relationships and less on sexual issues -focus more on the role of the ego and less on the role of the id

margaret mahler

-object relations theory: focuses on how children come to develop symbolic representations of important others in their lives, especially their parents -saw the process of the child separating from the mother during the first three years of life as crucial to the childs personality development -these symbolic representations which are formed from images and memories of others come to influence our perceptions and behavior -we experience internal conflict as the attitudes of introjected people battle with our own -some of our perceptions may be distorted or seem unreal to us -some of our impulses and behavior may seem unlike us, as if they come out of the blue -with such conflict, we may not be able to tell where the influences of other people end and our real selves begin -the aim of the approach was to help clients separate their own ideas and feelings from those of the introjected objects so they could develop as individuals- as their own persons

where is the line between normal and abnormal behavior?

-one answer is that emotional states such as anxiety and depression may be considered abnormal when they are not appropriate to the situation

the correlational method

-one of the primary methods used to study abnormal behavior which involves the use of statistical methods to examine relationships between two or more factors that can vary, called variables -the statistical meausre used to express the association or correlation between two variables is called the correlation coefficient which can vary along a continuum ranging from -1.00 to +1.00 -when higher values in one varaible are assoicated with higher values in the other variable there is a positive correlation between the variables -if higher levels of one variable are associated with lower values of another variable, there is a negative correlation between the variables -positive correlations carry positive signs; negative correlations carry negative signs -the higher the correlation coefficient- meaning the closer it is to either -1.00 or +1.00 the stronger the relationship between the variables -the correlational method does not involve manipulation of the variables of interest -because the experimenter does not directly manipulate the variables, a correlation between two variables does not prove that they are causally related to each other -it may be the case that two variables are correlated but have no causal connection -depression and negative thinking may both reflect a common causative factor, such as stress, and not be causally related to each other at all -in sum, we cannot tell from a correlation alone whether or not variables are causally linked -to address questions of cause and effect, investigators use experimental methods in which he experimenter manipulates one or more variables of interest and observes their effects on other variables or outcomes under controlled conditions -although the correlational method cannot determine cause and effect relationships, it does serve the scientific objective of prediction -when two variables are correlated, scientists can use one to predict the other -knowing which factors predict future problems helps direct preventive efforts toward high risk groups

classical conditioning

-pavlov -conditioned response: or conditioned reflex because it had been paried with what he called an unconditioned stimulus in this case, food- which naturally elicited salivation -the salivation in response to food- an unlearned response- pavlov called the unconditioned response and the bell, a previously neutral stimulus he called the conditioned stimulus -phobias or excessive fears may be acquired by classical conditioning -ex. little albert

alfred adler

-people are driven by an inferiority complex not by the sexual instinct as freud maintained -for some people feelings of inferirotiy are based on physical deficits and the resulting need to compensate for them -but all of us because of our small size during childhood, encounter feelings of inferiority to some degree -these feelings lead to a powerful drive for superiority which motivates us to achieve prominence and social dominance -in the healthy personality however strivings for dominance are tempered by devotion to helping other people -adler believed self awareness plays a major role in the formation of personlity -adler spoke of a creative self, a self aware aspect of personality that strives to overcome obstacles and develop an individuals potential -with the hypothesis of the creative self adler shifted the emphasis of psychodynamic theory from the id to the ego because our potentials are uniquely individual, alders views have been termed individual psychology

gradual exposure

-people seeking to overcome phobias put themselves in situations in which they confront fearful stimuli in real life encounters

aaron beck

-posed that depression may result from errors in thinking or cognitive distortions such as judging oneself entirely on the basis of ones falwas or failures and interpreting events in a negative light -stressed four basic types of cognitve distortions that contribute to emotional distress: 1. selective abstraction: may selectively abstract the parts of their experiences that reveal their flawas and ignore evidence of their competencies ex. student may focus on one bad grade compared to all other good ones 2. overgeneralization: may overgeneralize from a few isolated experiences ex. never gonna get married cuz one date was bad 3. magnification: may blow out of proportion the importance of unfortunate events ex. a student may catastrophize a bad test grade by jumping to the conclusion she will fail the class 4. absolutist thinking: seeing the world in black and white rather than shades of grey ex. a work evaluation that isnt great means its bad -beck developed cognitive therapy- which focuses on helping individuals with psychological disorders identify and correct faulty ways of thinking

types of reinforcers

-positive reinforcement -commonly called rewards -boost the frequency of a behavior when they are introduced or presented -ex. if a pigeon gets food when it pecks a button, it will continue to peck the button -negative reinforcement -increase the frequency of behavior when they are removed -ex. picking up a crying baby -this removal of the aversive or painful stimulus strengthens the behavior it follows -a babys cry can be a punishment (if it weakens the preceding behavior such as turning your attention away from the baby or a negative reinforcer if it strengthens the behavior that leads to its removal, such as picking up the baby)

downward drift hypothesis

-problem behaviors such as alcoholism, lead people to drift downward in social status, thereby explaining the link between low socioeconomic status and severe behavior problems

psychodynamic models

-psychodynamic theory is based on the contributions of sigmund freud and his followers -freuds version of psychodynamic theory called psychoanalytic theory is based on the belief that the roots of psychological problems involve unconscious motives and conflicts that can be traced back to childhood -freud put the study of the unconscious mind on the map -to freud unconscious motives and conflicts revolve around primitive sexual and aggressive instincts and the need to kept these primitive impulses out of consciousness -by the freudian account, abnormal behavior patterns represent symptoms of these dynamic struggles taking place within the unconscious mind

external validity

-refers to the generalizability of results of an experimental study to other individuals, settings, and times -the external validity of a study is strengthened to the degree that the samples is representative of the target population -one way of obtaining a representative sample is by means of random sampling -in a random sample every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected -researchers may extend the results of a particular study by means of replication -the external validity of the treatment may be limited if its effects do not generalize to other samples or settings

the sociocultural perspective

-sociocultural theorists believe the causes of abnormal behavior may be found in the failures of society rather than in the person -sociocultural factors also focus on relationships between mental health and social factors such as gender, social class, ethnicity, and lifestyle -sociocultural theorists also observe that once a person is called "mentally ill" the label is hard to remove -people classified as mentally ill are stigmatized and marginalized -job opportunities may disappear, friendships may dissolve, and the "patient" may feel increasingly alienated from society -they argue that society needs to provide access to meaningful societal roles as workers, students, and colleagues to those with long term mental health problems, rather than shunt them aside

sufficient criteria

-something that distinguishes abnormal from normal behaviors

karen horney

-stressed the importance of child parent relationships in the development of emotional problems -horney maintained that when parents are harsh or uncaring children come to develop a deep seated form of anxiety called basic anxiety which she describe as a feeling of being isolated and helpless in a potentially hostile world -children who harbor deep seated resentmant toward their parents may develop a form of hostility labeled as basic hostility -emphasis shifted from a focus on sexual and aggressive drives toward a closer examination of social influences on development

cognitive models

-study the cognitions- the thoughts, beliefs, expectations, and attitudes that accompany and may underlie abnormal behavior -focus on how reality is colored by our expectations attitudes and how inaccurate or biased processing of information about the world can give rise to abnormal behavior -cognitive theorists believe that our interpreations of the events in our lives determine our emotional states

learning based models

-the behavioral perspective is associated with ivan pavlov the discoverer of the conditioned reflex and with john watson the father of behaviorism -the behavioral perspective focuses on the role of learning in explaining both normal and abnormal behavior -from a learning perspective abnormal behavior represents the acqusition or learning of inappropriate maladaptive behaviors -abnormal behavior is symptomatic of underlying biological or psychological problems -from the learning perspective the abnormal behavior itself is the problem -wantson and skinner believed that human behavior is the product of our genetic inheritance and environmental or situational influences -behaviorists see us as products of environmental influences that shape and manipulate our behavior -behaviorists also believe that we should limit the study of psychology to behavior itself rather than focus on underlying motivations -therapy consists of shaping behavior rather tahn seeking insight into the workings of the mind -behaviorists focus on the roles of two forms of learning in shaping both normal and abnormal behavior: classical conditioning and operant conditioning

role of operant conditioning

-the behavioral psychologist skinner called these typesvof complex behaviors operant responses because they operate on the enviornment to produce effects or consequences -responses are acquired and strengthened by their consequences -acquire responses or skills such as raising our hand in class that lead to reinforcement -reinforcers are changes in the environment (stimuli) that increase the frequency of the preceding behavior -behaviors that lead to rewarding consequences are strenghtened -over time such behaviors become habits -ex. raising your hand in class

abnormal psychology

-the branch of psychology that studies abnormal behavior and ways of helping people who are affected by psychological disorders

proband

-the case first diagnosed is referred to as the index case, or proband -if the distribution of the disorder among family members of the proband approximates their degree of kinship, there may be a genetic component to the disorder -the closer their kinship, the more likely people are to share environmental backgrounds as well -for this reason, twin and adoptee studies are of particular value

hippocrates

-the celebrated physician of the golden age of greece, challenged the prevailing beliefs of his time by arguing that illnesses of the body and mind were the result of natural causes, not possession by supernatural spirits -he believed the health of the body and mind depended on the balance of humors, or vital fluids, in the body: phlegm, black bile, blood, and yellow bile -an imbalance of humors, he thought, accounted for abnormal behavior -a lethargic or sluggish person was believed to have an excess of phlegm, from which we derive the word phlegmatic -an overabundance of black bile was believed to cause depression, or melancholia -an excess of blood created a sanguine disposition: cheerful confident, and optimistic -an excess of yellow bile made people bilious and choleric- quick tempered -he classified abnormal behavior patterns into three main categories, which still have equivalents today: melancholia to characterize excessive depression -mania to refer to exceptional excitement, and phrenitis to characterize the bizarre behavior that might today typify schizophrenia

phenotype

-the constellation of observable or expressed traits is called a phenotype -our phenotype represents the interaction of genetic and environmental influences -people who possess genotypes for particular psychological disorders have a genetic predisposition that makes them more likely to develop the disorders in response to stressful life events, physical or psychological trauma, or other environmental factors -the more closely people are related, the more genes they have in common -children receive half of their genes from each parent -thus there is a 50% overlap in genetic heritage between each parents and his or her offspring -siblings similarly share half their genes in common

the cerebral cortex

-the parts of the brain responsibel for higher metnal functioning such as though and the use of language are the two large masses of the ccerebrum called the right and left cerebral hemispheres -the outer layer or covering of each hemisphere is called the cerebral cortex -each hemisphere is divided into four parts, called lobes -the occipital lobe is primaryily involved in processing visual stimuli -the temporal lobe is involved in processing sounds or auditory stimuli -the parietal lobe is involved in processing sensations of touch, temperature, and pain -the sensory area of the parietal lobe receives messages from receptors in the skin all over the body -neurons in the motor area in the frontal lobes control muscle movements allowing us to walk and move our limbs -the prefrontal cortex regulates higher mental functions such as thinking problem solving and the use of language

the structure of personality

-the human personality is divided into three mental entities: the id, ego, and superego -the id is the original psychic structure, present at birth -it is the repository of our baser drives and instinctual impulses, including hunger, thirst, sex, and aggresion -the id which operates completely in the unconscious, follows the pleasure principle -it demands instant gratification of instincts without consideration of social rules or customs or the needs of others -during the first year of life, a child discovers that every demands is not instantly gratified -he or she must learn to cope with the delay of gratification -the ego develops during this first year to organize reasonable ways of coping with frustration -standing for reason and good sense the ego seeks to curb the demands of the id and to direct behavior in keeping with social customs and expectations -gratification can thus be achieved but not at the expense of social disapproval -the ego is governed by the reality principle -it considers what is practical and possible as well as the urgings of the id -the ego lays the groundwork for developing a conscious sense of ourselves as distinct individuals -during middle childhood the sueprego develops from the internalization of the moral standards and values of our parents and other key people in our lives -the superego serves as a conscience or internal moral guardian which monitors the ego and passes judgment on right and wrong -when it finds that the ego has failed to adhere to the superegos moral standards it metes out punishment in the form of guilt and shame -ego stands between the id and the superego -it endeavors to satisfy the cravings of the id without offending the moral standards of the superego

the naturalistic observation method

-the investigator observes behavior in the field, where it happens -naturalistic observation provides information on how people behave, but it does not reveal why they do so -it may reveal that men who frequent bars and drink often get into fights, but such observations do not show that alcohol causes aggression -questions of cause and effect are best approached by means of controlled experiments

single case experimental designs

-the lack of control available in the traditional case study method led researchers to develop more sophisticated methods, called single case experimental designs in which research participants serve as their own controls -one of the most common forms of the single case experimental design is the A-B-A-B design or reversal design -this method involves repeated measurement of behavior across four successive phases -the investigator looks for evidence that change in the observed behavior occurred coincident with treatment -if the problem behavior declines whenever treatment is introduced but returns to baseline levels during the reversal phase, the experimenter can be reasonably confident the treatment and the intended effect -no matter how well controlled the design or how impressive the results, single case designs suffer from weak external validity because they cannot show whether treatment that is effective for one person is effective for others -replication can help strengthen external validity, but results from controlled experiments on groups of individuals are needed to provide more convincing evidence of treatment effectiveness and generalizability -all scientists share a skeptical, hard nosed way of thinking called critical thinking -when thinking critically, scientists adopts a willingness to challenge the conventional wisdom that many take for granted -scientists maintain open minds and seek evidence to support or refute beliefs or claims rather than rely on feelings or gut impressions

central nervous system

-the lower part of the brain, or hindbrain, consists of the medulla, pons, and cerebellum -the medulla plas roles in vital life support functions, such as heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure -the pons transmits information about body movement and is involved in functions related to attention, sleep, and respiration -behind the pons is the cerebellum -the cerebellum regulates balance and motor behavior -injury to the cerebellum can impair ones ability to coordinate ones movements, causing stumbling and loss of muscle tone -the midbrain lies above the hindbrain and contains nerve pathways linking the hindbrain to the upper region of the brain called the forebrain -the reticular activating system starts in the hindbrain and rises through the midbrain into the lower part of the forebrain -the RAS is a weblike network of neurons that play important roles in regulating sleep, attention, and states of arousal -stimulation of the RAS heightens alertness -the large frontal area of the brain, called the forebrain includes structures such as the thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, and cerebrum -the thalamus relays sensory information to the higher regions of the brain -the thalamus in coordination with the RAS is also involved in regulating sleep and attention -the hypothalamus is a tiny pea sized structure located under the thalamus -despite its small size, the hypothalamus plays a key role in many vital bodily functions, including regulation of body temperature, concentration of fluids in the blood, and reproductive processes, as well as emotional and motivational states -by implanting electrodes in parts of the hypothalamus of animals and observing the effects when a current is switched on, researchers have found that the hypothalamus is involved in a range of motivational drives and behaviors including hunger, thirst, sex, parenting behaviors, and aggression -the hypothalamus and parts of the thalamus and other nearby interconnected structures together make up the brains limbic system -the limbic system plays important roles in emotional processing and memory -it also serves important functions for regulating more basic drives involving hunger, thirst, and aggression -the basal ganglia lie at the base of the forebrain and are involved in regulating postural movements and coordination -the cerebrum is the brains crowning glory -it is responsible for higher mental functions such as thinking and problem sovling, and also accounts for the delightfully rounded shape of the human head -the surface of the cerebrum is convoluated with ridges and valleys -this surface area is called the cerebral cortex -it is the thinking, planning, and executive center of the brain, as well as the seat of consciousness and the sense of self -investigators have found abnormalities in parts of the cerebral cortex and limbic system in patients with schizophrenia -the hypothalamus is implicated in certain types of sleep disorders and deterioration of the basal ganglia is associated iwth huntingtons disease- a degnerative disease that can lead to disturbances of mood, paranoia, and even dementia

the reform movement and moral therapy

-the modern era of treatment begins with the efforts of the frenchmen jean baptiste pussin and philippe pinel in the late 18th and early 19th centuries -they argued that people who behave abnormally suffer from diseases and should be treated humanely -pussin believed that if they were treated with kindness, there would be no need for chains -as he predicted, most of the shut ins were manageable and calm after their chains were removed -pinel also spent hours talking to inmates, in the belief that showing understanding and concern would help restore them to normal functioning -the philosophy of treatment that emerged from these efforts were labeled moral therapy -it was based on the belief that providing humane treatment in a relaxed and decent environment could restore functioning -benjamin rush advanced humane treatment by encouraging the staff of his philadelphia hospital to treat patients with kindness, respect, and understanding -he also favored the therapeutic use of occupational therapy, music, and travel -his hospital became the first in the united states to admit patients for psychological disorders

parts of the nervous system

-the nervous system consists of two major parts, the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system -the central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord, forming the body's master control unit responsible for controlling bodily functions and performing higher mental functions, such as sensation, perception, thinking, and problem solving -the peripheral nervous system is made up of nerves that receive and transmit sensory messages to the brain and spinal cord and transmit messages from the brain or spinal cord to the muscles, causing them to contract, and to glands, causing them to secrete hormones

the nervous system

-the nervous system is made up of neurons which are nerve cells that transmit signals or messages throughout the body -these messages allow us to sense an itch from a bug bite, coordinate our vision and muscles to ice skate, write a research paper, solve a math problem, and in the case of hallucinations, hear or see things that are not really there -every neuron has a cell body that contains the nucleus of the cell and metabolizes oxygen to carry out the work of the cell -short fibers called dendrites project from the cell body to receive messages from adjoining neurons -each neuron has an axon that projects trunklike from the cell body -axons can extend as long as several feet if they are conveying messages between the toes and the spinal cord -axons terminate in small branching structures aptly called terminals -some neurons are covered with a myelin sheath, an insulating layer that helps speed transmission of neural impulses -neurons convey messages from the dendrites or cell body along the axon to the axon terminals -these messages then are conveyed from the terminals to other neurons, muscles, or glands -neurons transmit messages to other neurons by means of chemical substances called neurotransmitters which induce chemical changes in receiving neurons -these changes cause axons to conduct the messages in electrical form -the connecting point between neurons is the synapse, which is a junction or small gap between a transmitting neuron and a receiving neuron -a message does not jump across the synapse like a spark -instead axon terminals release neurotransmitters into the cleft like myriad ships casting off into the sea -each kind of neurotransmitter has a distinctive chemical structure -each will fit into only one kind of harbor, or receptor site, on the receiving neuron -consider the analogy of a lock and key. only the right key operates the lock, causing the post synaptic neuron to forward the message -when released, some molecules of a neurotransmitter reach port at receptor sites of other neurons -loose neurotransmitters may be broken down in the synapse by enzymes, or may be reabsorbed by the axon terminal to prevent the receiving cell from continuing to fire -psychiatric drugs, including drugs used to treat anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, work by affecting the availability of neurotransmitters in the brain -irregularities in the workings of neurotransmitter systems in the brain play important roles in the development of these abnormal behavior patterns -ex. depression is linked to chemical imbalances in the brain involving irregularities in the functioning of several neurotransmitters, especially serotonin -serotonin is a key brain chemical involved in regulating moods, so it is not surprising that it plays a role in depression. two of the more widely used antidepressant drugs- prozac and zoloft- belong to a class of drugs that increase the availability of serotonin in the brain -serotonin is also linked to anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, and eating disorders -alzheimers disease, a brain disease in which there is a progressive loss of memory and cognitive functioning is associated with reductions in the levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain -irregularities involving the neurotransmitter dopamine are implicated in the development of schizophrenia -antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia apparently work by clocking dopamine receptors in the brain -although neurotransmitter systems are implicated in many psychological disorders, the precise causal mechanisms remain to be determined

controlling for subject expectancies

-to control for subject expectancies experimenters rely on procedures that render research participants blind or uninformed about the treatments they are receiving -ex. participants in a study designed to test an investigational medication for depression would be kept uninformed about whether they are receiving the actual drug or a placebo, an inert drug that physically resembles the active drug -placebo effects are generally strongest in studies of pain or negative emotional states, such as anxiety and depression perhaps because these complaints involve subjective experiences that may be influenced more by the power of suggestion than physiological factors measured by objective means such as blood pressure -recent studies showed that pain patients reported reduced levels of pain when they took a placebo, even though they were told they had received a placebo that had no medical value -placebos may produce biological effects similar to those of pain medications by blocking pain signals to the brain or leading to the release of endorphins, which are natural chemicals in the brain that have pain killing effects -placebo control groups are also used in psychotherapy research to control for subject expectancies -to control for placebo effects, experimenters sometimes use an attention placebo control group in which participatns are exposed to a believable or credible treatment that contains the nonspecific factors that all therapies share-such as the attention and emotional support of a therapist- but not the specific therapeutic ingredients represented in the active treatment -attention placebo treatments commonly substitute general discussions of participants problems for the specific ingredients of therapy contained in the experimental treatment -unfortunately although experimenters may keep attention placebo study participants blind as to whether they are receiving the experimental treatment, there therapists are generally aware of which treatment is being administered -therefore, the attention placebo method may not control for therapists expectations

fixation

-too little or too much gratification at any stage could lead to a fixation in that stage which leads to the development of personality traits characteristic of that stage

somatic nervous system

-transmits messages from our sensory organs to the brain for processing, leading to the experience of visual, auditory, tactile, and other sensations -commands emanating from the brain pass downward through the spinal cord to nerves of the somatic nervous system that connect to our muscles, allowing us to voluntarily control our movements, such as when raising an arm or walking

the structure of the mind

-we can liken freud's model of the mind to an iceberg with only the tip visible above the conscious awareness -freud called this region above the surface the conscious part of the mind -it is the part of the mind that corresponds to our present awareness -the larger part of the mind remains below the surface of consiousness -the regions that lie beneath the surface of awareness were labeled the preconscious and unconscious -in the preconscious are memories that are not in awareness but that can be brought into awareness by focusing on them -ex. your telephone number -the unconscious is the largest part of the mind and remains shrouded in mystery -its contents can be brought to awareness only with great difficulty, if at all -freud believed the unconscious is the repository of our basic biological impulses or drives, which e called instincts- primarily sexual and aggressive instincts

experimental and control groups

-well controlled experiments randomly assign research participants to experimental and control groups -the experimental group is given the experimental treatment, whereas the control group is not -care is taken to hold other conditions constant fro each group -by using random assignment and holding other conditions constant, experimenters can be reasonably confident that it was the experimental treatment and not uncontrolled factors such as room temperature or differences between the types of people in the experimental and control groups, that explains the experimental findings -differences between the groups might be due to an underlying selection factor rather than experimental manipulation -random assignment controls for selection factors by ensuring that subject characteristics are randomly distributed across both groups

conditional positive regard

-when parents show children conditional positive regard, accepting them only when they behave in the way the parents want them to behavie- the children may learn to disown all the thoughts feelings and behaviors their parents have rejected -children will learn to develop conditions of worth; that is they will think of themselves as worthwhile only if they behave in approved ways -we become anxious when we sense that our feelings and ideas are inconcsistent with the distorted concept we have of our ourselves that mirrors what others expect us to be -ex. if our parents expect us to be docile and obedient, but we sense ourselves becoming angry or defiant

parasympathetic nervous system

-when we relax, the parasympathetic branch decelerates the heart rate -the parasympathetic division is most active during processes that replenish energy reserves, such as digestion -because the sympathetic branch dominates when we are fearful or anxious, fear or anxiety can lead to indigestion: activation of the sympathetic nervous system interferes with parasympathetic control of digestive activity

the biological perspective

-wilhelm griesinger argued that abnormal behavior was rooted in diseases of the brain -paved the way for the modern medical model, which attempts to explain abnormal behavior on the basis of underlying biological defects or abnormalities, not evil spirits -according to the medical model, people behaving abnormally suffer from mental illnesses or disorders that can be classified, like physical illnesses, according to their distinctive causes and symptoms -kraepelin specified two main groups of mental disorders: dementia and praecox, which we now call schizophrenia and manic depressive insanity, which we now label bipolar disorder -kraepelin believed that dementia praecox is caused by a biochemical imbalance, and manic depressive psychosis by an abnormality in body metabolism -the medical model gained support in the late 19th century with the discovery that an advanced stage of syphilis led to a form of disturbed behavior called general paresis

criteria regarding abnormality or psychopathology

1. unusualness or statistical rarity 2. social deviance 3. maladaptive or self defeating behaviors 4. faulty perceptions or problems with reality orientation 5. significant personal distress 6. dangerousness (risk) -psychopathology refers to mental illness

ego psychology

posits that the ego has energy and motives of its own

survey method

relies on questionnaires or interviews -surveys are used to ascertain rates of occurrence of various disorders in the population as a whole and in various subgroups classified according to factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, or social class -rates of occurrence of a given disorder are expressed in terms of incidence, the number of new cases occurrence of during a specific period of time -prevalence the overall number of cases of a disorder existing in the population during a given period of time -prevalence rates then include both new and continuing cases

behavior therapy

systematic application of the principles of learning to the direct modification of a client's problem behaviors -relatively brief, typically lasting from a week to a few months -seek to develop warm therapeutic relationships with clients