Psych Final

Statistics

46% of Americans diagnosed, 29% have anxiety disorders, 21% mood disorders, 15% substance abuse disorder, 0.4% schizophrenia.

Developing LOC in Childhood

Internal: received rewards and punishments based on their behaviors, so believe that what happens to them is due to own behavior; had supportive parents, were often praised, value education, effort, responsibility. External: rewards and punishments intermittent and less directly related to behavior, correlates with inconsistent parenting and societal unrest. Generally becomes more internal throughout childhood because children gain control over lives as they develop.

Social Influence

Interpreting situations: situation influences how we understand other people - e.g. "On Being Sane in Insane Places" (Rosenthal 1973), a study in which psychologists were admitted to psych hospitals, immediately stopped displaying symptoms, but were still considered "insane." Also studies how labeling impacts people through the self-fulfilling prophesy, as well as stereotype threats, norms, and social roles.

Outcomes of LOC

Psychological outcomes: internal = better at coping with stress, feel personal life is meaningful, don't function well in situations where they don't have control; external = more anxiety, depression, addictions, but more successful at going through therapy (internal LOC increases). Health outcomes: internal = more likely to wear seatbelts, quit smoking, exercise, take medication; external = more likely to accept help from others, "good" patient.

Attribution Biases

Self-Serving Bias: blaming personal disposition for positive things that happen and situations for bad things that happen. Fundamental Attribution Error: attribute other people's behavior to their disposition; less likely to consider situational causes (e.g. homelessness).

Psychoanalytic Approach

Sigmund Freud: studies the development of personality. Structure: id (unconscious behavior, drives, seeking immediate gratification/pleasure (mainly in children), like devil on shoulder), superego (forms as you learn parental and social standards, sense of right and wrong, internalization of social norms (largely unconscious), like angel on other shoulder), and ego (balances demands of id, superego, and reality, is both preconscious and conscious, takes into account who people around you are and what situation you're in, comparable to you in between angel and devil). Reality principle: what is realistically possible to achieve and have no major moral lapses that will cause guilt; defer gratification; "reason" over "passion," develops as you age. Anna Freud's defense mechanisms: developed by ego as you age; defend against anxiety generated by unacceptable impulses from id; allow you to find ways to deny or distort reality so you can act out behavior in socially acceptable way or suppress it; unconscious: not aware of defense mechanisms; healthy, unless persistently used; include regression, projection, displacement, and sublimation.

Norms

a rule that implicitly or explicitly governs members of groups. Descriptive norms: perception of what is commonly done in a specific situation (how we think everyone behaves; e.g. drinking after 21). Injunctive norms: perception of what is commonly approved or disapproved of (how we should behave; e.g. drinking after 21). Case study: drop a flyer that's just been handed to you if you see others on the ground, but not if you don't.

Personality

a unique pattern of enduring psychological and behavioral characteristics by which a person can be compared with other people; shaped by complex forces (genetics, biology, learning, family relations, peer relations, culture, social roles, social norms).

Stereotype Threat

anxiety in situations where there is potential to confirm a negative stereotype about your own social group; beliefs about how others view you influence you (e.g. taking math test - when men and women were told that there was no gender difference in test results, they did equally well, but when they were told that there was a stereotype that men did better, women actually did worse); undermines confidence, over-think task, focus on suppressing negative feelings; reduced through reminders of in-group achievements and presence of other in-group members.

Critiques of DSM Model

arbitrary cut-off between "normal" and "abnormal"; even with standardized criteria, judgments of clinicians can be skewed by gender, race, class, culture; consciously or unconsciously; DSM model of labeling may lead to negative effects (self-fulfilling prophesy; problem is that you need a diagnosis for insurance coverage so people who can pay out of pocket have advantage of not being labeled); many authors have ties with pharmaceutical companies. Specific critiques: disruptive mood dysregulation = just temper tantrums; major depressive disorder = often just normal grief after trauma; adult ADD = encouraging psychiatric prescription of stimulants; autism spectrum = classifying "introversion" as form of autism; drug users in same category as drug addicts; behavior addictions = making a mental disorder of everything we like to do a lot (e.g. sex).

Psychopharmacology

assumption that disorders arise from abnormalities in bodily processes, so you have to treat physical body; techniques = alter brain's neurotransmitters, often combined with therapy. Examples - autism: psychotherapy better than psychopharmacology. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorders: psychopharmacology effective. Personality disorders: often no biological treatment. ADHD: debate between whether it's a biological disorder or behavior pattern that children grow out of; drug reduces "negative behaviors" such as verbal remarks, interruptions, conduct problems, non-compliance with adults but has side effects such as sleep problems, reduced appetite, stunted growth, removes feelings of control, less effective over time; medication often paired with behavioral therapy that reinforces positive behaviors and ignores negative ones, so patient can start with medication but phase it out with therapy.

Internal Locus of Control

belief that ambiguous events are caused by our own behavior, feel personally responsible for what happens to you.

External Locus of Control

belief that ambiguous events are under control of other people (doctors, teachers, politicians, God, luck, fate, etc.), feel that you have little control over life.

Mood Disorders: Theories

biological: genetic predisposition in depression/biological disorders; depression linked to neurotransmitters serotonin (we know this because of effectiveness of SSRIs), norepinephrine (fight or flight neurotransmitter - drugs that target this only work for people with depression, not depression and anxiety). Behavioral/learning: depression likely to occur after reduction in positive reinforcers from others, i.e. learned helplessness; lack of control over outcomes leads you to stop trying (seen in animal experiments - when you put an animal in a situation where they have no control, they will stop trying and continue to act helpless even when they gain control, like in the dog/shock experiment - studies like these also conducted in nursing homes by giving patients plants). Cognitive triad: think negatively about themselves, their situation, and their future - attribute bad outcomes to self - think in extremes.

Schizophrenia

comes from Greek "split mind" but is a misnomer (not same as having multiple personalities). Need two or more criteria for diagnosis: delusions (thoughts the person believes to be true, while having no basis in reality, e.g. persecution or grandeur), hallucinations (perceiving sensations that others don't), disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic (freezing or pausing) behaviors, negative symptoms (affective, i.e. emotional flattening, alogia, i.e. reduced speech, and avolition, i.e. can't follow daily patterns. Biological component: 1% of general population has disease, but percentage increases as you get closer in relation to a person with schizophrenia; 48% chance of risk with identical twins, but because 100% of twins don't both get illness, there must also be environmental cause. Explaining schizophrenia: biological = dopamine (reducing dopamine reduces symptoms), enlarged ventricles in brain, smaller temporal and frontal lobes, may be due to mother's illness during pregnancy; exposure to chronic stress = high risk lifestyle, low income, other stressors increase risk; quality of family communication and interactions - highly expressed emotion may encourage development of disorder; diathesis model: vulnerability (genetic predisposition, trauma, etc.) + stress = disorder.

Normal vs. Abnormal Behavior

defined by behaviors that follow criteria: violation of social norms (culturally dependent, time dependent; statistical infrequency), maladaptive: level of impairment, interferes with ability to function, personal distress, distress to others (danger to others, interferes with social interactions).

Cognitive: Rational-Emotive Theory

developed by Albert Ellis, who believed that we are not effected by things, but by our ideas of things; ABC model: activating event = irrational beliefs = consequences (e.g. depression). Techniques = challenge beliefs like cross examiner and discover problematic beliefs/point them out to client; use homework such as journaling and meditation.

Client-Centered Therapy

developed by Carl Rogers (humanist); goal = allow people to fulfill their potential and lead their own recovery; techniques = reflective listening/mirroring, empathy, unconditional positive regard, doesn't give advice or analysis, focuses on potential of client, not negative aspects/mistakes.

Psychodynamic Therapy

developed by Freud; goal = bring unconscious impulses, conflicts, and memories into awareness to gain insight; now less time consuming than it was previously; techniques = free association (relax and freely express what comes to mind) and focus on relationship between client and therapist (resistance or transference - indication of emotions/conflicts client has with another person in their life).

The DSM Model

diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders; classifications - lists specific, concrete criteria for diagnosis; must have certain number of symptoms for diagnosis, psychologists' ability to describe behavior more advanced than understanding causes; DSM does not address causes of mental illnesses.

Panic Attacks

discrete period of intense fear or discomfort that usually peaks at 10 minutes; physical symptoms = racing heart, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath; psychological symptoms = depersonalization (detached from self), fear of dying, fear of losing control/going crazy.

Dissociative Disorders

dissociation: to break or pull apart; extremely rare disorder, though mild dissociative experiences common (like forgetting what you're doing). Dissociative identity disorder: existence of 2 or more separate personalities in same individual; may not be known to "host" personality; frequent blackouts/amnesia; almost always caused by chronic childhood physical/sexual abuse or other trauma. Controversial disorder: many claim it's a form of PTSD, due to therapist's suggestion, or used as "excuse" in something like murder trial.

Extraversion: Arousal and RAS

extraverts: less responsive when stimulated; lower base level (seek stimulation). Introverts: more responsive, higher base level (avoid stimulation), lower pain tolerance (tested by asking people to put arm in bucket of ice; also produce more saliva when drinking lemon juice).

Regression

falling back into early state of mental/physical development seen as "less demanding and safer" (reverting to acting like a child).

Anxiety Disorders

four components - physical = activation of sympathetic nervous system and hormonal system (fight or flight), cognitive = unrealistic thoughts (exaggerated danger, fear of losing control, paranoia), emotional = terror, panic, irritability, behavioral = coping (freezing, aggression). Two examples are panic attacks and OCD.

Behavioral Therapies

goal = focuses on modifying problematic behavior, not where psychological disorder comes form; asks what the triggering stimulus is (based on associations/classical conditioning) and what the reinforcing behavior is (based on operant conditioning).

Cognitive Therapy

goal = remove irrational beliefs, negative thoughts, and interpretations of events; people are responsible for their mental health problems; unrealistic thoughts lead to negative view of world.

Self-Fulfilling Prophesy

how labeling impacts a person - our expectations foster the behavior that makes them come true. Works in triangle: perceiver's expectations to perceiver's behavior toward the target to target's behavior toward the perceiver back to perceiver's expectations. Can also have to do with people's expectations about themselves (e.g. think you don't like physics = don't study = don't do well in class = have an even worse opinion about physics).

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

obsessions alone or along with compulsions that cause marked distress/impairment of functioning. Obsessions: persistent, intrusive thoughts, images, or ideas. Compulsions: repetitive behaviors or mental acts; way of reducing stress/anxiety caused by obsessive thought; attempt to prevent obsession or fear form occurring in an unrealistic way.

How to Make Someone Like You

live nearby: friendships determined by physical and functional proximity; physical = next door/on the floor of building; functional = likely that you'll see each other (e.g. gym or living near stairwell); based on evolutionary/survival tactics (familiar things are likely to be more "safe"). Exposure effect: repeated exposure leads to feelings of familiarity; the more we are exposed to a stimulus, the more we come to like it (e.g. brand names, candidates, people nearby). Left image is what everyone else think looks "normal," right image is what you think looks normal. Reward theory of attraction (behaviorism): we like people who offer us more rewards than costs; associate good feelings with those nearby; can also be seen as classical conditioning. Ben Franklin effect: someone will like you more after they've helped you out because of cognitive dissonance (we don't like when our attitudes/behaviors don't match up, so we will change attitudes to match behaviors, relieving dissonance). Physical appearance: "beautiful is good" stereotype: attractive people assumed to have other positive characteristics (strong in media/fairytales); effects of physical attractiveness widespread (found in adults, babies, and children); leads to bias in judging essays, jury decisions, election success, salaries; in sexually risky behavior, less likely to request condoms with more attractive partner; physical attractiveness not static (depends on contrast effects, in which people we know seem less attractive when media is full of unrealistically good-looking people, and personality, including familiarity, liking, respect, talent, effort); attractive females = "baby-faced," likeable, large eyes, small nose, round face, high forehead, small chin; attractive males = mature, competent, lower forehead, smaller eyes, strong jaw/chin.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

most common combination of therapy today; relatively short-term and effective; symptom-focused and action-oriented (selecting specific strategies to help address problems); common for anxiety and depression; techniques = learn new attribution styles (attributing events to reasons), perform behavior homework (e.g. make yourself get up at certain time each morning), self-monitoring (writing in journal to notice problematic behaviors and thoughts/learn triggers and reinforcers).

Social Roles

patterns of behavior expected of people in a social position: each includes some freedoms and obligations; explains why the same person acts differently across situations. Stanford Prison Study (1971): studied influence of social roles in prison setting; half students assigned as prisoners, half as guards; had to stop within a few days because students got too involved (guards tyrannical/aggressive/sadistic, prisoners weak). The Experiment (2002): retested Stanford study but demonstrated weaker influence of social roles; guards uncomfortable with power/ineffective, prisoners unified; moral = social roles/the situation may not be as powerful as believed in terms of behavior.

Agreeableness: Environmental/Social Influences on Personality

people are higher in agreeableness in Midwest/West; small communities = know neighbors and taught to help, urban communities = less knowledge about people and taught to avoid/stay safe.

Illusory Superiority Bias

people overestimate positive qualities/abilities and underestimate negative qualities, related to others. Functional because helps maintain self-esteem; depressed individuals more accurate about own abilities. Selective comparison: in response to vague questions, we compare ourselves to "bad" others.

Drug Addiction

persistence of drug use despite aversive consequences. Brain disease model: assumption that someone who's an addict is always an addict and has no control over drug use or relapse; only solution is to completely remove drug/related environment entirely; drug abuse significantly changes reward system in brain; develop a tolerance; leads to cognitive problems; genetic predisposition to addiction. Choice model: assumption that addiction involves behaviors that can be altered; cravings are one of several factors that influence behavior; solution is to make drug use less rewarding; believe that all behaviors alter brain and that people respond to social influence/rewards/punishments, so behavior can change; genetic or social predisposition, but not predestination.

Big Five Traits and Heritability

personality has genetic component to an extent; in researching identical vs. fraternal twins, identical had more similar personality traits.

Psychotherapy Effectiveness

psychotherapy questioned by Hans Eysenck in 1952, as he believed that therapy makes people worse and conducted empirical research/found that symptoms only reduced for 40% of psychoanalytic patients. General modern-day conclusion = people have more improvement with therapy than without, but no particular therapy is more effective than another; therapy gives hope, new way of thinking, caring listener. Certain therapies better for certain disorders; push for evidence-based psychotherapy.

Bipolar Depressive Disorder

shift between depression and mania, which is a distinct period of elevated or irritable mood lasting at least 1 week and includes feelings of inflated self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, talkative, racing thoughts, distractibility, increased goal-directed activity, excessive involvement in pleasurable activities with high chance of painful consequences. Treatment focuses on reducing manic episodes, which leads people to not take medication because manic state feels good. Depressive phase easier to recognize; often unnoticed when someone has manic episode because our culture views these attributes as positive.

Sublimation

shift sexual or aggressive impulses to a socially acceptable behavior - considered a positive defense mechanism (e.g. playing rugby when overly aggressive).

Displacement

shifts sexual or aggressive impulses to a more acceptable/less threatening target - redirecting emotion to safer outlet (e.g. kicking wall when you're mad at boss).

Depressive Disorders

symptoms: significant change in one's emotional state, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, sleep and appetite changes, self-reproach. Major depression: symptoms occur for at least 2 weeks and interfere with daily functioning; symptoms exist even in absence of triggering events.

Social Psychology

the study of how people think, influence, and relate to each other. Includes social thinking (how we perceive ourselves and others, what we believe, judgments we make, and our attitudes), social influence (culture, pressures to conform, persuasion, groups of people), and social relations (prejudice, aggression, attraction and intimacy, helping).

Trait Approach

thousands of terms used to describe people's personality traits; looking for patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion; relatively stable and predictable over time/across situations; focuses on describing individual differences and outcomes they predict; less focus on how they develop. Five-factor model: Openness (original, independent, creative, fantasy, imaginative), conscientiousness (careful, reliable, hardworking, organized, doesn't mean they're thoughtful of others' feelings), extraversion (sociable, excitement-seeking, assertive, express positive emotions), agreeableness (good-natured, trusting, courteous, affectionate), neuroticism (anxious, depressed, hostile, impulsive).

Self-Monitoring

whether or not you have control over your behavior in social situations. High self-monitors: adjust behavior in response to external social situations, tactful and adaptable but may act in ways or express attitudes they don't truly believe in, tend to have different groups of friends for different activities, respond to image-oriented advertising. Low Self-Monitors: internally guided, don't tend to adjust behavior to match situation, honest and straightforward but also rigid and stubborn, tend to have same strong group of friends, respond to quality-oriented advertising.

Projection

you accuse someone else of having your socially unacceptable thoughts (unconscious) because you don't want to acknowledge your own thoughts.