AP Psychology Unit 8 Study Guide
Discuss the prevalence of psychological disorders, and summarize the findings on the link between poverty and serious psychological disorders.
-26% of adult Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year -Lowest rate of reported mental disorders was in Shanghai; highest rate in the United States -Immigrant Paradox: immigrants to the U.S. from Mexico, Africa, and Asia average better mental health than their native U.S. counterparts; Mexican-Americans are at a greater risk of a mental disorder than are Mexicans -Poverty is a predictor of mental disorders -Disorders usually strike by early adulthood
Explain how anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder demonstrate the influence of psychological and genetic forces.
-Anorexia Nervosa: an eating disorder in which a person maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight -Bulimia Nervosa: an eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating with purging, excessive exercise, or fasting -Binge-Eating Disorder: significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging or fasting that marks bulimia nervosa
Identify the different anxiety disorders.
-Anxiety Disorders: psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety -Generalized Anxiety Disorder: a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal -Panic Disorder: unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a possible next attack -Phobias: persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation -Social Anxiety Disorder: intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of such -Agoraphobia: fear or avoidance of situations where one has felt loss of control and panic
Discuss the controversy over the diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
-Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity -Skeptics think that being distractible, fidgety, and impulsive sounds like a "disorder" caused by the Y chromosome -Skeptics think that ADHD is overdiagnosed because of the energetic child and boring school combination -Skeptics think that the label is being applied to healthy schoolchildren who are perfectly normal in a more natural outdoor environment -Kids who are "a persistent pain in the neck in school" are often diagnosed with ADHD and given prescription drugs -More frequent diagnoses of ADHD reflect increased awareness of the disorder
State the main premise of therapy based on operant conditioning principles, and describe the views of its proponents and critics.
-Behavior Modification: reinforcing desired behaviors and withholding reinforcement for undesired behaviors -Token Economy: an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats -Criticisms: 1) How durable are the behaviors? 2) Is it right for one human to control another's behaviors?
Explain how the basic assumption of behavior therapy differs from those of psychodynamic and humanistic therapies, and describe the techniques used in exposure therapies and aversive conditioning.
-Behavior Therapy: therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors -Counterconditioning: behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors -Exposure Therapies: behavioral techniques that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imagination or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid -Systematic Desensitization: a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant, relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli; commonly used to treat phobias -Virtual Reality Exposure: an anxiety treatment that progressively exposes people to electronic simulations of their greatest fears -Aversive Conditioning: a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior
Discuss whether psychotherapy works as interpreted by clients, clinicians, and outcome research.
-Clients' perception strongly affirms the effectiveness of psychotherapy -Client testimonials do not persuade psychotherapy's skeptics because: 1) People often enter therapy in crisis 2) Clients may need to believe the therapy was worth the effort 3) Clients generally speak kindly of their therapists -Clinicians' perception also justifies entering psychotherapy by emphasizing their unhappiness and justifying leaving by emphasizing their well-being -Meta-Analysis: a procedure of outcome research for statistically combining the results of many different research studies -Those not undergoing therapy often improve, but those undergoing therapy are more likely to improve more quickly, and with less risk of relapse -Placebo Effect: the power of belief in a treatment -Regression Toward the Mean: the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average
Discuss the goals and techniques of cognitive therapy and of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
-Cognitive Therapy: therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions -Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): a confrontational therapy, developed by Albert Ellis, that vigorously challenges people's illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions -Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)
Describe how and why clinicians classify psychological disorders.
-Diagnostic classification aims to describe a disorder and predict its future course, imply appropriate treatment, and stimulate research into its causes -Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5): widely used system for classifying psychological disorders; published by the American Psychiatric Association
Describe dissociative disorders, and discuss why they are controversial.
-Dissociative Disorders: disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separates (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings -Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID): a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities -Skeptics questions whether DID is a genuine disorder or an extension of our normal capacity for personality shifts -DID could be a cultural phenomenon--a disorder created by therapists in a particular social context -Supporters point to the distinct brain and body states associated with differing personalities
Describe the use of brain stimulation techniques and psychosurgery in treating specific disorders.
-Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient; effective treatment for severe depression in "treatment-resistant" patients -Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS): the application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity -Psychosurgery: surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior -Lobotomy: a psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients; the procedure cut the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain
Discuss how alternative therapies fare under scientific scrutiny.
-Eye movement desensitization and processing (EMDR) is adored as a sham -Morning bright light does dim depression symptoms and is as effective as taking antidepressants or undergoing cognitive-behavioral therapy
Discuss the aims and benefits of group and family therapy.
-Group Therapy: therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, permitting therapeutic benefits from group interaction -Benefits of Group Therapy: 1) Saves therapist' time and clients' money 2) Offers a social laboratory for exploring social behaviors and developing skills 3) Enables people to see that others share their problems 4) Provides feedback as clients try out new ways of behaving -Family Therapy: therapy that treats the family as a system; views an individual's unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or direct at, other family members
Describe the three elements shared by all forms of psychotherapy.
-Hope for demoralized people -A new perspective -An empathic, trusting, caring relationship -Therapeutic Alliance: a bond of trust and mutual understanding between a therapist and client, who work together constructively to overcome the client's problem
Identify the basic themes of humanistic therapy, and describe the specific goals and techniques of Rogers' client-centered approach.
-Insight Therapies: a variety of therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing a person's awareness of underlying motives and defenses -Humanistic therapy aims to boost people's self-fulfillment by helping them grow in self-awareness and self-acceptance -Promoting this growth, not curing illness, is the focus of therapy -The path to growth is taking immediate responsibility for one's feelings and actions, rather than uncovering hidden determinants -Conscious thoughts are more important than the unconscious -The present and future are more important than the past -Client-Centered Therapy: a humanistic therapy in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to facilitate clients' growth; developed by Carl Rogers -Active Listening: empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies; a feature of Rogers' client-centered therapy -Unconditional Positive Regard: a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance -To Listen More Actively: 1) Paraphrase 2) Invite Clarification 3) Reflect Feelings
Explain why some psychologists criticize the use of diagnostic labels.
-Labels create preconceptions that guide our perceptions and our interpretations -Too often people with disorders are portrayed as objects of humor or ridicule -Labels can serve as self-fulfilling prophecies
Describe how the biological and social-cognitive perspectives explain mood disorders.
-Many behavioral and cognitive changes accompany depression -Depression is widespread -Women's risk of major depression is nearly double men's-->women are more vulnerable to internalized disorders while men tend to exhibit external disorders -Most major depressive episodes self-terminate -Stressful events related to work, marriage, and close relationships often precede depression -With each new generation, depression is striking earlier and affecting more people, with the highest rates in developed countries among young adults -Genetic Influences: major depression has a heritability of 37% -Linkage Analysis: points researchers to a chromosome neighborhood that affects disorders -The Depressed Brain: diminished brain activity during depressive states and more activity during mania; left frontal lobe=positive emotions; norepinephrine and serotonin are scarce during depression and overabundant during mania -Self-defeating beliefs and negative explanatory style feed depression's vicious cycle -Rumination: compulsive fretting; overthinking about our problems and their causes -Depressed people tend to explain bad events in terms that are stable, global, and internal
Contrast the medical model with the biopsychosocial approach to psychological disorders.
-Medical Model: the concept that diseases/psychological disorders have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and cured often through treatment in a hospital -Mental Health Movement: a mental illness (psychopathology) needs to be diagnosed on the basis of its symptoms and treated through therapy, which may include time in a psychiatric hospital -Biopsychosocial Approach: assessing genetic predispositions and physiological states, inner psychological dynamics, and social and cultural circumstances; mind and body are inseparable
Contrast the three clusters of personality disorders, and describe the behaviors and brain activity that characterize the antisocial personality.
-Personality Disorders: psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning -3 Clusters: 1) Anxiety--> avoidant personality disorder 2) Eccentric/Odd Behaviors-->schizoid personality disorder 3) Dramatic or Impulsive Behaviors-->histrionic and narcissistic personality disorder -Antisocial Personality Disorder: a personality disorder in which a person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist
Contrast chronic and acute schizophrenia.
-Positive Symptoms: presence of inappropriate behaviors, such as experiencing hallucinations, talking in disorganized and deluded ways, exhibiting inappropriate laughter, tears, or rage -Negative Symptoms: absence of appropriate behaviors, such as having toneless voices, expressionless faces, or mute and rigid bodies -Chronic/Process Schizophrenia: when schizophrenia is a slow-developing process; recovery is doubtful; usually exhibit negative symptoms -Acute/Reactive Schizophrenia: when previously well-adjusted people develop schizophrenia rapidly; recovery is much more likely; usually exhibit positive symptoms
Describe posttraumatic stress disorder.
-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience -Some PTSD symptoms may be genetically predisposed -Posttraumatic Growth: positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises
Discuss the goals and techniques of psychoanalysis, and describe how they have been adapted in psychodynamic therapy.
-Psychoanalysis: Freud's therapeutic technique; believed the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams, an transferences along with the therapist's interpretations of them released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight -Resistance: the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material -Interpretation: the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight -Transference: the patient's transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships -Psychodynamic Therapy: therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition that views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and that seeks to enhance self-insight
Describe which psychotherapies are most effective for specific disorders.
-Psychodynamic therapy has helped treat depression and anxiety -Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective in coping with anxiety, PTSD, and depression -Therapy is most effective when the problem is clear-cut -Evidence-Based Practice: clinical decision making that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise and patient characteristics and preferences
Discuss how we draw the line between normality and disorder.
-Psychological Disorder: a syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior -Disturbed or dysfunctional behaviors are maladaptive (interfere with normal day-to-day life)
Identify and describe the drug therapies, and explain how double-blind studies help researchers evaluate a drug's effectiveness.
-Psychopharmacology: the study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior -Antipsychotic Drugs: drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder -Antianxiety Drugs: drugs used to control anxiety and agitation -Antidepressants: drugs used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD; several are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Discuss how psychotherapy, biomedical therapy, and an eclectic approach to therapy differ.
-Psychotherapy: treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth -Biomedical Therapy: prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on the person's physiology -Eclectic Approach: an approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the client's problems, uses techniques from various forms of therapy
Explain the rationale of preventive mental health programs.
-Resilience: the personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma -Preventive Mental Health: seeks to prevent psychological casualties by identifying and alleviating the conditions that cause them
Discuss the evidence for genetic influences on schizophrenia, and describe some factors that may be early warning signs of schizophrenia in children.
-Schizophrenia is influenced by many genes, each with very small effects -Possible Early Warning Signs: 1) a mother whose schizophrenia was severe and long-lasting 2) birth complications, often involving oxygen deprivation and low birth weight 3) separation from parents 4) short attention span and poor muscle coordination 5) disruptive or withdrawn behavior 6) emotional unpredictability 7) poor peer relations and solo play
Describe the patterns of thinking, perceiving, and feeling that characterize schizophrenia.
-Schizophrenia: a psychological disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished or inappropriate emotional expression -Psychosis: a psychological disorder in which a person loses contact with reality, experiencing irrational ideas and distorted perceptions -Delusions: false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders -Hallucinations; false sensory experiences; external stimulus is absent
Describe somatic symptoms and related disorders.
-Somatic Symptom Disorder: a psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause -Conversion/Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder: a disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found -Illness Anxiety Disorder/Hypochondriasis: a disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease
Identify some guidelines for selecting a therapist.
-When should you seek a mental health professional's help? 1) feelings of hopelessness 2) deep and lasting depression 3) self-destructive behavior 4) disruptive fears 5) sudden mood shifts 6) thoughts of suicide 7) compulsive rituals 8) hearing voices or seeing things that others don't experience
Discuss the factors that affect suicide and self-injury, and identify important warning signs to watch for in suicide-prevention efforts.
-Whites are more likely than Blacks to commit suicide -Suicide rates increase in late adulthood and peak in middle age -Suicide rates are much higher among the rich, the nonreligious, and those who are single/widowed/divorced -The risk of suicide is at least five times greater for those who have been depressed -Women are more like to attempt suicide while men are more likely to actually end their lives -Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI): cutting, burning, hurting oneself, etc.; typically suicide gesturers not suicide attempters
Describe how, by taking care of themselves with a healthy lifestyle, people might find some relief from depression, and explain how this reflects our being biopsychosocial systems.
-changes include managing sleep time, spending more time outdoors, getting more exercise, and developing more social connections
Discuss how brain abnormalities and viral infections help explain schizophrenia.
-excess of receptors for dopamine, intensifying brain signals and creating positive symptoms -abnormally low brain activity in the frontal lobes -out of sync neurons disrupt neural networks -enlarged ventricles (fluid-filled areas) -schizophrenia is linked to problems with several brain regions, such as the cortex, corpus callosum, and thalamus -maternal virus during midpregnancy-->viral infection impairs fetal brain development
Discuss how culture, gender, and values influence the therapist-client relationship.
Better relationships are formed when the client and therapist share the same culture, religion, or values
Describe how the learning and biological perspectives explain anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD.
Learning Perspective: -Classical and Operant Conditioning: stimulus generalization and reinforcement maintain phobias and compulsions once they arise -Observational Learning: observing others' fears -Cognition: our interpretations and irrational beliefs can also cause feelings of anxiety Biological Perspective: -Natural Selection: those fearless about threats were less likely to survive and leave descendants -Genes: some people have genes that make them fragile, while others have genes that make them hardy; genes can also influence disorders by regulating neurotransmitters -Brain: brain scans reveal abnormal levels of activity in different regions in those affected with different disorders
Define mood disorders, and contrast major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.
Mood Disorders: psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes -Anxiety : response to the threat of future loss -Depressed Mood: response to past and current loss -Major Depressive Disorder: a mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or another medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must either be (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure -Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia): a mildly depressed mood more often than not for at least two years -Mania: a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state -Bipolar Disorder: a mood disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania
Describe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)
