1
Q
Abnormal behavior:
A
a psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected.
2
Q
Psychological dysfunction
A
a breakdown in cognitive, behavioral and or emotional functioning
3
Q
Example of Cognitive Dysfunction
A
having trouble focusing, cant get things out of your head, cant make decisions
4
Q
Example of Behavioral Dysfunction
A
someone in withdrawing from typical activities
5
Q
Example of Emotional Dysfunction
A
inability to regulate emotions, extreme feelings
6
Q
Personal distress or impairment:
A
occurs when a person is much more distressed than others might be under similar circumstances.
7
Q
Impairment
A
must be pervassive and/ or significant
Mental disorders are often exaggerations of normal processes (eg extreme shyness/ sadness)
8
Q
Atypical or not culturally expected
A
deviating from average DOES NOT WORK
9
Q
Psychopathology
A
the scientific study of psychological dysfunction.
10
Q
Scientist-practitioner model
A
practice (treatment delivery) and research mutually influence each other
- Stays current with research in field
- Evaluates own assessment and treatment
- Conducts research
11
Q
Prominent Traditions in abnormal psych
A
major psychological disorders have existed across time and culture
- perceived causes and treatment of abnormal behavior varied widely
- three dominant traditions have existed in the past to explain abnormal behavior
12
Q
Three dominant traditions have existed in the past to explain abnormal behavior
A
o supernatural
o biological
o psychological
13
Q
Three dominant traditions have existed in the past to explain abnormal behavior
(Supernatural)
A
• demonic possession and evil spirits
o treatment included exorcism, torture, and shocking/scaring out spirits
• moon and stars
14
Q
Three dominant traditions have existed in the past to explain abnormal behavior
(Biological)
A
• Hippocrates (460-377 BC)
• Linked abnormality with the function of the brain
o Foreshadowed modern views
15
Q
Humoral theory of disorders:
A
BY: Galen
functioning is related to having too much or too little of four key bodily fluids (humors)
• Blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile
o Example: depression caused too much black vile
o Treated by changing environmental conditions (reducing heat) or bloodletting/vomiting
16
Q
Moral therapy:
A
with humane, people will recover from mental illness.
Main idea: treat patients as normally as possible in a normal environment
17
Q
Dorothea Dix and the state hospital movement
A
- Led state hospital movement in U.S
- Asylum reform: more patients getting care
- Moral therapy declined because more difficult with large groups of patients
• Soon followed by
emergence of competing alternative psychological models
18
Q
Psychoanalytic theory
• Sigmund Freud
A
o Psychoanalytic model sought to explain development and personality
o Influence of unconscious on development of psychological problems
• Techniques include free association and dream analysis
19
Q
Catharsis:
A
recall/receive emotional trauma and release accompanying tension
20
Q
Psychoanalytic theory
• Contributions:
A
o Recognizes the relationship between therapist and clinical: therapeutic alliance
o Recognizes importance of early development and its connection with later life events
21
Q
Defense mechanisms:
A
things people do to cope with anxiety
22
Q
Self- actualizing:
A
With the freedom to grow, humans can reach their full potential
23
Q
Person-centered theory
A
ii. Empathy and unconditional positive regard
iii. Minimal therapist interpretation
iv. No strong evidence that purely humanistic therapies work to treat mental disorders- more effective for people dealing with normal stress, not suffering from psychopathology
by: Carl Rodgers
24
Q
Behaviorism
A
Involuntary behavior (ex fear)
People learn associations between neutral stimuli and stimuli that already have meaning
25
“Little Albert” experiment
Could make him scared of things and make him un-scared of things
26
Classical conditioning was by...
(Pavlov; Watson)
27
Operant Conditioning was by...
(Thorndike; Skinner)
28
Operant Conditioning:
Behavior operates on an environment and is managed by consequences (rewards and punishments)
29
Behavior Therapy
• Focus on creating new associations by practicing new behavioral habits, and/or reinforcing useful behaviors with positive consequences
Ex: treating anxiety and fear
30
Systematic desensitization:
Individuals gradually exposed to fears while practicing relaxation exercises
31
3 dimensions for the causes of abnormality
o biological
o psychological
o sociocultural
32
social scientists use the term ___________ to characterize the interaction among the 3 dimensions
bio-psychosocial
33
Biological Causes of abnormality
o genetics
o neurobiological factors
• ex: neurotransmitters, brain structure/ function
34
Sociocultural Causes of abnormality
Immediate circle of people with whom we interact with most locally
Extend circle of relationships such as family back home or friends from high school
35
Psychological Causes of abnormality
o Past learning experiences
o Maladaptive thought patters
o Difficulties coping with others
36
Stigma:
a label that causes certain people to be regarded as different, defective, and set apart from mainstream members of society
37
THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE OF MENTAL ILLNESS
| Impact on the family
1. Affected by loved ones’ distress
a. Concern for safety and
well-being
b. Questioning of their role
in the illness
2. Adequate resources
3. Disparities in access to and use of mental health services
4. Cost- 1.3 billion missed days of productivity
38
One-dimensional models:
Explain behavior in terms of a simple causes
Could mean a paradigm, school, or conceptual approach
Tend to ignore information from other areas
39
Multidimensional models:
Interdisciplinary, eclectic, and integrative
“System” of influences that cause and maintain suffering
Draw upon information from several sources
Abnormal behavior results from multiple influences
40
A multidimensional, comprehensive approach puts us in the best position to:
Understand the causes of psychopathology
Alleviate and prevent psychopathology
41
General conclusions about the role of genes and psychological disorders
1. Development and behavior is almost always polygenetic - influenced by many genes.
2. Genetic contributions interact with environmental factors that may trigger genetic vulnerability or “turn on” specific genes
42
Models for understanding the interaction of genes and the environment:
1. Diathesis-stress model
| 2. Gene-environment correlation model
43
Diathesis-stress model
disorders are the result of underlying risk factors combining with life stressors that cause a disorder to emerge.
44
Gene-environment correlation model
genetics may increase the probability that an individual will experience stressful life events.
45
Neuroscience:
the role of the nervous system in disease and behavior
46
Limbic system:
1. Helps to regulate emotional experiences and expression
| 2. Some involvement in learning to control impulses
47
Basal ganglia:
Thought to particularly control motor activity
48
Cerebral cortex:
Contains 2 specialized, but interconnected, hemispheres (left and right)
“distinctly human”
49
Frontal lobe/prefrontal cortex:
1. Thinking and reasoning abilities
2. Memory
3. Synthesizes info from other areas of the brain and decides on a response
50
Neurotransmitters:
chemical messenger that carries, boosts, and modulates signals between brain/ nerve cells and other cells in the body.
51
Serotonin:
1. Natural mood stabilizer
| 2. Helps with sleeping, eating, and digesting
52
Glutamate:
1. “chemical brother” with GABA
| 2. Main excitatory NT – turns on neurons, leading to action
53
Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA
1. Inhibitory NT
2. GABA system reduces levels of anger, hostility, aggression, and positive emotional states (eager, anticipation)
3. Influential in anxiety disorders
54
Benzos:
Make it easier for GABA to bind to neurotransmitters associated with anxiety disorders i.e. Xanax
55
Dopamine
1. Dopamine and serotonin influence many of the same behaviors (outgoing vs inhibited) – “balance” each other out
56
Early views of classical conditioning:
simple associations are learned between two things that tend to occur together
57
Later research of classical conditioning highlights:
the influence of higher-order cognitive processes
58
Learned helplessness:
humans encounter situations over which they have no control (or perceive that they have no control).
59
EMOTIONS
is an action tendency
behave a certain way
elicited by an external event and a feeling state
accompanied by a characteristic physiological response
60
Components of emotion:
1. Behavior
2. Physiology
3. Cognition
61
Components of emotion
| Behavior:
1. Basic patterns of emotional behavior that differ in fundamental ways
2. Emotional behavior is a means of communication
62
Components of emotion
| Physiology:
Emotion is a brain function involving the more primitive brain areas
Direct connection between these areas of the eyes may allow emotional processing to bypass the influence of higher cognitive processes
63
Components of emotion
| Cognition:
Appraisals, attributions, and other ways of processing the world around you that are fundamental to emotional experience
64
Emotions and psychopathology
Dysregulated emotions are key features of many mental disorders
65
Panic:
fear occurring at the wrong time
66
Mania:
overly excited and joyful
67
Depression:
extreme sadness and distress
68
Risk factors:
variables that precede a negative outcome and increase the chances that the outcome will occur
69
Resilience:
a relatively positive outcome in the face of significant adversity or traumatic experiences.
70
Multifinality:
various outcomes may result from similar beginnings.
```
Example: early childhood maltreatment
• Eating disorder
• Mood disorder
• Conduct disorder
• Normal adjustment
```
71
Equifinality:
similar outcomes result from different early experiences.
| Equal outcomes
72
Cultural views of mental illness may influence
1. The form and expression of behavior
2. Proposed caused for psychological patterns
3. Treatment options
73
Culture-bound syndromes:
Some problems are unique to a specific group/culture
Example: susto (Latin America) – symptoms of anxiety occurring when an individual believes they have been struck by black magic
74
Men and women may differ in emotional experience and expression, leading to:
Different manifestations of psychological problems
Different methods for dealing with problems
May be related to gender roles
75
Social support
Low social support related to mortality, disease, and psychopathology
Social support especially important in the elderly
76
A multidimensional, comprehensive approach puts us in the best position to:
Understand the causes of psychopathology
Alleviate and prevent psychopathology
77
Assessment:
procedure in which a clinician evaluates a person in terms of the psychological, physical and social factors that influence the individual’s functioning.
78
Characteristics of evidence-based assessment:
1. Reliance on research
2. Psychometrically strong measures
3. Using methods appropriate to the purpose of the assessment
79
Characteristics of evidence-based assessment
| Reliance on research
Understanding of what constitutes normal/ abnormal development (have to know what we’re looking for)
80
Characteristics of evidence-based assessment
| Psychometrically strong measures
Reliability not validity
81
Characteristics of evidence-based assessment
| Using methods appropriate to the purpose of the assessment
Related to goals of assessment; proving useful information about client
82
Unstructured Interview:
Involves a series of open-ended questions
Info sought out:
a. Reasons for seeking treatment
b. Symptoms
c. Health Status
d. Family Background
e. Developmental History
83
Structured Interview:
STANDARDIZED SERIES OF QUESTIONS WITH PREDETERMINED WORDING AND ORDER
84
Mental Status Exam:
assess a client’s behavior and functioning, with particular attention to the symptoms associated with psychological disturbance
85
Mental Status Exam looks at:
1. Appearance and Behavior
2. Thought Process
3. Mood and Affect
4. Intellectual Functioning
5. Orientation (Sensorium)
86
Mental Status Exam looks at
| Appearance and Behavior
a. Overt behavior
b. Attire
c. Appearance, good hygiene, posture, expressions
87
Mental Status Exam looks at:
| Thought Process
```
a.Rate of speech
Are they talking slowly,
quickly, does it seem
pressures (cant talk fast
enough to get it all out)
```
b. Continuity of speech
c. Content of speech
88
Mental Status Exam looks at:
| Mood and Affect
Affect: An individual outward expression of emotion
Mood: An individual’s personal experience of emotion
89
Mental Status Exam looks at:
| Intellectual Functioning
General idea about cognitive strengths and deficits
Examples: attention, memory, knowledge, abstraction, etc.
90
Mental Status Exam looks at:
| Orientation (Sensorium
Orientation is a person’s awareness of:
i. Time → Year, month, day, etc.
ii. Place → city, state, country, building
iii. Identity → self and others
91
Psychological Testing looks for:
1. Validity
2. Reliability
3. Standardization
92
Validity
Accuracy
Does the test measure what we intend it to
Ex: if we have an IQ test does it measure anxiety?
93
Reliability
Doesn’t mean same score every time
94
Standardization
Standardize how we administer tests
Same directions, time and order
How do we interpret
95
Intelligence Testing Purposes
a. Determining learning disabilities, giftedness and mental retardation
b. Prediction of future academic achievement
c. Component of diagnosing neurological and psychiatric disorders
d. Personal selection
e. Treatment planning
96
Possible explanations for a low IQ score
Didn’t sleep the night before
Not motivated
Language barrier
Low SES with few educational opportunities
97
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
Componential: acquire, store, process information
School
Experiential: insight, creativity
How do you solve problems
Contextual: ability to think practically
Street smarts (practical
solutions for problems)
98
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
```
9 types of intelligence
• verbal
• mathematical
• spatial
• kinesthetic (body control)
• self-reflective
• interpersonal
• music
```
how do we quantify some of these?
99
Self-report clinical inventories:
Contain standardized questions with fixed response categories that the test taker completes
“self-reporting” the extent to which the responses characterize him/ her
100
Minnesota Multiphastic Personality Inventory- 2
profile of personality and psychological difficulties
Advantages
1. Asking someone to report on themselves
2. Not clear exactly what you’re looking for → less easy to fake
101
Thematic apperception test:
Given an odd picture/ item
Individual needs to project (report) what they think
Can tell unconscious drives/ forces that help you make decisions
102
Behavioral self-/parent-report:
Report of the frequency of specific behaviors
Examples:
•Child behavior checklist (CBCL)
* Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI)
* Bad Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
103
What are the ABCs of observation?
```
A= what occurred before the behavior was observed?
B = behavior
C = consequence
```
104
What are some advantages and limitations of behavioral observation
People may change their behavior when they know they are being observed
If it’s a low frequency behavior, we may not witness it during our time of observation
105
NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT:
a process of gathering information about brain functioning based on performance on psychological tests.
106
Neuropsychologists:
extensive knowledge of the brain & its functions
107
Neuroimaging:
assessment method that provides a picture of the brain’s structures or level of activity
therefore is a useful tool for looking at the brain.
108
Electroencephalogram (EEG):
records electro-activity of the brain
a. Used for sleep studies
b. Used when asking an individual to do tasks
Non-intrusive (electrodes placed on the scalp)
Less precise than other methods
109
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI):
reveals the structures of the brain
• Identify tumors
• Determine if there are any abnormalities of the brain’s structures
110
PETscan
individual is injected with a glucose substance → when in the scan, the researcher can watch certain areas of the brains use the glucose as the test subject is answering questions/doing tasks
111
fMRI:
tracks blood-oxygen levels of the brain
* Used to track brain function
* Utilized to observe change in one’s brain over time
112
Ideographic:
unique characteristics of the individual
113
Nomothetic:
known information about a problem/disorder
114
Categorical:
“categories” of symptoms that represent disorders
115
Dimensional:
cognitions, emotions, & behaviors are evaluated on a continuum
116
Patient:
Refers to someone who is ill
Passively (“patiently”) waits to be treated
117
Client
Someone seeking psychological treatment
Involved in a collaborative endeavor
118
DSM:
Published by American Psychiatric Association
Originally developed in 1952
Descriptions of all psychological disorders
119
DSM Development
| reliability
diagnosis will be consistently applied to anyone with a particular set of symptoms
120
DSM Development
| validity
diagnoses represent real & distinct clinical disorders
PSYCH 270
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