Abnormal Psych Exam 1 PDF

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The Study of Abnormal Psychology I.

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Medical Student Syndrome A. Student believes they have the symptoms of a certain disease they are learning about What are the Elements of Abnormality - lot of agreement of which conditions are disorders and which are not - 7 elements of abnormality: not 1 is sufficient to define abnormality, no one is necessary, but the more elements you manifest the more likely your condition is a disorder (Prototype Model) - Disorder=abnormality A. Subjective Distress: experience some pain B. Maladaptiveness: maladaptive behavior, interfering with ability to work, maintain relationships, overall well-being, etc C. Statistical deviance: statistically rare, ex: intellectual disability D. Violation of the standards of society: does not follow the norms of society or moral rules E. Social discomfort: violates social rule that causes discomfort to people around them, negatively affects others F. Irrationality and unpredictability: behavior deviates from what is normally expected G. Dangerousness: danger to themselves or others How do we classify Mental Disorders? A. Critically evaluating a classification system 1. Advantages - Provides a nomenclature (naming system) - Structure the information, categories of disorders 2. Disadvantages - Could negatively impact the person’s self-concept - Stigma attached to certain diagnosis - Stereotypes: automatic belief about other people based on knowing one thing about that person B. DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) - Authoritative reference for defining mental illness in the US - Published by the APA (American Psychiatric Association) - Currently in the 5th edition What is the DSM-5 Definition of Mental Disorder? Pg. 3 - 4 part definition - Do not need to be experiencing both distress and disability, but usually do experience both How are Psychological Problems Counted?

A. Epidemiology and mental health epidemiology B. Prevalence 1. Point Prevalence 2. 1-year prevalence 3. Lifetime prevalence C. Incidence D. On DSM disorders - Lifetime prevalence is 50% of developing a psychological disorder - Most common psychological disorders a. Major depressive disorder 17% of population b. Alcoholism c. Specific Phobia E. Comorbidity - More than one disorder - Depression and anxiety disorders are highly comorbid - People with severe mental illness will more likely have two or more additional disorders than those with a mild mental illness Research Methods I.

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Scientific Methods p. 6 A. Specify problem: hypothesis B. Design and conduct study: operational definition - Minimize bias with single-blind and double-blind design - Double-blind minimizes both subject bias and experimenter bias, but can only use if the experimenter is different than the researcher who made the hypothesis C. Collect data: statistical analyses - Mean, median, mode, standard deviation, probability that the data is due to chance D. Report conclusions: replication - Allows others to replicate the study with different subjects and see if they get the same results Specific Research Methods: What are their advantages and disadvantages? A. Case Study - n=1 study - Advantages: allows you to collect information that you might have not been able to collect - Disadvantages: because it is only one subject, it lacks generalizability (cannot generalize to the population as a whole) B. Observational Study

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Naturalistic (field study) - Disadvantages: do not have control over what you watch - Advantages: good generalizability to the population as a whole - Laboratory - Advantages: more control than in a natural environment - Disadvantage: does not tell you anything about causality Surveys: Questionnaires and interviews - One-on-one, on the phone, written survey, online survey - Advantages: large amount of info in a relatively short period of time at little cost - Disadvantages: very important that you have random sample, because of self-report data there is a high possibility of being inaccurate (intentionally or people don’t know the answer or guess), questions must be carefully constructed Correlational study - Correlation coefficient - Represented by a capital R - Between (-1 and +1) - Positive correlation: values of the two variables are moving in the same direction - Negative correlation: values of the two variables are moving in the opposite direction - No correlation: the correlation coefficient is around 0 - Correlation does not equal causation - Advantages: lots of data in a short period of time - Disadvantage: does not tell you anything about causality - Two kinds of correlational studies 1. Continuous variable study - Most common correlation study - Study of two or more continuous variables (variable that is measured on a continuum and has more than two points on that continuum) 2. Group comparison study - Criterion group and comparison group (control) - One variable is continuous and one is not continuous (ex: having schizophrenia or not) Epidemiological study - Used to study diseases and frequency of disorders Experimental study - Only study able to use to find causality - Group experimental study

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1. Hypothesis 2. Independent variable 3. Dependent variable 4. Experimental condition 5. Control condition 6. Random assignment - Single case experimental study: ABAB (or reversal design) - Single case experiment vs case study (both individual) 1. Single case experiment utilizes an intervention 2. Case study does not utilize intervention Ethics of Research A. Right to informed consent - Right to know the general nature of the study B. Right to self-esteem - Do not want subjects feeling worse about themselves when they leave than when they came in C. Right to privacy and confidentiality - Not sharing subjects information - IRB Institutional Review board (at Clemson)

Theories and Causal Factors of Abnormality I.

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On Theoretical Perspectives of Abnormality A. Biopsychosocial model 1. All factors are mutually interactive 2. Etiological factors = causal factors Biological Theories and Causal Factors of Abnormality A. Overview B. Structural theories - Location of structural damage will influence the specific type of psychological problem 1. Cerebral cortex: advanced thinking processes, abstract reasoning, judgement, problem solving 2. Hypothalamus: neutral structure, nervous system, eating, drinking, sexual behavior - Possibly eating disorder 3. Limbic System: nervous system, closing interconnected with hypothalamus, eating, sexual behavior, reaction to stress - Excessively aggressive or passive (in monkey experiments) C. Biochemical theories 1. Overview

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Biochemical imbalance can contribute to some psychological problem 2. Nervous System - Chemical messengers: neurotransmitters - Neurons and their messages (p. 16) - Reuptake and degradation 1. Processes that determine how much of a neurotransmitter is in our body 2. Reuptake: sending neuron reabsorbs the neurotransmitter originally released into the synapse. Decreases the amount of neurotransmitter in the synapse 3. Degradation: receiving neuron sends enzymes into the synapse to break down neurotransmitters. Decreases the amount of neurotransmitter in the synapse - Four neurotransmitters and mental health (p. 17) a. Serotonin b. Dopamine c. Norepinephrine (noradrenaline) d. GABA 3. Endocrine System - On the endocrine system: made up of glands - Chemical messengers: Hormones 1. Released directly into the bloodstream - HPA axis (p. 18) D. Genetic theories 1. Polygenic process and genetic predisposition - 20 to 25,000 genes - Rare to see one gene cause abnormality - Most disorders result from a number of faulty genes and a combination of faulty genes result in an abnormality - Genetic predisposition: greater risk to develop a disorder if it runs in family 2. Behavior genetics - The study of the heritability of a disorder, is there a genetic component 1. Study the people with the disorders - Overlapping of different types of studies - Family history (or pedigree) studies 1. Probands: people who clearly have the disorder 2. Examines likelihood of a disorder in relative of the probands

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3. Difficult to establish whether disorder is more from genetics or environment - Twin studies 1. Monozygotic twins (identical): almost the same genes 2. Dizygotic twins (fraternal): two different eggs and two different sperm, about 50% of same genes a. Share the same prenatal environment 3. Probability that both twins have a disorder if one twin has the disorder is called concordance rate a. Relatively high for identical times b. No disorders in the DSM that have 100% concordance rate - Adoption studies 1. Different kinds of adoption studies E. Interaction of biological causal factors F. Research on the Etiological Factors of Schizophrenia - Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder marked by a loss of contact with reality and by symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations - Delusion is essentially an erroneous belief that is fixed and firmly held despite clear contradictory evidence - Hallucination is a sensory experience that occurs in the absence of any external perceptual stimulus - Causal Factors 1. Considerable research has been conducted to identify the causal of schizophrenia 2. Today most researchers believe that schizophrenia is caused by an interaction between genetic and environmental factors Psychosocial Theories and Causal Factors of Abnormality A. Overview 1. Focus on maladaptive thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that individuals have and how they both influence and are influenced by the individual’s experiences with family members, peers, and other individuals and situations 2. Psychological factors and social factors 3. No one of these factors are necessary or cause a disorder on their own, but contributing with other factors B. Psychodynamic perspective 1. Overview - Unconscious motives and what we are not aware and how that impacts our behavior 2. Psychoanalytic: Freud

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Introduction a. Psychosexual theory b. Initially a physician c. Not a lot of empirical support for his theories Methods a. Hypnosis b. Free association: encourage people to say whatever comes to find as form of therapy, used to get into the “unconscious mind” c. Dream analysis: believed that dreams were a reflection of what was going on in the person d. S unconscious mind Topography of the mind a. Conscious: all of that of which we are currently aware b. Preconscious: all of that which we are not presently aware of but can be readily brought to mind c. Unconscious: bulk of mind according to Freud; all memories, conflicts, wishes, all of that not directly accessible to us Structure of personality a. Id: strives to satisfy instinctual drives to survive, reproduce, and aggress and operates on the pleasure principle b. Superego: strives to follow moral principles and values and focuses on how one ought to behave c. Ego: strives to satisfy the id’s desires in ways that uphold the moral values of the superego and operates on the reality principle - Executive of personality - Wants to maximize long term gain and minimize long term pain d. Personality conflict and abnormality - If personality conflict was not resolved in healthy way, psychological disorder could form Psychosexual stages: at each stage our libido is oriented towards a different part of the body (p. 23) a. Oral b. Anal c. Phallic d. Latency e. Genital f. Fixation and abnormality

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Sometimes an individual gets stuck at a certain stage and eventually manifests that issue as a psychological disorder in adulthood - Ego defense mechanisms and abnormality a. Tactics used to protect the person from unpleasant emotions such as anxiety and guilt b. Can be helpful and adaptive when used sparingly c. Misuse can cause a psychological disorder d. Defense Mechanisms (p.24) - Repression - Projection - Reaction Formation - Displacement - Sublimation C. Behavioral perspective (Learning Theory) 1. Overview - Born with the ability to learn from our experiences - Focuses on all of that which we can directly observe and measure 2. Classical conditioning: Pavlov p.25 - Dogs and stimuli to produce saliva - Three different stages 1. Before Conditioning: Present food and the dog salivates. Then takes away food and produces tone. Dog did not salivate 2. Conditioning: Presents tone to dog and then food. The dog salivates. Tone had to come before and food had to be presented very closely after 3. After Conditioning: Took away food and only presented food. Dog had learned to salivate to the tone. - Little Albert Experiment 1. Before Conditioning: Fear of loud noises but no fear of white bunny 2. Conditioning: Paired loud noise with white bunny 3. After Conditioning: Little Albert feared the white bunny 3. Instrumental/operant conditioning: Skinner - Reinforcement: Any event that strengthens or increases the response that it follows p.26 1. Positive Reinforcement 2. Negative Reinforcement 3. Primary Reinforcement 4. Secondary Reinforcement

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What is reinforcement to one person is sometimes not reinforcement to another - Reinforcement schedules a. Continuous: every time a desired response occurs it gets reinforced. Initially behavior will occur quickly but extinction will also occur very quickly. b. Partial or intermittent: sometime the behavior is reinforced and sometimes it is not. Initially learning doesn’t happen as quickly however extinction does not occur as quickly either. c. Starting with continuous reinforcement schedule and then switch to a partial schedule: Most quickly get initial behavior and less quick extinction (best) - Punishment: any consequences that decreases or weakens the recurrence of the behavior it follows a. Possible negative side effects 1. Increases likelihood of lying to avoid punishment 2. Punishment makes people angry 3. Intimidation b. Guidelines for punishment 1. Timing, sooner is better than later 2. Importance of explanation with punishment, needs to understand what was wrong 3. Consistency, if it happens again should be the same punishment 4. Relationship, good healthy relationship then the punishment is more effective - Comparing reinforcement and punishment a. Negative Reinforcement (stop yelling) vs Punishment (yelling) 4. Observational learning: Bandura - Individuals learn by observing and imitating other - Process is called modeling - Person that you are observing is called the model - Can learn social or antisocial behavior D. Cognitive perspective 1. Overview - Involves thinking, the way we think about the world, ourselves, etc and it is central to psychological problems - Thought processes with influence our behavior and in turn influence our emotions

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Experience distortion in way of thinking can result is some behavior or emotional problem 2. Cognitive theory: Beck - Introduction 1. Adverse early learning experiences can lead to distortions in our way of thinking (maladaptive schemas) and these distortions can lead to maladaptive emotions and behaviors - Schema, Assimilation, and Accommodation 1. Schema: way of looking at the world and understanding the world, organizing past experiences and provides framework to understanding present and future experiences 2. Assimilation: incorporate new experiences into already existing schemas 3. Accommodation: adjust schemas to fit the particulars to include new experiences - Development of disorders 1. Maladaptive schemas: distorted and inaccurate ways of thinking about the world and about ourselves 2. Can lead to psychological disorders and abnormalities 3. Attributions and attributional style - Cognitive approach that assigns causes to events that occur - Each individuals has own attribution style - An individual can develop a maladaptive behavior or emotional problem if attribution style is dysfunctional E. Humanistic perspective 1. Overview - Stresses individual’s potential for growth and self-fulfillment, focuses on the present and assumes that people are responsible for their own lives 2. Theory of Human Motivation: Maslow - Abraham Maslow: hierarchy of needs (fulfill bottom needs before moving up to the top) a. Self-actualization: self-realization; reaching full potential; being best person you can be; spiritual ecstatic experience (peak experience) b. Esteem: need to feel competent/independent and to receive recognition for accomplishments c. Belongingness and love: need to feel love, acceptance, connections d. Safety: need to feel safe/secure in environment e. Physiological: basic survival needs

F. Psychosocial causal factors 1. Early deprivation of trauma - Institutionalization: children that are institutionalized at an early age are more likely to experience behavioral, emotional, and learning problems a. Spitz -- research in 1940s to look at impact of institutionalization on children by studying 3 groups of babies i. Babies born to delinquent moms ii. Children cared for in institutions by nurses (orphanages) → smaller, more likely to develop psychological, emotional, learning problems; attributed to change of caregivers (no consistency and no close emotional attachment to caregiver); greater impact on children the younger they are; some institutionalized children are not affected by adversity (resilient); important to place children in homes with steady care quickly iii. Children at home taken care of by mom - Neglect and abuse in the home a. 4 forms: not mutually exclusive 1. Physical 2. Emotional 3. Sexual 4. Neglect b. Difficult to get accurate count of how many children are being abused -- estimate 4 million children in America c. Large percentage of those getting physically abused are under the age of 3 d. About 90% of abuse occurs at home perpetrated by parents e. Most sexual abuse occurs from males (father figure) f. Looking at all 4 forms of abuse, women are more likely to perform abuse (mother figure) g. Kempe coined term “battered child syndrome” referring to abused children h. Misconceptions

1. Many think it is rare -- 4 million is probably an understatement 2. Children abuse is confined to poor socioeconomic groups 3. Psychiatric model of child abuse: all abusive parents are psychotic, criminal, or intellectually disabled i. Characteristics of abusive parents 1. Experienced abuse during own childhood 2. Have negative perception perception of abused child 3. Experience stress/crisis in their own lives 4. Lack support network of family/friends j. Effects of child abuse on children (general: behavioral, psychological, emotional problems) 1. Short-term: aggressive, conduct disorder, juvenile delinquency; anxiety and depression symptoms 2. Long-term: grow up and are more likely to abuse their own children/significant other; more aggressive in world at large; potent ideological problem k. Intervention 1. Early = important 2. Anyone working with children in work is legally mandated to report suspected abuse 3. Individuals that report suspected abuse are legally protected from liability 2. Inadequate parenting styles - Parental psychopathology a. Not talking about genetic component -> more of environmental effects b. Mothers with peripartum depression mothers are more ineffective at managing children/disciplining them; more critical, less effective mothers -> children can develop depression/anxiety symptoms c. Parent experiences psychopathology -> can affect parenting style -> risk of increasing likelihood of child experiencing symptoms of mental disorder - Baumrind’s four parenting styles a. Authoritarian (continuum) 1. Impose strict rules

2. Expect absolute obedience 3. Use harsh punishment b. Permissive (continuum) 1. Submit to child’s desires 2. Make few demands 3. Provide minimal consequences c. Authoritative (most effective) 1. Maintains control by establishing clear rules 2. Explains reasons for rules 3. Encourages open discussion 4. Ex: teenager wants to drive family car; have family meeting; come to agreement that child can take car out but has to be home by 10pm; when child ...