Psych 168 Exam #1 Study Guide PDF

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Psych 168 - Exam 1 Study Guide - Dani Binegar...

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Chapter 1: Abnormal  Psychology: Past & Present 

Terms to describe a state in which one’s emotions, behaviors, and thoughts are psychologically abnormal. - Psychopathology - Maladjustment - Emotional disturbance - Mental illness - Dysfunctional impaired Abnormal psychology ● The scientific study of abnormal behavior in an effort to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning - Workers in this field ● Clinical scientists - who gather information systematically so they can describe, predict, and explain abnormalities ● Clinical practitioners - whose role is to detect, assess, and treat abnormal patterns of functioning What is Psychological Abnormality? ● “The Four D’s” - Deviance: different, extreme, unusual, perhaps even bizarre - Judgements of abnormality vary within societies because norms grow from a particular culture - Norms: Stated and unstated rules for proper conduct - Culture: A people’s common history, values, institutions, habits, skills, technology, and arts. - Distress:  unpleasant and upsetting to the person - Behaviors, ideas, or emotions usually have to cause distress before they can be labeled as normal - Dysfunction: interfering with the person’s ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way - Abnormal behavior tends to be dysfunctional  - it interferes with daily functioning - Danger: posing risk of harm - Abnormal behavior may become dangerous to oneself or others - Behavior may be consistently careless, hostile, or confused  

Elusive Nature of Abnormality - A society selects general criteria for defining abnormality and then uses those criteria to judge particular cases - Even if we assume that psychological abnormality is a valid concept, we may be unable to apply our definition consistently Study of Eccentrics  ● Researcher David Weeks studied 1000 eccentrics and ○ Found that eccentricity is chosen freely and provides pleasure for the person ○ Found that the eccentrics’ unusual behavior does not disrupt their lives or cause them to be dysfunctional What is Treatment? ● Once clinicians decided that a person is suffering from abnormality, they seek to treat it. ○ Treatment or Therapy   is a procedure designed to change abnormal behavior into more normal behavior ● Therapy - 3 essential features: ○ A sufferer who seeks relief from the healer ○ A trained, socially accepted healer  , whose expertise is accepted by the sufferer and his or her social group ○ A series of contacts between the healer and the sufferer through which the healer tries to produce certain changes in the sufferer’s emotional state, attitudes, and behavior Ancient Views and Treatments ● Ancient societies probably regarded abnormal behavior as the work of evil spirits (Begun back in the stone age) ● Some skulls from this period show evidence of an operation called trephination, in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a circular section of the skull presumably to release the evil spirits causing the person’s abnormal behavior. ● Early Egyptian, Chinese, and Hebrew societies also explained abnormal behavior by pointing to possession by demons. ○ The treatment for severe abnormality in these early societies was a procedure called exorcism, in which a shaman or priest recited prayers or pleaded with the demons to leave the person’s body. Greek & Roman Views and Treatments - ( 500 B.C - 500 A.D ) Physicians offered different explanations and treatments for abnormal behaviors. - Hippocrates believed and taught that illnesses had natural causes. - Believed an imbalance of the four fluids = the cause of the illness  

Europe in the Middle Ages: Demonology Returns - The Middle ages were also a time of great stress (war, plagues) and abnormal behavior increased greatly The Renaissance and the Rise of Asylums - Across Europe, religious shrines were devoted to the humane and loving treatment of people with mental disorders. - This time also saw a rise of asylums   - institutions whose primary purpose was care of the mentally ill. The Nineteenth Century: Reform and Moral Treatment - As 1800 approached, the treatment of people with mental disorders began to improve once again. The Decline of Moral Treatment - End of 19th century, several factors led to a reversal of the moral treatment movement: - Money & staff shortages - Overcrowding - Declining recovery rates The Early Twentieth Century: Dual Perspectives - As the moral movement was declining in the late 1800s, two opposing perspective emerged: - The Somatogenic Perspective - Abnormal functioning has physical causes  - The Psychogenic Perspective - Abnormal functioning has psychological causes The Early 20th Century: The Somatogenic Perspective - Two Factors were responsible for the rebirth of this perspective: - Emil Kraepelin argued that physical factors (such as fatigue) were responsible for mental dysfunction - New biological discoveries were made such as the link found by Krafft-Ebing between untreated syphilis and general paresis The Early 20th Century: The Psychogenic Perspective - The rise in popularity of this perspective was based on work with hypnotism - Friedrich Anton Mesmer worked with patients who had hysterical disorders - His controversial treatment that involved a trancelike state was once known as hypnotism. - Hypnotism: Perspective based on work of Mesmer and Beuer. - Recent research has found hypnotic procedures are as capable of creating false memories as they are uncovering real memories. - A physician in Vienna, Josef Breuer discovered that his patients sometimes awoke free from hysterical symptoms after speaking openly under hypnosis about past upsetting events. - He was joined in his work by another Viennese physician, Sigmund Freud.

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Freud’s work led him to develop his theory of psychoanalysis - treatment of abnormal mental functioning that emphasizes unconscious psychological forces as the cause of psychopathology. - Freud believed that the psychological processes at the root of people’s suffering were unconscious.

 How are People with Severe Disturbances Cared For? - In the 1950s, researchers developed a number of new psychotropic medications: - Antipsychotic drugs - Antidepressant drugs - Antianxiety drugs ● These drugs primarily affect the brain and reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunctioning. ● Since the discovery of these medications in 1950, mental health professionals in most of the developed nations of the world have followed a policy of deinstitutionalization - releasing hundreds of thousands of patients from public mental hospitals. How are People with Severe Disturbance Treated? - Outpatient care has now become the primary mode of treatment for both severe and moderate problems - When patients do need institutionalization, it is usually short-term hospitalization, and then, ideally, outpatient psychotherapy and medication in community settings, a philosophy known as the community mental health approach. - Helpful for many patients, but too few community programs are available in the United States. A Growing Emphasis on Preventing Disorders and Promoting Mental Health - The community mental health approach has given rise to the prevention movement. An attempt to correct social conditions that underlie psychological problems and help individuals at risk for developing disorders. - Prevention programs have been further energized by the growing interest in positive psychology - the study and enhancement of positive feelings, traits, and abilities. - Clinical Practitioners teach people coping skills that may: ● Help protect them from stress ● Encourage them to pursue psychological wellness, meaningful activities, and enriching relationships ● Prevent mental disorders   

Positive Psychology and Happiness - Happiness is the positive psychology topic that is receiving the most attention. - Researchers have found both nature and nurture interact to determine one’s degree of happiness. - Who is happiest? - By gender: women - By age: elderly  people - By race: African  Americans - By education level: post  college - By marital status: Married  A New Era - In the response to growing diversity in the United States, a new area of study has emerged. - Multicultural psychologists seek to understand how culture, race, ethnicity, gender and similar factors affect behavior and thought and how people of different cultures, races, and genders may differ psychologically. The Increasing Influence of Insurance Coverage - Today the dominant form of insurance coverage is the managed care program. - Healthcare coverage in which insurance company largely controls the nature, scope, and cost of medical or psychological services. - At least 75% of all privately insure people in the US are enrolled in managed care programs. What are Today’s Leading Theories and Professions? - One of the most important developments in the field of abnormal psychology has been the growth of theoretical perspectives. - Before the 1950s, the psychoanalytic perspective, with its emphasis on the unconscious was dominant. - Since then, additional influential perspectives have emerged, particularly: - Biological - Behavioral - Cognitive - Humanistic-existential - Sociocultural schools of thought What are Today’s Leading Theories and Professions? - Before the 1950s, psychotherapy was offered only by psychiatrists. - Other psychological professionals now include: - Clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists, educational and school psychologists, psychiatric nurses, marriage and family therapists, and - The largest group, psychiatric social workers.

What are Today’s Leading Theories and Professions? - One final key development in the study and treatment of mental disorders has been a growing appreciation of the need for effective research. Technology and Mental Health - The digital world provides new triggers and vehicles for the expression of abnormal behavior. - Constant text messaging, tweeting, and internet browsing may contribute to shorter attention spans. - Use of cybertherapy as a treatment option is on the rise. - The use of computer technology, such as Skype or avatars, to provide therapy. Mental Health Apps - A decade ago, some clinicians and researchers began using text messages to help track the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions of clients with psychological problems. - Led to an explosion of smartphone mental health apps. What do Clinical Researchers Do? - Clinical researchers face certain challenges that make their work difficult - Measuring elusive concepts - private thoughts, mood changes, human potential - Take into consideration their different cultural backgrounds - Human and animal rights are not violated - Clinical researchers try to discover broad laws or principles, of abnormal psychological functioning - Clinical researchers systematically gather and evaluate information through careful observations process known as the scientific method - Process of systematically gathering and evaluating information through careful observations to understand a phenomenon. - This process enables scientists to pinpoint and explain relationships between variables. Three Methods of Investigation - Clinical researchers must depend mainly on three methods of investigation: - The Case Study - Provides a detailed, interpretative description of a person’s life and psychological problems Pluses: - Can be a source of new ideas about behavior - May offer tentative support for a theory - May challenge as theory’s assumptions & inspire new therapeutic techniques - May offer opportunities to study unusual problems 

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Deltas: - May include reports by biased observers and relies on subjective evidence - Provides little basis for generalization The Correlational Method - A research procedure used to determine how much events or characteristics vary along with each other. - Correlation: The degree to which events or characteristics vary with each other. Describing a correlation: It’s Direction - When variables change the same way, it is referred to as a positive correlation. - When the value of one variable increases as the value of the other variable decreases, it is referred to as a negative  correlation. - When there is no consistent relationship between the variables under study, then the variable are said to be unrelated. Describing A Correlation: It’s Magnitude - In addition to its direction, the strength of a correlation is also important and refers to how closely two variable correspond. - When two variables are found to vary together very closely in person after person, the correlation is said to be high or strong.  - When two variable do not vary together as closely, the correlation is said to be lower in magnitude, or weak. Describing a Correlation - Direction and magnitude of a correlation are calculated numerically and expressed by a statistical term called the correlation coefficient. The Experimental Method - An experiment is a research procedure in which a variable is manipulated and the manipulation’s effect on another variable is observed. - Manipulated variable is independent variable. - Variable being observed is the dependent variable. - Researchers must try to eliminate all confounds - variable other than the independent variable that may also be affecting the dependent variable. - 3 Features are included in experiments to guard against confounds: - A control group - Random Assignment - Blind Design - The Control Group - In an experiment, a group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable.

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The group that is exposed to the independent variable is called the experimental group. - The group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable but whose experience is similar to the other group is called the control group. - As a group, these methods enable scientists to form and test hypotheses,   or tentative explanations, that certain variables are related in certain ways. Blind Design - To avoid participant bias, experimenters employ a “blind design” in  which participants are kept from knowing which assigned group (experimental or control) they are in. Alternative Experimental Designs - Alternative experimental designs include Designs - In quasi-experiment or mixed designs, investigators do not randomly assign participants to groups, but make use of groups that already exist. - In natural experiments, nature manipulates the independent variable and the experimenter observes the effects. - In the analogue experiment experimenter induces laboratory participants to behave in ways that seem to resemble real life abnormal behavior and then conduct experiments on the participants to learn more about the real-life abnormality - In a single subject experimental design experiment, a single participant is observed both before and after manipulation of an independent variable. Protecting Human Participants - Institutional Review Board - An ethics committee in a research facility that is empowered to protect the rights and safety of human research participants 

Chapter 2: Models of Abnormality -

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In science, the perspectives used to explain events are known as models or paradigm The spectrum of models to explain and treat abnormality include: - Biological model - Psychodynamic model - Behavior model - Cognitive model - Humanistic-Existential model - Family-Social model - Multicultural model

How Do Biological Theorists Explain Abnormal Behavior? - Toward the top of the brain is a cluster of regions collectively referred to as the cerebrum. - The cerebrum includes the - Cerebral Cortex (outer layer of the brain) - Corpus Callosum (connection between hemispheres) - Basal Ganglia (part involved in planning and movement) - Hippocampus (part regulating emotion and memory) - Three Factors may explain why some people have brain structures or biochemical activities that differ from the norm - Genetics - Evolution - Viral Infections Biological Treatments - 3 Types of Biological Treatment - Drug Therapy - Electroconclusive Therapy - Psychosurgery The Psychodynamic Model - The psychodynamic model was first formulated by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), who developed his theory and therapy known as psychoanalysis. - ID - guided by the pleasure principle - Ego - guided by the reality principle - The most basic defence mechanism is repression  , which prevents unacceptable impulses from ever reaching consciousness. How did Freud Explain Normal Abnormal Functioning? - Developmental Stages - Oral Stage (0-18months) - Anal Stage (18 months - 3 years) - Phallic Stage (3-5 years) - Latency (5-12 years) - Genital (12yrs - adulthood) Techniques used in Psychodynamic Therapies - Therapist interpretation includes: - Denial: an unconscious refusal to participate fully in therapy, such as avoiding a painful discussion. - Transference: redirection toward the psychotherapist of feelings associated with important figures in a patient’s life - Dream interpretation, involving two kinds of dream content - Manifest Content: the consciously remembered dream

- Latent Content: symbolic meaning How do Cognitive Theorists Explain Abnormal Functioning? - Abnormal functioning can result from several kinds of cognitive problems: - Faulty assumptions and attitude that are disturbing and inaccurate - Illogical thinking processes that lead to self defeating conclusions - Ex. Overgeneralization (drawing  broad negative conclusions on the basis of a single insignificant event) Roger’s Humanistic Theory and Therapy - Rogers’ “client-centered” therapy - Therapist creates a supportive climate in which clients feel able to look at themselves honestly and acceptingly. - Therapist displays three important qualities: - Unconditional positive regard (full  and warm acceptance for the client) - Accurate empathy (skillful  listening and restating) - Genuineness (sincere communication) Gestalt Theory and Therapy - Gestalt therapy is a humanistic approach - Developed by Fritz Perls in 1950s - Goal is to guide clients toward self-recognition and self-acceptance through challenging and even frustrating their clients - Techniques include: - Skillful frustration - Role playing - List of Rules, including “Here and Now” and “I” language How do Family-Social theorists Explain Abnormal Functioning? - Proponents of this perspective believe theorists should concentrate on forces that operate directly on an individual, such as family, social interactions, and community events - Three kinds of factors are particularly important: - Social labels and roles - Social connections and supports - Family structure and communication Family Social Treatments - This perspective has helped spur the growth of several treatment approaches, including: - Group therapy - Family therapy - Couple therapy - Community treatment - Including prevention work

Integration of Models - No model has proven consistently superior - Each helps us appreciate a key aspect of human functioning; each has strengths and limitations. - Biopsychosocial theories - Abnormality results from the interaction of genetic, biological, developmental, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, social, and societal influences. 

Chapter 3:Clinical  Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment Clinical Assessment: How and Why Does the Client Behave Abnormally - Clinical assessment is used to determine how and why a person is behaving abnormally and how that person may be helped. - Focus is on an idiographic understanding - An understanding of a particular individ...