Psychology Study Guide PDF

Ch. 14 Psychological Disorders Define what a psychological disorder is. - deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors Describe the criteria psychologists use to distinguish “abnormal” (i.e., disordered) behavior from “normal” (or typical), including some...

Ch. 14 Psychological Disorders Define what a psychological disorder is. - deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors Describe the criteria psychologists use to distinguish “abnormal” (i.e., disordered) behavior from “normal” (or typical), including some of the strengths and weaknesses of these criteria. - Deviance from social norms, personal distress, impairment in functioning (dysfunction), and danger to self or others Describe the study by Rosenhan (1973; Being Sane in Insane Places) described in class and its major implications - Study in which healthy individuals were admitted into mental hospitals. They all gave accurate info except for one fake symptom; that they were hearing voices. Once in, they acted normally but still were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Doctors and nurses viewed their behaviors as abnormal. Describe the biological, psychological, sociocultural, biopsychosocial, and diathesis-stress theories/models of psychological disorders - Biological theory- biological factors within the human body, such as brain structures, neurochemicals, and genes, are the primary cause of psychological disorders - Psychological theory- psychological factors like emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and traits are the primary cause of psychological disorders - Psychodynamic: unconscious feelings and thoughts - Behavioral: behaviors shaped by reinforcements and punishments experienced because of their own behavior - Cognitive: the way we think (our illogical thoughts) - Trait: having a high or low levels of a personality trait - Sociocultural theory- social and cultural factors surrounding that person are primary causes of psychological disorders - E.g. Which city/country a person lives, immediate family, romantic partnerships - Biopsychosocial: combo of biological, psychological, and sociocultural contribute to psychological disorders How has the COVID pandemic influenced the rate of psychological disorders in the U.S. and worldwide? According to the text, what groups of people were impacted more by the pandemic than others? - COVIDS impact on biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors increased the likelihood that people would develop psychological disorders. - People with unstable finances, job, BIPOC, or family relationships were more impacted. What is stigma and how does it impact people who have psychological disorders? - Stigma: Judgement or Shame or disgrace directed towards a person because of a particular characteristic the person has. - It impacts people with mental illness in 4 ways:  Stigma degrades the person with mental illness by portraying them as flawed, threatening, ‘less than us’, and unacceptable. There tends to be an ‘us vs them’ mentality. Stigmas are based on social constructions not facts. Stigmas shows people with mental illness as a homogeneous group, as if every person with mental illness is the same. It makes it easier for people to stereotype and judge. Stigma worsens the mental illness for the stigmatized person, as they also have to cope with many peoples disapproval while also coping with their mental illness. This adds an extra layer of stress and could intensify the symptoms of the illness. Describe what the DSM is, who uses it, and for what purposes. Be able to explain the difference between categorical dimensional models of psychological disorders (AKA psychopathology) - The Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is the book in which mental disorders are officially defined. - The DSM is used by by all major mental health professionals and all other professionals who diagnose or treat mental disorders in the US. - The DSM uses a categorical dimensional model of psychological disorders, in which psychologists provide a yes-or-no answer to the question of whether a person has a particular disorder. The dimensional model is an alternative approach that poses questions about psychopathology such as "How much?”rather than “Yes or no?”. Describe what anxiety disorders are, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Specific Phobia, Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - Anxiety Disorders are the category of DSM disorders in which the primary symptom is anxiety, which is also known as worry, apprehension, nervousness, or fear. - Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Is characterized by anxiety, particularly in the form of worry, about a wide range of situations and activities. - Specific Phobia: Is characterized by excessive anxiety towards a specific, identifiable object or situation. - Social Anxiety Disorder: Is characterized by an intense and irrational fear of the scrutiny of others and the embarrassment or humiliation that would follow. - Panic Disorder: Is characterized by sudden, intense, unpredictable brief bursts (attacks) of anxiety that lacks an identifiable trigger. - Agoraphobia: An intense fear of being in open places or in situations where it may be hard to escape, or where help may not be available - OCD: Is characterized by unwanted recurring anxiety-producing thoughts (obsessions) and uncontrollable actions (compulsions) done to reduce the anxiety produced by the obsessions. Describe who gets anxiety disorders and OCD and why anxiety disorders and OCD develop (AKA etiological theories) - AD and OCD are the most common categories of psychological disorders. They are similarly common in the US and other parts of the world. They occur two or three times more often in women than men. - Thye develop for a variety of reasons, often in combination. There are Psychological reasons- such as illogical thinking, learned reinforcements and punishments, neuroticism, and overly protective parentings/caregiving – and biological factors such as genes, brain differences, and evolution. Be able to explain what the triple vulnerability theory is - Triple Vulnerability Theory is an explanation for anxiety disorders and emphasizes: Biological factors (biological predisposition based on genes and brain differences). General psychological factors (general perceived lack of control over life events that may be caused by parenting/caregiving styles or illogical thoughts). Specific psychological factors (life experience that teaches the person which particular things or situations are specifically threatening) e.g fear of dogs Describe what depressive and bipolar disorders are, including major depressive, persistent depressive, and bipolar disorder. - Depressive and Bipolar disorders: a category of psychological disorders characterized by extreme moods or emotional states that significantly disrupt daily functioning. - Major Depressive Disorder: Is characterized by depressed moods, loss of interest in most activities, and an assortment of other symptoms lasting at least 2 weeks. - Persistent Depressive Disorder: Is a much longer, less intensive version of these symptoms - Bipolar Disorder: Is characterized by alternating between extremely high moods and low moods (the “poles” of emotion). What is a manic episode? - Distinct period of abnormally elevated, extreme changes in your mood or emotions, energy level or activity level. Explain who gets depressive and bipolar disorders and etiological theories of major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. - 20.8% of people have been diagnosed at some point in their lives - Major depressive disorder is twice as common in women than in men. Describe what schizophrenia is, and about the differences between positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia (including what the different symptoms of positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms are—different types of delusions, hallucinations, etc. and recognize examples of them) - Schizophrenia is a severe psychological disorder in which a person exhibits bizarre disturbances in thinking, perception, feelings, and behavior  - Positive symptoms: experiences that are present or excessive in people with schizophrenia but largely in people without it (Plus a symptom)(delusions and hallucinations) - Negative symptoms: Schizophrenia are behaviors that are lacking in people with schizophrenia but usually present in people without the disorder (minus a symptom) (absence of emotion) - Cognitive symptoms: Schizophrenia involve the disturbed, illogical ways that people with schizophrenia think (behavior and speech) Explain how common schizophrenia is, who gets schizophrenia, and etiological theories of Schizophrenia. - Around 1% of people have schizophrenia - More common in urban areas than nonurban areas - One theory states that people with schizophrenia in rural areas are still able to work because employers willingness to adjust responsibilities to make abilities, but in urban areas they simply get fired resulting in unemployment and homelessness which increases the likelihood of ongoing schizophrenia Chapter 15: Treatment of Psychological Disorders (Be sure to know which treatment approaches Define what psychotherapy and biomedical therapy are. - 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 medical procedures that act directly on the patient's nervous system Basics of psychodynamic therapy, including transference and other terms used in class and the text—what is the goal? What tools are used? What do the different terms mean? Psychodynamic therapy: assumes psychological problems are fueled by unconscious impulses and conflicts - Founder: Freud - Goal: bring conflicts into conscious awareness so they can be worked through - Tools used: - Dream analysis- unconscious wishes in dreams - Resistance- when client starts avoiding - Transference- client unconsciously treats therapist like an important person from their past (e.g. when Dr. C’s patient acted like Dr. C was her mom) Basics of person-centered therapy (AKA Humanistic Therapy), including its assumptions and what the goal is; What does it mean that therapy is nondirective? What is reflection? What are the three necessary characteristics of a humanistic therapist, and can you describe them? Also know the other terms used in class and the text. Person-centered therapy (AKA Humanistic Therapy): focuses on a person's individual potential for growth and self-actualization  - Founder: Carl Rogers - Assumes people are inherently healthy; want to become their best selves - Goal: Help client to become self-actualized by growing awareness and acceptance of themselves - Nondirective therapy: client runs the sessions; sets the agenda; talks about whatever they want to - Reflection: empathetic listening which involves echoing, restating, and clarifying clients feelings (mirror) - 3 Necessary characteristics of humanistic therapist - Empathy, unconditional positive regard, be genuine (actually gaf) Describe the basics of behavior therapy, including Exposure Therapy (explain the process of systematic desensitization, aversive conditioning, participant modeling, and be able to explain the other terms used in class and the text such as counterconditioning). Behavior therapy: applies principles of conditioning to change problematic behaviors - Exposure therapy: uses principles of classical conditioning to decrease anxiety - Systematic desensitization- used for phobias - Creates an anxiety hierarchy: list of situations with feared object ranked from least to most fearful - Then slowly introduce client to phobia into little chunks, while they relax or engage in positive activity - Based on counter conditioning- pairing new stimulus (ice cream) w/ rabbit (instead of fear) Describe the basics of cognitive therapy (what three factors are thought to affect one another and be able to describe the steps of the ABCDE model (AKA REBT) and Beck’s Cognitive Model (e.g., the different types of cognitive distortions), and other terms used in class and the text. - Cognitive therapy- therapists help clients change the way they think about life events - Beck's Cognitive model Describe how therapies can be combined, including eclectic and integrative approaches (and how they are different from one another). - Explain the challenges involved in testing the results of psychotherapy (remember efficacy studies and effectiveness studies? Be able to describe what they are and what their strengths/weaknesses are) and what an evidence-based practice is. Describe what makes psychotherapy work (i.e., what are common factors such as a therapeutic alliance, positive expectations, and focused attention on a problem?) - Common factors make psychotherapy work (elements found in all forms of effective psychotherapy that play an important role in client improvement) - Therapeutic alliance: a trusting relationship in which therapist and client work toward shared goals - Positive expectations: The idea that things will change for the better by whatever techniques the therapist uses  - Attention: focusing on a problem rather than ignoring or neglecting it offers opportunity for improvement Describe what cultural competence and cultural self-awareness are, and why they are important in the practice of psychotherapy. - Cultural competence: the ability to work sensitively and expertly with members of a culturally diverse society - Cultural self-awareness: the therapist’s recognition that their own perspective is not necessarily that of others. - These are important in the practice of psychotherapy because cultural and diversity factors can influence the way clients interact with others, the meanings they attach to life events, and their expectations of psychotherapy as well. Biomedical therapies: What is Psychopharmacology? Be able to describe what antipsychotic, antianxiety, antidepressant (including different types—e.g., SSRI, TCA, MAOIs, etc., and mood stabilizing medications are, including their benefits and drawbacks (e.g., side effects). - Psychopharmacology: the treatment of psychological disorders with medications - Antipsychotic drugs: medications used to reduce psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and bizarre behavior. - Antianxiety drugs: medications used to reduce anxiety (xanax, ativan, klonopin, valium) - Antidepressant drugs: medications used to reduce depression symptoms, and are also sometimes effective in reducing anxiety symptoms (MAOIs caused serious interactions with certain foods, drinks, and other drugs) (TCAs can cause heart irregularities and can be toxic in overdoses) Briefly describe the different brain stimulation techniques and psychosurgery, including their benefits and drawbacks. - Stimulant drugs are used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but sometimes they cause a wide range of side effects and can be misused in harmful ways - Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), is when a weak electric current repeatedly pulses through a coil outside the client’s head. Does not have any severe side effects Chapter 13: Social Psychology Describe what attributions are, what the fundamental attribution error is, and how people often make it Explain what social influence is Explain what conformity is, Asch’s classic study on conformity (The Line Experiments), and when and why it happens (including the factors that increase and decrease it). What is Normative Conformity and Informational Conformity and how do they impact behavior? Describe what obedience is, explain Milgram’s classic study on obedience (e.g, who was the “Experimenter/Authority,” “Teacher,” and “Learner” in these studies?), and what factors increase and decrease obedience Be able to explain what prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination are, how they develop (e.g., What are is an ingroup and an outgroup? What does it mean that people tend to think categorically? What is the smoke detector principle? What is social comparison? What are different rationalizations that people have for prejudices (e.g., be able to explain what the just world and scapegoat hypotheses are), and be able to explain some ways that we can decrease prejudices (explained in the text). Explain how groups can help or hinder individual performance and what processes affect group decision making. Understand terms such as social facilitation, social loafing, and deindividuation Define altruism and prosocial behavior, and explain why people both help and don’t help others (understand such terms as bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility) Be able to explain the four different theories for altruistic behavior What are the five steps a potential bystander must go through for them to help another person?