PSU: Psychology Classnotes 11
Final review flashcards for Psych 100 (Penn State)
Terms
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- Psychotherapy
- One of the two major types of therapies for Schizophrenia; Use of psychological techniques to treat emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems
- Explaining Mood Disorders
- Depression = widespread (women are twice as likely (post-partion)); depressive episodes last up to a few months and dissapear on their own; biological factors: proximate (serotonin depletion), distal (coping mechanism), BG (twin studies: shows heritability 50/50 M2 concordance); social cognitive - reaction between reacting and acting, 'chicken and the egg' problem
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- (OCD) Ex: locking / re-locking locks, turning on/off switches (senseless, ritualistic patterns); persistent, unwanted thoughts (obsession) couples with irresistable urges to perform an act or repeated ritual (compulsion), or both
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
- A type of dissociative disorder, also called multiple personalities; Two or more personality states that recurrently take control of behavior, and there is inability to recall important personal information
- Biomedical Therapies
- Began in the 1950s, deals with medicines treating problems
- Insanity
- Legal term for people with mental disorders, implies a lack of responsibility for behavior and inability to manage affairs
- Neuroses
- Disorders characterized by unrealistic anxiety and associated problems
- Violation of Norms
- A standard for categorizing a psychological disorder; Social norms, culture norms, and rules that guide behavior in particular situations (ex: bipolar, taking clothes off, asking for sex)
- Psychotherapy
- Use of psychological techniques to treat emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems
- Rational Emotive Therapy
- (RET) Developed by Albert Ellis, uses the ABC model (Activating event, Beliefs, Consequences); Key: identification and elimination of core irrational beliefs
- Electro Convulsive Therapy
- (ECT) Used for severe depression and schizophrenia; very effective for quick release of symptoms, can be used until meds kick in; cognitive effects: possible memory loss; controversial: usually last resort treatment
- Behavior Therapy / Modification
- Uses conditioning prinicple (closed/operant); goal is to rid maladaptive behaviors; behavior changes doesn't require insight into causes (Ex: kids: add or autism); includes systematic desensitization and aversive condition
- Agoraphobia
- Fear of open places
- Personality Disorders
- These are enduring, life-time patterns of maladaptive behavior that deviate markedly from the expectations of the person's culture, is pervasive and inflexible, and has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood; These are incurable conditions and most competent therapists manage rather than treat these disorders since the term "treatment" implies a cure; includes Antisocial and Borderline
- Psychoses
- Loss of contact with reality and extreme mental disruption, more likely to need hospitalization
- Disability or Dysfunction
- A standard for categorizing a psychological disorder; Thoughts, emotions, or actions that interfere with ability to function within your own life and within society
- Genuineness
- One of the three therapeutic conditions; Therapist openly shares thoughts without defensiveness, "transparent"
- Psychological Disorders
- Behaviors that are maladaptive, harmful, and atypical; other people find them distrubing (depending on cultural norms)
- Statistical Infrequency
- A standard for categorizing a psychological disorder; It is atypical in culture, involves comparing the frequency to others (is it rare?)
- Dissociative Disorders
- Conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity and/or perception; includes multiple personalities/dissociative indentity disorder (DID)
- Anti-Anxiety Medicines
- Benzodiazapines (valium, xanex) - reduce anxiety by increasing level of G.A.B.A.; non-benzodiazapines (buspar) - may take a few weeks to work; meds that increase serotonin levels - fluoxetine (prozac), paroxetine (paxil), setroline (zoloft)
- Bipolar Disorder
- (Mania / Depression) When depression ends, most people return to normal, whereas others rebound to mania (over-excitement and impulsive behavior); traits: active, high self-esteem, no sleep, rapid speech, many ideas, spending sprees; mania ends abruptly, then back to depression which tends to last 3x as long (3:9 cycle); most prevalent among artistic types
- Lithium Medicines
- lithobial, eskalith - used to treat bipolar disorders, interrupts acute manic attacks and prevents relapse; 'mops-up' dopamine, increases serotonin and tryptophan; serious side effects: (lithium toxicity) = increased monitoring, atapia (tremors), vomiting, diarrhea, muscular weakness
- Borderline
- A type of personality disorder; A serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of self-identity
- Factors of Successful Therapy
- Therapeutic relationship (caring and mutually respectable), therapist characteristics (caring attitude, ability to listen, sensitive), client characterisitics (motivated, actively involved, emotionally and socially mature)
- Cognitive Therapy
- One of the types of behavior therapy / modification; Based on the assumption that psychological problems are due to maladaptive patterns of thinking; therapy focuses on recognition and alreation of unhealthy thinking patterns; includes R.E.T. (rational emotive therapy), C.B.T. (cognitive behavioral therapy)
- Explaining Anxiety Disorders
- Learning (reinforcement: if you are always avoiding open places or washing hands 20x, then you are more likely to do this behavior); Observational (learn by watching others be afraid; ex: wild monkeys will transfer fear of snakes to lab-reared babies)
- Phobias
- Associated with panic disorders; a strong, irrational fear and avoidance of an object/situation; the person is aware that the fear is irrational, yet the anxiety remains
- Anti-Depressant Medicines
- 1st Gen: Tricycles and MAO-Is - effective approx. 75% of time, inhibits reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin, side effects: interact with common foods (wine/cheese: "cheese syndrome"), weight gain, dry mouth, dizziness, over sedution; 2nd Gen: chemically different but no more effective: SSRIs - fewer undesirable side effects that 1st gen (prozac, zoloft, paxil, wellbutrin, desyrel)
- Schizophrenia
- "Split mind:" "my child is never returning" (even though he just went to school), "aliens are contacting me," etc; not split personalities; is the most severe mental disturbance (1/100 develop); emerges between late teens and early 30s; symptoms: disorganized thinking, disturbed perception, language, thoughts, difficulty relating to others; 3 symptom areas: Delusions and hallucinations, emotional disturbances, behavioral disturbances; 2 types: positive and negative
- Unconditional Positive Regard
- One of the three therapeutic conditions; No conditions on acceptance of person; you're not bad, your behavior might be
- Negative Schizophrenia
- One of the two types of Schizophrenia; Loss or absence of normal cognition and behavior; toneless speech, impaired attention, social withdrawal
- Major Depressive Disorder
- (MDD) Has been recorded as far back as ancient Egypt (melancholia - treated by priests); today, depression is the #1 reason people seek out mental health services; everyone feels 'sad' or 'blue' over events, but MDD experience a "lasting and continuously depressed mood without a clear trigger or precipitating event"
- Emotional Disturbances
- One of the 3 symptom areas of Schizophrenia; Flattened effect: lack of emotional response to emotional events (ex: mother dies -> no response)
- Biomedical
- One of the two major types of therapies for Schizophrenia; Use of medication and other medical therapies to treat the symptoms associated with psychological disorders
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- (PTSD) A severe anxiety that develops after experiencing a traumatic event (rape, war, natural disaster, abusive childhood, near fatal accident); symptoms: feelings of helplessness, flashbacks, nightmares, impaired concentration and or emotional numbness
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- One of the types of behavior therapy / modification; Integrates cognitive and behavioral techniques; based on assumption that thoughts, moods, and behaviors are interrelated
- Humanistic Theory
- (Carl Rogers [1902-1987]) Focuses on self-perception and individuals conscious thoughts and perceptions; most common form (client-centered), you are NOT 'fixing' someone; client centered: therapist doesn't interpret thoughts, make suggestions or pass judgement, they focus on client's subjective perception of self and environment: ex: "why do you think your mother was so strict?" NOT: "maybe your mom was strict b/c she loved you." they don't speak of an illness or cure; includes 3 therapeutic conditions: genuineness, uncoditional positive regard, empathetic understanding
- 4 Standards for Categorizing Psychological Disorders
- (1) Statistical Infrequency, (2) Disability or Dysfunction, (3) Personal Distress, (4) Violation of Norms
- Biomedical Therapy
- Use of medication and other medical therapies to treat the symptoms associated with psychological disorders
- Systematic Desensitization
- One of the types of behavior therapy / modification; Based on CC, uses 3 steps: (1) progressive relaxation, (2) develop heirarchy anxiety, (3) combine progressive relaxation and anxiety heirarchy; introduce operant (reward calm/relaxation); Ex: going to school everyday, stop when anxiety takes hold... school is associated with staying calm
- Effectiveness of Psychotherapy
- Most people do not seek help with problems; many people report spontaneous remission; analyses show that psychotherapy is more effective than no treatment; generally no difference among the types of psychotherapy; psychotherapy accelerates both the rate and degree of imporvement
- Antisocial
- A type of personality disorder; A personality disorder marked by a lack of ethical or moral development. Common behavior seen in people with this disorder includes crimes against society, aggressiveness, inability to feel remorse, untruthfulness and insincerity, unreliability, and failure to follow any life plan
- Personal Distress
- A standard for categorizing a psychological disorder; The individuals judgement of his/her own functioning level (ex: alcoholic, wishes to stop)
- Explaining Schizophrenia
- Biological factors: twin studies (50% hertiability), dopamine hypothesis: overactive dopamine (like taking acid or speed), psychosocial factors: chaotic/abusive/neglectful environment
- Dysthymia
- Low grade chronic depression; chronic, mild depression; prolonged depressed mood lasting two years or longer
- Panic Disorder
- Sudden but breif attacks of intense fear (trembling, shaking; ex: leaving apartment is like hanging from a plane wing); typically more likely to happen after exercise or prolonged stress
- Generalized Anxiety Disorders
- (GAD) Long lasting anxiety that is not focused on any particular object or situation; it is unspecific and free-floating; "fretting constantly;" because of persisten muscle tension often have headaches, dizziness, insomnia, and bruxism
- Empathetic Understanding
- One of the three therapeutic conditions; Creates a psychological mirror reflecting clients' thoughts and feelings (reflection/clarification); "I think that would have been hard for anyone;" "You seem upset"
- DSM-IV-TR
- Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders; aids in communication among mental health professionals, allows diagnoses for insurance companies; provides specific rules and questions clinicians use to be reliable and consistent
- Anxiety Disorders
- Unreasonable, often paralyzing anxiety or fear; feel threatened, ineffective, and unhappy in a world that is generally hostile
- Mood Disorders
- Extreme disorders characterized by disturbances in emotional states; 2 main types: Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymia, 1 minor type: Bipolar
- Positive Schizophrenia
- One of the two types of Schizophrenia; Addictions or exaggerations of normal cognition and behavior; hallucinations, delusions
- Delusions and Hallucinations
- One of the 3 symptom areas of Schizophrenia; Delusion: distorted perception of actual stimuli; hallucination: perception in the absence of sensation; Ex: temporal lobe stimulation = 'hearing voices,' paranoid thoughts, delusions of grandeur (Nazarene complex), delusions of persecution, delusions of reference (TV is giving specific info tailored to them)
- Behavioral Disturbances
- One of the 3 symptom areas of Schizophrenia; Behavior that has meaning only to the individual (ex: shaking head violently to get rid of the voices)