Stress
Disrupts a person's normal functioning
Psychological stressors
Catastrophe
Pressure
Conflicts
Daily Hassles
Social Readjustment Rating Scale
(SRRS)
A self report using objective criteria to measure stress
Life Experiences Survey (LES)
A self report measuring stress based on answers describing stressful experiences
Behavioral Measures of Stress
The number of times a stress coping behavior is executed
Physiological Measures of Stress
Heart rate, blood pressure, hormone levels, etc. during certain stressful situations
Behavioral Stress Responses
Strained facial expressions
Posture change
Aggression
Psychological Response
Emotional feeling
Cognitive difficulty
Memory loss
Catastrophizing
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
A physical response to stress in three stages:
1) Alarm
2) Resistance
3) Exhaustion
Psychoneuroimmunology
Study of the effects of stress on the immune system
Major Consequences of Stress
Physiological effects
Harmful behaviors
Health-related issues
Stress Mediators
Ways for stressors to elicit a stress response.
Cognitive Appraisal
A stress mediator containing two stages:
Primary appraisal & Secondary appraisal
Primary Appraisal
Determining if the stressor is a threat or not
Secondary Appraisal
Determining whether or not you can cope with the threat
Personality
A stress mediator depending on optimism, negative affectivity, and hardiness.
Characteristics that an individual adapts
Hardiness
Perceiving stressors as challenges instead of threats
Type A Behavior
Behavior characterized by:
Competitiveness
Impatience
Hostility
Drive
Coping
Methods used to control, reduce, or tolerate the threats that lead to stress
Emotion Focused Coping
Managing how you feel about the problem/stressor
Problem Focused Coping
Modifying the problem that leads to stress
Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality
Sex drives
Early childhood experiences shape personality
Unconscious thought processes
Sexual desire vs. realities of life
Oral Stage
0-18 months
Pleasure centers on the mouth
Mother is strongest love object
Anal Stage
18-36 months
Childs pleasure involves eliminative functions
Phallic Stage
3-6 years
Childs pleasure is focused on genitals
Oedipus Complex: Castration anxiety
Electra Complex: Penis envy
Latency Stage
6 years-puberty
"Time out"
Sexuality is repressed
Genital Stage
Adolescence-Adulthood
Sexual reawakening and maturity
Id
The UNCONSCIOUS part of personalty structure. Contains instincts, urges, and psychic energy
Superego
The MORAL branch of personality structure that contains the conscience and "the right thing to do
Ego
The BALANCER of the id and superego that deals with social demands and performs reality check to calm urges
Ego Defense Mechanisms
Repression: putting problem in unconscious
Denial
Projection: Assign your feelings to something else
Displacement: Acting out feelings on other object
Rationalization: Find rational argument to explain
Sublimation: Replace unacceptable impulse with accept
Reaction-Formation
Giving strong expression to the opposite of true feelings because the true feelings are too threatening
Regression
Seeking the security of an earlier developmental period
Psychoanalytic Personality Assessment
Psychoanalysis
Dream analysis
Hypnosis
Projective tests
Thematic Apperception Test
Subjects are given ambiguous pictures and asked to tell "stories" of the pictures ( TO SEE THEIR PERCEPTION)
Humanistic Theory of Personality
Focuses on self perception, personal growth, and freedom of choice
Abraham Maslow's Theory of Personality
Personality growth is based on the prospect of self-actualzation
Self-Actualization
Motivation to develop into one's full potential as a human being
Carl Rogers' Theory of Personality
Relies on the concept of self to describe personality and the need for unconditional positive regard
Self-Concept
Subjective perception of who we are; Ideal self and Real self
Ideal Self
The person I wish I was
Real Self
The person I think I am
Positive Regard
Need for unconditional acceptance of personality, love, and sympathy
Trait Approach to Personality
Enduring personality characteristics that lead to typical responses.
People are described by typical behavior.
Traits are the building blocks of personality.
Five Factor Model
A model that uses 5 broad traits as the main dimensions of personality and assessing strong and weak tendencies towards traits
Five Factor Model Traits
Openness (Creative or Cautious?)
Conscientiousness (Organized or Careless?)
Extraversion (Outgoing or Reserved?)
Agreeableness (Friendly or Suspicious?)
Neuroticism (Anxious or Secure?)
Biological Approach to Personality
The idea that brain changes can alter personality
Personological Approach
Focus on an individuals entire life history to describe personality
Need whole person understanding for personality
Situationalism
Personality and behavior vary considerably across different situations
Internal Locus of Control
I control my life and behavior
External Locus of Control
My life is controlled by outside, environmental factors
Barnum (Forer) Effect
Observation that individuals will give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically for them, but are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people
Abnormal Behavior
Deviant, maladaptive, personally distressing
DSM-V
Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
DSM-V Advantages
Basis for communication
Helps clinicians make predictions
Nomenclature
DSM-V Disadvantages
Negative reputation
Medical terminology implies internal cause
Focuses on weaknesses of patient
Anxiety Disorders
Uncontrollable, intense, disproportional, and long lasting fears.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Symptoms last for >6 months
Inability to specify reasons for anxiety
Constant state of worry and dread
Restlessness, irritability, headaches
Panic Disorder (Anxiety Disorder)
Recurring, sudden onset of intense terror that occurs without warning, lasts over 10 minutes
Phobic Disorders (Anxiety Disorder)
Irrational, overwhelming, persistent fear of a particular thing or situation
Will go through great effort to avoid it
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Anxiety Disorder)
Anxiety provokes thoughts and or urges to perform repetitive behavior
(Obsessive=thoughts)
(Compulsive=behavior)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Anxiety Disorder)
Symptoms result from exposure to trauma
Flashbacks
Avoiding ("I don't want to talk about it")
Excessive arousal and irritability
Major Depressive Disorder (Mood Disorder)
Depressed episode lasting for at least 2 weeks:
Depressed mood, weight changes, sleep disturbances, lack of pleasures, feelings of worthlessness, suicide, trouble concentrating, and impaired daily functioning.
Genetic disorder:
Neurotransmitters decrease
Pessimistic Attribution
Assigning negative reasons to explain a situation
Dysthymic Disorder (Mood Disorder)
Fewer symptoms than major depressive disorder
Lasts 1-2 years
Bipolar Disorder (Mood Disorder)
Extreme mood swings from depression to mania
Dissociation
Disconnection/disruption of consciousness, identity, and memory
Dissociative Amnesia
Inability to remember important self information. May involve memory gap for traumatic event
Retrograde Amnesia
Forgetting the past up to a certain point
Anterograde Amnesia
Not being able to form new memories
Dissociative Fugue
Forgetting personal identity and taking new identity.
Wandering around
Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder)
Same person with 2+ distinct personalities
Each personality has a distinct "life"
Only one personality is expressed at one time
Personality shifts under distress
Schizophrenia
Serious symptoms involving severely disturbed thinking, emotions, perceptions, and behavior.
No facial expressions
Memory problems
Hallucinations
Detached
Decreased social skills
Subtypes of Schizophrenia
Disorganized
Paranoid
Catatonic
Undifferentiated
Disorganized Schizophrenia
Delusions, hallucinations, incoherent speech, flat effect, and inappropriate behavior
Catatonic Schizophrenia
An alternation between immobility and hyperactivity
Paranoid Schizophrenia
Delusions of grandeur, persecution, and anxiety.
Erratic and unpredictable
Argumentative and angry
Personality Disorders
Chronic, maladaptive, cognitive-based behavioral patterns
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Disregard for others' rights or for rules of society
Lack of remorse
Borderline Personality Disorder
Instability of interpersonal relationships/self image
Irrational belief of powerlessness
Frantic efforts to avoid embarrassment
Splitting view of others as deeply beloved or hated enemies
Impulsive, insecure, unstable, extreme emotions
Self mutilation
Biological/Medical approach to Therapy
Treating physical cause of psychological problem
Forms of Biological Therapy
Psychosurgery
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Drug therapy
Antidepressants
Influence levels of serotonin and norepinephrine
Mood Stabilizers
Lithium, toxic
Anti-Anxiety Medication
Tranquilizers
Antipsychotics
Block Dopamine
Psychotherapies
Psychodynamic therapies
Humanistic therapies
Behavioral therapies
Cognitive therapies
Psychodynamic Therapy
Assumes unconscious conflicts create problems.
Emphasizes the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and therapeutic interpretation
Methods:
Talk therapy
Dream Interpretation
Free Association
Analysis of everyday behavior
Humanistic Therapy
Assumes that the patient is not functioning at optimal level
Emphasizes conscious thoughts, self-healing and fulfillment.
Methods:
Helping the person reach his/her full potential, self-healing, personal growth
Warm, supportive atmosphere
Unconditional pos
Behavioral Therapy
Assumes the client has learned maladaptive behavioral patterns
Emphasizes behavior changes
Methods:
Modeling for social skills training
Classical and operant condition
Positive reinforcement of adaptive behaviors'
Aversion conditioning (Extinguish maladap
Cognitive Therapy
Assumes client has developed maladaptive thoughts
Emphasizes thoughts as primary source of psychological problems
Methods:
Eliminate irrational beliefs through rational examination
Identify and challenge automatic thoughts
Cognitive Biotherapy
Combines congnitive and behavioral approaches
Sociocultural Therapy
Emphasizes influence of social and cultual factors; sensitive to gender and ethnic issues
Methods:
Group therapy
Family and couples therapy
Self-help support groups
Community mental health