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Psychology 101: Chapter 10: Psychological Disorders PROFESSOR SEMESTER Module 33: Normal versus Abnormal-Defining Abnormality ? Abnormality as deviation from the average

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Psychology 101: Chapter 10: Psychological Disorders PROFESSOR SEMESTER Module 33: Normal versus Abnormal-Defining Abnormality ? Abnormality as deviation from the average. ? Abnormality as deviation from the ideal. ? Abnormality as a sense of personal discomfort. ? Abnormality as the inability to function effectively. ? Abnormality as a legal concept. ? Abnormal Behavior: Behavior that causes people to experience distress and prevents them from functioning in their daily lives. Perspectives on Abnormality: From Superstition to Science ? Throughout much of human history, people linked abnormal behavior to superstition and witchcraft. ? Individuals who displayed abnormal behavior were accused of being possessed by the devil or some sort of demonic god. ? Contemporary approaches take a more enlightened view. ? Today 6 major perspectives are used to understand psychological disorders. ? These perspectives suggest not only different causes of abnormal behavior but different treatment approaches as well. Medical Perspective ? The perspective that suggests that when an individual displays symptoms of abnormal behavior, the root cause will be found in a physical examination of the individual, which may reveal a hormonal imbalance, a chemical deficiency, or a brain injury. ? Because many abnormal behaviors have been linked to biological causes, the medical perspective is a reasonable approach, yet serious criticisms have been leveled against it. ? For example, no biological cause has been identified for many forms of abnormal behavior. Psychoanalytic Perspective ? The perspective that suggests that abnormal behavior stems from childhood conflicts over opposing wishes regarding sex and aggression. ? According to Freud, children pass through a series of stages in which sexual and aggressive impulses take different forms and produce conflicts that require resolution. ? If these childhood conflicts are not dealt with successfully, they remain unresolved in the unconscious and eventually bring about abnormal behavior during adulthood. ? To uncover the roots of people’s disordered behavior, the psychoanalytic perspective scrutinizes their early life history. ? However, because there is no conclusive way to link people’s childhood experiences with the abnormal behaviors they display as adults, we can never be sure that the causes suggested by this theory are accurate. ? On the other hand, the contributions of this theory have been significant. ? More than any other approach to abnormal behavior, this perspective highlights the fact that people can have a rich, involved inner life and that prior experiences can have a profound effect on current psychological functioning. Behavioral Perspective Both the medical and psychoanalytic perspectives look at abnormal behaviors as symptoms of an underlying problem. ? In contrast, the behavioral perspective views the behavior itself as the problem. ? Using the basic principles of learning, behavioral theorists see both normal and abnormal behaviors as responses to various stimuli, responses that have been learned through past experience and are guided in the present by stimuli in the individual’s environment. ? This perspective provides the most precise and objective approach for examining behavioral symptoms of specific disorders such as ADHD. ? At the same time, though, critics charge that the perspective ignores the rich inner world of thoughts, attitudes, and emotions that may contribute to abnormal behavior. ? Cognitive Perspective ? The medical, psychoanalytic, and behavioral perspectives view people’s behavior as the result of factors largely beyond their control. ? To many critics of these views, however, people’s thoughts cannot be ignored. ? In response to such concerns, some psychologists employ a cognitive perspective. ? Rather than considering only external behavior, as in traditional behavioral approaches, the cognitive approach assumes that cognitions (people’s thoughts and beliefs) are central to a person’s abnormal behavior. ? A primary goal of treatment using this perspective is to explicitly teach new, more adaptive ways of thinking. ? However, it is possible that maladaptive cognitions are the symptoms or consequences of disorders, rather than their cause. ? Furthermore, there are circumstances in which negative beliefs may not be irrational at all, but simply reflect the unpleasant environments in which people live. Humanistic Perspective ? Psychologists who subscribe to the humanistic perspective emphasize the responsibility people have for their own behavior, even when their behavior is considered abnormal. ? The humanistic perspective concentrates on what is uniquely humanthat is, a view of people as basically rational, oriented toward a social world, and motivated to seek self- actualization. ? Rather than assuming that individuals require a “cure,” this perspective suggests that they can, by and large, set their own limits of what is acceptable behavior. ? As long as they are not hurting others and do not feel personal distress, people should be free to choose the behaviors in which they engage. ? Although this perspective has been criticized for its reliance on unscientific, unverifiable information and its vague, almost philosophical formulations, it offers a distinctive view of abnormal behavior. ? It stresses the unique aspects of being human and provides a number of important suggestions for helping those with psychological problems. Sociocultural Perspective ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? The perspective that assumes that people’s behavior– both normal and abnormal– is shaped by the kind of family group, society, and culture in which they live. According to this view, the nature of one’s relationships with others may support abnormal behaviors and even cause them. Consequently, the kinds of stresses and conflicts people experience in their daily interactions with others can promote and maintain abnormal behavior. This perspective finds statistical support for the position that sociocultural factors shape abnormal behavior given the fact that some kinds of abnormal behavior are far more prevalent among certain social classes than they are in others. For instance, proportionally more African American individuals are hospitalized involuntarily for psychological disorders than are whites. Furthermore, poor economic times seem to be linked to general declines in psychological functioning, and social problems such as homelessness are associated with psychological disorders. On the other hand, there are many alternative explanations for the association between abnormal behavior and social factors. For example, people from lower socioeconomic levels may be less likely than those from higher levels to seek help, gradually reaching a point where their Classifying Abnormal Behavior: The ABCs of DSMIV-TR: Determining Diagnostic Distinctions ? Providing appropriate and specific names and classifications for abnormal behavior has presented a major challenge to psychologists. ? One standard system, devised by the American Psychiatric Association, has emerged in the U.S. known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IVTR) to diagnose and classify abnormal behavior. ? DSM-IV-TR presents comprehensive and relatively precise definitions for more than 200 disorders, divided into 17 major categories. ? By following the criteria presented in the DSM-IV-TR classification system, diagnosticians can identify the specific problem an individual is experiencing. ? DSM-IV-TR is primarily descriptive and avoids suggesting an underlying cause for an individual’s behavior and problems. ? Instead, it paints a picture of the behavior that is being displayed. ? Why should this approach be important? For one thing, it allows communication between mental health professionals of diverse backgrounds and theoretical approaches. ? In addition, precise classification enables researchers to explore the causes of a problem. ? Without reliable descriptions of abnormal, researchers would be hard-pressed to find ways to investigate the disorder. ? Finally, DSM-IV-TR provides a kind of conceptual shorthand through which professionals can describe the behaviors that tend to occur together in an individual. ? Although the DSM-IV-TR was developed to provide more accurate and consistent diagnoses of psychological disorders, it has not been entirely successful. ? For instance, critics charge that it relies too much on the medical perspective. ? Because it was drawn up by psychiatrists– who are physicians– some condemn it for viewing psychological disorders primarily in terms of the symptoms of an underlying physiological disorder. ? Moreover, critics suggest that the DSM-IV-TR compartmentalizes people into inflexible, all-or-none categories, rather than considering the degree to which a Module 34: The Major Psychological Disorders-Anxiety Disorders ? Anxiety Disorder– The occurrence of anxiety without an obvious external cause, affecting daily functioning. ? The four major types of anxiety disorders are: phobic disorder, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Phobic Disorder ? Phobias– Intense, irrational fears of specific objects or situations. ? The objective danger posed by an anxiety-producing stimulus (which can be just about anything- e.g. spiders, enclosed spaces, high places, strangers, etc.) is typically small or nonexistent. ? However, to someone suffering from the phobia, the danger is great, and a full-blown panic attack may follow exposure to the stimulus. Panic Disorder ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Panic Disorder– Anxiety disorder that takes the form of panic attacks lasting from a few seconds to as long as several hours. Unlike phobias, which are stimulated by specific objects or situations, panic disorders do not have any identifiable stimuli. Instead, during an attack, anxiety suddenly– and often without warning– rises to a peak, and an individual feels a sense of impending, unavoidable doom. Although the physical symptoms differ from person to person, they may include heart palpitations, shortness of breath, unusual amounts of sweating, faintness and dizziness, gastric sensations, and sometimes a sense of imminent death. After such an attack, it is no wonder that people tend to feel exhausted. Panic attacks seemingly come out of nowhere and are unconnected to any specific stimulus. Because they don’t know what triggers their feelings of panic, victims of panic attacks may become fearful of going places. In fact, some people with panic disorder develop a complication called agoraphobia, the fear of being in a situation in which escape is difficult and in which help for a possible panic attack would not be available. In extreme cases, people with agoraphobia never leave their homes. Generalized Anxiety Disorder ? People with generalized anxiety disorder experience long-term, persistent anxiety and uncontrollable worry. ? Sometimes their concerns are about identifiable issues involving family, money, work, or health. ? In other cases, though, people with the disorder feel that something dreadful is about to happen but can’t identify the reason and thus experience “free-floating” anxiety. ? Because of persistent anxiety, people with GAD cannot concentrate or set their worry and fears aside; their lives become centered on their worry. ? The most common symptoms of GAD are: unable to relax, difficulty concentrating, tense, frightened, fear of losing control, jumpy, unable to control thoughts, confusion, weakness all over, terrified, hands sweating, heart racing, wobbly, speech blocked, sweating all over, fear of dying, difficulty breathing, hands trembling, nausea, diarrhea, felling of choking, and actual fainting. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? In obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), people are plagued by unwanted thoughts, called obsessions, or feel that they must carry out actions, termed compulsions, that they feel driven to perform. An obsession is a persistent, unwanted thought or idea that keeps recurring. For example, a man may go on vacation and wonder the whole time whether he locked his house or a woman may hear the same tune running through her head over and over. In each case, the thought or idea is unwanted and difficult to put out of mind. Of course, many people suffer from mild obsessions from time to time, but usually such thoughts persist only for a short period. For people with serious obsessions, however, the thoughts persist for days or months and may consist of bizarre, troubling images. As part of an OCD, people may also experience compulsions, irresistible urges to repeatedly carry out some act that seems strange and unreasonable, even to them. Whatever the compulsive behavior is, people experience extreme anxiety if they cannot carry it out, even if it is something they want to stop. The acts may be relatively trivial, such as repeatedly checking the stove to make sure all the burners are turned off, or more unusual, such as continuously washing oneself. Although such compulsive rituals lead to some immediate reduction of anxiety, in the long term the anxiety returns. The Causes of Anxiety Disorders ? ? ? ? ? ? The variety of anxiety disorders means that no single explanation fits all cases. Genetic factors clearly are part of the picture. For example, if one member of a pair of identical twins has panic disorder, there is a 30% chance that the other twin will have it also. Furthermore, a person’s characteristic level of anxiety is related to a specific gene involved in the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. This is consistent with findings indicating that certain chemical deficiencies in the brain appear to produce some kinds of anxiety disorder. Psychologists who employ the behavioral perspective have taken a different approach that emphasizes environmental factors. They consider anxiety to be a learned response to stress. ? For instance, suppose a dog bites a young girl. When the girl next sees a dog, she is frightened and runs away– a behavior and relieves her anxiety and thereby reinforces her avoidance behavior. ? After repeated encounters with dogs in which she is reinforced her avoidance behavior, she may develop a full-fledged phobia regarding dogs. Finally, the cognitive perspective suggests that anxiety disorders grow out of inappropriate and inaccurate thoughts and beliefs about circumstances in a person’s world. ? For example, people with anxiety disorders may view a friendly puppy as ferocious and savage pit bull, or they may see an air disaster looming every moment they are in the vicinity Somatoform Disorders ? Somatoform disorders are psychological difficulties that take on a physical (Somatic) form, but for which there is no medical cause. ? Even though an individual with a somatoform disorder reports physical symptoms, no biological cause exists, or if there is a medical problem, the person’s reaction is greatly exaggerated. ? Hypochondriasis– one type of somatoform disorders in which people have a constant fear of illness and a preoccupation with their health. ? These individuals believe that everyday aches and pains are symptoms of a dread disease. ? The “symptoms” are not faked; rather, they are misinterpreted as evidence of some serious illness– often in the face of inarguable medical evidence to the contrary. ? Conversion disorder– unlike hypochondriasis, in which there is no physical problem, a conversion disorder involves an actual physical disturbance, such as the inability to see or hear or to move an arm or leg. ? The cause of such a physical disturbance is purely psychological; there is no biological reason for the problem. ? Some of Freud’s classic cases involved conversion disorders. Dissociative Disorders ? The classic movie “The 3 Faces of Eve” and the book “Sybil” (about a girl who allegedly had 16 personalities) represents a highly dramatic, rare, and controversial class of disorders: dissociative disorders. ? Dissociative disorders are characterized by the separation ( or dissociation) of different facets of a person’s personality that are normally integrated and work together. ? By dissociating key parts of who they are, people are able to keep disturbing memories of perceptions from reaching conscious awareness and thereby reduce their anxiety. Dissociative Identity Disorder ? Several dissociative disorders exist, although all of them are rare. ? A person with a dissociative identity disorder (DID) (once called multiple personality disorder) displays characteristics of 2 or more distinct personalities, identities, or personality fragments. ? Individual personalities often have a unique set of likes and dislikes and their own reactions to situations. ? Some people with multiple personalities even carry several pairs of glasses because their vision changes with each personality. ? Moreover, each individual personality can be well adjusted when considered on its own. ? The diagnosis of DID is controversial. It was rarely diagnosed before 1980, when it was added as a category in the 3rd Edition of DSM for the first time. ? At that point, the number of cases increased significantly. ? Some clinicians suggest the increase was due to more precise identification of the disorder, whereas others suggest the increase was due to an over readiness to use the classification. Dissociative Amnesia ? Dissociative Amnesia is another dissociative disorder in which a significant selective memory loss occurs. ? It’s unlike simple amnesia, which involves an actual loss of information from memory, typically resulting from a physiological cause. ? In contrast, in cases of dissociative amnesia, the “forgotten” material is still present in memory– it simply cannot be recalled. ? The term “repressed memories” is sometimes used to describe the lost memories of people with dissociative amnesia. ? In the most severe form of dissociative amnesia, individuals cannot recall their names, are unable to recognize parents and other relatives, and do not known their addresses. ? In other respects, though, they may appear quite normal. ? Apart from an inability to remember certain facts about themselves, they may be able to recall skills and abilities that they developed earlier. ? For instance, even though a chef may not remember where he grew up and received training, he may still be able to prepare gourmet meals. Dissociative Fugue ? A more unusual form of amnesia is a condition known as dissociative fugue. ? In this state, people take sudden, impulsive trips, and sometimes assume a new identity. ? After a period of time– days, months, or sometimes even years– they suddenly realize that they are in a strange place and completely forget the time they have spent wandering. ? Their last memories are those from the time just before they entered the fugue state. Mood Disorders ? From the time I woke up in the morning until the time I went to bed at night, I was unbearably miserable and seemingly incapable of any kind of joy or enthusiasm. Everything– every thought, word, movement– was an effort. Everything that once was sparkling was now flat. I seemed to myself to be dull, boring, inadequate, thick brained, unlit, unresponsive, chill skinned, bloodless, and sparrow drab. I doubted, completely, my ability to do anything well. It seemed as though my mind had slowed down and burned out to the point of being virtually useless. (Jamison, 1995, p. 110) ? ? ? ? ? We all experience mood swings. Sometimes we are happy, perhaps even euphoric; at other times we feel upset, saddened, or depressed. Such changes in mood are a normal part of everyday life. In some people, however, moods are so pronounced and lingering– like the feelings described in the preceding extract by writer (and clinical psychologist) Kay Jamison– that they interfere with the ability to function effectively. In extreme cases, a mood may become life-threatening, and in others it may cause the person to lose touch with reality. Situations such as these represent mood disorders, disturbances in emotional experience that are strong enough to intrude on everyday living. Major Depression ? President Abraham Lincoln, Queen Victoria, Newscaster Mike Wallace. ? Each suffered from periodic attacks of major depression, a sever form of depression that interferes with concentration, decision making, and sociability. ? Major depression is one of the more common forms of mood disorders. ? Some 15 million people in the U.S. suffer from major depression, and at any one time, 6 to 10 % of the U.S. population is clinically depressed. Which is almost 1 in 5 people in the U.S. experiences it at some point in life, and 15% of college students have received a diagnosis of depression. ? The cost of depression is more than $80 billion a year in lost ? Although no one is sure why, the rate of depression is going up throughout the world. ? People who suffer from major depression feel useless, worthless, and lonely and may think the future is hopeless and that no one can help them. ? They may lose their appetite and have no energy. ? Moreover, they may experience such feelings for months or even years. ? They may cry uncontrollably, have sleep disturbances, and be at risk for suicide. ? The depth and duration of such behavior are the hallmarks of major depression. Mania and Bipolar Disorder ? While depression leads to the depths of despair, mania leads to emotional heights. Mania is an extended state of intense, wild elation. ? People experiencing mania feel intense happiness, power, invulnerability, and energy. ? Believing they will succeed at anything they attempt, they may become involved in wild schemes. ? Typically, people sequentially experience periods of mania and depression. ? This alternation of mania and depression is called bipolar disorder (a condition previously known as manic-depressive disorder). ? The sings between highs and lows may occur a few days apart or may alternate over a period of years. ? In addition, in bipolar disorder, periods of depression are usually ? Causes of Mood Disorders Bipolar disorders are primarily caused by genetic & biological factors; alterations in the functioning of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. ? Psychoanalytic: depression as the result of feelings of loss (real or potential) or of anger directed at oneself. ? Behavioral: stresses of life produce a reduction in positive reinforcers, thus, people begin to withdraw. ? Cognitive: Learned helplessness- a learned expectation that events in one’s life are uncontrollable and that one cannot escape from the situation. So people simply give up fighting aversive events and submit to them, thereby producing depression. ? Other theorists suggest that depression results from hopelessness, a combination of learned helplessness and an expectation that negative outcomes in one’s life are inevitable. ? Schizophrenia ? ? ? ? ? ? Largest percentage of those hospitalized for mental disorders. They are also in many respects the least likely to recover from their psychological difficulties. Schizophrenia- refers to a class of disorders in which severe distortion of reality occurs. Thinking, perception, and emotion may deteriorate; the individual may withdraw from social interaction; and the person may display bizarre behavior. Characteristics include: decline from a previous level of functioning; disturbances of thought and language; delusions; hallucinations and perceptual disorders; emotional disturbances; and withdrawal. Two types: Positive-symptom: hallucinations, delusions, and emotional extremes. Negative-symptom: absence or loss of normal functioning, such as social withdrawal or blunted emotions. Causes of Schizophrenia ? Biological: Genetic factors/links: Yet, only 50% vs. 100% of two identical twins would have schizophrenia. ? Dopamine Hypothesis- suggests that schizophrenia occurs when there is excess activity in the areas of the brain that use dopamine as a neurotransmitter. Found to be true when using drugs to block dopamine to help reduce symptoms of schizophrenia. ? Structural abnormalities exist: MRI shows schizophrenic patients’ hippocampus is shrunken and the ventricles are enlarged and fluid-filled. ? Expressed emotion- an interaction style characterized by criticism, hostility, and emotional intrusiveness by family members.– faulty communication patterns lie at the heart of schizophrenia. ? Predisposition model of schizophrenia- individuals may inherit a predisposition or an inborn sensitivity to schizophrenia that makes them particularly vulnerable to stressful factors in the environment, such as social rejection or dysfunctional family communication patterns. Personality Disorders ? A personality disorder is characterized by a set of inflexible, maladaptive behavior patterns that keep a person form functioning appropriately in society. ? Antisocial personality disorder (sociopathic personality) is a disorder in which individuals show no regard for the moral and ethical rules of society or the rights of others. ? Borderline personality disorder is a disorder in which individuals have difficulty developing a secure sense of who they are. ? Narcissistic personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by an exaggerated sense of selfimportance. Childhood Disorders ? Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)- a disorder marked by inattention, impulsiveness, a low tolerance for frustration, and a great deal of inappropriate activity. ? Autism- a severe developmental disability that impairs children’s ability to communicate and relate to others. Psychology 101: Chapter 11: Treatment of Psychological Disorders PROFESSOR SEMESTER Module 36: Psychotherapy: Psychodynamic, Behavioral, and Cognitive Approaches to Treatment ? Psychodynamic Therapy– Therapy that seeks to bring unresolved past conflicts and unacceptable impulses from the unconscious into the conscious, where patients may deal with the problems more effectively. ? Defense mechanisms– psychological strategies to protect oneself from unacceptable unconscious impulses. ? Neurotic symptoms– abnormal behavior produced by lack of defense mechanisms working all the time (cannot bury completely all impulses). Psychoanalysis: Freud’s Therapy ? Psychoanalysis– Freudian psychotherapy in which the goal is to release hidden unconscious thoughts and feelings in order to reduce their power in controlling behavior. ? Patients meet with therapist frequently, sometimes as much as 50 min/day for 4-6 days a week for several years. ? Free Association– psychoanalysts tell patients to say aloud whatever comes to mind, regardless of its apparent irrelevance or senselessness, and the analysts attempt to recognize and label the connections between what a patient says and the patient’s unconscious. ? Dream Interpretation– examining dreams to find clues to unconscious conflicts and problems. ? Moving beyond the surface description of a dream (called the manifest content), therapists seek its underlying meaning (the latent content), thereby revealing the true unconscious meaning of the dream. ? However, Resistance is an inability or unwillingness to discuss or reveal particular memories, thoughts, or motivations. ? Transference– is the transfer of feelings to a psychoanalyst of love or anger that had been originally directed to the patient’s parents or other Contemporary Psychodynamic Approaches and evaluating therapy ? Few people have the time, money, or patience to participate in years of traditional psychoanalysis. ? No conclusive evidence shows that psychoanalysis (19th Century Freudian) works better than more recent forms of psychodynamic therapy. ? Psychodynamic therapy is of shorter duration, lasts no longer than 3 months or 20 sessions. ? The therapist is more active, controlling the course of therapy and prodding and advising the patient with directness. ? Also, the therapist puts less emphasis on a patient’s past history and childhood and concentrates instead on an individual’s current relationships and specific complaints. ? However, psychodynamic therapy can be time-consuming and expensive, and for less articulate patients they may not do as well as more verbal ones. Behavioral Approaches to Therapy ? Behavioral treatment approaches– treatment approaches that build on the basic processes of learning, such as reinforcement and extinction, and assume that normal and abnormal behavior are both learned. ? This approach assumes: Both abnormal behavior and normal behavior are learned. ? People who act abnormally either have failed to learn the skills they need to cope with the problems of everyday living or have acquired faulty skills and patterns that are being maintained through some form of reinforcement. ? To modify abnormal behavior, then, proponents of behavioral approaches propose that people must learn new behavior to replace the faulty skills they have developed and unlearn their maladaptive behavior patterns. ? In this view, then, there is no problem other than the maladaptive behavior itself, and if you can change that behavior, treatment is successful. Classical Conditioning treatments ? Aversive Conditioning– a form of therapy that reduces the frequency of undesired behavior by pairing an aversive, unpleasant stimulus with undesired behavior. ? Systematic Desensitization– a behavioral technique in which gradual exposure to an anxiety-producing stimulus is paired with relaxation to extinguish the response of anxiety. ? Exposure Treatment– a behavioral treatment for anxiety in which people are confronted, either suddenly or gradually, with a stimulus that they fear. Operant Conditioning Techniques ? These approaches are based on the notion that we should reward people for carrying out desirable behavior and extinguish undesirable behavior by either ignoring it or punishing it. ? One example of the systematic application of operant conditioning principles is the token system, which rewards a person for desired behavior with something the person wants. ? In a variant of the token system, called contingency contracting, the therapist and client (or teacher and student, or parent and child) draw up a written agreement. ? The contract states a series of behavioral goals the client hopes to achieve. ? It also specifies the positive consequences for the client if the client reaches goals– usually an explicit reward such as money or additional privileges. ? Observational learning– the process in which the behavior of other people is modeled, to systematically teach people new skills and ways of handling their Dialectical behavior therapy and evaluating behavior therapy ? Dialectical behavior therapy– a form of treatment in which the focus is on getting people to accept who they are, regardless of whether it matches their ideal. ? Even if their childhood has been dysfunctional or they have ruined relationships with others, that’s in the past. What matters is who they wish to become! ? ? Therapists seek to have patients realize that they basically have 2 choices: Either they remain unhappy, or they change. Once patients agree that they wish to change, it is up to them to modify their behavior. ? Dialectical behavior therapy teaches behavioral skills that help people behave more effectively and keep their emotions in check. ? Although it is a relatively new form of therapy, increasing evidence supports its effectiveness, particularly with certain personality disorders. ? Behavior therapy works especially well for eliminating anxiety disorders, Cognitive approaches to therapy ? Cognitive treatment approaches– treatment approaches that teach people to think in more adaptive ways by changing their dysfunctional cognitions about the world and themselves. ? Cognitive-behavioral approach– a treatment approach that incorporates basic principles of learning to change the way people think. ? Cognitive approaches share the assumption that anxiety, depression, and negative emotions develop from maladaptive thinking. ? Cognitive treatments seek to change the thought patterns that lead to getting “stuck” in dysfunctional ways of thinking. ? Therapists systematically teach clients to challenge their assumptions and adopt new approaches to old problems. ? Cognitive therapy is relatively short term, usually lasting a maximum of 20 sessions. Rational-emotive behavior therapy ? Rational-Emotive behavior therapy– a form of therapy that attempts to restructure a person’s belief system into a more realistic, rational, and logical set of views by challenging dysfunctional beliefs that maintain irrational behavior. ? According to psychologist Albert Ellis, many people lead unhappy lives and suffer from psychological disorders because they harbor irrational, unrealistic ideas such as these: ? We need the love or approval of virtually every significant other person for everything we do. We should be thoroughly competent, adequate, and successful in all possible respects in order to consider ourselves worthwhile. It is horrible when things don’t turn out the way we want them to. ? Such irrational beliefs trigger negative emotions, which in turn support the irrational beliefs, and lead to a self-defeating cycle. ? R-E-B Therapy aims to help clients eliminate maladaptive thoughts and beliefs and adopt more effective thinking. ? To accomplish this goal, therapists take an active, directive role during therapy, openly challenging patterns of thought that appear to be dysfunctional. ? By poking holes in the patient’s reasoning, the therapist is attempting to help Cognitive therapy ? Aaron Beck’s cognitive therapy aims to change people’s illogical thoughts about themselves and the world. ? However, cognitive therapy is considerably less confrontational and challenging than rational-emotive behavior therapy. ? Instead of the therapist’s actively arguing with clients about their dysfunctional cognitions, cognitive therapists more often play the role of teacher. ? Therapists urge clients to obtain information on their own that will lead them to discard their inaccurate thinking through a process of cognitive appraisal. ? In cognitive appraisal, clients are asked to evaluate situations, themselves, and others in terms of their memories, values, beliefs, thoughts, and expectations. ? During the course of treatment, therapists help clients discover ways of thinking more appropriately about themselves and others. Evaluating cognitive approaches to therapy ? Cognitive approaches to therapy have proved successful in dealing with a broad range of disorders, including anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders. ? Furthermore, the willingness of cognitive therapists to incorporate additional treatment approaches (e.g. combining cognitive and behavioral techniques in cognitive-behavioral therapy) has made this approach a particularly effective form of treatment. ? At the same time, critics have pointed out that the focus on helping people to think more rationally ignores the fact that life is, in reality, sometimes irrational. ? Changing one’s assumptions to make them more reasonable and logical thus may not always be helpful– even assuming it is possible to bring about true cognitive change. ? Still, the success of cognitive approaches has made it one of the most frequently employed therapies. Module 37: Psychotherapy-Humanistic and Group Approaches: --Humanistic Therapy ? Therapy in which the underlying rationale is that people have control of their behavior, can make choices about their lives, and are essentially responsible for solving their own problems. ? Rationale: We have control of our own behavior, we can make choices about the kinds of lives we want to live, and it is up to us to solve the difficulties we encounter in our daily lives. ? Self-actualization is the term that clinical psychologist Abraham Maslow used to describe the state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their highest potentials, each in their own unique way (humans are naturally motivated to strive for this). Person-Centered Therapy (client-centered therapy) ? Therapy in which the goal is to reach one’s potential for self-actualization. ? Instead of directing the choices clients make, therapists provide what Carl Rogers calls “unconditional positive regard” expressing acceptance and understanding, regardless of the feelings and attitudes the client expresses. ? By doing this, therapists hope to create an atmosphere that enables clients to come to decisions that can improve their lives. Evaluating Humanistic approaches to therapy ? The notion that psychological disorders result from restricted growth potential appeals philosophically to many people. ? Furthermore, when humanistic therapists acknowledge that the freedom we possess can lead to psychological difficulties, clients find an unusually supportive environment for therapy. ? In turn, this atmosphere can help clients discover solutions to difficult psychological problems. ? However, it is not very precise and is probably the least scientifically and theoretically developed type of treatment Interpersonal therapy ? Short-term therapy that focuses on the context of current social relationships. ? It typically focuses on interpersonal issues such as conflicts with others, social skills issues, role transitions (e.g. divorce), or grief. ? The approach makes no assumptions about the underlying causes of psychological disorders, but focuses on the interpersonal context in which a disorder is developed and maintained. ? Lasts only 12-16 weeks; the therapists make concrete suggestions on improving relations with others, offering recommendations and advice. ? Because IPT is short and structured, researchers have been able to demonstrate its effectiveness more readily than longer-term types of therapy. It’s effective in dealing with depression, anxiety, addictions, and eating disorders. Group Therapy, Family Therapy, and Self-Help Groups Group Therapy– Therapy in which people meet in a group with a therapist to discuss problems. ? People typically discuss with the group their problems, which often center on a common difficulty, such as alcoholism or a lack of social skills. ? The other members of the group provide emotional support and dispense advice on ways in which they have coped effectively with similar problems. Family Therapy ? An approach that focuses on the family and its dynamics; involves 2 or more family members, one (or more) of whose problems led to treatment. ? But rather than focusing simply on the members of the family who present the initial problem, family therapists consider the family as a unit, to which each member contributes. ? By meeting with the entire family simultaneously, family therapists try to understand how the family members interact with one another. ? Family therapists view the family as a “system,” and they assume that individuals in the family cannot improve without understanding the conflicts found in interactions among family members. ? Thus, the therapist expects each member to contribute to the resolution of the problem being addressed. Self-Help Therapy ? In many cases, group therapy does not involve a professional therapist. Instead, people with similar problems get together to discuss their shared feelings and experiences. ? For example, people who have recently experienced the death of a spouse might meet in a “bereavement support group,” or college students may get together to discuss their adjustment to college. ? One of the best-known self-help groups is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), designed to help members deal with alcohol-related problems. ? AA prescribes 12 steps that alcoholics must pass through on their road to recovery, beginning with an admission that they are alcoholics and powerless over alcohol. ? AA provides more treatment for alcoholics than any other therapy, and it and other 12-step programs (such as Narcotics Anonymous) can be as successful in treating alcohol and other substance-abuse problems. Evaluating Psychotherapy: does therapy work? ? Most psychologists agree: Therapy does work. ? Several comprehensive reviews indicate that therapy brings about greater improvement than does no treatment at all, with the rate of spontaneous remission (recovery without treatment) being fairly low. ? In most cases, then, the symptoms of abnormal behavior do not go away by themselves if left untreated– although the issue continues to be hotly debated. ? Although most psychologists feel confident that psychotherapeutic treatment ‘in general’ is more effective than no treatment at all, the question of whether any specific form of treatment is superior to any other has not been answered definitively. Meta-analysis results say… ? For most people, psychotherapy is effective. ? On the other hand, psychotherapy doesn’t work for everyone (10% showed no improvement vs. 90%) ? No single form of therapy works best for every problem, and certain specific types of treatment are better, although not invariably, for specific types of problems. E.g.) CBT- panic// exposure- phobias ? Most therapies share several basic similar elements: the opportunity for a client to develop a positive relationship with a therapist, an explanation or interpretation of a client’s symptoms, and confrontation of negative emotions. ? Evidence-based psychotherapy practice- seeks to use the research literature to determine the best practices for treating a specific disorder. ? Eclectic approach to therapy– therapists use a variety of techniques, integrating several perspectives, to treat a person’s problems. Module 38: Biomedical TherapyBiological Approaches to TreatmentDrug therapy ? Drug Therapy– Control of psychological disorders through the use of drugs. ? Antipsychotic Drugs– Drugs that temporarily reduce psychotic symptoms such as agitation, hallucinations, and delusions. ? Previously, the typical mental hospital wasn’t very different from the stereotypical 19th Century insane asylum, giving mainly custodial care to screaming, moaning, clawing patients who displayed bizarre behaviors. ? Suddenly, in just a matter of days after hospital staff members administered antipsychotic drugs, the wards became considerably calmer environments in which professionals could do more than just try to get patients through the day without causing serious harm to themselves or others. It was due to the drug… ? Chlorpromazine– became the most popular and successful treatment for schizophrenia. ? Today drug therapy is the preferred treatment for most cases of severely abnormal behavior and, as such, is used for most patients hospitalized with psychological disorders. ? The newest generation of antipsychotics, referred to as atypical antipsychotics, have fewer side effects. ? Antipsychotic drugs, mostly, block dopamine receptors at the brain’s synapses. ? Atypical antipsychotics affect both serotonin and dopamine levels in certain parts of the brain, such as those related to planning and goal-directed activity. ? Despite the effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs, most of the time the symptoms reappear when the drug is withdrawn. ? Furthermore, such drugs can have long-term side effects, such as dryness of the mouth and throat, that may continue after drug treatments are stopped. Antidepressant Drugs ? Are a class of medications that improve a severely depressed patient’s mood and feeling of well-being. ? They are also sometimes used for other disorders, such as anxiety disorders and bulimia. ? Most antidepressant drugs work by changing the concentration of specific neurotransmitters in the brain. ? E.g.) Tricyclic drugs increase the availability of norepinephrine at the synapses of neurons, whereas MAO inhibiters prevent the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO) from breaking down neurotransmitters. ? Newer antidepressants– such as escitalopram (Lexapro) are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). ? SSRIs target neurotransmitter serotonin and permit it to linger at the synapse. ? Some antidepressants produce a combination of effects. ? For instance, nefazodone (Serzone) blocks serotonin at some receptor sites but not others, while bupropion (Wellbutrin and Zyban) affects the norepinephrine and dopamine systems. ? Scientists have found that the anesthetic ketamine blocks the neural receptor NMDA, which affects the neurotransmitter glutamate. ? Glutamate plays an important role in mood regulation and the ability to experience pleasure, and researchers believe that ketamine blockers may prove to be useful in the treatment of depression. Mood Stabilizers ? Drugs used to treat mood disorders that prevent manic episodes of bipolar disorder. ? E.g.) The drug lithium (Depakote and Tegretol), a form of mineral salts, has been used very successfully in patients with bipolar disorders and effectively reduce manic episodes. ? However, they do not effectively treat depressive phases of bipolar disorder, so antidepressants are usually prescribed during those phases. ? Lithium (and similar drugs) can be a preventative treatment that blocks future episodes of manic depression. Antianxiety drugs ? Drugs that reduce the level of anxiety a person experiences, essentially by reducing excitability and increasing feelings of well-being. ? Antianxiety drugs such as Xanax and Valium are among the medications physicians most frequently prescribe. ? More than half of all U.S. families have someone who has taken such a drug at one time or another. ? Serious side effects– can cause fatigue, and long-term use can lead to dependence. Taken with alcohol some can be lethal. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ? A procedure used in the treatment of severe depression in which an electric current of 70 to 150 volts is briefly administered to a patient’s head and causes a loss of consciousness and causes seizures. ? Typically, health care professionals sedate patients and give them muscle relaxants before administering the current, and such preparations help reduce the intensity of muscle contractions produced during ECT. ? Typical patient receives about 10 treatments within a month. ? Quick, effective treatment. Use of ECT has risen in the last decade with more than 100,000 people undergoing it each year. ? Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)– a depression treatment in which a precise magnetic pulse is directed to a specific area of the brain. ? Psychosurgery– Brain surgery once used to reduce the symptoms of mental disorder but rarely used today. E.g.) Prefrontal Lobotomy Psychology 101: Chapter 12: Social Psychology PROFESSOR SEMESTER Module 39: Attitudes and Social Cognition-- Persuasion: Changing Attitudes ? Persuasion is the process of changing attitudes, one of the central concepts of social psychology. ? Attitudes are evaluations of a particular person, behavior, belief, or concept. ? For example, you probably hold attitudes toward the U.S. president (a person), abortion (a behavior), affirmation action (a belief), or architecture (a concept). ? The ease with which we can change our attitudes depends on a number of factors including: ? Message source. The characteristics of a person who delivers a persuasive message, known as an attitude communicator, have a major impact on the effectiveness of that message. ? Characteristics of the message. It is not just who delivers a message but what the message is like that affects attitudes. ? Characteristics of the target. Once a communicator has delivered a message, characteristics of the target of the message may determine whether the Routes to Persuasion ? Recipient’s receptiveness to persuasive messages relates to the type of information processing they use. ? Social psychologists have discovered two primary information-processing routes to persuasion: central route and peripheral route processing. ? Central Route Processing occurs when the recipient thoughtfully considers the issues and arguments involved in persuasion. In central route processing, people are swayed in their judements by the logic, merit, and strength of arguments. ? In contrast, Peripheral Route Processing occurs when people are persuaded on the basis of factors unrelated to the nature of quality of the content of a persuasive message. ? Instead, factors that are irrelevant or extraneous to the issue, such as who is providing the message, how long the arguments are, or the emotional appeal of the arguments, influence them. ? In general, people who are highly involved and motivated use central route processing to comprehend a message. However, if a person is uninvolved, unmotivated, bored, or distracted, the nature of the message becomes less important, and peripheral factors become more critical. ? Although both central route and peripheral route processing lead to attitude The Link between Attitudes and Behavior ? Not surprisingly, attitudes influence behavior. The strength of the link between particular attitudes and behavior varies, of course, but generally people strive for consistency between their attitudes and their behavior. ? Furthermore, people hold fairly consistent attitudes. For instance, you would probably not hold the attitude that eating meat is immoral and still have a positive attitude toward hamburgers. ? Ironically, the consistency that leads attitudes to influence behavior sometimes works the other way around, for in some cases our behavior shapes our attitudes. ? According to social psychologist Leon Festinger (1957), cognitive dissonance is the psychological tension that occurs when a person holds two contradictory attitudes or thoughts (referred to as cognitions). Cognitive Dissonance: Example ? Cognitive dissonance explains many everyday events involving attitudes and behavior. ? For example, smokers who know that smoking leads to lung cancer hold contradictory cognitions: (1) I smoke, and (2) smoking leads to lung cancer. ? The theory predicts that these two thoughts will lead to a state of cognitive dissonance. ? More important, it predicts that – assuming they don’t change their behavior by quitting smoking– smokers will be motivated to reduce their dissonance by one of the following methods: (1) modifying one or both of the cognitions, (2) changing the perceived importance of one cognition, (3) adding cognitions, or (4) denying that the two cognitions are related to each other. ? Hence, a smoker may decide that he really doesn’t smoke all that much or that he’ll quit soon (modifying the cognition), that the evidence linking smoking to cancer is weak (changing the importance of a cognition), that the amount of exercise he gets compensates for the smoking (adding cognitions), or that there is no evidence linking smoking and cancer (denial). Social Cognition: Understanding Others– Understanding What Others Are Like ? Consider for a moment the enormous amount of information about other people to which we are exposed. How can we decide what is important and what is not and make judgments about the characteristics of others? ? Social psychologists interested in this question study social cognition– the way people understand and make sense of others and themselves. ? Those psychologists have learned that individuals have highly developed schemas, sets of cognitions about people and social experiences. Those schemas organize information stored in memory, represent in our minds the way the social world operates, and gives us a framework to recognize, categorize, and recall information relating to social stimuli such as people and groups. ? We typically hold schemas for specific types of people. Our schema for “teacher,” for instance, generally consists of a number of characteristics: knowledge of the subject matter he or she is teaching, a desire to impart that knowledge, and an awareness of the student’s need to understand what is being said. ? Or we may hold a schema for “mother” that includes the characteristics of warmth, nurturance, and caring. ? Regardless of their accuracy, schemas are important because they organize the way in which we recall, recognize, and categorize information about others. Impression Formation ? How do we decide that Sayreeta is a hard worker, Jacob is obnoxious, or Hector is a really nice guy? ? The earliest work on social cognition examined “impression formation,” the process by which an individual organizes information about another person to form an overall impression of that person. ? In a classic study, for instance, students learned that they were about to hear a guest lecturer. Researchers told one group of students that the lecturer was “a rather warm person, industrious, critical, practical, and determined” and told a second group that he was “a rather cold person, industrious, critical, practical, and determined.” ? The simple substitution of “cold” for “warm” caused drastic differences in the way the students in each group perceived the lecturer, even though he gave the same talk in the same style in each condition. Students who had been told he was “warm” rated him considerably more positively than students who had been told he was “cold.” ? The findings from this experiment led to additional research on impression formation that focused on the way in which people pay particular attention to certain unusually important traits– known as central traits– to help them form an overall impression of others. ? The presence of a central trait alters the meaning of other traits. Hence, the description of the lecturer as “industrious” meant something different when it was associated with the central trait “warm” than it meant when it was associated with “cold.” ? We make such impressions remarkably quickly. In just a few seconds, using what have been called “thin slices of behavior,” we are able to make judgments of people that are accurate and that match those of people who make judgments based on longer snippets of behavior. ? Of course, we gain more experience with people and see them exhibiting behavior in a variety of situations, our impressions of them become more complex. ? However, because our knowledge of others usually has gaps, we still tend to fit individuals into personality schemas that represent particular “types” of people. ? For instance, we may hold a “gregarious person” schema, made up of the traits of friendliness, aggressiveness, and openness. The presence of just one or two of those traits may be sufficient to make us assign a person to a particular schema. ? Even when schemas are not entirely accurate, they serve an important function: They allow us to develop expectations about how others will behave. Those expectations permit us to plan our interactions with others more easily and serve to simplify a complex social world. Attribution Processes: Understanding the Causes of Behavior ? In contrast to theories of social cognition, which describe how people develop an overall impression of others’ personality traits, attribution theory seeks to explain how we decide, on the basis of samples of an individual’s behavior, what the specific causes of that person’ behavior are. ? In seeking an explanation for behavior, we must answer one central question: Is the cause situational or dispositional? ? Situational causes are those brought about by something in the environment. E.g.) Someone who knocks over a quart of milk and then cleans it up probably does the cleaning not because he or she is necessarily a neat person but because the situation requires it. ? In contrast, a person who spends hours shining the kitchen floor probably does so because he or she is a neat person. Hence, the behavior has a dispositional cause, prompted by the person’s disposition (his or her internal traits or personality characteristics). Attribution Biases: To Err is Human ? If we always processed information in the rational manner that attribution theory suggests, the world might run a lot more smoothly. Unfortunately, although attribution theory generally makes accurate predictions, people do not always process information about others as logically as the theory seems to suggest. ? In fact, research reveals consistent biases in the ways people make attributions. Typical biases include the following: ? The halo effect– a phenomenon in which an initial understanding that a person has positive traits is used to infer other uniformly positive characteristics. ? Assumed-similarity bias– The tendency to think of people as being similar to oneself, even when meeting them for the first time. ? Self-serving bias– The tendency to attribute personal success to personal factors (skill, ability, or effort) and to attribute failure to factors outside oneself. ? Fundamental Attribution Error– A tendency to overattribute others’ behavior to dispositional causes and the corresponding minimization of the importance of situational causes. Module 40: Social Influence and Groups-Conformity: Following What Others Do ? Social Influence– The process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others. ? Conformity– A change in behavior or attitudes brought about by a desire to follow the beliefs or standards of other people. ? E.g.) Solomon Asch (1950s) perceptual skills test using a card with 3 lines varying in length. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIh4MkcfJA ? Conformity to Social Roles ? Social roles are the behaviors that are associated with people in a given position, such as a restaurant waiter or a schoolteacher. ? In some cases, though, social roles influence us so profoundly that we engage in behavior in entirely atypical– and damaging– ways. ? This fact was brought home in an influential experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo and colleagues– Stanford Prison Experiment. ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_LKzEqlPto Compliance: Submitting to Direct Social Pressure ? Compliance– Behavior that occurs in response to direct social pressure. ? Several specific techniques represent attempts to gain compliance. Those frequently employed include the following: ? Foot-in-the-door technique– you ask a person to agree to a small request and later ask that person to comply with a more important one. It turns out that compliance with the more important request increases significantly when the person first agrees to the smaller favor. ? Door-in-the-face technique– someone makes a large request, expecting it to be refused, and follows it with a smaller one. This strategy, which is the opposite of the foot-in-the-door approach, has also proved to be effective. ? That’s-not-all technique– In this technique, a salesperson offers you a deal at an inflated price. But immediately after the initial offer, the salesperson offers an incentive, discount, or bonus to clinch the deal. ? Not-so-free sample– If you ever receive a free sample, keep in mind that it comes with a psychological cost. Although they may not couch it in these terms, salespeople who provide samples to potential customers do so to instigate the norm of reciprocity. ? The norm of reciprocity is the well-accepted societal standard dictating that we should treat other people as they treat us. ? Receiving a not-so-free sample, then, suggest the need for reciprocation– in the form of a purchase, of course. ? Companies seeking to sell their products to consumers often use the techniques identified by social psychologists for promoting compliance. ? But employers also use them to bring about compliance and raise the productivity of employees in the workplace. ? In fact, industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology– a close cousin to social psychology, considers issues such as worker motivation, satisfaction, safety, and productivity. ? I/O psychologists also focus on the operation and design of organizations, asking questions such as how decision making can be improved in large organizations and how the fit between workers and their jobs can be maximized. Obedience: Following Direct Orders ? Compliance techniques are used to gently lead people toward agreement with a request. ? In some cases, however, requests aim to produce obedience, a change in behavior in response to the commands of others. ? Although obedience is considerably less common than conformity and compliance, it does occur in several specific kinds of relationships. ? For example, we may show obedience to our bosses, teachers, or parents merely because of the power they hold to reward or punish us. ? Stanley Milgram (1961) experiment- in the study, an experimenter told participants to give increasingly stronger shocks to another person as part of a study on learning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcvSNg0HZwk Module 41: Prejudice and DiscriminationThe Foundations of Prejudice ? Stereotype– A set of generalized beliefs and expectations about a particular group and its members. ? Stereotypes, which may be negative or positive, grow out of our tendency to categorize and organize the vast amount of information we encounter in our daily lives. ? All stereotypes share the common feature of oversimplifying the world: We view individuals not in terms of their unique, personal characteristics, but also in terms of characteristics we attribute to all the members of a particular group. ? Prejudice– A negative (or positive) evaluation of a particular group and its members. ? Common stereotypes and forms of prejudice involve racial, religious, and ethnic groups. Over the years, various groups have been called “lazy” or “shrewd” or “cruel” with varying degrees of regularity by those who are not members of that group. ? Even people who on the surface appear to be unprejudiced may harbor hidden prejudice. For example, when white participants in experiments are shown faces on a computer screen so rapidly that they cannot consciously perceive the faces, they react more negatively to black than to white faces– an example of what has been called “modern racism.” ? Although usually backed by little or no evidence, stereotypes can have harmful consequences. ? Acting on negative stereotypes results in-- Discrimination– Behavior directed toward individuals on the basis of their membership in a particular group. ? Discrimination can lead to exclusion from jobs, neighborhoods, and educational opportunities, and it may result in lower salaries and benefits for members of specific groups. ? Discrimination can also result in more favorable treatment to favored groups– for example, when an employer hires a job applicant of his or her own racial group because of the applicant’s race. Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination ? Increasing contact between the target of stereotyping and the holder of the stereotype. ? Making values and norms against prejudice more conspicuous. ? Providing information about the targets of stereotyping. Module 42: Positive and Negative Social Behavior Interpersonal attraction (or close relationship): Positive feelings for others; liking and loving. ? Factors that initially attract two people to each other: ? ? Proximity ? Mere exposure ? Similarity ? Physical attractiveness Passionate (or romantic) love: A state of intense absorption in someone that includes intense physiological arousal, psychological interest, and caring for the needs of another. ? Companionate love: The strong affection we have for those with whom our lives are deeply involved. ? Robert Sternberg proposes that love consists of three parts: ? ? Decision/commitment ? Intimacy component ? Passion component Aggression and Prosocial Behavior: Hurting and Helping Others ? Aggression: The intentional injury of, or harm to, another person. ? Catharsis: The process of discharging built-up aggressive energy. ? Instinct Approach: Aggression as a release. ? Frustration-Aggression Approach: Aggression as a reaction to frustration. ? Observational Learning Approach: Learning to hurt others. ? Prosocial Behavior: Helping behavior. ? Diffusion of Responsibility: The tendency for people to feel that responsibility for acting is shared, or diffused, among those present. ? Altruism: Helping behavior that is beneficial to others but clearly requires self-sacrifice. Module 43: Stress and Coping ? ? ? ? ? ? Stress: A person’s response to events that are threatening or challenging. Stressors– e.g. family problems or even the ongoing threat of a terrorist attack are threats are to our well-being. Cataclysmic events: Strong stressors that occur suddenly, affecting many people at once (e.g. natural disasters). Personal stressors: Major life events, such as the death of a family member, that have immediate negative consequences that generally fade with time. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A phenomenon in which victims of major catastrophes or strong personal stressors feel long-lasting effects that may include re-experiencing the event in vivid flashbacks or dreams. Background stressors (“daily hassles”): Everyday annoyances, such as being stuck in traffic, that cause minor irritations and may have longterm ill effects if they continue or are compounded by other stressful events. Psychophysiological Disorders: Medical problems influenced by an interaction of psychological, emotional, and physical difficulties. (aka psychosomatic disorders) ? General adaption syndrome (GAS): A theory developed by Hans Selye that suggests that a person’s response to a stressor consists of three stages: ? ? alarm and mobilization (meeting and resisting stressor), resistance (coping with stress and resistance to stressor), and exhaustion (negative consequences of stress such as illness occur when coping is inadequate). Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI): The study of the relationship among psychological factors, the immune system, and the brain. ? Coping: The efforts to control, reduce, or learn to tolerate the threats that lead to stress. ? Learned Helplessness: A state in which people conclude that unpleasant or aversive stimuli cannot be controlled– a view of the world that becomes so ingrained that they cease trying to remedy the aversive circumstances, even if they actually can exert some influence. ? Social Support: A mutual network of caring, interested others. ? Effective Coping Strategies when facing Stress: ? Turn a threat into a challenge ? Make a threatening situation less threatening ? Change your goals ? Take physical action/ Exercise ? Prepare for stress before it happens