What is Assessment?

Psycholo~ical

Assessment: the use of specified testing

procedures to evaluate the abilities, behavior, and personal

qualities of people.
Not just IQ, but includes measures of:
Personality
Emotional Functioning
Adaptive Behavior
Developmental Issues (children)
Neuropsychological assessment
Brain Injury, Cognitive Processing

3 Requirements of a formal Assessment

1) Reliability: the extent to which a test produces similar
scores each time used; stability of the scores.

2) Validity: the degree to which the test measures what it is

suppose to test.
A valid IQ test measures the traits and predicts performance in situations
where intelligence is important.

3) Norms and Standardization: need a basis for comparing

the scores.
Norms are standards based on the measurement of a large group of
people.
Most helpful when the comparison sample shares important qualities with
the individual tested (age, social class, culture, experience)
Standardization: the process of obtaining norms.

Definitions of Intelligence
Difficult because intelligence is an abstract concept and
involves a number of different processes and factors.
Intelligence can be social, practical, or abstract, but it cannot
be measured or even considered independent from certain
nonintellectual aspects of functioning such as persistence,
drive, interests, or need for achievement.

Sir Francis Galton: Intelligence

A matter of sensory acuity because humans can know the
world only through the senses.
The more acute the senses, the more intelligent.
Since sensory acuity is a natural endowment, intelligence in inherited.
Because our knowledge of the environment reaches us through the
senses, those with the highest intelligence should also have the best
sensory discrimination abilities.
Developed tests of sensory discrimination and motor coordination to
study mental functioning.
Developed first word association test.

Galton: Eugenics
If intelligence is inherited, could not general intelligence of a
people be improved by encouraging the mating of bright
people.

Eu~:enics:

the improvement of living organisms through

selective breeding.

Galton: 4 Important Concepts

Differences in IQ were measurable.
Differences formed a normal distribution.

IQ could be measure objectively.

The relationship between 2 sets of scores can be statistically
determined: Correlation
One of psychology's most widely used statistical methods.

Alfred Binet
The key to the measurement of intelligence was to focus on
higher mental processes instead of on simple sensory
functions.
Was interested in determining levels of intellectual
functioning.
1904: Petitioned the French government for a grant to
develop a tool that could distinguish those capable of learning
at normal rates from those in need of slower paced, specially
designed programs.

Binet Scale of Intelligence

Set out to create tests that would differentiate between
intellectually normal and intellectually subnormal children.
The first direct measure of intelligence: items were ranked in
order level of difficulty and accompanied by relatively careful
instructions for administration.
Intelligence is not a single ability ~ 30 different subtest.
Inheritance has some effect on intelligence, but Binet
believed that almost everyone in functioning below their
potential and that everyone could grow intellectually with
the right training and opportunity.

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

Age-appropriate test items, and computed test scores at different
ages expressed in Mental A&e.
4 Important Features:
1) Estimate of current performance
2) Scores identified children that needed help
3) Emphasized training and opportunity
4) Constructed based on empirical data

David Wechsler
Definition of Intelligence: a global concept that involved an
individual's ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and
deal effectively with the environment.
Not a single capacity, but a multifaceted aggregate.
An aspect of the total personality, rather than an isolated entity.

He utilized available measures at the time and noticed

discrepancies based on his definition of intelligence.
Based on his definition of intelligence he selected 11 subtests
for his first scale.

Wechsler Intelligence Scale

Originally developed in 1939 and revised numerous times over
the years.
Combines verbal and nonverbal tests to compute an overall IQ
and also yields verbal and nonverbal IQs.
Also provides subtest scores to help determine and individual's
strengths and weaknesses and to track the development of
specific abilities.
3 Scales for different ages: WAIS (18+); WISC (6-17); WPPSI

(4-6.5)

Robert Sternberg
Defmition of Intelligence: mental acuity involved in purposive
adaptation to, shaping of, and selection of real-world environments
relevant to one's life.
Most important contribution to intelligence theory has been the
redefinition of intelligence to incorporate practical knowledge.
"Real life is where intelligence operates, not in the classroom ... The true
measure of success is not how well one does in school, but how well one
does in life."
His theory has contributed to the rethinking of conventional methods of
evaluating intelligence.
Beyond IQ to measure an individual's range of intellectual capabilities.

Intellectual Disability
Part of the diagnosis of Intellectual Disability (ID)is based on IQ
Other aspect of the diagnosis is Adaptive Functionini:
including areas such as: communication, self-care, social skills,
grooming and hygiene.

The Politics of Intelligence

Earliest abuses and misconceptions involves Group
Comparisons. (Goddard)
The testing of immigrants in the 1900s and selectively excluding those
found to be "mentally defective"
Misperceived the idea of intelligence and group low IQ w I racial and
ethnic origins, moral worthlessness, mental deficiency, and immoral social
behavior.

Nature vs. Nurture: cannot determine the specific genetic

contributions to any individual's IQ.
The fact that one racial or ethnic group scores lower on an IQ test than
another group does not mean that the difference between these groups is
genetic in origin.

The Politics of Intelligence

Environmental Factors affecting IQ
1) Poverty vs. Wealth: low income families do not have resources to
mentally stimulate children; focused more on surviving and have little time to
spend with children in intellectually stimulating activities, Poor nutrition, and
unsafe neighborhoods.

2) Educational Resources: money toward schools and providing teachers

and students with resources.

3) Health and healthcare during pregnancy and throughout development.

The Politics of Intelligence

ethnicity does not make the difference, but the economic, health,
and educational resources that are correlated with ethnicity in
our society.
Best predictor is a supportive environment with resources that promote
learning.

Culture and IQ tests: many forms of testing may not match

cultural notions of intelligence or appropriate behavior.
Still a gap when tests are made "culturally fair" related to the context of
the test rather than the content.
Performance influenced by the threat of being at risk for conforming to a
negative stereotype of one's group.
Intelligence as a dynamic process is a new direction.

How does Assessment Affect

Society?
1) The cost of negative consequences may be higher for some
test takers than others.

2) Plays a large role in shaping education.

3) The implications of using test scores as labels to categorize
individuals.
Labels that stay with the individual

Developmental Psychology
The area of psychology that is concerned with changes in
physical and psychological functioning that occurs from
conception across the entire lifespan.
The task is to document and explain development
Basic Premise: Mental functioning, social relationships, and
other vital aspects of human nature develop and change
throughout the life cycle.

Nature VS. Nurture

The Debate over the Importance of Heredity (Nature) versus
Learning (Nurture)
Nurture: human infant is born w I o knowledge or skills, and that
experience, in the form of learning, is the main determinant of
development and behavior (Empiricism)

Nature: The genetic make-up each human is born with is the main
determinant of development and behavior (Nativist)
Today: A combination of both working together

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive

Development
Not interested in the amount of information that children
possess, but the way their thinking and inner representations
of physical reality changed at different stages of development.

Key Points (Piaget)

Scheme: mental structures that enable individuals to
interpret the world.

Assimilation vs. Accommodation

Assimilation: the modification of new experiences to fit what is
already known.
Accommodation: restructuring existing schemes based on new
information.

All children progress through the stages in the same

sequence. Some may take longer at certain stages than
others.

Sensorimotor Stage
(Birth-2 years)
Limited inborn schemes
ex: sucking, looking, grasping, and pushing
During the first years these schemes improve and vary as the infant
discovers that their actions have an effect on the environment.

Object Permanence: understanding that objects exist and

behave independently of their actions and awareness.

Preoperational Stage
(2-7 years)
Improved ability to mentally represent objects not physically
present.
Thoughts characterized by egocentrism: inability to take
the perspective of another.

Centration: the tendency to be captivated by more

perceptually striking features of objects.

Concrete Operations Stage

(7 -11 years)
Capable of Mental Operations: actions performed in the
mind that give rise to logical thinking.
Replace physical actions w I mental operations.

Conservation: the physical properties of objects do not

change when nothing is added or taken away, even though the
object's appearance has changed.
Reversibility: understanding that physical and mental
operations can be reversed.

Phase 1

ConseNation
of number

CAre there the same number

or a different number?6

Phase 2

CNow watch what I doO

(spreading).

Phase 3

CAre there the same nu ber

or a different number?

ConseNation
of
solid quantity
0Do they have the same amount
of clay or a different amount?O

ConseNation
of
iquid quantity

0Do they have the same amount

of water or a different amount?6

ONow watch what I do6

(stretching clay).

0Nowwatch what I do6

(pouring).

0Do they have the same a ount

of clay or a different amou t?6

DB

0Do they have the same a ount

of water or a different amo nt?6

Formal Operations Stage

(11 years -7 )
Thinking becomes Abstract
Their reality is only one of several that are imaginable.
Ponder deeper questions of truth, justice, and existence.
Answer problems in a systematic fashion.
Reason from abstract premises to logical conclusion.

Adulthood
Intelligence: only 5% of the population experiences major
losses with age.
Slowing down in speed of processing.
Disuse, rather than decay, is more responsible for deficits.

Memory: deficits w I advanced age in most.

Ability to access their general knowledge and personal information is
not diminished.
Ability for new information to be effectively organized, stored, and
retrieved is affected.
1Oo/o Alzheimer's Disease.

Socia Iization
Lifelong process through which an individual's behavior
patterns, values, standards, skills, attitudes, and motives are
shaped to conform to those regarded as desirable in a
particular society.
Involves teacher, parents, friends, schools, religion, etc.
Family is the most important influence. Helps form basic patterns of
responsiveness to others.

Childhood
Attachment:
Begins with relationship between child and primary caregiver.
o Earliest form is to ensure survival.
Infants rely on proximity-promoting signals (smiling, crying,
vocalizing) to solidify the child -caregiver relationship.
Successful attachment also depends on an adult's tendency to respond
to the signals.

Parenting Styles
The manner in which parents rear their children. 2 factors:

Demandingness: the parent's willingness to act as a

socializing agent.

Responsiveness/Supportive: the parent's recognition of the

child's individuality.

Responsiveness

Accepting
Responsive
Child -centered

Demanding
Controlling

Demandingness

Undemanding
low in control
attempts

Rejecting
Unresponsive
Parent -centered

Adolescence
The traditional view is that adolescence is a time of life
characterized by mood swings and unpredictable, difficult
behavior.
Not necessarily true
Adolescent problems should not be attributed to a "phase".

Adolescence
Social Relationships
Changing roles of family and friends.
Through peer interactions adolescents define the social
component of their developing identities.
Peers compete with parents in shaping attitudes and behavior.
Social skills and roles are refined with peers.

Adolescence
Peers become an important source of social support, which
leads to increased anxiety related to being accepted.
Communicate with parents and peers about different things.
Developing independence may be difficult for parents.
The parent-child relationship may have more built-in
potential for conflict than do peer relationships.

Psychosocial Stages of Development

Erik Erikson
Each stage presented a particular conflict or crisis that needs to
be sufficiently resolved if an individual is to cope successfully
with the conflict at a later stage.

Trust vs. Mistrust

An infant needs to develop a basic sense of trust in the
environment through interaction with caregivers.

Autonomy vs. Self-Doubt

With the development of language and walking the child should
develop a sense of autonomy (independence) and of being a
worthy person.

Psychosocial Stages of Development

Initiative vs. Guilt
Encouragement of a growing sense of freedom through
intellectual and motor activities must be encouraged.

Competence vs. Inferiority

Involves the development in specific competencies (elementary
school years) within school, extracurricular activities, and social
relationships.

Psychosocial Stages of Development

Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence)
Involves the discovery of true identity within the confusion of
various social roles.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

The development of the capacity to make full emotional, moral,
and sexual commitments to other people.

Psychosocial Stages of Development

2 tasks of adulthood
Intimacy: the capacity to make a full commitment (sexual, moral,
emotional) to another person.
Between friends as well as lovers
Requires openness, courage, ethical strength, and compromise.

Generativity: commitment beyond oneself to family, work,

society, or future generations.
Orientation toward the greater good allows adults to establish a sense
of psychological well-being that offsets any longing for youth.

Psychosocial Stages of Development

Ego Integrity vs. Despair
Looking back on life without regrets and enjoying a sense of
wholeness.

Chapter 11

Motivation
The general term for all the processes involved in starting,
directing, and maintaining physical and psychological
activities.
Human actions are motivated by a variety of needs.

Why psychologist use the concept of

motivation:
To relate biology to behavior.
Complex internal mechanisms regulate your bodily functioning and
help you survive.
Internal states of deprivation trigger bodily responses that motivate you
to take action and restore your body's balance.

To account for behavioral variability.

Provide explanations when the variations in people's performance in a
constant situation cannot be traced to differences in ability, skill,
practice, or chance.

To infer private states from public acts.

Are actions best understood as internally or externally motivated?

Why psychologist use the concept of

motivation
To assign responsibility for actions.
Personal responsibility presupposes inner motivation and the ability
to control your actions.
Individuals are judged less responsible for their actions by others
when:

1) They did not intend negative consequences to occur.

2) external forces were powerful enough to provoke the behaviors.
3) the actions were influenced by drugs, alcohol, or intense emotions.

To explain perseverance despite adversity.

Why do individuals perform behaviors when it might be easier not to
perform the behaviors.

Motivational Theories

Drives and Incentives

(Clark Hull)
Drives: internal states that arise in response to an organism's
physiological needs.
Organisms seek to maintain a state of balance, or
homeostasis, with respect to biological conditions.
Examples: temperature and hunger.

Drives are aroused when deprivation creates disequilibrium

or tension.
Drives activate the organism toward tension reduction.
When the drives are satisfied or reduced --homeostasis is restored-the organism ceases to act.

Drives and Incentives

(Clark Hull)
Behavior is not only motivated by internal drives, but also by

Incentives.
External stimuli or rewards that do not relate directly to
biological needs.

Human behavior is controlled by a variety of incentives.

Elements of the environment serve as incentives to motivate
your behavior.
Examples: staying up late to watch an interesting TV show despite having
to get up early for work.

Reversal Theory
(Michael Apter)
Proposes 4 pairs of metamotivational states that give rise to
distinct patterns of motivation.
The pairs are placed in opposition.
Each pair defines motivational states that are incompatible.

At any given time, only one of the two states in each pair can
be operative.

Reversal Theory: it seeks to explain human motivation in

terms of reversals from one to the other of the opposing
states.
Always in one or the other state, but never simultaneously.

Instinctual Behaviors and Learning

Instincts: preprogrammed tendencies that are essential for
the survival of their species.
Provide the repertories of behavior that are part of each
organism's genetic inheritance.

Early theories of human function tended to overestimate the

importance of instincts for humans.

Instinctual Behaviors and Learning

William James ( 1890)
Humans rely even more on instinctual behaviors than other
animals.
In addition to the biological instincts that humans share with
animals, a host of social instincts, such as sympathy, modesty,
sociability, and love, come into play.
All instincts were purposive: they served important purposes,
or functions, in the organism's adaptation to its environment.

Instinctual Behaviors and Learning

Sigmund Freud ( 1915)
Humans experience drive states arising from life instincts and death
instincts.
Instinctive urges drive psychic energy to satisfy bodily needs.
Life and death instincts operated largely below the level of
.
consciousness.
Their consequences for conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions are
profound.
(Will discuss more in chapter 13)

Are instincts universal mediators of

behavior?
Cultural anthropologists found enormous behavioral
variations between cultures, contradicting theories that
considered only universals of inborn instincts.
Behavioralists (Pavlov, Skinner) demonstrated that important
behaviors and emotions were learned rather than inborn.

Cognitive approaches to motivation

Social Learning Theory

0 ulian Rotter)

The probability that you will engage in a given behavior

(studyinB) is determined by your expectations of attaining a goal
(aood arade on the exam) that follows the activity and by the
personal value of that goal.
A discrepancy between expectations and reality can motivate an
individual to perform corrective behaviors.

Cognitive approaches to motivation

Fritz Heider
The outcome of your behavior (a bad orade) can be attributed to
dispositional forces (insufficient intelligence) or to situational
forces (not enounh time to study).
These attributions influence the way you will behave.
If you attribute the outcome to dispositional forces you will not be
motivated to improve.
If you attribute the outcome to situational forces you may be more
motivated to take steps to change those situational factors.

Motivation for Personal

Achievement
Need for Achievement ( nAch): an assumed basic human
need to strive for achievement of goals which motivates a
wide range of behavior and thinking.
High n Ach individual were found to be more upwardly mobile an
tended to earn higher salaries than their Low n Ach peers.
When faced with tasks that were believed to be difficult, High n Ach
quit early on.
What typifies high n Ach individuals is a need for efficiency (a need to
get the same results with less effort)

Attri buttions
Judgments about the causes of outcomes
2 Dimensions:
1) Locus of Control
2) Stability vs. Instability

Attributions
Locus of control orientation:
the belief about whether the
outcome of your actions are
contingent on dispositional
factors (Internal) or on
environmental factors
(External) .

B ~1F07

Attributions
You may attribute your
performance on an exam to noise
in the classroom (external locus
of control) or poor memory
(internal locus of control).
If you believe you did poorly due
to noise in the classroom you are
likely to study harder for the next
exam compared to if you attribute
your grade to your poor memory.

B ~1F07

Attributions
Stability vs. Instability:
"To what extent is a causal
factor likely to be stable and
consistent over time, or
unstable and varying?"

B ~1F07

Attributions
The way individuals account for their successes and failures
can influence motivation, mood, and even ability to perform
appropriately.
Depending on the nature of the attribution that individuals make for
their successes and failures will lead them to experience a particular
emotional response.
The way that individuals explain (attribute) their lives can become
lifelong.

Attributions
Pessimistic Attributional Style: focuses on the causes of
failure as internally generated.
The failure and the individual's role in causing it are viewed as stable.

Optimistic Attributional Style: views failure as a result of

external causes.
These causes are reversed when it comes to explaining
success.
Optimists take full credit for personal internal-stable credit for
success.
Pessimists attribute success to external-unstable factors .

ca

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

(The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SlOP, 1998)
The application of psychological principles to the workplace.
Examples:
Psychometrics and statistics are used in selecting/hiring employees.
Learning principles used in training and motivation.
Social psychology principles used in the areas of leadership and job satisfaction.

Help workers do their jobs:

Helping employers treat employees fairly.
Consultation on hiring, salary, and promotion practices.
Provide training on a variety of issues
Sexual harassment, stress management, accident prevention, etc.
Training to employees to ensure that they can perform well on the key job
requirements outlined in a job analysis.
Requires the 1/0 psychologist to identify training needs, determining the most effective
training approach, and conduct the training.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

(The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SlOP, 1998)
Making jobs more interesting and satisfying.
Designing jobs that people will fmd satisfying.

Rewarding work: can be accomplished by giving employees more decision-making

input, by helping them see how their work fits into the mission of the whole company,
or by providing them with a variety or tasks.
Designing safe, efficient work areas (Human Factors/Ergonomics)

Motivating employees to perform.

Utilizing strategies from behaviorist, cognitive psychologist, and social psychologists.

Creating teams of employees that work well together

Helping employees be more productive.

Designing work patterns that enhance efficiency.
Providing skills training and development.
Counseling related to employees meeting the challenges of competition (ex:
downsizing, outsourcing).

Career counseling

1/0 Theories
Equity Theory: workers are motivated to maintain fair or
equitable relationships with other relevant persons.
Workers take note of their inputs and their outcomes and then they
compare these with the inputs and outcomes of other workers.
When their ratio of inputs to outcomes is equal to other workers they
will feel satisfied.
When the ratios are not equal they will feel dissatisfied.
Workers will be motivated to restore equity by changing the relevant
inputs and outcomes.
Inputs: less effort, "My work really isn't that good"
Outputs: asking for a raise, "I'm lucky I get a paycheck"

1/0 Theories
Expectancy Theory: workers are motivated when they expect
that their effort and performance on the job will result in
desired outcomes.
Individuals will engage in work they find attractive and achievable.
Three Components:
Expectancy: the perceived likelihood that a worker's effort will result
in a certain level of performance.
Instrumentality: the perception that performance will lead to certain
outcomes, such as rewards.
Valence: the perceived attractiveness of particular outcomes.

1/0 Theories
ExpectancyTheory (cont.)
Workers assess the probabilities of these three components and
combine them by multiplying their individual values.
Highest levels of motivation result when all three components
have high probabilities.
Low levels of motivation result when any single component is
zero.

Chapter 12

Emotion
A complex pattern of bodily and mental changes that
includes physiological arousal, feelings, cognitive processes,
visible expressions, and specific behavioral reactions made in
response to a situation perceived as personally significant.
Differ from moods:
Less intense
May last several days
Weaker connection with triggering events.

Evolutionary & Cultural Aspects of

Emotions
Darwin
Emotions evolve alongside other important aspects of human structures and
functions.
Looked at the adaptive functions of emotions
Viewed emotions as "inherited, specialized mental states designed to deal
with a certain class of recurring situations in the world."

Are emotions innate?

(Silvan Tomkins): emphasized the pervasive role of immediate, unlearned
affective (emotional) reactions.
Without prior learning, infants respond to loud sounds with fear.

Infants produce broadly positive and negative expressions.

Distinct facial expressions develop around the first year of life.

Some research suggests that infants may have an innate ability to interpret
facial expressions of others.

Evolutionary & Cultural Aspects of

Emotions
Are emotional expressions universal?
(Paul Ekman): all people share an overlap in "facial language"
Demonstrated Darwin's theory that a set of innate emotional expressions is universal
to the human species.
Universally recognized emotions: happy, surprise, anger, disgust, fear, sadness, and
contempt.

Cultures have different dialects for facial expressions

Similar cultural variations in the production of facial expressions.
Specific movements of facial muscles
Easier to recognize the emotions of someone from your own culture.
Culture also impacts the way people gather information when they view a face.

Cultures have different standards for managing emotions.

Establish social rules related to the appropriateness of expressing emotions in
particular situations.

Theories of Emotion
Most theories generally attempt to explain the relationship between
physiological and psychological aspects of the experience of emotions.
In general:
Autonomic Nervous System prepares the body for emotional responses.
Unpleasant stimulation
Pleasant stimulation

sympathetic nervous system

parasympathetic nervous system

Central Nervous System

Hypothalamus: integration of hormonal and neural aspects of arousal
Amygdala: acts as the gateway for emotions by attaching significance to the
information received from the senses.

Cortex
Provides the associations, memories, and meanings that integrate psychological
experience and biological responses.

Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory of
Emotion
Perceiving a stimulus
causes autonomic arousal
and other bodily reactions
that lead to a specific
emotion.
The viseral (physiological)
reaction is most prominent
aspect of the reaction.

Theories of Emotion
Cannon-Bard Theory of
Central Neural Processes
Focuses on the role of the
central nervous system
An emotion-arousing
stimulus has two
simultaneous effects:
Causing bodily arousal via the
sympathetic nervous system
The subjective experience of
emotion via the cortex

Viewed the physiological and

psychological responses as
independent.

Theories of Emotion
Cognitive Appraisal Theories

Two-Factor theory
(Schachter)
The experience of emotion is
the joint effect of the two
factors of physiological arousal
and cognitive appraisal.

Cognitive Appraisal
Theory (Lazarus)
Appraisal includes past
.
experiences.
May occur without conscious
thought

Myths about Stress

Stress is the same for everyone.
Stress is always bad for you.
Stress is everywhere so you cannot do anything about it.
The most popular techniques for reducing stress are the
best ones.
No symptoms, no stress.
Only major symptoms of stress require attention.

Adapted from APA: Six Myths about Stress

Selye
Defined stress as "the nonspecific response of the body to any
demand made upon it."
Includes both positive and negative stressors
Eustress: good things to which one has to adapt and that can lead to a
stress reaction.

Distress: bad things to which one has to adapt and that can lead to a
stress reaction.

Stressor
A stimulus with the potential to trigger a fight-or-flight (stress) response.
Environmental
Psychological
Physical
Sociological
Philosophical

Regardless of the stressor, our body's reaction will be the same.

Altering our physiology for greater speed and strength.

General Adaptation Syndrome

(Stress Reactivity)
Stage 1: Alar111: Sympathetic nervous system is activated.
Increased heart rate and respiration
Stage 2: Resistance: when the body tries to resist stress
and persist.
Stage 3: Exhaustion: following prolonged resistance of a
longterm stressor.

A Model of Stress
Stress begins with a life situation that knocks you out of balance (disequilibrium).
The same situation may result in different reactions from different people due to each
individual's cognitive appraisal of the situation.
Interpretation of a stressor.
A life situation to which you must adapt is therefore a necessary but not sufficient component
of stress. What is also necessary is your perception of that life situation as stressful.

Emotional arousal to the distressing life situation occurs next.

Fear, anger, insecurity, frustration, helplessness, overwhelmed, rushed, etc.

These feelings lead to physiological arousal.

If this physiological arousal is chronic or prolonged, illness or disease may result.
Other consequences of stress include poor task performance and disrupted interpersonal
relationships.

Stress Psychophysiology
The brain instructs the rest of the body how to respond to
stress.
Includes the endocrine system; the autonomic nervous system;
the cardiovascular system; the gastrointestinal system; the
muscles; and the skin.
www.apahelpcenter.org

Early Effects of Stress

Headaches
Muscle tension
Neck or back pain
Drymouth
Chest pain
Rapid heartbeat
Sleep difficulties
Difficulty falling or staying asleep

Increased frequency of colds

APA "Stress in America" (2008)

Early Effects of Stress

Fatigue
Loss of appetite or overeating "comfort foods"
Anxiety
Irritability
ShortTemper
Lack of Concentration or Inattention
Memory Problems or forgetfulness

APA "Stress in America" (2008)

Low

l EVE L OF AROUSAl

faculty. mdc.edu

Longterm Effects of Stress

Decreased effectiveness of the Immune System
Decreases the number of white blood cells, thus inhibiting the
immune system from fighting illness.

High Cholesterol
A number of studies have suggested that stress contributed to
increased levels of cholesterol.

High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure and serum cholesterol increase during stress.

Longterm Effects of Stress

Hypertension
Emotional stress is considered a major factor in the etiology of
hypertension.
Stress management has been incorporated into the treatment of
hypertension.
Stoke (Apoplexy): is related to hypertension

Ulcers
Stress can exacerbate the conditions in the digestive tract to
make ulcers more likely to occur.

Migrane & Tension Headaches

Longterm Effects of Stress

Coronary Heart Disease
The physiological mechanisms related to stress that contribute to
coronary heart disease.
Accelerated heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased serum cholesterol,
and fluid retention resulting in increased blood volume.
High cholesterol leads to clogged arteries (atherosclerosis) and eventual loss of
elasticity of the coronary and other arteries (arteriosclerosis).
o Make the heart work harder as well as decrease oxygen to the heart.
Two of the three major risk factors of coronary heart disease are related to stress
o High cholesterol, hypertension, smoking

Burnout
A prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors
on the job:
Three dimensions:
Emotional Exhaustion: feeling emotionally depleted and tired
Depersonalization: feeling detached from work and worksite
Lack ofPersonalAccomplishment: feeling incompetent and lacking
achievement at work

Related factors:
Lack of control at work, insufficient reward, breakdown of the work community, and
absence of fairness

Symptoms of burnout:
Diminished sense of humor; skipping breaks; increased work hours and less time off;
increased physical complaints; social withdrawal; change in job performance; selfmedication; emotional changes.

Particularly prevalent among individuals who work with people.

Health Psychology
(APA Div. 38)
What is a Health Psychologist?
"Psychologists interested in the psychological and behavioral
aspects of physical and mental health."
View "psychology as critical component in advancing human wellness."
Incorporate "psychological theory and research to develop methods to assist
patients in maintaining healthy lifestyles."
Areas of focus include:
The management of chronic diseases.
Avoidance of preventable diseases.
Rehabilitative services for acute injuries and chronic diseases.

http://www.health-psych.org/AboutWhatWeDo.cfm

Psycho neu roi m m uno logy

The study of both the illness-causing and the healing effects
of the mind on the body.
Study the link between the nervous system and the immune
system.

Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society

www. pnirs. org

Biopsychosocial Model of Health

Bio: the reality of biological illness
Psycho: the psychological components of health
Social: the social components of health

Focuses on the links among the nervous system, the immune

system, behavioral styles, cognitive processing, and environmental
demands on health.

Definitions of Personality
"Personality is that which gives order and congruence to all the
different kinds of behavior in which the individual engages" (Hall
& Lindzey, 1958, p.9).
Personality is "the dynamic organization within the individual of
those psychophysical systems that determine his unique
adjustment to his environment" (Allport, 1937, p.48).
"personality is what a man really is"

Personality
A complex set of unique psychological qualities that influence an
individual's characteristic pattern of behavior across different
situations and over time

The central goal of theories of personality is to specify the

differences among people that allow predictions to be made about
their course of life.

Personality Psychology
The scientific study of the psychological forces that make people uniquely
themselves.
Questions Asked:
How are we unique individuals?
What is the nature of self?
"What makes a person tick?"
Personality psychology is scientific due to the use of methods of scientific
inference to test theories.
Examples: correlational analysis, case studies, cross-cultural
comparisons, and research into biological structures.
Personality psychology focuses on 8 key aspects that help us to understand
the complex nature of the individual.

8 Key Aspects of Personality

1) Unconscious forces

Forces not in moment-to-moment awareness.

2) Ego forces

Provide a sense of identity or "self".

3) Cognitive forces

Thinking and interpretation of the world.

4) Biological forces

Genetic, physical, physiological, and temperamental nature of the individual.

5) Conditioning/ shaping forces

Shaped by the environment and experiences.

6) Traits, skills, & predispositions

Personal abilities and inclinations.

7) Spiritual (existential) forces

Thoughts about the meaning of existence.

8) Person-situation (environmental) interactions

Powerful inner forces shape personality and

motivate behavior.

Psychodynamic Theory
"The psychoanalytical definition of the mind is that it
comprises processes of the nature of feelings, thinking, and
wishing, and it maintains that there are such things as
unconscious thinking and unconscious wishing" (Freud, 1943,

p.23)

Freud's Theory of Personality

The core of personality are events within the mind

(Intrapsychic).
These intrapsychic events motivate our behavior.
Operate consciously and unconsciously

All behavior is motivated. NO chance or accidental

happenings cause behavior; all acts are determined

by motives.

Freud's Theory of Personality

(The Unconscious)
The portion of the mind that is inaccessable to usual
conscious thought.
"Thoughts, feelings, and desires of which we are not aware but which
very much influence our behavior" (Strean, 1994, p. 16).
According to Freud, the unconscious is the "depository of sexual and
aggressive drives, defenses, superego mandates, memories, and
feelings, that have been repressed" (Strean, 1994, p. 16).

Freud believed that the gateways to the unconscious were

free association and dreams.

Freud's Theory of Personality

(Drives)
The source of motivation for human actions is psychic energy
found within each individual.
Each person has inborn instincts or drives that are tension
systems. When activated, these energy sources can be
expressed in many different ways:
Self-preservation: meeting basic needs (ex. hunger).
Eros: sexual urges and preservation of the species.

Libido: the sexual energy that underlies psychological tension.

Freud's Theory of Personality

The physical sources of sexual pleasure change in an orderly
progression called Stages of Psychosexual Development.
Fixation (an inability to progress normally to the next stage of
development) at different stages can produce a variety of adult traits.
"used to describe individuals who have never matured beyond a certain
point of psychosocial development and are unable, in many ways, to
mature further" (Strean, 1994, pgs. 19-20).

Regression: "implies that the individual has successfully mastered

certain psychosocial tasks but he or she returns to previous, less
mature gratifications when certain demands in the present induce
anxiety" (Strean, 1994, p. 19)

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Stage

Erogenous
Zone

Oral (birth to
12-18 months)

Mouth

Weaning
Oral gratification from
sucking, eating, biting

Optimism, gullibility, dependency,

pe simism, passivity, hostility, sarcasm,
aggression

Anal (12-18
months to
3 years)

Anus

Toilet training
Gratification from
expelling and
withholding feces

Excessive cleanliness, orderliness,

stinginess, messiness, rebelliousness,
destructiveness

Phallic(3to
5-6 years)

Genitals

Oepidal conflict
Sexual curiosity
Masturbation

Flirtatiousn ss, vanity, promiscuity, pride,

chastity

Latency
(5-6 years to
puberty)

None

Period of sexual cahn

Interest in schoot hobbies, same-sex friends

Genital
(puberty
onward)

Genitals

Revival of sexual
interests

Conflicts/
Experiences

Establishment of mature
xua] r lati n hips

Adult Traits Associated with

Problems at This Stage

Copyright 2001 by
Allyn and Bacon

Freud's Theory of Personality

Psychic Determinism: all the mental and behavioral
reactions are determined by earlier experience. These
Earlier experiences are buried in the unconscious.
Behaviors are motivated by drives in our unconscious and all
behavior has a manifest and latent content.

Freud's Theory of Personality

The Structure of Personality
ID: storehouse of fundamental drives, operating irrationally on
impulse, pushing for expression and immediate gratification
(Pleasure Principle)

SUPEREGO: Storehouse of values, including morals.

The "oughts and "should nots"
The individuals view of the kind of person he/ she should strive to
become.
Often in conflict with the ID.

EGO: Reality based aspect of the self.

Director between ID impulses and SUPEREGO demands.
Reality Principle.

Conscious
Level

Preconscious
Level

Unconscious
Level

Aspect of
Personality

Level of
Consciousness

Ego

Mostly conscious

Mediates between id impulses and

superego inhibitions; reality
principle; rational

Superego

All levels, but

mostly preconscious

Ideals and morals; conscience;

incorporated from parents

ld

Unconscious

Basic impulses (sex and

aggression) ; pleasu re principle;
seeks immediate gratification;
irrational, impulsive

Description/Function

Copyright

2001 by Allyn
and Bacon

Freud's Theory of Personality

(Defense Mechanisms)
Repression: the psychological process that protects an
individual from experiencing extreme anxiety or guilt about
impulses, ideas, or memories.
Most basic defense

Defense mechanisms help a person to maintain a favorable selfimage and to sustain an acceptable social image.
When overused, they create more problems than they solve.
Unhealthy to spend too much time and psychic energy in defense
mechanisms. Leaves little energy for productive living or satisfying human
relationships.

Criticisms
1) Concepts are too vague and cannot be evaluated
scientifically.
2) Cannot predict what will occur because it is applied after
events have occurred.
3) Never studied on children.
4) Very male-centered.

Modification
Greater emphasis on ego functions, development of self,
conscious thought process, and personal mastery.
Focus on role of social variables.
Less emphasis on sexual urges.
Extended personality development beyond childhood to
include the entire lifespan.

Humanistic Theory
The motivation for behavior comes from a person's unique
tendency to develop and change in positive directions toward the
goal of self-actualization (striving for inherent potential).
Sometimes conflicts with the need for approval from the self and
others, especially when the individual feels certain obligations or
conditions must be met to gain approval.

Humanistic Theory
(Carl Rogers)
Unconditional Positive Regard: complete love and acceptance of
an individual by another person, such as parents for a child, with
no conditions attached.
Is stressed because worrying about seeking approval interferes with
self-actualization.
Needs to be given and received to those you are close to.
Also need to feel it for yourself.

Humanistic Theory
(Carl Rogers)
The "real-self" requires favorable environmental
circumstances to be self-actualized (parental love, warmth,
friendship)
Anxiety develops in the absence of these, that stifles
spontaneity of expression of real feelings and prevents
effective relations with others.
To cope with basic anxiety people resort to interpersonal and
intrapsychic defenses.

Humanistic Theory
(Abraham Maslow)
Hierarchy ofNeeds
These needs activate and direct human behavior.
We are not driven by all needs at the same time.
Only one need dominates our personality, depending on which others
have been satisfied.

The order of needs can be changed according to Maslow.

Example: During a economic recession that causes some to lose their
jobs, the safety and physiological needs may reassume priority.

Humanistic Theory
(Characteristics)
Holistic: explain individual's acts in terms of their whole
personality.

Dispositional: focus on innate qualities that exert a major

influence over the direction behavior will take.

Subjective: emphasize the individual's frame of reference.

Existential: focus on higher mental processes.

B. F. Skinner's Theory of Personality

The term "personality" is meaningless.
There is no place for internal components of personality, psychical
structures (id, ego, superego), traits, self-actualization, needs, or
instincts.

What is labeled "personality" is merely a group of responses

to the environment.
Operant behaviors taken together = personality.
The universal laws of behavior acquisition, resulting in what
we know as personality, operate in the same manner in
human and (although more simply) in nonhuman animals.

Social-Learning Theory
Combines principles of learning with an emphasis on human
interactions in social settings.
Humans are not driven by inner forces, nor are they helpless to
environmental influences.
Personality is based on a complex interaction of individual
factors, behavior, and environmental influences.

Social-Learning Theory
Reciprocal Determinism: Your behavior can be
influenced by your attitudes, beliefs, or prior history of
reinforcement as well as by environmental influences.
Observational Learning is a critical component.

Models
The basis of observational learning.
Learning can occur through observation or example rather than only
by direct reinforcement.
We learn by observing other people and modeling our behavior after
theirs.
By observing the behavior of a model and repeating that behavior, it is
possible to acquire responses that we have not performed previously
and/ or to strengthen or weaken existing responses.

Reciprocal Determinism
Cognitive/Personal
Factors

Behavior
(Learning History)

Social-Learning Theory
Self-Efficacy: the belief that one can perform adequately in a particular
situation. Self-efficacy judgments include:
Vicarious experience: your observations of the performance of others
Persuasions: others convincing you that you can do something, you convincing
yourself.

Monitoring emotional arousal when thinking about a tasks (ex.

Anxiety suggest low expectations)

Influences how much effort you expand and how long you persist when faced
with difficulty.
Behavioral outcomes depend both on people's perceptions of their own abilities
and their perceptions of the environment.

Cognitive Approaches of Personality

Focuses on ways in which individuals come to know their
environment and themselves.
How they perceive, evaluate, learn, think, make decisions, and solve
problems.

View human perception and human cognition as the core of what

it means to be a person.
The way we interpret the environment is central to our
humanness, and the way we differ from one another.

Schema: a cognitive structure that organizes knowledge and

expectations about one's environment.
The schema activated in a given situation is a major determinant of a
person's expectations, inferences, and actions in that situation.

Evolutionary Personality Theory

Individual differences are due to either adaptive strategies or
random variations.
Difficult to determine the precise cause of any behavior or
personality characteristic (Nature vs. Nurture).
Still do not know the extent to which genes affect personality in
normal development.

Trait Approaches to Personality

Trait: a distinguishing personality characteristic or quality.
Trait Approach: uses a basic, limited set of adjectives or
adjective dimensions to describe and scale individuals.
Much about an individual's consistent reaction patterns can be
predicted from knowing his/her core personality traits.
Frequently utilized in our daily lives to describe the personality of
people we know.
Generally rely on outstanding characteristics or features to summarize
what a person is like.

Culture & Personality

Culture: The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, beliefs,
values, norms and traditions shared by a large group of
people.
Influences how an individual makes sense of the world.

Behaviors that seem natural and normal to one culture can

often only be identified as culture-specific through
comparison with other cultures.
Individuals are shaped by their cultures and in many ways are
like others in the same culture, but different than those in
other cultures.

Culture & Personality

The ideas of personality and predictable behavior are
meaningless outside of the cultural context.
Since everyone grows up in a culture, it makes sense to
incorporate culture into theories of personality.

With knowledge about cultural influences, we are less likely

to accept universal proclamations about personality and less
likely to ignore cultural influences.

Culture & Personality

Cultural factors to consider:
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
Language
Cultural Elements (Material & Aesthetics)
History & Acculturation
Social Structure
Values: what a given culture values or appreciates
Norms: accepted ideas about appropriate behavior.
Morals
Cultural Roles
Customs

Gender Differences in Personality

Obvious difference in physical development and physiological
functioning.
Often leads "to a simple biological justification for all personality
differences between men and women".
Biological differences exist in the context of the social world.
"Whether or not gender discrepancies in personality actually exist,
many people perceive significant differences between men's and
women's personalities, and these perceptions influence their attitudes
about and behavior toward others, thereby influencing personality".

Gender Differences in Personality

Hyde, J.S. (2005) The Gender Similarities Hypothesis.
American Psychologist, Vol. 60 (6)
The media and general public are captivated by findings of gender
differences.
This extensive study argues that men and women are basically alike in
terms of personality, cognitive ability, and leadership.
The Gender Similarities Hypothesis states that males and
females from childhood to adulthood are more alike than different on
most psychological variables.
Gender differences seem to depend on the context in which they were
measured.
Gender differences fluctuate with age.

Gender Differences in Personality

Hyde, J.S. (2005) The Gender Similarities Hypothesis.
American Psychologist, Vol. 60 (6)
Misconceptions are perpetuated by media depictions of men
and women as different which can affect men and women at
work, home, as parents, and as partners.
Children also fall victim to these myths which lead to
differences in social expectations and performance.

Psychopathology
Disruption in the emotional, behavioral or thought processes
that lead to personal distress or that block one's ability to
achieve important goals.

What is Abnormal?
1) Distress or Disability: experiencing personal distress or disabled
functioning.

2) Maladaptiveness: behaving in a fashion that hinders goal attainment,

does not contribute to personal well-being, or often interferes
significantly with the goals of others and needs of society.

3) Irrationality: acts or speaks in ways that are irrational or

incomprehensible.

4) Unpredictability: unpredictable behavior from situation to

situation.

5) Statistical Rarity: violation of socially acceptable norms of behavior.

6) Observer Discomfort: behavior that makes others feel
uncomfortable.

7) Violations of moral and ideal standards ofbehavior.

What is Abnormal?
More confident in judging behavior as abnormal when more
than one indicator is present.
Psychological disorders are best thought of on a continuum
that varies between mental health and mental illness.
The goal in making judgments regarding if an individual has a
disorder is to be as objective as possible.

Diagnosis
Psychological Diagnosis: the label given to an
abnormality by classifying and categorizing the observed
behavior pattern into an approved diagnostic system.

DSM
Main guide for mental health professionals listing over 200
disorders.
Emphasizes description of patterns of symptoms and courses
of disorders.

Clinically Significant Distress: the symptoms present

cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social,
occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Etiology of Psychopathology
Casual or Contributory factors in the development of
psychological problems. 2 general categories:
1) Biological approaches: disturbances are directly attributable
to underlying biological factors.
Abnormalities in the brain, genetic influences, etc.

2) Psychological Approaches: disturbances ore attributable to

psychological or social factors.
Personal experiences, trauma, environmental factors, etc.

Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Feeling anxious or worried most of the time, when not faced with any
specific danger.
Often focused on life circumstances.
Symptoms: muscle tension, fatigue, restlessness, poor concentration,
irritability, and sleep difficulties.

Panic Disorder: unexpected, severe panic attacks that

begin with feelings of intense apprehension, fear, or terror.
Attacks are unexpected and not evoked
Labeled with or w I o Agoraphobia (an extreme fear of being in public
places or open spaces from which escape may be difficult or
embarrassing.

Anxiety Disorders
Phobias: a persistent and irrational fear of a specific object or
situation that is excessive and unreasonable given the reality of
the threat.
Social Phobia: arising in anticipation of a public situation in which an
individual can be observed by others.
Specific phobia: occurs in response to several different types of objects
or situations.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD):

Obsessions: thoughts, images, or impulses that recur or persist despite
the individual's efforts to suppress them. Unwanted invasions that seem
senseless, and are unacceptable to the individual experiencing them.
Compulsions: repetitive, purposeful acts performed according to
certain rules, in a ritualized manner, and in response to an obsession.
Performed to reduce the discomfort associated with the obsession.

Anxiety Disorders
PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
Characterized by the persistent re-experiencing of a traumatic
event through distressing recollections, dreams, hallucinations,
or flashbacks.
As a response to a traumatic event such as war, rape, severe injury, or a
life-threatening situation.

Mood Disorders
Major Depressive Disorder: characterized by the
presence of a major depressive episode.
Depressed mood, loss of interest, weight fluctuations, sleep
difficulties, fatigue, worthlessness, difficulty concentrating, thoughts
of death.

Bipolar Disorder: characterized by periods of severe

depression alternating with manic episodes.
Inflated self-esteem, decreased sleep, talkative, flight of ideas,
distractibility, activities with a high potential for painful
consequences.

Personality Disorders
A chronic, inflexible, maladaptive pattern or perceiving,
thinking, or behaving that can seriously impair the
individual's ability to function and can cause significant
distress.
Been with an individual for a number of years
Has to do with personality rather than a specific problem
area.

Dissociative Disorders
A disturbance in the integration of identity, memory, or

consciousness.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID): previously called
Multiple Personality Disorder

Two or more distinct personalities exist within the same individual.

Commonly confused with Schizophrenia
Each personality has a unique identity, name, and behavior pattern
In some cases can have dozens of different personalities.
Most theories on DID point to chronic severe abuse in childhood and that
DID developed as a survival tool to distance themselves from the reality of
their lives.

Schizophrenic Disorder
NOT SPLIT PERSONALITY
Severe form of psychopathology in which personality seems to disintegrate,
thought and perception are distorted, and emotions are blunted.
Involves illogical thinking, associations among ideas that are remote or without
apparent patterns, and bizarre sensory experiences.
Hallucinations: hearing voices is the most common(+)
Delusions: false or irrational beliefs ( +)
Language: illogical, incongruent, word salad (-)
Blunted or inappropriate emotions (-)
Psychomotor retardation or agitation. (+)or (-)
Social withdrawal
( +)

= positive symptoms, (-) negative symptoms

Disorders of Child hood and

Adolescence
Many disorders are first diagnosed in childhood and
adolescence and have no adult counterpart
Psychological Disorders present themselves differently in
children
Even those shared in adulthood

Child and adolescent psychotherapy and treatment is

different from adult treatment.
1 out of 5 (20%) children and adolescents has a moderate to
severe psychological disorder.
Teachers make a lot of referrals.

Disorders of Child hood and

Adolescence
DSM classifies disorders by syndromes. The 4 main categories
are:
1) Disruptive Behavior Disorders: involving impulsive, aggressive, and
other acting out behaviors.
ADHD, Conduct Disorder,

2) Disorders of Emotional Distress: anxiety and depression.

Separation Anxiety Disorder,

3) Habit Disorders: disruptions of eating, sleeping, and elimination.

Anorexia, Bulimia, Enuresis, Encopresis

4) Learning and Communication Disorders: involving difficulties with

reading, writing, and speaking.
Learning Disorders.

How Stigma Interferes with Mental

Health Care
Corrigan, P. (2004). How stigma interferes with
mental health care. American Psychologist, 58, 614625.

 Despite the quality and effectiveness of mental health

treatments and services:
A) Many people with mental illness never pursue treatment

B) Others begin treatment but fail to fully adhere to services as

prescribed.

Less than 30% of people with psychiatric disorders seek

treatment.
40% of individual with severe disorders such as schizophrenia
failed to obtain treatment.

Stigma of Mental Illness

Individuals w I psychological disorders are frequently labeled
as deviant.
Stigma in the context of psychology is a negative set of
attitudes about a person that sets him/her apart as
unacceptable.
These negative attitudes come from many sources including:
Media portrayal that psychiatric patients are violent
Jokes about the mentally ill
Family denial of a family member w I a mental illness
Bias perceptions and actions toward these individuals.

The Relevance of Stigma

The stigma of mental illness affects individuals seeking
and/ or completing treatment.
Stigma as 4 Social-Cognitive Processes
1) Cues: psychiatric symptoms, social skills deficits, and
physical appearance

2) Stereotypes: commonly held stereotypes about people with

mental illness (violence, incompetence, to blame)
3) Prejudice: negative emotional reactions and negative
evaluations

4) Discrimination: avoidance, not associating with an individual

with mental illness

Public & Self Stigma

Public Stigma: individuals labeled mentally ill publicly can
be robbed of important life opportunities that are essential
for achieving life goals Gobs & housing).
Influence the interface between mental illness and the criminal
justice system.
Criminalizing mental illness contributes to higher rates of individuals
with serious mental illness in jail.

Impact on general healthcare 7 less likely to benefit from the

depth and breath of health care.

Public & Self Stigma

Self Stigma: accepting stereotypes and suffering from
diminished self-esteem, self-efficacy, and confidence in one's
future.
Believe they are less valued because of their psychological
disorder
Family shame
Significant correlation between shame and avoiding treatment

Strategies that Diminish Stigma

3 approaches that may diminish aspects of the public stigma
experienced by people with mental illness
1) Protest: protest inaccurate and hostile representations of
mental illness and for people to stop believing negative views.
2) Education: provides information so that the public can
make more informed decisions about mental illness.
3) Contact: stigma is further diminished when members of the
general public have contact with people with mental illness who
are able to hold down jobs or live as good neighbors.

 Many different approaches to therapy

All therapeutic interventions are designed to assist the client

in improving his/her current situation.

Goals of Therapy
1) Reaching a diagnosis
2) Proposing a probable etiology (cause)
3) Prognosis: the course of the problem
4) Treatment for the Presenting Problem
5) Decreasing problematic behavior
6) Increasing functioning in all areas
7) Gaining insight so that the client can help themselves.

Divisions of Treatment
Biological Therapies: focus on the biological aspects of a
disorder.

Psychotherapy: focuses on psychological, social, and

environmental factors.

Psychodynamic Therapy
An individuals difficulties are caused by the psychological
tension between unconscious impulses and wishes and inner
conflicts that are repressed.

Goal: establishment of intrapsychic harmony and

understanding of the client's use of defense mechanisms to
handle conflict.
Bring inner conflicts, impulses and wishes into consciousness to
gain insight.

Psychodynamic Techniques
Free Association: allowing the mind to wander and giving
running account of thoughts and wishes while relaxing
comfortably, thus not allowing for defense mechanisms to censor
what is said.

Resistance: an inability or unwillingness to discuss certain

ideas, desires, or experiences
Barrier between conscious & unconscious
Interpret and discuss with clients
Ex: changing the subject; showing up late; acting out.

Dream Analysis: examining the content of dreams to discover

underlying motivations and symbolic meaning of significant life
experiences and desires.

Psychodynamic Techniques
Transference: the development by the client of emotional
feelings toward the therapist formerly held toward some
significant person in a past emotional conflict.

Countertransference: the therapist's development of

emotional feelings toward a client because the client is perceived
as similar to significant peoples in the therapists life.

This does not mean romantic feelings.

Behavior Therapy
Utilizes the principles of learning to increase the frequency
of desired behavior and/ or decrease the frequency of
problem behaviors.
Range of treated problems includes anxiety, mood, aggression,
and conduct problems.

Behavior Therapy Techniques

Counterconditioning: when a new response is substituted for
a previous maladaptive on by means of conditioning. Behavior
that is learned can be unlearned. Types include: (ex: anxiety)
Systematic Desensitization: a client is taught to prevent the arousal of
anxiety by confronting the feared stimulus when relaxed.

Implosion Therapy: client is exposed immediately to the most

frightening stimuli at the top of a fear list, but in a safe setting. As the
situation happens over and over, the stimulus loses its power to elicit
anxiety.

Flooding: similar to Implosion, but involves the client being placed in

the feared situation.

Behavior Therapy Techniques

Contingency Management: (relies on operant conditioning)
the general treatment strategy of changing behavior by modifying
its consequences.
Strategies include: token economies, shaping, behavioral contracts.

Social Learning Therapy: designed to modify problematic

behavior patterns by arranging conditions in which the client will
observe models being reinforced for a desirable behavior. 2 main
aspects:
Models: observing others
Social Skills Training: training more effective social skills using
rehearsal and models.

Cognitive Therapies
Change problem feelings and behaviors by changing the way
clients think about significant life experiences.

Cognitive-BehaviorTherapy: combines the cognitive

emphasis on the role of thoughts and attitudes influencing
behavior with behaviorist strategies of changing performance
through reinforcement of contingencies.

Cognitive Restructuring: changing irrational, negative

statements into constructive coping statements.
Not just positive "everything is OK" statements

Aaron Beck

Beck's Cognitive
Triad Model

Cognitive Distortions: the

suggests that
depressed individuals
have the following:

idea that psychological

problems arise as a function
of how people think about
themselves relative to others
and the events they face.

( 1 ) a negative view of
themselves;
(2) a negative view of
the world; and,
(3) a negative view of
the future

Aaron Beck
Changing cognitive distortions involves:
1) Challenging basic assumptions about functioning
2) Evaluate evidence the client has for and against
accuracy of thoughts
3) Reattribute blame to situational factors rather than
the client's incompetence.
4) Discuss alternative solutions to complex tasks that
could otherwise lead to experiences of failure.

Albert Ellis - Rational Emotive Therapy (RET)

Psychological problems are caused by people's reactions to such
events on the basis of irrational beliefs.
ABC model:
A) Activating Experience, B) Irrational Belief or thought that
follows, C) Consequences for the person.

Therapy involves confronting and disrupting the irrational beliefs

(B) so that emotional and behavioral consequences will change
accordingly.
Teaches clients to recognize the "should", "oughts" and "musts"

Humanistic Therapy
Attempts to help clients define their own freedom, value their
experiencing selves and the richness of the present moment,
cultivate their individuality, and discover ways to realize their
fullest potential (self-actualization).
Helps "average" (w I o diagnosis) individuals achieve greater levels
of performance and richness of experience.

Client-Centered Therapy: the task of therapy is to help

clients learn how to behave in order to achieve self-actualization
by removing barriers that limit this move toward selfactualization.
Therapy environment 7 Unconditional Positive Regard
Let the client lead the way, the therapist facilitates.

 OtherTypes ofTherapies:
Group Therapy
Family Therapy
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Social Psychology
The study of how individuals' feelings, thoughts, and
behaviors are influenced by social stimuli.
Individuals: this distinguishes social psychology from other
social sciences.
Such as sociology and anthropology

Social Stimuli: refers to humans and their products including

groups, norms, the presence of others, and past social
situations.
The interactions and transactions with others.

Our social behavior is influenced by both the objective

situation and our own subjective experience.

Is Social Psychology Just Common

Sense?
Hindsight Bias: the tendency to exaggerate, after
learning the outcome, one's ability to have foreseen how
something turned out.
"1-Knew-It-All-Along" phenomenon.

Main problems with the common sense idea is that it

occurs after the fact.
Events are much more predictable after the fact.
Causes a problem for students in social psychology.
Miss important information (ex. Research results).

Constructing Socia I Rea Iity

Social situations obtain significance when observers
selectively encode what is happening in terms of what they
expect to see and what they want to see.
Example: A football game

Social Perception: the process by which people come to

understand and categorize the behaviors of others.

Attribution Theory
The theory of how people explain the behavior of others.
People tend to attribute someone's behavior to internal causes

(Dispositional Attributions) or external causes

(Situational Attributions).
We believe that others' intentions and dispositions correspond
to their actions.
Normal or expected behavior tells us less about the person than
does unusual behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

The tendency for observers to underestimate situational
influences and overestimate dispositional influences upon
the behavior of others.
More prominent when it serves our own interests.
Even when people know they are causing someone else's
behavior they still commit the FAE.
Intelligent and socially competent people are more likely to
make the FAE.

Everyday examples include when we overestimate the

knowledge of doctors, TV game show hosts, and
professors.

Actor-Observer Effect
In explaining our own behavior, we are more likely to make
situational attributions.
The exception is when we make attributions for our own
success.
The tendency to make dispositional attributions for our successes and
situational attributions for our failures in called the Self-Serving Bias.

Why do we make the FAE?

We observe others from a different perspective.
Our perspectives change with time.
Our own self-awareness, which makes us self-conscious
instead of situation-conscious.
Culture: FAE occurs across all cultures.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
A belief that leads to its own fulfillment.
Our ideas lead us to act in ways to produce their
apparent confirmation.
Examples:
Pygmalion in the classroom
Subjects in a learning experiment who expected to be taught by
an excellent teacher, perceived their teacher as more competent
and interesting than students with low expectations and thus
worked harder.

Development Self-Fulfilling
Prophecy
1

Conformity
A change in behavior or belief to accord with others. Types
include:
Compliance: conformity that involves publicly acting in
accord with an implied or explicit request while privately
disagreeing.

Obedience: acting in accord with a direct order.

Acceptance: conformity that involves both acting and
believing in accord with social pressure.
Sometimes follows compliance.

Group Pressure (Asch)

That "reasonably intelligent and well meaning young people are
willing to call white black is a matter of concern. It raises
questions about our education and about the values that guide our
conduct."

Implications: subjects conformed with minimal pressure and no

rewards or punishment.

-- Asch's Line

Judgement Task

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Stondard:.....:l.:..:..:
ln..::...
e ------=
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= parfao n linea

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Milgram's Obedience Experiments

A group of psychiatrists, college students, and middle-class
adults predicted that the subjects would disobey giving
someone an electric shock at 135 volts. None surveyed
expected any subject to go beyond 300 volts.
During the actual experiment 65% of subjects went to 450
volts.

Milgram's Obedience Experiments

Major conclusions:
Subjects were willing to obey a destructive authority at a higher
rate than predicted by others.
Obedience increases to a legitimate authority.
Subjects were more likely to shock an anonymous victim.
Subjects were more likely to shock when they were lead to
believe that the authority figure would be held accountable.
The presence of others who do not obey the authority will
substantially decrease obedience.

Milgram's Obedience Experiments

4 Factors that determined 0 bedience:
1) Emotional distance of the victim: personalizing the victim
decreased obedience.
2) Closeness and legitimacy of the authority: the physical
presence of the experimenter increased obedience.
3) Institutional Authority: being associated with a university
increased obedience.
4) The presence of at least 1 person that disagreed ::::::> decreased
obedience.

The Power of the Situation

Social psychologists believe that the primary
determinant of behavior is the nature of the social
situation in which the behavior occurs.
Social situations exert significant control over individual
behavior, often dominating personality and a person's past
history of learning, values, and beliefs.

A number of situational variables can have an effect on

people's behavior.

The Power of the Situation

Roles and Rules
Social Role: a socially defined pattern of behavior that is
expected of a person when functioning in a given setting of
group.
Different situations make different roles available.
Different roles make different types of behaviors more or less appropriate
and available.

Situations are also determined by the operations of rules

(behavioral guidelines for specific settings).
Rules can be explicit or implicit (learned through transactions with others
in a specific setting) .

The Power of the Situation

Roles and Rules
The Stanford Prison Experiment
A "growing confusion between reality and illusion, between role-playing
and self-identity ... This prison which we had created ... was absorbing us
as creatures of its own reality" (Zimbardo 1972)

Self-conscious acting may diminish as the actors becomes more absorbed

in the role and experiences genuine emotions,
Can this happen in everyday life?
Positive and/ or negative

The Power of the Situation

Social Norms: the specific expectations for socially appropriate
attitudes and behaviors that are embodied in the stated or implicit
rules of a group.
Can be broad guidelines and/ or can embody specific standards of conduct.

Belonging to a group typically involves discovering the set of social

norms that regulate desired behavior in the group setting. Occurs
in two ways.
You notice the uniformities in certain behaviors of all or most members,
and you observe the negative consequences when someone violates a social
norm.

N arms serve important functions

Orienting members and regulating social interactions.

Altruism
A concern for the welfare of others that is expressed through
such prosocial acts as sharing, cooperating, and helping.
Behavior that benefits another person, regardless of the actor's
motives.
Selfishness in reverse
A motive to increase another's welfare without conscious regard
for one's self-interests.

Theories of Altruism
Social Exchange Theory
Human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's
rewards and minimize costs.
Rewards that motivate helping can be internal or external.
Most eager to help someone we fmd attractive and thus gain their
approval.
Helping increases our sense of self-worth.
More likely to help after our self-image has been damaged.

Negative mood increases helping in adults and decreases helping

in children.

Theories of Altruism
Biological/EvolutionaryTheory
Individuals are more likely to receive protection from natural
enemies and to satisfy their basic needs if they live together in
cooperative social units.

Social Learning Theory

The most important influence on children's altruism is the
behavior of others - the social models to whom they are
exposed.
Children who witness an altruistic model often become more altruistic.

What inhibits Altruism?

Bystander Effect: a person is less likely to help when
there are others present.
When the situation is ambiguous, people are less likely to help.
Fail to feel responsible because others will help.
Taking action may lead to embarrassment or disapproval.

Time Pressure: people in a hurry are less likely to help.

Similarity: people are more likely to help those similar to
themselves.

Improving Atruism
Reverse the factors that inhibit helping.
Having a personal connection makes one feel less
anonymous and more responsible.
Helpfulness increases when one expects to meet the
victim and other witnesses again.
Concern about your public image will increase helping.
Socializing Altruism:
Model Altruism
Attribute helpful behaviors to altruistic motives.
Learn about altruism.