University of Oregon, Spring 2003
Some key concepts in Psychology 471, after the midterm: (this is study guide for final exam multiple choice section)
Culture (how is it defined...)
Private self and collective self (Triandis)
Individualism and collectivism
Tight culture and loose culture
Deconstructionism (see text)
Classical (respondent) conditioning
Operant conditioning
Reinforcement
Expectancy and (reinforcement) value
Approach-avoidance conflict (Dollard & Miller)
Subliminal psychodynamic activation (Silverman et al.)
Id, ego, and superego
Defense (i.e., defense mechanism)
Primary and secondary process (Freud)
Archetypes (Jung)
Experiential and rational systems (Epstein, ch. 17)
TAT (Thematic Apperception Test)
Intimacy motivation
Affiliation motivation
Power motivation
Achievement motivation
Schema
Depressotypic schemas (from talk by George Slavich, May 29)
Chronic accessibility
Possible selves
Type A personality
The following is text from George Slavich's slides from his talk in class on May 29.
Continuum of Normal and Abnormal "Personality"
'Unforgettable student' commits suicide
Thesis
The manner in which we think and process information has the ability to dramatically change our personality!
Will examine this thesis in the context of major depression…
Major Depressive Disorder
o Most common of all psychiatric disorders
o Each year, more than 100 million people develop clinically recognizable depression
o High monetary cost (Greenberg, Stiglin, Finkelstein, & Berndt, 1993)
- Burden of $44 billion per year on American economy
- Accounts for 20% of costs for all mental disease
o High personal cost (e.g., Belsher & Costello, 1988)
- Suicide attempts as high as 15%
- Recurrence rate of more than 80%
Symptoms of Depression
o Depressed mood
o Loss of interest
o Increased or Decreased Weight/Appetite
o Sleep problems
o Psychomotor agitation/retardation
o Fatigue
o Feeling worthless and/or guilty
o Difficulty concentrating/thinking
o Recurrent thoughts of death
History of Depression
o The Egyptians were the first to recognize depression and to treated it with a kind of psychotherapy that relied heavily on the power of suggestion (hypnosis)
o Hippocrates (460~355 B.C.), however, was the first to describe this disorder in natural terms and treat it medically
History of Depression
o Hippocrates explains depression as having been caused by a toxic overabundance of the humor BLACK BILE, melan choler
o The disorder is named melancholia and those with an inborn tendency to develop it are said to possess a "melancholic temperament"
History of Depression
o Hippocrates described one case this way:
o "…a woman, of a melancholic turn of mind, from some accidental sorrow, …became affected with loss of sleep…[and] aversion to food, …On the first night [she experienced] frights, much talking, [&] despondency;…On the second the same state…no sleep; On the third, [she had a desire] to sleep…[but] again awakened…" Epidemics
His remedy?
"…abstinence from all excesses, a vegetable diet,
exercise,
…and …[avoiding]…
SEX
Important Lesson from History
o Conceptualization of a disorder's etiology/cause is what informs the method of treatment
o So, as hypothesized causes have changed throughout history, so, too, have the primary method(s) of treatment
Recent State of the Field =
Cognitive-Behavioral Approach
Beck's Diathesis-Stress Theory
(Beck, 1967, 1976)
o Individuals who experience adversity in childhood develop negative schemas
o Stress (later in life) activates the negative schemas, which, in turn, induce rigid and inappropriate beliefs about self, others, and world
- E.g., "If I fail partly, it is as bad as being a complete failure"
o Activation of negative schemas acts as a vulnerability factor for depression
Cognitive Accounts of Depression (Aaron Beck)
· Negative (often extreme) beliefs or attributions
· Negative view of self
· Negative interpretation of events
· Cognitive distortions
· Overgeneralizing
· Inability to generate alternatives
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
A. All-or-Nothing Thinking
o See things are completely good or completely bad
o For example, if you make a mistake doing something, you think your whole work was useless
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
B. Overgeneralization
o For example 'This always happens to me'
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
C. Arbitrary inference
o Drawing conclusions based on little evidence
o For example 'My friend isn't answering her phone; she must be out enjoying herself with someone else'
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
D. Selective Abstraction
o Picking out negative details and ignoring positive ones
o For example 'The nice things she says are irrelevant; it is the occasional criticism that shows how she really feels about me'
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
E. Personalization
o When a person attributes bad things to him/herself despite evidence to the contrary
o For example, 'it's all my fault'
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
F. Minimization
o Downplaying
o For example 'He complemented me because he was in a good mood'
o Important point: All distortions are driven by negative cognitive schema that is activated in the individual
o Quick example of schematic processing…
o In a second, you will see a photo of a hotel. While viewing the scene, think about the following passage:
Joan was usually a happy person until she suffered a series of setbacks following graduation. Her mother died in a car crash, and soon after she lost her job, that she really liked, because the corporation was downsizing. She has had difficulty getting another one. Her boyfriend recently told her he was breaking off their engagement because he found a woman better suited to his values. Joan was despondent enough to seek help, but her depression worsened anyway. She felt her future was bleak when she checked into that downtown hotel……..
o Context provided by the story gives viewer a primitive schema for the hotel scene…
o Those who receive the prime "see" the woman significantly more often than those who don't get the prime
o Schemas affect how we process information!
o A man receives only what he is ready to receive, whether physically or intellectually or morally, as animals conceive at certain times their kind only. We hear and apprehend only what we already half know… The phenomenon or fact that cannot in any wise be linked with the rest of what he has observed, he does not observe.
Henry David Thoreau; Journal, Jan. 5, 1860
Conformation of Beck's hypothesis that stressful life events activate negative cognitive schemas…
Dysfunctional Attitudes Assessment
Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS; Weissman & Beck, 1978)
- 40 item Likert-type self-report inventory
- Measures presence of dysfunctional attitudes that relate to cognitive vulnerability to depression
o E.g., "If someone disagrees with me, it probably indicates that he/she does not like me"
- Higher scores indicate greater dysfunction
- Coefficient alpha from .89 to .92 (Weissman, 1979)
Life Stress Assessment
Life Events & Difficulties Schedule
(LEDS; Brown & Harris, 1978, 1989)
- Semi-structured interview
- Taps into following areas: Health, role changes, leisure & interaction, housing, employment & school, financial, marital, interaction with parents & relatives, children, crises/emergencies, and forecasts
- Interviews conducted at Stanford University
- Stress ratings performed by three Oregon raters blind to:
o Dysfunctional attitude status of the individuals
o Timing of the depression onset
o Patients' response to the life stress
Results
Information Processing Studies
o Some depressed people have
Better memory for
And greater attention to
Negative versus positive information…
Compared to non-depressed
o These differences have physiological correlates!
Heart Rate
Finger Temperature
Remember…
Hypothesized cause of disorder informs treatment
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Process of CBT
o Collaborative relationship
- Therapist brings skills
- Client is expert on own experience
- Collaboration is mutual effort and permeates every phase of therapy
- Development of therapist from educator to coach to consultant
- Development of patient into "own therapist"
What are the skills of CBT?
1. Behavioral activation strategies
Mastery and Pleasure
Increasing pleasant activities
2. Identifying emotions and automatic thoughts
Look for "hot" thought and cascade of thoughts
CBT skills (continued)
3. Examining Automatic Thoughts
o What is the evidence (pro and con)?
o Is there an alternative explanation?
o What's the worst that could happen?
o What is the best that could happen?
o What is the most realistic outcome?
o What is the effect of my believing this AT?
CBT skills (continued)
4. Identifying schema
Sentence completions
o I am…
o Other people are…
o The world is….
CBT skills (continued)
5. Schema Change
o Simultaneous focus on weakening old schema and strengthening new ones
o Historical test of schema
Summary
The manner in which we think and process information has the ability to dramatically change our personality!
Summary
Example: Depressotypic schemas can make us sad… but they can also change our behaviors and even our physiological characteristics