Module 49

Stimulus generalization- when a person attacked by a fierce dog has fear for all dogs. OCD behaviors
operate similarly; if washing your hands makes u feel better, u'll do it again.

Observational learning- transmit fear to others who are watching.

Natural selection- fear threats faced by ancestors. Genes contribute to this. Regulated by
neurotransmitters glutamate.

Brain: overarousal of the brain. Mental hiccup of repeating thoughts or actions.

Module 48
psychological disorders: deviant, distressful, dysfunctional patterns of thoughts, feelings, behaviors.
Medical model: psychopathology needs to be diagnosed on the basis of its symptoms and cured
through therapy- treatment in psychiatric hospital.
Biopsychococial approach
cultures differ in their sources of stress.
DSM-IV-TR: american psychiatric association's diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders,
fourth edition.
Defines a diagnostic process and 16 clinical syndromes.
1) is clinical syndrome present?
2) Is personality disorder or intellectual disability present?
3) Is general medical condition (diabetes, hypertension) present?
4) Are psychosocial or environmental problems present? (school, home)
5) What is the global assessment of this person's functioning?
Once we label a person, we view them differently. Bias perception.
Who is most vulnerable to psychological disorders?
Predictor of mental disorder= poverty
Earliest to appear at 8-10 years old for phobias and anti-social disorders.
Alcohol dependency, OCD, bipolar, schizophrenia appear at age 20. major depression at 25.

Psychological therapies
treatment involving psychological techniques.
Free association. If there's mental blocks to a certain subject, it's called resistance. They will interpret
your resistance. Latent content: underlying bu censored meaning.
Transference: patient's transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships.
Carl Rogers: developed client-centered therapy. Focues on the person's conscious selfperceptions.
Nondirective therapy: therapist listens, without judging or interpreting.
Active listening: echoing restating and seeking clarifications of what the person expresses.
Unconditional positive regard: a caring accepting nonjudgmental attitude.
1) paraphrase, 2) invite clarification 3) reflect feelings.
Behavior therapies. Applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors.
Counterconditioning: therapy that pairs trigger stimulus with new response that is relaxing.
Exposure therapies. Expose people to what they avoid. Systematic desensitization. Progressive
relaxation. Virtual reality exposure therapy.
Aversive conditioning: substitute a negative response for a positive response to a harmful
stimulus. Seeks to condition an aversion to something the person should avoid.

Operant conditioning
BF skinner. Behavior modification.
Token economy: operant conditioning procedure people earn a token of some sort.
Cognitive therapies. Internal beliefs change outcome.
Cognitive behavior therapy: emotion regulation.

Mood disorders
major depressive disorder occurs with 5 signs of depression, lasting 2 or more weeks.
Bipolar- alternates between hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.
Mania- hyperactive state.