Social

Psychology in
the Clinic
Discussant: Ronald L. Gabo
Master Teacher I
Felix Asis Elementary School
Schools Division of Camarines Norte

Jina-Luz Z. Alfelor Ed.D., Ph.D.

Professor
Guide Questions
What influences the accuracy of clinical judgements?

What cognitive process accompany behavior problems?

What are some psychological approaches to treatment?

How do social relationship support health and wellness?

“Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and

happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts
that are forever blowing through one’s mind.”
 Social Psychology is the science that studies the influences of our
situation, with special attention to how we view and affect one another

In this chapter we recall social psychological principles and apply

them into practical context

“Social Psychology in the Clinic” applies social psychology to evaluating

and promoting mental and physical health.
 Professional must decide whether to make
judgements subjectively or objectively.
What
influences Clinical judgement are also social judgements.
(James Maddux 2008.
the accuracy
of clinical As social Phenomena, clinical judgement are
judgements? vulnerable to illusory correlation,
overconfidence bred by hindsight Self
confirming Diagnoses
Illusory correlation
• If we expect two things to be
associated-if we believe premonitions
predict events- it is easy to perceive
illusory correlation. Even when shown
random data, we may notice and
remember instances when
premonitions and events are
coincidentally related and soon forget
all the instances when premonitions
aren’t borne out and when events
happen without premonition.
Hindsight and overconfidence
• The tendency to view events as more predictable than they really are.
Before an event takes place, while you might be able to offer a guess
as to the outcome, there is really no way to actually know what's going
to happen.
• After an event, people often believe that they knew the outcome of the
event before it actually happened. This is why it is often referred to as
the "I knew it all along" phenomenon
 • The third possible problem with clinical
judgment is that patient may supply
information that fulfills clinician’s
expectation.
Self- • Our Assumption about another help elicit
Confirming the behavior we expect.
• Confirmation bias can lead to misdiagnoses,
Diagnoses and the behaviors of people undergoing
psychotherapy come fit their therapists’
theory.
Clinical Intuition Vs Statistical Prediction
• Given these Hindsight and self-confirming tendencies, most clinicians
and interviewers express more confidence in their intuitive
assessment than in statistical data.
• Statistical prediction is unreliable but human intuition are even more
unreliable.
• Using clinical intuition rather than statistical prediction “is simply
unethical
Summing up…
As psychiatrist and clinical psychologists diagnose and treat their
clients, they may perceive illusory correlation.
Hindsight explanation of people’s difficulties are sometimes too easy. Indeed, after-
the-fact explaining can breed overconfidence in clinical judgment

Interaction with clients, erroneous diagnoses are sometimes self-confirming

because interviewers tend to seek and recall information that verifies what they
are looking for.
Research on the error that so easily creep into intuitive judgment illustrates the
need for rigorous testing of intuitive conclusions and the use of statistics to make
predictions.
The scientific method cannot answer all question and is itself vulnerable to bias.
Thankfully, however, it can help us sift truth from falsehood if we are aware of the
biases that tend to cloud judgement that are made “from the heart.”
 What cognitive processes accompany behavior problems?

Depression
• People who are depressed tend to think in negative terms. They view life though the dark glasses of low
self-esteem.
• Their intensely pessimistic outlook leads them to magnify every bad experience and minimize the good
one.
• Depressive Realism tendency of mildly depressed people to make accurate rather than self-serving
judgement “sadder-but-wiser-effect”
Is negative thinking a cause or a result of depression?
• Depressed moods cause negative thinking. Our
moods color our thinking. When we feel happy, we
think happy. Negative
experience
• Depressed moods affects behavior, when depressed,
we tend to be withdrawn, glum, and quick to
complain.
• Negative thinking causes depressed moods. Cognitive and Self-focus and
Depression is natural when experiencing severe stress behavior self-blame
suffering any experience that disrupt our senses of consequences
who we are and why we are worthy as human.
• Depressed prone people respond to bad events with
intense rumination and self-blame. Depressed
moods

Vicious Circle of Depression

Peter Lewinsohn (1985)
Loneliness
• Loneliness is a painful awareness that our social
relationship are less numerous o meaningful than what
we desire.
• Loneliness are genetically influenced
• Loneliness need not coincide with aloneness.
• Loneliness increase the risk of health problem.
• Chronically lonely people seem caught in a vicious
circle of self-defeating social thinking and social
behavior.
• Loneliness involves the feeling of isolation or not fitting
in.
 Anxiety and Shyness
• Shyness is social anxiety marked by
self-consciousness and worry about
what others think.
• We feel social anxiety when we are
motivated to impress others but
have self-doubt.
• Shy and anxious people over
personalize situation, a tendency
that breeds anxious concern and
paranoia.
• Some people turn to alcohol to
reduce social anxiety.
Health Illness and
Death
• In the industrialized world, at least half of all
death are linked with behavior, with reaction
to stress, lack of exercise, and not following
the doctor’s advice
• Behavioral medicine studies these
behavioral contribution to illness.
• Health Psychology study how people
respond to illness symptoms and how
emotions and explanation influence health
when they seek and follow treatment. It also
is exploring the effects of negative emotions
and the links among illness, stress and a
pessimistic explanatory style.
Social Psychological Approach to Treatment
• Inducing Internal change through external behavior
• Our actions affect our attitudes. The role we play, the things we do and say and
the decisions we make affects who we are.
• If we cannot directly control our feelings by sheer will power, we can influence
them indirectly through our behavior.
• Breaking Vicious Circle
• Depression, loneliness, and social anxiety maintain themselves though vicious
circle of negative experiences, negative thinking and self-defeating behavior, it
should be possible to break the circle at any several points by changing
environment, by training the person to behave more constructively or by
reversing negative thinking.
• Maintaining Change Through Internal Attribution for Success
• Improved states are best maintained after treatment if people attribute their
improvement to internal factors under continued control rather than to the
treatment program itself.
 Close relationship and health
• Close relationships are more likely to lead to
health and happiness than to illness. Close
How do relationships provide our greatest heartache
but also our greatest joys. As social animals,
social people need people.
relationships • Health risk are greater among lonely people,
who often experience more stress, sleep less
support well, and are more likely to commit suicide
health and • People who “have friends or family you can
count on” are also much more likely being
wellbeing? satisfied with their personal health.
• Married people likewise tend to live
healthier, longer lives than unmarried
counterpart
 Close relationship and happiness
• Confiding painful feelings is good not only
for the body but for the soul.
How do • Being attached with friends with whom we
social can share intimate thoughts has two effects
“It redouble joy and cut grief and half.”
relationships • A mountain of data reveals that most people
support are happier attached than unattached.
• Married people report to be happier and
health and satisfied with life than those of widowed and
wellbeing? separated. “The sun looks down on nothing
half so as good as a household laughing
together over a meal.
Enhancing Realize Realize that enduring happiness doesn’t come from making it.

Happiness Take

Act
Take control of your time.

Act happy.

Seek Seek work and leisure that engage your skills

Join Join the “movement” movement

Give Give your body the sleep it wants

Give Give priority to close relationships

Focus Focus beyond the self

Keep Keep a gratitude journal

Nurture Nurture your spiritual self

Thank you for listening.