Psychology Unit 4 Test

Chapter 13: Stress, Coping, and Health

Biopsychosocial model: physical illness caused by combo of bio, psycho, and sociocultural
factors
Health psychology: how psychosocial factors relate to health and causation, prevention, and
treatment of illness
The Nature of Stress
o Stress = circumstances that threaten well being
o Stress as an Everyday Event
Can include natural disasters to even small events such as misplacing cell
phone, shopping for gifts, etc.
Minor stress doesnt necessarily produce minor effects
Routine hassles can have harmful effects on mental and physical health
Possible because of cumulative nature of stress
o Appraisal: Stress Lies in the Eye of the Beholder
Stress depends on what a person notices, and how they choose to interpret
them
Two different types of appraisals
Primary Appraisal
o Initial evaluation of whether event is irrelevant to you,
relevant but not threatening, stressful
Secondary Appraisal
o More likely to make secondary appraisal if you find event to
be stressful
o Source of coping resources
Ex, primary = whether you saw exam as stressful, secondary = how stressful
is it depending on how ready you are
some people more prone to feeling stressed
anxious people report more stress
Major Types of Stress
o Acute stressors: threatening events that have short duration
Dealing with exam
o Chronic Stressors: long duration, no apparent time limit
Financial strains (debt)
o Frustration

 Occurs in any situation where goal is thwarted

Most are brief and insignificant
Can be sources of significant stress
Failures and losses
o Conflict
When two/more incompatible motivations/ behavioural impulses compete
Come in three basic types
Approach approach conflict: choice made b/w two attractive goals
(least stressful)
Avoidance Avoidance conflict: choice made between two
unattractive goals (highly stressful)
Approach avoidance conflict: choice on a single goal, but has good
and bad aspects
o Produce vacillation(go back and forth)
o Change
Any noticeable alterations in living circumstances, require adjustment
Stress makes people vulnerable to illness
Positive events can produce stress (buying big home) because of change
Social readjustment scale measure life changes as form of stress
Death of a spouse highest
It may not be accurate
o Pressure
Involves expectations/demands that one behave in certain way
Under pressure to finish work
Pressures to conform to others expectations common

Responding to Stress
o Emotional Responses
Emotions Commonly Elicited
Strong links b/w specific cognitive reactions to stress
o Self-blame leads to guilt, helplessness to sadness,
Some emotions more likely than others
o Common responses to stress are
Annoyance, anger, rage
Apprehension, anxiety fear
Dejection, sadness, grief
People also experience positive emotions in bad circumstances
o People felt positive emotions knowing their family was safe
after 9/11

Positive emotions dont vanish in times of high stress

Broaden and build theory of positive emotions
o Positive emotions alter mindsets, broaden attention, increase
creativity
o Positive emotions undo lingering effects of negative emotions
o Also promote social interactions
Association b/w positive emotions and lower levels of stress
hormones
associated with enhanced immune response
Effects of Emotional Arousal
High emotional arousal can interfere with attention and memory
Inverted U hypothesis
o Task performance improve with increased emotional arousal,
until peak, then begins to deteriorate
o Peak called optimal level of arousal
o Depends on complexity of task
o As task complexity increases, optimal level of arousal
decreases
o Physiological Responses
Fight or Flight Response
Reaction to threat, autonomic nervous system mobilizes organism

We cant handle stress through fight or flight

Females more tend and befriend
The General Adaptation Syndrome

ANS controls blood vessels, smooth muscles, and glands

Fight or flight mediated by sympathetic division
Adaptive response, but less adaptive for human functioning

Stress reactions nonspecific (dont vary according to specific type of

stress)
General adaption = model of stress response, three stages
o Alarm: organism recognizes threaten, physiological arousal,
fight or flight
o Resistance: due to prolonged stress, physical changes stabilize
coping efforts,
o Exhaustion: bodys coping resources limited, can be depleted,
damage varying organ systems disease of adaptation
Brain Body Pathway

Two pathways of brain signals to endocrine system in response to

stress
Endocrine system = glands that secret hormones
Hypothalamus initiate action b/w the two pathways
First pathway
o Through ANS, hypothalamus activates sympathetic division
o Stimulation of central part of adrenal glands, release
catecholamines
Radiate throughout body, produce physiological
changes
Body mobilized for action
Heart rate, blood flow increase, more blood pumped
to brain and muscles
Digestive processes inhibited to conserve energy
Eye dilate
Second Pathway
o Direct communication between brain and endocrine system
o Hypothalamus sends signals to pituitary
Secretes ACTH, stimulates outer part of adrenal glands
o Releases corticosteroids
Stimulate release of chemicals to increase energy,
inhibit tissue inflammation

Possibly gender differences

Female stress response milder, probably due to oestrogen
o Behavioural Responses
Coping = tolerate stress
Can be adaptive or maladaptive
Giving Up and Blaming Oneself
Learned helplessness = passive behaviour due to exposure to aversive
events
People believe events not intheir control
Called behavioural disengagement
can contribute to depression
catastrophic thinking
Striking Out at Others
Aggression= behaviour to hurt someone
Frustration aggression hypothesis

o Causal link between the two, but not a one to one

correspondence
Catharsis = release of emotional tension
Healthy to blow off steam

Most studies find the opposite, behaving in aggressive manner fuels

more anger and aggression
Indulging Oneself

Stress lead to self-indulgence

People engage in excessive consumption eating, drinking, smoking,
drugs

Easy to execute and highly pleasurable

Problem gamblers used maladaptive
Internet addiction = inordinate amount of time and inability to
control online use
Defensive Coping

Defence mechanisms = unconscious reactions, protect person from

anxiety, guilt, etc.

Shield from emotional discomfort elicited by stress

Guard against anxiety, anger, guilt, dejection
Work through self-deception, distorting reality
Usually not healthy

Defensive coping avoidance strategy, rarely provides genuine strategy

But there is evidence that positive illusions can be adaptive for
mental health
o Normal people have overly favourable self-image
o Depressed subjects have realistic self-concepts
o Normal people overestimate degree of controlling chance
events
o Normal more likely to display unrealistic optimism
Constructive Coping

Relatively healthful efforts people make to deal with stressful events

Key themes include
o Involve confronting problems
Conscious effort to solve problems
o Based on realistic appraisals of stress
Self-deception can be hurtful
o Learning to recognize and regulate emotional stress reactions

The Effects of Stress on Psychological Functioning

o Impaired Task Performance
Pressure can interfere with performance
Pressure makes people self-conscious, disrupts attention
Worrying about performance can distract attention
Use up limited working memory
o Burnout
Physical, emotional exhaustion, lower sense of self efficacy
From chronic work related stress
Associated with increased absenteeism and reduced productivity at work
Factors include work overload, interpersonal conflicts, lack of control over
responsibility, inadequate recognition
o Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Psychological disturbance attributed to major traumatic event
Rape, assault, witnessing death, etc.
Can be long lasting
o Psychological Problems and Disorders
Chronic stress might contribute to problems
Stress = poor academic performance, insomnia, sexual difficulties, alcohol
and drugs
o Positive Effects
Resilience = adaptation to stress/trauma
Seen in 35-55% of people
But ill effects due to trauma still occur
Promote personal growth
Can force people to get new skills, new strengths, etc.

The Effects of Stress on Physical Health

o Psychosomatic diseases = genuine physical ailments thought to be caused by stress /
other psychological factors
High blood pressure, ulcers, asthma, eczema
o Type A Personality, Hostility, And Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease = reduced blood flow in coronary arteries (supply
blood to heart)
Atherosclerosis = cause of coronary heart disease

Narrowing of arteries
Older age, smoking, lack of exercise, high cholesterol, high blood
pressure

Type A personality
Strong competitive orientation
Impatience and time urgency
Anger and hostility
Ambitious people
Type B
Relaxed, patient, easy going, amicable behaviour
Studies usually find association with heart disease and type a, but not as
consistent as expected
But link between anger/ hostility and coronary diseases
o Emotional Reactions, Depression, and Heart disease
Possible that strong emotional reactions trigger heart attracts
Stress trigger increases in inflammation contribute to cardiovascular risk
Depression also factor for heart disease
o Stress, Other Diseases, and Immune Functioning
Possible that stress can undermine immune functioning
Immune response = bodys defensive reaction
Depend heavily on white blood cells, called lymphocytes
Found that immune activity less when in stressful conditions
Other important connections also
Proinflammatory cytokines released when immune system responds to injury
Orchestrate number of activities that play role in killing pathogen and
repairing tissue

Long term stress promote overproduction of cytokines leading to

inflammation
o Sizing Up the Link Between Stress and Illness
Cant conclusively say stress causes illness
Neuroticism make people prone to interpret events as stressful
Strength of relationship b/w stress and health is modest
Factors Moderating the Impact of Stress
o Social Support
Various aids/ emotional sustence from members of social networks
Correlation b/w high social support and greater immune functioning
Asians reluctant to seek support
Difference b/w explicit social support, overt solace and aid from others, and
implicit social support, knowing that there people close to you
Americans prefer explicit, Asians prefer implicit
o Optimism and Conscientiousness

Optimism = expect good outcomes

Correlation between optimism and good health
More effective immune functioning
Engage in action oriented, problem focused coping
Willing to seek social support
Conscientiousness also has impact on health
Probably because they gravitate to health environments, less reactivity to
stress
Better health habits
Health Impairing Behaviour
o Smoking
Smokers ingest 7000 chemicals in each puff
Lung cancer and heart disease
Risk for oral, bladder, kidney, larynx, oesophagus, pancreas cancer
Second hand smoke/environmental tobacco smoke increase risk for various
illnesses
Children with asthma particularly vulnerable to smoke
People worry about quitting smoking because of pleasure, weight gain, and
anxiety
o Lack of Exercise
Physical fitness declining
Accompanied by decline of children who participate in sports
Exercise enhances cardiovascular fitness, reduce susceptibility to problems
Indirectly reduce risk for obesity problems
Diminish chronic inflammation
Buffer hat reduces damaging effects of stress
Exercise facilitate generation of brain cells
Neurogenesis
o Alcohol and Drug Use
Moderate drinking provides some protection from cardiovascular diseases
Heavy drinking = risk of diseases
Drugs kill directly
Greatest physical damage in population caused by alcohol
o Behaviour and Aids
Aids = immune system weakened, eventually disabled by HIV
Aids = final stage of hiv

Transmission
Transmitted through person to person contact
Sexual contact, sharing needles
Male to female transmission 8 times more likely than female to male
Virus found in tears and saliva
Prevention
More sexual partners = higher risk
Reduce risk by having less sexual contacts
o How Does Health Impairing Behaviour Develop?
Health impairing habits appear slowly
Involve activities that are pleasant at the time
Risks with health impairing habits are chronic disease, aka cancer

Reactions to Illness
o Deciding to Seek Treatment
People with anxiety report more symptoms of illnesses
Roadblocks for treatment include wait times
Also how individuals react to health concerns
Income level, gender, city vs. rural area affect frequency of seeing doctor
City women with high income more likely to visit physician
People tend to delay professional consultation
Misinterpret significance of their symptoms
Fret about looking silly
Worry about bothering doctor
Reluctant to disrupt their plans
Waste time on trivial matters (taking showers, packing clothes)
before going to hospital
o Communicating With Health Providers
Some people leave doctor not understanding what theyve been told
Medical visits usually brief, little time for discussion
Doctors use jargon
o Adhering to Medical Advice
Nonadherence occurs 30-60% of time
Patients can forget about requirements of treatment
Also three other considerations prominent

Noncompliance result of patients failure to understand instructions

Instructions may be difficult/ unpleasant
If patient has negative attitude toward physician, noncompliance
increase

Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders

Abnormal Behaviour: Myths, Realities, and Controversies

o The Medical Model Applied to Abnormal Behaviour
medical model proposes useful to think as disease
some think it has outlived usefulness
put derogatory labels on people
mentally ill viewed as dangerous, incompetent, inferior
many psychological disorder attributable to genetic/ biological factors
diagnosis = distinguishing one illness from another
etiology =apparent causation/ developmental history of illness
prognosis = forecast of probable course of illness
o Criteria of Abnormal Behaviour
In making diagnoses, doctors rely on criteria

Deviance : people said to have disorder because behaviour

deviates from norm
o Transvestic fetishism = man achieves sexual arousal by
dressing as women
Maladaptive behaviour: might has disorder because every day
adaptive behaviour impaired
o Using cocaine and then it interferes with persons
everyday social life
Personal Distress: persons own report of personal distress
depression & anxiety
People viewed as disorder when one criterion is met
Normality/ abnormality depends on degree of behaviour no distinct
dividing line
o Stereotypes of Psychological Disorders
Three wrong stereotypes
Psychological disorders incurable

People with psychological disorders often violent/ dangerous

People with psychological disorders behave in bizarre ways, very
different from normal people
o Psychodiagnosis: The classification of Disorders

American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of

Mental Disorders(DSM)
Current edition = dsm IV
In DSM III, multiaxial system of classification used, judgements about
individuals on five axes
Diagnosis made on Axes I and II, record most types of disorders on I and
use II to list long running personality disorders/ intellectual disability
other axes used to record supplemental information
patients physical disorders listen on III
on IV doctor makes notations regarded types of stress experienced by
individual in previous year
on V estimates are made of individuals current level of adaptive
functioning
people critique the DSM system, whether or not people can be reliably
placed in diagnostic categories
comorbidity: coexistence of two or more disorders
current categorical approach should be replaced by dimensional
approach
would describe individuals pathology in terms of how they score
on limited number of continuous dimensions
o The Prevalence of Psychological Disorders
epidemiology: study of distribution of mental/physical disorder in
population
prevalence: percentage of population that exhibits a disorder during
specified time period
most common disorders are

substance use disorders

anxiety
mood disorders

Anxiety Disorders
o Class of disorders marked by feelings of excessive anxiety
o Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Marked by chronic, high level of anxiety not tie to any specific threat
Not specific
People worry about mistakes and problems
Dread decisions and brood over them endlessly
Usually coupled with physical symptoms trembling, diarrhoea,
dizziness, etc.

o Phobic Disorder
Irrational fear of object/situation that presents no realistic danger
Coupled with anxiety symptoms trembling and palpitations
Acrophobia (heights), claustrophobia (small places), hydrophobia (fear of
water) and various insect phobias most common
o Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia
Panic disorder = recurrent attacks of anxiety, suddenly/ unexpectedly
Victims become apprehensive
Can lead to being scared to leave home agoraphobia
As many as 34% of students suffer from this
Nonclinical panic vs. diagnosable panic attack
o Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Marked by persistent intrusions of unwanted thoughts and urges for
senseless rituals
Obsessions sometimes inflect harm on others, personal failures, suicide,
sexual acts
People feel like they lost their mind
17% of people without mental disorder reported significant obsession
o Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Can come from any traumatic events, including rape, assault, automobile
accident, natural disaster, etc.
Sometimes it doesnt surface until much later on
Traumatic experiences much more common than previously thought
Intensity of individuals reaction at time of event is researched
Intense reaction during event tend to go on to show elevated
vulnerability to ptsd
o Etiology of Anxiety Disorders
Biological Factors

Concordance rate = percentage of twin pairs/ pairs of relatives

who exhibit same disorder
Consistent with idea that inherited differences make people
vulnerable to anxiety disorders
15-20% of babies display inhibited temperament
o Shyness
Anxiety sensitivity = vulnerable to anxiety disorders

Anxiety can breed more anxiety

Conditioning and Learning

Anxiety disorders can be acquired through classical condition and

maintained through operant conditioning
o Child buried in snow scared of snow as an adult
Avoidance conditioning
Preparedness: people biologically prepared by evolution to
acquire some fears more easily than others
Phobias of snakes and spiders

Evolved module for fear learning

o Activated by stimuli related to survival threats in evolution
Cognitive Factors

Cognitive theorists believe certain thinking styles make people

vulnerable to anxiety disorders

Some people more likely to have because

o Misinterpret harmless situations as threatening
o Focus excessive attention on perceived threats
o Selectively recall information that seems threatening

Stress

Studies support that anxiety is stress related

Patients with panic disorder experienced increase in stress month
prior

Dissociative Disorders
o Disorders in which people lose contact with consciousness or memory,
disruptions in sense of identity
o Dissociative Amnesia and Fugue
Serious memory deficits
Dissociative amnesia = sudden loss of memory for important personal
info that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting
Dissociative fugue = people lose memory for entire lives along with sense
of personal identity
o Dissociative Identity Disorder
DID involves coexistence in one person of two/ more personalitys
Used to be called multiple personality disorder
Each personality will have different name, memories, traits,
Often mistaken for schizophrenia
Various personalities unaware of each other
Most patients have history of anxiety/mood/ personality disorders
o Etiology of Dissociative Disorders
Little is known about this extreme reaction

Cases particularly obscure

Some believe these people engage in role playing as ace saving excuse for
their personal failing
Most cases rooted to trauma during childhood
Some dont believe in this disorder
Mood Disorders
o Emotional disturbance of varied kinds, can disrupt physical, perceptual, social
and thought processes
o 2 basic types
Unipolar: emotional extremes at one end, troubled by depression
Bipolar: vulnerable to emotional extremes at both ends of mood
continuum, periods of depression and mania
o Major Depressive Disorder
People show persistent feelings of sadness and lost interest in previous
pleasure source
Anhedonia= diminished ability to experience pleasure
Those who exhibit depression usually also exhibit other disorders also
Those who suffer from it, usually experience episodes more than once in
life
Earlier age of onset associated with more depression, impairment of
social and occupational functioning
People can suffer chronic major depression which persists for years
Dysthymic disorder = chronic depression that insufficient inseverity to
justify major depressive episode
More prevalent in women than in men
o Bipolar Disorder
Experience of one or more manic and depression episodes
One manic episode sufficient to be diagnosed with this
Severity varies
Cyclothymic disorder = chronic but relatively mild symptoms of bipolar
In milder forms manic states increase energy, self esteem
But they usually have paradoxical counter part
Less common than unipolar disorders
o Diversity in Mood Disorders
Two major types = major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder
Symptoms and course of disorder vary
Two well-known subcategories are

Seasonal affection disorder SAD = depression that follow seasonal

pattern
Postpartum Depression = depression that occurs after childbirth
Suggestions SAD related to melatonin production and circadian
rhythms
Immigrant women have more postpartum depression
May reflect stress due to relocation
o Mood Disorders and Suicide
One of three leading causes of death between 15-34
Rates differ across various groupings
Gender, age, rural/urban
Statistics usually underestimated because sometimes suicides
disguised as accidents
Women more likely to attempt
but men more likely to actually die from it
90% of people suffer from some type of disorder
Highest for those with mood disorders
o Etiology of Mood Disorders
Genetic Vulnerability
Genetic factors involved in mood disorders

Heredity can create predisposition to mood disorders

Genetic mapping attempt to pinpoint genes
But inconsistent
Biological and Neurochemical Factors
Correlations found between mood disorders and abnormal levels
of norepinephrine and serotonin

Other neurotransmitter levels can also contribute

Various drug therapies effective in treatment of severe mood
disorders
Studies found correlation between mood disorders and structural
abnormalities in brain
Depression an reduced hippocampal volume
o Hippocampus major role in memory consolidation
o 8-10% smaller in depressed people
Theory that neurogenesis lower in depressed people
Serotonin promotes neurogenesis
Hormonal Factors

During stress, brain sends 2 pathways

One from hypothalamus to pituitary to adrenal cortex, releases
corticosteroid hormones
Called hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical axis (HPA axis)
Over activity along this axis in response to stress play role in
depression
Depressed people have high level of cortisol, key hormone
produced by hpa axis
Dispositional Factors
Multidimensional perfectionism scale that assesses three aspects
of perfectionism
o Self-oriented perfectionism = high standards for oneself
o Other oriented perfectionism = high standards for others
o Socially prescribed perfectionism = others are setting high
standards for oneself
o Link between perfectionism and eating disorders,
depression symptoms, problematic relationships, health
problems
Other personality based models of depression
o Suggest specific personality variables serve as vulnerability
factors for depression
o Sociotropy and autonomy personality styles related to
depression
Sociotropic invested in interpersonal relationships,
concerned with avoiding interpersonal problems
and emphasize pleasing others
Autonomic oriented with personal achievement
and independence

Difference between introjective personality orientation, involves

self-criticism, and anaclitic orientation, dependence on others
Cognitive Factors
Depressed individuals characterized by negative cognitive triad
o Reflects tendency to have negative views
Learned helplessness model, hopelessness theory
Depression possibly caused by learned helplessness

Pessimistic explanatory style vulnerable to depression

o one of several factors that contribute to hopelessness, and
thus depression

cognitive reactions
people who ruminate about depression remain depressed longer
than those who try to distract themselves
Interpersonal Roots

Depression prone people lack social finesse needed to acquire

reinforces friends, jobs, desirable spouses
Poor social skills and depression linked

Depressed people tend to be depression

Found to be irritable
Social rejection and lack of support can aggravate and deepen
depression
Sports Concussions and Depression
Depression common in post-concussion syndrome
Depression rates high in head trauma patients
Precipitation Stress

Strong link between stress and onset of mood disorders

Also affects how people respond to treatments
Many people have stress but no depression

Degree of vulnerability varies

Schizophrenic Disorders
o Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, deterioration of adaptive
behaviour
o General Symptoms
Delusions and Irrational Thought
Delusions = false beliefs that are maintained, even though they
are out of touch with reality

Delusions of grandeur = people think they are famous

Persons train of thought deteriorates
Deterioration of Adaptive Behaviour
Deterioration in quality of work, social relationships, personal care
Hallucinations
Sensory perceptions that occur in the absence of a real, external
stimulus or are gross distortions of perceptual input
Hearing voices or seeing people
Disturbed Emotions
Some show little emotional responsiveness
Others show inappropriate that dont go with situation

 Cry over cartoon, laugh over disturbing news of death

o Subtypes, Course, and Outcome
Paranoid Type
Delusions of persecution, along with delusions of grandeur

Suspicious of friends and relatives

Attribute persecution to mysterious unknown persons
Catatonic Type

Motor disturbances, ranging from muscular rigidity to random

motor activity
Some go into withdrawal catatonic stupor

Motionless and oblivious to environment around them

Catatonic excitement
o Hyperactive and incoherent
Disorganized Type
Severe deterioration of adaptive behaviour is seen
Emotional indifference, frequent incoherence, social withdrawal
Undifferentiated Type
Marked by idiosyncratic mixtures of symptoms
Cant be put into previous categories
Positive versus Negative Symptoms
Doubts about value of dividing schizophrenic disorders into 4
subtypes
Arent meaningful differences between subtypes in Etiology,
prognosis, or response to treatment
Negative symptoms = behavioural deficits, flattened emotions,
social withdrawal, apathy, impaired attention, poverty of speech

Positive Symptoms = behavioural excesses or peculiarities,

hallucinations, delusions, bizarre behaviour, wild flights of ideas
Course and Outcome
Usually emerge during adolescence or early adulthood
Usually have history of weird behaviour, along with cognitive/
social deficits
Emergency can be sudden or gradual
Tend to fall into three broad groups

Some treated successfully and have full recovery

Others have partial recovery, can return to independent living for
time

o Do experience relapses
Third group endures chronic illness
o Etiology of Schizophrenia
Genetic Vulnerability

Hereditary factors play a role

Neurochemical factors
Coupled with changes of neurotransmitter activity

Marijuana use doubled risk of psychotic disturbance

Thc increase dopamine activity
Structural Abnormalities in the Brain

Studies have suggested schizophrenics exhibit various deficits in

attention, perception, and info processing

Impairments in short term memory especially prominent

Suggest schizophrenic disorders may be caused by neurological
defects

Enlarged ventricles found in schizophrenics, thought to reflect

degeneration of nearby tissue
Not sure whether consequence or cause of illness

Reduction of gray matter and white mater

Probably due to losses of synaptic density and myelinisation
The Neurodevelopmental Hypothesis

Schizophrenia caused by various disruptions

maturational process of brain before/ at birth

Injuries during sensitive phases can cause subtle damage

elevate vulnerability
Viral infection and malnutrition during prenatal development

Excess dopamine implicated as possible cause

But inconsistent
Marijuana use during adolescence may precipitate schizophrenia

in

normal

Slight anatomical defects of body seen to be consistent with

prenatal neurological damage that is more common with
schizophrenics
Expressed Emotion
EE is degree to which relative of schizophrenic displays highly
critical or emotionally overinvolved attitudes toward patient
Families that express emotion probably cause stress to patient
Precipitating Stress

Various bio andpsycho factors influence vulnerability

High stress also trigger relapses
Personality Disorders
o Extreme, inflexible personality traits that cause subjective distress/impaired
social/ occupational functioning
o Diagnostic Problems
Some argue personality disorders overlap too much with axis I disorders
and with each other
Doesnt appear to be distinction between personality and Axis I disorders
Support for a shift to a dimensional approach is strong in DSM 5
o Antisocial Personality Disorder
Description
Impulsive, manipulative, aggressive, irresponsible behaviour that
reflects a failure to accept social norms

Dont feel guilty about their actions

Lack consciousness
Antisocial personalities tend to begin criminal careers early

Can apply to business executives, scheming politicians,

unprincipled lawyers, etc.
also called psychopathy
can be skilled at faking affection to exploit people
Etiology
Biological factors
Genetic predisposition
People inherit sluggish ANS
Leading to slow acquisition of inhibitions through classical
conditioning
Disorders of Childhood
o Autism
Developmental disorder characterized by social and emotional deficits,
along with repetitive and stereotypic behaviours, interests, and activities
Relatively rare
In DSM, placed under pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) category
Three subtypes autistic disorder, Aspergers disorder, PDD Not
otherwise specified (PDD NOS)
Multidetermined genetic and neurobiological causes
Three types of deficits

Social
Communication
Repetitive behaviour
Social impairment leads to autistic aloneness
Limited theory of mind
Echolia = mimic what they heard from others and repeat it
Usually have OCD, ritualistic acts
Higher order repetitive behaviour
Interest in specific topics, games, TV
Treatment difficult and specialized, early intervention recommended
Treatment can be expensive
Psychological Disorders and the Law
o Insanity
Insanity and insanity laws
Insane person cant be held accountable on account of mental disorder
Criminal acts must be intentional
Various rules in making decisions in court
MNaghten rule
Insanity exists when person cant distinguish from right and wrong
not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder
If found NCRMD defendant discharged, conditional discharge, or ordered
to a psychiatric facility
Automatism: should not be held responsible if you had no control over
behaviour
Culture and Pathology
o Is Equivalent Disorders Found around the world?
Most agree that principal categories of psychological disturbances are
identifiable in all cultures
Abnormal behaviour in western culture usually abnormal behaviour in
others
But theyre degree of strangeness can vary
Culture bound disorders = abnormal syndromes found only in few
cultural groups
Windigo and anorexia nervosa
o Are Symptom Patterns Culturally Invariant
The more a disorder has a biological component, the more it tends to be
expressed in various cultures
But depending on culture or area can be expressed differently

In western, schizophrenics think hearing voices because of transmissions

from satellites or microwaves, in 3rd world countries, people think its
because of demons
Symptom patterns most variable for depression

Guilt and self-depreciation = western cultural, but in non-western

depression expressed as fatigue, headaches, more than
psychological symptoms
Probably to express oneself in a way that is acceptable in ones
culture

Chapter 15: Treatment of Psychological Disorders

The Elements of the Treatment Process

o Treatments: How many Types are There
Approaches to treatment classified into 3 main categories
Insight therapies
o Talk therapy, verbal interactions, individual or group
Behaviour Therapies
o Based on learning, direct efforts to alter problematic
responses
o Involve classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or
observational learning
Biomedical therapies
o Intervention into persons biological functioning

o Drug and shock therapy

o Provided by doctors
o Clients: Who Seeks Therapy?
Therapeutic triad (therapists, treatments, clients)
People often delay before seeking treatment
Usually 6 years delay for bipolar and drug, 8 for depression, 9 for
generalized anxiety, and 10 for panic disorder
o Therapists: Who Provides Professional Treatment?
Psychotherapy = professional treatment
Psychologists

2 types: clinical and counselling

Clinical training emphasized treatment of full disorders,
counselling is towards everyday problems
Had to earn doctoral degree
PhD = psychologists, m.a = psychological associate
Use either insight/ behavioural approaches
Also do psychological testing and psychotherapy
Psychiatrists
Doctors specialized in diagnosis and treatment of psychological
disorders
Devote time to severe disorders
Have md degree
More likely to use psychoanalysis , less likely to use group or
behaviour therapies

Primarily depend on medication as mode of treatment

Other Mental Health Professionals
Clinical social workers and psychiatric nurses part of treatment
team
Counsellors provide therapeutic services
Insight Therapies
o Verbal interactions intended to enhance clients self-knowledge and promote
healthful changes in personality and behaviour
o Psychoanalysis
Emphasizes recovery of unconscious conflicts, motives, and defences
through techniques such as free association and transference
o Probing the Unconscious
Free association = client spontaneously express thoughts and feelings as
they occur, little censorship

Dream analysis = interpret symbolic meaning of clients dream

Interpretation
Therapists attempts to explain significance of thoughts, feelings,
memories, and behaviours
Resistance
Unconscious defensive manoeuvres intended to hinder therapy
Client show up late, pretend free association, hostility toward therapist
Transference
Clients unconsciously relate to their therapist in ways that mimic critical
relationships in their lives
Client transfer conflicting feelings onto therapist
Modern Psychodynamic Therapies
Diversity of these approaches to therapy
Central features include
Focus on emotional experience

Exploration of efforts to avoid distressing thoughts and feelings

Identification of recurring patterns in patients life experiences
Discussion of past experiences

Analysis of interpersonal relationships

Focus on therapeutic relationship
Exploration of dream
o Client Centred Therapy
Insight therapy, provide supportive emotional climate for clients, play
major role in determining pace/direction of therapy
Therapeutic Alliance: The importance of Therapy Climate
Nature of bond between therapist and client

Agreement on goals
Client centred therapy provide three conditions
o Genuineness, therapist honest with client
o Unconditional positive regard, think of client as person,
provide warmth and care
o Empathy, understand clients world
Therapeutic Process
Reflect statements to clients with clarity
Emotion focused couples therapy
o Relationship not providing for attachment needs of
relationship partners
o Therapies Inspired by Positive Psychology

Wellbeing theory, seeks to enhance clients self-acceptance, purpose in

life, autonomy, personal growth
Positive psychotherapy, treatment of depression
Get clients to recognize strengths, appreciate blessings, savour
positive experiences, forgive those whove wrong them,
Showed better results than others
o Group Therapy
Simultaneous treatment of several clients in a group
Participants Roles

Usually consists of 4-15 people

Debate between whether group should be homogenous (similar)
Participants function as therapists for one another

Provide acceptance and support for each other

Members work at correcting problems
Therapist selects participants, sets goals, initiates and maintains
therapeutic process, protects clients from harm
Advantages of the Group Experience

Save time and money

Can be just as effective as individual treatment
Realize their problems arent unique
o Couples and Family Therapy
Couple therapy = both partners treated in committed intimate
relationship, main focus on relationship issues
Family therapy = treatment of whole family, focus on family
dynamics/communication
o How effective are Insight Therapies?
Spontaneous remission = recovery from disorder without formal
treatment
Diverse methods to assess outcomes
Studies indicate insight therapy superior to no treatment/ placebo
treatment
Greatestimprovement early in treatment
Behaviour Therapies
o Application of learning principles to change clients maladaptive behaviours
o Assumed behaviour = product of learning, and that what has been learned can
be unlearned
o Systematic Desensitization

Therapy to reduce phobic anxiety responses through counter

conditioning
Assumes responses acquired through classical conditioning
First, therapist helps client build anxiety hierarchy

List of anxiety arousing stimuli

Second, training client in deep muscle relaxation

Can begin early

Third, client tries to work through hierarchy, learn to remain relaxed
while imagine each stimulus
As they conquer imagined phobic stimuli, move on to real
Counter condition reverse process of classical conditioning
Exposure therapies client confronted with situations they fear so they
learn that situations really harmless
o Aversion Therapy
Controversial
Aversive stimulus paired with stimulus that elicits undesirable response
Example, emetic drug (induces nausea)paired with alcohol to condition
aversion
o Social Skills training
Improve interpersonal skills that emphasize modelling, behavioural
rehearsal and shaping
Individual or groups
Modelling observe socially skilled friends
Behavioural rehearsal practise social techniques
Shaping clients asked to handle complicated and delicatesituations
o Cognitive Behavioural Treatments
Use various combos of verbal interventions and behaviour modification
techniques to help clients change maladaptive patterns of thinking
Cognitive therapy specific strategies to correct habitual thinking errors
that underlie various disorders
Depression caused by errors in thinking
Depressed people
o Blame setbacks on personal inadequacies
o Focus selectively on negative events
o Pessimistic projections about future
o Draw negative conclusions about worth
Goal is to change clients negative thoughts

Use various behavioural techniques, modelling, monitoring, behavioural

rehearsal
Self-instructional training
Clients develop/ use verbal statements to cope with difficult
contexts
Mindfulness emphasize attention regulation and open approach to
experiences
Designed to prevent relapse
Applied to those with depression
People acquire skills that help them
Increased awareness
Present moment
Self-compassion
Accepting things as they are
o How Effective Are Behaviour Therapies?
Difficult because include many types of strategies
Sufficient to note that there is favourable evidence on efficacy of widely
used interventions
Contributions to phobias, OCD, sexual dysfunctions, schizophrenia, drug
problems, eating disorders, autism, etc.
Biomedical Therapies
o Physiological interventions intended to reduce symptoms associated with
psychological disorders
o Treatment with Drugs
Psychopharmacotherapy = treatment of mental disorders with
medication
Antianxiety drugs
Relieve tension, apprehension, and nervousness
Valium and Xanax
Benzodiazepine aka tranquilizers
Immediate effects

Side effects drowsiness, depression, nausea, confusion

Potential for abuse
Antipsychotic Drugs

Gradually reduce psychotic symptoms, aka hyperactivity, mental

confusion, hallucinations, delusion
Appear to decrease dopamine activity
Exact relationship unknown

Reduce psychotic symptoms in about 70% of patients

Work gradually
Side effects drowsiness, constipation, dry mouth, muscle
tremors, muscular rigidity, impaired motor coordination
70% relapse after a year because they dont like side effects
Can also cause tardive dyskensia
o Involuntary writhing and tic like movement of mouth,
tongue, face, hands, feet
o No cure
Atypical antipsychotic drugs are new
o Similar in effective ness, but has advantages
o Help those who didnt respond to previous drugs
o Less side-effects
o But it does appear to increase vulnerability to diabetes and
heart problems
Antidepressant drugs
Elevate mood and help bring people out of depression

Used to be two classes, tricyclics and MAO inhibitors

Today there are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
Slow uptake of serotonin synapses

Prozac
Few side-effects
Valuable to OCD, panic and anxiety

Gradual effects
They may however increase risk of suicide
When compared to placebo, there is risk of suicide, from 2% to
4%
Suicide risk peaks in month prior to people beginning treatment
though

SNRI inhibits uptake at serotonin and norepinephrine synapses

Stronger effects
Mood Stabilizers

Control mood swings in those with bipolar

Lithium was an effective drug in preventing future episodes

Can be used to being patients out of current episodes

Antipsychotics and antidepressants more used
Lithium has bad side effects

o Can be toxic, kidney/thyroid complications

Alternatives include valproate, more widely used, but as effective,
and less side effects
How Effective Are Drug Therapies

Controversial
Critics say
o Not as effective as advertised
o Drugs overprescribed, patients overmedicated
o Side effects underestimated

Found that when two antipsychotic drugs pitted against each

other, sponsoring company usual reported to be superior, 90% of
time
o Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
Electric shock used to produce cortical seizure accompanied by
convulsions
Electrodes attached to skull over temporal lobes
Light anaesthesia induced, patient given various drugs to minimize
complications
Current triggers brief seizure
Patients awake in 1 or 2 hours
Effectiveness of ECT
Proponents say it is effective for depression
Those who dont improve from medication, improve from ECT

Others say its no more effective than placebo

Enough evidence for conservative use
Risks Associated with ECT

Short term side effects memory loss, impaired attention

Usually mild, disappear in a month
No evidence it damage brain

Others say deficits often significant and permanent

Remains controversial
o New Brain Stimulation Techniques
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Permits scientists to temporarily enhance/depress activity in area
of brain
Magnetic coil mounted on paddle, held over specific areas
Used as treatment of depression

Some promise to it
Minimal side effects
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
Electric surgically implanted in brain, connected to implanted
pulse generator, electrical currents delivered to brain adjacent to
electrode
Treatment of motor disturbances with Parkinsons, tardive
dyskinesia, seizures
Current Trends and Issues in Treatment
o Blending Approaches to Treatment
No rule that client must be treated with one approach
Often doctor uses several
Depressed person use cognitive therapy (insight), social skills training
(behaviour) and antidepressant medication (biomedical)
Most used to depend on one system
Eclecticism = drawing ideas from two or more systems of therapy instead
of committing to just one system
Two common approaches: theoretical integration and technical
eclecticism
Theoretical integration: two or more systems combined to take
advantage of strengths of each

Technical Eclecticism
o Borrowing ideas, insights, techniques from various
sources, tailoring strategy to unique need of patient
o Increasing Multicultural Sensitivity in Treatment
Psychotherapy emerged in Europe and north America
Reflected western culture, not universal
Psychological disorders in other cultures attributed to supernatural forces
Victims seek help from priests/shames/healers
Efforts to mix western psychotherapy with non-western cultures has
mixed success
North America minorities underutilize therapy
Various barriers include
Cultural barriers
o Cultural groups reluctant to turn to formal assistance
o Rely on informal help from family and friends
o More likely to report physical symptoms than
psychological

Language Barriers
o Effective communication needed
o Communication problems makes it awkward
Institutional barriers
o Majority of therapists are trained in treatment of white,
middle class patients
o Not familiar with other cultures
o Ill-advised treatment
Doctors need to be sensitive to various cultures
Pan Amerindian healing popular in aboriginal people
Strong therapeutic alliance needed
Crucial for minorities
Institutional Treatment in Transition
o Mental hospital = medical institution specializing in providing inpatient care for
psychological disorders
o Disenchantment with Mental Hospitals
Hospitalization often contributed to development instead of curing it
Facilities were underfunded
Overcrowded and understaffed
Personnel were undertrained
Delivered minimal care
Community mental health movement emerged in 1960s
Local community based care
Reduced dependence on hospitalization
Prevention of psychological disorders
o Deinstitutionalization
Transferring treatment of mentally illness from institutions to community
based facilities that emphasize outpatient care
Emergence of drug therapies
Deployment of community mental health centres
Now people placed in hospitals for only brief periods of time if at all
Mixed reviews
People have benefited by avoiding hospitalizations
But, patients suffering from chronic disorders have nowhere to go when
they are released
Large population of homeless mentally ill people
o Mental Illness, the Revolving Door, and Homelessness

Most in mental health system suffer from chronic disorders, require

hospitalization
Once qualified for drug therapy, no longer qualify for hospital treatment
Sent back outside
Will soon need to come back for hospitalization
Blamed or growing population of homeless people
1/3 homeless suffer from mental illness, 1/3 struggle with alcohol/drugs
Inadequate care clear for mentally ill people
Situation deteriorated
Spending has increased, and funding has decreased
Beds for psychiatric care declined

Chapter 16: Social Behaviour

Person Perception: Forming Impressions of Others

o process of forming impressions of others
o Effects of Physical Appearance
Study shows attractive people crave more attention

Attractive people found to be more sociable, friendly, warm

But in reality there is little correlation
Linking beautiful with good starts early
People tend to view attractive people as more competent

Secure better jobs, earn higher salaries

Intelligence more strongly related to income however
Photographs can provided meaningful inferences of personality
Tend to view those with baby faced features as more honest
Cognitive Schemas
Clusters of ideas about categories of social events and people
Social schemes for dates, reunions, picnics
Categories of people, dumb jocks, social climbers, wimps
Helps process and store info
Stereotypes
Held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because they are
member of certain group
Gender, age, ethnic, occupational stereotypes
Cognitive process, automatic, saves time
Simplify social world
Overgeneralizations
Perception of others subject to self-fulfilling prophecy
Immediate style = sitting closer, eye contact
Nonimmediate = sitting far, speech errors, looking away
If you hold strong beliefs about characteristics, you may behave in such a
way to bring about these characteristics
Subjectivity and Bias in Person Perception
people see what they expect to see
overestimate how often they see it
illusory correlation people estimate they have encountered more
confirmations of association between social traits than they have actually
seen
An Evolutionary Perspective on Bias in Person Perception
Biases seen were adaptive in humans ancestral environment
Attractiveness associated with reproductive potential
Need to quickly separate friend from foe
Humans programmed to classify people as one of two groups
In-group group that one belongs to

Out-group group one doesnt belong to

Attribution Processes: Explaining Behaviour

o Attributions = inferences that people draw about causes of events, others
behaviour, and own behaviour
o Internal versus External Attributions
Internal = ascribe causes of behaviour to personal dispositions, traits,
abilities, feelings
External = ascribe causes to situational demands and environmental
constraints
o Attributions for Success and Failure
People focus on stability of causes underlying behaviour
Weiners model of attributions for success and failure
o Bias in Attribution
Actor Observer Bias
Fundamental attribution error refers to observers bias in
favour of internal attributions in explaining others behaviour

Situational pressures not readily apparent to observer

People feel few situations are so coercive that they negate all
freedom of choice favouring internal attributions

Actors more likely to locate cause of their behaviour

Actors favour external attributions, observers more likely to
explain same behaviour with internal attributions
Defensive Attribution
Tendency to blame victims for misfortune, so one feels less likely
to be victimized in similar way
Attribute mishaps to victims negligence
Hindsight bias contributes to this, blaming victims help people
maintain belief they live in just world
o Culture and Attributional Tendencies
Cultural differences in individualism versus collectivism influence
attributional tendencies
Individualism = putting personal goals ahead of group goals,
define ones identity in terms of personal attributes rather than
group memberships
Collectivism = putting group goals ahead, definings ones identity
in terms of groups belonged too
Collectivist cultures promote different biases than individualistic
Collectivist less prone to fundamental attribution error
More likely to assume ones behaviour reflect group norms

Self-serving bias = tendency to attribute ones success to personal factors,

and ones failure to situational factors
Prevalent in western cultures
Self-effacing bias

Attribute success to help they receive, failure results in self-critical

Close Relationships: Liking and Loving
o Interpersonal attraction = positive feelings toward another
o Key Factors in Attraction
Physical Attractiveness

Attractive people have greater mating success

Matching hypothesis = male and female of approximate equal
attractiveness likely to select each other as partners
Similarity Effects
Married and dating couple similar in age, race, religion, social
class, personality, education, intelligence, physical attractiveness,
and attitudes
o Perspectives on the Mystery of Love
Passionate and Companionate Love
Passionate love = complete absorption in another, includes tender
sexual feelings, and the agony and ecstasy of intense emotion
Companionate love = warm, trusting, tolerant affection for
another whose life is deeply intertwined with ones own
Intimacy = warmth, closeness, and sharing in relationship
Commitment = intent to maintain a relationship, in spite of
difficulties and costs
Passionate love powerful force, produces changes in peoples
thinking, emotion, and behaviour

Dopamine circuits activated

Love as Attachment

Infants fall into one of three groups

o Secure attachment
o Anxious ambivalent attachment
o Avoidant attachment
Romantic love is attachment process

Follow same form as attachments in infancy

Love relationships sorted into three patterns

o Secure adults, easy to get close to others, not worried

about abandonment, few divorces
o Anxious ambivalent, preoccupation with love accompanied
by expectations of rejection, jealous and volatiles
o Avoidant, difficult to get close to, lack intimacy and trus t
Attachment anxiety = how much people worry their partners will
not be available when needed
Attachment avoidance = degree to which people feel
uncomfortable with intimacy, distance themselves from partners

Secure subtype, preoccupied subtypes, avoidant dismissing and

avoidant fearful subtypes
o Culture and Close Relationships
Cultures vary in relationships
Due to differences in societal and psychological differences in
individualism and collectivism
Vary in love, passionate love, as prerequisite for marriage
o The Internet and Close Relationships
Internet allows for people to meet and develop relationships
Some people find dates online
People join various networking sites in hopes of making new friends
Possible internet relationship superficial
But research shows virtual relationships just as intimate, sometimes
closer
o An evolutionary Perspective on Attraction
Physical appearance can determine health, genes, fertility
Facial symmetry key element of attractiveness
Womens waist to hip ratio
Women place greater prospective on social status, financial potential
because these traits associated with children

Attitudes: Making Social Judgements

o Attitudes = positive or negative evaluations of objects of thought
o Components and Dimensions of Attitudes
Three components

Cognitive, affective, and behavioural

Many attitudes dont include all three, more accurate to say attitudes
include up to three types of components
Cognitive component = belief people hold about object of an attitude
Affective = attitude consists of emotional feelings stimulated by object

 Behavioural = predisposition to act in certain way toward attitude object

Crucial dimensions strength, accessibility, ambivalence
Strong attitudes = resistant to change
Accessibility = how often one thinking about it
Ambivalent = conflicted evaluations, include both positive and negative
o Attitudes and Behaviour
Average correlation between the two is 0.41
Researches failed to take variations in attitude strength, accessibility, and
ambivalence into account
Strong attitudes, that are highly accessible more stable to be predictive of
behaviour
Attitudes measured in general way, likely not to predict specific
behaviour
Behaviour depends on situational constraints
o Implicit Attitudes: Looking Beneath the Surface
Explicit attitudes = hold consciously, and readily describable
Implicit = covert, expressed in subtle automatic responses, little
conscious control
most people reject racial prejudicial attitudes
but these people still grow up in negative stereotype environments
negative ideas seep into subconscious
implicit association test measures implicit attitudes
80% of people show negative implicit attitudes about elderly, of white
people prejudice against blacks
o Trying to Change Attitudes: Factors in Persuasion
Age of propaganda
Persuasion includes 4 elements
Source = person sending communication

Receiver = person to whom message is sent

Message = info transmitted by source
Channel = medium through which message is sent
Source Factors
Persuasion more successful when source has high credibility
Expertise is influential

Trustworthiness even more important

Likability increases effectiveness
Physical attractiveness usually makes people more likable

Respond better to sources who share similarity with us

Message Factors
One sided argument
Two sided argument
Better to concentrate on your strong arguments
Adding weak arguments hurt
Appeals to fear
o Effective
Truth/ validity effect = finding that repeating statement causes it
to be perceived as more valid or true
Mere exposure effect = repeated exposure to stimulus promotes
greater liking of stimulus
Receiver Factors
Researches havent found any personality traits that are reliably
associated with susceptibility to persuasion
Stronger attitudes resistant to change

Resistance can promote resistance

o People resisting persuasive efforts become more certain
o Theories of Attitude Formation and Change
Learning Theory
Attitudes learned from parents, peers, media, culture, social
influences
Created through classical conditioning
Evaluative conditioning = transfer emotion attached to UCS to a
new CS
Operant conditioning
Observational learning
o Parents and children have similar political attitudes
Dissonance Theory
Assumes inconsistency among attitudes propels people in
direction of attitude change
People can be coaxed into doing something that is inconsistent
with their true feelings
o Engage in counterattitudinal behaviour
Cognitive dissonance = related cognitions are inconsistent
contradict each other
Creates unpleasant state of tension
Effort justification justify efforts that havent panned out

Self-perception theory people infer attitudes from their

behaviour
o dollar isnt enough for me to lie, so I must have actually
found task enjoyable
Elaboration Likelihood Model
Two basic routes to persuasion
Central people carefully ponder content and logic of persuasive
messages
Peripheral persuasion depends on nonmessage factors, aka
attractiveness and credibility of source, or conditioned emotional
response
Central leads to more enduring attitude

Attitudes changes through central predict behaviour better

Conformity and Obedience: Yielding to Others
o Social roles = shared expectations how people are supposed to behave
o Conformity
When people yield to real or imagined social pressure
Group size and unanimity key determinants of conformity
Normative influence people conform to social norms for fear of
negative social consequence
Informational influence people look to others for guidance about how
to behave in ambiguous situations
o Obedience
Form of compliance, occurs when people follow direct commands,
usually from authority
Milgrams Studies

Troubled by how Nazis followed Hitlers orders

Subjects high obedience remained unchanged as he changed
aspects of experiment
If orders given by ordinary person obedience dropped
The Ensuing Controversy

People criticize milgrams experiment, say people expect to obey

orders in experiment
but recent study shown that people still prone to obedience
o Cultural Variations in Conformity and Obedience
Repeated in many cultures
Variations appear subject to cultural influences
Degree of individualism versus collectivism in society

Behaviour in Groups: Joining with Others

o Group = 2+ peoples, interact and interdependent
o Groups have roles, norms, communication structure, power structure
o Behaviour Alone and in Groups: The Case of the Bystander Effect
The more people there are, the less likely help will come
Bystander effect: people less likely to help when they in groups, rather
than alone
People alone provide help 75% of time, in groups only 53% of time
People think someone else will help
o Group Productivity and Social Loafing
Individual productivity declines in group
Unfortunate because many tasks only accomplished in groups
Two factors
Reduced efficiency resulting from loss of coordination among
workers

Effort rather than efficiency

o Social loafing = reduction in effort when they work in
groups
People with high achievement motivation less likely to exhibit social
loafing
People who score high on agreeableness and conscientiousness exhibit
less social loafing
o Decision Making in Groups
Group Polarization
Groups risker decisions than individuals
Called it the risky shift
Eventually determined groups shift either way, either more risky
or more cautiously
Shift toward extreme position = polarization
Group polarization = when group discussion strengthens groups
dominant point of view, produces shift toward more extreme
decision in that direction
Group Think
When members of cohesive group emphasize concurrence at
expense of critical thinking in arriving at a decision

If group view challenged, victims of group think us versus them

View out-group as enemy
Promotes incomplete gathering of info

Confirmation bias
Individual members fail to share info that is unique to them
Group cohesiveness strength of liking relationships linking
group members to each other and to group itself
Can facilitate group productivity, but groupthink risk high when
groups highly cohesive
Groups cohesiveness discussion lead to group polarization,
strengthening dominant view

Social Neuroscience
o A Neuroscience Perspective on Social Psychology
Approach to research and theory in social psychology, integrated models
of neuroscience and social psychology to study mechanisms of social
behaviour
Examines humans in social context, not isolated units of analysis
Use positron emission tomography (PET), fMRI, event related potentials
(ERPs), study of lesions, Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), to
examine mental mechanisms that create, frame, regulate, and respond to
experience of social world
o Topics in Social Neuroscience
Understanding/ controlling oneself, understanding others, social
psychological phenomena
Theory of mind, aggression, attributions, social cognition, self and selfjudgment, social psychology of mental health, cognitive dissonance,
attitude change
Possible to examine neuro correlates of political attitudes using MRI
scans
Explicit versus implicit social judgments and evaluations
Explicit = conscious and controlled thought, implicit automatically