Lifespan Development
What are the three perspectives on development?
Continuity vs Discontinuity, Stability vs Change, and Nature vs Nurture
What did Freud focus on in terms of personality?
The unconscious conflicts about the sexual and aggressive drives within us and how we control them.
In what ways would a psychological disorder be explained?
Physiological, psychoanalytic/dynamic, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and sociocultural.
What's the purpose of psychoanalytic therapy?
Aims to bring unconscious thoughts or feelings buried deep within to the forefront so they can be examined.
What are the symptoms of depression?
Reduced motivation, inability to think or concentrate, problems of sleep and appetite, psychomotor is heightened or inhibited, and sad/hopeless/discouraged.
What are some challenges of aging?
Dementia, bereavement, poor health, and death.
What does self-regulation mean?
Controlling our thoughts, feelings, and actions (think of the marshmallow test or delay of gratification).
Name and describe some Somatic Symptom and related disorders.
Somatic Symptom Disorder:
Illness Anxiety Disorder:
Conversion Disorder:
What's the purpose of humanistic therapy?
To center the therapy around the client (highlighting empathy, non-directive discussion, and unconditional positive regard).
Name and describe some Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: persistent thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that are present.
Hoarding Disorder: Clutter within living areas due to the inability of letting go of possessions.
In terms of psychosocial development within adolescents, what does identity vs role confusion mean?
Identity: A consistent sense of self is developed
Role confusion: Feeling insecure or confused about self
Name and describe the Big Five Traits.
Openness: focuses on imagination, feelings, actions, and ideas.
Conscientiousness: focuses on being competent, self-disciplined, thoughtful, and goal-driven.
Extroversion: focuses on sociability, assertiveness, and emotional expression.
Agreeableness: focuses on being cooperative, trustworthy, and good-natured.
Neuroticism: focuses on the tendency towards unstable emotions.
Name and describe some anxiety disorders.
Agoraphobia: fear of public places (where exits aren't available)
Social Anxiety Disorder: fear of being scrutinised by others
Specific Phobias: fear of specific objects or situations
Panic Disorder: recurrent, unexpected panic attacks
Generalised Anxiety Disorder: excessive worry or anxiety
Name and describe what drug therapies do.
Antianxiety: reduce the symptoms of anxiety, such as panic attacks or extreme fear and worry (benzodiazepines are the most common medications for this).
Antipsychotic: block receptor sites for dopamine, and reduce and control many psychotic symptoms. (reduce delusions and hallucinations, anxiety and serious agitation, and incoherent speech and muddled thinking).
Antidepressant: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) reduce clinical depression symptoms.
Mood stabiliser: reduce mood swings and prevent manic and depressive episodes.
Describe the hierarchy of needs.
Seeking self-actualisation but having to achieve physiological, safety, love and belonging, and esteem needs first (in that order).
What happens during emerging adulthood?
Young adults enter higher education or go into training. They develop a more mature judgement. They are not entirely independent of their parents or caregivers and aren't fully contributing to society.
Explain the difference between external and internal locus of control.
External: Life and consequences are out of your control.
Internal: You have control of your life and consequences.
What were the main points of Rosenhan's "Sane in Insane Places"?
Diagnoses provided stigmatising labels, possible chance of self-fulfilling prophecy occurring, staff spending little time with patients, behaviors and past experiences being viewed as abnormal, sanity and insanity not being distinguishable within mental hospitals.
What's the purpose of behavioral therapy?
Aims to change potentially self-destructive or unhealthy behaviors (this relates to exposure therapy and token economy).
How is cognitive development affected during adulthood?
Recognition is better than recall, crystallised intelligence increases, fluid intelligence declines, perceptual-motor abilities decline (after 60), and the terminal decline of cognitive thinking in the last years of life.
Describe Piaget's four stages of development.
Stage 1: Sensorimotor period (birth - 2) - Infants can manipulate objects, object permanence, and stranger anxiety.
Stage 2: Preoperational period (2 - 7 years) - Symbolic thought, language development, pretend play, and egocentric.
Stage 3: Concrete Operational period (7 - 12 years) - logical reasoning and the concept of conservation are developed.
Stage 4: Formal Operational period (12 - adult) - abstract reasoning, hypothetical reasoning, can form and evaluate hypotheses.
What's a critique of the humanistic approach?
It's very subjective and relies on the values of the theorists.
What are some possible symptoms of schizophrenia?
Thought and language: delusions, loosening of associations, "word salad", and neologisms.
Perception: hallucinations and breakdown of selective attention.
Mood: Inappropriate affect and flat affect.
Motor behavior: Catatonia and repetitive behaviors.
Cognitive: problems with speed, executive control, and memory.
Social Withdraw: lack of behavioral approach motivation, disinterest or no drive to engage in social activities.
What's the purpose of Cognitive & Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
Change irrational thoughts and unhealthy behaviors. (Think of Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis's takes on these therapies).
What are some other therapies?
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), Massage Therapy, and Lifestyle Changes.