Miscelleneous
Abigail recently realized that she was an insecurely attached child growing up. This attachment style manifests in adulthood as a battery of symptoms. What kind might these include and what might they look like?
An insecure attachment style can affect:
Academic achievement, emotional health, relationship quality, and/or self-esteem. She might find herself struggling to find healthy romantic partners and have low self-esteem.
Grace finds that in her dance class, she performs better when she is the only one dancing versus when she is choreographed with other dancers in a group.
Social Loafing
Clinicians diagnose mental health / neurological disorders using a set of guidelines that is compiled into a book; what is the name of this book? What kind of model does this book use when informing diagnoses?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5). It uses the biopsychosocial model, meaning that it recognizes mental disorders as the result of an interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors.
List out 3 differences between a psychologist and a psychiatrist in Canada.
Psychologists have a PhD or PsyD in psychology, while psychiatrists are medical doctors (MD) with specialized training in psychiatry. Psychiatrists can prescribe medications; psychologists typically cannot. Psychologists focus on therapy and psychological assessment, whereas psychiatrists are able to make diagnoses.
Explain the general adaptation Syndrome (GAS) and the 3 stages. Provide a real-life example
There are 3 stages that we go through in response to stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
During the alarm stage, all resources are mobilized for fight or flight. If stress is prolonged, we enter the resistance stage, where we adapt and cope as well as possible. Finally, resources are depleted when we reach the exhaustion stage.
Think back to the definition of Intelligence. How might a person that experiences extreme altruism fit into this definition?
Intelligence can be defined as a set of abilities that increase an organism’s likelihood of survival and
reproduction. Therefore, if an individual is highly altruistic, they might express a poor level of intelligence, according to this definition.
Mary wanted to purchase an $800 couch and while having the funds to do so, she never committed to the purchase. However, when her roommates expressed that they should purchase the couch together, Mary gleefully agrees. What kind of group cognition phenomenon was expressed in the aforementioned scenario?
Group Polarization
Which diagnosis between Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) fits the following scenario better:
Mae, a 26-year-old graduate student, reports constant anxiety over things such as school and forgetting to turn off the stove when she leaves the house. However, upon further identification, she found that in these scenarios, she was avoiding class participation and was worried that she forgot to turn off the stove because she is afraid that her roommate will judge her.
Although Mae's anxiety appears generalized, its consistent social focus (fear of being judged or negatively evaluated) aligns more closely with SAD.
What is the main difference between electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and transmagnetic stimulation (TMS)?
ECT uses electrical currents to intentionally induce a controlled seizure in the brain, typically under general anesthesia, and is used for severe or treatment-resistant depression and other serious psychiatric conditions. TMS uses magnetic fields to non-invasively stimulate specific areas of the brain without causing seizures or requiring anesthesia, and is often used for moderate treatment-resistant depression with fewer side effects. ECT is not permanent (may need to be repeated) whereas TMS is longer-lasting.
Based on Brofenbrenner’s bioecological model, what 'system' would this fall under: Daisy's mom attended her parent-teacher meeting to discuss her recent behavior.
Mesosystem
Autumn has been experiencing low valence and psychological arousal emotions for an extended period of time. What kind of disorder could this be and how long would she have to experience it in order to meet diagnostic criteria? Additionally, what other symptom must be continuously present within that same period?
MDD. 2 weeks. Anhedonia.
Compare and contrast the Hedonic Motivation and the Approval Motivation. Provide an example for each.
Hedonic Motivation: Motivation is rooted in approach to (maximizing) pleasure and avoidance of (minimizing) pain.
Approval Motivation: We are motivated to have others like us and approve of us.
Can people have comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder? Why or why not?
While MDD (unipolar) and bipolar disorder can share depressive symptoms, the presence of mania in bipolar disorder is what differentiates them. If someone is suspected to have MDD yet they experience psychotic symptoms, it might point to bipolar disorder as a better fit.
List the 3 main branches of psychotherapy methods that we discussed in class.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): A structured, goal-oriented type of therapy that focuses on the restructuring of the connection between a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Humanistic Therapy: Emphasizes the individual’s capacity for self-awareness, personal growth, and self-actualization.
Psychodynamic Therapy: Based on Freudian psychoanalysis and explores how unconscious thoughts and past experiences, especially from childhood, influence current behavior.
Name 5 biological mechanisms that occur when you are exposed to stressors (SNS activation).
cortisol/(nor)adrenaline released, digestion paused, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, pupil dilation, sweating, muscle contracted/tensed, glycogen is broken down to glucose for energy
Recall the psychotherapy method of Psychodynamic therapy, what was Freud's justification for this kind of therapy?
Freud believed that our experiences is determined by interactions between parts of our unconscious and he argued that conflicts between the three parts causes
anxiety. To resolve this anxiety, we may rely on defence mechanisms (ex: ineffectively repressing urges often starting in childhood).
What is a hypothesis that potentially explains why we experience aggression?
Frustration-aggression hypothesis: scarcity of resources lead to competition and aggression to other members of society.
Name 2 positive and negative symptoms (each) that a person with Schizophrenia might experience.
Positive symptoms: Delusions, Hallucinations, Disorganized Speech, Disorganized Behaviour
Negative symptoms: Flat affect (reduced emotional
expression), Avolition (lack of motivation), Decreased speech
How do antidepressants work? Provide an example of a neurotransmitter system that it acts upon.
Most anti-depressant medications today are reuptake inhibitors that prevent neurotransmitters from being taken back up, thereby increasing the concentration of these neurotransmitters in the synapse. Ex: serotonin, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Explain the differences between primary and secondary appraisal in the context of stress
Primary appraisal: determining whether an event is
dangerous/threatening
Secondary appraisal: determining whether you can handle the stressor
Define Dysthymia.
Also known as Persistent depressive disorder, is a long-lasting, low-level depression that lasts for at least 2 years in adults, with symptoms present most days. When persistent depressive disorder and major depressive disorders co-occur, it is sometimes called double depression
Explain the procedures of Asch's Conformity Study. What was their main finding?
Participants were shown a standard line and three comparison lines and were asked to say which comparison line matched the standard line in length. Note that the answer was obvious as the lines were clearly different lengths. Everyone (confederates) answered correctly for the first two trials and on the third trial, the real participant went last, and all the other participants answered the question (clearly) incorrectly. They found that 75% of the participants answered incorrectly, even though they clearly knew the correct answers - this depicted our tendency to conform to others' opinions, even if we thought that they were incorrect.
What is the difference between Brief Psychotic Disorder and Delusional Disorder?
Brief Psychotic Disorder: Sudden onset of psychotic symptoms; last 1 day > 1 month
Delusional Disorder: Persistent delusions without other major schizophrenia symptoms
What are anti-psychotic medications used to treat? How do they work?
They act on the dopaminergic system by blocking (antagonizing) dopamine receptors, helping to reduce overactive dopamine signaling believed to underlie many psychotic symptoms.
What is the Homes-Rahe Scale? How did the scientists create this scale?
The Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale measures your stress load based on recent life events. A higher score suggests a higher risk (likelihood) of developing stress-related physical or mental health issues.
They created a list of self-reported stressful life events, each assigned a certain number based on how stressful they tend to be for most people. They then went over each participant's recent medical record to observe any correlations.