Clinical Psychology Clinical Psychology, Exams of Psychology

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Clinical Psychology Sigmund Freud - Created psychoanalytic theory; contributed the most extensive and complex theory of human nature Psychoanalytic theory - conflict is central to human nature; conflict= conscious and unconscious drives are vying for expression Original Freud theory - conflict is between libido (sexual force) and the ego Revised Freud Theory - Conflict is between Eros (the live instinct, including sex and love) and Thanatos (the death instinct, including self-destructive behavior) Ego - The part of the mind that mediates between the environment and the pressures of the id and the superego Id - The part of the mind that contains the unconscious biological drives and wishes Superego - The part of the mind that imposes learned or socialized drives; the superego is particularly influenced by moral and parental training Psychic determinism - when underlying, unresolved conflict manifests itself as pathological behavior, dreams and unconscious behavior when the ego cannot find acceptable ways to express the conflict Psychoanalysis or "analysis" - form of psychotherapy; patient is seen 4-5 times/week Free association - developed with Joseph Breuer, used by Freud; patient reports thoughts without censure or guidance to uncover repressed emotions leading to "catharsis" or "abreaction" Transference - Freudian idea that the patient-therapist relationship is a metaphor for child-parent relationship Countertransference - an analyst's transfer of unconscious feelings or wishes (often central to the analyst's life) onto the patient Goal of psychoanalytic therapy - to lesson the unconscious pressures on the individual by making as much of this material as conscious as possible, thus making it easier for the ego to mediate between the forces Criticisms of Freud - Developed theories from single case studies; not scientific Aggression - A central force in humans that must find a socially acceptable outlet Defense mechanism - a way in which the ego protects itself from threatening unconscious material or environmental forces Repression/denial - not allowing threatening material to enter awareness Rationalization - justifying or rationalizing behavior or feelings that cause guilt Projection - Accusing others of having one's own unacceptable feelings Displacement - Shifting unacceptable feelings or actions to less threatening recipient; "kick the cat phenomenon" Reaction formation - embracing feelings or behaviors opposite to the true threatening feelings one has Compensation - excelling in one area to make up for deficits in another Sublimation - Chaneling threatening drives into acceptable outlets Identification - Imitating a central figure in one's life, such as a parent Undoing - Performing an often ritualistic activity in order to relieve anxiety about unconscious drives Dreams (Freud) - Seen as safe outlets for unconscious material and wishfulfillment Manifest content - actual content of the dream Latent content - the unconscious forces the dreams are trying to express Client-centered theory: humanistic in that it has an optimistic outlook on human nature; people can self actualize their way to health Rogerian abnormal theory - Lack of congruence between real selves and conscious self-concept develop psychological tension Rogerian therapy - directed by the client who decides how often to meet and what to talk about; nondirective; Therapist uses empathy, unconditional positive regard, genuineness/congruence Goal of Rogerian therapy - provide a trusting atmosphere in which the client can engage in self-directed growth and tap his own "vast-resources" Evidence of Rogerian therapy success - congruent self-concept, positive self-regard, internal locus of evaluation, willingness to experience Criticisms of Rogerian therapy - didn't use any diagnostic tools because he believed that client-centered therapy applied to any psychological problem B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov, Joseph Wolpe - Behavior Theory: application of classical and operant conditioning principles to human abnormal behavior; based on learning Radical behavioralism - Skinner's operant ideas that behavior is related only to its consequences Neobehavioralism - Pavlov's counterconditioning principles to create new responses to stimuli Behavior abnormal theory - abnormal behavior is simply the result of learning Behavior therapy - short-term and directed; use specific counterconditioning techniques to foster the learning of new responses in the client Systematic desensitization - Joseph Wolpe; classical conditioning to relieve anxiety; Ex. imagine a spider, picture of a spider, hold a spider etc Flooding or implosive therapy - classical conditioning in order to relieve anxiety; tons of spiders at once Aversion therapy - operant conditioning principle of negative reinforcement to increase anxiety to decrease the behavior; used commonly to treat fetishes Shaping - uses operant conditioning to change behavior; reinforced for behaviors closer and closer to the goal Modeling - employs social learning principles; this method exposes the client to more adaptive behaviors Assertiveness training - provides tools and experience through which the client can become more assertive Role playing - allows a client to practice new behaviors and responses Goal of Behavior therapy - to change behavior in the desired or adaptive direction; effective at treating phobias, fetishes, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sexual problems and childhood disorders Criticisms of Behavior therapy - accused of treating the symptoms rather than the underlying problem Aaron Beck - Cognitive Theory; thoughts determine feelings and behavior; person's interpretation of experience rather than the experience itself is important Cognitive abnormal theory - Maladaptive cognitions lead to abnormal behavior or disturbed affect Arbitrary inference - drawing a conclusion without solid evidence: "My boss thinks I'm stupid because he never asks me to play golf" Overgeneralization (Cognitive theory) - mistaking isolated events for the norm: "No one will ever want to be with me" Magnifying/minimizing - making too much or too little or something: "it was luck that i did well on my exam" Personalizing - inappropriately taking responsibility: "Our office's failed project was my fault" Dichotomous thinking - Black and white thinking: "If i don't score a 750 on the GRE I'll have no future" BDI - Beck Depression Inventory: measures views about the self, world and future to gauge level of depression Cognitive Therapy - Focuses on the thoughts of clients; therapist focuses on tangible evidence of client's logic Goal of Cognitive Therapy - Fix maladaptive cognitions Criticisms of Cognitive Therapy - Removes the symptoms not the underlying cause Albert Ellis - Rational-Emotive theory: intertwined thoughts and feelings produce behavior Rational-emotive abnormal theory - psychological tension is created when an activating event occurs a) and a lient applies certain beliefs about the event b) and this leads to the consequences of emotional disruption (c) Rational emotive therapy - highly directive; therapist leads client to dispute the previously applied irrational beliefs Goal of Rational emotive therapy - effective rational beleifs to replace previous self-defeating ones Criticisms of Rational emotive therapy - too sterile and mechanistic Fritz Perls; Max Wertheimer; Kurt Koffka - Gestalt Theory: the goal is to fully experience the present in order to become a whole and integrated person Gestalt abnormal theory - abnormal behavior comes form disturbances of awareness; client may not have insight or may not fully experience his or her situation Gestalt therapy - client and therapist engage in a dialogue about the present and the client learns from this dialogue Goal of Gestalt therapy - exploration of awareness ad full experiencing of the present; a successful therapy connects the client and her present existence Criticisms of Gestalt therapy - not suited for low-functioning or disturbed clients Victor Frankl -