Basic Psychological Theories

Psychodynamic Theories

Psychodynamic theories: focus = child’s instincts and how his/her social environment produces many characteristics and behaviors.

Mind = dynamic and active.Goal: To coexist with society. Can we get our

needs met within society’s restrictions?

Freud’s views

Freud postulated 2 instincts: eros and thantos.

Sexual drives.Aggressive drives.How did Freud view sex?Psychodynamic theory.

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Sigmund Freud

1856-1939Viennese physician trained in neurology.While treating patients suffering from

hysteria, he began to develop his theory of psychoanalysis.

Freud worked with another physician, Joseph Breuer, from whom he learned the technique of catharsis, the so-called talking cure.

The treatment of hysteria.

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Freud’s techniques

Free association.Hypnosis (Breuer & Freud)Dream interpretation

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Freud & repressed childhood experiences

Sexual abuse or hysteria?Defense mechanismsRepressionRegressionReaction formationProjectionRationalizationDisplacementSublimation

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The Structure of Personality

Freud proposed that the mind has 3 parts: Conscious Preconscious unconscious

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The Psychosexual stages of Personality Development

Oral: B to 1Anal: 1 to 3Phallic: 3 to 5Latency 6 to puberty Genital (puberty)

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Concepts to cover

The Oedipus complex Women do not resolve the Oedipal complex as fully as

men do.

Fixation

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Problems with Freud

Lack of researchViews about womenNeo-FreudiansA critiqueFreud’s legacy

Humanistic therapies – Carl Rogers

Person-Centered Therapy

Based upon a phenomenological view of human life & helping relationships.

Carl Rogers.Ideas: genuineness, nonjudgmental caring, &

empathy.Every living being has an actualizing tendency to

realize their potential.The therapist has an attitude of respect.Nondirective attitude.

Carl Rogers

Congruence, unconditional positive regard, empathy.

CongruenceUnconditional positive regardSelf-actualizationDiffers from an analyst…. How?

Behavioral Treatments

Behavioral theories only focus on observable behaviors (rather than unseen, e.g. unconscious).

Forces in the environment and outside the person have the primary influence on behavior.

Ivan PavlovJohn WatsonClassical conditioningOperant conditioningThe focus is on the presentBehaviors are shaped by the environment.

Applied Behavioral Analysis

Behavioral therapy based on Skinner’s operant conditioning paradigm.

Requires careful analysis of the environments in which problem behavior occurs.

Careful assessment of the antecedents and consequences of problem and non-problem behaviors.

This information is analyzed by the therapist who then describes to the child and important adults how the child’s behavior is being shaped.

Classical Conditioning

Systematic desensitization (Wolpe, 1958).Used to treat phobias with a technique called

reciprocal inhibition = pairs a response that inhibits anxiety (typically relaxation) with the source of the phobia.

Explain how it works.

Cognitive Treatments

Cognitive theories focus on how our thoughts influence our emotions and our behaviors.

Behaviors are seen as resulting mainly from thoughts and belief systems rather than emerging from unconscious drives or being shaped by the environment.

Albert Ellis - RET

Ellis

Demanding: I must, should, have to, need to.Catastrophizing: it’s awful, terrible,

catastrophicOvergeneralizing: I’ll always be a failure; I’ll

never make itCopping out: you make me angry; it upsets

me

Ellis

These dysfunctional beliefs have rigid, dogmatic demands at their core, e.g. “I absolutely must have this important goal unblocked and fulfilled!

Common Dysfunctional Beliefs

I need the love and approval of every significant person in my life.

I must be competent and adequate in all possible respects.

People (including me) who do things that I disapprove of are bad people who deserve to be severely blamed and punished.

It’s catastrophic when things are not the way I’d like them to be.

My unhappiness is externally caused; I can’t help feeling and acting as I do and I can’t change my feelings or actions.

Common Dysfunctional Beliefs

When something seems dangerous or about to go wrong, I must constantly worry about it.

It is better for me to avoid the frustrations and difficulties of life than it is for me to face them.

I need to depend on someone or something that is stronger than I am.

Given my childhood experiences and the past I have had, I can’t help being as I am today and I’ll remain this way indefinitely.

I can’t help feeling upset about other people’s problems.

I can’t settle for less than the right or perfect solution to my problem.

Classification Issues

Why Classify?To describe & communicate symptoms. IF you know about the diagnosis, you can

retrieve information about the etiology of the disorder, treatment, and prognosis.

 Knowing the disorder provides us with a way of

describing the disorder. Knowing the disorder allows us to predict what

treatments are going to be clinically useful.

Why classify?

Why classify?The classification & systematic description

allows us to formulate theories which play a central role in research.

Classification can have a direct impact on broader social consequences by influencing health policy; social policy; forensic decisions; and the economics of the mental health professions.

The antipsychiatry movement

During the 1960s, psychiatry came under attack from the antipsychiatry movement. Much of the criticism was focused on the clinical activities of diagnoses and classification.

Szasz (1961) went so far as to argue that mental illness was a myth.

Three major criticisms 1960s

1. psychiatric diagnoses are unreliable 2. diagnoses are based on the medical model 3. problems with labeling and stigmatizing people

Rosenhan’s famous study (1973)

A paper published by Science – “On being sane in insane places”. In this study, 8 normal persons sought admission to 12 different inpatient units.

What happened?

DSM-IV-TR

Axis I: Clinical syndromesAxis II: Personality disorders; mental retardationAxis III: General medical conditionsAxis IV: Psychosocial and Environmental problems

Problems with primary support group Educational problems Occupational problems Housing/economic problems Problems with access to health care services Problems with legal system/crime Other psychosocial problems & environmental problems

Axis V: Global Assessment of Functioning Ranges from – (inadequate information) – 100 (superior

functioning)

Psychological Testing

Intelligence testingAchievement testingTesting for a learning disabilityPersonality testing (objective versus projective)Projectives: Goal: present ambiguous stimulus

and ask test-takers to describe it or tell a story about it. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) or CAT Draw a person, Draw a family, Sentence Stem Rorschach Inkblot test – 1921 Hermann Rorschach

10 inkblots reflects our inner feelings and conflicts. For example … if we see predatory animals or weapons, we

infer that we have aggressive tendencies.Neuropsychological testing