one dimensional vs multidimensional model one dimensional obvious limitations multidimensional biological cognitive and behavioral emotional cultural and developmental former patient case divorced woman in mid 40s bulimic had a therapist but bulimia was getting worse was referred to Gupta was seeing analyst Gupta at same time had been binging her whole life was taking an SSRI she wasn t eating tons of unhealthy food and it could be considered borderline not even binge eating but she perceived it as binge eating abusive parents abusive husband when her sons would go to sleep she d start binging for her binging purging made it easier to go to sleep next day she d feel awful eat healthy all day but then do it again emotional uses binging to cope makes her feel calm uses binging to regulate her emotions cognitive what thoughts is she having I ve had a tough day I deserve an hour to have fun behavioral makes her feel like she has control this was her go to behavior Gupta her came up with new positive behaviors she could do in the evening instead of binging purging developmental vulnerability activated when she was very young cultural pressure to look a certain way genes gene environment interaction polygenic multiple genes at play genetic influence on personality cognitive abilities 50 of personality cognitive abilities are determined by genetics rest determined by environment less than of disorders determined by genetics plenty of room for nurture environment genetic influence on psychopathology adverse childhood events can overwhelm genetic contribution diathesis stress model we inherit tendencies to express certain traits for example we could inherit a tendency to become an alcoholic a genetic predisposition towards alcoholism which could or could not be activated by certain environmental factors going to a party and drinking lots of drinks could activate this tendency while for someone who doesn t have the tendency drinking a bunch of drinks would not make them more likely to become an alcoholic may or may not be activated under certain conditions New Zealand study followed people who would be at risk of developing depression found that people who experienced 4 or more stressful events over 2 decades had a doubled chance of becoming depressed the stressful events activated the genetic predisposition to become depressed people who don t have this genetic predisposition weren t more likely to become depressed after experiencing 4 or more stressful events rats born to easily stressed mothers but raised by calming and caring mothers don t become easily stressed nurture can override the genetic predisposition b c the tendency is not activated brainstem hindbrain midbrain brain structure two main parts forebrain hindbrain three main divisions medulla heart rate blood pressure respiration pons regulates sleep stages cerebellum involved in physical coordination midbrain coordinates movement w sensory input contains parts of the reticular activating system forebrain most sensory emotional cognitive processing includes limbic system which figures prominently in psychopathology amygdala linked to emotions aggressions neurotransmitters transmit signals from a neuron to a target cell across a synapse oversimplified definitions serotonin too little associated w depression while too much is associated w schizophrenia too much associated w schizophrenia addiction and too little associated w some forms of depression too little associated w depression some anxiety disorders esp OCD too little associated w anxiety disorders GABA norepinephrine dopamine medications brain structure changes SSRIs Prozac Zoloft benzodiazepines Benzos act on GABA Xanax the following can affect brain structure meds psychotherapy psychosocial factors e g learning experience cognitive and behavioral factors conditioning classical conditioning Pavlov s dogs give dog food present food alongside ringing a bell after a certain amount of time the dog will salivate at the sound of the bell operant conditioning Skinner s box punishment reward teach rat to perform certain activities in a box like press a lever in response to a sound reward w food when it is successful punish w shock when it is unsuccessful learned helplessness Seligman researched effect of shocks on rats trying to go through a maze how does shocking them affect their ability to go through the maze if you shock the rats randomly they learn that their behavior has no effect on the environment they learn to feel helpless give up like when people with anxiety disorders get so overwhelmed by their disorder that they don t leave the house they give up feel helpless another example is someone who doesn t even apply for jobs b c they assume they re not going to get it there s no point even having a good interview couldn t change the inevitable outcome the therapy for this is motivational convincing these people that they can succeed that their behavior can change their environment that they can have control social learning Bandura s bobo dolls learning what behaviors are appropriate not appropriate children viewed adults either aggressively punching hurting the bobo doll or they viewed adults being nice to the bobo doll they copied the behavior they saw those who saw adults being violent were violent with the doll those who saw adults being nice were nice to the doll this shows that we learn how to act through observation