PSYCH 2510 1st Edition Lecture 2Outline of Current Lecture I. PerspectivesII. Biological ModelCurrent LectureI. Perspectives (or models)A. Systematic ways of viewing and explaining what we see in the world. II. Biological ModelA. The biological model rests on the assumption that mental states, emotions, and behaviors arise from brain function and other physical processes.B. Emil Kraepelina. Believed that symptoms and syndromes have biological causes, pioneered the biological model of mental disorder. C. A genetic approach to mental disorder focuses on heritability and molecular genetics.a. Heritability refers to the amount of variation in a phenotype, an observable characteristic, attributed to genetic factors.D. All mental disorders are at least partially heritable; schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have high rates of heritability. E. The genetic composition of a person is known as a genotype and is fixed at birth.a. Genotypes produce characteristics such as eye color that do not change over time. b. An observable characteristic of a person is known as a phenotype, which can change over time. F. Neurons are the basic unit of the nervous systems and communicate using chemical messengers, or neurotransmitters. G. Between neurons exists the synapse where neurons communicate with each other usingneurotransmitters. a. Medications used to treat mental disorders may influence behavior in one of twoways: by blocking reuptake (the process of recycling neurotransmitters) to increase neurotransmitters, or by blocking the synapse to decrease neurotransmitter levels.H. These are the six major neurotransmitters associated with mental disorders and the behaviors they regulate.I. The brain is composed of billions of neurons, as well as several lobes and other structures important for basic functioning.J. The limbic system, shown here, regulations emotions and impulses, controls thirst, sex, and aggression, and is important for several mental disorders. K. Biologically oriented mental health professionals may use an MRI scan to obtain images of the brain structure and functioning. L. Limitations of the Biological model-doesn’t fully account for any mental disorder; we don’t know how biological mechanisms cause mental disorder.III. Psychodynamic ModelA. While the biological model focuses on internal physical structures, the psychodynamic model focuses on internal mental structures, and rests on the Freudian assumption that mental states, emotions, and behaviors arise from unconscious motives and intrapsychic conflicts. B. According to psychodynamic theorists, the id, ego, and superego comprise the mind. C. Freud’s psychosexual stages are developmental stages that influence personality and abnormal behavior. D. Conflict between the id, the ego, and the superego, otherwise known as intrapsychic conflict, can lead to anxiety and the formation of defense mechanisms. a. Examples of defense mechanisms are denial, rationalization, repression, and overcompensation.E. We use defense mechanisms to cope with life demands and intrapsychic conflict. Problems occur when we use defense mechanisms exclusively or excessively.F. A psychodynamically oriented therapist may use the projective hypothesis, assuming people project unconscious needs and conflicts onto ambiguous stimuli such as inkblots,free association, or dream analysis to gain insight into the client’s problems. G. Strengths of the psychodynamic perspective a. Explanations of defense mechanisms and an emphasis on how childhood experiences influence adult personality.H. A major weakness of the psychodynamic perspective: a. Relative lack of research support for its major assumptions. IV. Humanistic ModelA. The humanistic model focuses on how humans can make choices that influence their environment and how they can take responsibility for their actions.B. Abraham Maslow helped to shape humanistic theorya. He outlined a series of human needs; the highest level is self-actualization,or pursuit of one’s full potential.C. Carl Rogers developed client-centered therapy that focuses on unconditional positive regard, or complete acceptance of a client, and empathy.D. Rollo May’s existential approach emphasized authenticity, or how closely one adheres toone’s personality, as well as anxiety about alienation from others. E. The humanistic perspective relies on qualitative assessment of an individual’s perceptions of himself and the world as well as nondirective therapy, where the therapist engages in active listening. F. Strengths of the humanistic perspective: a. Emphasis on personal responsibility for recovery and process variables important for treatment.G. Weaknesses of the humanistic perspective:a. Relative lack of research support and poor utility for certain groups of people. V. Cognitive-Behavioral ModelA. The behavioral perspective focuses on external acts and the cognitive perspective focuses on internal thoughts.B. The behavioral perspective on mental disorders is based on the assumption that behavior is learnedC. Two major learning principles underlie the behavioral approach: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is based on the principle that behavior followed by positive consequences will likely be repeated, while behavior followed by negative consequences will likely not be repeated.D. Negative reinforcement – not punishment, some behavior that you want to take away (getting rid of BO from deodorant)E. The cognitive perspective suggests that problematic symptoms and behavior develop from the way we perceive and think about our present and past experiences. Key principles of the cognitive perspective include schemas and cognitive distortions.F. A combined cognitive-behavioral perspective helps explain specific disorders, such as phobias. A type of learning called avoidance conditioning is proposed to explain the onset of fear – a neutral stimulus (flying on an airplane) is paired with an unpleasant unconditioned stimulus such as nausea or pain, and the fear of experiencing nausea drives an avoidance of flying. G. Major cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches include cognitive-behavioral therapy, rational restructuring, systematic desensitization, exposure, and token economy.H. Video: behavioral therapy is used to treat a phobia of snakes. I. Strengths of a cognitive-behavioral model include its broad array of effective treatments.J. A major limitation of the cognitive-behavioral model