ch 3 - causal factors, perspectives

• vulnerability to mental illness is almost always polygenic
• genotype-environment interaction: the interaction between genotype and environment that can influence phenotype
• with twin method research, the concordance rate reflects the proportion of identical twins who share the same trait
• the neurotransmitter associated with pleasurable experiences and cognitive processes, and implicated in schizophrenia and drug addiction, is dopamine
• the humanistic perspective places a strong emphasis on the individual's capacity for purposeful self-direction
• the perspective which shares some overlap with the humanistic perspective, but takes on a less optimistic view of human beings, is existentialist
• parents that are warm and set clear limits, but allow a degree of freedom within the limits, are described as having a permissive parenting style
• Kleinman found that chinese individuals are more likely to report physical problems such as fatigue or weakness in response to stress, while westerners typically report feeling depressed
• authoritative?

  high on warmth, moderate on control
• authoritarian?

  low on warmth, high on control
• permissive?

  high on warmth, low on control and discipline
• neglectful/indifferent?

  low on warmth low on control
• necessary cause - must exist for a dx to occur
• sufficient cause - guarantees occurrence of dx
• contributory cause - increases probability of a dx
• distal causal factors - occur early in life OR don't show effect for years
• proximal causal factor - occur shortly before onset
• reinforcing contributory cause - condition that maintains maladaptive behaviors
• diathesis-stress model helps to account for feedback and biodirectionality
• interactive model of diathesis-stress - diathesis is required; no diathesis = no dx
• additive model of diathesis-stress - diathesis and stress sum together; one can be high and the other low for onset of dx
• protective factors - act as a buffer decreasing likelihood of onset of dx
• biological perspective - disorders are caused by malfunctioning in the CNS (primarily) or the PNS (secondarily)
• dopamine - involved with pleasure and reward
• what is the primary challenge with pinpointing a specific gene for any given vulnerability?

  most disorders are polygenic
• what are the two goals of psychotropic medications?

  increase availability of desired NTs, and decrease transmission of undesired NTs
• id - guided by the pleasure principle (instincts, drives, impulses)

  ego - guided by the reality principle (gratification, ego defense mechanisms (repression, projection, etc))

  superego - guided by the morality principle (conscience, understanding consequences)
• what are the basic assumptions of the cognitive-behavioral psychological perspective on psychopathology?

  abnormal functioning occurs due to faulty assumptions and attitudes, illogical thinking processes (e.g., overgeneralization)
• 6 cognitive processes that can be used to explain the development of dx:

  • information processing - attention, encoding, memory
  • beliefs and expectancies
  • cognitive distortions - overgeneralization, magnification, selective abstraction
  • schema - working model of how we view ourselves and the world
  • attribution - process of assigning causes to things that happen to us
  • attributional style - characteristic way of how an individual assigns causes to things
• integrated model - biopsychosocial theories
• discrimination - learning to distinguish between similar stimuli
• extinction - negative punishment; removing pleasureable stimuli
• what does treatment look like under the cognitive-behavioral model?

  Cognitive restructuring, behavior modification.
• norepinephrine is associated with the fight or flight response, energy and attentiveness
• serotonin is associated with mood, sleep, and appetite
• GABA - primary inhibitory NT; involved in the regulation of sleep, mood, and anxiety
• glutamate - most abundant excitatory NT; implicated with schizophrenia