lecture 9

• Altruism: helping others for unselfish reasons

  • Previously-helping behaviour is due to egoistic reasons entirely

  • More recently- experiments demonstrate genuine altruism in helping behaviour at times
• Variables that increase helping behaviour:

  • Empathy
  • Situational influences (I.e., being unable to escape (eg on the subway seeing an Oldman fall))
  • Victim characteristics (I.e., Old vs drunk)
  • Being in a good mood
  • Exposure to role models who help
  • Individual differences in personality & skills
• Aggression: behaviours intended to harm others

  Situational factors that can influence aggressiveness:

  • Interpersonal provocation
  • Frustration
  • Exposure to violent media content increases chances of violence through observational learning
  • Certain drugs lower inhibitions of violent behaviour
  • Arousal may be interpreted as anger leading to aggressive behaviour
• Personality traits can combine to create aggression -proneness

  • Sex:

  • Males predominant in direct aggression (I.e., physical violence, bullying)

  • Females predominant in relational aggression: indirect aggression (I.e., spreading rumours, gossiping, social exclusion) for the purposes of interpersonal manipulation

  • Age: highest crime rates among 12-28 years old males
• Attitudes: beliefs which include an emotional component

  • Originate from a variety of sources including one’s prior experiences & personality
• Cognitive Dissonance Theory: attitudes are altered when two/more conflicting thoughts are experienced
• A psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress , impairment in functioning & a response that is not typical or culturally expected
• • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,5th edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR)
  • Widely accepted system for diagnosing mental disorders
• • Psychopathology - scientific study of psychological disorders
• • Trained professionals include: psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists
• DSM-5: Substance use disorders:

  • Problematic pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment/distress, as shown by at least 2 of the following in the last year:

  1. Substance is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was originally intended
  2. There is persistent desire, or unsuccessful efforts, to cut down or control use
  3. Craving, strong desire or urge to use the substance
  4. Recurrent substance use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations (work, school)
• DSM-5

  • Clinicians must rule out medical (or other ) causes of a disorder prior to making a diagnosis

  • At times, physical or other medical conditions can stimulate certain psychological disorders
• Biopsychosocial : clinicians must attend to: • Past and present medical conditions (Bio)• Ongoing life stressors (Psycho)• Overall level of functioning (Social)
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) • Unwanted , persistent & intrusive thoughts & mental images as well as repetitive actions intended to suppress them

  • condition marked by repeated & lengthy immersion about obsession, compulsion or both
• Obsessions- persistent idea, thought or mental image that is

  unwanted /inappropriate , causing marked distress• Obsessions are not always responses to daily stressors
• Obsessions typically centre on unacceptable thoughts regarding contamination, aggression, etc.

  • Individuals with OCD are often aware that these thoughts are irrational /illogical & yet cannot stop them
• Compulsions- repetitive behaviours or mental acts to reduce/ prevent distress, shame or guilt. i.e., repeatedly:

  • Checking (doors locks, ovens, etc.)• Performing tasks in set ways• Arranging & rearranging objects• Washing & cleaning unnecessarily• Counting the number of dots on the wall

  • Affected individuals spend alot of time each day engaged in obsessions, compulsions or both
• Anxiety A common emotion, Negative mood state characterized by physical tension & apprehension about the future
• • Fear: immediate emotional alarm reaction to present danger
• Fear with no apparent reason is Panic: sudden overwhelming fright/terror
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): intense, uncontrollable, unfocused, chronic & continous worry that is distressing & unproductive accompanied by physical symptoms of tenseness, irritability & restlessness
• GAD: Clinical Description

  • Ongoing excessive anxiety & worry for at least 6 months (DSM-5) •Physical symptoms: muscle tension, mental agitation, fatigue,

  irritability & difficulty sleeping• One of the most common anxiety disorders • Onset: late adolescence & early adulthood

  •Prescence of stressful life events may play a role in the development of GAD
• GAD: Cognitive Processes

  • Characterized by 4 cognitive processes: 1. Intolerance to uncertainty2. Positive beliefs about worry3. Poor problem orientation

  • Perceive problems as threats to be avoided, rather than as challenges to overcome

  4. Cognitive avoidance

  • Excessiveworryresultsinnoattentionalcapacitylefttocreatementalimagesof potential threats
• • Panic attack : sudden unexpected experience of intense fear/ discomfortaccompanied by physical symptoms
• • Panic disorder: experiencing severe unexpected panic attacks & having anxiety of the possibility of having more
  • High comorbidity (diagnosis w/ 2 or more psychological disorders) with alcohol abuse & dependence
  • Onset: early adulthood
• Agoraphobia: anxiety about being in an inescapable situation in the event of the occurrence of another panic attack
• Help offered for unselfish reasons, without the expectation of reward, personal gain, or self-satisfaction, is called? altruism
• Males tend to exhibit more physical aggression, whereas females tend to exhibit more relational aggression
• 1. Britney has announced to their friends that they want to exercise more this semester. As their friends head off to the school gym, Britney flips on the television and settles in for a night of relaxed inactivity. This is an example of Cognitive dissonance