CH.

11: MOTIVATION & EMOTION

MOTIVATION
Definition: Inferred process within a person or animal that causes movement
either toward a goal or away from an unpleasant situation. Ex. Goal may be to
eat or avoid eating.
Human motivation is more complex than motivation of less evolved species
because people are conscious creatures who think & plan ahead, set goals for
themselves, & plot strategies to reach them.
Motivation: Set of factors that initiate & direct behavior, usually toward some
goal.
Emotions: Psychological events involving
o Psychological reaction (arousal).
o Some kind of expressive reaction (distinctive facial expression).
o Some kind of subjective experience (conscious feeling of being happy or
sad).
Activating Behavior
Internal factors: instinct, drive.
Instincts: Innate responses that are regulated by specific triggering stimuli in
the world. They are more complex behaviors compared to reflexes.
Drive: Psychological state thats consequence of an internal need (thirst).
Home
Homeostasis
Group of processes that allow an organism to keep a constant state of different
variables (body fluids, body temp.)
The processes are similar to a thermostat: They allow the body to maintain a
steady state, like the thermostat regulates room temp.
External Factors
Incentive motivation: Exogenous variables in the environment that can modify
our actions.
Achievement motive: Endogenous need for achievement that all individuals
have in different degrees. Those with high levels of it will work harder & persist
in getting goals.
Expectations of success & personal value of the task influence how hard you will
work for it. You may not persist at a task because you place no value on it or lack
confidence in your ability to succeed.
Achievement goal is also important: Doing it to master a task or to do better
than someone else.
Parents & teachers feedbacks also influence achievement motivation and goals.
THE COMPETENT ANIMAL: MOTIVES TO ACHIEVE

Choosing to perform the task, rather than being pulled by an external reward, is
an important factor in intrinsic motivation.
Reward degrades the value of the task: Recent neuroimaging study suggests
that the introduction of an external reward can change how specific reward
centers in the brain react to a task that was previously performed without any
reward.
According to a meta-analysis by Cameron & Pierce, the negative effect of a
reward on intrinsic motivation may be related to the expectation or promise of
being rewarded rather than to the reward itself.
Study by Lesser group: When children were given an unexpected reward for
drawing, they later spent more time drawing than a group who had received no
reward.

Effects of Motivation on Work

McClelland & associates speculated that some people have a need for
achievement that motivates them as much as hunger motivates people to eat.
Need for achievement: Learned motive to meet personal standards of success
& excellence in a chosen area.
For measuring need for achievement, McClelland used a variation of the
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). This variation requires the subject to make up
a story about a set of ambiguous pictures (young man sitting at a desk).
Strength of the achievement motive is captured in the fantasies the test-taker
reveals. For instance, people with high achievement motivation tell stories about
working hard, inventing a cure for cancer, & clobbering the opposition with their
wit and brilliance.
According to the interpretation of the test, high scorers are more likely to start
their own businesses, set high personal standards, & they like challenges.
TAT doesnt have strong test-retest reliability, meaning that peoples responses
are easily influenced by whats going on at that moment in their lives rather than
by some inner drive to succeed.
Effects of Work on Motivation
Working conditions that increase job involvement, motivation, satisfaction, and
allow more productive and satisfied employees:
o Work provides sense of meaningfulness.
o Employees have control over part of the work (setting their hours)
o Varied tasks.
o Company maintains clear & consistent rules
o Employees have supportive relationships with superiors and coworkers.
o Employees receive useful feedback.
o Company offers opportunities for growth.
Opportunities to Achieve

Having the opportunity to achieve affects achievement at work. A person may

not be doing well in work because of a lack of fair chance to make it. This is true
for those who have been subjected to systematic discrimination (women, ethnic
minorities).
Members of minority groups & women frequently encounter a glass ceiling, a
barrier to promotion thats so subtle it is almost transparent, yet strong enough
to prevent advancement.

MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Some psychological goals are more important to our well being

than others.
He proposed people motives form a pyramid and a
hierarchy of needs.
Low-levels needs must be met before trying to satisfy
higher-level needs.
He considered that human beings behave badly
because lower needs are frustrated.
It became immensely popular. However, it lacks empirical support.
People may have simultaneous needs. Individuals that met their lower needs do
not inevitably seek higher ones. Not all the people with misbehavior have
lower needs frustrated.
Recent research on students in the US and Asia has found that the 4 top
psychological needs are: autonomy, competence, relatedness, and self-esteem.

INTERNAL FACTORS CONTROLLING HUNGER

Relationship between: overeating & emotional disturbance; overeating &

heaviness. Its not so strong, according to very controlled studies. If these factors
dont explain overweight, which ones do?

CHEMICAL SIGNALS
Glucose, Insulin, and Glucagon
Majority of digested food enters the blood system as glucose (source of energy).
Bloods glucose: Excess is converted into fat by fat cells and into glycogen by
liver cells. Liver converts glycogen into glucose.
To be able to receive glucose, cells need insulin, except the cells in the brain.
Leptin
Fat supervising system: Sort of long-term regulation system.

Investigators found a genetic strain of mice that regularly displays obesity. They
tracked the gene associated to this condition, and this gene makes a peptide
named leptin.
Leptin: Increases eating, reduces metabolic rate, and raises body weight. It is
found only in vertebrates.
In regular conditions, the fat cells of vertebrates make leptin. A higher # of fat
cells means a higher production of leptin.
High leptin levels: Animals eat less, display more physical activity, increases
immune syst. Activity.
Low leptin levels: Animals eat more, becomes less active, conserves energy.

EXTERNAL FACTORS CONTROLLING HUNGER

Food cues: Image or signals related to a good or not so nice food could
influence our feeding behavior beyond our internal needs.

REGULATING BODY WEIGHT

A biological mechanism keeps your body weight at a genetically influenced set

point the weight you stay at when you are not trying to gain or lose.
Set point: Genetically influenced, maintained by biological mechanisms that
regulate food intake, fat reserves, and metabolism.

SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Masters & Johnson propose that womens capacity for sexual response infinitely
surpasses that of men because a woman is able to have repeated orgasms until
exhaustion.
Their research was limited by the selection of a sample consisting only of men
and women who were easily orgasmic, and they didnt investigate how peoples
physiological responses might vary according to age, experience, and culture.

Psychology of Desire
The sexiest organ is the brain, where perceptions begin. Peoples fantasies,
values, and beliefs profoundly affect their sexual desire and behavior.
Why people have sex?
o Enhancement: Emotional satisfaction or physical pleasure of sex.
o Intimacy: Emotional closeness with the partner.
o Coping: Dealing with negative emotions and disappointments.
o Self-Affirmation: Reassurance that ones attractive or desirable.
o Partner Approval: Desire to please ones partner to avoid the partner
anger or rejection.
o Peer Approval: Wish to impress ones friends, be part of the group, and
conform to what everyone else seems to be doing.

Sexual Scripts
Childhood & adolescence: People learn their cultures gender roles
collections of rules that determine the proper attitudes and behavior for men and
woman, sexual and otherwise.
Boys acquire their attitudes about sex in a competitive atmosphere where the
goals are to impress other males, and they talk and joke about auto-stimulation
and other sexual experiences with their friends.
Girls learn to value relationships and to make themselves attractive. Many learn
that their role is to be sexually desirable, but not to indulge in their own sexual
pleasures.
Sexual scripts: Sets of implicit rules that specify proper sexual behavior for a
person in a given situation, varying with the persons age, culture and gender.
Riddle of Sexual Orientation
Homosexuality is not a result of:
o Having a smothering mother
o Absent father
o Emotional problems
o Same-sex sexual play in childhood or adolescence.
o Seduction by an older adult.
o Parental practices or role models.
Researchers have been turning to biological explanations of sexual orientation.
The evidence is inconclusive. We will have to tolerate uncertainty about the
origins of sexual orientation. The routes differ on average for males and females
and differ for individuals.
THEORIES OF EMOTION
1. James-Lange Theory
2. Cannon-Bard Theory
3. Two Factor Theory (Schachter and Singer Experiment)
CH. 12: PERSONALITY
DEFINITIONS

External behavior, thoughts, emotions.

Distinctive pattern of behavior, mannerisms, thoughts and emotions that
characterize an individual over time.

PERSONALITY THEORIES
Factor Analytic Approach

Trait theories: Formal system for evaluating how people vary, mainly in their
predisposition to respond in specific ways across situations.
Factor analysis: Statistical technique that allows identifying a group of factors
that are relatively stable and predict test performance. Obtained by means of
correlations among test responses.

Cattels 16 Basic Factors of Personality

Eysencks 3 Primary Dimensions of Personality

Extroversion: Level of sociability
Neuroticism: Level of anxiety, worry, or emotional instability.
Psychoticism: Insensitiveness, uncaring, cruel to others.
Big 5 Dimensions in Personality
Extroversion v. Introversion
Neuroticism
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Openness to Experience

Psychologists still are figuring out how many factors are best for characterizing
personality.
This is also related to the types of personalities evaluated.
Its currently accepted that the most appropriate solution is to propose 5 basic
personality dimensions.
Gordon Allport: People have 5-10 central traits that tend to be more stable in
life, and complementary to secondary traits

5 Big Factors
1. Extroversion v. Introversion: Outgoing vs. shy
2. Neuroticism v. emotional stability: Worriers vs. emotionally stable

3. Agreeableness v. antagonism: Good natured, cooperative v. irritable,

oppositionist.
4. Conscientiousness v. impulsiveness: Self disciplined, organized v. impulsive,
lack of self control
5. Openness to Experience v. resistance to new experiences: Curious,
imaginative, creative v. avoid novelty, conforming.
Remarkably stable over a lifetime.
PERSONALITY TESTS
Self-Report Inventories
Evaluate personality by questionnaire format tests that allow restricted # of
options (true/false, multiple choice). Questions are about feelings, thinking, and
acting.
Examples:
o MMPI (1,2) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory: Questions are
true/false. Most used test. Useful for measuring normal and abnormal
personality.
o 16 PF 16 Personality Factors of Cattell.
o NEO-PI-R (evaluates the 5 factors)
Projective Tests
Allow individuals a more open frame of responses. Responses could consist on
whatever comes to mind when the subject sees drawings, inkblot, and coherent
or abstract pictures.
Based on the assumption that the less structured is the stimulus (test question)
major is the projection of the unconscious desires & conflicts in the response.
Examples:
o Laminas of Rorschach test: Subject has to give a serious of
spontaneous descriptions to inkblot.
o Laminas TAT test
Based on psychodynamic theory.
Extremely complex. Its considered if the subjects responses include human or
non-human content, the subject reacts to slide colors, the subjects responses to
sexual symbols, and others.
Thematic apperception test (TAT): Subject gives responses to pictures of real
life situation (young subject sits in desk).
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
Emphasis on unconscious intrapsychic dynamics
Belief in the importance of early childhood.
Belief that development occurs in fixed stages.
Focus on fantasies and symbolic meanings of events
Reliance on subjective rather than objective methods.

Psychodynamic: Different related theories that emphasize unconscious

processes in the mid.
Psychoanalysis: 1st psychodynamic theory created by Sigmund Freud. Theory
of personality and a method of psychotherapy. Gives strong relevance to the
unconscious part of the mind.
It emphasizes that the actual conflicts, problems, pattern of conduct, and
management of emotions in an individual (adolescence, adult..) have its roots
and are greatly determine by the first years of life (4 to 5).
Psychoanalytical theory emphasizes markedly the relevance of the initial years
of life.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE MIND

(According to Freud)
Conscious mind: Elements you are currently focusing your attention on.
Preconscious mind: Potentially accessible memories and thoughts.
Unconscious mind: Stores conflicts, impulses, & need that are out of
awareness.
THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY

The expression of our personality is the product of the interactions between

these systems.
If theres a disruption or imbalance in the interaction between the 3, the
personality of the subject could display excess characteristic of one of them. Ex.
Someone with a very strong superego may be characterized by excessive rigidity
to follow social rules and being very moralistic
Freud slips: To say something when you really were trying to say something
else. Its explained by the influence of unconscious desires or conflicts.

Id

Operates according to the pleasure principle (avoid pain and obtain pleasure).
Primitive and unconscious part of personality
The 1st to emerge.
Contains 2 competing instincts: sexual instinct (fueled by psychic energy called
libido) & death/aggressive instinct.

Ego
Operates according to the reality principle.
Mediates between id and superego/society demands.
Emerges after id.

Its unconscious part is the defense mechanism. These help the subject to
manage the instincts, necessities, and conflict of the id, in a way more
acceptable to the individual and/or society.

Superego
Moral ideals and conscience.
Follows idealistic principle.
Last to develop
Internal representation of the social norms & codes.
Includes conscience & inner voice
FREUDS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency period: Non sexual dynamic period.
Genital

Oedipus Complex: Normally resolved if the child quits preference for his
mother and accepts that the father wins the mother. Then, the boy will adopt
his fathers values, norms, and create the superego.
Electra Complex: Girl competes with her mother for her father, and its
resolved adequately when the girls quit pretension of her father.

OTHER PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES

Carl Jung
Existence of a collective unconscious, different from Freud.
Collective unconscious: Contains archetypes (universal symbols, memories,
images and themes).
Anima: Feminine archetype in men.
Anymus: Masculine archetype in women.
People were motivated not only by past conflicts, but also by their future goals
and their desire to fulfill themselves.
Object Relations Theory
Emphasizes the importance of the first two years of life and the babys formative
relationships, especially with the mother.
Developed by Melanie Klein, DW Winnicott and others.
Main problem in life find balance between the need for independence and
dependence from others.
HUMANIST PSYCHOLOGY

Emphasizes personal growth and the achievement of human potential instead of

the scientific understanding and assessment of behavior.
The individual is unique.
Environment can help with growth.
Our act is ruled by our unique view of the world.
Emphasizes in conscious processes.
Unique human capacity to determine our own actions & future.
Believes in the freedom of the person and the possibility to transcend these
forces instead of being limited by conflict or trauma of childhood.
Maslow, Carl Rogers, Rollo May.

Maslow
Personality development could be viewed as a gradual progression toward selfactualization.
Self-actualization: Deep desire to reach ones true potential as a human being.
Personality traits are shaped by your satisfaction needs.
Peak experiences: Emotional, religious experiences in which is clearer and
more meaningful the place of a subject in the universe. These experiences are
frequent in self-actualizing people.
Carl Rogers
Self concept as the essence of personality
Self-concept: Organized group of perceptions that the subject maintains about
abilities and characteristics.
Incongruence: Discrepancy between our own image and the integration of
daily experiences. Could lead to anxiety and other psychological problems.
An individual has psychological health if the self-concept becomes congruent
with daily life experiences.
Positive regard: Need to be approved, appreciated, loved, and have the
company of others.
Personality development and regular behaviors are determined in great part by
the structure of the self-concept.
Self concept behaviors personality
Limitations of humanist theories
Assumptions are difficult to prove scientifically. Theoretical concepts in this
approach are difficult to define operationally (establish objectively visible
behaviors that represent these concepts).
Exaggerated optimistic perspective of human nature.
Psychologists consider that is better to take an intermediate approach between
psychodynamic & humanistic: people are neither inherently evil nor good.
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY

Social cognitive theories: Personality development & growth is the product of

daily experiences and personal interpretation of those experiences.
Environment could reward or punish some behaviors (based on learning &
conditioning principles) during our daily life and these groups of behaviors that
remain are the bases of our personality.
Locus of control: Level of control that a subject considers he/she has over the
environment. Can be external or internal.
Self-efficacy: Esteem we have over our own ability, talent, skills to perform a
task or reach a goal.
Reciprocal determinism: Learning from the daily experiences is shaped by the
interaction among cognition (beliefs), behavior, and environment feedback.
CH. 13: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Researches in the field of social and cultural psychology study the influence of
the social and cultural environment on the actions of individuals and groups.
Social psychologists: Study how social roles, attitudes, relationships, and
groups, can influence peoples behavior.
Cultural psychologists: Study the broader influence of culture and ethnicity on
roles and relationships in society.
ROLES AND RULES

Norms: Regulate social life, including explicit laws and implicit cultural
conventions.
Role: Given social position thats governed by a set of norms for proper
behavior. Ex.: occupational roles determine the correct behavior for a manager
and an employee, a professor and a student.
When you violate a role requirement you will tend to feel uncomfortable or other
people will try to make you feel like that.
Roles requirements: Vary according to culture & times. In some cultures, the
male is restricted in the expression of feelings & fears, but in other cultures
theres more flexibility. Nowadays, male politicians & athletes even cry in public,
a feminine act that would have cost them their careers before.

THREE PROBLEMS
Interpreting the behavior of others.
Behaving in the presence of others.
Establishing relations with others.
Interpreting The Behavior Of Others
Social cognition: How the subjects use cognitive processes (memory, emotion)
for making sense and interpret personal & others behaviors.

How impressions of others are created?

o Physical appearance: Color, clothing, body language.
Study showed that we can make an initial impression about
trustfulness of a person guessing on facial expression cues in just
100 ms.
Physically attractive people tend to be considered smarter, better
adjusted, and socially aware compared to average looking people.
Initial cues (body language, gaze, clothing) are contrasted against
our beliefs, memories, and it is established an expected profile of
the subject.
o Social schemas: General knowledge stored in the long-term memory,
thats associated with social relationships and people. We have a category
of a person that could be honest versus someone that could be
problematic.
o Stereotypes: Summary impressions and beliefs about a group of people,
in which all members of the group are viewed as sharing a common
trait(s). Can be positive, negative, or neutral. Most of them are based on
gender, race, and age.
How they can be helpful? Energy saving devices that allow
making efficient decisions. Quick processing of new info and retrieve
memories. Organize experience. Predict peoples behavior.
Can distort reality in 3 ways:
1. Exaggerate differences between groups: see other group as odd.
2. Produce selective perception: see evidence that fits the
stereotype, and reject what doesnt fit.
3. Reduce difference between individuals that belong to the same
stereotyped group.
How are they formed? Prototypes theories of stereotypes we
store mental representations of the main features of a group and
determine if subjects can be classified in that prototype.
Exemplar theories: We store memories of individuals that are
examples and these memories form the basis for stereotypes.
o Self-fulfilling prophecies: Expectations of one person about the
behavior of a second person could influence the subsequent behavior of
the second person according to expectations.
o Prejudice: The greatest barrier to measure it is that most people know
they shouldnt have any. People tend to deny or accept they prejudice
against others. Growing awareness thats not socially polite to admit
prejudiced feelings.
Measures of symbolic racism: Research explores hostile feelings
that might lie beneath surface attitudes, instead of asking
respondents about feelings of prejudice toward other social/ethnic
group.
Measures of behavior rather than attitudes: How people
behave when near a possible object of prejudice. Sitting farther

away, negative facial expressions, show nonverbal signs of

discomfort. The subject could mask prejudice if he/she doesnt
experiences stressful episodes or is aggressed by others.
Measures of physiological responses to the target group:
Social and physiological psychologists have joined efforts. When a
black or white person sees an image of someone from the other
race, theres an elevated activity in the amygdala (fear & negative
emotions).
Measures of unconscious associations with the target group:
Association between a stimulus and negative or positive emotions
(good or bad adj.) Ex.: it takes longer to white students to respond to
associations between non-white faces and positive words.
How could conflict and prejudice be reduced?
Both parts must have equivalent legal status, economic
opportunities, and power.
Society and figures of authority must guarantee equality in the
application of the norms and regulations.
There must exist options to work & socialize together, formally
and informally. The contact hypothesis proposes that the
prejudice will decrease if the persons know each other better,
share together, & get used to one anothers rules, music,
customs and attitudes. Theres an emergence of an alternative
identity when people of diverse groups depend on each other.

OBEDIENCE STUDY (MILGRAM)

There was a learner and a teacher. The teacher had to administer electric shocks
(punishments) to a learner, every time this does a mistake in a task (read by
heart pairs of words). For every mistake, the voltage of the shock increases. In
the experiments, the teacher wasnt aware that the learned was not actually
receiving electrical shock; the learner was acting.
The majority of teacher kept administering the punishment, independently of
learner claims of suffering, up to max levels.
Teachers kept obeying the experimenter, even when they themselves were
anguished about the pain they believed they were causing.
Replication studies found the same results.
People were more likely to disobey when the experimenter left the room, when
there was administration of the shock directly in the victims body, conflicts
demands from the experimenter (STOP OR CONTINUE) at once, if the order came
from a normal person, or if someone in the group rebel to follow orders.
Conclusion: Obedience was more of a function of the situation rather than the
particular personalities of the participants.
PRISON STUDY (ZIMBARDO AND HANEY)

Basement of Stanford Univ. was readapted to look like a real prison. College
students were assigned the roles of prisoners and guards.
Dramatic results: Prisoners became distressed, helpless, panicky, developed
emotional symptoms and physical illnesses. The guards began to enjoy the new
power; a third became tyrannical.
Had to stop in 6 days.
Conclusion: Convincing demonstration of how the social situation affects
behavior, causing people to behave in ways they might not otherwise choose to
do.

COERCIVE PERSUASION
1978. Georgetown, Guyana. 913 people commited massive suicide following a
religious leader Jim Jones (Peoples Temple).
Brain Washing: Subject undergoes a sudden change of thinking or mind
without being aware of whats happening. Methods tend to be coercive
suppress individuals ability to reason, think critically, and make choices in
his/her own best interests.
3 INGREDIENTS OF LOVE (STERNBERG)
Passion: Euphoria, sexual excitement.
Intimacy: Feeling close to and understood by the loved one.
Commitment: Long term loyalty.
Varieties of love occur because of differing combinations of the 3 elements. Ideal
love integrates the 3 elements.
Examples:
o Companionate love: Intimacy + commitment
o Romantic love: Intimacy + passion
o Empty love: Commitment
o Friendship: Intimacy
o Infatuation: Passion.
CH. 14: PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
CHARACTERISTICS OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR
Statistical Deviance
Abnormal behavior if it occurs with low frequency among the members of the
population.
Alone cant be considered to classify a behavior as abnormal.
Ex.: someone that has extraordinary visual memory or outstanding analytical
capacity, low statistical frequency, but not a deficit or disorder.
Cultural Deviance
Deviate from the rules or norms accepted by society.

Still not enough.

Emotional distress
Presence of despair/unhappiness, and necessity of professional help.
Dysfunction
Disruption in normal functioning, and hindering of perform adaptive strategies
and behaviors.
Difficulty performing daily activities.
PANIC DISORDER

Anxiety disorder in which a person experiences recurring panic attacks, periods

of intense fear, and feelings of impending doom or death, accompanied by
physiological symptoms such as rapid heart and dizziness.
Symptoms: Trembling, shaking, dizziness, chest pain, discomfort, rapid heart
rate, etc.
Difference with people w/o the disorder: How they interpret their bodily
reactions.

Two Main Types

Agoraphobia: Anxiety about places or situations from which escape may be
difficult (or embarrassing) or in which help may not be available if a panic attack
or its symptoms occur.
Without Agoraphobia: Recurrent unexpected panic attacks which theres
persistent concern.
With Agoraphobia: Unexpected panic attacks + agoraphobia.
FEARS AND PHOBIAS
Phobia: Exaggerated, unrealistic fear of a specific situation, activity of object.
Examples:
o Insects, snakes.
o Claustrophobia (enclosed spaces)
o Animal phobia
o Mysophobia (dirt and germs)
o Agoraphobia
Social phobia: Person will be observed by others. Subject worries if he/she will
do or say something that will be embarrassing. More severe than regular
shyness and social anxiety.
OCD
Person feels trapped in repetitive, persistent thoughts (obsessions), and
repetitive, ritualized behaviors (compulsions) designed to reduce anxiety.

Obsessions: Persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses or images that are

experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or
distress.
Compulsions: Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that have the goal of
preventing or reducing anxiety or distress, not to provide pleasure or
gratification.
Obessions and compulsions become a disorder when they become
uncontrollable and interfere with a persons life. They are time consuming or
significantly interfere with the persons normal routine.

PTSD
Re-experiencing of an extremely traumatic event accompanied by symptoms of
increased arousal and avoidance of stimuli associated with trauma.
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
Conditions in which consciousness or identity is split or altered.
Dissociative Identity Disorder: Appearance within one person of two or more
distinct personalities, each with its own name and traits (multiple personality
disorder).
o Causes:
Originated during childhood as a means of coping with unspeakable
horrors or trauma (physical abuse or torture).
Mental splitting (dissociation) cause by trauma: One personality
emerges to handle everyday experiences, another to cope with the
bad ones.
Over diagnosed by its proponents.

PERSONALITY DISORDERS

Enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from
the expectations of the individuals culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an
onset in adolescence or early adulthood, stable over time, and leads to distress
or impairment.

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Habitually unreasonable and excessive suspiciousness and jealousy.
Pattern of distrust and suspiciousness such that others motives are interpreted
as malevolent.
Characteristics of a paranoid:
o Suspects that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving them.
o Preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty of friends or
associates.

o Reluctant to confide in others because of fear that the info will be used
against them maliciously.
o Reads hidden threatening meaning into benign remarks or events.
o Unforgiving of insults.
o Perceives attacks on his/her character or reputation that are not apparent
to others. Quick to react angrily or to counterattack.
o Recurrent suspicious, without justification, regarding fidelity of significant
other.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Exaggerated sense of self-importance and self-absorption.
Characteristics of a narcissist:
o Arrogant, haughty behavior or attitudes.
o Believes that others are envious of him/her.
o Is interpersonally exploitative (takes advantage of others).
o Lacks empathy.
o Expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate
achievements.
o Believes they are special and unique.
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Antisocial behavior such as lying, stealing, manipulation others, violence, lack of
guilt, shame and empathy.
Called psychopathy or sociopathy.
Criteria (at least 3):
o Constant breaking of law
o Deceitful
o Impulsive, unable to plan ahead
o Constantly involved in physical fights and assaults.
o Reckless disregard for their own safety or that of others.
o Irresponsible, failing to meet obligations
o Lack of remorse for actions that harmed others.
o History of similar behavior since childhood.
Causes:
o Abnormalities in the CNS.
o Genetically influenced problems with impulse control.
o Brain damage.
OTHER DISORDERS
Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Pattern of acute discomfort in close
relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentricities of behavior.
Criteria odd thinking and speech, odd beliefs.
Schizoid Personality Disorder: Detachment from social relationships and a
restricted range of emotional expression. Criteria chooses solitary activities,

little interest in sexual experiences, and appears indifferent to the praise or

criticism of others.
Dependent Personality Disorder: Pattern of submissive and clinging behavior
related to an excessive need to be taken care of. Criteria difficulty expressing
disagreement with others, problems making decisions without advice, difficulty
initiating projects on their own.
CH. 15: THERAPY

DRUG THERAPIES
Antipsychotic drugs
Treatment of schizophrenia (positive symptoms) and other psychoses.
1st generation a.p.: Block or reduce the sensitivity of brain receptors that
respond to dopamine. Can produce unpleasant side effects (movement disorders
such as tardive dyskinesia, drowsiness, concentration problems). Not useful for
treating negative symptoms.
2nd generation a.p.: Targets other systems of neurotransmitters besides
dopamine (serotonin). Avoid side effects of 1st a.p. and treat better the negative
symptoms.
Examples: Chlorpromazine (1st), clozapine (2nd), and risperidone (2nd).
Antidepressant drugs
Medications that modify the availability or effectiveness of the neurotransmitters
related to mood disorders.
Examples:
o Monoamine oxidase inhibitors: Elevates the level of norepinephrine
and serotonin in the brain. Nardil.
o Tricyclic a.d.: Boost norepinephrine and serotonin levels. Elavil.
o Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors: Block reuptake of serotonin,
extending its action in synapse.
Non-addictive but can cause this side effects: Headaches, constipation,
nausea, restlessness, gastrointestinal problems, and decreased sexual desires.
Bipolar Disorder
Mood disorder. Alternations between depression and manic (euphoric) states.
Lithium carbonate is the drug that helps people with this disorder. It acts by
moderating levels of norepinephrine or protecting brain cells from being over
stimulated by glutamate.
Lithium levels must be monitored because too much could be toxic or fatal.
Other drugs: Tegretol and Depakote.
Antianxiety drugs (tranquilizers)
Decrease anxiety and tension. Come from the chemical benzodiazepines.

Increase activity of GABA.

Ex.: Valium and Xanax
Side effects: drowsiness, disruption in motor coordination, and psychological
dependence. short term treatment.
Newer drugs were designed like buspirone and have the advantage of lower
level dependency.
SSRIs have been added to treatments of anxiety disordrs.
Abuse of drugs: Withdrawal, tolerance.

ALTERNATIVE BOMEDICAL THERAPY

Psychosurgery: Destroys selected areas of the brain believed to be involved in
emotional disorders or violent, impulsive behavior.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): Used in cases of prolonged and severe
major depression, a brief brain seizure is induced. Electrode is placed on one or
both sides of the head and a brief current is turned on. Effective with people who
are suicidal and have not responded to medication or treatments. Innefective
with other disorders, such as schizophrenia or alcoholism. Divided opinions exist.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS):
o Milder version of ECT.
o Consists in the use of a pulsing magnetic coil held to a persons skull at the
left prefrontal cortex.
o Depressed patients that receive TMS everyday for 2-4 weeks are likely to
improve.
o More promising and safer than ECT.
INSIGHT THERAPIES

Treatments designed to allow client self knowledge (insight) into the contents of
their thought processes.
Main: Psychoanalysis, cognitive therapies, humanistic therapies.

Psychodynamic therapies
Psychoanalysis: Freud. Aim to bring hidden memories and impulses to the
consciousness thereby releasing the patients from irrational thoughts and
behaviors.
Analysis of patients dreams and childhood memories could give patients insight
into the unconscious reasons of their symptoms and unhappiness.
Dreams have a latent content and a manifest content.
With insight & emotional release symptoms would disappear.
Free Association: Method of uncovering unconscious conflicts by saying freely
whatever comes to mind.
Transference: Critical step in which the client transfer unconscious emotions or
reactions (conflicts about significant people), onto the therapist.
Resistance: Unconscious attempts by the patient for hindering the therapy.

Cognitive Therapies

Cognitive therapies:
o Designed to identify and change irrational beliefs and negative thoughts,
for reducing negative emotions and their behavioral consequences.
o Helps clients to identify the beliefs and expectations that might be
unnecessarily prolonging their anger, fear, depression, conflicts, etc.
o Teaches the patient critical thinking.

Rational emotive therapy (Ellis)

o Challenge the clients unrealistic or irrational thoughts.
o Therapist argues rationally to directly challenge a clients unrealistic
beliefs or expectations, and shows them why they are irrational and
misguided. Ex.: overgeneralize and catastrophize.
o Musterbation: Style of irrational thinking that consider events or life
aspects must be in a specific way.

Becks cognitive therapy:

o Therapist allows client to identify their negative forms of thinking. More
active role of patients.
o Relies on homework, registering beliefs and emotions during the day, for
then be analyzed in the sessions, and patients elaborate counter
responses.

Humanistic Therapies

Humanistic Therapy:
o Help clients gain understanding about their personal self-worth and value.
Understand more of their needs and feelings.
o Focus in the present & future.
o Humans can decide their future and fix their problems.
Incongruence: Mismatch between our personal concept and daily life
experiences. (Carl Rogers) Clients hold a distorted view of themselves and their
talents.
Subjects need positive regard (love, acceptance) but there are requirements
(conditions of worth) to receive the positive regard.
Client-centered therapy: Trying to create a climate of unconditional positive
regard, empathy, and genuineness to allow clients to seek self-actualization. The
client has the main control of mental health and happiness. Goal is to build the
clients self-esteem and sense of acceptance.
o Empathy: Therapists ability to understand and accept what the client
says.

BEHAVIORAL THERAPIES

Behavioral therapy: Applies accepted learning techniques (classical, operant

conditioning) to help people change self-defeating or problematic behaviors.
Focus more on behaviors than conflicts, beliefs, or self-concept.
Learned behavior that can be corrected.

Behavioral Therapies Based On Classical Conditioning Principles

Systematic desensitization: Step-by-step process of desensitizing a client to a
feared object or experience. Based on counter-conditioning & extinction.
Introduced by Mary Cover Jones and refined by Wolpe.
Counterconditioning replace negative emotions related to an object or event
with something relaxing/comforting.
CH.16: STRESS AND HEALTH
HEALTH
Health Psychology: Study of how biological, psychological, environmental, and
cultural factors can modulate physical health and the prevention of illness.
Theres a strong relationship between your psychological state & physical
reactions of your body.
Mind & body interact in 2 directions.
Health psychologists focus on questions like:
o Which traits are more linked to who becomes more sick frequently or
recover from sickness more easy?
o Which work environmental conditions ease or decrease illness?
STRESS
Stress: Subjects physical & psychological responses to demanding situations.
Stressors: Events or conditions that are demanding or endangering & generate
stress.

Nature of Stress
General adaptation syndrome: According to Dr. Hans Selye, a series of
physiological responses to stressors that occurs in 3 phases alarm, resistance,
and exhaustion.
Alarm phase:
o Body mobilizes the sympathetic nervous system to meet the immediate
threat (taking a test that you havent study for, running from an aggressive
dog). Adaptive fight-or-flight response.
o Release of epinephrine & norepinephrine induce this phase.
o Characterized by:
Increased in blood flow.
Increase in blood pressure.
Speed up of heart rate.

Slowness of digestion.
Increase in muscular tension.
Reduced in sensitivity to pain.
Resistance phase: Body attempts to resist or cope with a persistent stressor
that cant be avoided.
Exhaustion phase: Stress depletes the body of energy and increases
vulnerability to physical problems and eventually illness.
The same reactions that allow the body to respond effectively in the alarm &
resistance phases are unhealthy as long-range responses.

Immune System
One of the most intensively studied body systems affected by stress has been
the immune system, which enables the body to fight disease and infection.
White blood cells: Designed to recognize foreign substances (antigens), such
as flu viruses, bacteria, and tumor cells, and then destroy or deactivate them.
Prolonged stress can suppress some or many of these white blood cells,
weakening of our defense system.
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI): Studies the interaction between behavior,
the brain, and immune system.
Prolonged stress can lead to illness: Chronic stressors physiological alarm &
exhaustion illness
However, researches dont accept that the body reacts to threat in the same
general and non-specific way as Selye proposed the reactions of the body
could vary according to the type of stressor stress reaction also depends on
cognitive interpretations of the situation.
Psychological Reactions To Stress
Emotional reactions include fear, anger, sadness & grief.
They can also be positive because they allow:
o Development of empathy to others.
o Better knowledge of our capacities and ourselves.
o If the challenge is overcome, we gain self confidence.
External Sources of Stress

Significant Life Events:

o Create or enhance the experience of stress.
o Ex. Disasters, marital problems, death of loved ones, divorce, jail term,
fired at work, pregnancy, changes in daily activities, personal injury or
illness, retirement, business readjustment, etc.
o Relationship between these kind of events and subsequent psychological &
physical problems.
o Not only the event itself, but the disruption generated after the event
(change in routine) are both generators of stress.

o These events could be positive such as marriage, martial reconciliation,

and retirement.
Daily Hassles:
o Daily irritations & fights can induce stress.
o The sum of these little events could be more harmful than a single
significant life event.
Environmental Factors: Surrounding environment is also source of stress.
o Noise: Has been linked to health problems like ulcers, and high blood
pressure.
o Children exposed to noise can experience stress and subsequent
disruption in cognitive functioning (reading comprehension).
o Crowding: The more people in your surroundings (work or living), the
higher the level of stress you experience. This could lead to higher
probability of health problems & aggression.
o Environmental Psychology: Studies the effects of environment on
subjects health and conduct, and the effects of noise and crowding.

Internal Sources of Stress

Perceived control:
o Degree of influence the subject considers has over the situation &
reactions related to it.
o Locus of control: General expectation about whether the results of your
actions are under your own control (internal locus) or beyond your control
(external locus) or beyond your control (external locus).
o Internal locus of control: People tend to believe they are responsible for
what happens to them. Having it is associated with good health, academic
achievement, political activism, and emotional well-being. Subjects show
lower responses to stress. Better ability than externals to resist infection
by cold viruses and even the health-impairing effects of poverty and
discrimination.
o External locus of control: Those who have it tend to believe that luck,
fate, or other people control their lives.

Explanatory styles:
o The way we explain different situations.
o Our mode of thinking, the explanations we assign to the cause & effects of
the daily life situations (attributions).
o Tendency to explain negative/adverse events by means of a global
(widespread), stable (long-lasting), and internal (self-blaming) explanatory
style could be related not only with depression, but also with higher levels
of stress.
o People who constantly use internal, stable, and global attributions for
negative events suffer from health problems related to stress in mid-life
and later stages.

Personality characteristics:
o Distinctive pattern of behavior, mannerisms, thoughts, and emotions that
characterize an individual over time.
o Type A Personality: Qualities thought to be associated with stress and
heart disease. Determined to achieve, a sense of time urgency, irritable,
respond to a threat or challenge very quickly, impatient with obstacles.
o Type B Personality: Calmer, less intense, more relaxed.
o Proposed in 2002: Some traits of type A personality were more important
for inducing hearth problems; for instance, anger and hostility in type A
subjects was the most dangerous to health, based on some studies.
o We cannot still establish a single relationship between heart problems and
Type A personality.
o Optimism: Belief that positive events will happen. Level of optimism has
been linked to health condition. Optimism in subjects has been linked to
lower heart attacks and quicker recovery after heart surgery, and better
functioning of the immune system.
o Hostility: Study revealed that men with higher hostility scores as young
medical students had higher rates of heart disease 25 years later. Its more
hazardous than a heavy workload.

Stress & Emotion

Once a person already has a virus or medical condition, or is living in a
chronically stressful situation, negative emotions can indeed increase the risk of
illness and affect the course of recovery. Ex.: Feeling anxious, helpless, and
depressed can delay the healing of wounds after surgery, whereas feeling
hopeful can significantly speed healing.
Alterations In Immune System
People who are able to express matters of great emotional importance show
elevated levels of disease-fighting white blood cells, whereas people who
suppress such feelings tend to have decreased levels.
Cardiovascular disease: Prolonged exposure to stress is associated to increase
in wearing and tearing of blood vessels that can lead to cardiovascular & kidney
problems. Also, stress relates to higher levels of cholesterol in blood.

Psychological Consequences Of Stress

Majority of subjects that face stress dont develop psychological problems.
The onset of some psychological disorders can be explained by the interaction of
both stressing life vents and genetic predisposition. Ex.: major depression,
bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, and PTSDs.

How

PTSD: Disorder characterized by flashbacks, avoidance of places, persons, or

tools (stimuli) linked to the traumatic event, and constant (chronic) arousal
symptoms. More frequent in women.
Burnout: Condition of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion product of
long lasting emotionally demanding situations. Its most common in idealistic,
with high sense of motivation and commitment.

To Cope
Cooling Off
Solving the problem
Rethinking the problem
Looking outward
People may respond to adversity by giving up, surviving with some impairment,
recovering fully, or thriving learning from the experience and coming out
stronger because of it.
Some people cope in way that not only them survive adversity but help them
thrive, by learning from their experiences and coming out stronger because of
them.
The Cooling Off: The most immediate way to cope with the physiological
tension of stress and negative emotions is to calm down, to take time out and
reduce the bodys physical arousal through mediation or relaxation
o Progressive relaxation: Lowers blood pressure, stress hormones, and
feeling of anger or anxiety, and improves immune function.
o Physical exercise: Reduce health problems, lower physiological arousal
to stressors, and reduce anxiety, depression, and irritability. It also reduces
colds and other illness.
o Other alternatives: Listen to music, or write in a journal.