AbPsy Chapter 3: Causal Factors and Viewpoints - factors operate shortly before the occurrence

of the symptoms of a disorder

Correlate - may be a condition that proves too much for
- a variable (X) that is associated with an a child / adult that triggers a disorder
outcome of interest (Y) is considered to be a - may involve biological changes
correlate of that outcome
Reinforcing Contributory Cause
Risk Factor - condition that tends to maintain maladaptive
- factor / characteristic that is associated with behavior that is already occurring
an increased risk of developing condition Y - ex. the extra attention and sympathy you get
when you’re sick may unintentionally
Variable Risk Factor discourage recovery
- if X can be changed
Causal Pattern
Fixed Marker - when more than one causal factor is involved
- if X cannot be changed - conditions A, B, C.. lead to condition Y

Variable Marker Diathesis-Stress Models

- if changing X cannot lead to a change in Y - diathesis: vulnerability-- predisposition
toward developing a disorder that can derive
Causal Risk Factor from biological, psychological, or
- if changing X leads to a change in Y sociocultural factors
- stress: response or experience to demands
Etiology that he / she perceives as taxing or
- causal pattern exceeding his / her personal resources
- diathesis results from one or more relatively
Necessary Cause distal necessary / contributory causes, but is
- characteristic that must exist for disorder (Y) generally not sufficient to cause the disorder;
to occur INSTEAD there must be a more proximal
- you will never have Y if you don’t have X factor (stressor) which may also be
contributory or necessary, but is generally
Sufficient Cause not sufficient by itself to cause the disorder
- condition that guarantees the occurrence of except in someone with the diathesis
a disorder
- Y always happens after X, BUT the outcome Additive Model
may occur without the cause - diathesis and the stress sum together, and
when one is high the other can be low, and
Contributory Causes vice versa
- increases the probability of a disorder individuals who have high level of diathesis
developing may need only a small amount of stress
- if X occurs, then the probability of Y before a disorder develops, but those with
occurring increases low level of diathesis may need to
experience a large amount of stress for a
Distal Risk Factors disorder to develop
- some causal factors occurring relatively early
in life may not show their effects for many Interactive Model
years - some amount of diathesis must be present
before stress will have any effect
- someone with no diathesis will never develop
the disorder, no matter how much stress

Protective Factors
Proximal Risk Factors - decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes
among those at risk
 - Down syndrome: trisomy (3 chromosomes instead
Steeling / Inoculation Effect of 2) in chromosome 21
- exposure to stressful experiences that are - polymorphisms: abnormalities in some of the
dealt with successfully can promote a sense genes on the chromosomes or by naturally occurring
of self-confidence and thereby server as a variations of genes
protective factor—promotes coping - polygenic: vulnerabilities influenced by multiple
- more likely to occur with moderate stressors genes or by multiple polymorphisms of genes with any
than with mild or extreme stressors one gene having only very small effects
> genes can affect behavior indirectly
Resilience - genotype: total genetic endowment
- ability to adapt successful to even very - phenotype: observed structural and functional
difficult circumstances characteristics that result from interaction of genotype
and environment
Multicausal Developmental Models - genotype-environment interaction: genetic factors
- in the course of development, a child may can contribute to a vulnerability or diathesis to
acquire a variety of cumulative risk factors develop psychopathology that only happens if there is
that may interact to determine his or her risk a significant stressor in the person’s life
for psychopathology
Genotype-Environment Correlation
Biopsychosocial Viewpoint - when the genotype shapes the
- acknowledges that biological, psychological, environmental experiences a child has
and social factors all interact and play a role - 3 ways in which genotype may shape
in psychopathology and treatment environment:
 Child’s genotype may have a passive
A. The Biological Perspective effect on the environment, resulting
from the genetic similarity of parents and
Neurological Diseases children
- result from the disruption of brain functioning  Child’s genotype may evoke particular
by physical or biochemical means and often kinds of reactions from the social and
involve psychological or behavioral physical environment—evocative effect
aberrations  Active effect: the child seeks out or
builds an environment that is
4 Categories of Biological Factors that seem congenial—“niche building”
particularly relevant to the development of
maladaptive behavior: Methods Used in Behavior Genetics:
1. Genetic vulnerabilities 1. Family History Method
2. Brain dysfunction and neural plasticity - investigator observe samples of relatives of each
3. Neurotransmitter and hormonal abnormalities in the proband or index case (the subject, or carrier of the
brain or other parts of the central nervous system trait or disorder) to see whether the incidence
4. Temperament increases in proportion to the degree of hereditary
** Often not independent of each other but rather relationship
interact with one another > main limitation of this method: people who
are more closely related genetically also tend
to share more similar environments, which
makes it difficult to disentangle genetic and
environmental effects

2. Twin Method
- identical (monozygotic) twins: same genetic
1. Genetic Vulnerabilities endowment
- genes: long molecules of DNA present at locations - concordance rate: percentage of twins sharing the
of chromosomes trait is 100% (but no forms of psychopathology where
- chromosomes: chain-like structures within a cell concordance rates for identical twins are high)
nucleus that contain the genes - dizygotic twins: 2 different fertilized eggs
 - synapse: tiny fluid-filled space between
3. Adoption Method axon endings of one neuron and the
- adoption creates a situation in which individuals who dendrites or cell body of another neuron
do not share a common family environment are - neurotransmitters: chemical substances
nonetheless genetically related that are released into the synapse by the
presynaptic neuron when a nerve impulse
Shared Environmental Influences occurs
- make children in a family more similar - reuptake mechanism: process of
whether the influence occurs within the reabsorption by which the neurotransmitters
family, or in the environment are reabsorbed or effectively sucked back up
into the axon ending
Nonshared Environmental Influences - monoamine oxidase: present in presynaptic
- children in a family differ terminal and can destroy excess
neurotransmitters
Linkage Analysis and Association Studies
- attempt to determine the actual location of Sometimes psychological stress can bring on
genes responsible for mental disorders neurotransmitter imbalances created by:
 excessive production and release of
Linkage Analysis neurotransmitter substance into
- capitalize on several currently known synapses
locations on chromosomes of geners for  dysfunctions in normal processes by
other inherited physical characteristics or which neurotransmitters, once released
biological processes into the synapse, are deactivated
 problems with receptors in postsynaptic
Association Studies neuron
- start with 2 large groups of people (one
group with and one group without a Chemical Circuits
disorder), then compare the frequencies of - neurons that are sensitive to a particular
certain genetic markers that are known to be neurotransmitter tend to cluster together,
located on particular chromosomes forming neural paths between different parts
 if one or more of the known genetic of the brain
markers occur with much higher
frequency in the individuals with the Neurotransmitters extensively studied in relation
disorder than in people without, to psychopathology:
researchers infer that one or more A. Monoamines
genes associated with the disorder are 1. Norepinephrine
located on the same chromosome - emergency reactions during acutely stressful
situation, attention, orientation, basic motives
Neural Plasticity 2. Dopamine
- flexibility of the brain in making changes in - pleasure and cognitive processing, schizophrenia,
organization and function in response to pre- addictive disorder
and postnatal experiences, stress, diet, 3. Serotonin
disease, drugs, maturation, and so forth - effects on the way we think and process info from
our environment, behaviors, moods, emotional
disorders
Developmental Systems Approach B.
- genetics influences neural activity, which in 4. Glutamate
turn influences behavior, which in turn - schizophrenia
influences the environment, but also that 5. Gamma Aminobutyric Acid
these influences are bidirectional - reducing anxiety and other emotional states with
high level arousal
Imbalance of Neurotransmitters and Hormones
Agonists
 - medications that facilitate the effects of - when stable, it is a risk factor for the
neurotransmitter on the postsynaptic neuron development of anxiety disorders

Antagonist Behaviorally Uninhibited

- oppose or inhibit effects of a - showing little fear of anything
neurotransmitter on a postsynaptic neuron - difficulty learning moral standards for their
behavior
Hormones
- chemical messengers secreted by a set of
endocrine glands
- influence diverse events (fight-or-flight,
sexual responses, physical growth, and
many other physical expressions)
- pituitary gland: master gland of the body—
produce a variety of hormones
- sex hormones: produced by gonadal
glands—imbalance can contribute to
maladaptive behavior

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis

- messages in the form of corticotropin-
releasing hormone (CRH) travel from
hypothalamus to pituitary
- in response to CRH, pituitary releases
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
o stimulates the cortical part of
adrenal gland to produce
epinephrine (adrenalien) and
cortisol (stress hormone)
- cortisol in turn provides negative feedback
to the hypothalamus and pituitary to
decrease their release of CRH and ACTH

Temperament
- child’s reactivity and characteristic ways of
self-regulation believed to be biologically
programmed

5 Dimensions of Temperament:
- fearfulness
- irritability / frustration
- positive affect
- activity level B. The Psychological Perspective
- attentional persistence 3 Perspectives on Human Nature and Behavior:
- psychodynamic
3 Dimensions of Adult Personality: - behavioral
- neuroticism / negative emotionality - cognitive-behavior
- extraversion / positive emotionality
- constraint (conscientiousness and  The Psychodynamic Perspective
agreeableness)
Sigmund Freud
Behaviorally Inhibited - founded psychoanalytic school and
- children who are fearful and hypervigilant in emphasized unconscious motives and
novel or unfamiliar situations thoughts
 - conscious part is a relatively small area, and 3. Superego
the unconscious part is much larger - outgrowth of internalizing taboos and moral
- unconscious: hurtful memories, forbidden values of society concerning right and wrong
desires, and other experiences that have - “conscience”
been repressed - executive branch of the personality
- unconscious material continues to seek
expression and emerges in fantasies, Anxiety
dreams, slips of the tongue, etc. - generalized feelings of fear and
apprehension
Freud’s contributions: - key causal role in most forms of
- therapeutic techniques like free association psychopathology (Freud)
and dream analysis - body’s natural warning system that signals
- demonstrated that certain abnormal mental impending danger
phenomena occur in an attempt to cope with - ego-defense mechanisms: when our
difficult problems and are simply anxiety exists only in our unconscious and
exaggerations of normal ego-defense we are not aware of it, it cannot be dealt with
mechanisms through rational measures—so the ego
resorts to irrational protective measures
3 Components of the Personality / Psyche:
Psychosexual Stages of Development
1. Oral : first 2 years, mouth
1. Id 2: Anal : 2 – 3, anus
- source of instinctual drives and is the first to 3. Phallic : 3 to 5 or 6, genitals
appear in infancy > Oedipus Complex
- operates on the pleasure principle-- - castration anxiety
engaging in completely selfish and pleasure- - Electra complex
oriented behavior, concerned only with 4. Latency : 6 – 12, sexual motivation
immediate gratification of instinctual needs 5. Genital : sexual relations
 life instincts: sexual nature, libido,
basic emotional and psychic energy of Anna Freud
life - how the ego performs its central functions as
 death instincts: destructive drives that the “executive” of personality
tend toward aggression, destruction, - ego psychology: psychopathology develops
and eventual death when ego does not function adequately to
control or delay impulse gratification or does
not make adequate use of defense
mechanisms when faced with internal conflict

Melanie Klein
- object-relations theory: focus on
2. Ego individuals’ interactions with real and
- mediates between the demands of id and imagined other people and on the
reality relationships that people experience
- operates on reality principle between their external and internal objects
- meet id demands, but in such a way as to - object: symbolic representation of another
ensure the well-being and survival of the person in the child’s environment; parent
individual - introjection: a child symbolically
- use of reason and other intellectual incorporates into his / her personality
resources in dealing with the external world, important people in his / life
as well as the exercise of control over id
demands Alfred Adler
- secondary process thinking: ego’s - interpersonal perspective:
adaptive measures psychopathology is rooted in unfortunate
 tendencies we have developed while dealing elicit biologically adaptive responses through
with our interpersonal environments repeated pairings with the UCS
- people are inherently social beings motivated - ex. food: unconditioned stimulus
primarily by desire to belong to a group salivation: unconditioned response
doorbell: conditioned stimulus
Erich Fromm salivation becomes the conditioned response
- broadened Freud’s psychosexual stages into - stimulus-stimulus expectancy: only CSs
more socially oriented concepts that provide reliable and nonredundant
information about the occurrence of a UCS
John Bowlby acquire the capacity to elicit CRs
- attachment theory: importance of early - extinction: if a CS is repeatedly presented
experience, especially early experience with without the UCS, conditioned response
attachment relationships gradually extinguishes
- spontaneous recovery: the response may
2 of Freud’s Stand Out Contributions still return at some future point in time
- developed therapeutic techniques
 psychological factors outside conscious Operant / Instrumental Conditioning
 early childhood experience’s impact - learning how to achieve a desired goal
 sexual factors can play a large role in - reinforcement: delivery of reward or
human behavior and mental disorders pleasant stimulus, or removal of an aversive
- certain abnormal mental phenomena occur stimulus
in an attempt to cope with difficult problems - response-outcome expectancy: learns that
and are simply exaggerations of normal ego- a response will lead to a reward outcome
defense mechanisms o if sufficiently motivated for the
outcome (ex. hungry), then he do
Criticisms of Psychoanalytic Perspective the response he has learned will
- fails to realize scientific limits of personal produce the outcome (ex. open ref)
reports as the primary mode of obtaining info - intermittent reinforcement: when the
- lack of scientific evidence to supports its reinforcing stimulus does not invariably
assumptions follow the response (ex. gambling)
o Freudian Theory: overemphasis on - conditioned avoidance response:
sex drive, demeaning view of conditioned to anticipate an aversive event
women, pessimism about basic and so consistently avoids those situations
human nature, exaggerating role of (ex. boy who nearly drowned avoids all large
unconscious processes, failing to bodies of water)
consider motives toward personal Generalization
growth and fulfillment - when a response is conditioned to one
 The Behavioral Perspective stimulus or set of stimuli, it can be evoked by
- arose in early 20th century as reaction other, similar stimuli
against unscientific methods of
psychoanalysis Discrimination
- believed that study of subjective experience - person learns to distinguish between similar
is not acceptable scientific data stimuli and respond differently to them based
- developed through laboratory research on which ones are followed by reinforcement

Learning Observational Learning

- central theme of the behavioral approach - learning through observation alone, without
- modification of behavior as a consequence directly experiencing an unconditioned
of experience stimulus or reinforcement
- ex. Bandura’s bobo doll
Classical Conditioning
- specific stimulus comes to elicit a response
- hallmark of classical conditioning: Impact of Behavioral Perspective
formerly neutral stimulus acquires capacity to - Maladaptive behavior is viewed as the result of:
  a failure to learn necessary adaptive Schema
behaviors or competencies - underlying representation of knowledge that
 learning of ineffective / maladaptive guides the current processing of information
responses and often leads to distortions in attention,
- focus of therapy: changing specific behaviors and memory, and comprehension
emotional responses—eliminating undesirable - we are not usually conscious of it
reactions and learning desirable ones - may also be a source of psychological
- known for precision and objectivity, wealth of vulnerabilities because sometimes, they may
research, and effectiveness in changing specific be distorted and inaccurate
behaviors
Self-Schemas
- views on who we are, what we might
become, and what is important to us
- our notions of the various roles we occupy

* Schemas and self-schemas are vital to our ability to

engage in effective and organized behavior.
 enable us to focus on most relevant
information from all the information available
to our senses

Assimilation
- work new experiences into existing cognitive
frameworks, even if the new information has
to be reinterpreted or distorted to make it fit

Accommodation
- changing our existing frameworks to make it
possible to incorporate new information that
does not fit

Information Processing
- great deal of info is processed
 The Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective nonconsciously
- focused on how thoughts and information - nonconscious mental activity: mental
processing can become distorted and lead to processes occurring without being aware
maladaptive emotions and behavior - implicit memory: when a person’s behavior
- cognitive psychology: study of basic reveals the he/she remembers a previously
information-processing mechanisms (like learned word or activity even though he/she
attention and memory), and higher mental cannot consciously remember it
processes (like thinking, planning and * ex. someone asks you for your old home
decision making) number 10 years ago and not recall, but
picked up a phone and dial it correctly
Albert Bandura
- emphasized on cognitive aspects of learning Attributional Theory
- human beings regulate behavior by - attribution: process of assigning causes to
thoughts (internal symbolic processes) things that happen
- we learn by internal reinforcement - attributional style: way in which a person
o ex. prepare ourselves for difficult tends to assign causes to bad / good events
tasks by visualizing what - self-serving bias: more likely to make
consequences would be if we did internal, stable, and global attributions for
not perform them positive rather than negative events
- self-efficacy: belief that one can achieve
desired goals Impact of Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective
 - altering human behavior through changing
the way people think about themselves and 2. Problems in Parenting Style
others - parent-child relationship is bidirectional
o the behavior of each affects the
What adoption of a perspective does? behavior of the other
- which perspective we adopt has - parental psychopathology: parents,
consequences—influences our perception of especially mothers who have
maladaptive behavior, the types of evidence psychopathology tend to have children at risk
we look for, and the way in which we for developmental difficulties
interpret data - parenting styles
o authoritative: high warmth, high
control
o authoritarian: low warmth, high
control – *lower in social and
academic competence
o permissive / indulgent: high
warmth, low control – *impulsive
and aggressive behavior
o neglectful / uninvolved: low
warmth, low control – *problems
with peer relations and academics

C. The Social Perspective 3. Marital Discord and Divorce

- marital discord: extreme arguments can
Social Factors that can affect a child’s have psychological effects on both adults
socioemotional development and children
1. Early Deprivation / Trauma o can be buffered from effects if one
- children who do not have the resources that or both parents have: warmth,
are typically supplied by parents may be left proneness to giving praise and
with deep psychological scars support, and ability to inhibit
- institutionalization: when children are rejecting behavior toward children
raised in an institution, there is less warmth - effect of divorce
and physical contact = reduced brain o on parents—negative effects are
development with significant reductions in often temporary; adapt within 2-3
both gray and white matter volume years but some never recover
- neglect and abuse in the home: tend to be o may sometimes benefit individuals
aggressive and have problems with linguistic o on children—insecurity and
development rejection, conflicting loyalties,
o disorganized and disoriented anxiety and depression
style of attachment: insecure and o lower educational attainment, lower
inconsistent behavior with caregiver incomes, lower life satisfaction ,
- separation increased probability of being on
o secure attachment: short-term welfare and having children out of
effects of separation with significant wedlock
despair during separation, then * BUT effects of divorce on children are more
detachment upon reunion favorable than effects of remaining in a home
o insecure attachment of marital conflict
 o their course
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
4. Low Socioeconomic Status and Unemployment Inventory (MMPI-2): best validated and
- the lower the SES, the higher the incidence most widely used test adapted for use in
of mental and physical disorders many cultures
- people with mental disorders slide down to - hikikomori: acute social withdrawal in
lower part of economic ladder and remain Japan where young people just remain in
there, because they do not have the their room in their parents’ house and refuse
resources to get back up social interactions for at least 6 months
- people in poverty have more severse
stressors in their lives
- unemployment = enhanced vulnerability to
psychopathology

5. Maladaptive Peer Relationships

- bullies: high levels of both proactive
aggression and reactive aggression
- what determines if children will be popular or
rejected?
o prosocial popular children:
communicate with peers in friendly
and assertive yet cooperative ways
o antisocial popular children:
usually “tough boys” who are
aggressive and defiant of authority
o rejected children: either too
aggressive or very withdrawn
6. Prejudice and Discrimination
- 2 types of discrimination in the workplace
o access discrimination: members
of a certain group are not hired
because of personal characteristics
o treatment discrimination: certain
people are given a job but are paid
less and have fewer opportunities
for promotion
- perceived discrimination may serve as a
stressor that threatens self-esteem =
depression

Impact of Social Perspective

- concern with how factors in people’s
environment can influence the occurrence of
mental disorders

D. The Cultural Perspective

- impact of culture on definition and
manifestation of mental disorders
- many psychological disturbances are
universal, appearing in most cultures
- sociocultural factors often influence:
o which disorder develops
o form which they take
o how prevalent they are