Chapter 1 - History

Psychopathy: the field concerned with the nature and development of abnormal behaviour, thoughts, and feelings, we do well to keep in mind that the subject offers few hard and fast answers

Abnormal behaviour: such characteristics as statistical infrequency, violation of norms, personal distress, disability or dysfunction, and unexpectedness

Statistical infrequency: it is used to diagnosing mental retardation; low intelligence is a principal with detecting mental retardation

- When IQ is below 70, individuals intellectual functioning is considered sufficiently subnormal

Personal suffering: behaviour is abnormal if it creates great distress and torment in the person experiencing it

Disability: impairment in some important area of life because of abnormalitySubstance use disorderes are also defined in part by the social or occupational disability Phobia can produce both distress and disability (fear of flying can prevent someone from taking on a job promotion) Transvestism: cross-dressing for sexual pleasure

Mental Health ProfessionsClinicians: the various professionals authorized to provide psychological serviesClinical psychology: Ph.D or Psy.D degree – four to seven of graduate study (assessing, cognitive behavioural therapy) major difference between neuropsychologist is that they require more training and deals with more neuro/brain/cognitive functioning

Psychiatrist: medication managing, treating more mood disordersNeurologist: Can prescribe medication but focuses more on brain & behaviour connection

Psychotherapy: primarily verbal means of helping troubled individuals change their thoughts, feelings, and behaviour to reduce distress and to achieve greater life satisfaction

History of Psychology: Early Demonology

Before the age of scientific inquiry, all good and bad manifestations of power beyong the control of humankind were regarded as supernatural.

Demonology: the doctrine that an evil being (devil) dwells inside a person and controls their minds and body

Exorcism: abnormal behaviour were caused by possession and the treatment was to cast out the evil spirits by ritualistic chanting or tortureTrepanning: making of a surgical opening in a living skull by some instrument to release the demons; usually solves their headaches & psychological disorders(stone age/Neolithic cave dwellers)

Somatogenesis: the notion that something wrong with the soma/physical body that disturbs thought and actionPsychogenesis: is the belief that a disturbance has psychological origins

Hippocrates classified mental disorders into 3 categories: ManiaMelancholiaphrenitis (brain fever)

Malleus Maleficarum (the witches hammer)

During the middle ages, those who were mentally ill were considered witchesStrange behaviour were liked to physical illness, injury or emotional shock

Basic Tenets of Gal’s system: 1. The brain is the organ of the mind2. The mind is composed of multiple distinct, innate faculities3. Because they are distincy, each faculty must have a separate seat or

“organ” in the brain4. The size of an organ, other things being equal, is a measure of its

power 5. The shape of the brain is determined by the development of the

various organs6. As the skull takes its shape from the brain, the surface of the skull can

be read as an accurate index of psychology aptitudes and tendencies.

Phrenology: measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind and certain brain areas have localized

Development of Asylums- lack of mental hospitals in England

- 15th & 16th century: Leprosariums were converted to asylums were refuges estabilished for the confinement and care of the mentaly ill

- took in mixture of disturbed people and beggarsBedlam: contraction and popular name for hospital (for mentally ill) – patients withtin the hospital were being viewed as tourist attractions (Lunatics)

Moral TreatmentPhilippe Pinel: figure in the movement for humanitarian treatment for the mentally ill in the asylums.

- began to treat sick humans as humans rather than beasts - light and airy rooms replaced the dungeons- Pinel approached with compassion and understanding and treated

with dignity as individual human beings Moral treatment: patients had close contact with the attendants, and allowed then to interact and encourage them to live as normal live as possible.

“prison”/forensic hospital: reserved for people who have been arrested and judged unable to stand trail and for those who have been acquitted of a crime

Community treatment orders (CTOs): a legal tool issue by a medical practitioner that establishes the conditions under which a mentally ill person may live in the community in compliance with treatment

Paul Broca & Aphasia - “tan” individuals would be able to understand but unable to talk

(produce speech) due to a lesion (dead tissue) in the lower left frontal lobe that affects the speech location – known as Broca’s (area) aphasia

- Wernicke – responsible for comprehension – couldn’t understand but able to speak

general paresis: germ theory of disease: disease is caused by infection of the body by minute organisms

psychogenesis: the search for somatogenic causes dominated the field of abnormal psychology

cathartic method: the experience of reliving an earlier emotional catastrophe and releasing the emotional tension caused by suppressed thoughts (Breuer)

The public perception: many common misconception or myths of mental illness Mental health literacy: created and referred to an accurate knowledge that a person develops about mental illness and its causes and treatment.

Due to psychopharmacology (medication), many patients were deinstitutionalized, lack of housing support for those who were mentally ill

Evidence-based treatment: treatments and interventions that have been shown to be effective according to controlled experimental research

Community psychology: an approach to theraphy that emphasizes prevention and the seeking oout of potential difficulties rather than waiting

for troubled individiuals to initiate consultation (prevention based on the environment/community, preventing a greater spread)

Lessons of History:1. Cycles of persecution, neglect and humanitarianism in the treatment of

the mentally ill have occurred irrespective of the helping agency2. Periods in which people who exhibited psychologically disordered

behaviour were persecuted and treated cruelly have often alternated with periods of humanitarian reform and care for suffering people

3. Just as we now look back on what were once accepted treatments were revulsion, future generations may regard some of our more recent and current practices as cruel and inhumane

4. Recent reforms may easily be reversed during adverse economic, political, and social conditions

5. The pendulum of understanding is always swinging, we best understand abnormal psychology from all perspectives

Chapter 2 Biological paradigm

o Behaviour genetics: study of individual diffs and b that’s attributed to one’s genetic makeup

o Genotype vs phenotype

− Genotype: genetic makeup (DNA – unobservable)

− Phenotype: the physical appearance ; observable characteristics that change over time

• Product b/w genotype and environment

. Family method

− Searching for probands/index cases: someone w/ disorder

. Twin method

− Monozygotic twins : 100% identical genetic material (identical)

- greater chance of sharing similar disorder compare to DZ twins

− dizygotic : 50% identical genetic makeup (fraternal)

Adoptees method

− adopted & reared apart (finding biological family)

Linkage method

- method in molecular genetics that is used to study people (studying inheritance pattern)

Gene-environment interactions: the notion that a disorder or related symptoms are the joint product of a genetic vulnerability and specific environmental experiences or conditions

Biochemistry

o Neurotransmitters

− chemical substances that allow a nerve impulse to cross the synapse (small gap to receive membrane)

o Reuptake

− Process where, remaining in the synpse is broken down by enzymes and is pumped back into the preseynptic cell (terminal)

Structure of the Brain

meninges:

cerebral hemisphere:

corpus callosum:

cerebral cortex:

gyri:

sulci:

frontal lobe:

parietal lobe:

temporal lobe:

occipital lobe;

white matter:

nuclei:

ventricles:

Structure and function of the brain

Cortical vs subcortical

o Cortical structurs responsible for higher order cognition: eg) learning, concentrate, consolidate,

o Subcortical: structures w/in the brain; structures below the cortical structure

− Disorder: parkinsons disease

o Frontal lobes:

− R: retrieval, ; L:

o Parietal lobes: language,

− R&l

· Occipital lobes: sensation, calculation, vision, coordination

Reductionism: the view that whatever is being studied can and should be reduced to its most basic elements or constituents

Approaches to treatment

Psychoactive drugs

Anxiolytics: treats anxiety, sleep disorders

o Benzodiazepine

− Alprazolam (Xanax); Clonazepam (Klonopin); Diazepam (Valium); Lorazepam (Ativan)

o Antidepressants

− Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

• Celexa; Prozac; Zoloft

− Tricyclic Antidepressants

• Elavil; Amitryptine

− Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor (MAOIs)

• Nardil; Parnate

o Psycho-Stimulants: used for ADD

− Amphetamines

− Ritalin; Aricept

Sigmund freud

o Results from unconscious conflicts: bring these conflicts to consciousness to cure it

o Define the structure of the mind

− ID: “want”

• Unconscious, pleasure principle (seeks immediate gratification), primary process thinking

• Anxiety arises when it doesn’t get what it wants

• Deals with anxiety by engaging in the behaviour or primary process thinking (fantasy;illusion to temp gratify itself)

− Ego: conscious & rational

• Works Secondary process thinking: rationalizes

• Aka reality principle

− Superego: The Conscious/ Referee b/w ID and Ego

o Defense mechanism

− Strategy that protects ego from ID’s anxiety

− Repression: putting unacceptable wants and thoughts into unconscious

− Denial:

− Projection:

− Displacement: redirecting emotional’s response from dangerous object to substitute

− Regression:

− Rationalization:

Psychoanalytic therapy

Freud

o About free association: think and talk about whatever comes to mid

o When there’s resistance, the therapist tries to delve deeper to overcome this defense

o Dream analysis

− “royal road to unconscious”

• Ego & defense mech are down, allowing for repressed material to enter sleeper’s consciousness.

• Since the content is threatening, it doesn’t manifest itself in actual form

• Thus, it appears as latent/symbolic content

o Countertransference

− Some sort of representation w/ someone in their likfe (not the therapist)

o Interpretation

o Contributions

− Childhood experiences help shape adult personality

− There are unconscious influences on behaviour

− People use defence mechanisms

Humanistic and Existential Paradigms

Carl Rogers’s client-centred therapy: ppl can be understood from their own vantage point

o Self-actualization

o Unconditional positive regard of empathy: accepting one w/out judgement eg) dog

o Empathy

− Ppl are good and effective: w/out this, unconditional positive regard of empathy can’t exist

o Healthy ppl have a premise and are goal directed

o Pg. 63: under picture is a quote of self actualization: “When ppl aren’t concerned with eval, demands and prefs of others. When theyre no longer concerned, their lives are governed by the tendency of self actualization **on exam

Existential therapy

Gestalt therapy

o Living and feeling in the now…

− Ready to Live in the “Here & Now” Exercise

o Treatment Techniques

− I-Language

− Empty chair technique

− Projection of feelings

− Attending to non-verbal cues

− Use of metaphor

Learning Paradigms

Behaviourism

o Focuses on the study of observable behaviour rather than on consciousness

Classical Conditioning

o Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

o Unconditioned response (UCR)

o Conditioned stimulus (CS)

o Conditioned response (CR)

Operant Conditioning example of prof’s germ phobia

o Law of effect

o Positive reinforcement

− Germaphobic: # of times one got sick coincides with the # of times prof got sick

o Negative reinforcement

− The more times sanitizer was applied, the less times he got sick

o Shaping

o Successive approximations

Modeling

o Learning by watching and imitating others

o Albert Bandura (1925- )

− Social learning and cognitive self-regulation

− Can you think of any examples whereby Psychopathology is present because of Modeling principles???

Behaviour therapy

o Counterconditioning

− Systematic desensitization: progressive way in which one can become deconditioned to a stimuli

• Therapist would create a hierarchy of one’s phobies

• Therapist would create a calming environment and present the stimuli until it no longer scares the client

• Upon success, client moves onto a higher item on the list of phobias until the client is completely okay/treated

− Aversive conditioning

o Operant conditioning

− Time Out

− Token economy

o Modeling

− Role-play

The Cognition Paradigm

o Recognizes that there are processes that can account for psychopathology

o Cognition

− Mental processes of perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, judging, and reasoning

o Schema: we use schema’s as filters;

− Cognitive set

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)

o Beck’s cognitive therapy;

o Ellis’s rational-emotive behaviour therapy (REBT): eliminate self-defeating beliefs through a rational examination of them

o Beck’s CBT

Consequences of Adopting a Paradigm

“Abnormal behaviour is much too diverse to be explained or treated adequately by any one of the current paradigms. It is probably advantageous that psychologists do not agree on which paradigm is the best. We know far too little to make hard-and-fast decisions on the exclusive superiority of any one paradigm”

Lecture 3 – Abnormal Psychology

Classification and DiagnosisDSM (diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorders)Definition of Mental Disorder (psycho pathology): a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual

- includes present distress or disabilities- a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability,

or an important loss of freedomSymptom/impairment: it does not disable our daily living activities

Excludes: an expectable and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event

(expectable – grief from a death – criteria for depression culturally sanctioned – fasting for numerous days – criteria for

anerixia)Deviant behaviour, conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society (homelessness, abortion)

Diagnostic system of American Psychiatric AssociationFive dimensions of classificationAxis I – all diagnostic categories (major mood disorders)Axis II – personality disorders and retardationAxis III – general medical conditions (cancer… medical conditions) Axis IV – psychosocial and environmental problems Avis V – current level of functioning

If they have more than one issue, it may be harder to treat*

Diagnostic categories: Disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood or adolescenece:

- separation anxiety disorder- conduct disorder- attention-deflicit/hyperactivity disorder- mental retardation- pervasive developmental disorders- learning disorders

Substance-related Substance abuse versus pendence (tolerance and withdraw)Schizophrenia:

• language and communication are disordered• delusions (thoughts that aren’t theirs in their head)• hallucinations (headings voices)• emotions (blunt, flattened, inappropriate)

• Mood disorders: • major depressive disorder• mania: boundless energy and the individual is

disorganized(delusional) • the thoughts are possible but unlikely• bipolar disorder: mania/mood x depression

• anxiety disorder: common (central fear)- phobia (specific trigger)- panic disorder; agoraphobia (everything causes stress)

- generalized anxiety disorder - obsessive-compulsive disorder - post-traumatic stress disorder - acute stress disorder (mini post-traumatic stress disorder)• Somatoform Disorders:

Somatization disorder: individual spends lots of time @ doctors - unsure what they really are ill of, causes distress and disability

- conversion disorder- Pain disorder- Hypochondriasis: - Body dysmorphic disorder

Dissociative disorders: sudden alteration in consciousness that affects memory and identity

- dissociative amnesia (forgets past/losing a part of memory)- dissociative fugue (travels to new locales & new life)- dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality) - depersonalization disorder (feeling of unreality)

Sexual and gender identity disorders - paraphilia: unconventional to complete a sexual response (arousal –

organsm)- sexual dysfunctions (inability to complete the sexual response cycle) - gender identity disorder (confused and don’t feel their biological

genders)

Sleep disorders- dyssomnias: sleep in disturbed; unable to maintain sleep- parasomnias: abnormal events during sleep (sleep walkings/night

terrors)

Eating disorders

anorexia nervosa: patients who will starve themselves to meet their criteria

bulimia nervosa: they binge and purge; but they “abuse” to lose their weight

Factitious Disorder: when a person complains of symptoms for internal/external gain

Adjustment Disorders: typically who have symptoms but do not meet the full Axis category (development of emotional and behavioral symptoms following the occurrence of a major life stressor)

Impulse-control disorders:number of conditions in which the person’s behaviour is inappropriate and seemingly out of control

Intermittent explosive disorder: episodes of violent behaviourkleptomania: compulsive stealing

pyromania: purposefully sets fires & has pleasure doing so pathological gambling: preoccupation w/ gambling

trichotillomania: pulling/plucking out hair

Personality disorders (Axis II)- Schizoid personality disorder (lack of emotions individuals)- narcissistic personality disorder (individual who is needy of attention)- antisocial personality disorder (typical criminal/conduct disorder)

Other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention- psychological factors affecting physical condition

Cognitive Disorders- delirium - dementia- amnestic syndrome

Chapter 4 - Clinical Assessment ProceduresReliability and Validity in Assessment

Reliabilityo Test-retest reliability

Score on 2nd test should be close to the initial test o Inter-rater reliability

two independent observers or judges agreeo Alternate-form reliability

Measures same contrast w/different content such as that we know they pass b/c the test is reliable; using the information on the two forms are consistent

o Internal consistency reliability Patients score should be consistent (evidence)

Validity

o Content validity Is there enough content on test to properly

test/measure patiento Criterion validity

The test converges w/ another test that measures the same thing

Does the test predict real world behaviour (observable)o Construct validity

interrupts/Creates experiments and “constructs” /evidences

Psychological Assessment- Clinical interviews

o Characteristics of clinical interviews Questions; how they feel/doing Concerns/interference to daily activities Sleep/eating disturbances Daily life activities Inheritable risks Other medical concerns Basic demographic knowledge/cultural factors Behaviour observations

- Structured/Semi Structured interviewso questions are set (similar to a survey)o diagnosing personality disorders

- Behavioral Observations

Psychological Tests - standardized procedures designed to measure a person’s performance on a particular task (tests alone are not enough evidence, should interpret with clinical interview)

- Screening Measures o Beck Scales

- Personality Inventorieso Personality Assessment Inventory/Personality Assessment

Screenero Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory -2 (MMPI-2)

to detect multiple psychological problems past: only to white individuals

- Projective Measureso Rorschach Inkblot Test (10 inkblots)

Projective Techniques (less scientific) · Projective Hypothesis (psychoanalytic therapy)

o The notion that highly unstructured stimuli are necessary to bypass defenses in order to reveal unconscious motives and conflicts.

· Projective Techniques

o Tests of personality that involve use of unstructured stimulus materials. Use of such materials maximizes the role of internal factors such as emotions and motives in perception.

o Rorschach Inkblot Test A projective test in which the subject is instructed to

interpret a series of ten inkblots (monochromatic and coloured) reproduced on cards.

Technique consists soliciting a number of responses, and then afterwards asking the person to explain their answer(s)

Scored on a variety of elements including number of response, “popularity” of response, response to colour = indicative of emotional control, shading = anxiety, focus on space = hostility

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)- Thematic Apperception Test

o A projective test consisting of a set of 31 black-and-white pictures reproduced on cards, each depicting a potentially emotion-laden situation

o The examinee, presented with the cards one at a time, is instructed to make up a story about each situation

o The actual subset of cards is personalized for the individualo Look for and interpret in regards to consistent or unusual

thematic contentSpecific Inventories

o Pain Inventories (e.g., P-3; Multidimensional Pain Inventory)o Traumatic Symptom Inventory

General Personality Inventorieso Omnibus Measures

Extensive measures that attempt to cover a wide range of clinical psychopathology

Typically self-report measures Contain clinical measures and validity measures Can directly assess clinical psychopathology (i.e., the

PAI), or assess mental and personality clusters and infer psychopathology from that profile (MMPI-2)

o The Personality Assessment Inventory The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is a 344

item self-report questionnaire that attempts to understand an individual’s personality traits and characteristics.

Renders diagnostic considerations based on the DSM-IV.

Diagnostic considerations involve Axis I and Axis II disorders

Provides clinical and validity scales Has screening measure to make assessment more

efficient, 22 items vs. 344 items Uses data and becomes comparative/norm

- The concept of normative comparison…o Uses data and becomes comparative/normo Below/over based on scoreo Uses markers

- Specific Psychological Inventories- Thousands of measures assessing every type of

psychopathology- Trauma Symptom Inventory

o A 100 item measure that specifically measures Posttrauamtic Stress Disorder with clinical and validity scales

o Can assess chronic or long past trauma as well more acute forms of trauma (i.e., MVA)

Pain Patient Profile (P-3)- A 44 item measure that specifically measures specific

psychopathology (i.e., pain, depression, and anxiety)Intelligence tests - Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III)

o Originally developed to help new recruits to be evaluated and placed in “appropriate” jobs

o Currently in it’s fourth revisiono 14 subscale measure consisting of Verbal and Performance

subtests that yield Full-Scale, Verbal, and Performance Scores and four additional indices

- Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI)o An abbreviated version that takes approximately 15 – 30

minutes to administer, and can provide Full scale, Verbal, and Performance IQ scores

o Can administer a Two Scale version (FIQ alone) or four scale version (FIQ, VIQ, & PIQ)

o Correlates 0.84 – 0.92 with the WAIS-III- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV)

o Mirrors the adult version in terms of IQ scores and indices- Wechsler Intelligence Scale Subtests: shows a design

• Cognitive-behavioral case formulation: emphasis on cognitive events such as people’s distorted thinking patterns, negative, self-instructions, irrational automatic thoughts and beliefs... (modify treatments based on the needs of the individual)

Mcmaster family assessment device (MFAD): useful for general measure of perceived family adjustment

How to Conduct a Psychological AssessmentWhat is the Referral Question????

o Nature of question will determine direction of assessment in regards to tests, modalities, length, etc…

Choosing Testso What are the most powerful tests?o Shorter or longer? Is less better?o Who was the test normed on?

Necessitieso Are there physical, mental, cognitive, educational, or mental

limitations?o Have some measures of validityo At the very least screen the clients mental/cognitive state

- Examination Data Background data Behavioural observations Quantitative data Qualitative data

Cultural Diversity and Clinical Assessment- Cultural bias in assessment

o What is the appropriate culture? The Client’s? Country of Origin? Canadian Culture?

o What is the Referral Question?o Strategies for avoiding cultural bias in assessment

Language and bias· Assess language skills· Are there tests in their language (is it

recognized?!?)· Translators?

Biological AssessmentBrain Imaging- Computerized axial tomography (CAT scan): - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): seeing the living brain- Functional MRI (fMRI): metabolic changes that can be measured- Positron emission tomography (PET scan): measurement of the

brain function

Neuropsychological Assessment- What is a Neuropsychology Evaluation?

o Looking and describing the cognitive strengths (neurological functions. (intelligence, problem, planning, emotions & personality)

- Who is qualified to conduct one?o Neurologist

- When is a neuropsychological evaluation needed?o Recommended for any case in which brain-based impairment

in cognitive function or behaviour is suspected. Multiple testing is required. Traumatic brain injury Strokes Developmental learning disabilities Attention deficit disorders Psychiatric or neuropsychiatric disorders such as

depression Seizure disorders Medical illness or treatments Effects of toxic chemicals or chronic substance abuse Dementing conditions (e.g., Alzheimer's Disease)

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: An Exampleo The neuropsychological report was completed indicating that

Joe’s scores on these validity measures were suspect, which raises the possibility that other test results may have questionable reliability and validity.

o His scores on tests of dissimulation raised questions about his motivation to apply full effort relative to actual ability.

o Reasons for this may be varied and multifactorial, but issues of feigning or deliberate exaggeration cannot be ruled out and may be particularly significant and contributory to the clinical picture.

Limitations of Neuropsychological Evaluations- Ecological Validity- Neuropsychology has proceeded as a science by reducing complex

behaviors to component cognitive domains. - Domains of cognitive functioning identified by neuropsychologists

are numerous- One example of these domains includes:

o Visual memory, which can be viewed as the ability to take material that was visually attended to and store it in the brain for a longer period of time

Limitations of Neuropsychological Evaluations

- Paper and pencil tests have been developed that attempt to measure this domain that include measures such as the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure

o Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF): measure of visual memory and perceptive

Limitations of Neuropsychological Evaluations- Given the need to administer this test in a controlled environment,

it (along with most, if not all neuropsychological tests) are often highly contrived and lack ecological validity (that is, the degree of relevance to the “real” world), or any direct translation to everyday functioning in terms of visual memory.

- As such, one of the most fundamental problems facing neuropsychology is the ability to accurately measure visual memory or more alarmingly, any neuropsychological function with a valid degree of relevance to the “real” world

Neuropsychological tests (4 basic tests)• Tactile performance test - time• Tactile performance test - memory• Category test• Speech sound perception test (left hemisphere)

Psychophysiology

Psychophysiology: the bodily changes that accompany psychological events or that are associated with person’s psychological characteristics

Biological assessment methodsBrain imaging: CT & MRI scans reveal the structure of the Brain

• OET & fMRI used to study brain functioningNeurochemical assessment: post-mortem analysis of neurotransmitters & receptors, assays of metabolites of neurotransmitters, and PET scans of receptorsNeuropsychological assessment:

• assess abilities such as motor speed, memory and spatial ability• tests localizes an area of brain dysfunction

Psychophysiological assessment: • measures of electrical activity in the autonomic nervous system (skin

conductance) or central nervous system (brain activity)←

Chapter 5: Research Methods in the Study of Abnormal Behaviour

1. Case Study2. Epidemiological research3. Correlational method4. Experiment

Case Study (generate hypothesis) o Historical and biographical information on a single individualo Providing detailed descriptiono Case study as evidenceo Generating hypotheses

Case Study: an exampleJohn Harlow and executive disorder, 1848

o In place of the diligent, dependable worker stood a foulmouthed and ill-mannered liar given to extravagant schemes that were never followed through. "Gage," said his friends, "was no longer Gage.”

Epidemiological Research (study of the frequency & distribution in the population, important = base rates (inform the probability); how common a disorder is)

o Prevalence (proportion of a population that has the disorder at a certain/period in time. Ex. 1% of the population has schephrenia)

o Incidence (number of NEW cases of the disorder that occurs in a period of time; usually within a year bracket)

o Risk factors(variables that we want to know about, if present, increases the likelihood of developing the disorder – ex. Inheritance leads to increase of prevalence)

Correlational Method (can’t infer causation, because another variable can influence B; strength of the correlation is by value but not direction)

o Measuring correlationo Correlation coefficiento -1.00 to +1.00 (the higher the absolute value of “r”, the

larger or stronger the relationship between the two variables)

o Statistical significance: the likelihood that the results of an investigation are due to chance

o p<=.05 (probability) o Effect sizes: similar statistics, but group sizes differ can gave no

significance o high-risk method: *retesting with selected participants*

The Experimento Basic features

o Experimental hypothesis (size of the frontal lobe depends if you’re a healthy individual)

o Independent variable (experimenter has control)

o Dependent variable (size of the frontal lobe)o Experimental effect

Statistical significance Effect size

The Experimento Having a control group; does not receive the experiment (internal

validity) o Double-blind procedure (to avoid bias/ ex. Experimenter will not know if

the individual has a disorder) o External validity

o Generalizabilityo Ecological Validity

• placebo effect: improvement in a physical or psychological condition that is attributable to a client’s expectations of help rather than specific activate ingredient in a treatment

• analogue experiments: using related phenomenon (infant monkeys and mother separation; causes and effects and how to substitute using a surrogate mother sloth)

Single-Subject Experimental Research (participants are studied one at a time)

o Reversal design or ABAB design: participant’s behaviour is measured in a specific sequence

1) during an initial time period, the baseline (A) 2) during a period when treatment is introduced (B) during a reinstatement of the conditions that prevailed in

the baseline period (revisiting the baseline behaviour and conditions) (A)

reintroduction of the experiment/treatment (B) · can manipulate treatment if it is not successful

• mixed design: when experimental and correlational research techniques can be combines