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Psych 155bTheory & Method

Dr. Kimberley ClowSSC 6421kclow2@uwo.ca

http://instruct.uwo.ca/psychology/155b/

Outline

� What are Theory & Method?� Different Theories

�Biological, Psychodynamic, Behavioural, Cognitive, Humanistic, Gestalt, Family Systems

�Methods & Treatments�Criticisms

� Conclusions

What are Theory and Method?

� Theories are sets of logical propositions that� Define events� Describe relationships� Explain phenomena� Allow us to make predictions regarding future events� Guide research

� Methods are how we measure and/or assess phenomena� self-report scales, interviews, exams

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Overview of Theories� Biological� Psychodynamic

� Freud

� Behavioural� Watson, Bandura

� Cognitive� Ellis

� Humanistic� Rogers

� Gestalt� Perls

� Family Systems

Biological Approach

Biochemical Theories

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Assessment & Treatment

� Old Techniques� Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)� Psychosurgery

� Lobotomy

� Psychopharmacology� Drug Therapy

� Ritalin for ADHD� Lithium for Bipolar Disorder� Prozac for Depression� Equinil for Anxiety and Panic Disorder

� Reinstate normal biological functioning

Brain Imaging

Criticisms

� Downplays environmental, social, and cultural influences�Biology and environment affect each other

� Schizophrenia may cause excess of dopamine as easily as excess of dopamine causing schizophrenia

� Ignores disorders that seem to have a strong social cause

� Phobias, Eating Disorders

� Removes patient’s involvement and responsibility in treatment

Psychodynamic Approach

� Behavior is determined by �Unconscious motivations

� Biological and instinctual drives

� Conflict within the mind� ID� EGO� SUPER-EGO

Sigmund Freud

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Anxiety & Defence Mechanisms

� Anxiety�Realistic anxiety�Moralistic anxiety�Neurotic anxiety

� Defense Mechanisms�We distort reality to protect the ego against

the painful and threatening impulses arising from the id

Assessment & Treatment

� Assessment Techniques� Free Association� Dream Analysis� Interpretation� Analysis of Resistance� Analysis of Transference

� Treatment� Therapist needs to interpret

symptoms� Patient needs to resolve

childhood conflict

Criticisms

� Pessimistic view� Patient cannot understand own symptoms

� Empirical shortcomings� Never studied children or conducted studies

� Obsessed with assumed differences between men and women

� Cannot be used with most mentally ill patients� Does not seem to help above and beyond

placebo controls

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Behavioural Approach� Classical Conditioning

� Learning by associating two stimuli together

� Learning occurs when you recognize that one event predicts another

� When stimuli are consistently paired together, we learn to respond to both stimuli the same way

� Dog learns that the leash means he is going outside

� Child learns to fear nurses because they usually give her needles

John B. Watson

Learning Fears

� UCS (loud noise) � UCR (fear)� CS (rat) � CR (fear

Treatments

Systematic Desensitization

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Aversive Conditioning

� Antabuse� Drug makes you sick

whenever you drink alcohol

� Aversive Conditioning treatment for Alcoholism

Another Behavioural Theory

� Operant Conditioning� Learning by associating our own

behavior with its consequences� Our behaviour is shaped by our

reinforcement history� Law of Effect

� We repeat the actions we’re rewarded for (reinforced)

� We stop the actions we’re punished for

� If our behaviour gets us what we want, that behaviour will continue

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Take away CandyTake away ShockNegative

Give ShockGive CandyPositive

PunishmentReinforcement

Treatments

� Behaviour Modification Therapy� Using positive reinforcement to

change behaviour� Ignore the behaviours you don’t want

and positively reinforce the behaviours you do want

� Token Economies� Desired behaviours are positively

reinforced with tokens� Tokens are later exchanged for a

tangible reward

Yet Another Behavioural Theory

� Social Learning Theory� Modelling

� Learning by watching and imitating others� Observational learning

� Acquire new behaviours� May elicit particular behaviours by cuing

them� Inappropriate behaviours are reproduced

after seeing them� If model is punished for inappropriate

behaviour, the behaviour is not imitated

Albert Bandura

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Treatment

� People learn through modelling, so model the good behaviours you want them to learn� Role-play� Behaviour rehearsal� Assertion trainingMonkey see, Monkey do

Criticisms

� Overemphasises external influences on behaviour�What about biological influences?

� Premises arise from animal research� Mechanistic perspective

�People like machines� Automatic beings

�Underplays our capacity to think or control things ourselves

Cognitive Approach

� Emotions stem from our interpretations of events, not from the events themselves� We create our problems

� Need to modify our interpretations� If we don’t interpret things in a

way that makes us feel bad, we won’t feel bad

Albert Ellis

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Rational Emotive Therapy

� Irrational beliefs� Everyone I meet should like me� I should be perfect at everything I do� Because something once affected my life, it will

always affect it� It is unbearable and horrible when things are not the

way I want them to be� I must perform important tasks competently and

perfectly� If I don’t get what I want, it’s terrible� I must have love or approval from all the significant

people in my life

A-B-C Theory of Personality

Goals of Therapy

� Challenges irrational beliefs�Detect

� “shoulds”� “I musts” � “awfulizing” � “self-downing”

�Debate� to logically & empirically question beliefs-to argue

self out of them�Discriminate

� the irrational-self-defeating from rational-self-helping beliefs

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Treatment� Common Techniques

� Disputing irrational beliefs� Doing cognitive homework� Changing one’s language� Using humor� Role-playing� Shame-attacking exercises� Desensitization� Skills training

� Assertiveness training

Criticisms

� Mechanistic perspective� Human behaviour is more than thoughts and beliefs

� Do irrational cognitions cause disturbances or do disturbances cause irrational cognitions

� Therapist is seen as teacher and authority figure� Attacks irrational beliefs� Perhaps demoralizing

� Not designed for severely mental ill populations

Humanistic Approach� Person-Centered Therapy

� Focus on the person, not the condition� Striving for self-actualization� People must realize their own inner potential

� Characteristics of therapist � Congruence� Unconditional Positive Regard� Accurate Empathic Understanding

� Client discovers and learns on their own due to the safe, warm environment created by the therapist

Carl Rogers

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Assessment and Treatment

� Communicating one-on-one� Introspection� Self-disclosure� Reflected feelings

� Techniques� Listening� Accepting� Respecting� Understanding� Responding

Criticisms

� Fuzzy, ambiguous, undefined, unstructured approach� Intuition and empathy rather than objective�Understanding rather than control� Individual cannot generalize to others

� Can only be used on a restricted population� Intelligent, well-educated, “normal” people

suffering adjustment difficulties

Gestalt Approach

� Promotes direct experience� Don’t talk, live it� Look at how person is behaving right

now

� Assist clients to find self-awareness� Insight� Self-acceptance� Responsibility for choices

� Clients must learn for themselves

Fritz Perls

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Live in the Now

� Nothing exists except the “now”�Many focus on past mistakes or plan for the

future � problems

� Unfinished business�Unexpressed feelings from the past linger in

the background and interfere with effective contact� Cause preoccupation, compulsive behavior,

wariness, oppressive energy and self-defeating behavior

Layers of Neurosis

� Phony Layer� Stereotypical and inauthentic

� Phobic Layer� Fears keep us from seeing ourselves

� Impasse Layer� We give up our power

� Implosive Layer� We fully experience our deadness

� Explosive Layer� We let go of phony roles

Resistance to Contact

� Defences that prevent us from experiencing the present� Introjection�Deflection�Projection�Confluence

� Control of environment� Physical blocks to energy

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Assessment and Treatment

� Gestalt Techniques� I-Language�Empty Chair�Projection of Feelings�Reversal�Attending to Nonverbal Cues�Use of Metaphor�Dream Work�Staying with the Feeling

Criticisms

� Negative tone� Fuzzy, ambiguous, undefined,

unstructured approach�Not objective� Individual cannot generalize to others

� Therapist is seen as teacher and authority figure�Attacks our defences�Perhaps demoralizing

Family Systems

� All family members are intertwined and affect one another

� Abnormal behaviour in an individual is symptomatic of unhealthy family dynamics and poor communication

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Assessment and Treatment

� Treat family as the suffering unit�Sessions with entire family �Session with each member individually

� Reframing the problem� Altering interaction patterns

� Enhance communication and negotiation within the family unit

Criticisms

� The definition of family may be culture bound

� Basic tenets and applications are difficult to study and quantify

� Too easy to accuse parents for children’s problems�May truly have a biological cause�Adds more stress to the family

Conclusions

� Different types of therapy�Use different approaches, goals, and tools�Have different strengths and weaknesses�May be better suited for different people or

different problems

� The theoretical approach of the therapist may affect what is revealed during therapy