theory & method
TRANSCRIPT
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Psych 155bTheory & Method
Dr. Kimberley ClowSSC [email protected]
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