What are reinforcements?

Positive Reinforcement

Presents a Stimulus

Increases target behavior

Negative Reinforcement

removes a stimulus

increases target behavior

Presenting a stimulus

Decreases target behavior

scolding a dog to stop chewing on shoes

Removing a stimulus 

Decreases target behavior

Taking away a toy to stop a child from throwing a tantrum

Demonic Model

Exorcisms and witch hunts

Medical model

   Saw MI as a physical disorder needing treatment

Housed people in asylums

Moral treatment

  Treat patients with respect dignity and kindness

Not effective

early 1950's drug developed called Thorazine (chlorapromazine)

Moderately decreased symptoms of schizo and similar problems

led to deinstitutionalization

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

a system that contains the criteria for mental disorders

Comorbidity (Co-occurance)

many people meet criteria for more than one disorder

depression, PTSD, Schizo, Dysphoria, etc

categorical rather than dimensional model of mental illness.

   Dimensional=just like height or weight

Vulnerable to social influences

   Removal of bereavement for depression in DSM5

Genes influence 40% of depression

Childhood Trauma - Physical or sexual abuse

Social Support -  Lack of close friend or family member - or worse: having a harshly critical family member or friend.

Thoughts - Rumination

Gender - Women during prime reproductive years 2x likely to be depressed

lack of close friend or family member

or worse

having a harshly critical family member or friend

Marked by obsessions - persistent unwanted ideas, thought, or impulses

This distress is relieved by compulsions - repetitve behaviors or mental acts

Must spend at least 1 hour per day engagin in obsessions, compulsions, or both

patient and therapist construct an anxiety hiearch

a list of anxiety-provoking situation, ranked from least to most anxiety producing.

start from bottom and work way up.

when situation no longer provokes high anxiety, move up on hierarchy

intense fear of an object or situation that's greatly out of proportion to its actual threat

Specific Phobia - Fear of insects, animals, storms, elevators, birds, etc.

people avoid or endure with extreme duress

therapist ensures client doesn't engage in avoidance behaviors

E.g running away

Treatment that lacks scientific evidence of benefit for client.

Have either never been scientifically tested or have been tested and found ineffective

Majority of 500 "brands" of psycotherapy fit this

Why Unsupported theapies sometimes work

Spontaneous Remission

Many problems are cyclical or time-limited

      eg depressive episode 

improvement may correlate with use of unsupported treament

Correlation does not equal Causation

1. Spontaneous remission
2. Self-serving biases
3. placebo effect

Why Unsupported theapies sometimes work

Self-serving biases

if person invest time and money in something, she/he wants to believe it was worth it.

will convince self that therapy was in some way valuable even if not feel better.

Why Unsupported theapies sometimes work

Placebo Effect

Expectancy

   we expect treatment to work, and as a result, we improve

Ritual of Therapy

   may not be expectancy, but ritual of theapy that causes improvement