Cognitive, Behavioral, and Biological Therapies for Psychological Disorders

Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies

1. Why Cognitive and Behavior Therapies Share the Same Goal

Both cognitive and behavior therapies aim to help individuals develop new ways of thinking and behaving.

2. Characteristics of Cognitive Therapy

  • Modifies people’s way of thinking
  • Improves emotional health

3. Two Most Widely Used Cognitive Therapy Methods

  • Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
  • Aaron Beck’s Cognitive Therapy

4. Process According to Ellis: How People Develop Emotional Problems

People develop emotional problems when they base their behavior on faulty assumptions.

5. Role of the Therapist in REBT

The therapist identifies and challenges false assumptions.

6. Difference Between Arbitrary Inference, Selective Abstraction, and Overgeneralization

  • Arbitrary Inference: Drawing conclusions without evidence
  • Selective Abstraction: Drawing conclusions based on a single detail, ignoring other relevant information
  • Overgeneralization: Drawing a general conclusion from a single experience

Behavior Therapy

8. Goal of Behavior Therapy

To help individuals develop more adaptive behaviors.

9. Two Categories of Behavior Therapy

  • Operant Conditioning
  • Counterconditioning

10. How Counterconditioning Deals with Phobia to Animals

It pairs the stimulus that triggers the phobia with a new, desirable behavior.

11. Aversive Conditioning and an Example

It replaces a positive response to a stimulus with a negative response. Example: To help someone quit smoking, the therapist pairs smoking with unpleasant sensations.

12. Psychological Disorders Effectively Treated with Operant Conditioning

  • Schizophrenia
  • Childhood autism

Biological Therapies

13. Most Widely Used Biological Treatment for Psychological Disorders

Drug therapy

14. How Anxiety Drugs Work

They depress the activity of the nervous system.

15. Controversy Surrounding Electroconvulsive Therapy

Concerns about passing electric shocks through the brain and potential side effects like memory problems.

16. Most Common Treatment for Major Depression

Antidepressant drugs

17. Drug Recommended for Bipolar Disorder

Lithium

18. Use of Psychosurgery

To reduce agitation and violence in individuals with severe psychological disorders.

Attitudes and Persuasion

1. Definition of Attitude

Beliefs and feelings about objects, people, and events that influence behavior.

2. Three Reasons Why Attitudes Are Important

  • Influence how people feel and behave in certain situations
  • Foster strong emotions
  • Motivate behavior and shape worldview

3. Example of Conditioning During Childhood

Parents teaching their sons to respect girls.

4. Cognitive Evaluation

Evaluating evidence and forming beliefs based on those evaluations.

5. Cognitive Anchors

Early attitudes that shape how individuals perceive the world and interpret events.

6. How Attitudes Guide Behavior

People are more likely to behave in accordance with attitudes that are strongly tied to specific behaviors.

7. How Behavior Guides Attitudes

Attitudes may change to align with behaviors, especially when individuals are encouraged to act against their existing attitudes.

8. Persuasion

Attempting to change others’ attitudes or views.

9. Central Routes to Persuasion

Using evidence and logical arguments.

10. Example of Peripheral Route

Using an advertisement featuring a famous athlete to promote athletic shoes.

11. Two-Sided Arguments

Presenting both sides of an argument to discredit the opposition’s view.

12. Emotional Appeal

Persuading through emotions rather than logic.

13. Characteristics of Powerful Persuaders

  • Experts
  • Trustworthy

14. Characteristics of Individuals with Sales Resistance

  • High self-esteem
  • Low social anxiety
  • Ability to decline requests for products or services

Psychoanalytic Concepts

Free Association

Relaxing and expressing whatever comes to mind.

Transference

Transferring feelings and expectations from one person to another.

Latent Content

Hidden meaning in dreams, interpreted by the therapist.

Cognitive Therapy

Helping individuals think about their problems in more productive ways.

Reciprocity

Tendency to return feelings and attitudes expressed towards us.

Amnesia

:Severe memory loss.

Post traumatic disorder:intense,persistent feelings of anxiety that are caused and experience.