Psych 155bTheory & Method

Dr. Kimberley ClowSSC 6421

kclow2@uwo.ca

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

Outline

What are Theory & Method? Different Theories

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

Methods & TreatmentsCriticisms

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

Overview of Theories Biological Psychodynamic

Freud Behavioural

Watson, Bandura Cognitive

Ellis Humanistic

Rogers Gestalt

Perls Family Systems

Biological Approach

Biochemical Theories

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 influencesBiology 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

Anxiety & Defence Mechanisms

AnxietyRealistic anxietyMoralistic anxietyNeurotic anxiety

Defense MechanismsWe 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

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

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

Reinforcement Punishment

Positive Give Candy Give Shock

Negative Take away Shock Take away Candy

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

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 behaviourWhat 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

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 themDiscriminate

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

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

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 objectiveUnderstanding 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

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 IntrojectionDeflectionProjectionConfluence

Control of environment Physical blocks to energy

Assessment and Treatment

Gestalt Techniques I-LanguageEmpty ChairProjection of FeelingsReversalAttending to Nonverbal CuesUse of MetaphorDream WorkStaying with the Feeling

Criticisms

Negative tone Fuzzy, ambiguous, undefined,

unstructured approachNot objective Individual cannot generalize to others

Therapist is seen as teacher and authority figureAttacks our defencesPerhaps 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

Assessment and Treatment

Treat family as the suffering unitSessions 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 problemsMay truly have a biological causeAdds more stress to the family

Conclusions

Different types of therapyUse different approaches, goals, and toolsHave different strengths and weaknessesMay be better suited for different people or

different problems The theoretical approach of the therapist

may affect what is revealed during therapy