INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 2ND TERM

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
The scientific study of how a person’s behavior
thoughts and feelings are influenced by the real, imagined or
implies presence of others.
LOWBALL TECHNIQUE
 Getting a commitment from a person and then
raising the cost of that commitment

Also looks at behavior and mental processes but
includes social worlds in which we exist
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
 The process through which the real or implied
presence of others can directly or indirectly
influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of an
individual.
CONFORMITY
 Changing one’s own behavior to more closely
match the actions of others.
 Cross-cultural research has found that collectivist
cultures show more conformity than individualistic
cultures
THAT’S NOT-ALL TECHNIQUE
 The persuader makes an offer and then adds
something extra to make the offer look better
before target person make a decision
OBEDIENCE
 Changing one’s behavior at the command of an
authority figure
GROUP POLARIZATION
 Tendency for a member involved in a group
discussion to take somewhat more extreme
positions and suggest riskier actions when
compared to individuals who have not participated
in a group discussion.

 Gender differences do not exist in conformity

unless the response is not private, in which case
women are more conforming than men.

GROUPTHINK When the performance of an individual on a

relatively easy task is improved by the presence of others
 Occurs when a decision -making feels that is more
important to maintain group unanimity and SOCIAL EXPERIMENT
cohesiveness than to consider the facts realistically. When the performance of an individual on a
relatively difficult task is negatively by the presence of
 Minimizing groupthink involves impartial others
leadership, seeking outside opinions, stating
problems, in objective manner, breaking large SOCIAL LOAFING
groups into subgroups, encouraging questions and
When a person who is lazy is able to work in a
alternate solutions, using secret ballots, and holding
group of people, that person often performs less well than if
group members responsible for the decisions made
the person were working alone, a phenomenon
by the group.
ATTITUDES
COMPLIANCE
 Tendencies to respond positively or negatively
 Occurs when a person changes behavior as a result
of another person asking of directing that person to toward ideas, persons, objects, or situations.
change ABC MODEL OF ATTITUDES
FOOT IN-THE-DOOR TECHNIQUE
AFFECTIVE The way a person feels
toward an object, person or
 Asking for a small commitment and, after gaining
situation
compliance, asking for a bigger commitment
BEHAVIOR The action that a person
takes regarding the person,
object or situation
COGNITIVE The way a person thinks
about another person, an
SOCIAL FACILITATION object or situation

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 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
“Attitudes are often poor predictors of behavior unless the
attitude is very specific or very strong.”
ATTITUDE FORMATION
 Direct contact with a person, situation, object or
idea
 Direct instruction from parents or others
 Interacting with other people who hold a certain
attitude
 Watching the actions and reactions of others to
ideas , people, objects and situations.
Because attitudes are learned, they are also subject to change
with new learning.
ATTITUDE CHANGE
PERSUASION
 The process by which one person tries to change
the belief , opinion, position or course of action to
another person through argument pleading or
explanation.
KEY ELEMENT IN PERSUASION
SOURCE
There is a strong tendency to give more weight to
people who are perceived as experts, as well as those who
seem trustworthy, attractive, and similar to the person
receiving the message.
MESSAGE
The message should be cleared and well organized
it is usually more effective to present both sides of an
argument to an audience that has not yet committed to one
side or another.
TARGET AUDIENCE
People who are in the young adult stage of the late
teens to mid-20s are more susceptible to persuasion than are
older people.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
 Discomfort of distress that occurs when a person's
actions do match the person’s attitudes.
 When people experience cognitive dissonance the
resulting tension and arousal are unpleasant so
people are motivated to change something so that
unpleasant feeling and tension are reduced or
eliminated.
JANICAH REYES
2ND TERM
3 BASIC THINGS PEOPLE CAN DO TO REDUCE
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE:
1. Change the conflicting behavior to make it match
to the attitudes
2. Change the current conflicting cognition to justify
the behavior
3. Form new cognition to justify the behavior
SOCIAL CATEGORIZATION
A process of social cognition in which a person
upon meeting someone new assign that person to a category
or group on the basis of characteristic in the person has in
common with other people group which whom the perceiver
has prior experiences
One form of social category is the stereotype, in
which the characteristic use to assign a persons to a category
are superficial and belief to be true of all members of the
category
It allow people to access a great deal of information
that can be useful about others as well as helping people to
remember and organize information about the characteristic
of others.
LIKING AND LOVING
SOCIAL SUPPORT
 Approval, advice, assistance and comfort that we
receive from those with whom we  have developed
a stable positive relationship.
CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
 Relationship between people that are characterized
by loving, caring, commitment and intimacy.
INITIAL ATTRACTION
INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION
 Strength of our liking or loving for another person. 
PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS
 People are strongly influenced by this in terms of
choosing their partners
ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE
 More sociable, selfless and intelligent; have more
choices of their partners; more likely to be offered
jobs and may even lived longer
SYMMETRICAL FACE AND BODY
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INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
 More attractive and seem to have a good genes for
reproduction
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PERCEIVED
ATTRACTIVENESS
MEN
 Physical attractiveness of women is the most
important
 Likes younger women more
 More willing to have casual sex
WOMEN
 Social status of men is the most important
 Prefer older men
 Less willing to have sex (responsibilities)
WHY IS PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS
IMPORTANT?
1. It is rewarding
2. They are seen as better friends and partners
PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS STEREOTYPE
 Tendency to perceive attractive people is having
positive characteristics like sociability and
competence
PHYSICALLY ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE
 Seen as more dominant, sexually warm, mentally
healthy, intelligent and socially skilled; they
receive more social benefits
SIMILARITY: WE LIKE THOSE PEOPLE WHO
ARE LIKE US
 People who share same age, education, race,
religion, level of intelligence and socioeconomic
status: more likely to be developed.
 Similarity matters because it makes things easier.
 Finding similarities with another makes us feel
good and makes us feel that the other person will
reciprocate us.  
STATUS SIMILARITY
SOCIAL EXCHANGE
 Principle that limits us from attracting such high
status.
 There will be general similarity in status among
people in close relationships
JANICAH REYES
2ND TERM
PROXIMITY LIKING
 Being around another person increase liking
MERE EXPOSURE
 Tendency to prefer stimuli that we have seen
frequently
AFFECT AND ATTRACTION
 We tend to like other people when we are in a good
mood and not when we are in a bad mood.
AROUSAL AND ATTRACTION
 When we are aroused, everything looks so extreme
so love that is accompanied by arousal (sexual or
not) is stronger love than those without it
CLOSE RELATIONSHIP: LIKING AND LOVING IN
THE LONG TERM
COMPASIONATE LOVE
 Love that is based on friendship, mutual attraction,
common interests, mutual respect, and concern for
each other’s welfare.
CLOSENESS AND INTIMACY
RECIPROCAL SELF-DISCLOSURE
 Tendency to communicate frequently, without fear
of reprisal, and in an accepting and empathetic
manner.
“Measuring Relationship Closeness”- Arthur Aron and his
collegues
COMMUNAL RELATIONSHIPS
 Close relationships in which partners suspend their
need for equity and exchange, giving support to the
partner in order to meet his or her needs, and
without consideration of the costs to themselves.
EXCHANGE RELATIONSHIPS
 Relationships in which each of the partners
keeps track of his or her contributions to the
partnership
HAPPIER COUPLES
 Less likely to “keep score” of their respective
contributions
COMMITMENT
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 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 2ND TERM

 Feelings and actions that keep partners working  Britain’s long-married couple
together to maintain the relationship

7 TIPS FOR LONG LASTING RELATIONSHIP

TRIANGULAR MODEL OF LOVE BY ROBERT
STERNBERG
1. Be prepared for squabbles.                                 
2. Don’t be negative.
3. Be fair in how you evaluate behaviors.
ATTACHMENT STYLE 4. Don’t do something dumb.
5. Do things that please your partner.
 One of the important determinants of the quality of 6. Have fun.
close relationships is the way that the partners 7. Stop fighting.
relate to each other. 
Chicago Social Health and Life Survey (Chicago Health
a) Secure attachment styles and Social Life Survey, 2011): not only that 87% of
b) Anxious/ambivalent attachment style married partners believe that extramarital sex is wrong but
c) Avoidant attachment style that the partners also seemed to act in accordance with these
values.

*Men are more jealous than women overall. Men

are more concerned than women about sexual infidelities of
their partners, whereas women are relatively more
concerned about emotional infidelities of their partners.

Margaret Stroebe and her colleagues (Stroebe, Hansson,

Schut, & Stroebe, 2008): people adjusted to the loss of a
partner, even one with whom they had been together for a
long time, although many did have increased psychological
difficulties, at least in the short term.

INTRODUCTION TO
OTHER ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
CONCERN
SELF- Goals are met Goals are NOT met ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR
CONCERN
GOALS ARE SECURE AVOIDANT  A psychological dysfunction within an individual
MET ATTACHMENT ATTACHMENT associated with distress or impairment in
functioning and a response that is not typical or
Healthy feelings Healthy feelings
about the self and about the self but culturally expected.
about important fears about
others connecting with
5 D’S OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR
others
GOALS ARE ANXIOUS/ FEARFUL DEVIANCE
NOT MET AMBIVALENT ATTACHMENT
 A typical or not culturally expected
Desires to reach out Relationships with  Something is considered abnormal because it
to others but also others are poor but occurs infrequently; it deviates from the average; or
anxious about the so is the self-concept it defies social norms
self
DISTRESS

OXYTOCIN  Upset feelings/something is not good/discomfort

 Hormone that is important in female reproduction
and that also influences social behaviors, including
the development of long-term romantic
attachments.
Frank and Anita Milford
 The person find their behaviors troubling
 Other persons find the behavior troubling
DYSFUNCTION
 Behavior interferes with everyday personal, social,
occupational, and many other areas of functioning

DANGER

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INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 2ND TERM

 Person is at risk (danger to self) or risking the THREE TYPES OF COURSE

safety of others (danger to others) CHRONIC - Tend to last a long time,
sometimes a lifetime (schizophrenia,
DURATION personality disorders
EPISODIC - Individual is likely to recover
 More that 2 weeks?
within a few months only to suffer a
THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY recurrence of the disorder at a later
time
 Psychopathology is the scientific study of TIME- - Disorder will improve without
psychological disorders. LIMITED treatment in a relatively short period

 Clinical and counseling psychologists,

ONSET
psychiatrists, psychiatric social workers, and
psychiatric nurses, as well as marriage and family  When/How the disorder began
therapists and mental health counselors.
1. ACUTE – began suddenly
SCIENTIST-PRACTITIONERS
2. INSIDIOUS –  develop gradually over an extended
 Many mental health professionals take a scientific period
approach to their clinical work
PROGNOSIS
1. Keep up with the latest scientific developments in  Anticipated course of a disorder
their field
2. Evaluate their own procedures to see whether they 1. GOOD – individual will probably recover
work
2. GUARDED –  outcome doesn’t look good
3. Conduct research that produces new information
about disorders or their treatment ETIOLOGY
CLINICAL DESCRIPTION
 The study of origins
PRESENTING PROBLEM  Has to do with why a disorder begins (what causes
it)
 Presents; a traditional shorthand way of indicating
why the person came to the clinic DISTAL CAUSE

CLINICAL DESCRIPTION  A condition that occurs relatively early in life but

 Represents the unique combination of behaviors,
thoughts, and feelings that make up a specific
disorder
 To specify what makes the disorder different from
normal behavior or from other disorders.
PREVALENCE
 Number of people in the population as a whole who
have the disorder
INCIDENCE
 Number of new cases that occurred during a given
period
may not show its effect may contribute to a
predisposition to develop a disorder.
PROXIMAL CAUSE (OR PRECIPITATING CAUSE)
 A condition that proves too much for a person and
triggers a disorder.
REINFORCING CAUSE
 A condition that tends to maintain maladaptive
behavior that is already occurring.
HISTORICAL CONCEPTIONS OF ABNORMAL
BEHAVIORS
MODELS

 SUPERNATURAL MODEL
SEX-RATIO  BIOLOGICAL MODEL
 PSYCHOLOGICAL MODEL
 Percentage of males and females who have the
disorder THE SUPERNATURAL TRADITION

COURSE DEVIANT BEHAVIOR has been considered a reflection

of the battle between good and evil
 Patter of development

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 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
 Great Persian Empire from 900 to 600 BC, all
physical and mental disorders were considered the
work of the devil
People turned to magic and sorcery
BIZARRE BEHAVIOR of people with psychological
disorders was seen as the work of the devil and witches
EXORCISM
 Religious rituals were performed in an effort to rid
the victim of evil spirits
Shaving the pattern of a cross in the hair of the victim’s
head; securing sufferers to a wall near the front of a church
STRESS AND MELANCHOLY
ENLIGHTENED VIEW
 Insanity was a natural phenomenon caused by
mental or emotional stress – it was curable
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
 Were recognized as illnesses, although despair and
lethargy were often identified with the sin of
acedia, or sloth
Treatment: rest, sleep, and a healthy and happy
environment; baths, ointments, and potions. 
 Neighbors took turns in caring for them
TREATMENTS FOR POSSESSIONS
 The sufferer is largely responsible for the disorder
POSSESSION
 Is not always connected with sin but may be seen
as involuntary and the possessed individual as
blameless.
If exorcism fails authorities do steps in making the body
inhabitable by evil spirits
 Confinement, beatings, and forms of torture
MASS HYSTERIA
 Fascinating phenomenon characterized by large
scale outbreaks of bizarre behavior.
SAINT VITUS’ DANCE/ TARANTISM
 Whole groups of people simultaneously run out in
the streets, dance, shout, rave, and jump around in
patterns as if they were at a particularly wild party
late at night
 Possession, insect bites
 Modern term: mass hysteria
JANICAH REYES
2ND TERM
EMOTION CONTAGION
 The experience of an emotion seems to spread to
those around us (mob psychology)
CLINICAL ASSESSMENT AND DIAGNOSIS
ASSESSING CLINICAL DISORDERS
CLINICAL ASSESSMENT
 The systematic evaluation and measurement of
psychological, biological, and social factors in an
individual presenting with a possible psychological
disorder.
DIAGNOSIS
 The process of determining whether the particular
problem afflicting the individual meets all criteria
for a psychological disorder, as set forth in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, or DSM-5
ASSESSING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS: KEY
CONCEPTS
 Concepts of Reliability, Validity, and
Standardization shall be reserved for Psychological
Testing/Assessment
CLINICAL INTERVIEW
 Clinical interview is the core of most clinical
work.
 It gathers information on current and past
behavior, attitudes, and emotions, as well as a
detailed history of the individual’s life in general
and of the presenting problem.
 Mental Status Examination 
MENTAL STATUS EXAMINATION (MSE)
 Is the psychological equivalent of a physical exam
that describes the mental state and behaviors of
the person being seen. It includes both objective
observations of the clinician and subjective
descriptions given by the patient.
WHY DO MSE?
 The MSE provides information for diagnosis
and assessment of disorder and response to
treatment.
 A Mental Status Exam provides a snap shot at a
point in time 
 If another provider sees your patient it allows
them to determine if the patients status has
changed without previously seeing the patient
MSE COMPONENTS
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INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 2ND TERM

 Appearance
 Behavior
 Attitude
 Level of Consciousness
 Orientation
 Speech and Language
 Mood
 Affect
 Thought process
 Thought content
 Suicidality and Homicidality
 Insight/Judgment
 Attention Span
 Memory
 Intellectual Functioning

RESEARCH METHODS IN ABNORMAL

PSYCHOLOGY

EXAMINING ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR: IMPORTANT

CONCEPTS

1. The nature of the problems people report

(answers the question “what”)

2. Causes, or etiology, of abnormal behavior

(answers the question “why”)

3. Treatment Evaluation (answers the question

“how”)
HYPOTHESIS

 An educated guess or statement to be supported by

data.

INTERNAL VALIDITY

 The extent to which the results of the study can be

attributed to the independent variable.

EXTERNAL VALIDITY

 The extent to which the results of the study can be

generalized or applied outside the immediate study.

RESEARCH DESIGN

 The plan for testing the hypothesis. Affected by the

question addressed, by the hypothesis, and by
practical considerations.

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