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Boston Universty Exam (elaborations) PS371 Abnormal Psychology Textbook Exam 1
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Boston Universty Exam (elaborations) PS371 Abnormal Psychology Textbook Exam 1
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CHAPTER 2
● Multidimensional integrative approach
○ Biological dimensions are causal factors from genetics and neuroscience
○ Psychological dimensions are causal factors from behavioral and cognitive processes
■ Learned helplessness, social learning, prepared learning, and unconscious
processes
○ Emotional influences
○ Developmental
○ No influence operates individually
■ Each is strongly influenced by the others and by their development
● Abnormal behavior results from multiple influences
○ System aka feedback loop may have independent loops at different points but each point
becomes part of whole and no longer independent
○ Called systemic
○ Implies that any particular influence contributing to psychopathology cannot be
considered out of context
○ Context is the biology and behavior of the individual as well as the cognitive emotional,
social, and cultural environment because one component of the system affects all others
○ Multidimensional model
● Emotions also affect physiological responses such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration
○ Rapid increases in heart rate may trigger stronger and more intense baroreflex
○ Change the way she behaves in situations
● Rejection/support, esp by authority figures, can make psychological disorders stronger and more
frequent
● Developmental critical period-- we are more or less likely to react to a given situation or
influence than at other times
● Genes are long molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid at various locations on chromosomes within
the cell nucleus
○ Gregor mendel found that physical characteristics such as hair and eye color are
determined/influenced by our genetic endowment
● Other factors aka environmental factors influence physical appearance too
○ Weight and height affected by nutritional, social, and cultural factors
○ Genes do not determine physical development in an absolute way, just set boundaries
● Huntington’s disease- degenerative brain disease that appears in early to middle age, usually in
40s
○ Is traced to a genetic defect that causes deterioration in the basal ganglia
○ Causes broad changes in personality, cognitive functioning and motor behavior
○ No environmental influence
● Phenylketonuria PKU
○ Results in mental retardation
○ Disorder is present at birth and is caused by the body’s inability to metabolize
phenylalanine, chemical compound common in many foods
,2
○ Caused by defect in one gene with little contribution from environmental influences or
other genes
○ Inherited when both parents are carriers of the gene and pass it on to the child
○ Research shows that it is possible to change the way the environment interacts with and
affects the genetic expression of the disorder
■ Detect PKU early and restrict the amount of phenylalanine in baby’s diet until the
child develops and a normal diet does not harm the brain (around 6-7 years old)
● Everyone except twins have unique set of genes
● Half of our personality traits and cognitive abilities like memory and perception of spatial
relations, come from genetic influence
○ Genetic factors determined stability in cognitive abilities but environmental factors were
responsible for any changes
● Adverse life events such as bad childhood can overwhelm influence of genes
● Genetic factors make some contribution to psychological disorders but account for less than half
of the explanation
○ If one twin has schizophrenia, it is less than 50% likely that the twin will have
schizophrenia too
● Contributions to most psychological disorders come from many genes, each having a small effect
○ Through Gene mapping, molecular genetics, and linkage studies
● Linkage studies- scientists study individuals who have the same disorder and share other features
like eye color
○ Location of gene for eye color is known, this allows scientists to link known gene
locations with the possible location of a gene contributing to the disorder
● Genetic contributions can’t be studied without interactions with events in the environment that
trigger genetic vulnerability or turn on specific genes
● Eric Kandel suggested that genetic structure of cells may change as a result of learning if genes
that were inactive but then interact with the environment to become active
○ Environment can turn on genes
○ Leads to changes in the number of receptors at the end of neuron which would affect the
biochemical functioning in the brain
● Brain and functions are plastic, subject to continue change in the environment, even at genetic
level
● Diathesis-Stress Model
○ Individuals inherit tendencies to express certain traits or behaviors, which may then be
activated under stress
○ Each inherited tendency is a diathesis-- a condition that makes someone susceptible to
developing a disorder; aka a vulnerability
○ Stressors are life events that develop the disorder
○ Diathesis would not be prominent until stressor occurs
○ Diathesis is genetically based and stressor is environmental
■ Must interact to produce disorder
○ The smaller the vulnerability, the greater the life stressor must be
■ Greater vulnerability requires smaller stressor
,3
● Gene that produces a substance called a chemical transporter affects the transmission of
serotonin, 5-HTT gene
○ Serotonin key neurotransmitter in depression
○ Individuals with two long alleles LL cope better with stress than individuals with the
short allele SS
■ SS depression intensified with maltreatment during childhood
○ Strong network of family and friends protected from developing PTSD even if there was
vulnerability and trauma
● Gene Environment Correlation Model
○ Genetic endowment may increase the probability than an individual will experience
stressful life events
■ People with a genetic vulnerability to develop a certain disorder may also have a
personality trait that makes them more likely to see the scenario
● Blood phobia and reckless driving/ car accidents
○ Might have genetically determined tendency to create environmental risk factors that
trigger a genetic vulnerability
○ Aka reciprocal gene-environment model
○ Applies to development of depression
○ Likelihood of divorce increases if fraternal twin/ parents are divorced
○ Genes and inherited traits (stubbornness) contribute to how we make our own
environment
● Cross fostering- when a rat pup is born to one mother but reared by another ,other
○ Maternal behavior affected how rats tolerated stress
○ Don’t know if genetic influences or from calm mothers
○ Calm and supportive behavior by the mothers could be passed down through generations
of rats independent of genetic influences because rats born to easily stressed mothers but
reared by calm mothers grew up more calm and supportive
■ Behavior altered endocrine response to stress by affecting gene expression during
first week of life
○ children whose parents had schizophrenia and who were adopted away as babies
demonstrated a tendency to develop psychiatric disorders (including schizophrenia)
themselves only if they were adopted into dysfunctional families.
■ children adopted into functional families with high-quality parenting did not
develop the disorders.
● young monkeys with a specific genetic pattern associated with a highly reactive temperament
(emotional or susceptible to the effects of stress), early maternal deprivation (disruptions in
mothering) will have a powerful effect on their neuroendocrine functioning and their later
behavioral and emotional reactions
○ For animals not carrying this genetic characteristic, however, maternal deprivation will
have little effect
● extremely chaotic early environments can override genetic factors and alter neuroendocrine
function to increase the likelihood of later behavioral and emotional disorders
● environment cannot change our DNA, it can change the gene expression
, 4
● genes are turned on or off by cellular material that is located just outside of the genome
○ stress, nutrition, or other factors can affect this epigenome, which is then immediately
passed down to the next generation and maybe for several generations
○ The genome itself isn’t changed, so if the stressful or inadequate environment
disappears, eventually the epigenome will fade.
○ Most successful through parenting and other early experiences
● genetic endowment contributes to behavior, emotions, and cognitive processes and constrains the
influence of environmental factors, such as upbringing, on our later behavior
○ Environmental events affect genetic structure by determining whether certain genes are
activated or not
○ strong environmental influences alone may override genetic diathesis.
● Neuroscience- how the nervous system and how the brain works to understand behavior,
emotions, and cognitive processes
● nervous system includes the central nervous system, consisting of the brain and the spinal cord,
and the peripheral nervous system, consisting of the somatic nervous system and the autonomic
nervous system
● The central nervous system processes all information received from our sense organs
○ spinal cord is part of the central nervous system, but its primary function is to facilitate
the sending of messages to and from the brain, which is the other major component of the
central nervous system (CNS) and the most complex organ in the body.
● Neurons transmit information throughout the nervous system.
● neuron contains a central cell body with two kinds of branches.
○ One kind of branch is called a dendrite.
■ Dendrites have numerous receptors that receive messages in the form of
chemical impulses from other nerve cells, which are converted into electrical
impulses.
○ The other kind of branch, called an axon
■ transmits these impulses to other neurons.
● Any one nerve cell may have multiple connections to other neurons.
○ connections are called synapses.
● Within each neuron, information is transmitted through electrical impulses, called action
potentials, traveling along the axon of a neuron
○ The end of an axon is called a terminal button.
● small space through which the impulse must pass to get to the next neuron. The space between
the terminal button of one neuron and the dendrite of another is called the synaptic cleft
○ biochemicals that are released from the axon of one neuron and transmit the impulse to
the dendrite receptors of another neuron are called neurotransmitters, which are
chemicals stored in vesicles in the terminal buttons
● glia (or glial) cells- outnumber neurons by a ratio of about 10 to 1
○ There are different types of glia cells with several specific functions, some of which serve
to modulate neurotransmitter activity
● norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline), serotonin, dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid
(GABA), and glutamate.
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