Albert Bandura: Bobo Doll Experiment
APA Code of Ethics
APA Cultural Psychology
APA Learning and Memory
Bio-psychology
Bio-psychology Open Stacks
Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems Theory
Case Study Examples
CaseStudy Salem's Secrets
CBT Practice 2 Case Examples
Class Activities
Cognition, Emotion and Motivation
Cognitive Behavioral Case Formulations
Confirmation Bias
Cultural Perspective
Cultural Survey
DSM-5
Emotion and Motivation OpenStax
Enneagram-personality-test
Enneagram Symbol
Facebook Reflect Personality
Face Recognition
Hierarchy of Needs Explained
History of Psychology
Information Processing
Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Introduction to Bio-psychology
Is Our Self Related to Personality?
Learning
Learning and Memory: From Brain to Behavior
Little Albert Experiment
Lumen Boundless Psychology
Lumen Learning Sensation and Perception
Memory
Motivation and Emotion OpenText
Myers Briggs 16Personality
Myers Brigss Indicator
National Alliance on Mental Illness
One Head, Two Brains, Hidden Brain
OpenStax Personality
OpenStax Psychology Text 2e
Optical Illusions
Organizational Psychology Motivation Theory
Pavlov's Dogs
Phenomenological Research Methods for Counseling Psychology
Pinel - Touch and Pain
Psychological Disorders OpenStax
Psychological Facts
Psychological Research
Research Methods
Sensation and Perception
Sensation vs. Perception
Simple Psychology Abraham Maslow
Simple Psychology Social Psychology
Social Psychology OpenStax
Strengths by Virtue
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Techniques to Enhance Memory and Learning
The Focus of Cross-cultural Psychology
The Origins of Psychology
Timeline History of Psychology
# Types of Behavioral Learning
Understanding Psychology
VIA Character Strengths Survey
VIA Classification
what-did-you-see-first
What is Culture? OpenStax
Why Maslow's Hierarchy Matters
Introduction to Psychology
Overview
This course introduces students to the scientific study of the mind and behavior and to the applications of psychological theory to life. Topics include: research methods; biopsychology; lifespan development; memory; learning; social psychology; personality; and psychological health and disorders. This course will establish a foundation for subsequent study in psychology. Resources include: Video, Articles, and Class Activities.
Introduction to Psychology
This course introduces students to the scientific study of the mind and behavior and to the applications of psychological theory to life. Topics include: research methods; biopsychology; lifespan development; memory; learning; social psychology; personality; and psychological health and disorders. This course will establish a foundation for subsequent study in psychology.
History of Psychology
Overview:
This section will cover the History of Psychology
Bio-psychology
The human brain is the command center for the human nervous system. It receives signals from the body's sensory organs and outputs information to the muscles. The human brain has the same basic structure as other mammal brains but is larger in relation to body size than any other brains.
Facts about the human brain
- The human brain is the largest brain of all vertebrates relative to body size.
- It weighs about 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kilograms).
- The average male has a brain volume of 1,274 cubic centimeters.
- The average female brain has a volume of 1,131 cm3.
- The brain makes up about 2 percent of a human's body weight.
- The cerebrum makes up 85 percent of the brain's weight.
- It contains about 86 billion nerve cells (neurons) — the "gray matter."
- It contains billions of nerve fibers (axons and dendrites) — the "white matter."
- These neurons are connected by trillions of connections, or synapses.
Anatomy of the human brain
The largest part of the human brain is the cerebrum, which is divided into two hemispheres, according to the Mayfield Clinic. Underneath lies the brainstem, and behind that sits the cerebellum. The outermost layer of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex, which consists of four lobes: the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital. [Nervous System: Facts, Functions & Diseases]
Like all vertebrate brains, the human brain develops from three sections known as the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. Each of these contains fluid-filled cavities called ventricles. The forebrain develops into the cerebrum and underlying structures; the midbrain becomes part of the brainstem; and the hindbrain gives rise to regions of the brainstem and the cerebellum.
The cerebral cortex is greatly enlarged in human brains and is considered the seat of complex thought. Visual processing takes place in the occipital lobe, near the back of the skull. The temporal lobe processes sound and language, and includes the hippocampus and amygdala, which play roles in memory and emotion, respectively. The parietal lobe integrates input from different senses and is important for spatial orientation and navigation.
The brainstem connects to the spinal cord and consists of the medulla oblongata, pons and midbrain. The primary functions of the brainstem include relaying information between the brain and the body; supplying some of the cranial nerves to the face and head; and performing critical functions in controlling the heart, breathing and consciousness.
Between the cerebrum and brainstem lie the thalamus and hypothalamus. The thalamus relays sensory and motor signals to the cortex and is involved in regulating consciousness, sleep and alertness. The hypothalamus connects the nervous system to the endocrine system — where hormones are produced — via the pituitary gland.
The cerebellum lies beneath the cerebrum and has important functions in motor control. It plays a role in coordination and balance and may also have some cognitive functions.
Humans vs. other animals
Overall brain size doesn't correlate with level of intelligence. For instance, the brain of a sperm whale is more than five times heavier than the human brain but humans are considered to be of higher intelligence than sperm whales. The more accurate measure of how intelligent an animal may be is the ratio between the size of the brain and the body size, according to the University of California San Diego's Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center.
Among humans, however, brain size doesn't indicate how smart someone is. Some geniuses in their field have smaller- than-average brains, while others larger than average, according to Christof Koch, a neuroscientist and president of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. For example, compare the brains of two highly acclaimed writers. The Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev's brain was found to be 2,021 grams, while writer Anatole France's brain weighed only 1,017 grams.
Humans have a very high brain-weight-to-body-weight ratio, but so do other animals. The reason why the human's intelligence, in part, is neurons and folds. Humans have more neurons per unit volume than other animals, and the only way to do that with the brain's layered structure is to make folds in the outer layer, or cortex, said Eric Holland, a neurosurgeon and cancer biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington.
"The more complicated a brain gets, the more gyri and sulci, or wiggly hills and valleys, it has," Holland told Live Science. Other intelligent animals, such as monkeys and dolphins, also have these folds in their cortex, whereas mice have smooth brains, he said.
Humans also have the largest frontal lobes of any animal, Holland said. The frontal lobes are associated with higher-level functions such as self-control, planning, logic and abstract thought — basically, "the things that make us particularly human," he said.
Left brain vs. right brain
The human brain is divided into two hemispheres, the left and right, connected by a bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum. The hemispheres are strongly, though not entirely, symmetrical. The left brain controls all the muscles on the right-hand side of the body and the right brain controls the left side. One hemisphere may be slightly dominant, as with left- or right-handedness.
The popular notions about "left brain" and "right brain" qualities are generalizations that are not well supported by evidence. Still, there are some important differences between these areas. The left brain contains regions involved in speech and language (called the Broca's area and Wernicke's area, respectively) and is also associated with mathematical calculation and fact retrieval, Holland said. The right brain plays a role in visual and auditory processing, spatial skills and artistic ability — more instinctive or creative things, Holland said — though these functions involve both hemispheres. "Everyone uses both halves all the time," he said.
BRAIN Initiative
In April 2013, President Barack Obama announced a scientific grand challenge known as the BRAIN Initiative, short for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies. The $100-million-plus effort aimed to develop new technologies that will produce a dynamic picture of the human brain, from the level of individual cells to complex circuits.
Like other major science efforts such as the Human Genome Project, although it's expensive, it's usually worth the investment, Holland said. Scientists hope the increased understanding will lead to new ways to treat, cure and prevent brain disorders.
The project contains members from several government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), as well as private research organizations, including the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
In March 2013, the project's backers outlined their goals in the journal Science. In September 2014, the NIH announced $46 million in BRAIN Initiative grants. Members of industry pledged another $30 million to support the effort, and major foundations and universities also agreed to apply more than $240 million of their own research toward BRAIN Initiative goals.
When the project was announced, President Obama convened a commission to evaluate the ethical issues involved in research on the brain. In May 2014, the commission released the first half of its report, calling for ethics to be integrated early and explicitly in neuroscience research. In March 2015, the commission released the second half of the report, which focused on issues of cognitive enhancement, informed consent and using neuroscience in the legal system.
The Brain Initiative has achieved several of its goals. As of 2018, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has "invested more than $559 million in the research of more than 500 scientists," and Congress appropriated "close to $400 million in NIH funding for fiscal year 2018," according to the initiative's website. The research funding facilitated the development of new brain-imaging and brain-mapping tools, and helped create the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network — an effort to catalog the brain's "parts' list." Together, these efforts contribute to major advancements in understanding the brain.
Additional resources
- "Evolution of the brain and Intelligence," by Gerhard Roth and Ursula Dicke, in Trends in Cognitive Sciences (May 2005)
- NIH: The BRAIN Initiative
- NSF: Understanding the Brain
Parts of the human body
- Bladder: Facts, Function & Disease
- Colon (Large Intestine): Facts, Function & Diseases
- Ears: Facts, Function & Disease
- Esophagus: Facts, Function & Diseases
- How the Human Eye Works
- Gallbladder: Function, Problems & Healthy Diet
- Human Heart: Anatomy, Function & Facts
- Kidneys: Facts, Function & Diseases
- Liver: Function, Failure & Disease
- Lungs: Facts, Function & Diseases
- Nose: Facts, Function & Diseases
- Pancreas: Function, Location & Diseases
- Small Intestine: Function, Length & Problems
- Spleen: Function, Location & Problems
- Stomach: Facts, Function & Diseases
- The Tongue: Facts, Function & Diseases
This article was updated on Sept. 28, 2018, by Live Science contributor Alina Bradford.
Research Methods
Research Methods: the ways we collect data to answer a research question
data collection techniques including how we get respondents, how we ask questions, role of
researcher in research and in the respondents/participants lives’, how we analyze the data
Research Design: plan for how to answer the research question
· Determine which methods are best used for answering the question
· Map out how each method will be utilized
· Determine limitations of each method for a research project
Why do we need a research design?
1. To answer research question systematically/scientifically
2. To control variance:
a. Maximize experimental variance (variance of key concepts)
b. Minimize extraneous variance (confounding variables, and error)
Textbook vs. Real research
Academic vs. Applied research
Data Collection + Data Analysis = Research Methods and Research Design
Quantitative vs. Qualitative Paradigms: Data Collection Methods
| Quantitative: distinct methods Inductive, apriorism hypotheses, Positivism, Durkheim, functionalism, researcher separate from participants | Qualitative: fluid lines, Deductive, no apriorism hypotheses, Interpretivism, Weber, Symbolic Interactionism, researcher interacts with participants |
| Experiments: true, quasi | Observation: participant, non-participant |
| Surveys: f-to-f, mail, phone | In-depth interviews: structured, unstructured |
| Longitudinal: | Advanced Qualitative Methods: |
| a. trend: follow 1 variable over timeb. cohort: follow a pop over timec. panel: follow same group over time | ethnomethodology: study small interactions (moments, situations), look for rules/methods of interaction |
| phenomenology: study experiences | |
| case study, extended case study |
Other data collection methods: historical, document analysis, existing data
Dichotomy of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods:
Multi-methods: Using more than one research method
Evaluation research, applied, action research = use qual + quant research methods
Mixed Methods: Usually this works well, but depending on the topic/population, there can be limits:
Ex: Doing Grounded Theory with Survey data: really impossible because whomever developed the survey had to have some theory/thoughts to even come up with questions
Ex: Ethnography and experiments do not work together
Exploratory research often draws on elements of both qual and quant data collection:
Can be qualitative or quantitative. Most qualitative research is exploratory. The results of exploratory research often guide additional studies on the topic.
· No literature to draw on
· Developing a theory/model
· Small sample, not representative
Rationale Quantitative Research:
There is one reality/truth that exists independent of the research. We can know it before observing reality. We can summarize it in words. We can measure it and test it objectively (free from researcher bias, values). “Based on my particular explanation of how the world works, this is what I expect to observe. If I find evidence supporting expectation, then the explanation is correct.”
Positivism
Quantitative Relationship between theory and method: T+ (theory) RQ+ (research question) M+ (method) T (theory)
Rationale Qualitative Research:
There is no one reality for a theory (as quantitatively known) to capture. There is no one understanding. Meanings and reality change across people, place and time. Let reality drive understanding (grounded theory). Researcher’s values enhance/shape the study. (Bias)
Interpretivism
Qualitative Relationship between theory and method: RQ+M+T
Which methods you use will influence your research design, research question, researcher, theory, resources, study participants, goals, etc.…
Examples of qualitative research questions:
1. Why don’t men go to the doctor when they are sick?
2. How does economic status shape a person’s beliefs and values?
3. How do boys play differently than girls?
Examples of quantitative research questions:
1. What is the effect of information seeking on health status?
2. How many women in Pitt County have been raped in their lives?
3. What is the effect of race on women’s career success?
Some people only do one method or do only qualitative or quant
· Training
· Politics
· Interest: the types of RQs they ask are best studied with that method
· Skills
All Research Questions begin with some theory (except grounded theory)
Theory: theory shapes concepts, theory determines what is important, previous research leaves holes in understanding:
Theory = Symbolic Interaction, Sample RQ = does taking the role of other lower prejudice?
Theory= Feminist Theory, Sample RQ = how do men subordinate other men in everyday life?
Research Goals Do Quantitative if:
· Need to generalize
· Need to answer “what” questions, estimate prevalence, incidence of a phenomenon
· Need to do research quickly (1 year)
Do Qualitative if:
· Need to answer how or why questions
· If it is a process
· If too complicated of a phenomenon to operationalize questions
· If you don’t know enough about the phenomenon to develop questions that would reflect the entire the phenomenon
· If you think people wouldn’t or couldn’t tell the truth on a survey or experiment
· Impossible to reach the people you need to study by survey/experiment
· You want to learn about people’s understandings, experiences
Developing/writing Research questions Choosing/developing a research question is influenced by researcher, theory, importance of topic to discipline and society
Develop research question by:
· Reading lit
· Talking to people who know about subject
· Talking to people who live the subject
Start out broad and get narrower as you become familiar with literature and then narrower when you choose your research design
Writing Research questions: written clearly, no unnecessary words, no fancy words
· Free from ambiguity
· Central ideas, key concepts identify
· Express relationships btw. Concepts
· It is an empirically answerable question
· Terminology reflects design: Qualitative = shape, explore / Quant = cause, relationship, influence, affect/effect
You will need to refine your research question as you learn more about it from the scientific literature and from experts.
With qualitative research: you might refine the question during the study:
With quantitative research: you cannot change RQ once data collection has started. So you need to spend a great deal of time upfront nailing down RQs. Your hypotheses can be developed during research, somewhat.
Hypotheses in quantitative research:
· Conceptual hypotheses follow from research question ex.
· The more experiences a person has with taking the role of others, the less prejudice they are.
· Operationalized hypothesis follows from conceptual ones after methods are selected:
Ex. Respondents who have higher scores on the role taking scale will have lower scores on the prejudice scale than respondents who have lower scores on the role taking scale.
· Statistical hypotheses follow from operationalized hyps: mean group 1 < mean group 2
Hypotheses in qualitative research: Do not have hypotheses. You may have expectations.
Research Process: How a research project unfolds
Quantitative Research Process: impersonal relationship between researcher and study, and between researcher and study participants
Theory research question conceptual hypotheses choose methods operationalized hypothesis collect data test data interpret results (support/refute theory)
Theory = explanation
Theory guides every step in the research process: question, choice of methods, management of concepts
Several studies support theory, theory becomes more credible
All studies support theory, theory becomes a law (rare in the social sciences)
Biases:
· Theory determines every part of the research process. Variable selection and msmt. Build a model to test based on theory. Predisposes data to support theory. (Ex. Gender models, measure gender with sex)
· Operationalizations error
· Variable sociology: build unrealistic “models” and then play god, talk about relationships between variables, differences between variables,
· Context free: doesn’t always translate to anything real or meaningful about real life
Sections to a Quantitative paper Abstract, Introduction (statement of problem), Lit Review, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion (either summarize paper or review limitations of study)
Qualitative Research Process: not a set pattern like quantitative research, process depends on method used
Grounded theory: research question choose methods collect data revise research question collect data results (look for patterns) build theory from patterns draw on lit to further develop/validate explanation (Theory is built from data) Ethnography: same as grounded theory or: research question choose methods collect data revise research question collect data results (look for patterns) draw on theory/lit to explain patterns (draw on theory/lit at end rather than at beginning)
Phenomenology: research question methods results (No theory)
General qualitative: similar to quantitative process: Theory research question choose methods lit review collect data revise research question collect data results (look for patterns, do they support theory)
Bias:
1. generalizations poor (“Here is how the world looked when I observed it.”), impossible to do true grounded theory
2. Only micro topics
Sections to a Qualitative paper: no 1 format, depends on method, writing personal
Ethnography: Abstract* (not always with qual paper), Introduction/Theory/Research Q, Methods, *Results/Discussion (These sections are usually combined, explain findings as you present them drawing on theory and lit to explain)
Grounded Theory: Abstract*, Intro/ Research Q, Methods, Results/Discussion (draw on lit, explain theory that is built from data)
General Qualitative: same as quantitative
Research Proposal Sections
1. Introduction: make reader care, written plainly,no fancy words statement of problem initial research question hy important: how important to society, discipline
2. Literature Review: Summarize findings of previous or related research explain theory review previous work on research question a. What do we already know: Findings, how studied, concepts, limitations/problems, Identify your narrowed down research question, how your study will be different from previous work, conceptual hypotheses (if quant) only review articles which are directly related to your research question. Exception: there are no other studies on your question (not recommended for thesis)
3. Research Design:
· Data collection methods why chose this method
· Sampling: who observed/interviewed, unit of analysis
· Variables/questions/measurement (interview guide)
· Data documentation (video, audio)
· Length of data collection
· Role of researcher
· Operationalized specific hypotheses
· Data analysis plans
· Statistical hypotheses (*bridge to results in papers)
· Potential limitations of methods
· Appendices: diagram of research design, survey, interview guide, informed consent, timeline of data collection, statistical model to be tested
Learning and Memory
Learning and memory are closely related concepts. Learning is the acquisition of skill or knowledge, while memory is the expression of what you’ve acquired. Another difference is the speed with which the two things happen. If you acquire the new skill or knowledge slowly and laboriously, that’s learning. If acquisition occurs instantly, that’s making a memory.
The relationship between learning and memory is incredibly close and intertwined. As stated by the American Psychological Association, learning means securing various skills and information, while memory relates to how the mind stores and recalls information. It is almost impossible for an individual to truly learn something without also having the memory to retain what they have learned. In many ways, learning and memory maintain a very interdependent relationship, one that is much more nuanced and complex than it may appear to be on the surface.
The Interdependence Of Learning And Memory
Learning and memory share quite interesting parallels. First and foremost, both functions exist in and rely upon the brain. Without the brain, both learning and memory would be impossible. While learning can concern events that can take place in the past, present, and future, memory pertains to occurrences that have already passed. In other words, an individual can learn something new at virtually any time. Information, however, can only be mentally processed and stored in memory after learning.
The ability to learn relies upon one's memory. Learning requires brain stimulation from the memory just as memory needs functional learning processes to collect and store new information.
Everyone has different styles of learning, and sometimes some extra assistance from an educator or a counselor is needed to improve a person's ability to learn and retain information. However, there are things that you can do on your own to help improve these essential cognitive functions.
What Is Learning?
Learning is an adaptive function by which our nervous system changes in relation to stimuli in the environment, thus changing our behavioral responses and permitting us to function in our environment. The process occurs initially in our nervous system in response to environmental stimuli. Neural pathways can be strengthened, pruned, activated, or rerouted, all of which cause changes in our behavioral responses.
Instincts and reflexes are innate behaviors—they occur naturally and do not involve learning. In contrast, learning is a change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience. The field of behavioral psychology focuses largely on measurable behaviors that are learned, rather than trying to understand internal states such as emotions and attitudes.
Types of Learning
There are three main types of learning: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. Both classical and operant conditioning are forms of associative learning, in which associations are made between events that occur together. Observational learning is just as it sounds: learning by observing others.
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a process by which we learn to associate events, or stimuli, that frequently happen together; as a result of this, we learn to anticipate events. Ivan Pavlov conducted a famous study involving dogs in which he trained (or conditioned) the dogs to associate the sound of a bell with the presence of a piece of meat. The conditioning is achieved when the sound of the bell on its own makes the dog salivate in anticipation for the meat.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is the learning process by which behaviors are reinforced or punished, thus strengthening or extinguishing a response. Edward Thorndike coined the term “law of effect,” in which behaviors that are followed by consequences that are satisfying to the organism are more likely to be repeated, and behaviors that are followed by unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeated. B. F. Skinner researched operant conditioning by conducting experiments with rats in what he called a “Skinner box.” Over time, the rats learned that stepping on the lever directly caused the release of food, demonstrating that behavior can be influenced by rewards or punishments. He differentiated between positive and negative reinforcement, and also explored the concept of extinction.
Observational Learning
Observational learning occurs through observing the behaviors of others and imitating those behaviors—even if there is no reinforcement at the time. Albert Bandura noticed that children often learn through imitating adults, and he tested his theory using his famous Bobo-doll experiment. Through this experiment, Bandura learned that children would attack the Bobo doll after viewing adults hitting the doll.
Adapted from: Introduction to Learning | Boundless Psychology
Sensation and Perception
Sensation and perception are two separate processes that are very closely related. Sensation is input about the physical world obtained by our sensory receptors, and perception is the process by which the brain selects, organizes, and interprets these sensations. In other words, senses are the physiological basis of perception. Perception of the same senses may vary from one person to another because each person’s brain interprets stimuli differently based on that individual’s learning, memory, emotions, and expectations.
The sensitivity of a given sensory system to the relevant stimuli can be expressed as an absolute threshold. Absolute threshold refers to the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time. Another way to think about this is by asking how dim can a light be or how soft can a sound be and still be detected half of the time. The sensitivity of our sensory receptors can be quite amazing. It has been estimated that on a clear night, the most sensitive sensory cells in the back of the eye can detect a candle flame 30 miles away (Okawa & Sampath, 2007). Under quiet conditions, the hair cells (the receptor cells of the inner ear) can detect the tick of a clock 20 feet away (Galanter, 1962).
It is also possible for us to get messages that are presented below the threshold for conscious awareness—these are called subliminal messages. A stimulus reaches a physiological threshold when it is strong enough to excite sensory receptors and send nerve impulses to the brain: this is an absolute threshold. A message below that threshold is said to be subliminal: we receive it, but we are not consciously aware of it. Therefore, the message is sensed, but for whatever reason, it has not been selected for processing in working or short-term memory. Over the years there has been a great deal of speculation about the use of subliminal messages in advertising, rock music, and self-help audio programs. Research evidence shows that in laboratory settings, people can process and respond to information outside of awareness. But this does not mean that we obey these messages like zombies; in fact, hidden messages have little effect on behavior outside the laboratory (Kunst-Wilson & Zajonc, 1980; Rensink, 2004; Nelson, 2008; Radel, Sarrazin, Legrain, & Gobancé, 2009; Loersch, Durso, & Petty, 2013).
Perception
While our sensory receptors are constantly collecting information from the environment, it is ultimately how we interpret that information that affects how we interact with the world. Perception refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced. Perception involves both bottom-up and top-down processing. Bottom-up processing refers to the fact that perceptions are built from sensory input. On the other hand, how we interpret those sensations is influenced by our available knowledge, our experiences, and our thoughts. This is called top-down processing.
Look at the shape in Figure 3 below. Seen alone, your brain engages in bottom-up processing. There are two thick vertical lines and three thin horizontal lines. There is no context to give it a specific meaning, so there is no top-down processing involved.
Figure 3. What is this image? Without any context, you must use bottom-up processing.
Now, look at the same shape in two different contexts. Surrounded by sequential letters, your brain expects the shape to be a letter and to complete the sequence. In that context, you perceive the lines to form the shape of the letter “B.”
Figure 4. With top-down processing, you use context to give meaning to this image.
Surrounded by numbers, the same shape now looks like the number “13.”
Figure 5. With top-down processing, you use context to give meaning to this image.
When given a context, your perception is driven by your cognitive expectations. Now you are processing the shape in a top-down fashion.
One way to think of this concept is that sensation is a physical process, whereas perception is psychological. For example, upon walking into a kitchen and smelling the scent of baking cinnamon rolls, the sensation is the scent receptors detecting the odor of cinnamon, but the perception may be “Mmm, this smells like the bread Grandma used to bake when the family gathered for holidays.”
Although our perceptions are built from sensations, not all sensations result in perception. In fact, we often don’t perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time. This is known as sensory adaptation. Imagine entering a classroom with an old analog clock. Upon first entering the room, you can hear the ticking of the clock; as you begin to engage in conversation with classmates or listen to your professor greet the class, you are no longer aware of the ticking. The clock is still ticking, and that information is still affecting sensory receptors of the auditory system. The fact that you no longer perceive the sound demonstrates sensory adaptation and shows that while closely associated, sensation and perception are different.
Adapted from: Sensation and Perception | Introduction to Psychology
Motivation and Emotion
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow contextualized his theory of self-actualization within a hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy represents five needs arranged from lowest to highest, as follows:
- Physiological needs: These include needs that keep us alive, such as food, water, shelter, warmth, and sleep.
- Safety needs: The need to feel secure, stable, and unafraid.
- Love and belongingness needs: The need to belong socially by developing relationships with friends and family.
- Esteem needs: The need to feel both (a) self-esteem based on one’s achievements and abilities and (b) recognition and respect from others.
- Self-actualization needs: The need to pursue and fulfill one’s unique potentials.
When Maslow originally explained the hierarchy in 1943, he stated that higher needs generally won’t be pursued until lower needs are met. However, he added, a need does not have to be completely satisfied for someone to move onto the next need in the hierarchy. Instead, the needs must be partially satisfied, meaning that an individual can pursue all five needs, at least to some extent, at the same time.
Maslow included caveats in order to explain why certain individuals might pursue higher needs before lower ones. For example, some people who are especially driven by the desire to express themselves creatively may pursue self-actualization even if their lower needs are unmet. Similarly, individuals who are particularly dedicated to pursuing higher ideals may achieve self-actualization despite adversity that prevents them from meeting their lower needs.
Defining Self-Actualization
To Maslow, self-actualization is the ability to become the best version of oneself. Maslow stated, “This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.”
Of course, we all hold different values, desires, and capacities. As a result, self-actualization will manifest itself differently in different people. One person may self-actualize through artistic expression, while another will do so by becoming a parent, and yet another by inventing new technologies.
Maslow believed that, because of the difficulty of fulfilling the four lower needs, very few people would successfully become self-actualized, or would only do so in a limited capacity. He proposed that the people who can successfully self actualize share certain characteristics. He called these people self-actualizers. According to Maslow, self-actualizers share the ability to achieve peak experiences, or moments of joy and transcendence. While anyone can have a peak experience, self-actualizers have them more frequently. In addition, Maslow suggested that self-actualizers tend to be highly creative, autonomous, objective, concerned about humanity, and accepting of themselves and others.
Maslow contended that some people are simply not motivated to self-actualize. He made this point by differentiating between deficiency needs, or D-needs, which encompass the four lower needs in his hierarchy, and being needs, or B-needs. Maslow said that D-needs come from external sources, while B-needs come from within the individual. According to Maslow, self-actualizers are more motivated to pursue B-needs than non-self-actualizers.
Criticism and Further Study
The theory of self-actualization has been criticized for its lack of empirical support and for its suggestion that lower needs must be met before self-actualization is possible.
In 1976, Wahba and Bridwell investigated these issues by reviewing a number of studies exploring different parts of the theory. They found only inconsistent support for the theory, and limited support for the proposed progression through Maslow’s hierarchy. However, the idea that some people are more motivated by B-needs than D-needs was supported by their research, lending increased evidence to the idea that some people may be more naturally motivated towards self-actualization than others.
A 2011 study by Tay and Diener explored the satisfaction of needs that roughly matched those in Maslow’s hierarchy in 123 countries. They found that the needs were largely universal, but that the fulfillment of one need was not dependent on the fulfillment of another. For example, an individual can benefit from self-actualization even if they have not met their need to belong. However, the study also showed that when most citizens in a society have their basic needs met, more people in that society focus on pursuing a fulfilling and meaningful life. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that self-actualization can be attained before all of the four other needs are met, but that having one's most basic needs met makes self-actualization much more likely.
The evidence for Maslow’s theory is not conclusive. Future research involving self-actualizers is needed in order to learn more. Yet given its importance to the history of psychology, the theory of self-actualization will maintain its place in the pantheon of classic psychological theories.
Adapted from: Understanding Maslow's Theory of Self-Actualization
Personality and Self
What Is Personality?
From eccentric and introverted to boisterous and bold, the human personality is a complex and colorful thing. Personality refers to a person's distinctive patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. It derives from a mix of innate dispositions and inclinations along with environmental factors and experiences. Although personality can change over a lifetime, one's core personality traits tend to remain relatively consistent during adulthood.
While there are countless characteristics that combine in an almost infinite number of ways, people have been trying to find a way to classify personalities ever since Hippocrates and the ancient Greeks proposed four basic temperaments. Today, psychologists often describe personality in terms of five basic traits. The so-called Big Five are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. A newer model, called HEXACO, incorporates honesty-humility as a sixth key trait.
What's My Personality Type?
The idea of a personality "type" is fairly widespread. Many people associate a "Type A" personality with a more organized, rigid, competitive, and anxious person, for example. Yet there’s little empirical support for the idea. The personality types supplied by the popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator have also been challenged by scientists.
Psychologists who study personality believe such typologies generally are too simplistic to account for the ways people differ. Instead, there is broad scientific consensus around the Big Five model of trait dimensions, each of which contributes to one's personality and is largely independent of the others.
Why Personality Matters
Personality psychology—with its different ways of organizing, measuring, and understanding individual differences—can help people better grasp and articulate what they are like and how they compare to others. But the details of personality are relevant to more than just a person's self-image.
The tendencies in thinking and behaving that concepts like the Big Five represent are related to a variety of other ways in which people compare to one another. These include differences in personal success, health and well-being, and how people get along with others. Personality also crosses into the realm of mental health: Professionals use a list of personality disorders involving long-term dysfunctional tendencies to diagnose and treat patients.
Personality Traits
Traits are the building blocks of personality. So what is a trait? In short, it’s a relatively stable way of thinking and behaving that can be used to describe a person and compare and contrast that person with others.
Traits can be cast in very broad terms, such as how positively disposed a person generally is toward other people, or in more specific ones, such as how much that person tends to trust other people. These more specific aspects of personality are sometimes referred to as “facets.” Personality traits are usually considered distinct from mental abilities (including general intelligence) that are assessed based on how well one responds to problems or questions.
Psychologists have developed a variety of ways to define and organize the span of personality traits. They are often bundled together based on broad personality factors, as in the commonly used Big Five trait taxonomy. But personality can be sliced in many different ways, and some traits are frequently measured and studied by psychologists on their own.
Here are some of the scientifically studied groups of personality traits. Importantly, people generally do not simply have these traits or not have them—they can rate high, low, or somewhere in the middle on each one, compared to other people.
The Big Five Personality Traits
The Big Five traits—usually labeled openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, or OCEAN for short—are among the most commonly studied in psychology. The five-factor model splits personality into five broad traits that an individual can rate higher or lower on compared to other people, based on the extent to which the person exhibits them. Each of the five personality factors covers a group of narrower personality facets that tend to go together in individuals.
For more on the five-factor model, see the Big Five Personality Traits.
HEXACO and Honesty-Humility
Some personality researchers have proposed a sixth major trait factor, in addition to the Big Five: it’s called honesty-humility and provides the “H” in the HEXACO model. Honesty-humility as a trait concept reflects the degree to which people place themselves ahead of other people, such as by seeking special treatment or manipulating others. Proposed facets include sincerity, fairness, and the avoidance of greed.
For more on honesty-humility, see HEXACO.
The Dark Triad
Three traits, often called the Dark Triad—narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism—are commonly assessed to investigate the darker, or more antagonistic and self-interested side of human nature. While they represent particular ways of thinking about anti-social thoughts and behavior, they are not necessarily separate from other traits—for instance, it’s easy to see how they share some common ground with the Big Five concept of agreeableness or HEXACO’s honesty-humility.
Some people who rate highly on these traits are described as being “a narcissist” or a “psychopath,” but the Dark Triad traits can be thought of in terms of a spectrum: A person can rate low, high, or anywhere in between on each one. Personality disorders, some of which involve Dark Triad-related behavior, are defined differently, using specified cut-offs for diagnosis.
For more, see Dark Triad and Personality Disorders
Adapted from: Personality Traits
Psychological Disorders
The term psychological disorder is sometimes used to refer to what is more frequently known as mental disorders or psychiatric disorders. Mental disorders are patterns of behavioral or psychological symptoms that impact multiple areas of life. These disorders create distress for the person experiencing these symptoms.
While not a comprehensive list of every mental disorder, the following list includes some of the major categories of disorders described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The latest edition of the diagnostic manual is the DSM-5 and was released in May of 2013.1 The DSM is one of the most widely used systems for classifying mental disorders and provides standardized diagnostic criteria.
Neurodevelopmental disorders are those that are typically diagnosed during infancy, childhood, or adolescence. These psychological disorders include:
Intellectual Disability
Sometimes called Intellectual Developmental Disorder, this diagnosis was formerly referred to as mental retardation.1 This type of developmental disorder originates prior to the age of 18 and is characterized by limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviors.
Limitations to intellectual functioning are often identified through the use of IQ tests, with an IQ score under 70 often indicating the presence of a limitation. Adaptive behaviors are those that involve practical, everyday skills such as self-care, social interaction, and living skills.
Global Developmental Delay
This diagnosis is for developmental disabilities in children who are under the age of five. Such delays relate to cognition, social functioning, speech, language, and motor skills.
It is generally seen as a temporary diagnosis applying to kids who are still too young to take standardized IQ tests. Once children reach the age where they are able to take a standardized intelligence test, they may be diagnosed with an intellectual disability.
Communication Disorders
These disorders are those that impact the ability to use, understand, or detect language and speech. The DSM-5 identifies four different subtypes of communication disorders: language disorder, speech sound disorder, childhood onset fluency disorder (stuttering), and social (pragmatic) communication disorder.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
This disorder is characterized by persistent deficits in social interaction and communication in multiple life areas as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviors. The DSM specifies that symptoms of autism spectrum disorder must be present during the early developmental period and that these symptoms must cause significant impairment in important areas of life including social and occupational functioning.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
ADHD is characterized by a persistent pattern of hyperactivity-impulsivity and/or inattention that interferes with functioning and presents itself in two or more settings such as at home, work, school, and social situations.The DSM-5 specifies that several of the symptoms must have been present prior to the age of 12 and that these symptoms must have a negative impact on social, occupational, or academic functioning.
Bipolar and Related Disorders
Bipolar disorder is characterized by shifts in mood as well as changes in activity and energy levels. The disorder often involves experiencing shifts between elevated moods and periods of depression. Such elevated moods can be pronounced and are referred to either as mania or hypomania.
Mania
This mood is characterized by a distinct period of elevated, expansive, or irritable mood accompanied by increased activity and energy. Periods of mania are sometimes marked by feelings of distraction, irritability, and excessive confidence. People experiencing mania are also more prone to engage in activities that might have negative long-term consequences such as gambling and shopping sprees.
Depressive Episodes
These episodes are characterized by feelings of a depressed or sad mood along with a lack of interest in activities. It may also involve feelings of guilt, fatigue, and irritability. During a depressive period, people with bipolar disorder may lose interest in activities that they previously enjoyed, experience sleeping difficulties, and even have thoughts of suicide.
Both manic and depressive episodes can be frightening for both the person experiencing these symptoms as well as family, friends and other loved ones who observe these behaviors and mood shifts. Fortunately, appropriate and effective treatments, which often include both medications and psychotherapy, can help people with bipolar disorder successfully manage their symptoms.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are those that are characterized by excessive and persistent fear, worry, anxiety and related behavioral disturbances. Fear involves an emotional response to a threat, whether that threat is real or perceived. Anxiety involves the anticipation that a future threat may arise. Types of anxiety disorders include:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
This disorder is marked by excessive worry about everyday events. While some stress and worry are a normal and even common part of life, GAD involves worry that is so excessive that it interferes with a person's well-being and functioning.
Agoraphobia
This condition is characterized by a pronounced fear of a wide range of public places. People who experience this disorder often fear that they will suffer a panic attack in a setting where escape might be difficult.
Because of this fear, those with agoraphobia often avoid situations that might trigger an anxiety attack. In some cases, this avoidance behavior can reach a point where the individual is unable to even leave their own home.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is a fairly common psychological disorder that involves an irrational fear of being watched or judged. The anxiety caused by this disorder can have a major impact on an individual's life and make it difficult to function at school, work, and other social settings.
Specific Phobias
These phobias involve an extreme fear of a specific object or situation in the environment. Some examples of common specific phobias include the fear of spiders, fear of heights, or fear of snakes.
The four main types of specific phobias involve natural events (thunder, lightening, tornadoes), medical (medical procedures, dental procedures, medical equipment), animals (dogs, snakes, bugs), and situational (small spaces, leaving home, driving). When confronted by a phobic object or situation, people may experience nausea, trembling, rapid heart rate, and even a fear of dying.
Panic Disorder
This psychiatric disorder is characterized by panic attacks that often seem to strike out of the blue and for no reason at all. Because of this, people with panic disorder often experience anxiety and preoccupation over the possibility of having another panic attack.
People may begin to avoid situations and settings where attacks have occurred in the past or where they might occur in the future. This can create significant impairments in many areas of everyday life and make it difficult to carry out normal routines.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
This condition is a type of anxiety disorder involving an excessive amount of fear or anxiety related to being separated from attachment figures. People are often familiar with the idea of separation anxiety as it relates to young children's fear of being apart from their parents, but older children and adults can experience it as well.
When symptoms become so severe that they interfere with normal functioning, the individual may be diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder. Symptoms involve an extreme fear of being away from the caregiver or attachment figure. The person suffering these symptoms may avoid moving away from home, going to school, or getting married in order to remain in close proximity to the attachment figure.
Stress Related Disorder
Trauma and stressor-related disorders involve exposure to a stressful or traumatic event.6 These were previously grouped with anxiety disorders but are now considered a distinct category of disorders. Disorders included in this category include:
Acute Stress Disorder
Acute stress disorder is characterized by the emergence of severe anxiety for up to a one month period after exposure to a traumatic event. Some examples of traumatic events include natural disasters, war, accidents, and witnessing a death.
As a result, the individual may experience dissociative symptoms such as a sense of altered reality, an inability to remember important aspects of the event, and vivid flashbacks as if the event were reoccurring. Other symptoms can include reduced emotional responsiveness, distressing memories of the trauma, and difficulty experiencing positive emotions.
Adjustment Disorders
Adjustment disorders can occur as a response to a sudden change such as divorce, job loss, end of a close relationship, a move, or some other loss or disappointment. This type of psychological disorder can affect both children and adults and is characterized by symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, depressed mood, worry, anger, hopelessness, and feelings of isolation.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD can develop after an individual has experienced exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Symptoms of PTSD include episodes of reliving or re-experiencing the event, avoiding things that remind the individual about the event, feeling on edge, and having negative thoughts.
Reactive Attachment Disorder
Reactive attachment disorder can result when children do not form normal healthy relationships and attachments with adult caregivers during the first few years of childhood. Symptoms of the disorder include being withdrawn from adult caregivers and social and emotional disturbances that result from patterns of insufficient care and neglect.
Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative disorders are psychological disorders that involve a dissociation or interruption in aspects of consciousness, including identity and memory.1 Dissociative disorders include:
Dissociative Amnesia
This disorder involves a temporary loss of memory as a result of dissociation. In many cases, this memory loss, which may last for just a brief period or for many years, is a result of some type of psychological trauma.
Dissociative amnesia is much more than simple forgetfulness. Those who experience this disorder may remember some details about events but may have no recall of other details around a circumscribed period of time.
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Formerly known as multiple personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder involves the presence of two or more different identities or personalities. Each of these personalities has its own way of perceiving and interacting with the environment. People with this disorder experience changes in behavior, memory, perception, emotional response, and consciousness.
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
Depersonalization/derealization disorder is characterized by experiencing a sense of being outside of one's own body (depersonalization) and being disconnected from reality (derealization). People who have this disorder often feel a sense of unreality and an involuntary disconnect from their own memories, feelings, and consciousness.
Somatic Symptom Disorders
Formerly referred to under the heading of somatoform disorders, this category is now known as somatic symptoms and related disorders.7 Somatic symptom disorders are a class of psychological disorders that involve prominent physical symptoms that may not have a diagnosable physical cause.
In contrast to previous ways of conceptualizing these disorders based on the absence of a medical explanation for the physical symptoms, the current diagnosis emphasizes the abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that occur in response to these symptoms. Disorders included in this category:
Somatic Symptom Disorder
Somatic symptom disorder involves a preoccupation with physical symptoms that make it difficult to function normally. This preoccupation with symptoms results in emotional distress and difficulty coping with daily life.
It is important to note that somatic symptoms do not indicate that individuals are faking their physical pain, fatigue, or other symptoms. In this situation, it is not so much the actual physical symptoms that are disrupting the individual's life as it is the extreme reaction and resulting behaviors.
Illness Anxiety Disorder
Illness anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive concern about having an undiagnosed medical condition. Those who experience this psychological disorder worry excessively about body functions and sensations are convinced that they have or will get a serious disease, and are not reassured when medical tests come back negative.
Conversion Disorder
Conversion disorder involves experiencing motor or sensory symptoms that lack a compatible neurological or medical explanation. In many cases, the disorder follows a real physical injury or stressful event which then results in a psychological and emotional response.
Factitious Disorder
Factitious disorder used to have its own category, is now included under the somatic symptom and related disorders category of the DSM-5. A factitious disorder is when an individual intentionally creates, fakes, or exaggerates symptoms of illness. Munchausen syndrome, in which people feign an illness to attract attention, is one severe form of factitious disorder.
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are characterized by obsessive concerns with weight and disruptive eating patterns that negatively impact physical and mental health. Feeding and eating disorders that used to be diagnosed during infancy and childhood have been moved to this category in the DSM-5.⁸ Types of eating disorders include:
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by restricted food consumption that leads to weight loss and a very low body weight. Those who experience this disorder also have a preoccupation and fear of gaining weight as well as a distorted view of their own appearance and behavior.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia nervosa involves binging and then taking extreme steps to compensate for these binges. These compensatory behaviors might include self-induced vomiting, the abuse of laxatives or diuretics, and excessive exercise.
Rumination Disorder
Rumination disorder is marked by regurgitating previously chewed or swallowed food in order to either spit it out or re-swallow it. Most of those affected by this disorder are children or adults who also have a developmental delay or intellectual disability.
Pica
Pica involves craving and consuming non-food substances such as dirt, paint, or soap. The disorder most commonly affects children and those with developmental disabilities.
Binge-Eating Disorder
Binge-eating disorder was first introduced in the DSM-5 and involves episodes of binge eating where the individual consumes an unusually large amount of over the course of a couple hours. Not only do people overeat, however, they also feel as if they have no control over their eating. Binge eating episodes are sometimes triggered by certain emotions such as feeling happy or anxious, by boredom or following stressful events.
Sleep Disorders
Sleep disorders involve an interruption in sleep patterns that lead to distress and affects daytime functioning. Examples of sleep disorders include:
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a condition in which people experience an irrepressible need to sleep. People with narcolepsy may experience a sudden loss of muscle tone.
Insomnia Disorder
Insomnia disorder involves being unable to get enough sleep to feel rested. While all people experience sleeping difficulties and interruptions at some point, insomnia is considered a disorder when it is accompanied by significant distress or impairment over time.
Hypersomnolence
Hypersomnolence disorder is characterized by excessive sleepiness despite an adequate main sleep period. People with this condition may fall asleep during the day at inappropriate times such as at work and school.
Breathing-Related Sleep Disorders
Breathing-related sleep disorders are those that involve breathing anomalies such as sleep apnea that can occur during sleep. These breathing problems can result in brief interruptions in sleep that can lead to other problems including insomnia and daytime sleepiness.
Parasomnias
Parasomnias involve disorders that feature abnormal behaviors that take place during sleep. Such disorders include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, sleep talking, and sleep eating.
Restless Legs Syndrome
Restless legs syndrome is a neurological condition that involves having uncomfortable sensations in the legs and an irresistible urge to move the legs in order to relieve the sensations. People with this condition may feel tugging, creeping, burning, and crawling sensations in their legs resulting in an excessive movement which then interferes with sleep.
Sleep disorders related to other mental disorders as well as sleep disorders related to general medical conditions have been removed from the DSM-5. The latest edition of the DSM also provides more emphasis on coexisting conditions for each of the sleep-wake disorders.
Disruptive Disorders
Impulse-control disorders are those that involve an inability to control emotions and behaviors, resulting in harm to oneself or others.1 These problems with emotional and behavioral regulation are characterized by actions that violate the rights of others such as destroying property or physical aggression and/or those that conflict with societal norms, authority figures, and laws. Types of impulse-control disorders include:
Kleptomania
Kleptomania involves an inability to control the impulse to steal. People who have kleptomania will often steal things that they do not really need or that have no real monetary value. Those with this condition experience escalating tension prior to committing a theft and feel relief and gratification afterwards.
Pyromania
Pyromania involves a fascination with fire that results in acts of fire-starting that endanger the self and others. People who struggle with pyromania purposefully and deliberately have set fires more than one time. They also experience tension and emotional arousal before setting a fire.
Intermittent Explosive Disorder
Intermittent explosive disorder is characterized by brief outbursts of anger and violence that are out of proportion for the situation. People with this disorder may erupt into angry outbursts or violent actions in response to everyday annoyances or disappointments.
Conduct Disorder
Conduct disorder is a condition diagnosed in children and adolescents under the age of 18 who regularly violate social norms and the rights of others. Children with this disorder display aggression toward people and animals, destroy property, steal and deceive, and violate other rules and laws. These behaviors result in significant problems in a child's academic, work, or social functioning.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Oppositional defiant disorder begins prior to the age of 18 and is characterized by defiance, irritability, anger, aggression, and vindictiveness. While all kids behave defiantly sometimes, kids with oppositional defiant disorder refuse to comply with adult requests almost all the time and engage in behaviors to deliberately annoy others.
Depressive Disorders
Depressive disorders are a type of mood disorder that include a number of conditions. They are all characterized by the presence of sad, empty, or irritable moods accompanied by physical and cognitive symptoms. They differ in terms of duration, timing, or presumed etiology.
- Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder: A childhood condition characterized by extreme anger and irritability. Children display frequent and intense outbursts of temper.
- Major depressive disorder: A condition characterized by loss of interest in activities and depressed mood which leads to significant impairments in how a person is able to function.
- Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia): This is a type of ongoing, chronic depression that is characterized by other symptoms of depression that, while often less severe, are longer lasting. Diagnosis requires experiencing depressed mood on most days for a period of at least two years.
- Other or unspecified depressive disorder: This diagnosis is for cases when symptoms do not meet the criteria for the diagnosis of another depressive disorder, but they still create problems with an individual's life and functioning.
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: This condition is a form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) characterized by significant depression, irritability, and anxiety that begins a week or two before menstruation begins. Symptoms usually go away within a few day's following a woman's period.
- Substance/medication-induced depressive disorder: This condition occurs when an individual experiences symptoms of a depressive disorder either while using alcohol or other substances or while going through withdrawal from a substance.
- Depressive disorder due to another medical condition: This condition is diagnosed when a person's medical history suggests that their depressive symptoms may be the result of a medical condition. Medical conditions that may contribute to or cause depression include diabetes, stroke, Parkinson's disease, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain conditions, cancer, infections and HIV/AIDS.
The depressive disorders are all characterized by feelings of sadness and low mood that are persistent and severe enough to affect how a person functions. Common symptoms shared by these disorders include difficulty feeling interested and motivated, lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities, sleep disturbances, and poor concentration.
The diagnostic criteria vary for each specific condition. For major depressive disorder, diagnosis requires an individual to experience five or more of the following symptoms over the same two-week period.
One of these symptoms must include either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyed activities. Symptoms can include:
- Depressed mood for most or all of the day
- Decreased or lack of interest in activities the individual previously enjoyed
- Significant weight loss or gain, or decreased or increased appetite
- Sleep disturbances (insomnia or hypersomnia)
- Feelings of slowed physical activity or restlessness
- Lack of energy or fatigue that lasts most or all of the day
- Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
- Difficulty thinking or concentrating
- Preoccupation with death or thoughts of suicide
If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.
Treatments for depressive disorders often involve a combination of psychotherapy and medications.
Substance-Related Disorders
Substance-related disorders are those that involve the use and abuse of different substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates, and alcohol.1 These disorders may include substance-induced conditions that can result in many associated diagnoses including intoxication, withdrawal, the emergence of psychosis, anxiety, and delirium. Examples of substance-related disorders:
- Alcohol-related disorders involve the consumption of alcohol, the most widely used (and frequently overused) drug in the United States.
- Cannabis-related disorders include symptoms such as using more than originally intended, feeling unable to stop using the drug, and continuing to use despite adverse effects in one's life.
- Inhalant-use disorders involve inhaling fumes from things such as paints or solvents. As with other substance-related disorders, people with this condition experience cravings for the substance and find it difficult to control or stop engaging in the behavior.
- Stimulant use disorder involves the use of stimulants such as meth, amphetamines, and cocaine.
- Tobacco use disorder is characterized by symptoms such as consuming more tobacco than intended, difficulty cutting back or quitting, cravings, and suffering adverse social consequences as a result of tobacco use
Neurocognitive Disorders
Neurocognitive disorders are characterized by acquired deficits in cognitive function.1 These disorders do not include those in which impaired cognition was present at birth or early in life. Types of cognitive disorders include:
Delirium
Delirium is also known as an acute confusional state. This disorder develops over a short period of time—usually a few hours or a few days—and is characterized by disturbances in attention and awareness.
Neurocognitive Disorders
Major and mild neurocognitive disorders have the primary feature of acquired cognitive decline in one or more areas including memory, attention, language, learning, and perception. These cognitive disorders can be due to medical conditions including Alzheimer's disease, HIV infection, Parkinson's disease, substance/medication use, vascular disease, and others.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, and behavior. It is a complex, long-term condition that affects about one percent of people in the United States.
The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria specify that two or more symptoms of schizophrenia must be present for a period of at least one month.
One symptom must be one of the following:
- Delusions: beliefs that conflict with reality
- Hallucinations: seeing or hearing things that aren't really there
- Disorganized speech: words do not follow the rules of language and may be impossible to understand
The second symptom may be one of the following:
- Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior: confused thinking, bizarre behavior or movements
- Negative symptoms: the inability to initiate plans, speak, express emotions, or feel pleasure
Diagnosis also requires significant impairments in social or occupational functioning for a period of at least six months. The onset of schizophrenia is usually in the late teens or early 20s, with men usually showing symptoms earlier than women. Earlier signs of the condition that may occur before diagnosis include poor motivation, difficult relationships, and poor school performance.
The National Institute of Mental Health suggests that multiple factors may play a role in causing schizophrenia including genetics, brain chemistry, environmental factors, and substance use.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders is a category of psychiatric conditions that include:
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Body-dysmorphic disorder
- Hoarding disorder
- Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder)
- Excoriation disorder (skin picking)
- Substance/medication-induced obsessive-compulsive and related disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive and related disorder due to another medical condition
Each condition in this classification has its own set of diagnostic criteria.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
The diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 specify that in order to be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a person must experience obsessions, compulsions, or both.
- Obsessions: defined as recurrent, persistent thoughts, impulses, and urges that lead to distress or anxiety
- Compulsions: repetitive and excessive behaviors that the individual feels that they must perform. These actions are performed to reduce anxiety or to prevent some dreaded outcome from occurring.
Treatments for OCD usually focus on a combination of therapy and medications. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or a form of CBT known as exposure and response prevention (ERP) if commonly used. Antidepressants such as clomipramine or fluoxetine may also be prescribed to manage symptoms.
Personality Disorders
Personality disorders are characterized by an enduring pattern of maladaptive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can cause serious detrimental barriers to relationships and other life areas. Types of personality disorders include:
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a long-standing disregard for rules, social norms, and the rights of others. People with this disorder typically begin displaying symptoms during childhood, have difficulty feeling empathy for others, and lack remorse for their destructive behaviors.
Avoidant Personality Disorder
Avoidant personality disorder involves severe social inhibition and sensitivity to rejection. Such feelings of insecurity lead to significant problems with the individual's daily life and functioning.
Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder is associated with symptoms including emotional instability, unstable and intense interpersonal relationships, unstable self-image, and impulsive behaviors.
Dependent Personality Disorder
Dependent personality disorder involves a chronic pattern of fearing separation and an excessive need to be taken care of. People with this disorder will often engage in behaviors that are designed to produce care-giving actions in others.
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Histrionic personality disorder is associated with patterns of extreme emotionality and attention-seeking behaviors. People with this condition feel uncomfortable in settings where they are not the center of attention, have rapidly changing emotions, and may engage in socially inappropriate behaviors designed to attract attention from others.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder is associated with a lasting pattern of exaggerated self-image, self-centeredness, and low empathy. People with this condition tend to be more interested in themselves than with others.
Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, inflexibility, and mental and interpersonal control. This is a different condition than obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Paranoid personality disorder is characterized by a distrust of others, even family, friends, and romantic partners. People with this disorder perceive others intentions as malevolent, even without any evidence or justification.
Schizoid Personality Disorder
Schizoid personality disorder involves symptoms that include being detached from social relationships. People with this disorder are directed toward their inner lives and are often indifferent to relationships. They generally display a lack of emotional expression and can appear cold and aloof.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Schizotypal personality disorder features eccentricities in speech, behaviors, appearance, and thought. People with this condition may experience odd beliefs or "magical thinking" and difficulty forming relationships.
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- Friedman MJ, Resick PA, Bryant RA, Strain J, Horowitz M, Spiegel D. Classification of trauma and stressor-related disorders in DSM-5. Depress Anxiety. 2011; doi:10.1002/da.20845
- Toussaint A, Hüsing P, Kohlmann S, Löwe B. Detecting DSM-5 somatic symptom disorder: criterion validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) and the Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8) in combination with the Somatic Symptom Disorder - B Criteria Scale (SSD-12). Psychol Med. 2019;:1-10. doi: 10.1017/S003329171900014X
- Attia E, Becker AE, Bryant-waugh R, et al. Feeding and eating disorders in DSM-5. Am J Psychiatry. 2013;170(11):1237-9. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13030326
- Seow LSE, Verma SK, Mok YM, et al. Evaluating DSM-5 Insomnia Disorder and the Treatment of Sleep Problems in a Psychiatric Population. J Clin Sleep Med. 2018;14(2):237-244. doi:10.5664/jcsm.6942
- Schmeck K, Schlüter-müller S, Foelsch PA, Doering S. The role of identity in the DSM-5 classification of personality disorders. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2013;7(1):27. doi:10.1186/1753-2000-7-27
Additional Reading:
- American Psychiatric Association. Highlights of changes from DSM-IV-TR to DSM-5; 2013.
- American Psychiatry Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
- American Psychiatry Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
- Kessler, R.C., Chiu, W.T., Demler, O., & Walters, E.E. Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005; 62(6): 617-27.
- National Institute of Mental Health. Panic Disorder: When Fear Overwhelms. 2016.
- National Institute of Mental Health. Bipolar disorder; 2016.
Adapted from: A List of Psychological Disorders
Social Psychology
Sociocultural theory is an emerging theory in psychology that looks at the important contributions that society makes to individual development. This theory stresses the interaction between developing people and the culture in which they live. Sociocultural theory also suggests that human learning is largely a social process.
Vygotsky and Sociocultural Theory
Sociocultural theory grew from the work of seminal psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who believed that parents, caregivers, peers, and the culture at large were responsible for developing higher-order functions. According to Vygotsky, learning has its basis in interacting with other people. Once this has occurred, the information is then integrated on the individual level.
Vygotsky was a contemporary of other great thinkers such as Freud, Skinner, and Piaget, but his early death at age 37 and the suppression of his work in Stalinist Russia left him in relative obscurity until fairly recently. As his work became more widely published, his ideas have grown increasingly influential in areas including child development, cognitive psychology, and education.
Sociocultural theory focuses not only how adults and peers influence individual learning, but also on how cultural beliefs and attitudes affect how learning takes place.
According to Vygotsky, children are born with basic biological constraints on their minds. Each culture, however, provides "tools of intellectual adaptation." These tools allow children to use their abilities in a way that is adaptive to the culture in which they live. For example, while one culture might emphasize memory strategies such as note-taking, another might use tools like reminders or rote memorization.
Piaget vs. Vygotsky: Key Differences
How does Vygotsky's sociocultural theory differ from Piaget's theory of cognitive development? First, Vygotsky placed a greater emphasis on how social factors influence development. While Piaget's theory stressed how a child's interactions and explorations influenced development, Vygotsky stressed the essential role that social interactions play in cognitive development.1
Another important difference between the two theories is that while Piaget's theory suggests that development is largely universal, Vygotsky asserts that cognitive development can differ between different cultures. The course of development in Western culture, for example, might be different than it is in Eastern culture.
In his text, "Social and Personality Development," David R. Shaffer explains that while Piaget believed that cognitive development was fairly universal, Vygotsky believed that each culture presents unique differences. Because cultures can vary so dramatically, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory suggests that both the course and content of intellectual development are not as universal as Piaget believed.
Support and Criticism of Piaget's Stage Theory
Adapted from:Socio-cultural Theory of Development
Cultural Perspectives
Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how cultural factors influence human behavior. While many aspects of human thought and behavior are universal, cultural differences can lead to often surprising differences in how people think, feel, and act.
Some cultures, for example, might stress individualism and the importance of personal autonomy. Other cultures, however, may place a higher value on collectivism and cooperation among members of the group. Such differences can play a powerful role in many aspects of life.
Cross-cultural psychology is also emerging as an increasingly important topic as researchers strive to understand both the differences and similarities among people of various cultures throughout the world. The International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) was established in 1972, and this branch of psychology has continued to grow and develop since that time.1 Today, increasing numbers of psychologists investigate how behavior differs among various cultures throughout the world.
Why Cross-Cultural Psychology Is Important
After prioritizing European and North American research for many years, Western researchers began to question whether many of the observations and ideas that were once believed to be universal might apply to cultures outside of these areas. Could their findings and assumptions about human psychology be biased based on the sample from which their observations were drawn?
Cross-cultural psychologists work to rectify many of the biases that may exist in the current research2 and determine if the phenomena that appear in European and North American cultures also appear in other parts of the world.
For example, consider how something such as social cognition might vary from an individualist culture such as the United States versus a collectivist culture such as China. Do people in China rely on the same social cues as people in the U.S. do? What cultural differences might influence how people perceive each other? These are just some of the questions that a cross-cultural psychologist might explore.
What Exactly Is Culture?
Culture refers to many characteristics of a group of people, including attitudes, behaviors, customs, and values that are transmitted from one generation to the next. Cultures throughout the world share many similarities but are marked by considerable differences. For example, while people of all cultures experience happiness, how this feeling is expressed varies from one culture to the next.3
The goal of cross-cultural psychologists is to look at both universal behaviors and unique behaviors to identify the ways in which culture impacts our behavior, family life, education, social experiences, and other areas.4
Many cross-cultural psychologists choose to focus on one of two approaches:
- The etic approach studies culture through an "outsider" perspective, applying one "universal" set of concepts and measurements to all cultures.
- The emic approach studies culture using an "insider" perspective, analyzing concepts within the specific context of the observed culture.
Some cross-cultural psychologists take a combined emic-etic approach.5
Meanwhile, some cross-cultural psychologists also study something known as ethnocentrism.
Ethnocentrism refers to a tendency to use your own culture as the standard by which to judge and evaluate other cultures.6 In other words, taking an ethnocentric point of view means using your understanding of your own culture to gauge what is "normal." This can lead to biases and a tendency to view cultural differences as abnormal or in a negative light. It can also make it difficult to see how your own cultural background influences your behaviors.
Cross-cultural psychologists often look at how ethnocentrism influences our behaviors and thoughts, including how we interact with individuals from other cultures.6
Psychologists are also concerned with how ethnocentrism can influence the research process. For example, a study might be criticized for having an ethnocentric bias.
Major Topics in Cross-Cultural Psychology
- Emotions
- Language acquisition
- Child development
- Personality
- Social behavior
- Family and social relationships
How Cross-Cultural Psychology Differs From Other Branches of Psychology
- Many other branches of psychology focus on how parents, friends, and other people impact human behavior, but most do not take into account the powerful impact that culture may have on individual human actions.
- Cross-cultural psychology, on the other hand, is focused on studying human behavior in a way that takes the effects of culture into account.
- According to Walter J. Lonner, writing for Eye on Psi Chi, cross-cultural psychology can be thought of as a type of research methodology rather than an entirely separate field within psychology.4
Who Should Study Cross-Cultural Psychology?
Cross-cultural psychology touches on a wide range of topics, so students with an interest in other psychology topics may choose to also focus on this area of psychology. The following are just a few examples of who may benefit from the study of cross-cultural psychology:
- Students interested in learning how child-rearing practices in different cultures impact development.
- Teachers, educators, and curriculum designers who create multicultural education lessons and materials can benefit from learning more about how cultural differences impact student learning, achievement, and motivation.
- Students interested in social or personality psychology can benefit from learning about how culture impacts social behavior and individual personality.
References:
- International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology. About us.
- Wang Q. Why should we all be cultural psychologists? Lessons from the study of social cognition. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2016;11(5):583-596. doi:10.1177/1745691616645552
- Mathews G. Happiness, culture, and context. International Journal of Wellbeing. 2012;2(4):299-312. doi:10.5502/ijw.v2.i4.2
- Lonner WJ. On the growth and continuing importance of cross-cultural psychology. Eye on Psi Chi. 2000;4(3):22-26. doi:10.24839/1092-0803.Eye4.3.22
- Cheung FM, van de Vijver FJ, Leong FT. Toward a new approach to the study of personality in culture. Am Psychol. 2011;66(7):593-603. doi:10.1037/a0022389
- Keith KD. Visual illusions and ethnocentrism: Exemplars for teaching cross-cultural concepts. Hist Psychol. 2012;15(2):171-176. doi:10.1037/a0027271
Adapted from: The Focus of Cross-Cultural Psychology