Social Learning Theory

"Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action."
-Albert Bandura, Social Learning Theory, 1977

What is Social Learning Theory?

The social learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura has become perhaps the most influential theory of learning and development. While rooted in many of the basic concepts of traditional learning theory, Bandura believed that direct reinforcement could not account for all types of learning.

His theory added a social element, arguing that people can learn new information and behaviors by watching other people. Known as observational learning (or modeling), this type of learning can be used to explain a wide variety of behaviors.

Basic Social Learning Concepts

There are three core concepts at the heart of social learning theory. First is the idea that people can learn through observation. Next is the idea that internal mental states are an essential part of this process. Finally, this theory recognizes that just because something has been learned, it does not mean that it will result in a change in behavior.

Let's explore each of these concepts in greater depth.
1. People can learn through observation.

Observational Learning

In his famous "Bobo doll" studies, Bandura demonstrated that children learn and imitate behaviors they have observed in other people. The children in Bandura’s studies observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. When the children were later allowed to play in a room with the Bobo doll, they began to imitate the aggressive actions they had previously observed.

Bandura identified three basic models of observational learning:
A live model, which involves an actual individual demonstrating or acting out a behavior.
A verbal instructional model, which involves descriptions and explanations of a behavior.
A symbolic model, which involves real or fictional characters displaying behaviors in books, films, television programs, or online media.
2. Mental states are important to learning.

Intrinsic Reinforcement

Bandura noted that external, environmental reinforcement was not the only factor to influence learning and behavior. He described intrinsic reinforcement as a form of internal reward, such as pride, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment. This emphasis on internal thoughts and cognitions helps connect learning theories to cognitive developmental theories. While many textbooks place social learning theory with behavioral theories, Bandura himself describes his approach as a 'social cognitive theory.'
3. Learning does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior.

While behaviorists believed that learning led to a permanent change in behavior, observational learning demonstrates that people can learn new information without demonstrating new behaviors.

The Modeling Process

Not all observed behaviors are effectively learned. Factors involving both the model and the learner can play a role in whether social learning is successful. Certain requirements and steps must also be followed. The following steps are involved in the observational learning and modeling process:
Attention:
In order to learn, you need to be paying attention. Anything that detracts your attention is going to have a negative effect on observational learning. If the model interesting or there is a novel aspect to the situation, you are far more likely to dedicate your full attention to learning.

Retention:
The ability to store information is also an important part of the learning process. Retention can be affected by a number of factors, but the ability to pull up information later and act on it is vital to observational learning.

Reproduction:
Once you have paid attention to the model and retained the information, it is time to actually perform the behavior you observed. Further practice of the learned behavior leads to improvement and skill advancement.

Motivation:
Finally, in order for observational learning to be successful, you have to be motivated to imitate the behavior that has been modeled. Reinforcement and punishment play an important role in motivation. While experiencing these motivators can be highly effective, so can observing other experience some type of reinforcement or punishment. For example, if you see another student rewarded with extra credit for being to class on time, you might start to show up a few minutes early each day.

Final Thoughts

In addition to influencing other psychologists, Bandura's social learning theory has had important implication in the field of eduction. Today, both teachers and parents recognize the importance of modeling appropriate behaviors. Other classroom strategies such as encouraging children and building self-efficacy are also rooted in social learning theory.

http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm

Theories of Emotion

Emotions exert and incredibly powerful force on human behavior. Strong emotions can cause you to take actions you might not normally perform, or avoid situations that you generally enjoy. So what exactly are emotions? What causes these feelings? Learn more about some of the major theories of emotion that have been proposed by researchers, philosophers and psychologists.

What Is Emotion?

In psychology, emotion is often defined as a complex state of feeling that results in physical and psychological changes that influence thought and behavior. Emotionality is associated with a range of psychological phenomena including temperament, personality, mood and motivation. According to author David G. Meyers, human emotion involves "...physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience."

Theories of Emotion

The major theories of motivation can be grouped into three main categories: physiological, neurological and cognitive. Physiological theories suggest that responses within the body are responsible for emotions. Neurological theories propose that activity within the brain leads to emotional responses. Finally, cognitive theories argue that thoughts and other mental activity play an essential role in the formation of emotions.

The James-Lange Theory of Emotion

The James-Lange theory is one of the best-known examples of a physiological theory of emotion. Independently proposed by psychologist William James and physiologist Carl Lange, the James-Lange theory of emotion suggests that emotions occur as a result of physiological reactions to events.

According to this theory, you see an external stimulus that leads to a physiological reaction. Your emotional reaction is dependent upon how you interpret those physical reactions. For example, suppose you are walking in the woods and you see a grizzly bear. You begin to tremble and your heart begins to race. The James-Lange theory proposes that you will interpret your physical reactions and conclude that you are frightened ("I am trembling, therefore I am afraid").

The Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

Another well-know physiological theory is the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion. This theory states that we feel emotions and experience physiological reactions such as sweating, trembling and muscle tension simultaneously. More specifically, it is suggested that emotions result when the thalamus sends a message to the brain in response to a stimulus, resulting in a physiological reaction.

Schachter-Singer Theory

Also known as the two-factor theory of emotion, the Schachter-Singer Theory is an example of a cognitive theory of emotion. This theory suggests that the physiological arousal occurs first, and then the individual must identify the reason behind this arousal in order to experience and label it as an emotion.

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologytopics/a/theories-of-emotion.htm

Attitude

What Is an Attitude?

Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. This can include evaluations of people, issues, objects or events. Such evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain at times. For example, you might have mixed feelings about a particular person or issue.

Researchers also suggest that there are several different components that make up attitudes.

An Emotional Component: How the object, person, issue or event makes you feel.A Cognitive Component: Your thoughts and beliefs about the subject.A Behavioral Component: How the attitude influences your behavior.

Attitudes can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and that clearly influence our behaviors and beliefs. Implicit attitudes are unconscious, but still have an effect on our beliefs and behaviors.

How Do Attitudes Form?

Attitudes form directly as a result of experience. They may emerge due to direct personal experience, or they may result from observation. Social roles and social norms can have a strong influence on attitudes. Social roles relate to how people are expected to behave in a particular role or context. Social norms involve society's rules for what behaviors are considered appropriate.

Attitudes can be learned in a variety of ways. Consider how advertisers use classical conditioning to influence your attitude toward a particular product. In a television commercial, you see young, beautiful people having fun in on a tropical beach while enjoying a sport drink. This attractive and appealing imagery causes you to develop a positive association with this particular beverage.

Operant conditioning can also be used to influence how attitudes develop. Imagine a young man who has just started smoking. Whenever he lights up a cigarette, people complain, chastise him and ask him to leave their vicinity. This negative feedback from those around him eventually causes him to develop an unfavorable opinion of smoking and he decides to give up the habit.

Finally, people also learn attitudes by observing the people around them. When someone you admire greatly espouses a particular attitude, you are more likely to develop the same beliefs. For example, children spend a great deal of time observing the attitudes of their parents and usually begin to demonstrate similar outlooks.

How Do Attitudes Influence Behavior?

We tend to assume that people behave in accordance with their attitudes. However, social psychologists have found that attitudes and actual behavior are not always perfectly aligned. After all, plenty of people support a particular candidate or political party and yet fail to go out and vote.

Researchers have discovered that people are more likely to behave according to their attitudes under certain conditions:
When your attitudes are the result of personal experience.
When you are an expert in the subject.
When you expect a favorable outcome.
When the attitudes are repeatedly expressed.
When you stand to win or lose something due to the issue.

In some cases, people may actually alter their attitudes in order to better align them with their behavior. Cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon in which a person experiences psychological distress due to conflicting thoughts or beliefs. In order to reduce this tension, people may change their attitudes to reflect their other beliefs or actual behaviors.

Imagine the following situation: You've always placed a high value on financial security, but you start dating someone who is very financially unstable. In order to reduce the tension caused by the conflicting beliefs and behavior, you have two options. You can end the relationship and seek out a partner who is more financially secure, or you can de-emphasize the importance of fiscal stability. In order to minimize the dissonance between your conflicting attitude and behavior, you either have to change the attitude or change your actions.

Attitude Change

While attitudes can have a powerful effect on behavior, they are not set in stone. The same influences that lead to attitude formation can also create attitude change.

Learning Theory of Attitude Change: Classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning can be used to bring about attitude change. Classical conditioning can be used to create positive emotional reactions to an object, person or event by associating positive feelings with the target object. Operant conditioning can be used to strengthen desirable attitudes and weaken undesirable ones. People can also change their attitudes after observing the behavior of others.

Elaboration Likelihood Theory of Attitude Change: This theory of persuasion suggests that people can alter their attitudes in two ways. First, they can be motivated to listen and think about the message, thus leading to an attitude shift. Or, they might be influenced by characteristics of the speaker, leading to a temporary or surface shift in attitude. Messages that are thought-provoking and that appeal to logic are more likely to lead to permanent changes in attitudes.

Dissonance Theory of Attitude Change: As mentioned earlier, people can also change their attitudes when they have conflicting beliefs about a topic. In order to reduce the tension created by these incompatible beliefs, people often shift their attitudes.

http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/a/attitudes.htm

Erich Fromm

"Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is. The most important product of his effort is his own personality." - Erich Fromm, Man for Himself, 1947

Best Known For:
His concept of freedom as a fundamental part of human nature
The social unconscious
Humanism
Social analysis
Personality orientations
Theory of human needs
Birth and Death:
Erich Fromm was born on March 23, 1900 in Frankfurt, Germany.
He died on March 18, 1980 in Switzerland.

Early Life:
Erich Fromm was an only child born to Orthodox Jewish parents in Frankfurt, Germany. He would later describe his own childhood as "highly neurotic." At the age of 14, Fromm was very influenced by the start of World War I and developed a strong interest in the behavior of groups. He began looking for answers to his questions in the writings of thinkers including Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx.
He went on to study sociology at the University of Heidelberg, earning his doctorate in 1922 under the supervision of Alfred Weber. In 1924, he began studying psychoanalysis at the University of Frankfurt before moving to the Berlin Institute of Psychoanalysis. In 1926, he married Freida Reichmann, a women ten years his senior who had once been Fromm's own psychoanalyst. The marriage dissolved after four years.

Career:
Throughout his life, Fromm maintained a busy career that included numerous teaching positions in addition to publishing a number of books and running his own clinical practice. Fromm helped found the Frankfurt Psychoanalytic Institute, where he lectured from 1929 to 1932. After the Nazi's rose to power, the Institute was moved to Geneva, Switzerland and later to the United States at Columbia University.
After moving to the United States, Fromm taught at a number of schools including the New School for Social Research, Columbia and Yale. His criticisms of Sigmund Freud's theories began to put him at odds with other psychoanalysts, and in 1944 the New York Psychoanalytic Institute suspended him from supervising students for this reason.

Fromm remarried in 1944, became a U.S. citizen and moved to Mexico in hopes of alleviating his second wife's illness. He began teaching at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1949 and continued to work there until he retired in 1965. After his wife's death in 1952, Fromm founded the Mexican Institute of Psychoanalysis and continued to serve as its director until 1976. He remarried in 1953 and continued to teach in Mexico while also teaching at other schools including Michigan State University and New York State University for part of each year.

Fromm moved from Mexico City to Muralto, Switzerland in 1974 and remained there until his death in 1980.

Contributions to Psychology:
Today, Erich Fromm is widely regarded as one of the most important psychoanalysts of the 20th century. While Freud had an early influence on him, Fromm later became part of a group known as the neo-Freudians which included Karen Horney and Carl Jung. Fromm was critical of many of Freud's ideas including the Oedipus complex, the life and death instincts and the libido theory. Fromm believed that society and culture also played a significant role in individual human development.

Fromm also had a major influence on humanistic psychology. Life, Fromm believed, was a contradiction, since humans are both part of nature and separate from it. From this conflict arises basic existential needs including relatedness, creativity, rootedness, identity and a frame of orientation.

Of his own work, Fromm would later explain, "I wanted to understand the laws that govern the life of the individual man, and the laws of society-that is, of men in their social existence. I tried to see the lasting truth in Freud's concepts as against those assumptions which were in need of revision. I tried to do the same with Marx's theory, and finally I tried to arrive at a synthesis which followed from the understanding and the criticism of both thinkers."

Selected Publications
Escape from Freedom, 1941
Man for himself, 1947
Psychoanalysis and Religion, 1950
The Sane Society, 1955
The Art of Loving, 1956
The Heart of Man, 1964
The Nature of Man, 1968
The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, 1979
The Art of Being, 1993
On Being Human, 1997

http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesal/p/erich-fromm.htm

Memory

Have you ever wondered how you manage to remember information for a test? The ability to create new memories, store them for periods of time and recall them when they are needed allows us to learn and interact with the world around us. The study of human memory has been a subject of science and philosophy for thousands of years and has become one of the major topics of interest within cognitive psychology. But what exactly is memory? How are memories formed? The following overview offers a brief look at what memory is, how it works and how it is organized.

What is Memory?
Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain and later retrieve information. There are three major processes involved in memory: encoding, storage and retrieval.

In order to form new memories, information must be changed into a usable form, which occurs through the process known as encoding. Once information has been successfully encoded, it must be stored in memory for later use. Much of this stored memory lies outside of our awareness most of the time, except when we actually need to use it. The retrieval process allows us to bring stored memories into conscious awareness.



The Stage Model of Memory
While several different models of memory have been proposed, the stage model of memory is often used to explain the basic structure and function of memory. Initially proposed in 1968 by Atkinson and Shiffrin, this theory outlines three separate stages of memory: sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory
Sensory memory is the earliest stage of memory. During this stage, sensory information from the environment is stored for a very brief period of time, generally for no longer than a half-second for visual information and 3 or 4 seconds for auditory information. We attend to only certain aspects of this sensory memory, allowing some of this information to pass into the next stage - short-term memory.

Short-Term Memory
Short-term memory, also known as active memory, is the information we are currently aware of or thinking about. In Freudian psychology, this memory would be referred to as the conscious mind. Paying attention to sensory memories generates the information in short-term memory. Most of the information stored in active memory will be kept for approximately 20 to 30 seconds. While many of our short-term memories are quickly forgotten, attending to this information allows it to continue on the next stage - long-term memory.

Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory refers to the continuing storage of information. In Freudian psychology, long-term memory would be call the preconscious and unconscious. This information is largely outside of our awareness, but can be called into working memory to be used when needed. Some of this information is fairly easy to recall, while other memories are much more difficult to access.

The Organization of Memory
The ability to access and retrieve information from long-term memory allows us to actually use these memories to make decisions, interact with others and solve problems. But how is information organized in memory? The specific way information is organized in long-term memory is not well understood, but researchers do know that these memories are arranged in groups.

Clustering is used to organize related information into groups. Information that is categorized becomes easier to remember and recall. For example, consider the following group of words:
Desk, apple, bookshelf, red, plum, table, green, pineapple, purple, chair, peach, yellow

Spend a few seconds reading them, then look away and try to recall and list these words. How did you group the words when you listed them? Most people will list using three different categories: color, furniture and fruit.

One way of thinking about memory organization is known as the semantic network model. This model suggests that certain triggers activate associated memories. A memory of a specific place might activate memories about related things that have occurred in that location. For example, thinking about a particular campus building might trigger memories of attending classes, studying and socializing with peers.

http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/memory.htm

The Origins of Stress

The origins of stress may vary with the individual, but in general, stress arises from frustration, life changes, conflict, lack of control, and uncertainty.

Frustration. Frustration occurs when an individual is blocked or thwarted, whether by personal or environmental factors, in an attempt to reach a goal. Personal frustration and accompanying stress could result, for example, if an individual who lacks adequate vocal skills repeatedly tries out for (perhaps because of parental pressure) but fails to be accepted by a glee club. If such attempts are too intense or too prolonged, the stress can provoke bodily symptoms and illness. Environmental frustration and accompanying stress could result, for example, if an individual auditioning for a glee club has to deal with unfamiliar music, a poorly prepared accompanist, loud noises, or some other environmental annoyance.

Frustration can motivate aggression. Experiment subjects (including humans, pigeons, monkeys, and rats) show an inclination to attack if they do not receive expected rewards, although aggression is less likely if other responses to frustration have been learned. Experimentally, it has also been shown that increased response vigor may occur in response to frustrating circumstances. If increased vigor does not produce desired results, a subject may then react with escape or avoidance responses. If these responses are not possible, a subject may enter, after prolonged frustration, into a psychological state of depression.

Life changes. Life changes, both those perceived as “good” (such as marriage or the birth of a baby) or as “bad” (such as the death of a parent, a tragic accident, or being fired) can produce stress and stress-related responses. Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe in 1967 developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, which assigns numerical values to 43 life events ranging from “death of spouse” (100 points) to “minor violations of the law” (11 points). A subject checks the events that have occurred within a particular period of time, and the point total provides an index of life-change stress. Although some research supports the efficacy of the scale, more recent research has indicated that other factors may moderate the impact of the stressful event and that these situations may be assessed differently by different individuals.

Conflict. Conflict occurs when two incompatible goals or possible behavioral responses are simultaneously present. When conflicts are unresolved, they cause stress. Neal Miller, in a detailed analysis of the types of conflicts and strategies for resolving them, identified approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, and approach-avoidance conflicts.

An approach-approach conflict occurs when an individual must choose between two equally desirable goals, such as either chocolate cake or apple pie for dessert. These conflicts are usually the easiest to resolve.

An avoidance-avoidance conflict occurs when an individual must choose between two equally undesirable goals or activities. A child who is dared to climb a flagpole and is afraid of being called a coward if the dare is refused but is also afraid of falling if the climb is attempted is faced with an avoidance-avoidance conflict. 

An approach-avoidance conflict is the result of having concomitant but incompatible goals. Such would be the case when a student wants to do well on an exam but also wants to spend the evening watching television instead of studying. 

The three types of conflicts can be depicted graphically as gradients of response strengths for approach and avoidance. Typically, the strength of the tendency to avoid or approach increases as one nears the goal. Where the gradients intersect, conflict occurs. Experimentally, response-strength gradients have been constructed by measuring how hard rats pull, at various distances from a goal, to approach the goal or to retreat from it.

Approach-avoidance conflicts  lead to indecisiveness. Experimentally, it has been shown that avoidance responses become more dominant the closer one comes to a goal that has both positive and negative aspects, causing one to retreat from the goal to a point at which strength of the approach and avoidance responses are in balance (causing the indecisiveness). Retreat may also proceed far enough that approach may once again be attempted. A method for resolving an approach-avoidance conflict is to change the strength of one of the conflicting motives so that they are not equal (that is, so that the strength of the tendency to approach is stronger).

Lack of control and uncertainty. Studies have demonstrated that elderly people in nursing homes who exert some control over their placement in such facilities and over their daily activities have less stress and better health. Animal studies have shown that uncertainty of the occurrence of an aversive event increases its aversiveness.

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/The-Origins-of-Stress.topicArticleId-25438,articleId-25372.html

Classifying Psychological Disorders

Classification of psychological disorders requires that symptoms be identified; sets of symptoms form a syndrome. Several of the most prevalent of the DSM-IV's 16 categories of disorders follow.

Anxiety disorders. Anxiety is a diffuse, extremely unpleasant feeling of vulnerability, apprehension, and fear. Symptoms of anxiety disorders include motor tension (trembling, jumpiness, inability to relax), hyperactivity (racing heart, dizziness, perspiration), and apprehension (disturbing thoughts). The following five (of the thirteen in the DSM-IV) types of anxiety disorders are well known.

A generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a condition characterized by excessive anxiety and worrying, occurring more days than not for a period of at least six months. Anxiety is not triggered by any particular object or event but seems to be what Freud called free-floating anxiety, anxiety that is general and pervasive. 

A phobic disorder is marked by a continual, irrational fear of a specific situation or object such as snakes, heights, being closed in a small place, or leaving the home environment. Each phobia has a different name depending on the thing feared, such as acrophobia, a fear of high places; agoraphobia, a fear of open spaces; and social phobia, a fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur. 

A panic disorder is characterized by a chronic state of tension that can erupt in sudden episodes of intense panic or dread that last several minutes (or hours) and may include a variety of symptoms such as chest pains, trembling, and dizziness.

An obsessive-compulsive disorder is an extreme preoccupation with certain thoughts and compulsive performance of particular behaviors. An obsession is the unsolicited reoccurrence of disturbing thoughts; a compulsion is a repetitive behavior (such as checking door locks) or mental activity (counting, praying, etc.) that one feels compelled to do, even against one's will. An example of the disorder is the compulsion to wash one's hands repeatedly, often to the extent of making them sore.

A post-traumatic stress disorder is characterized by the reexperiencing of a traumatic event, symptoms of increased arousal, avoidance of reminders of the original trauma, and diminished interest in daily activities. Many war veterans retain vivid memories of (flashbacks) and nightmares about traumatic events experienced during battle.

While the causes of anxiety disorders are not completely understood, it is generally believed that some of the disorders (such as specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and panic disorders) may have a genetic basis. One cause may be the inadequate action of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Certain drugs, such as Valium and Librium, which increase the sensitivity of the GABA receptors, help reduce anxiety. 

Somatoform disorders. A somatoform disorder is characterized by one or more symptoms of a physical dysfunction but for which there is no identifiable organic cause. Following are two examples (from seven in the DSM-IV).

A conversion disorder is a condition manifested by a physical dysfunction (blindness, deafness, paralysis, numbness, etc.) that has no underlying organic basis. This condition (formerly called hysteria) allows escape from an anxiety-provoking activity. For example, an athlete who dreads competing in an event, might develop a numb arm and effectively avoid the event. 

Hypochondriasis is characterized by a continuing belief that one has one or more serious illnesses although no medical evidence supports the belief. An occasional headache, for example, may be interpreted by a hypochondriac as a brain tumor even though medical tests do not support this interpretation. 

Dissociative disorders. In dissociative disorders, a part of an individual's personality becomes separate (dissociated) from other parts, producing a lack of integration of identity, memory, or consciousness. The DSM-IV lists five forms; the three most common follow.

In dissociative amnesia, an individual develops a sudden inability to recall important personal information (such as her or his name); the disorder often follows psychological trauma. The memory loss cannot be attributed to physical trauma, a particular medical condition, or direct effects of drugs. Memory recall may occur suddenly or gradually.

People experiencing a dissociative fugue suddenly and unexpectedly travel away from their home or customary place of activities and are unable to recall some or all of their past. They are confused about their personal identity, may not remember who they are, and sometimes assume a new identity. Recovery may be rapid.

A dissociative identity disorder (formerly, multiple personality disorder) is characterized by the assuming of two or more distinct, integrated personalities, each of which manifests itself at times. The behaviors are accompanied by an inability, too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness, to recall important personal information. One personality may have no memory of the other(s). Often these disorders stem from childhood trauma such as sexual abuse.

Mood disorders. Mood disorders are characterized primarily by a disturbance in mood. (Remember, however, that all psychological disorders affect one's mood, or affect.) Two mood disorders (from four in the DSM-IV) are described below in more detail. 

In major depressive disorder, a person, for no apparent reason, experiences at least two or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities. To be classified as a major depressive disorder, the episode must be accompanied by clinically significant distress and impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of daily living.

In a bipolar disorder, a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. Mania is manifested by hyperactivity and wild excitement. A person suffering from this disorder may lose control and act very inappropriately and sometimes destructively. (Subcategories of bipolar disorders are classified depending on the ratios of manic and depressive episodes.) 

The causes of mood disorders have been the subject of much research. It is known that genetic factors are involved. (If one identical twin is diagnosed as having a major mood disorder, the chances are one in two that the other twin will also suffer such a disorder.) Biochemical factors also play a role. Norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter, is present in excessive amounts during mania and at low levels during depression. Serotonin, another neurotransmitter, is at low levels during depression. Drugs that regulate the level of these neuro-transmitters (tricyclic antidepressants; monoamine oxidase, MAO, inhibitors; and selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs) are used for treatment of the depressions. Research has also shown that cognitive factors, such as self-defeating reactions to events, contribute to the development of depression. An individual who accepts sole blame for all of life's happenings is more likely to develop depression.

Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Schizophrenic disorders are severe disorders characterized by distorted thoughts and perceptions, atypical communication, inappropriate emotion, abnormal motor behavior, and social withdrawal. The slow-developing schizophrenia known as chronic or process schizophrenia has a poor prognosis for recovery; when a formerly well-adjusted individual develops schizophrenia (known as reactive or acute schizophrenia), there is a better chance of recovery. The five major types of schizophrenia are as follows.

Paranoid schizophrenia is characterized by prominent delusions or auditory hallucinations in the context of relative preservation of usual cognitive functioning and affect. (Examples are delusions of persecution, grandeur, or both.) Paranoid schizophrenics trust no one and are constantly on guard because they are convinced that others are plotting against them. They may seek retaliation against imagined enemies. 

Catatonic schizophrenia is evidenced by excessive, sometimes violent motor activity or by a mute, unresponsive, stuporous condition in which a person may retain the same posture for hours. A person may remain in one state for a long period or alternate between violent activity and remaining stiff and immobile, totally unresponsive to the outside world. 

Disorganized (hebephrenic) schizophrenia is characterized by bizarre symptoms, including extreme delusions, hallucinations, and inappropriate patterns of speech, mood, and movement. Inappropriate moods may be manifested by laughing or crying at unsuitable times. 

Undifferentiated schizophrenia is manifested by delusions, hallucinations, incoherent speech, and disorganized behavior. The conglomerate of symptoms fit the criteria of more than one type or of no clear type of schizophrenia. 

Residual schizophrenia is a condition in which at least one episode of schizophrenia has occurred although there are currently no prominent psychotic symptoms (for example, delusions or hallucinations). Certain negative symptoms, those indicating a lack, such as flat affect, poverty of speech, and avolition (lack of using the will, or choosing), continue, however, as do two or more attenuated positive symptoms (eccentric behavior, odd beliefs, and so forth). The course of this type of schizophrenia may be time limited and may represent a transitional phase between remission and a full-blown psychotic episode. 

The causes of schizophrenia are complex and still not completely understood. It is known that genetic factors are involved because schizophrenia is found repeatedly in certain families; adult children of schizophrenic parents are more likely to develop schizophrenia than are children of nonschizophrenic parents. However, inheritance does not completely explain the etiology (cause) of schizophrenia (only 46% of identical twins of schizophrenic twins develop the disorder), and currently, a biochemical factor is also deemed important. Autopsies on some schizophrenics have found an excess of dopamine receptors, and drugs that block the activity of that neurotransmitter help control schizophrenic symptoms. In addition, misuse of amphetamines, which are similar to dopamine and which may increase the level of dopamine in the brain, produces many symptoms similar to those found in schizophrenia. In the brain structures of schizophrenics, other variations from the norm also occur, such as a smaller thalamus and enlarged ventricles. The complete etiology of schizophrenia remains a focus of research in psychopathology.

Personality disorders. Personality disorders are longstanding, maladaptive, and inflexible ways of relating to others, and the behaviors or symptoms characteristic of them usually begin in childhood or adolescence. Those with personality disorders may function adequately and be regarded simply as eccentric, but when they are faced with an extremely stressful situation, they can respond only rigidly and narrowly. The eleven types of personality disorders are classified in three groups, or clusters, based on their similarities. The disorders often emerge during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood and continue into adult life.

Cluster A—disorders of odd/eccentric reactions

A paranoid personality disorder is manifested by a pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others and a tendency to interpret the actions of others as malevolent or threatening.

A schizoid personality disorder is characterized by a tendency to be indifferent to social relationships and by restricted expression of emotions in interpersonal settings. 

Those with a schizotypal personality disorder display eccentric ways of thinking, perceiving, communicating, and behaving and are acutely uncomfortable in close relationships. 

Cluster B—disorders of dramatic, emotional, or erratic reactions

Individuals with an antisocial personality disorder manifest a pervasive tendency to disregard and to violate the rights of others.

A borderline personality disorder is characterized by instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions as well as by marked impulsivity.

Those with a histrionic personality disorder exhibit pervasive and excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior.

Manifestations of a narcissistic personality disorder include a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.

Cluster C—disorders involving anxiety and fearfulness

Those with an avoidant personality disorder exhibit, in a variety of contexts, a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluations.

Those with a dependent personality disorder allow others to make decisions and display a need to be taken care of that leads to submissive and clinging behavior accompanied by fears of separation.

An obsessive-compulsive personality disorder involves, in many contexts, a tendency toward perfectionism, a rigid preoccupation with orderliness, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency.

A disorder termed a personality disorder not otherwise specified is one that does not meet the criteria for a specific personality disorder but in which the combination of symptoms causes clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning.

Delirium, dementia, amnestic, and other cognitive disorders. Cognitive disorders involve a clinically significant deficit in cognition or memory that represents a marked change from a previous level of functioning. The disorders are usually further categorized based on their presumed etiology. 

A delirium is characterized by a disturbance in consciousness and a change in cognition that develop over a short time. Some examples are delirium due to a medical condition, and substance-induced delirium (such as caused by a drug of abuse or a toxin). Drugs that are listed as causing the condition include alcohol, amphetamines, caffeine, cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, marijuana, nicotine, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), sedatives, and other unspecified chemicals. Substance withdrawal may also produce a delirium.

A dementia is characterized by multiple cognitive deficits that include memory impairment. Examples are dementia of Alzheimer's type, vascular dementia, and dementia due to HIV disease.

An amnestic disorder is shown by multiple cognitive deficits that include memory impairment, but the disorder is not connected with states of delerium or dementia. A major problem is the transfer of information from short term to long term memory. Amnestic disorders result from a physical cause such as a traumatic event (for example, a head injury incurred in an accident, during surgery, or from an electric shock), drug abuse, or the use of medications.

A fourth category, cognitive disorder not otherwise specified, is used to delineate a cognitive dysfunction presumed to be due to a general medical condition or substance use but that does not meet the other diagnostic criteria.

Eating disorders. Eating disorders are characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior. 

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a refusal to maintain a minimally normal weight, intense fear of gaining weight, and distortion in the perception of the shape or size of one's body. Postmenarcheal females with this condition are often amenorrheic (having missed three consecutive menstrual cycles). Muscular weakness and osteoporosis (bone loss) may also occur.

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Classifying-Psychological-Disorders.topicArticleId-25438,articleId-25396.html

What Does a Psychologist Do?

A psychologist is someone who studies the workings of the human mind, looking at things like cognition, behavior, and affect. There are a number of specialties in this profession, ranging from psychotherapists who offer mental health services to clients to clinical psychologists who perform laboratory research in an attempt to learn more about the mind. A sampling of subfields in psychology includes evolutionary, mathematical, abnormal, social, cognitive, transpersonal, and neuro psychology. Employment prospects in this field are generally good, and sometimes quite lucrative; a psychologist who specializes in something like marketing, for example, can command high fees for his or her services.

Psychology is a branch of medicine which investigates the depths and complexities of the mind. Sometimes this is undertaken with the intention of helping people in therapy, or in an attempt to learn more about humans in general. Study of human populations and their activities in varying situations is an important aspect of psychology, and psychology is often used to explain social phenomena. A psychologist can also cultivate skills which are intended to be profitable, by studying things like human responses to marketing and persuasion.

Many people think of a psychologist as someone in a dusty office offering therapeutic services to clients. This is certainly one facet of this medical discipline. Clinical psychologists offer a variety of different types of therapy, depending on what school of psychology they follow, ranging from prolonged analytical treatment to hypnotherapy. Unlike a psychiatrist, however, a psychologist cannot offer prescription medications as part of treatment.

A psychologist may also choose to specialize in specific types of patients. Some people, for example, like to work with children, so they focus on psychological care and assessments for kids. Others might want to work with trauma victims, while a more general psychologist might take a wide range of clients. If you are looking for a psychologist to provide therapy, ask around for recommendations and talk to psychologists about their approach to treatment to find a good match.

A psychologist may also simply study people to learn more about them, or study animals in an attempt to learn more about basic behavior mechanisms. This type of psychology is also used as a teaching tool, to educate students who are interested in learning more about the mind. Research psychologists can be found in labs and out in the field performing their research; generally, the approval of an ethics committee is required before a psychologist can perform a study on humans.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-psychologist-do.htm

Methods of Study in Psychology

Methods of Data Gathering in Psychology

1.Experiment

The experiment is the most useful of all scientific methods because most of the basic facts in psychology are supplied by the results of experimental studies. This method is generally done in a laboratory setting involving many controlled variables.

Socio-experiment -> mostly used studies related to social Psychology. This is an experiment that is conducted in the natural environment instead of a laboratory

2.Survey

This is the most common method. There are two tools a researcher can use in a survey method – questionnaire and interview.

The questionnaire is best used when study requires many respondents. This saves you more time.

The interview is used when the no. of respondents is just small. Interview is also used when respondents cannot read or write.

3.Case Histories and Clinical Studies

This method is used when an intensive investigation about a certain case is needed. In this method, the researcher has to dig into all sorts of records about the subject including hospital, educational, family background and all other necessary data.

4.Observation

Two kinds of Observation method

+Participant Observation

The researcher has to join the group under study in order to gather deeper and more intensive data.

+Non-Participant Observation / Naturalistic Observation

The researcher is just a plain observer. Oftentimes, the subjects do not know that they are under study.

5. Test Method

This method uses Psychological Test as its instrument.

Examples of Psychological Test are:

- IQ Test

-Problem Checklist

-Aptitude Test

-Free Association Technique -> used to study patients with mental problems

-Study Habit Checklist

ttp://generalpsychology.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/methods-of-data-gathering-in-psychology/