Psychology Module



Science IV: Psychology – Optional Unit

Module Start Date: ________________________________

Anticipated finish Date:_______________Actual finish Date:________________

(Goal: finish this module in 1 month or less)

|Area |To do |Date Completed |Marks | Value |

|Assignments |Assignment 1 – What is Learning? & What is my Learning Style? | | | |

| | | |/38 |/15 |

| |Assignment 2 – LD & ADHD | | | |

| | | |/15 |/10 |

| |Assignment 3 – The Brain | | | |

| | | |/45 |/15 |

| |Assignment 4 – Developmental Theories | | | |

| | | |/20 |/10 |

| |Assignment 5 – Psychological Disorders | | | |

| | | |/15 |/15 |

| |Assignment 6 – Application | | | |

| | | |/15 |/15 |

|Test | | | | |

| | | |/20 |/20 |

|MODULE MARK | |

Table of Contents

Introduction 2

SECTION 1 – THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING 3

What is learning? 3

Learning Styles 6

Memory 7

Learning Disabilities 8

Section 2: The Brain 10

Brain Physiology 10

Sensation and Perception 13

Section 3 - Developmental Psychology 17

Sigmund Freud 17

Jean Piaget 19

Section 4 – Other Branches of Psychology 20

Section 5 – The Psychology of Mental Health and Illness 22

Psychological Disorders 22

Common Disorders 23

What is the different between mental health and mental illness? 28

Introduction

In this unit you will be introduced to the psychology of learning as well as some introductory topics in mental health. Psychology is an extremely diverse topic. It is the scientific study of both external observable behaviour and internal thought. Although there are many exciting and interesting areas of psychology, you will only focus on some topics. It is important to have an understanding of developmental, normal, and abnormal psychology since it helps us understand personal interactions in our society.

You will have six assignments and a test to complete during the module. The resource material needed to do the assignments is provided both in this module, through supplementary research, and through a series of mini lessons and class activities. It is YOUR responsibility to know when the class lessons and activities are taking place and to ensure your attendance.

SECTION 1 – THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING

What is learning?

Formally learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience. (Coon, Mitterer, Brown, Malick, McKenzie, 2010) Learning can be influenced by many things. For example, motivation, alertness, malnutrition, stress, drug use, and health can all influence our ability (in positive and or negative ways) to take in and understand new material. Think back to the last time you tried to focus in school after a night of insomnia or while you were stressed about your sick child. Do you recall learning any new information?

Types of learning

Conditioning is a simple form of learning where associations are made between stimuli (something that has the ability to cause our bodies to react) and response. Conditioning relates to events in the environment and not the thought processes inside the brain. Since conditioning is concerned with "stimulus-response" associations and the resulting behaviour, it is more commonly referred to as "behaviourism". There are two main kinds of conditioning – classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Ivan Pavlov was most concerned with classical conditioning where a previously neutral stimulus (i.e. a stimulus which does not automatically illicit a response) causes an involuntary response (a reaction over which we have no control). For example, when Pavlov first rang a bell, his dog did not respond, showing that the sound of a ringing bell is a neutral stimulus. The next time the bell was rung, food was brought out. The food made the dog salivate. The food in this case, is an unconditional stimulus. The reaction (the salivation) was an involuntary response. The dog did not learn or be conditioned to react this way to the food. The dog automatically salivated when the food was present. Eventually, after repeating this many times (ringing a bell just before bringing food to the dog), the dog was conditioned to expect food when the bell was rung; therefore, just ringing the bell would make the dog salivate. In this example of classical conditioning, the initial stimulus which caused the salivation response was the food, but through conditioning, the bell stimulus replaced the food stimulus to achieve the same response.

The other type of conditioning is operant conditioning in which B.F. Skinner was most interested. The main difference between classical and operant conditioning is that in operant conditioning, the response to a stimulus is voluntary. It is based on a desired outcome. For example, if you want to teach your dog to sit when you say sit you would pair his sitting action with a desired response i.e., a treat. In this example, your dog would soon learn that if he sat when you told him (a voluntary response) he would get a treat, the desired outcome (for the dog), and he would sit on command.

Learning has occurred when there is a relatively permanent change in behaviour based on an experience. When classical and operant conditioning are combined, they create a simple form of learning. This is called the "two factor" theory. Learning is a process where a series of related responses are chained together and each response is a cue for the next one.

For example, when a mother frowns and punishes her child, this causes anxiety in the child. Through classical conditioning just the frown alone causes anxiety. The child wishes to reduce the anxiety. To do this, the child attempts to please the mother, maybe by cleaning her room, therefore avoiding any punishment while earning praise. Cleaning the room is a voluntary response which the child chooses to do so that the anxiety is relieved (removal of a negative consequence) and a desired consequence (the mother’s praise) is accomplished. By combining these two types of conditioning the child learns.

Learning not only includes conditioning but also cognitive processes. The use of thought, judgement, and intelligence is called cognition (cognitive processes).

In observational learning certain behaviours can be learned simply by observation. A person does not necessarily need to be conditioned. For example, if you observe a person tying shoe laces, you can learn the technique and can recall it when the need arises. It is important to note that learning can occur through observation alone and re-enforcement (a reward for performance) is not always necessary.

The highest form of learning is cognitive learning. In cognitive learning, a person learns by listening, watching, touching, reading, and / or experiencing and then processing and remembering the information. Obviously higher level processes involving observation, getting and keeping information, and other more complex aspects of learning are part of cognitive learning.

When one is involved in cognitive learning they may be said to be thinking critically. In other words they are thinking deeply about the new information, making connections, and giving it personal meaning. Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information generating and processing skills and 2) using those skills to guide behaviour. It is NOT the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated. It is NOT the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and it is NOT the mere use of those skills ("as an exercise") without acceptance of their results. Critical thinkers are active thinkers.

Does practice equate to learning?

Not necessarily. One may repeat the steps to a math equation, for example, hundreds of times, but without understanding what they are actually doing; they have not learned the information and thus will not retain the information. If after repeating the steps you are then not able to solve another math problem of the same type but with different numbers without an example to follow, you have not really learned how to do the math problem. Has this ever happened to you? If so, you need to investigate into what you are doing further in order to gain a solid understanding of the concepts and thus retain the material.

Learning Styles

If there is one thing that is very evident about learning it is that we all do it differently. Being able to identify how you learn can significantly increase both your enjoyment of and productivity in school and beyond. It can help you to organize and retain information more effectively.

There are several ways of looking at learning styles. One way is by asking yourself how you like to learn best – Do you prefer to learn new things by:

Seeing objects or information you may by a visual learner

Listening to explanations you may by an auditory learner

Doing things like handling objects you may by a tactile or kinesthetic learner

When we talk about “how a person learns” we are referring to that person’s “learning style”. Some people like to read or see things, others prefer to be told things, and still others like to try things for themselves. People who like to read or see things are classified as visual learners. Those who learn best when they listen to the information are auditory learner. “Hands-on” learners are often referred to as tactile (touch) learners. Tactile (touch) learners are also sometimes called kinesthetic (movement) learners.

There are many other categories of learning styles. Some people are very strong in only one learning mode while other people are strong in multiple modes (multimodal learners).

It is beneficial for you to know how you learn. Maybe you’re an auditory learner and for years you’ve been practicing the techniques that work for a visual learner. This would make learning very difficult for you. It is also important to know that everyone learns differently and that everyone has strengths in different areas. There is no learning style that is better than other. Certain careers in fact are designed or more geared towards a specific learning style. For example, a job that requires very little movement may be the wrong fit for a tactile learner.

Complete Assignment 1 – What is learning? & What is my learning style?

Memory

Memory is an active system that stores, organizes, alters, and recovers information. (Coon, D., Mitter, J., Brown, P., Malik, r., McKenzie, S., 2010, p. 207) There are basic categories of memory. The first is short term memory. This is where small amounts of information can be held for brief periods of time. Any memory that is not rehearsed will be lost from short term memory. Thus if you want to recall information for your science test in two weeks time, you will have to move the newly learned material from your short term memory to your long term memory.

A second “department of short term memory” is called working memory. This is where the brain holds on to information long enough for you to think through problems and comprehend information. When you read a book, solve a math problem, and follow directions you are using your working memory.

The third memory department is called long term memory. This is where important and meaningful information is stored. Basically, this is where you keep everything that you know about the world. Have you ever said to yourself or someone, “I know I know this, I just cannot remember!” In actual fact, this information is most likely in your long term memory so you can remember it. The truth is that you cannot retrieve it. Most often it is memory retrieval, not storage that is the problem.

Learning Disabilities

What is a learning disability?

The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada defines learning disabilities as a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information.  These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning. (The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, January 30, 2002, p. 1)

Learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning.  These include, but are not limited to: language processing; phonological sound processing (the ability to detect and discriminate differences in speech sounds, basically knowing what each letter of the alphabet sounds like); visual spatial processing; processing speed; memory and attention; and executive functions (e.g. planning and decision-making).

Learning disabilities range in severity and may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following:

• oral language (e.g. listening, speaking, understanding);

• reading (e.g. decoding, phonetic knowledge, word recognition, comprehension);

• written language (e.g. spelling and written expression); and

• mathematics (e.g. computation, problem solving).

Learning disabilities may also involve difficulties with organizational skills, social perception, social interaction, and perspective taking.

Learning disabilities are lifelong.  The way in which they are expressed may vary over an individual’s lifetime, depending on the interaction between the demands of the environment and the individual’s strengths and needs.  Learning disabilities are suggested by unexpected academic under-achievement or achievement which is maintained only by unusually high levels of effort and support as compared to the individual’s apparent cognitive ability.

Learning disabilities are due to genetic and/or neurobiological factors or injury that alters brain functioning in a manner which affects one or more processes related to learning.  These disorders are not due primarily to hearing and/or vision problems, socio-economic factors, cultural or linguistic differences, lack of motivation or ineffective teaching, although these factors may further complicate the challenges faced by individuals with learning disabilities. Learning disabilities may co-exist with various conditions including attention disorders, behavioural disorders, emotional disorders, sensory impairments, or other medical conditions.

Learning disability interventions may include:

• specific skill instruction,

• accommodations, and or

• use of specific learning programs and techniques.

The diagnosis of a learning disability does not mean that the person has an inability to learn. It just means that in some aspects of learning, the person with a learning disability learns, or expresses, differently than many other people. In fact, people with learning disabilities have average to above average intelligence. If a person’s intelligence is not determined to be average or above, there may be cognitive issues. These cognitive issues are separate from learning disabilities.

There are many people in the world who have learning disabilities and who have made (and continue to make) great accomplishments in their lives. For example, Tom Cruise is unable to read due to severe dyslexia. John Lennon and Walt Disney were also dyslexic. Cher has dyslexia, dyscalculia and ADD. Albert Einstein had dysgraphia and dyslexia; flunked math in High School and went on to become one of the greatest scientific minds in history!

Complete Assignment 2 – Learning Disabilities & ADHD

Section 2: The Brain

Brain Physiology

One cannot take a look at learning or psychology without at least a brief study of the human brain. Brain physiology, studies the composition and structure of the brain. The large top part of the brain is known as the cerebrum (its appearance is similar to a cauliflower) and it is divided into two halves called hemispheres. The left half of the cerebrum controls the right side of the body and contains Broca's area and Wernicke's area which are specialized areas responsible for speech. A disorder or disease in one of these areas would lead to problems with speech. The left side also specializes in logic required for scientific thinking and mathematics. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and specializes in artistic ability. A bundle of nerve fibres called the corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres. Have you ever heard of a person describing themselves as left brain or right brain? What they are referring to is a strength or natural tendency towards either logical or artistic activities. For example, a person who is musically talented and loves to draw may describe themselves as “right brained” because the right side of the brain controls such functions, while someone who enjoys math may say that they are a left-brain kind of thinker.

Looking down on the brain...

Figure 3 Retrieved from

Looking underneath the cerebrum, two additional structures are seen, namely the cerebellum and the brain stem. The two hemispheres are so large that they cover these two structures making them invisible from the top. In the picture above, they are visible as they were pulled into view. In summary, the brain is considered to be composed of three parts: the cerebrum (which is divided into the right and left hemispheres) and the cerebellum and the brain stem. The brain stem is also made up of smaller structures, namely the thalamus, hypothalamus, midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata and the limbic system.

The outer surface of the cerebrum is called the cerebral cortex, and since it is grey in color, it is often referred to as grey matter. It consists primarily of the bodies of unmyelinated nerve cells. These are nerve cells lacking a insulating, white protective layer. Underneath the cortex (which is only 3 to 4 mm thick) lies white matter, which is primarily the myelinated fibres belonging to the nerve cells in the grey matter.

Examining the brain in more detail, it can be seen that each hemisphere of the cerebrum consists of five lobes separated by fissures (which are deep grooves in the cortex). The five lobes are the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe, the occipital lobe, and the insula. The first four lobes are visible on the surface of the brain while the insula is located internally and is not visible from the outside.

Functions of the 5 lobes:

1. Frontal Lobe – The frontal lobes are considered our emotional control center and home to our personality. The frontal lobes are involved in motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgement, impulse control, and social and sexual behaviour.

2. Parietal Lobe – The parietal lobes can be divided into two functional regions. One involves sensation and perception and the other is concerned with integrating sensory input, primarily with the visual system. The first function integrates sensory information to form a single perception (cognition). The second function constructs a spatial coordinate system to represent the world around us. Individuals with damage to the parietal lobes often show striking deficits, such as abnormalities in body image and spatial relations.

3. Temporal Lobe – The temporal lobes are involved in the primary organization of sensory input. Individuals with temporal lobe damage have difficulty placing words or pictures into categories.

4. Occipital Lobe – The occipital lobes are the center of our visual perception system. They are not particularly vulnerable to injury because of their location at the back of the brain, although any significant trauma to the brain could produce subtle changes to our visual-perceptual system.

5. The Insula - The insula plays a role in diverse functions usually linked to emotion or the regulation of the body's homeostasis (relatively stable state of conditions such as body temperature, breathing rate, etc.). These functions include perception, motor control, self-awareness, cognitive functioning, and interpersonal experience. The insula reads body states like hunger and craving and helps push people into reaching for the next sandwich, cigarette or line of cocaine.

Sensation and Perception

Sensation is the process by which we detect the world around us. It is how we are aware of things in our environment. There are receptor cells in our eyes, ears, skin, mouth and nose that send nerve impulses to our brain. When triggered by a stimulus, the process allows us to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.

Perception is the psychological interpretation of nerve impulses generated from sensation. It is the process by which our brain gives our sensations meaning. For example, when you eat a cookie your taste buds sense a sweet taste. It is your perception which determines it is a good taste.

There are differences in the sensory and perceptual abilities of different species. For example, dogs hear much higher pitched sound than can be detected by the human ear. This is why a dog will react to a dog whistle, a sound a human cannot detect. There are also differences in the sensory and perceptual abilities of members of the same species. For example, people have been shown to vary in their ability to taste bitter food.

It is almost impossible to distinguish between sensation and perception in every day life because the brain automatically perceives or interprets sensations when they are received. However, the expectations or beliefs an individual brings to a situation from previous experiences and knowledge can influence perceptual interpretation.

Look at Figure 6 below. What do you see? Most people tend to see two triangles when they look at this figure instead of the lines and shapes that are actually drawn. The brain is constantly examining visual information for patterns in order to identify objects. Since a triangle is a familiar shape that has been encountered many times in the past, the brain organizes the V shaped lines into a triangle. As a result, the brain then believes that a second triangle must lie on top of the bottom triangle since pieces of the sides of the bottom triangle cannot be seen. Perceptions are therefore interactions between your sensory system and your beliefs and expectations.

Figure 6 Retrieved from

This drawing consists of three circles with a wedge cut out, which are dispersed amongst pairs of lines which intersect forming a "V". Our brain does not see these individual entities, which are the entities actually present. Instead our brain organizes the information to identify possible patterns thereby creating the illusion that there are two triangles in the drawing. Our brain constantly searches for patterns in visual information; otherwise we would not be able to recognize objects.

A stimulus is something which causes a reaction. There is a level of stimulation above which you will always detect a stimulus, and a level of stimulation below which you will never detect a stimulus. The minimum strength of a stimulus required to be sensed is called the sensory threshold. For example, if a single thread touched your hand, you may not feel it, but if ten threads touched your hand at the same time, you would feel it.

Sensory thresholds vary with the conditions surrounding the sensory experience. A competing stimulus such as the existence of background noise at a party increases the level of stimulation required for it to be detected. A whisper in a quiet room may be audible, but in a crowded room it cannot be heard. Emotion also influences the sensory threshold. For example, someone who is stressed may react differently to a stimulus than they would if they were relaxed. Many other variables such as physical wellness, level of alertness, and medications can affect the sensory threshold needed for a reaction to occur.

Is What You See Really There?

When our perception is applied in unusual circumstances, it may give rise to a "perceptual illusion" in which case the perceptions will differ from the true characteristics of an object. This happens when our senses pick up information around an object that provides a false reference.

Look at Figure 7 on the next page and guess which vertical line is longer. Although it may seem as though the line on the right is longer, the two lines are actually the same length. The arrow markings cause you to perceive that they are different lengths. An explanation for this optical illusion has been proposed, and is presented here. In our culture, where right angles are encountered often, the brain perceives the arrow on the left as an outside corner of a box. After all, if an artist wanted to give the line a three dimensional look and make it look like the edge of a box, the artist would draw an arrow head on the line exactly the way it is shown in Figure 7.

Alternatively, the arrow on the right is perceived to be the far inside corner of a box (like being in a room and looking at the far corner). The brain expects that the outside corner of the box would be closer than the far inside corner. The brain also expects distant objects to appear smaller than closer objects even though they may be the same size. As a result, the brain expects the vertical line on the right to appear to be smaller than the one on the left, since it is expected to be further away. However, when the brain sees the lines as being apparently the same length on the page, the only explanation is that the vertical line on the right is truly bigger than the one on the left so that when distance is accounted for, it appears to be the same length as the vertical line on the left.

The line in the double arrow on the bottom is the same length as the line in the double "Y" shaped drawing on the top.

Figure 7 Retrieved from

Since the explanation for this illusion is based on the idea that the brain is perceiving the lines as three dimensional objects and furthermore, since the brain is used to seeing squares, cubes and rectangles in our culture, the brain attempts to perceive the lines as belonging to these shapes. It then follows that people who are not used to seeing squares, cubes and rectangles would not have their brains "trained" to look for these patterns and therefore these people would not "see" the optical illusion. That is, these people would see the lines as being the same length. The Zulu tribe in Africa has a culture based on round objects where cubes are seldom seen. In support of this explanation, it should not be a surprise that these people are not susceptible to this optical illusion as we are, that is they see both vertical lines in Figure 7 as being the same length.

Illusions have practical implications as well. For example, if you drive a constant speed over evenly spaced lines on a highway, you will get used to the amount of time it takes to get from one line to the next. If the lines are then spaced closer together, you will begin to think you are driving faster even though you are not. This trick is often used on highways approaching tollbooths to get motorists to slow down.

Complete Assignment 3 – The Brain

Section 3 - Developmental Psychology

There are many theorists who have formulated theories on how we learn at various stages of our lives. Sigmund Freud’s and Jean Piaget’s theories are briefly outlined below; however; there are many more that a quick Google search will give you. Most theorists believe that a lack of development in one stage will cause problems in development at later stages or in general.

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian physician who was interested in mental illness. He believed all human behaviour, including mental illness, was caused by psychodynamic forces. The word psychodynamic comes from the words "mind" and "energy". He thought this energy was present in the mind at birth and that it affected every stage of human development. Therefore to understand human behaviour, Freud believed you must understand the psychodynamic forces during infancy and childhood.

One of the forces Freud felt shaped personality was libidinal energy, from the Latin word for desire or lust. He felt that this energy must be released to have feelings of contentment, and should libidinal energy build up, tension and unhappiness would result. Children must learn to control this energy through the following:

• The mouth and eating.

• The anus and elimination.

• The genitals and sexual behaviour.

His complex theory, the psychodynamic theory, has had a huge impact on twentieth century thinking about the importance of childhood development. Although Freud’s theory was an important milestone in developmental psychology, it had its limitations and today has been either modified or abandoned.

Freud divided child development into five overlapping stages. In each stage, he identified a prominent desire or need and the method by which it was fulfilled. According to the theory, deprivation or overindulgence of these desires can cause fixation on the stage and prevent further development.

(Oral Stage (Birth to 3 years)

• First experience with satisfaction and discomfort are with the feeding process.

• Energy is released pleasantly through eating, sucking, and swallowing.

(Anal Stage (1 to 4 years)

• Children gain control of the muscles that control elimination.

• This is the first time they must give into their parents (to be toilet trained).

• Energy is released through the pleasure of elimination.

(Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)

• Children become sexually aware of sexuality and physical differences.

• Energy is released through self-manipulation and stimulation of the genitals.

• They develop a warm relationship with the parent of the opposite sex.

• Oedipus conflict – the child must give up the intense relationship with the parent of the opposite sex. They do so by learning to imitate the values and behaviours of the parent of the same sex. Then they are able to take a proud attitude towards their gender, which occurs at the end of this stage.

• Problems with this stage involve anxiety about the body.

(Latency period (6 to 12 years)

• Sexuality is less important and other interests rule while learning new skills.

• Tend to learn from members of the same sex outside of the family.

(Genital Stage (12 years and beyond)

• Physical and sexual maturity during puberty.

• Learn pleasure of relations with the opposite sex.

Others since have updated Feud’s theory in an attempt to perfect or reject it. One such scientist was Erikson, who stressed the importance of social and cultural influences instead of pure biological and sexual influences of Freud. You can learn more about Erikson in Activity 6 of this module.

Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget (1896 - 1980) was a Swiss psychologist who was one of the most influential thinkers in the field of child development. He took a cognitive approach to development and performed many experiments with many children, including his own, to develop his Cognitive Theory of Development.

(Sensory-Motor Stage (Birth to 2 years)

Children are born aware of only their own existence. Using movements and senses they learn that there is more in the world than them. Only then are they able to learn from the world. For example a child of six months will see a toy and want that toy. If they do no see the toy, they will not think of it.

(Pre-Operational Stage (2 to 7 years)

Children begin to perform internal mental thoughts instead of just physical actions. They will think about what they want and ask for it. They begin to role-play and learn about others by doing so. For example a three year old child will think of a toy they want and go look for it.

(Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years)

Children begin to speed up their thinking. They also start to understand the transformations of an object (for example, they realize that there is the same amount of water in a bowl as in a tall glass even though the shapes and sizes of the containers are different). They will begin to think prior to acting in this stage. For example a child of eight years will think of where a toy could be before starting to look for it.

(Formal Operational Stage (11 to 15 years)

Children begin thinking in abstract terms. They start to think about thoughts. For example, they can understand things like love and trust, and what is meant by a billion years. Mental development is complete at the age of 15. Further mental ability comes with continued thinking, learning, experience and acquiring information.

There are other theories of child development which attempt to explain human behaviour based on childhood experiences. Each theory has its strengths and weaknesses, but there is no one theory that conclusively explains human behaviour across all cultures. Behaviours can be explained by applying the strong points from all theories. Research in child development continues and new theories emerge, all of which strive to improve on current knowledge.

Complete Assignment 4 – Developmental Theories

Section 4 – Other Branches of Psychology

There are many branches of psychology. Below are brief descriptions, according to Angela Boss (n.d., Psychology specialties), of just a few. Within each of these branches there may be subdivisions, for example, within clinical psychology some practitioners may specialize in working with children, women, men, couples or families.

❖ Clinical Psychology - Psychologists working as clinical psychologists most often help clients to develop the skills they need to overcome many life issues so that they might have a more healthy and fulfilling life. Clients may seek the help of a psychologist to develops skills to handle issues related to depression, anxiety, trauma, harmful behaviours, relationship issues or any of a number of other reasons. Many clinical psychologists specialize. Specialities may be based on type of issue (for example depression or eating disorders) or the demographic of the client (children, women, couples, men, etc.). Clients are usually seen for counselling one on one or in small groups (i.e. couples and families).

❖ Health Psychology – Health Psychologists focus on the connection between our emotional health and our physical health. These psychologists may work with people coping with a long-term health condition such as diabetes or someone experiencing grief due to the loss of a loved one. The overall goal of health psychologists is to help clients balance the various components of wellness (physical, emotional, intellectual, social, occupational, and spiritual). Health psychologists work one on one with people and facilitate group counselling sessions.

❖ Cognitive Psychology – This branch of psychology studies our thought processes and perception. It studies how we think, how our brain links our sensations into meaningful thoughts. The study of memory, numerical cognition, language and information management fall into this branch of psychology. The study of problem-solving is another topic of concern for cognitive psychologists. Cognitive psychologists work to develop better methods of learning (thinking about something new), remembering (retrieving what we have learned at a later time), and problem-solving.

❖ Educational Psychology – This branch of psychology is closely related to cognitive psychology. Educational psychologists’ work focuses on understanding learning disabilities as well as giftedness and develops programs, teaching methods, learning techniques and strategies that will help all students maximize their potential. Part of the work of an educational psychologist is to diagnose learning disabilities.

❖ Forensic Psychology – Forensic psychologists study the criminal mind in an effort to understand the motivations behind various criminal behaviours. Part of the work of forensic psychologists is also to predict what actions a criminal who is being followed will take next (trying to solve serial killer cases). Another important part of the work of forensic psychologists is to attempt to develop programs which will facilitate the rehabilitation of the criminal. Forensic profilers (Criminal Minds TV show) are forensic psychologists.

There are many other branches of psychology with different areas of interest. There is frequently a connection / overlap between branches as is evident between cognitive and educational psychology (see above).

Section 5 – The Psychology of Mental Health and Illness

It is believed that people who are psychologically healthy share a few common characteristics. They value themselves and strive toward happiness and fulfillment. They establish and maintain close relationships with others. They accept the limitations as well as the possibilities that life has to offer and they feel a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives.

Psychological health refers to both our emotional and mental state of mind. When we speak of emotional health we are referring to feelings and moods. Mental health refers to our ability to perceive reality as it is, to respond to its changes, and to develop rational strategies for living.

To some people there is also considerable overlap between psychological health and spiritual health, which involves our ability to identify our basic purpose in life and to experience the fulfillment of achieving our full potential. Achieving spiritual health or that feeling of self-fulfillment can seem like a daunting task; however, there are a few things researchers feel are connected to its achievement. As you read the list below, think about each question that follows.

✓ Knowing your needs – what do I need to be happy?

✓ Clarifying your values – what is most important to me?

✓ Boosting self-esteem – how do I feel about myself? Do I do things to make myself feel important, worthy, successful?

✓ Managing your moods – how well do I control my moods?

✓ Being socially responsible – what do I do to make the world a better place?

✓ Feeling in control of your own life – do I realize that I am truly the only person who can control my own destiny? Do I know that I determine the outcome of each day?

Psychological Disorders

Psychological disorders affect a large portion of our society today, yet many of us do not have a clear understanding of what a disorder actually is. Some disorders are so mild that we may not even be aware of their existence while others are so severe that they prevent individuals from engaging with the world around them. In this section you will be briefly introduced to some of the most common disorders.

How are psychological disorders defined?

A disorder is diagnosed when widely accepted social expectations are violated, or when a behavior is statistically rare, or the affliction of persistent emotional pain or suffering exists.

In other words, everybody is "crazy", but we only call them crazy when the behavior exceeds a certain degree of strangeness or if the behavior interferes with the quality of life or with normal everyday living.

For example, consider a woman who is dressed in winter clothing during the summer and who is walking around a neighborhood insulting people. This person is violating the social expectations of dress and polite behavior and therefore a disorder is suspected. In other cases a behavior is considered a disorder if it compromises the quality of life of the individual. An example would be a person who lives in constant fear of contracting germs. They would have a compulsion to wash their hands after touching things. The person’s hands may become painfully cracked and dry from excessive washing. Also the fear of germs may limit what the person is comfortable doing or touching, and so the person may avoid going into public places and enjoying activities like going to the fair, the movies, etc. This behavior may even compromise the person's ability to be employed.

Common Disorders

The most common types of disorders may be classified into eight broad groups of disorders. Below you will read about anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, dissociative disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders, and substance related disorders.

Anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders are characterized by anxiety (which is emotional distress caused by feelings of vulnerability, apprehension or fear). Some types of anxiety disorders are:

a) Panic disorders

A sudden inexplicable attack of intense fear, possibly accompanied by difficulty breathing, nausea, numbness, chest pain, hot or cold flashes, elevated heart rate, etc.

b) Phobic disorders

An irrational fear that is focused on some specific object or situation (other than the fear of having a panic attack). Examples would be the fear of being in wide open spaces, the fear of being in small enclosed spaces, the fear of water, the fear of heights, etc.

c) Generalized anxiety disorders

A state of persistent apprehension without good cause (e.g. constant worrying). For example they may fear that something horrible is going to happen to their children, even though their children are not in any danger. They may worry about being able to pay their bills even though there is enough money in the bank, etc.

d) Obsessive compulsive disorder

Obsessing over an unwanted thought or image resulting in repetitive behavior. An image or thought keeps intruding into consciousness, despite a person's efforts to dismiss it. The most common examples are thoughts of violence, (like killing loved ones), contamination (i.e. coming into contact with germs), and doubt (e.g. wondering whether the stove was turned off before leaving the house). An example of repetitive behavior would be continually washing your hands to eliminate germs or checking and rechecking appliances before you can leave the house.

e) Post-traumatic stress disorder

A state of anxiety, depression and psychological numbing that follows exposure to severe trauma such as war, rape, the violent death of a loved one, or a catastrophic natural disaster. Tension, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, the feeling of being remote from others and flashbacks (vivid imaging you are living the traumatic event – awake or asleep) are typical symptoms.

f) Social anxiety disorder

An anxiety disorder in which people fear social situations where they might be embarrassed or judged. When put in a social situation where they might become anxious sufferers have symptoms such as a racing heart, trembling, blushing or even sweating. This anxiety disorder is not uncommon by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, many of us feel this way when we have to give an oral presentation in class. Imagine feeling this way; however, about all public situations. This is just a small example of what it feels like to suffer from a social anxiety disorder.

Somatoform disorders

The presence of one or more symptoms of a physical dysfunction for which there is no identifiable organic cause. A patient will complain of symptoms to a doctor but all medical tests show that nothing is wrong, meaning that the illness is "all in their head". One example of somatoform disorder is hypochondriasis.

a) Hypochondriasis

A persistent fear that some terrible, often fatal, disease has been contracted.

Dissociative disorders

Personal memory or identity is disturbed in such a way that part of the self is split off or dissociated. Below are two examples of different types of dissociative disorders.

a) Dissociative amnesia

Partial or total forgetting of past experiences after some stressful event. (the individual is still one person, however)

b) Dissociative identity disorder

The evolution of two or more separate personalities. The individual can change from one personality into the other in a matter of seconds. Each personality is like a different person where they may know of each other and may be friends. Sometimes one personality is dominant and aware of the other personality(ies) while less dominant personalities many not be aware of other personality(ies) and experience “black outs.”

Mood disorders:

Moods that are more intense or last longer than usual, interfering with normal functioning. Two types of mood disorders are depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.

a) Depressive disorders

Episodes of intense sadness and despair or long term sadness of a lesser degree. They lose interest in formerly pleasurable activities and experience a loss of energy. The sadness may reach such levels that the individual becomes suicidal. May be acute suddenly appear and be very severe or may be less intense by more gradual and long lasting (chronic).

b) Bipolar disorders

Episodes of emotional highs and lows separated by episodes of normal mood. The most extreme highs and lows are seen in bipolar 1 disorder which in the past was given the diagnosis of manic depression. Recent research has broadened the criteria for diagnosing bipolar disorder and several categories, other than the most severe, are now recognized, diagnosed and treated. There are at least 5 subgroups of bipolar disorder.

Schizophrenia:

Disturbance in the content of thought, especially delusions (which are irrational beliefs held despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary) or in the form of thought (which is an unrelated sequence of thoughts).

Delusions include grandeur (i.e. a belief that they are a famous person, like Napoleon or Jesus Christ), and persecution (i.e. they believe that extraterrestrials or secret agents are plotting against them or controlling their thoughts or actions). They often believe their thoughts are being stolen or thoughts are being inserted into their heads.

Disturbances in the form of thought would be evident from their thoughts being loosely related so that they jump from one idea to the next with the two ideas being only vaguely connected. As a result their speech is usually disjointed.

Emotions may be totally inappropriate to a situation and they often experience auditory, visual, olfactory, and tactile hallucinations.

Personality disorders:

A personality disorder is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has onset in adolescence, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment.

The behaviors are so deeply ingrained that they are accepted by others as familiar traits. Some traits include fighting, destruction of property, stealing, habitual lying, impulsiveness, recklessness, blatant disregard for truth, excessive irritability and aggression, failure to honor financial obligations, and the inability to hold a job or the incapacity to have a normal friendship.

An example of a personality disorder is borderline personality disorder.

a) Borderline personality disorder

Instability of self-image, interpersonal relations and mood. These people are highly uncertain about who they are, what their values and goals are, and who their friends ought to be. Their relationships are often stormy with great highs and lows. Their moods are erratic, changing rapidly from normal to very depressed, irritable or anxious and back again. They feel their life is empty and boring and so they engage in spending sprees, sexual indiscretions, or drug binges.

Substance related disorders:

Substance related disorders are the abuse of psychoactive substances (i.e. drugs). A pattern of substance use leading to significant impairment in functioning. One of the following must be present within a 12 month period: (1) recurrent use resulting in a failure to fulfill major obligations at work, school, or home; (2) recurrent use in situations which are physically hazardous (e.g., driving while intoxicated); (3) legal problems resulting from recurrent use; or (4) continued use despite significant social or interpersonal problems caused by the substance use.

What is the different between mental health and mental illness?

This section of the module has focused mainly on what is a mental illness, but what about the flip side? What does it mean to be mentally healthy? We all experience, from time to time, some degree of mental stress, a sense of unhappiness or a lack of motivation to move forward. Some people seem able to snap out of these moods easier and faster than others. These people are said to be in good mental health. Like the heart rate of a physically fit person can more quickly return to a normal rate than the heart of an unfit person, a mentally healthy person can more quickly return to normal emotional functioning after a stressful event can a less mentally fit individual.

What are some contributors to good mental health?

1. The ability to roll with the punches and to not sweat the small stuff. People with good mental health are able to take life is stride and not to get caught up in the small sometimes annoying details that are part of life itself.

2. A good sense of self. Knowing who you are and what you believe and living your life according to your true self.

3. Enjoy the day! People with good mental health report doing things for themselves that makes them feel good. Having a balance in one’s life is important.

4. Let yourself feel. It is good to laugh, to cry, to be angry, and to be sad. Emotionally healthy people let themselves have a range of emotions and are free to let them be shown.

5. Try not to be overly rigid in your opinions. People with very strong opinions often let the opposite opinions of others stress them out. Be accepting of others’ viewpoints.

Think about your own mental health. Are there things that you can do to improve your mental health? We always talk about becoming physically fit, but it is equally important to work on our minds and emotions as well. Wellness is a term that refers to the health of the whole person.

Complete Assignments 5 & 6

Complete Module Test

References

Boss, A. (n.d.). Psychology specialties: A comprehensive guide for students. Retrieved on April 30, 2012 from .

Coon, D., Mitter, J., Brown, P., Malik, r., McKenzie, S. (2010). Psychology: A journey. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Education Ltd.

Hales, D., & Lauzon L. (2010). An Invitation to Health. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Education Ltd.

The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved on May 11, 2010 retrieved from .

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Left side- controls right side of body

Right side -controls left side of body

The Cerebrum – divided into the two hemispheres of the brain

Corpus callosum – connects the two hemispheres

Cerebellum

Brain Stem & Spinal cord

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