PH 303 Study Guide for Final Exam (Semi-Cumulative) Social Cognitive Theory First theory in psychology & PH to include

e social & environmental factors Expectancies vs. expectations Expectancies- the value a person places on the probable outcomes that result from performing a behavior Expectations- anticipation of probable outcomes that would ensue as a result of a behavior o Three types: physical: positive and negative consequences social: approval or disapproval of doing or not doing a behavior positive and negative evaluations: positive-increase expectations equal greater likelihood of doing a behavior. Negative: decrease expectations which equals less likelihood of doing a behavior Self efficacy Confidence that one can overcome impediments and successfully engage in specific behavior Is behavior specific and is in the present, not about the past or the future Vicarious capability Ability to learn from observing other peoples behavior and the consequences they face Symbolizing capability learning cues to change or modify behavior (e.g. imagery, words, prompt) the use of symbols in attributing meaning to experiences Reciprocal determinism that a persons behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment. (personal view) Modeling directly copying a behavior; mimicry that involves creativity and innovation Forethought refers to the fact that most behavior is purposive and regulated by prior thoughts people motivate themselves and plan their actions using their forethought capability Self regulation refers to setting internal standards and self evaluative reactions for ones behavior Balance of autopilot increase limbic system and striatum, basal ganglia and executive system= prefrontal cortex Self reflection the analysis of experiences and examination of ones own thought processes people are not just agents of action but also self-examine and critique their own actions Albert Bandura Developed Social Cognitive Theory in collaboration with Richard Walters, Stanford University Goal setting

 Developing plans & specific goals in order to accomplish chosen behaviors when one sets goals and develops concrete plans, behavior change becomes easier Proximal goals: immediate accomplishments Distal goals: set the course of making change Emotional coping the techniques employed by the person to control the emotional and physiological states associated with acquisition of a new behavior this construct is often reified in association with self-efficacy to modify emotional coping, stress management techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, autogenic training, and visual imagery are useful Situational perception how one perceives and interprets the environment around oneself efforts must be made to remove misperceptions and to promote social norms that are healthy Reward Valuation/Brain structures Dopamine reward circuits Dopamine circuits are associated with reward (drive, push to respond, orienting to salient stimulie) Limbic system Immediate pleasure/relief, very fast, efficient, simple system. Ex: Should I unleash a habit pattern, like gobbling up the cake? Can I make my life better this very moment by taking action? Basal ganglia, anterior cingulate gyrus Hippocampus Forms and retrieves contextual memories Inhibits amygdala Inhibits cortisol production Memories and info re novelty Ex: new kind of pineapple carrot cake worth trying? A-1 allele: Predisposes people to over-consume and be more prone to impulsive/addictive behavior Not helpful in environments where scarcity is not present. Role of environmental deprivation, enrichment Relationships as opportunity networks How a behavior becomes a habit Repetition o Must practice the behavior to make it automatic o The amount of practice needed to make a behavior automatic will depend on the complexity of the task Reward o Defined as a stimulus (drug) that increases the probability of a response, but usually includes a positive hedonic connotation o You must reward the behavior to drive your habit system

Reinforcement o Positive Reinforcement: Defined as the process by which presentation of a stimulus increases the probability of a response o Negative Reinforcement: Defined as a process by which removal of an aversive stimulus increases the probability of a response o Reinforcement is not pleasure, increases the likelihood of repetition Rules Mirror neurons (vicarious learning) Map onto our motor systems Fire as if we were doing what we are watching others do Some of these neurons are focused on the goal of the action and tell us when and how people are working towards a goal Myelination of vagus nerve High toning: results in quick response & ready/calm, associated w/ lower social anxiety Factor in resilience to stress Stress & Coping Types of stressors: Discrete; major life events o require some social or psychological adjustment. o Ex: death of a family member, starting a new job, buying a new home Absence of major happenings; or nonevents (three kinds) o when desired or anticipated events do not occur o when desired events do not occur though their occurrence is normative for people of a certain group Ex: person does not get married when most people of his or her age are married o not having anything to do Ex: being bored Ongoing; everyday chronic stressors o Chronic Stressors (five types) Persistent life difficulties: life events lasting longer than six months, such as long-term disability Role strain: strains from either performing a specific role or performing multiplicity of roles at the same time Chronic strains: responses of one social group to another, such as overt or covert, intentional or unintentional discriminatory behavior due to race, ethnicity, and so on Daily Hassles: Everyday problems such as getting stuck in traffic Community-wide strains: stressors that operate at an ecological level, such as residing in a high-crime neighborhood Factors linked to resilience and positive coping, control/meaning etc.

Healthy, secure primary attachment during early years of brain development o confers sense of safety o confers sense of self through accurate mirroring o confers sense of self efficacy through attuned responsiveness o lots of good soothing-healthy parasympathetic response o very little shock and perturbation healthy sympathetic system Tone of the vagus nerve- 10th cranial nerve with sensory and motor Attachments o this nerve is sets the person up in the first 2 years of life o myelination of the vagus nerve depends on optimal early environment o to have good control over stress response vagal tone high allows quick response and ready calming, associated with lower social anxiety Type A personality: characterized by: Having a sense of urgency, always in hurry; exercising control over people and things; over competitive; impatience; aggressiveness Type A personalities have been found to demonstrate negative coping Primary, secondary appraisal Primary o Is made when the individual makes a conscious evaluation of the matter at hand whether it is either a harm or a loss, a threat or a challenge Secondary o Takes place when the individual ask him/herself What can I do? by evaluating the coping resources around him/her Emotion vs problem focused coping o Falls under: Capacity for problem solving o People using problem-focused strategies tries to deal with the cause of their problem. o Emotion-focused coping involve releasing pent-up emotions, distracting oneself, managing hostile feelings, meditating or using systematic relaxation procedures. It is oriented toward managing the emotions that accompany the perception of stress" Physical and brain effects of stress Depression Diagnostic criteria At least 3 symptoms, plus low mood, worthless Present for a least 2 weeks Severe enough to interfere with persons everyday functioning 50% of patients have just one episode, but the rest may have multiple episodes Gender prevalence: Prevalent/more common in women Male gender tend to use more lethal means Negative health effects Increased severity, frequency of pain Disturbed sleep patterns

 Increased risk of metabolic syndrome Increased risk of overweight/obesity First line treatment exercise, positive activities, social support Mild-moderate depression: physical activity is the most effective strategy Social support o Focuses entirely on improving social relationships o Addresses one of the 4 issues-grief, role transition, role conflict o Provides psycho-education, training, and behavior rehearsal o Short term individual or group Types of more advanced treatment approaches Role of negative self-talk, interpersonal withdrawal and negativity Effectiveness of behavioral approaches compared with meds Suicide risk factors Male gender (tend to use more lethal means) Older age Substance abuse Medical illness, especiall if chronically painful Isolated, withdrawn Recent loss, estrangement, relationship problems Financial stress, legal issues Shame Prior attempt Depression severe enough for hospitalization. 15% of hospitalized patients eventually die of suicide Threat-based Behavior Phobias threat-based behavior problem Phobia-Intense, specific fear of item or event o May have some evolutionary loading o Typically relate to a prior aversive experience o Common phobias: snakes, spiders, crowds, public speaking, elevator, drowning, germs, dentists, needles o Most limiting: social phobias o May interfere with medical screening or treatment Treatment o Provision of information o Systematic desensitization- gradual exposure to feared event o Cognitive modification o Skills training in coping o Skills training in anxiety reduction o Behavior therapy has a very successful track record with phobia treatment PTSD symptoms When a person experiences an extreme event, outside the usual range of experience o Natural disaster

o War, crime, torture o Accident o Injury, illness or extreme medical treatment o Abuse-physical, sexual, extreme emotional Reactivation of fear/anger/freeze response with similar, reminiscent stimuli Reactivation of fear/anger/freeze response in dreams or flashbacks Disturbances in sleep, mood, appetite Obsessive cognitive looping remembering event over and over Tendency to compulsively recreate event circumstances to master it this time traumatic re-enactment Numbing reaction, apathy Social withdrawal Foreshortening of the future Depersonalization, Derealization Depression Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic system When someone experiences a traumatic experience, the nervous system can get overloaded and freeze, or the fight or flight reaction of the sympathetic nervous system can be activated. If sufficiently intense, the parasympathetic calming mechanism may be overwhelmed and shut down. **Intense cortisol release with body-wide effects as sympathetic nervous system activates, parasympathetic overwhelmed by intensity Parasympathetic collapse vs. depression Parasympathetic collapse is depression that may actually be freezing of the nervous system due to under/over-activation of the nervous system in trauma. It is usually associated with loss of important attachments, especially severe if at younger ages Ways of reducing anxiety Education about physiology of panic Reframing- positive value of anxiety Widening attention to include positive aspects of situation and corret negative biases Conducting behavior experiments to see if feared outcomes do in fact happen Cognitive coping techniques- positive self-talk, mindfulness, calming, imagery Behavior coping techniques- use of sensory stimuli, breathing, images Lower base arousal of nervous system o Routine structure o Balance of work/rest and good pacing o Regular sleep o Regular eating o Regular exercise o Regular mind body practices relaxation, guided imagery, meditation, prayer o Good social support

o Control of stress in ones life Components of sensorimotor treatment approach to PTSD o This is the fourth breakthrough in the theories of stress o Sensorimotor models that incorporates neurobiology to treat PTSD. This is the body-mind approach to the overloaded nervous system that incorporates current neurobiology Somatic Experiencing Based on animal models of stress in the wild, with release of excess energy from nervous system occurring when safe Aim- restore a person to safety with full resources (information, skills, social support) so the system will feel comfortable in letting go of the stored excess energy Skill based model- person learns how to recognize cues that PTSD reaction is happening, how to get safe, how to release and how to stay calm, also works on improving social support/relational support Relational component- support and safety through relationship Cognitive component- teaching missing skills or needed then and now- for ex: fighting back in a skillful way Kinesthetic component- teaching relaxation, retraining the body to respond more effectively, releasing the stress reaction Visual component- using imagery to hold the stress reaction and move it out of the nervous system, imagining how things should have been. Using colors or images to create positive associations Environmental component- developing resources, especially social resources (like protectors) and skills to prevent reoccurrence of negative event/outcome Sensorimotor Trauma Treatment Body-mind approaches to the overloaded nervous system that incorporate current neurobiology Mindfulness Based Behavioral Interventions MBSR Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction was designed for the average person who is suffering 8 session training, usually done on site at hospital Includes o gentle yoga o vipassana meditation instructions o training in how to apply mindfulness to everyday life Includes 1 Saturday all day session where participants maintain noble silence all day Definition of mindfulness Paying attention to the present moment without judgment Notice and observe what is really happening

o In the body (sensations) o In the mind (thoughts) o In the heart (feelings) o In the environment TIG (Taking in Good) TIG developed by Rick Hansom o Look for positive facts, and let them become positive experiences o Savor the positive experience Sustain it for 10-20-30 seconds Feel it in your body and emotions Intensify it o Sense and intend that the positive experience is soaking into your brain and body- registering deeply in emotional memory Take time to notice the good o Are you ok at this moment? o What positives are present? Really pay attention to it o Notice the specifics o Direct your focus to it completely Savor and cherish the good o Take 10-30 seconds to really appreciate the good o Let it all soak into your system- your body, mind, spirit o Swish it through your emotional memory Can use it as an antidote for stress or negativity o Keep the stress (past or present) in the background o Sense or visualize the good offsetting the wound, filling the hole o Notice how much better you feel when the good is present Kinds of good to take in o Small pleasures in life, satisfaction in attaining goals, feeling grateful, content and fulfilled, everything is all right, there is no threat, feeling safe and strong, peace and relief of forgiveness, ect. Why TIG o Offsets the negativity bias o Increases positive emotions o Increases awareness of resources o Better able to handle stress, negative experiences o Can help replenish self o Repairs losses and damage suffered in childhood, heals old wounds o Can help heal painful, traumatic experiences 4th step of TIG o When you are having a positive experience Sense the current positive experience sinking down into old pain, and soothing and replacing it o When you are having a negative experience

 Bring to mind a positive experience that is its antidote o In both cases, have the positive experience be big and strong, in the forefront of awareness, whiles the negative experience is small and in the background o You are not resisting negative experiences or getting attached to positive ones. You are being kind to yourself and cultivating positive resources in your mind Four Refuges Mudita: sympathetic joy Karuna: compassion Metta: friendliness of the heart Upaya: equanimity or poise in all circumstances

3 principles of Buddhist psychology Principle of Impermanence (Nothing in permanent) o We think that everything is going to stay how they are but really things are always shifting and changing Principle of No-Self o Self is a cultural construct, part of your virtual reality o We call the ground we are standing on SDSU but it is really just the ground o Our virtual reality can be updated and or changed at any moment Principle of Emptiness o Creativity comes from nothings. We need to stop in order for it to shift Brain changes due to meditation, short/long term Shift from medial (focused, analytical, verbal) processing to lateral processing (diffuse, whole body, kinesthetic, visual) Shift from critical narrator to compassionate witness Greatly increases distress tolerance and stress resilience Thickens and strengthens the anterior (frontal) cingulate cortex and the insula. Those regions are involved with controlled attention, empathy, and compassion and meditation improves those functions. Less cortical thinning with aging Increases activation of the left frontal regions, which lifts mood Increases the power and reach of fast, gamma brainwaves Decreases stress-related cortisol Stronger immune system

Role of attention and concentration, need for training Refuge of sensory experience Use of sound or breathing as an anchor Breathing is an ever present mindfulness coach Sometimes movement helps the mind to calm down Sometimes not talking helps the mind to shut up or at least makes it easier to note whats going on Aim : not to attach to thoughts, let them go by and just notice them Set an intention to have less stress How to train attention to be more disciplined How to train attention to be more positively inclined How to train oneself to be more RESPONSIVE to the actual situation and less reactive

Behavioral factors of concentration Focus/Applied attention - bringing it to bear Sustained attention - staying with the target Rapture - great interest in the target, bliss o Intensifies dopamine, steadies and quiets the mind

Joy - happiness, contentment, and tranquillity o Reduces basal ganglia need for stimulation

Singleness - unification of awareness

Dalai Lamas view of other religions and non-believers Lateral vs medial modes, how to shift Medial o Mainly representational, much verbal activity, abstract, future or past focused, goal oriented Lateral o Mainly sensory, little verbal activity, concrete, now-focused, nothing to do

Ways to shift into medial mode: o o o o Verbal thought Task focus Sense of threat or opportunity Mini-movies in the mental simulator

Ways to shift into lateral mode: o o o o o o Sensory awareness Sense of the body as a whole Dont-know mind Panoramic view Open space awareness Boundless compassion

Deep change is on the lateral side

Explicit vs implicit memory The sculpting of the brain by experience is memory: o Explicit - Personal recollections; semantic memory o Implicit - Bodily states; emotional residues; views (expectations, object relations, perspectives); behavioral repertoire and inclinations; what it feels like to be me Negativity bias In evolution, threats had more impact on survival than opportunities. So sticks are more salient than carrots: o The amygdala is primed to label experiences negatively. o The amygdala-hippocampus system flags negative experiences prominently in memory. o The brain is like velcro for negative experiences and teflon for Implicit memory is much larger than explicit memory. Therefore, the key target is implicit memory.

positive ones. Consequently, negative trumps positive: o Its easy to create learned helplessness, but hard to undo. o People will do more to avoid a loss than get a gain. o It takes five positive interactions to undo a negative one. Negative experiences create vicious cycles.

Benefits of positive emotions The benefits of positive emotions are a proxy for many of the benefits of TIG. Emotions organize the brain as a whole, so positive ones have far-reaching benefits These include: o o o o o Stronger immune system; less stress-reactive cardiovascular Lift mood; increase optimism, resilience Counteract trauma Promote exploratory, approach behaviors Create positive cycles

Creativity & Flexibility Risk aversion Risk aversion sometimes lags in teens, due to the slow maturation process of the pre-frontal cortex. Risk aversion can be strengthened if a parent

o Talks with their teen about the possible consequences of their risky actions o Teens receive input from peers they admire about being more careful o Provides negative consequences like grounding be get a teens attention and allow them to experience a safe, negative consequence after a risky action. o Takes a teen to a theatre presentation or movie where the risky behavior results in trouble for the heroine so they can see how the whole drama could play out tragically

Strengthening the PFC (prefrontal cortex) Increased medial PFC activation related to self-referencing thought

Transient hypofrontality Although much behavioral research has been devoted to learning how to help people shift into using their frontal lobe more so than the automatic pilot areas of their lower brain, recent neuroimaging studies have shown that highly artistic and creative people engaging in their craft actually shift out of the frontal brain areas temporarily, which turn down critical thinking so they can flow into a new, perhaps unpredictable direction and produce something creative

Neuroplasticity types of neural changes, what promotes/kills neurons, levels of neural structure and connection within the brain For better:

o A little caffeine: more alertness o Thicker insula: more self-awareness, empathy o More left prefrontal activation: more happiness For worse:

o Intoxication; imbalances in neurotransmitters o Concussion, stroke, tumor, Alzheimers o Cortisol-based shrinkage of hippocampus: less capacity for contextual memory What you think and feel changes your brain in numerous ways:

o Increased blood/nutrient flow to active regions o Altered epigenetics (gene expression) o Neurons that fire together wire together. Increasing excitability of active neurons Strengthening existing synapses Building new synapses; thickening your cortex Neuronal pruning - use it or lose it

Role of novelty, variety and repetition in building new circuits

With repetition, the behavior pattern gets encoded in the basal ganglia, where it can now be done without conscious attention Repetition

o You must practice the behavior to make it automatic able to be done without conscious focus o The amount of practice needed to make a behavior automatic will depend on the complexity of the task, anything from a few tries to years of repetition Approach/avoid/affiliate modes Approaching Opportunities

o Satisfaction, fulfillment --> Frustration, disappointment o Gladness, gratitude --> Sadness, discontentment, blues Avoiding Threats

o Strength, efficacy --> Weakness, helplessness, pessimism o Safety, security --> Alarm, anxiety o Compassion for oneself and others --> Resentment, anger Affiliating with Us o Attunement, inclusion --> Not seen, rejected, left out o Recognition, acknowledgement --> Inadequacy, shame o Friendship, love --> Abandonment, feeling unloved or unlovable Reactive vs. responsive modes How the above relate to disorders or optimal function Importance of meaning, connection and commitment Speakers Lou Ryan Dr. Jan Mc Clure