PS101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Social Skills, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Systematic Desensitization
Document Summary
Maladaptive behaviours are the problem, not a symptom. Maladaptive behaviours can be unlearned through classical and operant conditioning, modeling. Phobias are treated via systematic desensitization therapy. Anxiety and relaxation cannot co-exist (reciprocal inhibition) Condition an aversion to a cs (e. g. , slides showing kids) Cs paired with noxious ucs (e. g. , electric shock) Use positive reinforcement, extinction, negative reinforcement, or punishment. Learning of new skills by observing and imitating a model who performs a socially skillful behaviour. Watching someone else = i can do that too. Widely studied in research and strongly supported. Effective for numerous problems, including specific fears, social deficits, and intellectual disabilities. Not effective with disorders in which distress is non-specific, such as generalized anxiety disorder. Study of how drugs affect cognitions, emotions, behaviors. About 200 million prescriptions written per year. Prevent reuptake of excitatory neurotransmitters: monoamine oxidase (mao) inhibitors. Monoamine oxidase breaks down enzymes that metabolize norepinephrine and serotonin: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
