INTRODUCTION

1. INTRODUCTION

2. Definition: Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior in all its different forms, especially in relation to the social environment. It is concerned with the study of normal behaviour, in contrast to psychiatry or psychological medicine which is that branch of medicine dealing with diagnosis and treatment of abnormal behaviour in psychologically disturbed patients. Psychology is, therefore, related to psychiatry, as physiology to medicine.

3. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots Prescientific Psychology • Is the mind connected to the body or distinct? • Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank slate filled by experience?

4. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots • Psychological Science Is Born • Empiricism • Knowledge comes from experience via the senses • Science flourishes through observation and experiment

5. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots • Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Liepzig (c. 1879)

6. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots • Structuralism used introspection (looking in) to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

7. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots • Functionalism focused on how behavioral processes function- how they enable organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

8. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots • Psychological Science Develops • Wundt--German philosopher and physiologist • James--American philosopher • Pavlov--Russian physiologist • Freud--Austrian physician • Piaget--Swiss biologist

9. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots • Definition of Psychology • The science of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings)

10. Prologue: Psychology’s Roots Goals of Psychology • Describe • Explain • Predict • Control

11. Fields of Psychology: • General Psychology:Is the branch of psychology which studies the main psychological principles that govern the behaviour of normal individuals. • Experimental Psychology:Is that branch of psychology which depends upon experimental and quantitative methods in its investigations.

12. Child Psychology:Is that branch which studies the psychological growth and development of the child from conception to maturity. • Analytical Psychology (Psychoanalysis):This branch was established by Sigmund Freud. It searches about analysis of deep rooted conflicts and unconscious material that can be unmasked through free association. Many schools later developed which differ from classic psychoanalysis in theory and practice.

13. Comparative Psychology:This branch studies animal psychology comparing it with both child and adult human psychology. It also includes the study of beliefs, habits and behaviour of primitive cultures (Primitive Psychology). • Applied Psychology:Includes the following branches:

14. A. Medical Psychology • B. Educational Psychology: Is concerned with the application of psychological principles to the problems of education of children. • C. Industrial Psychology • Commercial Psychology:. • Occupational Psychology: • Vocational Psychology: • D. Criminal Psychology:

15. Methods of Study of Psychology

16. 1) Case history method:In this method a systematic investigation of a person’s life history, personal, social, educational and occupational background is made to detect the environmental factors responsible for the patient’s symptoms. 2) Introspective method or (Subjective method):This is the observation of one’s own internal experience.

17. 3) Objective method:This is the observation and recording of the outward manifest behaviour of the individual. 4) Developmental method: This aims at tracing the mental and emotional development of the individual from birth up to adulthood and senility. The influence and interaction of heredity and environment is considered in forming the personality and development of mental illness or behaviour disorder.

18. 5) Experimental method: One of the many conditions in a situation is changed (experimental variable) and the effect on some activity of the individual (reaction) is measured. All other conditions are controlled and the results then can be attributed to the influence of the experimental variable.

19. MODELS OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS

20. There are two main models each of them had its roots, history, characteristics and justifications: A) The biomedical model. B) The rise of the biopsychosocial model.

21. There are two main models each of them had its roots, history, characteristics and justifications: A) The biomedical model. B) The rise of the biopsychosocial model.

22. A) The Biomedical Model: 1- Dualistic: Physical and psychosocial processes are separate and disease is not influenced by the latter. 2- Mechanistic:The body is like a machine and disease occurs when the normal operation of the body machine is disputed by a foreign agent.

23. 3- Reductionistic : Ignores the complexity of factors focusing only on physical systems. 4- Disease Oriented: Health is defined as absence of disease and efforts rarely go beyond the elimination of disease. This model is enhanced by Germ Theory of diseases in which each pathogen causes a specific disease.

24. Advantages of the Biomedical Model

25. 1)Development of medications that destroy pathogens. 2)Development of vaccines to protect against viral diseases as polio- and small pox .... etc. 3) Medical technology to diagnose disease (X-rays, and new imaging devices). 4)New surgical procedures (and anesthetics) to reduce complications and save lives. 5)Improved public hygiene and better sanitation.

26. B) The Rise of the Biopsychosocial Model

27. Due to the mentioned above changing pattern of illness and the escalating cost of health care, the biomedical model is challenged. However, rather than a new approach the biopsychosocial model is, The biopsychosocial model represents a better alternative for dealing with life style diseases because it takes biological as well as psychosocial factors into account. It, also, fits with systems theory and the concept of homeostasis and feedback.

28. Systems Theory Can be applied to internal bodily subsystems as well as external systems within which a person’s live.

29. Homeostasis: Recognizes that optimum functioning depends on balance among the elements of a system. Many of the body’s systems are homeostatic and illness can result from disequilibrium in them.

30. In the biopsychosocial model health is defined as: “Freedom from illness, as homeostatic balance and as optimal physical, mental and social functioning”.

31. STRESS IN BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL

32. Definition: Stress, in biopsychosocial model, refers to the cognitive appraisal of external events in relation to one’s coping resources and its physiological responses in the individual.

33. Components of Stress: It has three components: 1) The External Components: The environmental events that precede the recognition of stress (Stressors). It involves: a) Environmental circumstances as natural disasters. b) Changing life events as losing a job. c) Chronic conditions as crowding and poverty.

34. 2) The Internal Components: It is the emotional and physical response of the body to stressors (Strain). Objectively measured by hormonal assay and polygraphic monitoring. It passes through three stages: a) Alarm: Fight and flight, by release of sympathetic and pituitary catecholamines. b) Resistance: Persistence of high levels of hormones to adapt. c) Exhaustion: Energy reserve is exhausted and breakdown occurs. Parasympathetic division dominate with low arousal resulting in depression and even death.

35. 3) The Interaction between the Two Components: Cognition: The term cognition can be used to refer to the entire range of mental processes from input stimuli to output response.

36. Cognitive Appraisal (Cerebral Activity) 1) Primary Appraisal: That deals with determination of an event as either: a) Eustress, good, benign and positive uplift capable to produce optimum arousal for task performance (effort facilitation), or b) Stressful, harmful or threatening hassles produce higher arousal related to distress and deterioration of performance.

37. 2) Secondary Appraisal: That deals with determination of one’s coping resources as either: Sufficient: Successful coping. b) Insufficient: Vulnerability. Coping: refers to the effort required to manage specific demands of a particular situation. Vulnerability: refers to individual’s lack of actual resources to cope with a situation (exceeding one’s ability).

38. Illness: is related to stress appraised as harm or threat with insufficient coping resources resulting in much distress than effort. Our actions are not determined by circumstances and events as they exist but as they are perceived or interpreted by the individual. Distress: refers to anxiety, boredom and dissatisfaction. It is experienced as negative emotion.

39. Physiological Responses to Stress: Based on effort and distress (Hypothalamo-hypophyseal). 1) Effort with distress: Which leads to increase of both catecholamine and cortisol secretions and results from daily hassles. 2) Effort without distress: Which leads to an increase of catecholamine and suppression of cortisol secretion. It is a joyous state with successful coping and positive emotions.

40. 3) Distress without Effort: Which leads to increased cortisol secretion and possibly catecholamine secretion. The pattern typically found in depression. It is defined as helplessness.

41. 3) Distress without Effort: Stress Mediators: These are factors capable of increasing or decreasing the effects of stress. Buffers: They are mediators that protect from the unhealthful effects of stress they “turn the stress-volume down” under conditions of high stress. Through two mechanisms:

42. 1) Direct: that counteracts the physiological responses itself. It ameliorates the physical effects of stress and establishing homeostasis by reducing arousal after stress 2) Indirect: that influence transaction affecting cognitive appraisal (primary or secondary). Thus reducing the evaluation of threat and increasing the beliefs in coping abilities.

43. Some of the studied stress mediators are

44. 1- Type A and B Behaviour patterns. 2- Social support. 3-Personal control. 4- Hardiness. 5-Exercise activity level. 6- Sense of humor. 7- Spiritual support.

45. 1) Type A and B behaviour

47. Managing Stress

48. Stress is an inextricable part of living, particularly in our fast-paced, technological world. It cannot be removed from our lives. Some stress is necessary for arousal and may actually be good. Therefore our objective must be to learn how to live with stress while minimizing its unhealthful consequences. That is the goal of stress management not to eliminate stress, but to learn to live compatibly with it.

49. Applying the Biopsychosocial Model

50. I. Arousal Management: It attempts to affect physiological responses to stress by targeting the endocrine and autonomic nervous system. It seeks to reestablish homeostasis by reducing arousal after encountering stress.