Eddy M. Elmer: Quick-Reference Psych Lists

Please note: This information is just for study purposes. The data and figures in here are not meant to be quoted. This is a continual work in progress, so many sections are only partially complete.

Taxonomy of life (zoological)

Molecular hierarchy

Major brain divisions

3 crudest divisions, as used in everyday general conversation

Specific brain parts to know

Specific brain events to know

The menstrual cycle

Role of MAO (monoamine oxidase) in behaviour

"Adults with low levels of MAO, an enzyme in the brain, tend to be gregarious, drink heavily, indulge in drugs, like fast car, and seek out the excitement of rock concerts, bars, and other places of public entertainment. People with low MAO also pursue an active, varied sex life. They seem to be physiologically wired to create drama and excitement. This may begin in infancy; newborn babies with low levels of MAO are more excitable and crankier" (p. 172).

May be responsible for some people's lovesickness. MAO inhibitors seem to be able to reduce lovesickness in those who don't have enough phenylethylamine (neurotransmitter type substance) in brain (Fisher, p. 53-4).

Biological rhythms

Ultradian (<24-hour cycle; e.g. REM/non-REM sleep cycle; BRAC)
Circadian (24-hour cycle; e.g. sleep-wake cycle)
Infradian (>24-hour cycle; e.g. menstrual cycle)
Circannual (generally annual cycle; e.g. hibernation)

Stability of the Big 5 personality traits over time

General conclusions: personality traits from all 5 of these factors are stable in adults; stability is higher for adults 30+ than for young adults; and stability goes down over longer time periods

These maturational effects seem universal, and only modestly affected by historical experience

From Friedman and Downey, in Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, 2002, p. 46: "Genetic influences significant for all five major personality traits, although less so than for IQ. Interestingly, as was the case for IQ, reared-apart twins studies indicate that shared environment—that is, the familial environment of rearing—has little or no influence on the emergence of many core personality traits." I think this is a fair assessment; however, where there are major conflicts present in someone's life, these natural, inborn traits may not come through (ie, they may be masked by the conflicts and the defensive behaviours/traits that come about as a result).

Ageing and cognitive abilities

Development of children's conceptions of death (Maria Nagy's classification)

Difference between affect, mood, and emotion, happiness (and a working definition of "normality" and "self")

Affect

Mood

An emotion (aka a "feeling")

A physiological, cognitive (ie, evaluative, attitudinal), and psychological (ie, subjective, personally-meaningful) state of mind, which is short-lived and directed towards a specific thing or person.

According to James-Lange theory, all emotions start off with a general physiological arousal. Our cognitive and psychological interpretation of the feeling then turns the arousal into a specific emotional/feeling state.

Happiness

A philosophical state of mind/being. I personally like Mark Kingwell’s anti-definition of happiness: "To feel that you are living a life worth living." This is a ready broad definition that allows for lots of individual interpretation. For Carl Rogers, I think happiness would mean a significant degree of self-actualisation—to feel that you are being authentic to who you really are on the inside; to feel that you are constantly in the process of becoming your true self; to feel that you are fulfilling your truest and highest potential; becoming all that you can be; to feel that you are constantly moving towards higher self-growth.

Normality

For Rogers, this would mean self-actualisation. Self-actualisation itself implies an absence of anything that is interfering with the process of you becoming all that you can be. What can intefere with self-actualisation (and, hence, normalcy?). Various psychological issues, which translate into non- or poorly adaptive defensive mechanisms, which in turn translate into serious mental disorders if the defenses become too severe or the issues giving rise to them are not resolved sometime soon.

Self

One's essence. The inner, deep-down conviction of who one is as a unique individual—of who one feels one really is. This conviction includes—and is expressed through—the total gestalt of one’s cognitions (including attitudes), perceptions, consciousness, subjective interpretations, personality (including ego), self evaluation, and self esteem.

[My definition of self is more of an individualistic one; it refers to the inner self—the part that is relatively entouched by external forces (if, indeed, such a thing exists...and I think it does). There are certainly social influences which determine a person's sense of self, but for my purposes, I'm not too concerned with those.

Common defence mechanisms

Unconscious, or partly conscious, maneuvers by which we avoid or minimise anxiety due to unpleasurable/troubling/potentially troubling id impulses* , superego injunctions (including injunctions from the conscious conscience), or realistic dangers (cf. Charles Rycroft, A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis, Oxford, 1995). Usual pattern: Id impulse or superego injunction (including injunctions from conscience) —> emotion (including signal anxiety) that results from threat of id impulse being let loose or from superego's injunctions —> defence mechanism.

* Id impulses include strong feelings of attachment to objects (and the powerful feelings that are aroused when those objects are lost). Note also that in some people, id impulses are awakened prematurely because of sexual abuse during childhood.

Superego, cf. Rycroft: "The part of the ego in which self-observation, self-criticism, and other reflective activities develop. That part of the go in which parental introjects are located. Since Freud maintained that self-observation is dependent on internalization of the parents, these two definitions tally. The super-ego differs from the conscience in that (a) it belongs to a different frame of reference, i.e. metapsychology not ethics; (b) it includes unconscious elements; and (c) injunctions and inhibitions emanating from it derive from the subject's past and may be in conflict with his present values [...] Some accounts of psychoanalytic treatment give as one of its aims modification of the super-ego in the direction of greater tolerance and realism, while others describe the transfer of its functions to the ego."

Conscience, cf. Rycroft: "Either a person's system of moral values or that part of a person which he experiences as voicing moral values. The word properly refers only to conscious values and conscious 'still, small voices' and should not be confused with the super-ego which differs from it in being partly unconscious and in containing imperatives to which the individual does not consciously subscribe."

[In general, psychoanalytic treatment has the following goals: (1) To make conflicts conscious so that they no longer haunt someone unconcsiously; (2) To help the person choose a less disruptive defence mechanism if the conflict doesn't go away after catharsis; and (3) "modification of the super-ego in the direction of greater tolerance and realism, while others describe the transfer of its functions to the ego" (Rycroft).]

Note: References to "internal stressor" in the chart below means conflict between what id wants and what ego will allow to be expressed; "emotional conflict" means conflict between one's conscious moral values (ie conscience) and injunctions from superego; "external stressors" is the same as "realistic dangers" as in Rycroft's definition above. Note that some people experience conflicts even when nothing happened to them in the past to create superego injunctions. Some people, for instance, are simply genetically predisposed to interpret their experiences (eg, his experiences with objects such as his mother) in an exaggerated or negative way, thereby creating in their minds a distorted image of certain objects, conflicts, etc. Others have a certain cognitive style that also causes distorted perceptions. This is why object relations theory is interested not only in what actually happens to someone in life, but on how the person perceives those events (how he perceives his interactions with his objects, etc.)

acting out	I'm upset that my wife make more money than I do, so to punish her I refuse to do any household chores.
aim inhibition	Excerpt from http://www.coldbacon.com/defenses.html: "Placing a limitation upon instinctual demands; accepting partial or modified fulfillment of desires. Examples: (1) a person is conscious of sexual desire but if finding it frustrating, "decides" that all that is really wanted in the relationship is companionship. (2) a student who originally wanted to be a physician decides to become a physician's assistant. Aim inhibition, like the other mechanisms, is neither healthful nor pathological, desirable nor undesirable, in itself. It may be better to have half a loaf than no bread, but an unnecessary aim inhibition may rob one of otherwise attainable satisfactions. Note that the first example could include the mechanism of displacement, and the second, rationalization. Up to a point, mutual idealization can make for a happy relationship; however, unrealistic expectations of another person based upon this mechanism can lead to serious disappointment."
affiliation	I just broke up with my girlfriend and I turn to my best friend to talk and for support.
aggression
altruism	I am depressed so I go out and volunteer at a nursing home to feel better.
anticipation	There is a rumour that I may be fired from my job, so I anticipate the worst and start looking for a job well in advance of any bad news.
ascetism	I live a life of simplicity and avoid ordinary, earthly, corporeal pleasures.
autistic/schizoid fantasy	I am bored with the relationship with my girlfriend, and so I spend excessive time daydreaming about a relationship with Rachel Hunter instead of thinking of new ways to spice up my current relationship.
avoidance	Excerpt from http://www.coldbacon.com/defenses.html: "A defense mechanism consisting of refusal to encounter situations, objects, or activities because they represent unconscious sexual or aggressive impulses and/or punishment for those impulses; avoidance, according to the dynamic theory, is a major defense mechanism in phobias."
compartmentalisation
compensation	Stalin was a very short, weak-looking man. To compensate, he focussed on becoming a ruthless military dictator. This can become neurotic, as in the case of over-compensation (Adler's term).
controlling	From BehaveNet, http://www.behavenet.com: "In this neurotic defense the individual attempt to use manipulation and management of external objects to control anxiety."
conversion	I hate to play the piano, but my mother forces me to take lessons. I end up develop paralysis in my arms, even though there is no physical cause (ie, no physical disease).
counterphobia	Deliberately approaching one's fear/phobia.
deflection	Someone mentions something that I am embarassed about, and I change the topic by focussing the conversation on someone else.
denial	From Glenn Campbell, http://www.defencemechanisms.net: "The attempt to deal with a disturbing fact by denying its existence or refusing to accept its significance." My best friend dies in an accident and I insist that I feel o.k. psychotic denial when reality testing is grossly impaired.
devaluation	I didn't get the job I interviewed for. I insist that the interview was an absolute moron who doesn't know how to do his job and can't spot talent when he sees it. I am jealous of my classmates because they are better students than I am. As a result, I make fun of their physical appearance, comment on their social ineptness, and otherwise behave in a cruel, catty, aggressive way towards them.
disavowal/negation	From Andrew M. Colman, Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, 2001: "[A] process whereby one continues to defend oneself against a formerly repressed wish, thought, or feeling that has come to consciousness by disavowing or disowning, as when a patient says during therapy 'You might expect me to have felt angry with him, but I never felt any anger'. Sigmund Freud expounded his theory...'Only one consequence of the process of negation is undone—the fact, namely, of the ideational content of what is repressed not reaching consciousness. The outcome of this is a kind of intellectual acceptance of the repressed, while at the same time what is essential to the repression persists.'"
displacement	The judge finds me guilty of speeding in traffic court. I hold my tongue so I don't get an even harsher fine. I walk outside and when I am approached by a frail old vagrant for a quarter, I scream, curse, and spit at him. Definition cf. Coleman, Oxford Dictionary of Psychology (2001): "[D]efence mechanism involving redirection of emotional feelings from their original object to a substitute object related to the original one by a chain of associations. . .[T]he substitute object may be less threatening than the original one."
dissociation	DSM-IV: "The individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors with a breakdown in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, perception f self or the environment, or sensory/motor behaviour." One type is isolation of affect; see below.
distortion	From BehaveNet, http://www.behavenet.com: "This narcissistic defense mechanism often involves psychotic efforts to reshape the external world with hallucinations and delusions."
extreme doubt and confusion	I cannot trust my own judgment or perceptions and leave things perpetually unresolved in the hope that someone else will be able to make a decision or solve a problem for me.
fixation	Remaining frozen at a particular developmental period in order to avoid facing future conflicts (?)
foreclosure	From Andrew M. Colman, Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, 2001: "[A] defence mechanism first identified in 1956 by...Jacques Lacan...involving the expulsion of a fundamental signifier, such as the phallus as a fundamental signifier of the castration complex, from a person's symbolic universe. It may be a defence mechanism specific to psychosis, and it differs from repression inasmuch as the foreclosed signifier is not integrated into the person's unconscious and does not re-emerge from within as a neurotic symptom but may return in the form of a psychotic hallucination. The idea is traceable to an article in 1894 by Sigmund Freud...'There is, however, a much more energetic and successful kind of defence. Here, the ego rejects the compatible idea together with its affect and behaves as if the idea had never occured to the ego at all.'"
forgetting	I had an extramarital affair over which I felt very guilty. I was able to reconcile with my wife, but every time she brings up the topic of the affair, I honestly cannot remember key details of the affair.
help-rejecting complaining	My friends and I are all well-educated, but the friends have well-paying jobs while I work at Burger King. I am jealous. I constantly ask them if they will help spruce up my resume, help me look for a better job, etc. When they offer the help, I tell them their advice is stupid and does not apply to me.
hypercomplaint	From Glenn Campbell, http://www.defencemechanisms.net: "The attempt to relieve anxiety by overemphasizing ones problems. Hypercomplaint is the defense of relentless pessimism and unproductive complaining. The person wants to see his situation as worse than it is to provide an excuse for his failures."
hypochondriasis	From BehaveNet, http://www.behavenet.com: "This immature defense mechanism makes use of somatic illness or pain to avoid unacceptable impulses." In order to avoid going to therapy and deal with my attachment issues, I constantly complain of being too sick to go—even too sick to think about these issues. The hypochondriasis helps take my mind off the issues which obviously need attention.s
humour	DSM: "The individual deals with emotional conflict or external stressors by emphasizing the amusing or ironic aspects of the conflict or stressor." My pants fall down in the middle of the street, and I just stand there laughing at myself.
idealisation	DSM: "The individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by attributing exaggerated positive qualities to others." I don't want to accept that I am a victim of spousal abuse, so I talk endlessly about what a wonderful man—what a god—my husband is.
identification	According to Moore and Fine (in Psychoanalytic Terms and Concepts, Yale U Press, 1990), "is often used in a generic sense to refer to all the mental processes by which an individual becomes like another in one or several aspects" (p. 102). The three kinds of identification include: internalisation, introjection, and incorporation.
*identification with the aggressor aka* Stockholm syndrome**	My father abuses me and I start acting like him in order to make him think better of me (and, hence, not abuse me). Sometimes, the purpose is (unconsciously) to make oneself believe that the aggressor is actually a good person.
incorporation	Implies "swallowing up/ingesting" something from the external world in order to destroy it (cf. S.Frosh, Key Concepts in Psychoanalysis, NYU Press, 2002/3). I hate my father so much that I start behaving like him [get better example]
instinctualisation
intellectualisation	My husband just died and instead of acknowleding my feelings of grief and crying, for instance, I tell myself it makes no logical or philosophical sense to be upset because he is gone and being upset will not bring him back.
introjection/introjective identification	Opposite of projection. Involves taking in something (an object or an object's emotions) from the outside, external world and making it a part of your phantasy life. Implies a certain bodily symbolisation of the object (cf. S.Frosh, Key Concepts in Psychoanalysis, NYU Press, 2002/3). My husband dies and I cope with the unbearable grief by starting to act like him.
isolation of affect	In describing to her therapist the time she was raped, Carol describes the events matter-of-factly without experiencing and showing any of the negative feelings she felt during the assault.
moralisation
negation/disavowal	From Andrew M. Colman, Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, 2001: "[A] process whereby one continues to defend oneself against a formerly repressed wish, thought, or feeling that has come to consciousness by disavowing or disowning, as when a patient says during therapy 'You might expect me to have felt angry with him, but I never felt any anger'. Sigmund Freud expounded his theory...'Only one consequence of the process of negation is undone—the fact, namely, of the ideational content of what is repressed not reaching consciousness. The outcome of this is a kind of intellectual acceptance of the repressed, while at the same time what is essential to the repression persists.'"
omnipotence	I feel that I am physically-unattractive, uglier than most people. To cope, I insist that I am much, much smarter than they will ever be.
passive aggression	My boss refused to give me a raise, but if I express my anger about this, he might demote me. So instead, I deliberately quit doing all the little extra things I did before even though they weren't in my contract. When he becomes upset and says I'm not doing my job, I tell him sheepishly, "I am doing exactly what my job description entails".
projection	A husband is cheating on his wife. His wife finds out and he says, "How dare you invade my privacy. Don't you trust me?" The husband is the one harbouring the guilt (because he is the true cheat), but he is fully disavowing the feeling in himself and instead saying it's his wife who is the cheat. He basically completely distances himself from his unacceptable feelings.
projective identification	Here, you don't fully disavow the emotion or conflict you don't like. Instead, you maintain a part of it in consciousness, project it onto someone else for purposes of maintaining an identification with them. Through this identification, you self extends into them, and you can then deal with your unacceptable feelings by addressing them in the other person. Thus, the husband who is a cheat himself will become constantly suspicious of his wife. He will hound her all the time and make her feel guilty for this—in effect punishing her, or, more rightly, punishing himself through her.
racket emotions	I live in a family where anger cannot be expressed. So, when I am angry, I express sadness instead. Definition: Defence mechanism whereby a person experiences a particular emotion in place of an emotion that they believe they are not allowed to express
rationalisation	An adult has sex with a prepubescent child and insists he did it because she needed to learn about sexuality. EG, sour grapes phenomenon.
reaction formation	DSM-IV: "The individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by substituting behaviour, thoughts, or feelings that are diametrically opposed to his or her own unacceptable thoughts of feelings." eg. I dislike you so much that I shower you with affection. The diametrically opposed substituted behaviour, thoughts, or feelings are usually excessive or over-zealous.
regression	"It's not my fault. She started it."
reparation	Dealing with feelings of emotional conflict due to a given act by using by words or behavior designed to make amends for the consequences of a given act. Differs from restitution in that the latter involves bringing things back to a previous state of affairs. Differs from undoing in that the latter is an act by which the person tries to undo the original act itself.
repression	DSM-IV: "The individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by expelling disturbing wishes, thoughts, or experiences from conscious awareness. The feeling component may remain conscious, detached from its associated ideas."
restitution	I stole a lot of money from my best friend. I start paying him back, with interest. Differs from reparation in that the latter involves compensation or making amends, and not necessarily bringing things back to the way they were at a previous time. Differs from undoing in that the act is very obviously one by which the person pays back (in some way) the person he wronged.
reversal	Reversal of an instinctual aim, usually from passive to active (eg, from sadism into masochism, voyeurism into exhibitionism).
self-assertion	From BehaveNet, http://www.behavenet.com: "The individual deals with emotional conflict or stressors by expressing his or her feelings and thoughts directly in a way that is not coercive or manipulative." I am very angry with my best friend because he never pays for dinner. Instead of yelling at him and worsening the situation, I calmly but firmly voice my concerns.
self-observation	From BehaveNet, http://www.behavenet.com: "The individual deals with emotional conflict or stressors by reflecting on his or her own thoughts, feelings, motivation, and behavior, and responding appropriately." I cheated on my girlfriend and feel awful. I reflect on why I would behave this way, gain some insight, and use this insight to keep myself from doing this again.
splitting	DSM-IV: "The individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by compartmentalizing opposite affect states and failing to integrate the positive and negative qualities of the self or others into cohesive images. Because ambivalent affects cannot be experiencing simultaneously, more balanced views and expectations of self or others are excluded from emotional awareness. Self and object images tend to alternate between polar opposites: exclusively loving, powerful, worthy, nurturant, an kind-or exclusively bad, hateful, angry, destructive, rejecting, or worthless.
stoicism	I have severe emotional difficulties and refuse to see a therapist, insisting that I can/must/should "deal with it on my own."
sublimation	I'm angry at my boss, but instead of punching him in the face, I go for a punching bag or a Bobo doll or I go paint a masterpiece (a socially-acceptable behaviour).
substitution	Excerpt from http://www.coldbacon.com/defenses.html: "[T]the individual secures alternative or substitutive gratification comparable to those that would have been employed had frustration not occurred."
suppression	DSM-IV: "The individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by intentionally avoiding thinking about disturbing problems, wishes, feelings, or experiences."
symbolisation	From Glenn Campbell, http://www.defencemechanisms.net: "The attempt to resolve complex inner conflicts by replacing them with external symbolic objects. Symbolization is the attempt to relieve inner conflict by investing in external symbols. To try to repair my low self-esteem, I buy a flashy new sports car. To express my feelings for my country, I salute the flag and sing its anthem. A symbol is an outside object, neutral in itself, to which I attribute an emotional value or abstract meaning. The object can then be bought, sought, rejected or otherwise manipulated as though it was a container of all the feelings and meaning I have given to it."
turning against the self	I direct my saddistic impulses towards others against myself, thus becoming a masochist (this example is called "moral masochism).
undoing	Dealing with feelings of emotional conflict due to a given act by using words or behavior designed to symbolically negate it or magically cause the act to not have happened. Differs from reparation and restitution in that the latter are defences by which the person responds to the consequences of the act. In undoing, the person tries to undo the original act itself.

Notes:

Identification, according to Moore and Fine (in Psychoanalytic Terms and Concepts, Yale U Press, 1990), "is often used in a generic sense to refer to all the mental processes by which an individual becomes like another in one or several aspects" (p. 102). The three kinds of identification include: internalisation, introjection, and incorporation.
Internalisation: Often used synonymously with introjection. Simply refers to the basic process by which that which is in the outside world takes on an internal, mental representation. Precedes both incorporation and introjection. Not a defence mechanism.
Introjection: Opposite of projection. Involves taking in something from the outside, external world (an object or an object's emotions) and making it a part of your phantasy life. Implies a certain bodily symbolisation of the object (cf. S.Frosh, Key Concepts in Psychoanalysis, NYU Press, 2002/3)
Incorporation: Implies "swallowing up/ingesting" something from the external world in order to destroy it (cf. S.Frosh, Key Concepts in Psychoanalysis, NYU Press, 2002/3). I hate my father so much that I start behaving like him [get better example]

DSM axes

Axis I - Clinical syndromes, aka "state disorders"; most disorders listed on this axis
Axis II - Personality disorders, aka "trait disorders"; mental retardation
Axis III - Physical disorders and conditions
Axis IV - Psychosocial stressors
Axis V - Global Assessment of Functioning

Mood spectrum for bipolar disorder

TOO LOW
(clinically depressed): lethargic, unable to work, agitated, paranoid, delusional, suicidal

MILDLY LOW
(depressed): exhausted, quiet, reserved, unmotivated, sensitive, pessimistic, unassertive, timid, anxious, lowered self-esteem, sadness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, feeling low

MILDLY HIGH
(hypomanic): unusually productive, perceptive and daring; with an ability to get by on little sleep; clarity of vision, a talent for juggling multiple tasks at once, and elevated creativity, resourcefulness, confidence, decisiveness, enthusiasm, charisma and stamina

TOO HIGH
(manic): sense of being special or invincible, sexually passionate, difficulty sleeping, rapid speech, irritable, easily distracted, unable to concentrate, flailing arms, impaired judgement (often exhibited in sexual affairs, spending sprees, grandiose business decisions), inability to finish tasks, head-strong, rebellious

PSYCHOTIC
argumentative, paranoid, may require hospitalization

Notes on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Trauma: cf Charles Rycroft, A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis, Oxford, 1995): "In psychiatry and psychoanalysis, any totally unexpected experience which the subject is unable to assimilate. The immediate response to a psychological trauma is shock; the later effects are either spontaneous recovery (which is analogous to spontaneous healing of physical traumata) or the development of a traumatic neurosis."

While a person in still in shock, talking probably isn't very helpful (and my even be disruptive). Talking and therapy are useful for (1) general support for when the person starts the process of assimilation; (2) helping a person assimilate if he hasn't started assimilating for a long time; (3) helping a person who starts developing a traumatic neurosis (which implies he can't assimilate; in the latter case, it is often past unresolved traumas which are being awakened and complicating the process of assimilating the current trauma; thus, therapy is needed for both the past trauma(s) and the current one(s).

Also, keep in mind that therapy isn't a cognitive process; overcoming emotional issues is not as easy as just saying to someone "Think differently and things will change"; therapy is about a process of emotional experience that actually physically rewires implicit biological patterns in the brain through a relational exchange and dialogue with another human being.. Psychological trauma causes physical brain wirings that must be changed and re-wired in order for someone to go on. Only a skilled therapist knows how to walk the person through this emotional process so as to cause an appropriate rewiring. Only after that process is someone finally able to do what everyone keeps imploring him to do: To make choices, to take responsibility for his life, to think differently about his life, to "get on with things", etc. Of course, even with successful therapy a person will never be able to have his brain rewired to a pre-trauma state; biological traces of the psychological trauma will always remain in the brain. Therapy can help the client deal with the remaining traces (eg, how to cope so that relapses don't occur, what to do when signs of the trauma return, and so on).

Notes on Borderline Personality Disorder

Theories of masochism

Excerpt from Arnold M. Cooper, Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Masochism, in W.H. Sledge and A. Tasman, Clinical Challenges in Psychiatry, 1993, American Psychiatric Press, p. 160-161:

"These explanations are not mutually exclusive, and it is likely that in every masochistic individual there is an amalgam of several of these attempts at adaptation, with one or another group of defense mechanisms predominating in a particular patient. However, except for the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, all of these explanations share the view that individuals who develop SDPD [self-defeating personality disorder] were, at least in their own perception, the victims of unempathic or abusive childhood settings, and clinical experience would seem to confirm that abused children are prone to developing sadistic and masochistic relationships in later life. Again, with the exception of the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, the explanations all posit early failure to support the child's budding self-esteem and to provide the atmosphere of safety required for adequate development of healthy narcissism and assertion" (p. 161).

In each of these cases, the person either deliberately seeks out painful experiences, or fails to escape from painful experiences. Both actions constitute "masochism".

Orlofsky's classification of intimacy styles

Excerpt from J.W. Santrock, Adolescent Development, 8th edition (2001), McGraw Hill, p. 316

White's three levels of relationship maturity

Excerpt from J.W. Santrock, Adolescent Development, 8th edition (2001), McGraw Hill, p. 316-317

"A desirable goal is to develop a mature identity and have positive, close relationships with others. Kathleen White and her colleagues (1987) developed a model of relationship maturity that includes this goal at its highest level. Individuals are described as moving through three levels of relationship maturity:"

Psychodynamic theories of hypersexuality, promiscuity

Excerpts from Arnold M. Cooper, Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Masochism, in W.H. Sledge and A. Tasman, Clinical Challenges in Psychiatry, 1993, American Psychiatric Press, p. 160-161:

Popular vs. rejected children in the classroom

Popularity vs. friendship in the school setting

Bullies and bully victims (passive vs. aggressive victims)

Bullying in general

Bullies in general

Male vs. female bullies

Passive vs. aggressive victims

Prescription abbreviations

b.i.d. = twice a day
mitte = supply
p.o. = per os (by mouth)
p.r. = per rectum
p.r.n. = as needed
q. = every
q.d. = daily
q.h. = every hour
q.h.s. = before bedtime
q.i.d. = four times a day
q.o.d. = every other day
t.i.d. = three times a day
USP = meets quality standards of the USP (United States Pharmacopaeia); USP-grade

Anxiolytics, sedatives, and sedative-hypnotics

Side-effect profile spectrum for SSRI's and related drugs

SEDATING (an anticholingeric side effect)
Remeron (mirtazapine) (very sedating, but I don't know how sedating relative to the others; actually geared to those who are depressed and having sleeping problems)
Serzone (nefazodone)
Luvox (fluvoxamine)
Paxil (paroxetine), Celexa (citalopram)
Wellbutrin (bupoprion)
Zoloft (sertraline)
Effexor (venlafaxine)
Prozac (fluoxetine)
STIMULATING

SSRI and MAO inhibitors are the drugs which cause the most sexual side effects.

FEWER SEXUAL SIDE EFFECTS: Wellbutrin, Serzone, Desyrel, maybe Remeron (because it doesn't work solely on serotonin). and hopefully Cymbalta; Wellbutrin is the least likely of all the SSRI-type drugs to have sexual side effects; in fact, Wellbutrin can actually reverse sexual symptoms associated with depression; Effexor has one of the highest sexual side effect profiles; drugs which act on serotonin are the worst culprits; those which act on dopamine etc don't have the same side effects;

WEIGHT GAIN: Tricyclic antidepressants, MAO inhibitors, and lithium can all induce weight gain. SSRIs do not usually induce weight gain.

Pharmacological approaches to treatment of aggression

Try the following, in this order (as per this excerpt from Gary J. Maier, in Managing the Repetitively Aggressive Patient, in W.H. Sledge and A. Tasman, Clinical Challenges in Psychiatry, 1993, American Psychiatric Press, p. 199-202

Differences between common over-the-counter analgesics

Difference between first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and criminal negligence causing death

Terminology sometimes forgotten

Good definition of learning: Any change in behaviour, emotion, or thoughts due to experience.

Key prefixes and suffixes

Key psychological/social statistics

% people homosexual (using the criteria of finding a person of the same sex your predominant physically arousing attraction): men 6%; women 2% (reference: R.T. Michael et al., Sex in America: A definitive survey (1994)

% people homosexual (using the criteria of identifying as gay): men 3%; women 1.5% (reference: R.T. Michael et al., Sex in America: A definitive survey (1994)

where most people first met their romantic partners: "Most couples were introduced by families or friends or introduced themselves, usually in situations where others in the room were already preselected—they were at a party given by a mutual friend or they were at a social organization or club [they were engaged in a common shared activity]. And the more stable the relationship [between the romantic partners], the more likely [they] were to have met through their social networks" (reference: R.T. Michael et al., Sex in America: A definitive survey (1994)

percent Americans believing homosexuality to be always morally wrong, from 1972-1991: just over 70% (reference: R.T. Michael et al., Sex in America: A definitive survey (1994)

number people mentally ill (ie, clinical disorder) at any point in their lives: 20-30%

% people in U.S. thinking that homosexuality cannot be reversed through techniques involving "love, understanding, and the word of God": 93%

% people in U.S. believing that homosexual behaviour is acceptable: ~50%; ~45% say unacceptable; ~5% no opinion

U.S. beliefs on origins of homosexuality: ~40%~ think born with it; ~40% think its upbringing/environment; ~12% think both; ~70% conservatives think it's a choice [Note: pedigree studies, and studies of identical twins separated at birth and raised in different families shows that, at least for male gays, sexual orientation is primarily genetically determined, but appears to rely on an environmental trigger which may or may not occur in an individual's early childhood]

Canadian attitudes on homosexuality—"Do you approve or disapprove of homosexuality": 40% "approve"; 35% disapprove; rest undecided, cf. Environics; most accepting in Quebec at about 90%; ~60% Canadian Alliance, 41% PC, 34% Liberal, 32% NDP, and 9% Bloc Quebecois strongly disapprove, cf. Leger Marketing)

prevalence anorexia nervosa: 0.5%-1.0% (late adolescence and early adulthood)

% kids in self-care/"latchkey": ~7% to 15-20% of early elementary kids to 45% of late elementary kids

% people worldwide contracting HIV through heterosexual sex: 70%; from male-male sex 10%; rest due to IV drug use, mother-child transmission, and unsafe blood supply

in men, correlation between how aroused they say they are and their erectile response: very high

in women, correlation between how aroused they say they are and their physiological arousal: very low, if non-existant

in men, typical sexual response cycle: desire, arousal, plateau, orgasm, refractory period

in women, possible sexual response cycle: arousal, desire, plateau, orgasm (ie, arousal can occur without feelings of desire; desire seems more dependent on external factors, such as love for the mate, feelings of security, etc.)

heterosexual men get aroused mainly by what kinds of images: opposite sex ones

heterosexual and homosexual women both get aroused mainly by what kinds of images: both opposite sex and same sex

proportion of cult members who are psychologically healthy: quote from J.W. Santrock, in Adolescent Development: "Who joins cults? For the most part, normal, average people. Approximately two-thirds of cult members are psychologically healthy individuals who come from normal families (Cialdini & Rhoad, 1999). The remaining one-third often have depressive symptoms, in many cases linked with personal loss such as a death in the family, a failed romantic relationship, or career problems. Only about 5 percent of cult members have major psychological problems before joining the cult. Cults prefer intelligent, productive individuals who can contribute money and talent to "the case," whatever that might be. . .Many individuals who become cult members are in a transitional phase of life. They have moved to a new city, lost a job, dropped out of school, or given up traditional religion as personally irrelevant. Potential cult members might find their work boring or stressful, their education meaningless, their social life not going well, their family remote or dysfunctional, their friends too busy to spend time with them, or their trust in government lost. Cults promise to fulfill most of a person's individual needs and to make their life safe, healthy, caring, and predictable. Cult leaders offer followers simple paths to happiness" (p. 417, 8th edition).

most common sources of sexual information: in order=peers, literature, mothers, schools, experience; schools account for only 15% of adolescents' knowledge of sex; many students say they learned more about sex from reading than from anywhere else

% women with masturbatory experience who don't orgasm: ~50% (Everaerd and Laan, 1994, cited in Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, by Friedman and Downey)

% personality variation directly influenced by genes: 20-50% (Segal 1999, quoted in Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, by Friedman and Downey); shared environment has little influence; non-shared environment accounts for most of the rest of the variation

% people with dementia of the Alzheimer's type: 2-4% people over 65; over 85, 20%+ (this includes people with both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia)

nature-nurture debate on homosexuality: from Friedman and Downey, in Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, 2002, p. 49; "Although the results of [genetic] studies vary, no modern investigations that have been replicated suggest that homosexuality is as heritable as IQ or that it is not influenced by environmental factors, although there remains some uncertainty about the precise nature of these factors."

concordance rate for homosexuality in monozygotic vs. dizygotic twins: about 50% vs. about 25% in men; about 50% vs. about 2% in women (cf. Bailey and Pillard, 1993, in Friedman and Downey, Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, 2002); Bailey et al. 1999, cited in Friedman and Downey=male homosexuality is familial

is childhood gender nonconformity heritable? for both men and women, yes; also, strongly associated with adult homosexual orientation, and somewhat less so for females (cf. Bailey and Zucker 1995, in Friedman and Downey, Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, 2002); Friedman and Downey, p. 53: "In fact, this is one of the most robust associations in the behavioral sciences."; homosexuals experience more childhood gender nonconformity than heterosexuals; and many nonconforming children do not go on to become homosexual

% kids who will suffer significant adjustment problems as teenagers as a result of divorce: ~20-25% (NIMH); % who will develop mental disorders without intervention ~25% (compared with 11% who get interventions) [see JAMA Oct. 16, 2002]

% American Psychological Association members who go to the annual conventions: ~5%

% kids securely attached: 65%; avoidant ; ambivalent ___?; disorganised/disoriented 10%

% school age children in NA currently taking Ritalin or a similar drug: ~15%

% inmates with some sort of mental illness, including antisocial personality disorder and/or drug addiction: (~90%; cf. Ogloff)

% depressed patients who don't find adequate relief from anti-depressants: ~60% (?)

% depressed people on antidepressants alone who experience relapse when they stop taking the drug: ~60-70%

% depressed people in psychotherapy alone who relapse when therapy ends: ____?

who feels more emotional strain from family + relationship problems? men or women?

% ADHD sufferers who outgrow condition: ~30% (but of these, most still have some residual symptoms)

2nd most common neurodegenerative disease affecting older people: Parkinson's

% depressed people finding big relief or remission after CBT and drugs combined: 85%; only about 50% success for those on drugs or therapy alone

most common diagnosis among patients in psychiatric hospitals: schizophrenia (40-50% of all patients)

in 1950, proportion of all hospital patients admitted for a psychiatric reason: ~50%

risk of developing tardive dyskinesia due to long-term treatment with antipsychotics: 15-20%

1st benzodiazepines developed: chlordiazepoxide (Librium) 1960; diazepam (Valium) 1963

average # years from discovering a new, potentially useful medicine, to approval: ~10 years

average Health Canada approval process for priority (life-saving) drugs: ~6 months

average consumer savings on generic version of patent-expired brand drug: ~50%

wealthiest industry in Canada in term of both assets and profits: pharmaceuticals

% new drugs developed by non-private entities (eg, government and universities): 10%; eg. Lariam (anti-malaria drug developed by U.S. Army; potentially psychotic-inducing in some patients)

#1 medical killer in Canada: CVD (especially coronary artery disease, such as atherosclerosis)

most common psychiatric disorders in North America: anxiety disorders; 10-16% lifetime prevalence

which has higher levers of substance abuse? inner-city teens or affluent suburban teens? affluent suburban teens

women almost twice as likely as men to suffer anxiety disorders and depression

% new drugs which are simply modifications of existing ones: ~65% (eg, Lexapro, which is better-acting form of Celexa)

percentage gay men reporting any instances of nonmonogamy since beginning of their relationship: ~75; husbands, wives, male cohabitors, female cohabitors, and lesbians=all roughly equal at about 25-30% (cf Blumstein & Schwartz 1983)

girls raised in fatherless homes experience puberty: earlier than girls raised in homes with dads (cf. Matt Ridley, What makes you who you are, Time, Canadian edition, June 2, 2003, p. 36)

gay men more likely to have older brothers than are either gay women or hetero men (cf. Matt Ridley, What makes you who you are, Time, Canadian edition, June 2, 2003, p. 37)

if fraternal twin divorces, chance the other twin will divorce: 30% (cf. Matt. Ridley, What makes you who you are, Time, Canadian edition, June 2, 2003, p. 38)

if identical twin divorces, chance the other twin will divorce: 45% (cf. Matt Ridley, What makes you who you are, Time, Canadian edition, June 2, 2003, p. 38)

biological children of criminal parents are more/less likely than their adopted kids to commit crimes? more; suggests that genes may predispose some people to respond to a certain way to a crimogenic environment (cf. M. Ridley, What makes you who you are, Time, Canadian edition, June 2, 2003, p. 39)

how long it takes Viagra to kick in: ~1 hour; 30-45 minutes for Vardenafil; 45-75 minutes for tadalafil (Cialis)

how long Viagra lasts: 4 hours; 5 hours for Vardenafil; up to 36 hours for Cialis (aka "the weekend pill" in Europe)

% men with ED who find Viagra effective: ~80%; if they have more than 2 risk factors, only 50% effective rate

% population for whom reading comings easily (ie, whether or not they are formally taught): 25%; most others require some degree of formal instruction

political support in U.S.: 20% left, 40% moderate, 40% conservative; media tends to support left, which gives it a 50% voice in politics and public discourse

major source of Americans' daily sugar consumption: 60% from high-calorie corn sweeteners found in sodas and fruit drinks; can sweeteners pack far more calories than regular table syrup

age at which male's testosterone starts to decline: 40; 1% decrease per year after 40; can lead to andropause

% women with PMDD: 3-9%; most severe PMDD: 3-5%; more women experience mild-moderate premenstrual symptoms

bully/victim group that experiences the most depression: aggressive victim

when a child can understand the persuasive intent of a commercial: 7-8 years (65% of all first-graders trust commercials)

more likely to die if you become successful when you're younger or older? younger (not because of all the stress of the work itself, but because of the longing to be successful so young; it's the drive for success itself, not so much the work itself, which decreases longevity)

are kids more anxious about really big things like 9/11, or by everyday things? everyday things (and parents aren't even awre of these everyday concerns)

people most likely to try to reduce cognitive dissonance when: their self image is threatened; when the attitude-inconsistent behaviour reflects poorly on the self (cf. Claude M. Steele)

is a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy) as qualified as an M.D. to treat you? yes; s/he has all the basic medical training as an M.D., plus s/he knows osteopathy

Good books and technical articles to have

Clinical Challenges in Psychiatry, edited by William H. Sledge and Allan Tasman. Includes the following excellent articles:

Assessment and Management of the Suicidal Patient, by Howard C. Blue, Claudia Bemis, and William H. Sledge (American Psychiatric Press)

Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Masochism, by Arnold M. Cooper
[Excellent overview of theories of masochism]

Some Characteristic Initial Resistances in Psychotherapy, by Victor A. Altshul
[Fabulous article covering the kinds of resistances that patients exhibit in the beginning of therapy, including: ethical resistance, erotic resistance, cognitive resistance, and aesthetic resistance]

Marital and Family Therapy, Third Edition, edited by Ira D. Glick, John F. Clarkin, and David R. Kessler (Grune & Stratton). Includes the following excellent articles:

The Field of Marital and Family Therapy: Development and Definition
[Great overview of the field]

The Major Schools of Family Therapy (Sections include Insight-Awareness Model, The Systems-Structural Model, The Behavioral Model, and the Experiential-Existential Model)
[Another great overview]

Family Treatment: General Consideration (sections include Setting; Time, Scheduling, and Fees; Family Therapy in Combination with Other Psychosocial Therapies)

Gay Couples (sections include Relationship Patterns, Myths About Gay Couples, Issues in Therapy of Gay Couples, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

Indications and the Family Therapy Decision Tree
[Good guidelines on when to use family vs individual therapy and vice versa]

Is Diagnosis a Disaster? A Constructionist Trialogue, by Kenneth J. Gergen, Lynn Hoffman, and Harlene Anderson; in Relational Diagnosis, edited by F. Kaslow (Wiley, 1996).

	Example: Cougar (Puma)
Kingdom	Animalis
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Carnivora
Family	Felidae
Genus	Felis
Species	F. coloris
Common Name	Cougar

Central nervous system	Brain (encephalon)	Forebrain	Telencephalon (Cerebral hemispheres)	Neocortex
				Basal ganglia
				Limbic system
			Diencephalon	Thalamus
				Hypothalamus
		Mesencephalon—midbrain
		Hindbrain	Metencephalon	Cerebellum
				Pons
			Myelencephalon—medulla oblongata
	Spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system	Somatic (skeletal) nerves
	Autonomic ganglia and nerves		Sympathetic division
			Parasympathetic division

Criteria	Popular Kids	Rejected Kids

Classroom behaviour	positive, happy share, co-operate good social skills non-aggressive	disruptive argumentative awkward, inappropriate aggressive unpredictable/dysregulated solitary
Appearance	physically attractive well-groomed	not physically attractive not well-groomed
Academics/sports	good students athletic	have learning disabilities and/or disorders failures
Temperament	even	irritable, overreactive
Attachment history	secure attachments	insecure attachments feels insecure in groups
Parenting style	authoritative gives child specific advice, re: how to behave, etc.	authoritarian (for neglected-rejected children) neglectful (for aggressive children) parents give vague advice, or avoid advice altogether
Outcomes	increased chance will become leaders	increased risk will become depressed, sad, lonely

Popularity	Friendship
easy	hard
doesn't involve much time investment	takes lots of time
acceptance by group (not necessarily by the individuals within the group)	acceptance by individuals
provides nurturing and self worth	provides nurturing and self worth
doesn't necessarily involve friendship (ie, meaningful relationships with each of the people within the accepting groups)	involves meaningful individual relationships
unidirectional	reciprocal: mutual regard and affection mutual trust mutual support (especially in terms of helping each other adjust to the school environment) mutual reliability feelings of mutual understanding
doesn't necessarily prepare you for adult relationships	prepares you for adult relationships
no major clinical benefits	clinical benefits

Male	Female

direct	indirect
physically aggressive	aggress by: undermining social relationships shunning others creating and spreading rumours

Passive victims	Aggressive victims

10% of school population	2-10% of school population
frail	hostile social interactions
average/poor students	hot tempered when aggressed against
	peers say that they frequently start fights, get mad easily, get picked on a lot
not too popular	not popular with any cliques
submissive among peers	most rejected group
unassertive (across all social situations, not just in school)	inconsistent parents
when they aren't being bullied, they blend in with their peers	lower parental warmth
not bullied as adults	see world as a hostile and untrustworthy place
	see hostile intent everywhere
	mutual reinforcement with the bully (among other reinforcements, the more the bully aggresses, the more the victim aggresses against others in order to win respect with the bully)
	because of extreme rejection, at great risk for depression and suicide (more so than passive victims or bullies themselves)

Drug	Brand	Analgesic (anti-prosta-glandin?)	Anti-inflamm-atory (NSAID)?	Anti-pyretic	Benefits	Problems
acetylsalicylic acid	aspirin	x	x	x	good for headaches good for myalgia good for fever	can cause lots of upset stomach Reye's syndrome increases blood-clotting time (so don't use with anti-clotting drugs)
acetaminophen	Tylenol	x		x	kills pain just as much as Aspirin doesn't cause as much of an upset stomach	may cause liver damage increases blood-clotting time (so don't use with anti-clotting drugs)
acetylsalicylic acid, acetaminophen, caffeine mix	Excedrin	x	x	x	caffeine can make pain go away faster	insomnia increases blood-clotting time (so don't use with anti-clotting drugs)
ibuprofen	Advil	x	x	x	strongest anti-inflammatory	can cause upset stomach increases blood-clotting time (so don't use with anti-clotting drugs)
naproxen	Alleve	x	x	x	longest-acting of all the drugs in this chart (8-12 hours for analgesia, anti-inflammatory, and anti-pyretic qualities)	main problemis upset stomach increases blood-clotting time (so don't use with anti-clotting drugs)

Prefix	Meaning	Suffix	Meaning
a- ab- acro- ad- adeno- amb- /amphi- an- ana- andro- angi- aniso- ant- / anti- ante- app- brachy- brady- carcin- cata- cav- cephal- cerebro- crani- / cranio- cyto- de- dia- dip- dis- dys- ecto- em-/en-/end-/endo- ent- entero- epi- eu- ex-/exo- extra- gyne- hema- / hemo- hepa- histo- homeo- homo- in- infra- inter- intra- intro- iso- leuco- / leuko- medi- melano- meso- meta- metro- mio- myelo- myo- narco- nephro- neuro- nyc- oligo- opisth- ortho- os- / osteo- para- patho- per- peri- phlebo- phren- pluri- pre- / pro- proto- retro sapro- sarco- sclero- sub- supra- syn- tachy- trans- ultra- vaso- veno-	without, not away from extremity towards glandular both, both sides without, not up male blood vessel unequal against before away short slow cancer down cavernous head brain skull cell away, reverse through double separation abnormal outside in within intestine on, upon well, normal outside outside female blood liver tissue like same not, in below between within inward equal white middle dark pigment middle between uterus small spinal muscle stupor kidney nerve night deficiency backward straight bone beside, other disease by, through around vein mind many before first past dead, decaying flesh hard below above together fast across, through beyond vessel vein	-able -agra -al -algia -an -ase -asis -blast -cele -centesis -cide -clysis -coccus -cule -cyte -desis -dynia -ectasis -ectomy -emia -esthesia -facient -fuge -genesis/-genetic -genic -gogue -iatric -itis -logy -lysis -lytic -megaly -morph -ogen -odynia -oid -ol -oma -opsy -ose -osis -ostomy -otomy -ous -pathy -penia -pexy -phage -phagia -philia -phylaxis -plegia -pnea -ptosis -rhage -rhea -somy -statis -sthenia -stomy -taxis -taxy -tome -tomy -trophy	able attack, sev. pain pertaining to pain pertaining to enzyme state cell tumour, swelling puncture destructive injection round cell little cell bind together pain dilate, extend removal blood of the senses making expelling form, originate can cause increase flow to heal inflammation study of disintegrate enlarge form precursor pain like alcohol tumour look at sugar disease, excess make outlet incision like disease lack of fixation ingest swallow, eat love protection paralysis breathing dying burst forth excess. discharge state tool turning

Eddy's Quick-Reference Psychology List, Key Statistics, Charts, and List of Handy Books

Eddy Elmer, Simon Fraser University