Практическое занятие №15. ТЕМА 7. Psychology Science as my data for study.
Psychology Science as my data for study.
Task 1. Give a talk about the problems: Example 2: Depression
We all have seen people who seem to be very depressive. Why are some people consistently more depressive than others? Each of the five approaches to personality provides at least one answer.
Task 2. Give a talk about the problems: Example 2:
Example 2: Depression
Most of us know what it is like to be depressed. We have all had days when we feel a little «blue» or «melancholy.» You may also have suffered through longer periods of intense sadness and a general lack of interest and motivation for anything. Although most of us fluctuate through changing moods and levels of interest and energy, some people seem more prone to depression than others. Because problems with depression are widespread today, many psychologists have offered explanations for its cause. Once again, each of the five approaches to personality has a different explanation for depression.
According to Sigmund Freud, the founder of the psychoanalytic approach, depression is anger turned inward. That is, people suffering from depression hold unconscious feelings of anger and hostility. For example, they may want to strike out at family members. But a healthy personality does not express such feelings overtly. In addition, psychoanalysts argue that each of us has internalized the standards and values of society, which typically discourage the expression of hostility. Therefore, these angry feelings are turned inward, and people «take it out» on themselves. As with most psychoanalytic explanations, this takes place at an unconscious level.
Trait theorists are concerned with identifying depression-prone people. Psychologists have long recognized, that one of the best predictors of who will suffer from a serious bout of depression is whether the person has suffered from depression before. For example, one investigation found a very high correlation between measures of emotional temperament taken twelve months apart (Costa, McCrae, & Arenberg, 1980). These results argue strongly that depression is more than a person’s reaction to his or her particular circumstances. Evidence now exists that some people may inherit a genetic susceptibility to depression; in fact, some scientists have recently identified the gene they believe transmits this susceptibility. A person born with this vulnerability faces a much greater likelihood than the average individual of reacting to stressful life events with depression. Because of this inherited tendency, we can expect these people to experience repeated bouts of depression throughout their lives.
Humanistic personality theorists interpret depression in terms of self-esteem. That is, people who frequently suffer from depression are those who have failed to develop a good sense of their self-worth. A person’s level of self-esteem is established while growing up and, like other personality concepts, is fairly stable across time and situations. The ability to accept oneself, even one’s faults and weaknesses, is an important goal for humanistic therapists when dealing with clients suffering from depression.
Task 3. Answer the questions: What is aggression? and What is depression? (in a short form).
The behavioral/social learning approach examines the type of environment surrounding the development of depression. Behaviorists argue that depression results from a lack of positive rein forcers in a person’s life. That is, you may feel down and unmotivated because you see few activities in your life worth doing. A more extensive behavioral model of depression proposes that depression develops from experiences with aversive situations over which people feel they have little control. This theory, called learned helplessness, maintains that exposure to uncontrollable events creates a perception of helplessness that is generalized to other situations. For example, people who attribute their inability to get a promotion to their personal inadequacies believe they also cannot control other important aspects of their lives. The resulting pattern of helpless behaviour resembles classic depression symptoms.
Cognitive explanation of depression introduces the concept of a depressive schema. This model proposes that we use something like a depressive filter to interpret and process information. That is, depressed people are prepared to see the world in the most depressing terms possible, as if they look at it through depressing lenses. Because of this depressive schema, depressed people can easily recall depressing experiences. People and places they encounter are likely to remind them of some sad or unpleasant time. In short, people become depressed because they are prepared to generate depressing thoughts.
So, which of these theories is the most accurate? You may have found that more than one of these approaches may correctly explain depression or aggression. These theories can at times complement each other. For example, a behavioral theory of depression can include cognitive mechanisms to explain why some people are more likely than others to develop and maintain depressive episodes. Each of the five approaches has something to offer.