David A. Porter's Psychology Page

Theories of Human Development & Personality:

Psychosexual Stages of Development according to Freud (Coming Soon)
The Oral Stage
The Anal Stage
The Phallic stage
The Latency Stage
The Genital Stage

Cognitive stages of Development according to Piaget (Coming Soon)
The sensori-motor stage
The Pre-operational stage
The concrete operational stage
The Formal Operational stage
A possible fifth stage: Didactic thought

Psychosocial Stages of Development according to Erikson

Erik Erikson, a theorist who studied human development, proposed eight stages of growth which all of us go through. According to Erikson, everybody goes through eight crises or conflicts of development. The degree to which a person successfully solves these conflicts determines the amount of personal growth, satisfaction, adaptation, adjustment, and future mental emotional health the person experiences. The outcome of each conflict is cumulative, in that the persons level of resolution is going to affect the next conflict. The two poles of each stage are absolutes, almost no one will be completely gravitate to one or another; it will be a matter of degree.

The eight stages are:

1.Trust vs. Mistrust. This stage occurs from birth to about one year of age. If the infant's basic needs, such as affection and attention, are provided by the infants' care giver in a generally consistent manner, then the infant will begin to form the overall impression that the world is a safe and secure place, and the infant will develop a sense of trust. The opposite pole of the conflict is one in which the infant's basic needs are not met in an consistent manner. As a result, the child develops a lack of trust and may feel the world is hostile and unpredictable.

2.Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. This stage takes place from about age one to age three. Toddlers discover and learn about their bodily functions and how to control them. When they succeed in doing things for themselves, they develop a sense of autonomy, self confidence, and self control. If they do not successfully perform at this stage and they are labeled messy, sloppy, or bad, they learn shame and self doubt.

3.Initiative vs. Guilt. This stage occurs at around age four or five when children begin to explore their environment. If their exploration of the environment and attempts to influence their environment are generally successful, they learn to deal with people and things around them in a positive way and develop a sense of initiative. If their attempts to influence the environment are criticized or punished, they learn to feel guilt over their explorations.

4. Industry vs. Inferiority. This stage occurs at the ages of about six to eleven. Children develop skills and competencies in school, at home, and among their peers. An unfavorable evaluation of the self compared with others will produce a sense of inferiority, self doubt, and excessive self criticism, while a favorable evaluation will produce a sense of industry, effectiveness, and competence.

5. Ego Identity vs. Ego diffusion: This is the stage of adolescence, about age 12 to age 20. During adolescence, the person must seek values, attitudes, and belief systems, and integrate, combine and reconcile them into their personality. If the person is successful, then ego establishment, or a clear sense of self will result. If the person does not resolve this conflict, ego diffusion, or an unclear sense of who you are will result.

6. Intimacy vs. Isolation: From around age 20 to 28, the individual must develop the ability to give and share oneself with others without losing their own self in the process. The person will develop healthy, intimate relationships, or become isolated and lonely, or over involved, needy, and dependent.

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation: This stage generally takes place from about age 28 to age 65. People become involved with productive work and satisfying activities, helping others, their community, and accomplishing goals, or they become self absorbed, self centered, and stagnant.

8. Integrity vs. Despair: This is the last stage of development, which occurs at age 65 and up. At this stage, a person is going to look back on life with a sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, and fulfillment, or regret, loss, and despair, depending on how well they met the challenges of the previous stages of life.

For my SUNY and CCV students:
Writing in APA American Psychological Association) Format

For APA (American Psychological Association) Referencing, use the following format: Insert an in text reference whenever you use information from a source. Cite the Author(s) last name and the year of publication of the work you are drawing information from.
e.g., - ... low dopamine levels are implicated in the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Zimbardo and Gerrig, 1999).

At the end of your assignment, include a reference page listing all of the references which you used in the body of you rpaper. Use the following format.
e.g for a book:
References
Zimbardo, P. and Gerrig, R. (1999) Discovering Psychology . (15) Addison - Wesley: NY.

For an Article:
Use the same format, but list the title of the article first, then the title of the journal in italics, give the volume number after the edition number, and indicate which pages you used at the end of the reference. (indent the second line five spaces if you run out of room on the first line). e.g,

Smith, J. (2000). Implications of high Dopamine levels in Schizophrenic patients. Journal of Clinical Psychology. (3). 1. 150-165.

For an E-source:
list the title of the article first, then the title of the E-journal or website in italics, if available/applicable, give the volume number after the edition number, and the URL preceded by Available: (indent the second line five spaces if you run out of room on the first line). e.g,

Smith, J. (2000). Implications of high Dopamine levels in Schizophrenic patients. The Clinical Psychology Page. (3). 1. Available: Schizoprhenia.com

Defining Abnormality

It can be difficult to define abnormality. ( Note that the terms abnormality and psychopathology are used interchangeably)

Generally speaking, abnormal behavior involves deficits or excesses of behavior, or behavior which is not WNL ( Within Normal Limits):

Behavior Deficit <------------WNL---------------> Behavior Excesses

To determin abnormality, ask yourself if the given behavior deficits or excesses are:
* Maladaptive/dysfunctional
* Statistically deviant
* In violation of current cultural norms
* Persistent ( They don't go away despite efforts to stop them)
* Pervasive (They effect many areas of one's life)
* Enduring (The behaviors last a long time)
* They may cause the individual to be dangerous to self or others
* causing observer discomfort (?- this criteria is questionable)
* Distressing to the individual

DSM-IV -( Diagnostic and Statisical Manual of Mental Disorders, Edition four)
It is a manual with the diagnostic criteria for about 450 mental disorders.
symptoms are arranged in lists- the patient must typically display symptoms from several categories to receive a diagnosis of a given disorder.
The more symptoms, the greater the severity
The fewer symptoms, the lower the severity

Symbols and abbreviations used in clinical psychology

This shorthand is also used by physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care providers. It saves time when writing reports, and helps to keep confidential information confidential by encrypting writing.

Y-Psychology
YRx-Psychotherapy
_ C-With ( I cannot get this to appear correctly- it is a C with a line over it )
Hx -History
Sx -Symptoms (or sign, or signature, depending on the context in which it is used)
Cx -Cancel
Tx -Terminate or treatment (depending on context)
Rx- Prescription or prescribe, prescribed, depending on the context.
PRN-As needed, or as necessary
QD- Daily
BID - twice a day
TID - Three times a day
QID - Four times a day
QOD- every other day
Q- every- as in Q six hours- every six hours
HS - before bed, or before sleep
Hr (Hrs)- Hour or Hours
Mos- Month or months
0- (a zero with a slash through it) - Null, no, none, negative, absent, zero, not present
(+) -Yes, positive, present, found
1o-Primary
2 o-Secondary
PCP- Primary Care Physician
Pt - Patient
D/O - Disorder
NOS- Not Otherwise specified
WNL - Within Normal Limits
ETOH -Alcohol
LiCO3- Lithium Carbonate- (medication for tx of pts C Bi-polar D/O) - (can you translate this now?)
&-And
>-More than
<-Less than
S/H/I-Suicidal /Homicidal Ideation
A/V/H-Auditory /Visual Hallucinations
O/C-Obsessions/Compulsions
P/I-Paranoid Ideation

Writing guidelines for my SUNY and CCV students:

The following are requirements for organization and format. All written work must conform to American Psychological Association format. The guidelines I have provided below will are based on this format. Over time, I have learned that conforming all written work to the standards below is what works best for both of us. Please ask me if you need any of this clarified, and please review this list carefully before you begin writing. I do not accept work which does not conform to these standards

All work is to be double spaced, with a one inch margin all around the page. .
If submitting hard copies, staple all pages with one staple in the upper left corner.
Number all pages, with your name on each page.
Include a cover page with the following information: Your name, date you are submitting the paper, your phone number or E-mail address, and the course title and assignment #, my name, and the college name.
Insert your own opinions and experiences into your writing, were appropriate.
Use highly specific descriptions and examples.Avoid use of ANY vague or general terms.
Do Not Plagiarize. Copying more than three consecutive words out of the text is considered plagiarism. Paraphrase all work- describe the ideas you have read according to your own understanding.
Use APA format in-text references where appropriate.
Use complete sentences, correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Include your last name in the upper right corner of each page.
Do not use etc. when you are listing items. A list does not have to be exhaustive, but it must be specific.
Don’t confuse the terms Casual and Causal. They have different meanings. The First term is defined as relaxed, laid back, easygoing, or informal. The second term means that one event has led to or caused another.
Do not use quotes around terms and do not quote definitions from a source. Paraphrase definitions from the text. Reserve quotes for material that is so unique and original that you could not do it justice by quoting it.

Reccomended viewing for my Abnormal Psychology students:

A Beautiful Mind
Good Will Hunting
One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
Sybil
Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal
Red Dragon
Hannibal Rising
Halloween (2007)
Spun
Kids
Bully
The Shawshank Redemption

Clinical Psychology Links: ( More coming soon)

Cognitive -Behavioral Therapy
Brief Solution-focused Therapy
Gestalt Therapy
Rational Emotive Behavioral therapy
Adlerian Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy
DSM - IV
ICD-9
PDR

David A. Porter, MA, LADC

Updated July 20, 2008 (12:21 PM EST )
You may contact me at: Daporter@sover.net

Comments, feedback, and constructive criticism are always welcome. multi-level marketers
and Spammers need not bother writing.

Copyright 2007, 2008 All Rights Reserved

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