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Are they “toughing it out”? Do they avoid
situations that might trigger the phobia? How do various individuals deal with their
phobias?
5. Is aversion therapy worth the “price”, in terms of the physical and emotional stress that it
may cause? How effective does the class believe it to be? Ask if any of the class would
engage in aversion therapy for a problem such as smoking or weight loss? Why or why
not? Have them be specific.
6. Discuss with the class situations in which social-skills training might be beneficial. What
about situations in which it may be less than effective? Are social skills really something
that can be “learned” by an adult, or are we hopeless if we fail to learn these skills in
childhood? Outline a treatment program for a shy friend.
7. Ask the class if they think cognitive behavior modification might be more successful with
one segment of the population than with another? Have them discuss the potential for
success with a 38-year-old attorney, as compared to a 75-year-old widower. What might
be the motivations involved in accepting therapy, as displayed by these very different
individuals? Why is this relevant?
8. What is the class’s “take” on electroconvulsive (shock) therapy? Many people have little
if any understanding of what the procedure entails. Help the class develop an
understanding of this treatment modality, and the reasons for its success in certain
disorders, as well as why it is feared by some individuals.
9. People with personality disorders do not respond well to most attempts at psychological
therapy. Success rates in treating males with antisocial personality disorder have been
estimated to be as low as 2 to 5 percent. Success rates with other types of personality
disorders vary, but are often not significantly higher. Additionally, persons with
personality disorders rarely come in for treatment on their own. Often, their only reason
for attempting therapy is external pressure, such as a court order or a demand by a
spouse who threatens to leave them. Is it ethically justifiable to subject someone to an
intensive, expensive effort to alter his or her style of life, especially when that person
doesn't want to be there and the chances of success are often minimal? One might argue
that if the person is not harming anyone else, such efforts are not ethically justifiable. On
the other hand, people with certain types of personality disorders, such as antisocial,
narcissistic, and paranoid personality disorder, can represent a real danger to others in
some cases. The duty to protect others might then justify “forced” therapy in these cases.
One might also argue, however, that since success rates in treatment are often so low, the
best way to protect others is to imprison people with these disorders when their behavior
harms others in an illegal manner. What do students think about these issues?
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
SUPPLEMENTAL LECTURE MATERIAL
The Role of Critical Thinking in Emotional Problems
Cognitive therapists feel that certain emotional disorders, like anxiety and depression, can be
traced to irrational and illogical ways of thinking. Let us look at some of the fallacies that
cognitive psychologists have noted in the thought processes of some people with emotional
disorders.
Faulty generalization. This is the tendency to use a particular event or item of information as
the basis for a general conclusion. The man whose wife leaves him concludes that no one
could ever love him. The student who fails a test concludes that she is a failure. The woman
who gets an occasional headache concludes that she is an unhealthy person.
Polarized thinking. This is the tendency to classify people, events, behavior, and thoughts
rigidly as polar opposites: right or wrong, good or bad. This is also called dualistic thinking,
black-and-white thinking, and bifurcation. This tendency is often described as an effort to
oversimplify reality. A woman feels that if a person does not give clear evidence of liking her,
then the person must dislike her. An adolescent feels that thinking about anything related to
sex is bad and tries unsuccessfully to have only pure thoughts.
Incorrect assumptions about what is safe and what is threatening. The maladjusted person may feel
that it is threatening to express his views or to show her anger. Taking the initiative to talk
with a person of the opposite sex may be perceived as threatening. The person could just
walk away, or could say something hurtful.
Maladaptive attitudes toward pleasure and pain. These are the attitudes that say if an activity is
pleasant, it must be sinful, and if it is unpleasant, it means you have done the right thing.
This is analogous to thinking that a medicine is no good unless it is painful to apply or tastes
bad. This type of thinking may result from selectively remembering pleasurable behaviors
that were punished and unpleasant activities that were rewarded. Erikson, who was a
psychodynamic psychologist, suggested that while the superego, or conscience, can be very
powerful, it also has a tendency to be juvenile, simply because it was established in
childhood. He thought that some people could suffer terrible guilt because of this juvenile
superego’s conviction that pleasurable things are “bad.”
Tyranny of “shoulds.” This is the tendency to dedicate one’s life to self-imposed obligations
and responsibilities, and to feel anxious, depressed, or guilty if a “should” is left undone. “I
should go to that meeting,” “I should write to Aunt Hattie,” “I should change the sheets on
my bed.” It is conceivable that a person could have more “shoulds” than there are hours in
the day to execute them. Psychodynamic psychologists would attribute this situation to a
domineering superego.
Biased attributions. Attributions are an attempt to understand events by proposing a cause for
them. In the case of the maladjusted person, the primary problem is the causes proposed to
explain personal behavior or events that involve the self. The bias may be in the direction of
protecting the self, in which case the maladjusted person attributes successes and positive
events to other people or environmental circumstances, and failures and negative events to
his or her own efforts or abilities. A psychodynamic psychologist might describe this as
overuse of defense mechanisms, like rationalization and projection. What does a well-
adjusted individual do?