Social psychological foundations of clinical psychology:

basic principles & APPLICATIONS

JAMES E. MADDUX

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WELL-BEING

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, USA

jmaddux@gmu.edu

MATERIAL LARGELY TAKEN FROM . . .

• TWO CHAPTERS I WROTE FOR:

• MADDUX, J. E. & TANGNEY. J. P. (2010).

• SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY.

• GUILFORD PUBLICATIONS (NEW YORK).

CREDITS

•KURT LEWIN•JULIAN ROTTER•GEORGE KELLEY•ALBERT BANDURA•WALTER MISCHEL

MY GOALS

1. TO PRESENT AN OVERVIEW OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY.

2. TO THEN FOCUS BRIEFLY ON AN IMPORTANT TOPIC IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY—SELF-REGULATION—AND DISCUSS ITS APPLICATIONS TO CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

MY MOTTO:

“THERE IS NOTHING QUITE SO PRACTICAL AS A GOOD THEORY.”

KURT LEWIN

WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?

“THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF HOW PEOPLE’S THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, AND BEHAVIORS ARE INFLUENCED BY THE ACTUAL, IMAGINED, OR IMPLIED PRESENCE OF OTHERS.”

•GORDON ALLPORT (1985)

WHAT IS CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY?

“THE FIELD OF PSYCHOLOGY THAT ATTEMPTS TO INTEGRATE SCIENCE, THEORY, AND PRACTICE TO PROMOTE HUMAN ADAPTATION, ADJUSTMENT, AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT [AND THAT] FOCUSES ON THE INTELLECTUAL, EMOTIONAL, BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN FUNCTIONING ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN, IN VARYING CULTURES, AND AT ALL SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELS.”

•SOCIETY OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY (DIV. 12, APA)

INTERGRATIONS OF SOCIAL & CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY:

BASIC PRINCIPLES

1

•PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS ARE LEARNED PATTERNS OF THINKING, FEELING AND BEHAVING. WE LEARN THINGS THAT DON’T WORK, AND WE FAIL TO LEARN THINGS THAT DO WORK.

•PEOPLE LEARN BY WATCHING AND LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE—OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING, VICARIOUS LEARNING, MODELING.

2• THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL COGNITIONS.

• PEOPLE THINK—AND WHAT THEY THINK AFFECTS WHAT THEY DO AND HOW THEY FEEL.

• THE MOST IMPORTANT COGNITIONS ARE SOCIAL AND INTERPERSONAL COGNITIONS—WHAT WE THINK ABOUT PEOPLE AND RELATIONSHIPS.

3

THE MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL COGNITIONS COMPRISES A NETWORK OF COGNITIVE SCHEMA THAT•WERE LEARNED EARLY IN LIFE•ARE AUTOMATIC (UNCONSCIOUS) •DIFFICULT TO BECOME AWARE OF•ARE RESISTANT TO CHANGE.

4

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD CONTEXTUALLY

•AS PATTERNS OF THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, AND BEHAVIORS THAT OCCUR IN SPECIFIC SITUATIONS.

•RECIPROCAL INTERACTIONS OF THINKING, FEELING, BEHAVING, AND THE REACTIONS OF THE SITUATION, ESPECIALLY OTHER PEOPLE.

5

PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD IN AN INTERPERSONAL CONTEXT

IN A PERSON’S SPECIFIC RELATIONSHIPS

AND IN THE SPECIFIC INTERACTIONS THAT

COMPRISE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.

RECIPROCAL INTERACTION OF PERSON & SITUATION

6

OUR JUDGMENTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL NORMALITY (HEALTH, WELLNESS) AND ABNORMALITY (PATHOLOGY, ILLNESS) ARE GROUNDED IN SOCIAL AND CULTURAL NORMS.

•NORMS DIFFER FROM PLACE TO PLACE•NORMS DIFFER FROM TIME TO TIME

7

“NORMAL” SOCIAL AND INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOR IS OFTEN DYSFUCTIONAL, MALADAPTIVE, AND INEFFECTIVE.

8

PSYCHOLOGICAL “DISORDERS” DIFFER FROM EVERYDAY PROBLEMS IN LIVING NOT ‘IN KIND” BUT IN •FREQUENCY•DURATION•SEVERITY•DEGREE OF DISTRESS•THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY INTERFERE WITH EVERYDAY FUNCTIONING.

•ASSUMPTION OF CONTINUITY OR DIMENSIONALITY.

ASSUMPTION OF CONTINUITY OR DIMENSIONALITY

9

BECAUSE OF THESE PREVIOUS ASSUMPTIONS . . .

IT IS DIFFICULT TO MAKE CLEAR DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN EVERYDAY “PROBLEMS IN LIVING” AND SO-CALLED PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS.

STRONGLY SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH.

WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE?

10

ALSO BECAUSE OF THESE PREVIOUS ASSUMPTIONS . . .

IT MAKES LITTLE SENSE TO SAY, AS THE DSM DOES, THAT PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS EXIST “IN THE INDIVIDUAL.”

INSTEAD, PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS EXIST IN THE INDIVIDUAL’S “SOCIAL FIELD”

11

THEREFORE…

THEORIES THAT EXPLAIN EVERYDAY ADAPTIVE AND MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR

ALSO CAN ALSO EXPLAIN BEHAVIOR THAT FOR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL REASONS HAVE BEEN INDENTIFIED AS “DISORDERED.”

12

AND. . .

THE THEORIES THAT EXPLAIN HOW PEOPLE CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR IN EVERYDAY LIFE…

CAN ALSO EXPLAIN THE CHANGE THAT OCCURS AS A RESULT OF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE AND INTERVENTION---

THAT IS, PSYCHOTHERAPY OR COUNSELING

E.G. SOCIAL INFLUENCE, SELF-REGULATION

FINALLY . . .13

CLINICAL JUDGMENT INVOLVES THE SAME PROCESSES, BIASES, AND ERRORS AS EVERYDAY SOCIAL AND INTERPERSONAL JUDGMENT.

FOR THIS REASON, THEORY AND RESEARCH ON “NORMAL” SOCIAL AND INTERPERSONAL JUDGEMENT CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND AND IMPROVE THE THINKING AND JUDGMENT OF THE PSYCHOTHERAPIST OR COUNSELOR.

SOME CONCEPTS AND TOPICS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY RELEVANT TO CLINICAL AND COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

FROM

MADDUX & TANGNEY (2010) . SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

•SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-EVALUATION•STEREOTYPES AND STIGMA•AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY•ATTACHMENT AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS•SOCIAL SUPPORT•SOCIAL COMPARISON•SELF-DISCLOSURE•THE ROLE OF COGNITION IN EMOTION

•CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS.•ERRORS AND BIASES IN PERCEPTION AND JUDGEMENT•DECISION-MAKING•HELP-SEEKING•SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND PERSUASION•IMPLICIT AND AUTOMATIC (UNCONSCIOUS) COGNITION•TRANSFERENCE IN RELATIONSHIPS•GROUP PROCESSES•SELF-REGULATION (GOALS, SELF-EFFICACY, ETC)

PERSPECTIVES REPRESENTED?

• BEHAVIORAL • COGNITIVE • SOCIO-CULTURAL,INTERPERSONAL• INTERPERSONAL• PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVES

LET’S TAKE JUST ONE OF THESE TOPICS…

SELF-REGULATION

THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL THERAPEUTIC CHANGE?

1

PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF • SELF-AWARENESS• SELF-OBSERVATION• SELF-MONITORING.

BUT THIS IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.

2

PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF SELF-REGULATION.

• PEOPLE CAN ENGAGE IN INTENTIONAL BEHAVIOR• IN PURSUIT OF CONSCIOUSLY CHOSEN GOALS.

3

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS ARE INEFFECTIVE AND MALADAPTIVE ATTEMPTS AT SELF-REGULATION.

• KEY CONCEPT: “VICIOUS CIRCLE” OR “VICIOUS CYCLE” –

• PEOPLES’ MALADAPTIVE ATTEMPTS TO SELF-REGULATION CONTRIBUTE TO THE MAINTENANCE AND EXACCERBATION OF THEIR PROBLEMS.

• THE CLIENT’S ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS MAKE THOSE PROBLEMS WORSE.

SELF-REGULATION (OVER-SIMPLIFIED)

SELF-REGULATION & PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

• THE GOAL OF ASSESSMENT IS AN UNDERSTANDING OF

• THE INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE SELF-REGULATION PROCESSES

• AND HOW THEY ARE LEADING TO FAILURE AND DISTRESS RATHER THAN TO SUCCESS AND SATISFACTION.

• THIS REQUIRES AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF THE SELF-REGULATION PROCESS—GOALS, PLANS, SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS, ETC.

• THIS INFORMATION CANNOT BE ACQUIRED THROUGH . . .

• TRADITIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

OR• INTERVIEWS DIRECTED TOWARD ARRIVING AT A FORMAL DIAGNOSIS.

• BUT ONLY WITH A CAREFUL AND DETAILED INTERVIEW. . .

• THAT ASKS FOR SPECIFIC EXAMPLES IN SPECIFIC SITUATIONS

RECIPROCAL INTERACTION OF PERSON & SITUATION

SELF-REGULATION (OVER-SIMPLIFIED)

SELF-REGULATION AND PSYCHOTHERAPY OR COUNSELING

• THE GOAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY IS TO

• USE THE RESULTS OF THE SELF-REGULATION ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE POINTS OF INTERVENTION (GOALS, PLANS, COGNITIONS, GOAL-DIRECTED ACTIVITY)

• FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISRUPTING THE CLIENT’S COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE SELF-REGULATORY CYCLE.

SOCIAL-COGNITIVE CYCLE OF ANXIETY

SOCIAL-COGNITIVE CYCLE OF DEPRESSION

SOCIAL-COGNITIVE CYCLE OF PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER