dependence

Examples of dependence in the following topics:

• Cluster C: Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders

  • Dependent personality disorder is characterized by a pervasive psychological dependence on other people.
  • The difference between a 'dependent personality' and a 'dependent personality disorder' is somewhat subjective, which makes diagnosis sensitive to cultural influences such as gender role expectations.
  • The diagnosis for dependent personality disorder includes the pervasive and excessive need to be taken care of which leads to submissive and clinging behavior and fears of separation.
  • Dependent personality disorder occurs in about 0.6% of the general population, and occurs more frequently in females.
  • A 2004 twin study suggests a heritability of .81 for developing dependent personality disorder.

• Experimental Research

  • The dependent variable is the thing that we want to measure—in this case, aggressive behavior.
  • The dependent variable, on the other hand, depends on the independent variable, and will change (or not) because of the independent variable.
  • The dependent variable is the variable that we want to measure (as opposed to manipulate).
  • Control groups are used to determine if the independent variable actually affects the dependent variable.
  • Compare the role of the independent and dependent variable in experimental design

• Narcotics

  • Drug effects depend heavily on the dose, route of administration, previous exposure to the drug, and the expectation of the user.
  • These effects are helpful in a therapeutic setting and contribute to their popularity as recreational drugs, as well as helping to produce dependency.
  • Addiction occurs when the brain stops producing its own natural painkilling chemicals, called endorphins, and depends on the narcotics instead.
  • With repeated use of narcotics, tolerance and dependence develop.
  • The psychological dependence that is associated with narcotic addiction is complex and protracted.

• Introduction to Stress

  • Stress can be defined in many different ways, depending on the person experiencing it and the perspective used to understand it.
  • The nature of this response depends on a combination of different factors, including the extent of the demand, the personal characteristics and coping resources of the person, the constraints on the person trying to cope, and the support received from others.
  • Importantly, the body itself cannot physically discern between distress or eustress; the distinction is dependent on the experience of the individual experiencing the stress.
  • Any event can cause either distress or eustress, depending on how the individual interprets the information.

• Substance Abuse and Health

  • Individuals who use substances to the point of dependence are at even greater risk for physical health problems, or even overdose, due to development of tolerance, or needing to use more and more of the substance to obtain the desired effect.
  • Substance use falls on a spectrum ranging from beneficial, prescribed and monitored use of prescription drugs to the recreational use, abuse, or dependence on illicit drugs.
  • This chart compares the relative danger of particular substances based on the dependence level developed and the potential physical harm to the user and others.
  • Heroin, with an extremely high dependence and high potential for physical harm, is an extremely dangerous substance.

• Types of Forgetting

  • How you remember an event depends on a large number of variables, including everything from how much sleep you got the night before to how happy you were during the event.
  • Cue-dependent forgetting, also known as retrieval failure, is the failure to recall information in the absence of memory cues.
  • State-dependent cues are governed by the state of mind at the time of encoding.
  • Under cue-dependent forgetting theory, a memory might be forgotten until a person is in the same state.
  • Context-dependent cues depend on the environment and situation.

• How Culture and Society Impact the Elderly

  • Depending on culture, aging can be seen as an undesirable phenomenon or as an accumulation of wisdom and status.
  • Depending on cultural norms, beliefs, and standards, aging can be seen as an undesirable phenomenon, reducing beauty and bringing one closer to death, or as an accumulation of wisdom and status worthy of respect.
  • After repeatedly hearing the stereotype that older people are useless, older people may begin to feel like dependent, non-contributing members of society.
  • Even within the same country, regional differences exist with respect to care for the elderly, often depending on the resources available in a given community or area.
  • Depending on the culture, aging can be seen as an undesirable phenomenon or as an accumulation of wisdom and respect.

• Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders

  • Substance-use and addictive disorders are marked by physiological dependence, drug-seeking behavior, tolerance, and/or withdrawal.
  • Physiological dependence occurs when the body has to adjust to the substance by incorporating the substance into its 'normal' functioning.
  • Withdrawal refers to physical and psychological symptoms experienced when reducing or discontinuing a substance that the body has become dependent on.
  • Although the legislation may be justifiable on moral grounds to some, it can make addiction or dependency a much more serious issue for the individual.
  • Substance use disorder can be diagnosed with physiological dependence, evidence of tolerance or withdrawal, or without physiological dependence.  

• Cognitive Development in Adulthood

  • In postformal thinking, decisions are made based on situations and circumstances, and logic is integrated with emotion as adults develop principles that depend on contexts.
  • Our crystallized intelligence is dependent upon accumulated knowledge and experience—it is the information, skills, and strategies we have gathered throughout our lifetime.
  • Fluid intelligence, on the other hand, is more dependent on basic information-processing skills and starts to decline even prior to middle adulthood.

• Introduction to Memory Encoding

  • The nature of a new memory becomes dependent as much on previous information as it does on the new information.
  • The process of encoding memories in the brain can be optimized in a variety of ways, including mnemonics, chunking, and state-dependent learning.
  • State-dependent learning is when a person remembers information based on the state of mind (or mood) they are in when they learn it.
  • Retrieval cues are a large part of state-dependent learning.
  • Smells, sounds, or place of learning can also be part of state-dependent learning.