Simple explanations of high-yield psychology concepts, you need to know for exams and beyond

​​

​

Contents:

1. Learning theories

2. Defence mechanisms

3. Memory and intelligence

4. Stress, coping, and grief

​

​

1. Learning Theories

 

--> Clinical correlation: understanding how behaviour is learned is key for psychiatry, paediatrics, addiction and more.

​

Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)

• Conditioned or learned stimulus triggers a natural, involuntary response

 

Example:

• Pavlov's experiment: Salivation in dogs (response) when a bell is rung (stimulus) because they associate it with food

• White coat syndrome: A patient getting anxious (response) when seeing a white coat (stimulus) because they associate it with pain, e.g. from vaccinations

​

Seen in: phobias, PTSD, anticipatory nausea

​

​​✅ High-Yield Exam Prep

• Extinction: When the link is broken (e.g. bell ringing no longer means food, or white coat no longer means pain), the response fades

• Used in treatment for: PTSD, phobias, anxiety

​

Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

• Behaviour is shaped by consequences (reward or punishment)

​

Types:​​​

​

​

​

​

​​

​​

​​

​​

​​

​​

​

​

​

​​

​​​​​

 

✅ Super High-Yield Exam Prep - know the reinforcement schedules (often tested):

• Variable ratio (e.g. gambling): Most addictive, hard to stop

• Fixed ratio (e.g. paid per task): Predictable

• Fixed interval (e.g. weekly pay): Regular

• Variable interval (e.g. random email): Unpredictable

​

Pro tip: Recognise reinforcement driving noncompliance (e.g. patient skips insulin because avoiding hypoglycaemia is reinforcing)

​

​

2. Defence Mechanisms

 

--> Definition: Automatic mental strategies to reduce anxiety or conflict

​

*** Very commonly tested ****

​

Immature Defences (unhealthy, disruptive)

​

• Acting out -- Expressing unconscious emotions or impulses through actions, rather than words

  • Why? Avoids feeling vulnerable or talking about distressing emotions

  • Example: Teenager slams door and skips school after a breakup instead of talking about sadness​​

​

• Denial -- Refusing to accept reality or facts because they are too painful

  • Why? Blocks subconscious recognition of threatening information

  • Example: Patient with a terminal illness saying "I'm fine"​

​

• Displacement -- Redirecting emotions from a threatening object to a safer, substitute target

  • Why? Allows expression of emotion in a safer context

  • Example: A medical student yelled at by a consultant goes home and argues with their partner

​

• Dissociation -- Temporary disruption in memory, identity, consciousness, or perception

  • Why? Helps escape overwhelming stress or trauma by mentally "checking out"

  • Example: Survivor of abuse describes the event as if it happened to someone else

​

• Fixation -- Remaining stuck at an earlier stage of emotional development

  • Why? Unresolved conflict or unmet needs in that stage​

  • Example: An adult throws tantrums like a child

​

• Idealisation -- Attributing exaggerated positive qualities to another person

  • Why? Protects against anxiety caused by flaws or complexity of relationships​

  • Example: A patient says their therapist is "perfect" and "the only one who understands"

​

• Identification -- Unconsciously adopting characteristics  or values of another person

  • Why? Increases feelings of safety, especially in children or trauma survivors​

  • Example: A bullied child starts dressing like their aggressive peer

​

• Intellectualisation -- Focusing on logic, reason, or facts to avoid emotional processing

  • Why? Protects uncomfortable feelings by making them abstract​

  • Example: A patient with a terminal diagnosis discusses tumour grading in detail, but avoids discussing fear or death

​

• Isolation (of affect) -- Separating an event or memory from its emotional meaning

  • Why? Avoids distress by cutting off feelings from thoughts​

  • Example: Patient describes their assault in a flat, emotionless tone

​

• Passive aggression --  Expressing hostility or anger in an indirect, subtle way

  • Why? Avoids direct confrontation while still "getting back" at others​

  • Example: A nurse is angry at a colleague but "forgets" to forward a critical message

​

• Projection -- Attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or impulses to someone else

  • Why? Shifts internal conflict outward, avoiding guilt or anxiety​

  • Example: A jealous partner accuses their significant other of being unfaithful

​

• Rationalisation -- Making excuses or logical justifications for behaviours driven by unconscious conflict

  • Why? Protects self-esteem and reduces cognitive dissonance

  • Example: A student who didn't get into medical school says, "I didn't want to go there anyway - too competitive"​​

​

• Reaction formation -- Expressing the opposite of one's unacceptable desires or emotions

  • Why? Keeps forbidden impulses out of awareness by overcompensating​

  • Example: A man who is angry at his boss acts overly friendly and flattering towards him

​

• Regression -- Reverting to childlike behaviour in response to stress

  • Why? Returning to developmentally "safe" stage when under pressure​

  • Example: Hospitalised 6-year-old begins bedwetting again after years of dryness

​

• Repression -- Unconsciously blocking distressing thoughts or memories from awareness

  • Why? Prevents overwhelming anxiety by keeping painful memories buries​

  • Example: An adult has no memory of a traumatic childhood event

​

• Splitting -- Viewing people or things as either all good or all bad

  • Why? Manages intense emotions and reduces confusion in stressful relationships​

  • Example: A patient idolises their doctor one week and calls them "incompetent" the next after a disagreement

​

Mature Defences (healthy, adaptive)

​

Mnemonic: Mature adults wear a SASH

​

• Sublimation -- Redirecting unacceptable impulses into productive or socially acceptable activities

  • Why? Preserves instinct while avoiding harm

  • Example: Person with aggressive impulses takes up boxing

​

• Altruism -- Helping others to reduce your own internal guilt or anxiety

  • Why? Uses other' need as a healthy outlet

  • Example: A man whose brother does of cancer becomes a volunteer at a cancer support group

​

• Suppression -- Consciously choosing to delay thinking about a stressor

  • ​Why? Temporary avoidance, but with awareness

  • Example: A medical student puts aside anxiety about results to focus on a clinical task

​

• Humour -- Expressing uncomfortable feeling through jokes without causing harm

  • Why? Allows emotional release without confrontation

  • Example: A patient with cancer jokes, "Well, I guess I can finally lose weight on chemo."

​

✅ High-Yield Clinical Correlation

• BPD --> Splitting

• Alcohol use --> Denial, rationalisation

• OCD --> Isolation of affect, undoing

• Narcissistic PD --> Projection

​

​

3. Memory and Intelligence

​

Memory types

​​

• Explicit (declarative)

  • Conscious recall (facts, events)​

  • Seen in: Alzheimer's (early loss)

​

• Implicit (procedural)

  • Unconscious skills, habits

  • Seen in: preserved in early dementia

​

• Anterograde amnesia

  • Can't form new memories

  • Seen in: Korsakoff's syndrome

​

• Retrograde amnesia

  • Can't recall past events

  • Seen in: TBI, trauma

​

✅ High-Yield Exam Prep

• In Korsakoff's, confabulation = making up memories to fill gaps

• Caused by B1 (thiamine) deficiency in alcoholism

​

Intelligence

• IQ: Mean = 100, SD = 15

• <70 = Intellectual disability

  • Mild (50-69): Most common; can live semi-independently​

  • Moderate (35-49): Requires support

  • Severe (<35): Full-time care required

​

​

4. Stress, Coping, and Grief

​

Stress

• HPA axis: CRH --> ACTH --> Cortisol

• Chronic stress -- reduces hippocampal volume, reduces immunity, increases depression risk​​

​

Coping

​

• Problem-focused (adaptive)​

  • Example: Making a plan, asking for help

​

• Emotion-focused (adaptive)

  • Example: Journaling, ​seeking emotional support

​

• Avoidant (not adaptive)

  • Example: Using drugs, denial, procrastination​

​

✅ High-Yield Clinical Correlation

• Avoidant coping = common in SUD, eating disorders, nonadherence

• Adaptive coping = higher recovery, fewer relapses

​

Grief (Kubler-Ross Stages)

1. Denial

2. Anger

3. Bargaining

4. Depression

5. Acceptance

​

​​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​

​​​​​