1st Flashcards
What are the 4 types of abnormality
- statistical infrequency
- deviation from social norms
- failure to function adequetely
- deviation from ideal mental health
What is statistical infrequency
Describes behaviour as abnormal if it is statistically infrequent and normal if it is in the range that is typical of most people
What is the shape of a normal distribution curve
bell shaped
In the middle is high which shows the most frequent thing and then either side of it are the infrequent things creating a bell shape
What are the limitations of statistical infrequency
- some abnormal characteristics can be positive and this suggests that its not as is not the norm
-Not everyone unusual benefits from a label - the cut off points are rather arbitrary (random) eg someone with an IQ of 70 is normal but someone with an IQ of 690 is abnormal
- some disorders are statistically frequent yet still abnormal (ie by deviation from ideal mental health standards)
- cultural and historical relativism, in other cultures different things are considered normal or abnormal and in history certain things were normal but now are not etc
Strengths of statistical infrequency
- objective definition- once a way of collecting quantitative data has been decided, the data is based on real, unbiased data
- no value judgements are made- abnormal behaviour wouldn’t be seen as wrong or unacceptable but simply less frequent
If someone has an IQ below __ they have i____________ ____________ ___________
70
Intellectual disability disorder
What are social norms
The implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members
someone would have an abnormal iq it is was below ___ or above ____
70
130
pros using deviation from social norms as a definition of abnormal
- can be used to help diagnose and therfore help people
- only classifies undesirable traits
- May be more culturally relative as long as go by the specific cultures social norms
cons of using deviation from social norms to define abnormal
- could potentially lead to discrimination or continuation of discriminatory and problematic views eg women working was abnormal etc
- leads room for harsh punishments if people don’t agree eg Russia imprisons gay people
- is contextual eg time of day or location of behaviour as wearing a bikini on a beach isn’t weird but wearing one in an office is
- DSM-5 eg is based on what is west deems socially normal so same rules can’t be applied for all places
a key feature of the not functioning accurately definition for abnormality is it causes …
distress and suffering for the individual or people around them (this is important as some individuals may not be under distress because they don’t recognize their condition)
what signs did rosenhan and seligman propose to show when someone is not functioning adequately
- when someone no longer conforms to social standard interpersonal rules
eg maintaining eye contact and respecting personal space - when someone experiences severe personal distress
- when a person’s behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to the themselves or others
what are the 7 criteria rosenhan and seligman proposed for abnormality if they are met
- if they are unpredictable
- maladaptive behaviour (not adequately adjusting to situations etc)
- personal distress
- irrationality
- observer discomfort
- violations of moral standards and unconventionality
What are the strengths of failing to function adequately
- relatively easy to judge as can easily list behaviours eg dress self etc
Limitations of defining abnormality as failing to function adequately
- subjective judgement , have to decide whether the individual is distressed by their behaviour or not
- hard to decide if the person is failing to function adequately or just deviating from social norms
- cultural relativism this definition if likely to result in differences in diagnosis when applied to different cultures as the standards in different cultures may be different
Unlike the other definitions of abnormality the … definition attempts to define normality
Deviation from ideal mental health
Who came up with the deviation from ideal mental health definition
Jahoda (1958)
What are Jahoda’s 6 elements of optimal living?
Self attitudes - having a high sense of self esteem and a strong sense of identity
Personal growth and self-actualisation - the extent to which a person develops to their full capabilities
Integration - eg being able to cope in stressful situations
Autonomy- being independent and self regulating
Accurate perception of reality
Mastery of the environment - eg having the ability to love function at work and in interpersonal relationships adjust to new situations and solve problems
Strengths of deviation from ideal mental health
- Positivity = Emphasis on positive achievement rather than failure. A positive way of addressing mental health
Limits of deviation from ideal mental health
- most people would be considered abnormal as most people don’t fit all of these standards
- cultural relativism
What are subcultures and how are they impacted by abnormality definitions
A social group within a society
Dominant social group usually seen as normal while subcultures as abnormal
What are mental disorders that have been found to be specific to certain cultures called
Culture bound syndromes
Phobias are __________ disorders
anxiety
What are the characteristics of all mental disorders
Cognitive
Emotional
Behavioural
What are the three types of phobias
specific phobias - fear of a specific object, thing or situation eg fear of heights or spiders
social phobias - fear of humiliation in public places
agoraphobia’s - fear of public places eg shopping centres
Behavioural characteristics of a phobia may be
Avoidance - avoiding the thing they fear
Panic
Endurance - can’t avoid stimulus but experience high levels of anxiety
Freeze
Fight of flight
Depression is a _________ or _________ disorder
Mood or affective
What are affective disorders?
mood disorders
Illnesses that affect the way you think and feel
emotional characteristics of phobias
Anxiety
Emotional responses are unreasonable
intense and excessive fear
panic
Cognitive characteristics of phobias
Selective attention - inability to focus on much else apart from stimulus
Irrational beliefs - what could happen etc
Cognitive distortions - irrational perceptions of stimulus eg may see rabbits as alien and aggressive lookingSelective attention - inability to focus on much else apart from stimulus
Irrational beliefs - what could happen etc
Cognitive distortions - irrational perceptions of stimulus eg may see rabbits as alien and aggressive looking
to be diagnosed with depression people should have at least _ symptoms and a persistent _____ ________ for at least _ weeks. these symptoms are
5
low mood
2
poor or increased appetite or weight loss or gain
hypersomnia or insomnia
loss of energy, tiredness
the body’s slowed or agitated (sped up)
loss of interest in usual activities
feelings of self-reproach excessive or inappropriate guilt
inability to concentrate or think clearly
recurrent thoughts of death or suicide (don’t have to have 5 diff things if are suicidal)
emotional characteristics of depression
Lowered mood
loss of interest
Anger
Lowered self-esteem
behavioural characteristics of depression
1) a shift in activity level There can be a reduction/ loss of energy and constantly feeling tired
2) Sufferers often experience disturbances with their sleeping pattern
3) Often experience changes in appetite which causes significant weight changes
4) may become more aggressive and self harm
cognitive characteristics of depression
Poor concentration
Dwelling on the negative
Absolutist thinking
negative self concept
worthlessness
negative view of the world
what is clinical depression also known as
major depression
what are the points into the cycle of OCD (4)
- obsessive thoughts
- anxiety
- compulsive behaviour
- temporary relief
what are the cognitive characteristics of OCD
Obsessive thoughts, cognitive coping strategies
obsessions may be intrusive and irrational
May experience catastrophic thoughts
tend to be hyper vigilant
thoughts about the worse case scenario are called
catastrophic thoughts
people with OCD tend to be h______-___________
hyper vigilant
behavioural characteristics of OCD
Compulsions (repetitive and reduce anxiety), Avoidance of situations that may trigger anxiety eg staying away from germs
Emotional characteristics of OCD
- Anxiety (which is caused by obsessions)
- depression
what is the two process model
- Acquisition(onset) of phobias occurs through classical conditioning. (indirectly through SLT or traumatic event)
- Maintain phobias through operant conditioning- avoidance of stimulus acts as negative reinforcer (reward=reduction of anxiety), this then reinforces the avoidance response.
what is the diathesis-stress model
a psychological theory that attempts to explain a disorder as the result of an interaction between a predispositional biological vulnerability and a stress caused by life experiences.
evidence to support of the two process model
Sue et al. (1994)
found that some people can recall a specific event that led to their phobia developing. For example, agoraphobics are most likely to explain their phobia in terms of a specific event.
things that oppose the two-process model
doesn’t explain cognitive factors as some phobias are probs caused or maintained by irrational thinking
seligman - argued that animals and humans are genetically programmed to learn on association between potentially life threatening stimuli and fear referred to as ancient fears
most common fears eg spiders link to ancient fears as spiders could kill us
who came up with the idea of ancient fears and how does this oppose the two process model and Behaviourist explanations for phobias
seligman
argued that animals and humans have a genetic predisposition to associate potentially life threatening stimuli with fear - ancient fears
what are the two Behaviourist treatments for phobias
flooding and systematic desensitisation
what does flooding involve
Full and immediate exposure to the stimulus
Is one long session that continues until the patient can experience their worst phobia while being completely relaxed
flooding stops the phobic response quickly as without the avoidance behaviour the patient quickly learns the phobic stimulus is harmless.
And after a while anxiety and adernaline levels naturally have to decrease so they eventually will become relaced around the phobic stimulus. so a new stimulus response can be learnt
What does systemic desensitization involve
Based on classical conditioning
Trying to learn to relax around phobic, pairing relaxing with phobic stimulus rather than anxiety this is called counterconditioning
The therapist creates a anxiety hierarchy with the patient to slowly introduce the phobic stimulus. They wont move up the anxiety hierarchy until they are completely relaxed at the stage before
The three main parts are:
Relaxation
Anxiety hierarchy
Gradual exposure
What are the three main parts of systemic desensitisation
Relation
Anxiety hierarchy
Gradual exposure
What is flooding and systemic desensitisation used to cure
Phobias
Flooding and systemic desensitisation are ___________________ approaches to treating ___________
Behaviourist
Phobias
Pros and cons of systemic desensitisation
Pros
- very effective (McGrath found 75% of people with specific phobias improved with systemic desensitisation than people in a relaxation group)
- behavioural therapies are less effort for the patients in comparison to cognitive therapies
- Not harsh like flooding so lower drop out rates
Cons
- ethical issues to do with protection from harm
- individualised therapy so is time consuming and therefore expensive
- not appropriate for all phobias not as appropriate for phobias that have a evolutionary survival advantage
Pros and cons of flooding
Pros
- quick so less expensive
- very effective for those who stay through it
- not as effective for complex phobias like social phobias as they usually have a cognitive component to them
Cons
- individual differences -may be highly traumatic for some
- high drop out rates (which is a waste)
- harsh potentially traumatic
What are two cognitive examples for explaining depression and who came up with each and describe them
Aaron becks - negative triad
Explains that depressed people have acquired negative schema
The three parts that give them a cognitive vulnerability to depression are
A negative view of self ——> negative views of the world ————> negative views of the future
This pessimistic view becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and leads to cognitive bias
Ellis’ ABC model
A = activating event B= belief C= consequence
Albert Ellis believed that irrational beliefs cause depression
So an activating event causes a belief if the belief is rational and more positive then there will be a healthy negative emotion where as if the belief is irrational and negative there will be an unhealthy negative emotion
Ellis believes that mustabatory thinking (thinking that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for someone to be happy leads to depression eg i must be approved or accepted by people i find important
What are aims of CBT (REBT)
To change negative thoughts that cause depression to rational positive thoughts which will lead to changes in behaviour as a response to new thinking
What types of disputing are there
Empirical disputing - seeing if self defeating beliefs are consistent with reality
Logical disputing - seeing if self defeating beliefs logically follow information available
Pragmatic disputing - emphasises the lack of usefulness of self defeating beliefs
What did Ellis extend the ABC model to and what do they stand for
ABCDEF
A- activating energy
B- Belief
C- consequence
D- disputing
E- effects of disputing
F- feelings (emotions) that are produced
Who created REBT
Albert Ellis
What are the things done in REBT
- behavioural activation
Make people engage in activities that naturally increase mood - homework
To reality test thoughts - unconditional positive regard
Conning patient of their own self worth - disputing
Disputing irrational beliefs and making them more rational
Cons or opposing research of REBT
- individual differences not 100% success rates
- a lot of conscious effort for patients
- only work if they want it to and have an open mindset
- drug treatments are quicker more readily available cheaper and require less effort from the patient
- dodo bird effect
All psychotherapies tend to have similar success rates as all include similar principles like enhancing self worth etc
