Abnormal Behaviour in Historical Context

Question 1

psychological disorder

Answer 1

psychological dysfunction associated with distress or impairment in functioning that is not a typical or culturally expected response

Question 2

abnormal behaviour

Answer 2

psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected

Question 3

psychological dysfunction - abnormal behaviour

Answer 3

a breakdown in cognitive, emotional or behavioural functioning

Question 4

personal distress or impairment - abnormal behaviour

Answer 4

individual is extremely upset, this does not work for all disorders

Question 5

atypical or not culturally expected - abnormal behaviour

Answer 5

abnormal because it occurs infrequently, violating social norms, harmful dysfunction

Question 6

harmful dysfunction

Answer 6

psychological disorder us caused by a failure of one or more mechanisms to perform their evolved function and the dysfunction produces harm or distress

Question 7

DSM5 definition of abnormal behaviour

Answer 7

behavioural, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with present distress and impairment in functioning, or increased risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment

Question 8

the supernatural tradition

Answer 8

deviant behaviour is a reflection of the battle between good and evil, magic to solve problems, insanity was a natural phenomenon but considered possession in the middle ages, exorcisms were used, movement of the sun and stars have effects on psychological functioning

Question 9

the biological tradition

Answer 9

psychological disorders can be treated like any other disease, humeral theory, insanity has physical causes, mentally ill should be treated as physically ill, electric chock therapy to drugs

Question 10

the psychological tradition

Answer 10

moral therapy, psychoanalysis, humanistic theory, behaviourism

Question 11

moral therapy

Answer 11

19th century social approach to treatment that involved treating patients as normally as possible in normal environments

Question 12

psychoanalysis

Answer 12

emphasizes exploration of and insight into the unconscious processes and conflicts

Question 13

defence mechanisms

Answer 13

with which the mind defends itself from the clashes between the id and superego

• denial
• displacement
• projection
• rationalization
• reaction formation
• repression
• sublimation

Question 14

early psychosexual development

Answer 14

oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital; oedipus and electra complex

Question 15

ego psychology

Answer 15

emphasized the role of the ego in development and attributes psychological disorders to failure of the ego to manage impulses and internal conflicts

Question 16

psychoanalytic psychotherapy

Answer 16

free association, dream analysis, transference, psychodynamic psychotherapy

Question 17

humanistic theory

Answer 17

self-actualizing, person-entered therapy

Question 18

behaviourism

Answer 18

explanation of human behaviour based on principles of learning and adaptation derived from experimental psychology

• classical conditioning
• operant conditioning

Question 19

criteria for determining abnormality of behaviour

Answer 19

behaviour that is statistically rare, behaviour that is socially or culturally unacceptable, behaviour that causes significant distress or discomfort to the individual, behaviour that is maladaptive, behaviour that poses a risk to the self or others, behaviour that reflects harmful dysfunction

Question 20

behaviour that is statistically rare - criterion 1

Answer 20

idea that statistically rare or atypical behaviours are abnormal and are possible signs of disorder whereas typical or common behaviours as normal

Question 21

problems with criterion 1

Answer 21

there are many examples of uncommon or atypical behaviours/traits that we do not label or diagnose as abnormal, there are abnormalities that are very common, there is a need for the sociocultural context in which the behaviour is occurring, need to decide on a statistical cut point

Question 22

behaviour that is socially or culturally unacceptable - criterion 2

Answer 22

idea that there are wide social norms that dictate what is acceptable behaviour; any behaviour that violates such norms would be considered abnormal or even pathological

Question 23

problems with criterion 2

Answer 23

there is a need to define culture, assumes there is such thing as normal behaviour that is considered as such across all cultures, sociocultural norms change over time

Question 24

behaviour that causes significant discomfort or distress to the individual - criterion 3

Answer 24

notion that a behaviour is not pathological and is not worth of clinical attention unless it causes significant distress or discomfort to the individual

Question 25

problems with criterion 3

Answer 25

it is possible for people to be displaying or engaging in clinically-significant behaviour without being bothered or distressed by it

Question 26

behaviour that is maladaptive - criterion 4

Answer 26

behaviour is abnormal or discorded then it gets in the way of a person’s functioning in an important domain like work, school or relationships

Question 27

problems with criterion 4

Answer 27

many people with psychological disorders do not experience a degree of impairment that leads to interference in their ability to function, decisions about what constitutes as normal, healthy functioning are inherently subjective

Question 28

behaviour that poses a risk to the self or others - criterion 5

Answer 28

any behaviour that threatens the wellbeing of the self or others should be considered pathological

Question 29

problems with criterion 5

Answer 29

easily turns into a slippery slope - suicide, criminal behaviour

Question 30

behaviour that reflects harmful dysfunction - criterion 6

Answer 30

• jerome Wakefield’s harmful dysfunction hypothesis

- counter analysis

Question 31

jerome wakefield’s harmful dysfunction hypothesis

Answer 31

definition is primarily biological, dysfunction component refers to the failure of an internal system to function adaptively as designed by nature, any behaviour that arises from dysfunction can potentially meet the criteria for disorder - when dysfunction is harmful

Question 32

counter analysis of harmful dysfunction

Answer 32

many physical and mental functions are no longer shaped by their original evolutionary functions but represent adaptations-functions that have evolved secondary to natural selection

Question 33

challenges with the DSM

Answer 33

does not always do a great job of differentiating a pathological behavioural pattern from one that is normal, does not always provide sufficient guidance on how to distinguish mental disorders from unhelpful or dangerous behaviours occurring in response to problems of living

Question 34

mental disorder - DSM5

Answer 34

a mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour that reflects a dysfunction in psychological, biological or developmental processes underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational, or other important activities. An expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss such as death of a loved one, is not a mental disorder. Socially deviant behaviour and conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are not mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict results from a dysfunction in the individual, as described above