alternative explanations for mental disorders Flashcards
What are the three alternative explanations to the medical model?
- behaviourist
- cognitive
3 psychodynamic
What are the two components to the behaviourist explanation?
operant and classical conditioning
How many stages to classical conditioning are there (and what are they called)?
three
1. before conditioning
2. during conditioning
3. after conditioning
What is the formula for before conditioning?
unconditioned stimulus → unconditioned response
What is the formula for during conditioning?
unconditioned stimulus + neutral stimulus → unconditioned response
What is the formula for after conditioning?
conditioned stimulus → conditioned response
How can classical conditioning stages be applied to a real life scenario?
before conditioning:
UCS = loud noise → UCR = crying / fear
during conditioning:
UCS = loud noise + NS = rat → UCR = crying / fear
after conditioning:
CS = rat → CR = crying / fear
When discussing phobias is the neutral stimulus always?
the phobic object
What part of the stimulus response chain is the cause for a fearful response?
unconditioned stimulus
What does the neutral stimulus always become?
the conditioned stimulus
How does classical conditioning link to phobias?
phobias are acquired through classical conditioning
How does operant conditioning link to phobias?
phobias are maintained through operant conditioning
How does positive reinforcement apply to phobias?
rewards - caring attention = feels nice = reinforced phobia
How does negative reinforcement apply to phobias?
removal - avoidance of phobic object - removal of unpleasant stimuli (phobic object)
What is the cognitive explanation for mental disorders?
suggests that mental disorders are caused by our thoughts = cognitive triad
What are the elements of the cognitive triad?
- irrational and pessimistic thoughts
- 3 levels:
1. negative view about yourself
2. negative view about the world (how others view you)
3. negative view about the future
How many cognitive biases are within the cognitive explanation (+ what are they called)?
nine biases:
- magnification
- minimisation
- overgeneralisation
- personalisation
- arbitrary inference
- selective abstraction
- negative self schemas
- errors in logic
- attentional bias
What is magnification?
enlarging positive attributes about others
What is minimisation?
shrinking down own positive attributes
What is overgeneralisation?
viewing a single event as an invariable rule
What is personalisation?
blaming an entire event on themselves, believing their responsible for things beyond control
What is arbitrary inference?
the process of forming an interpretation of a situation, event, or experience when there is no factual evidence to support conclusions
What is selective abstraction?
the process of focusing on a detail taken out of context, ignoring other more important factors
What is negative self schemas?
unhealthy, degrading, and harmful versions of self beliefs
What is errors in logic (faulty information processing)?
illogical thinking
What is attentional bias?
tendency to pay attention to some things whilst ignoring others
What is an example of a cognitive triad - for depression?
negative view about self:
I’m not smart like everyone else
negative view of world:
everyone thinks I’m stupid
negative view of future:
I’ll never get a job or into uni
What the questionnaire that measures depression?
Beck Depression Inventory
What are the strengths of the Beck Depression Inventory?
- quantitative data = objective = easy to analyse and compare
- reliable = replicable = more valid
What are the weaknesses of the Beck Depression Inventory?
- fixed choice - closed questions = restrictive
- social desirability = decrease validity
- thresholds hard to determine
- subjective interpretation
What is the psychodynamic explanation?
- mental disorders are caused by the unconscious mind as memories and feelings are repressed
- ID, Ego & Superego
What psychologist is the psychodynamic perspective based on?
Freud
What is the ID?
- pleasure principle
- demands gratification for immoral desires
- born with
What is the Ego?
- balances ID & superego
- develops second
- reality principle
- deploys defence mechanisms
What is the Superego?
- morality
- reason for guilt
- develops last (age 4-5) when Oedipus / Electra complex is solved
- develops depending on type of parenting
What are the 4 types of defence mechanisms?
- denial
- repression
- displacement
- regression
What is denial as a defence mechanism?
- putting off getting help - don’t want to deal with the uncomfortable
- safety of object (phobias)
- hallucinations and delusions (schizophrenia)
What is repression as a defence mechanism?
pushing feeling / emotion into unconscious mind to try and forget / not think about
What is displacement as a defence mechanism?
- placing fear onto something else - symbolic link
- example: Little Hans fear of being bitten = fear of being castrated by his father
- taking emotions out on someone else e.g, shouting at someone else
What is regression as a defence mechanism?
starting to behave as you did as a child e.g., throwing a tantrum, sucking on thumb, rocking back and forth
- symptoms of depression that link = avolition and insomnia
How do the ID, Ego & Superego link to phobias?
ID = unconscious fear buried in unconscious mind + ID ego conflict
Ego = conflicts with ID
Superego = conflict
How do the ID, Ego & superego link to depression?
ID = demands gratification, becomes very aggressive and hostile to others
Ego = prevention of harming self (most of the time)
Superego = overactive, lots of guilt, turn to harming self rather than harming others
How do the ID, Ego and Superego link to schizophrenia?
ID = in control, return to child like state - distorted view of reality (regression) and it becomes hard to distinguish reality
Ego = loss of contact
Superego = loss of contact
evaluate the explanations in regards to nature vs nurture
psychodynamic:
- both: nature = born with ID / unconscious mind & nurture = superego and ego develop due to childhood experience
cognitive:
- both: nature = thoughts and beliefs & nurture = impact of parents beliefs and social beliefs
behaviourist:
- nurture: blank slate (tabula rosa) learn through conditioning (classical and operant)
evaluate the explanations in regards to individual vs situational
psychodynamic:
- both: individual = unconscious mind & situational = trauma / childhood experiences
cognitive:
- both: individual = cognitive triads & situational = culture / upbringing
behaviourist:
- situational = the environment
evaluate the explanations in regards to social sensitivity and ethics
psychodynamic:
- socially senstiive - blames parents - childhood experiences causing mental disorders
cognitive:
- thought processes are very difficult to change - blames the individual - BUT can be changed with CBT
behaviourist:
- blames environment - not socially sensitive - treatment
evaluate the explanations in regards to usefulness
psychodynamic:
- therapy / psychoanalysis = consciously process childhood = very effective BUT expensive and does not work for everyone
cognitive:
- very useful - CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) BUT does not work for certain groups of people e.g., children or people with schizophrenia
behaviourist:
- systematic desensitisation
evaluate the explanations in regards to free will vs determinism
psychodynamic:
- deterministic - unconscious mind and childhood experiences cannot be changed - lack of control
cognitive:
- don’t choose the way you think BUT can be changed
behaviourist:
- can learn and unlearn but little choice when learning
evaluate the explanations in regards to reductionism vs holism
psychodynamic:
- oversimplifies complex interacting factors but most holistic of all as considers childhood experience (nurture) and unconscious mind (nature)
cognitive:
- oversimplifies to thoughts ignoring genetics and childhood
behaviourist;
- oversimplifies to stimulus and response
evaluate the explanations in regards to psychology as a science
psychodynamic:
- cannot falsify or operationalise (or access) the unconscious mind also qualitative data = unscientific due to subjectivity
cognitive:
- can operationalise thoughts BUT social desirability bias (censor themselves) and cannot see what people think
behaviourist:
- observable behaviour = very scientific & can predict behaviour = causality
evaluate the explanations in regards to ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
psychodynamic:
- nuclear families = westernised cultures only
cognitive:
- different cultures think very differently e.g., individualist cultures may weight negative thoughts about themself a lot heavier than a collectivist culture ways it
behaviourist:
- not ethnocentric
evaluate the explanations in regards to validity and reliability
reliability - all but psychodynamic are reliable
validity = psychodynamic not valid BUT does work for some people and cognitive and behaviourist are valid. but reductionist
