Chapter One Flashcards
Introduction and Methods of Research
abnormal psychology
The branch of psychology that studies abnormal behavior and ways of helping people who are affected by psychological disorders
psychological disorder
“Mental disorder” / “Mental illness”
A pattern of abnormal behavior associated with states of significant emotional distress, such as anxiety or depression, or with impaired behavior or ability to function, such as difficulty holding a job or distinguishing reality from fantasy
medical model
Perspective that views abnormal behavior as symptoms of underlying illness or brain disorder
Ways to understand/make judgements about whether behavior is abnormal
- unusualness
- social deviance
- faulty perceptions of interpretation of reality
- significant personal distress
- maladaptive or self-defeating behavior
- dangerousness
unusualness
behavior that is unusual (outside of the social norm)
- ex: seeing things or hearing things
social deviance
- All societies have norms that define the kinds of behavior that are acceptable in given contexts
- Behavior deemed normal in one culture may be viewed as abnormal in other
faulty perceptions or interpretation of reality
hallucinations and delusions
hallucinations
Sensory perception in the absence of corresponding external or somatic stimulus and described according to the sensory domain in which it occurs
delusions
A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly sustained despite what almost everybody else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary
significant personal distress
Behaviors that cause people to suffer distress or that prevent them from functioning in daily life
Ex: loss of reality, loss of control over behaviors, severe interference with ability to function in daily life
maladaptive or self defeating behavior
Behavior that limits one’s ability to function in expected roles or to adapt to one’s environments may also be considered abnormal
Behaviors are those that make more likely a consequence that the person tried to avoid
Self-defeating behaviors include choosing to suffer, self-handicapping, failure to achieve potential, fear of success, learned helplessness, procrastination, and impulsivity
dangerousness
Behavior that is dangerous to oneself or other people may be considered abnormal
Ex: suicidal
stats/prevalence - disorders
*The US has the highest rates of diagnosable psychological disorders among 17 countries they surveyed
Women > men (especially mood disorders)
Young adults > other adults
culture and abnormal psychology
Who defines what is abnormal?
- Old, white men
Cultural definition of the problem
Cultural perceptions of cause, context, and support “explanatory model”
Western: anxiety is seen as worry about paying the mortgage or losing a job
African: anxiety is expressed as fears of failure in procreation, in dreams and complaints about witchcraft
These differences demonstrate how important it is that we determine whether or concepts of abnormal behavior are valid before we apply them to other cultures
Historical Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior
demonology, trephination, demons, gods, hippocrates, galen, witches, exorcism
demonology
The notion of supernatural causes of abnormal behavior
trephination
An early practice that involves drilling the skull to provide an outlet for those irascible spirits (release “demons” responsible for “abnormal behavior”)
demons
Abnormal behaviors explained by possession by evil spirits or the devil
Gods
Ancient Greek cultures believed gods played with humans; assigning them madness or clouded minds
hippocrates
First attribute to natural causes
Balance of humors
humors
vital fluids in the body
- phlegm, black bile, blood, and yellow bile
phlegm
excess of this leads to having a lethargic or sluggish person
- phlegmatic
black bile
excess of this was believed to cause depression
- melancholia
blood
excess of this was believed to create a cheerful, confident, and optimistic person
- sanguine
yellow bile
excess of this was believed to cause someone to be quick tempered
- bilious
- choleric
galen
Arteries carrying blood, not air!
witches
“Disturbed” behavior attributed to witches (mostly women) making deals with the devil and relationships with demons
A sort of beginning for “diagnostic” tests
exorcism
Those behaving abnormally were “treated” with exorcisms
If that didn’t work, torture
Ex: water-float test
historical mental hospitals in the 15th-16th centuries
Asylums or madhouses began to appear
- Asylums of refuge
- St Mary’s of Bethlehem Hospital
- Bedlam is derived from
- The public could buy tickets to observe the antics of the inmates
- Horrible conditions
historical mental hospitals in the 18th-19th centuries
- Jean-Baptiste Pussin and Philippe Pinel
- Argued that people who behave abnormally suffer from diseases and should be treated humanely
- lead the shift to ventilation, sun, engaging conversation with understanding and concern
- Nelly Bly - Ten Days in a Madhouse
- Moral therapy
moral therapy
Based on the belief that providing humane treatment in a relaxed and decent environment could restore functioning
historical mental hospitals in the later half of 19th century
Step backwards
Increased population in mental institutions
-Provided little more than custodial care
Deinstitutionalization
Phenothiazines
deinstitutionalization
A policy of shifting the burden of care from state hospitals to community-based treatment settings
- Led to a wholesaler exodus from state mental hospitals
Phenothiazines
New antipsychotic drugs that were introduced in the 1950s; used to help quell the most flagrant behavior patterns associated with schizophrenia
mental hospitals today
institutional mental health
community mental health
institutional mental health
- Psychiatric hospitals as a ‘restorative’ temporary space; return to community level is key
- Impatient; outpatient; residential
- Not always great; connection with those in Wash; system failed them
community mental health
-Alternative to institutional care, continuing care post treatment is attuned settings
-Successful but severe lack of funding or understanding
-Low funding tho
-Community stepping up where the institutions have failed
Contemporary Perspective on Abnormal Behavior
- The Biological Perspective and Medical Model
- The Psychological Perspective and the Psychodynamic Model
- The Sociocultural Perspective
- The Biopsychosocial Model
The Biological Perspective and Medical Model
Neurobiological
Genetic
Internal failure – faulty chemistry or circuitry
Psychopharmacological treatment
The Psychological Perspective and the Psychodynamic Model
The theoretical model of Freud and his followers, in which abnormal behavior is viewed as the product of clashing forces within the personality
- Labels are hard to remove once given (“mentally ill”)
The unconscious mental processes
Emotion and behavior based
Intrapsychic conflict
“Talking cure” and catharsis as treatment
Anna O./Sigmund Freud
The Sociocultural Perspective
Failure of Society vs Failure of a Person
Bronfenbrenner’s approach
The Biopsychosocial Model
Biological + psychological + sociocultural
- An integrated, informed view of the individual
Research Methods in Abnormal Psychology
naturalistic observation
correlational method
longitudinal study
experimental method
epidemiological method
Scientific Method
- Formulate a research question
- Form into a hypothesis
- Test the hypothesis
- Draw conclusions
theory
A formulation of the relationships underlying observed events
hypothesis
A prediction tested in an experiment
ethical guidelines
- informed consent
- confidentiality
- do no harm
informed consent
Requires that people be free to choose whether they want to participate in research studies
confidentiality
Keeping the records of their participation secure and by not disclosing their identities to others
Naturalistic observation method
The investigator observes behavior in the field, where it happens
Limitations include interference by the researchers as well as only explaining the how, not the why
Correlational method
Exploring the relationship between variables
Attempt to predict future occurrences and how variables relate to each other
correlation coefficient
longitudinal study
correlation coefficient
The statistical measure used to express the association or correlation between two variables
Can range from -1 to 1
Positive correction: same direction
Negative correction: different direction
longitudinal study
A type of correlational study in which individuals are periodically tested or evaluated over lengthy periods of time, perhaps for decades
experimental method
Allows scientists to demonstrate causal relationships by manipulating the causal factor and measuring its effects under controlled conditions that minimize the risk of other factors explaining the results
independent variable
dependent variable
experimental group
control group
random assignment
selection factor
blind (single; double)
placebo
types of validity
independent variable
Factors or variables hypothesized to play a causal role are manipulated or controlled by the investigation
dependent variable
Factors that are observed in order to determine the effects of manipulating the independent variable
experimental group
Given the experimental conditions/treatment
control group
not given treatment
random assignment
Method of assigning research subjects at random to experimental or control groups to balance the characteristics of people who comprise them
selection factor
Differences in the types of people who would select to be in one group or the other
blind
Uninformed about the treatments they are receiving
placebo
An inert drug that physically resembles the active drug
Single blind placebo control study
Research participants are randomly assigned to treatment conditions in which they receive either an active drug or an inert placebo, but are kept blind about which drug they receive
Double-blind placebo control
Neither the researcher nor the subject knows who is receiving thee active drug or the placebo
types of validity
internal, external, construct
internal validity
When the observed changes in the dependent variable(s) can be causally related to changes in the independent or treatment variable
external validity
Refers to the generalizability of results of an experimental study to other individuals, settings, and times
construct validity
conceptually higher level of validity
epidemiological method
Examines rates of occurrence of abnormal behavior in various settings or population groups
survey method
inicidence
prevalence
random sample
survey method
Relies on interviews or questionnaires
incidence
The number of new cases occurring during a specific period of time
prevalence
The overall number of cases of a disorder existing in the population during a given period of time
random sample
Each member of the population of interest has an equal probability of selection
other types of studies
family - kinship, twin, adoptee, case
kinship studies
attempt to disentangle the roles of heredity and environment in determining behavior
- Genes are the basic building blocks of heredity
- Science of heredity is genetics
- Chromosomes, rod-shaped structures that house our genes, are found in the nuclei of the body’s cells
- Chromosomes consist of large, complex molecules of DNA
genotype, phenotype, proband
genotype
The set of traits specified by our genetic code
phenotype
The constellation of observable or expressed traits
proband
The case first diagnosed with a given disorder
Difficult to generalize to the public
Twin studies and adoptee studies
Provide powerful arguments for or against a role for genetic factors in the appearance of psychological traits and disorders
Case studies
Intensive studies of individuals
Often used in psychotherapeutic trainings
Single case experimental designs may help overcome issues such as memory, opinion, and rapport
Single-case experimental designs
Research participants serve as their own controls
Reversal design
Method involves repeated measurement of behavior across four successive phases
