History of Abnormal Psychology

Question 1

what is abnormal behaviour

Answer 1

behavioural, emotional or cognition dysfunctions that are unexpected in individuals cultural context and are associated with personal distress or substantial impairment in functioning

Question 2

when and where have major psychological disorders have existed

Answer 2

in all cultures

across all time periods

Question 3

why do the causes and treatment of abnormal behaviour vary so widely across cultures and time periods

Answer 3

different paradigms of world views

Question 4

three dominant traditions in the past view of abnormal behaviour

Answer 4

super natural
biological
psychological

Question 5

explain the supernatural tradition

Answer 5

deviant behaviour - battle of good vs evil
demonic possession, witchcraft etc
mass hysteria
treatment: exorcism, torture, beatings
still prevalent in some cultures today
also deviant behaviour caused by moon and stars as body made up of water so has tides
‘outer force’ (supernatural) popular view during middle ages
few believed abnormal behaviour was an illness

Question 6

theories (brief) in the biological traditional view of abnormal behaviour

Answer 6

humoral theory 
Hippocrates and galen
yin and yang
general paresis
john grey

Question 7

what is the humoral theory

Answer 7

theory illness came from fluids in the body - humours
eg black bile in te spleen was linked to depression
treatments were crude

Question 8

who were Hippocrates and Galen and what did they do

Answer 8

two men who viewed abnormal behaviour as physical disease
their thinking foreshadowed modern views linking abnormality with brain chemical imbalances
“wandering uterus” - unexplained symptoms were due to the uterus being dislodged and wondering through the body

Question 9

yin and yang

Answer 9

basis of Chinese medicine

positive and negative forces that confront and complement each other

Question 10

what is general paresis and why does it link with biological view of abnormal behaviour

Answer 10

syphilis
associated with several unusual psychological and behavioural symptoms
Pasteur discovered the cause - a bacterial microorganism
penicillin used as treatment
strengthen view of mental illness = physical illness and should be treated as such

Question 11

who was john grey

Answer 11

insanity = always due to a physical condition

improved hospital conditions

Question 12

by when were biological treatments standard practice and what treatments did these include

Answer 12

1930s
insulin shock therapy
ECT - could appear to work but no great evidence, kept being used as thought it was impossible to have epilepsy and depression
brain surgery - lobotomy (ice pick) highly unethical
1950s = medication like reserpine and neuroleptics (major tranquilizers)

Question 13

what was the psychoanalytical tradition and what are the three parts of it we are interested in

Answer 13

Freudian theory of structure and function of the mind

• structure
• defence mechanisms
• stages of psychosexual developments

Question 14

Freudians view on structure of the mind

Answer 14

id - pleasure principle, illogical, emotional, irrational
ego - reality principle, logic and rational
superego - moral principles, conscience

Question 15

what is defence mechanisms

Answer 15

when the ego loses the battle with the id and superego

Question 16

denial
displacement
rationalization
as defense mechanisms

Answer 16

refusal to acknowledge an aspect of reality that is apparent to others
displacement - transferring feelings about someone onto someone else less threatening
rationalization - inventing a reason for an unreasonable action or attitude

Question 17

Freudian stages of psychosexual development

Answer 17

oral 0-2 - sucking
anal 2-3 - passing and retaining feces
phallic 3-5/6 focusing on genital self stimulation
latency 6-12 sexual drive dormant, asexual persuits
genital adult - heterosexual interest dominant
Oedipus complex - boy desires mother, castration anxiety
electra complex - girl desires father, penis envy

Question 18

later Neo-Freudian developments

Answer 18

anna freud - self-psychology. influence of ego in defining behaviour
Melaine Klein, Otto Kernberg and object relations theory
- children incorporate (introject) objects
Neo-Freudian generally de-emphasized the sexual bit

Question 19

how did psychoanalytic thought translates to psychoanalysis therapy

Answer 19

unearth hidden intrapsychic conflicts
therapy = long term
techniques such as free associations and dream analysis
examine transference and counter-transference issues
little evidence for efficacy

Question 20

the behavioural model and psychological tradition

Answer 20

derived from a scientific approach to the study of psychopathy
classical condition
operant conditioning

Question 21

who and what classical conditioning

Answer 21

pavlov and Watson
conditioning involves correlation between neutral stimuli and unconditioned stimuli
conditioning was extended to the acquisition of fear

Question 22

who and what operant conditioning

Answer 22

thorndike and skinner
another ubiquitous form of learning
most voluntary behaviour is controlled by the consequences that follow behaviour

Question 23

how were classical and operant conditioning used in therapy

Answer 23

they are learning theories
influenced the development of behaviour therapy
behaviour therapy tends to be tim-limited and direct
strong evidence supporting the efficacy of behaviour therapy

Question 24

idea, treatment and evidence of humanistic theory

Answer 24

people are good, humans strive towards self-actualization
treatment
-therapist conveys empathy and unconditional positive regard
minimal therapist intervention
no strong evidence actually works

Question 25

name three humanist psychologists

Answer 25

Carl Rogers - person centered therapy and patient honesty
Abraham Maslow - hierarchy of needs
Fritz Perls - gestalt therapy, positive, creative potential

Question 26

current thinking in abnormal psychology

Answer 26

adverse childhood experience
Dweck growth mindset
duckworth - grit
resilience

Question 27

what is resilience

Answer 27

the ability to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness

attitude is at the centre

Question 28

the present scientific method and integrative approach

Answer 28

psychopathology is multiply determined
one-dimensional accounts are incomplete
must consider reciprocal terms between biological, psychological and social factors
defining abnormal behaviour is also complex, multifaceted and has evolved
supernatural tradition has no place in the science of abnormal behaviour