History of Abnormal Psychology Flashcards
what is abnormal behaviour
behavioural, emotional or cognition dysfunctions that are unexpected in individuals cultural context and are associated with personal distress or substantial impairment in functioning
when and where have major psychological disorders have existed
in all cultures
across all time periods
why do the causes and treatment of abnormal behaviour vary so widely across cultures and time periods
different paradigms of world views
three dominant traditions in the past view of abnormal behaviour
super natural
biological
psychological
explain the supernatural tradition
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
theories (brief) in the biological traditional view of abnormal behaviour
humoral theory Hippocrates and galen yin and yang general paresis john grey
what is the humoral theory
theory illness came from fluids in the body - humours
eg black bile in te spleen was linked to depression
treatments were crude
who were Hippocrates and Galen and what did they do
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
yin and yang
basis of Chinese medicine
positive and negative forces that confront and complement each other
what is general paresis and why does it link with biological view of abnormal behaviour
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
who was john grey
insanity = always due to a physical condition
improved hospital conditions
by when were biological treatments standard practice and what treatments did these include
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)
what was the psychoanalytical tradition and what are the three parts of it we are interested in
Freudian theory of structure and function of the mind
- structure
- defence mechanisms
- stages of psychosexual developments
Freudians view on structure of the mind
id - pleasure principle, illogical, emotional, irrational
ego - reality principle, logic and rational
superego - moral principles, conscience
what is defence mechanisms
when the ego loses the battle with the id and superego
denial
displacement
rationalization
as defense mechanisms
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
Freudian stages of psychosexual development
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
later Neo-Freudian developments
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
how did psychoanalytic thought translates to psychoanalysis therapy
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
the behavioural model and psychological tradition
derived from a scientific approach to the study of psychopathy
classical condition
operant conditioning
who and what classical conditioning
pavlov and Watson
conditioning involves correlation between neutral stimuli and unconditioned stimuli
conditioning was extended to the acquisition of fear
who and what operant conditioning
thorndike and skinner
another ubiquitous form of learning
most voluntary behaviour is controlled by the consequences that follow behaviour
how were classical and operant conditioning used in therapy
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
idea, treatment and evidence of humanistic theory
people are good, humans strive towards self-actualization
treatment
-therapist conveys empathy and unconditional positive regard
minimal therapist intervention
no strong evidence actually works
