Introduction

Question 1

What is the difference between how psychologists can quantify data compared to other scientists?

Answer 1

Psychologists have to rely on less definitive sources to determine if anxiety, depression or psychosis may be clinically significant

Question 2

What is an issue with some scales that measure psychological data?

Answer 2

they might ask how someone feels, but not in the way that may be most relevant to the person answering the question, and so some people have something that is relevant but not specific to their inner experiences.

Question 3

How might you determine what is Abnormal?

Answer 3

By making reference to the statistical deviance from the mean, frequency of event, understanding of cultural context, experience of distress and impairment are all factors that contribute to defining abnormal behaviour.

Question 4

James Tilly Matthews

Answer 4

Matthews is known as one of the first cases of delusions in Schizophrenia. In 1810, he described an object to Haslam, saying that an “air loom” built by a group of French spies tries to manipulate people’s minds, specifically inserting thoughts into his mind. He felt a lack of control over his thoughts and was unable to change them.

• This shows that there are some thoughts that are universally abnormal

Question 5

How does the study by Alloy and Abramson (1979) show that abnormal beliefs do not equal unrealistic beliefs?

Answer 5

Participants would press a button that turned a light on. In reality the schedule of the light was set by the experimenter and so they didn’t have control over what was going to happen. Results showed that healthy participants ended up overestimating their control of the light and depressed people were more accurate in determining whether they would be able to turn the light on. This suggests that, depending on the circumstances, some abnormal beliefs may be a true depiction of what is occuring in real life.