Psychopathology Flashcards
What is the Statistical Deviation definition of Abnormality?
Statistical norms - Any commonly seen behaviour or characteristic.
Deviation - Any unusual behaviour or characteristic, e.g. fear of buttons
Real-life example - Intellectual disability disorder requires an IQ in the bottom 2% of the population.
Occupies the extreme ends of a normal distribution curve, eg low IQ defined as intellectual disability disorder.
Evaluation of the Statistical Deviation definition of Abnormality
Real life application - provide a basis of comparison - can be used as part of a clinical assessment
Limitation - unusual characteristics can be a good thing - According to this model, people with higher than average IQ would be considered ‘abnormal’ - this is actually a desirable trait - so statistical deviation should never be used alone in clinical assessment.
Labelling can be a disadvantage. A person may have a lower than average IQ but function well in society and are happy.
What is the Deviation from Social Norms definition of Abnormality?
Social norms - Ways in which most people behave, established by social group.
Deviation - A behaviour different from how most people behave, e.g. hearing voices
Real-life example - Antisocial personality disorder involves socially unacceptable behaviour.
Evaluation of the Deviation from Social Norms definition of Abnormality
Does not consider cultural variations:
-May diagnose someone as abnormal using their cultural norms or standards - not the other persons.
-E.g. hearing voice is acceptable in some cultures.
Can be used for diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder but other factors need to also be considered:
-E.g. their unusual behaviours have to make others distressed for it to be considered ASPD.
Can lead to human rights abuses, as an instrument of social control- anyone who deviates from the norm can face prejudice.
-E.g. Drapetomania (Black slaves trying to escape)
-Nymphomania (women attracted to working-class men).
-Examples of when diagnosis has be used for social control.
Lack of temporal validity, norms change over time
What is the Failure to Function Adequately definition of Abnormality?
Adequate functioning - Coping with the demands of everyday life
Failure to function adequately - Failing to cope with everyday life, e.g. not holding down a job
Real-life example - Intellectual disability disorder involves having low IQ and failure to function adequately
Evaluation of the Failure to Function Adequately definition of Abnormality
It captures the perspective of the patient:
-acknowledgesthes importance of the experience of the individual patient and other in their life.
People that lead extreme lifestyles, extreme sports, religions etc - would be considered as abnormal according to this definition:
-Views living these life styles as maladaptive.
-Treating these as failures of adequate functioning may limit freedoms.
Subjective - saying someone is distressed may be an opinion
-However -there are measures of making judgement objective - e.g. Global Assessment of Functioning scale.
What is the Deviation from Ideal Mental Health definition of Abnormality?
Mental health - Characteristics of a psychologically healthy person
Good mental health (Jahoda) - A set of criteria including lack of symptoms, independence, realistic view of the world and good self-esteem.
Deviation from ideal mental health - Failing to have any one of the above criteria for good mental health, e.g. having low self-esteem
Evaluation of the Deviation from Ideal Mental Health definition of Abnormality?
Offers a comprehensive definition of mental health and covers a broad range of criteria needed for good mental health - probably cover most the reasons why someone would see help - sheer range of criteria make it a good tool for thinking about mental health.
Some of the criteria are culture bound - more set to individualistic cultures - E.g. self actualisation - would be considered indulgent in more collectivist cultures - putting onseself above community.
Its sets an unrealistically high standard for mental health - very few people would meet all - making mist of us abnormal.
What are the characteristics of phobias?
What constitutes a phobia? Specific phobias for objects or situations, agoraphobia and social anxiety.
Behavioural - Panic, avoidance or endurance of the phobic stimulus
Emotional - Fear and anxiety.
Cognitive - Selective attention towards the phobic stimulus, irrational beliefs about it and cognitive distortions of it.
What are the characteristics of depression?
What constitutes depression? Major depression, recurring depression
Behavioural - Changes to usual activity levels, sleep and eating patterns and possibly aggression.
Emotional - Lowered mood, anger and decline in self-esteem.
Cognitive - Poor concentration, bias towards seeing the negative.
What are the characteristics of OCD?
What constitutes OCD? Characterised either by obsessive thought, compulsive behaviours or both.
Behavioural - Include compulsions to repeat behaviours, usually to reduce anxiety.
Emotional - Main characteristic is anxiety, often accompanied by depression and guilt.
Cognitive - Recurrent obsessive thoughts, accompanied by rituals to cope with the obsession
Summary of the Behavioural Approach to explaining phobias
Behavioural approach - Behavioural characteristics of phobias as of primary importance.
Two-process model - Mowrer’s idea that phobias are: (a) learned and (b) maintained.
Classical conditioning - Acquisition of phobias. Neutral stimulus associated with fear, then becomes phobic object
Operant conditioning - Maintain phobia. Negative reinforcement because avoidance reduces anxiety.
Evaluation of the Behavioural Approach to explaining phobias
Incomplete explanation of phobias - some phobias are adaptive and make evolutionary sense:
-We easily acquire phobia of these things.
-Biological preparedness - we are biologically prepared to fear some things more than others (Seligman 1971)
Not all bad experiences lead to phobias:
-E.g. being bitten by a dog does not always lead to phobia of dogs (DiNardo et al. 1988)
Good explanatory power - the two-process model has led to effective therapy where patients are exposed to the fear stimulus and are prevented from practising their avoidance behaviours - as a reuslt phobic behaviour declines - thus good application.
Summary of desensitisation - behavioural approach to treating phobias
Systematic desensitisation - A behavioural therapy, i.e. based on learning.
Anxiety hierarchy - High and low anxiety situations identified involving the phobic stimulus
Relaxation - Patient taught relaxation techniques or introduced to anti-anxiety drugs
Gradual exposure - Patient works up the anxiety hierarchy, maintaining relaxation at each level
How it works - Counterconditioning: the phobic stimulus is paired with a relaxing stimulus until it triggers relaxation not anxiety
Evaluation of desensitation - behavioural approach to treating phobias
Evidence shows that Systematic Desensitisation is an effective therapy.
-Gilroy et al. (2003) followed up 42 patients who had SD for spider phobia in three 45 minute sessions.
-At both 3 and 33 months - the SD group - less fearful than control group (who were treated by relaxation without phobia).
It is suitable for a diverse range of patients including those with learning difficulties:
-Alternatives to SD - e.g. flooding - not well suited to some - patients with learning difficulties may not understand whats going on.
Patients prefer it to other therapies such as flooding as it does not involve the same trauma:
-those giving a choice between SD and flooding chose SD.
-Because it does not cuase trauma + includes pleasant experiences - talking with a therapist.
