Psychopathology Flashcards
Deviation from social norms AO1
-Any behaviour that does not follow accepted patterns or rules (can vary between time periods and different cultures)
-Violation of social patterns/rules = UR ABNORMAL
-eg walking naked in public
-behaviour unexpected by others in society -behaviour can offend other members of that society/cultural group
Deviation from social norms AO3
STRENGTHS
+One strength act as an indicator for mental health disorders eg OCD
+One strength is it distinguishes between desirable and non desirable behaviour so that people know the limits of how they can act. If social norms were not set many people would have no boundaries in regards how to act. Social norms minimises and sets reasonable boundaries on how to act
WEAKNESSES
-One weakness is that some people might just be odd not abnormal
-One weakness is context must be taken into account no clothes in public on street bad but no clothes on nudist beach is okay
Failure to function adequately AO1
-this model is based on the fact that a person is unable to cope with everyday living making them abnormal
-Rosenhan and seligman made 7 criteria to define if someone was unable to function adequately and therefore if they were abnormal (more criteria met= more abnormal)
SUMO VIV
suffering (physically or mentally because of their abnormality)
unpredictably and loss of control
maladaptiveness (unable to achieve major life goals)
observer discomfort (other people may feel discomfort watching the abnormal person break social norms)
vividness and unconventionality (behaviour differs from how majority behave)
irrationality and incomprehensibility
violation of moral and ideal standards
Failure to function adequately AO3
STRENGTHS
+Supporting case studies MICELE LOTITO possesses a lot of the criteria eg observer discomfort when people see him eat razors. RWA
WEAKNESSES
-Abnormality is not always accompanied by disfunction eg some psychopaths eg Harold Shipman don’t posses the 7 criteria, however, Harold Shipman committed many murders but still appears to function normally despite having a psychological abnormality.
-Inaccurate definition of abnormality. Some people could be having a bad day and not abnormal.
-Model subjunctive, lacks being scientific, sometimes it’s ok to show criteria eg suffering when grieving. Does the smallest bit of suffering make you abnormal, how would you draw the line on where you would tick the criteria, people have differing opinions
Statistical infrequency AO1
-Behaviour which is considered abnormal as it is statistically rare
-Characteristics of behaviour are less common/ typical -this definition focuses on the quantity of behaviour measured in standard deviations away from the mean
-Occupies the extreme ends of a normal distribution curve
-eg OCD is a rare disorder that affects 1% of the global population (according to WHO)
Statistical infrequency AO3
STRENGTHS
+Judgements are based on objective, scientific and unbiased data which can help indicate abnormality and normality eg IQ. Results from these tests can indicate wheather someone needs psychological help or assistance. eg an IQ score below 70 could indicate a mental disability.
WEAKNESSES
- those who are statistically infrequent in something (which is percieved as negative by others in society) may consequently have a negative perception of self. Meaning that statistical infrequency can affect peoples confidence and self esteem leading to further problems
-Statistical infrequency can also be critisized as it has a subjunctive cut off point between abnormality and normality, we need to decide where the dividing line of abnormality and normality stands and this can be quite subjunctive, eg the IQ 70 is abnormal and infrequent but the IQ score of 70 is normal? The cut off point between abnormality and normality can be questioned.
-Statistical infrequency suggests that if you are statistically infrequent it is a bad thing, but that isnt always the case, it can be a good thing and doesnt need treatment at all
Deviation from ideal mental health AO1
-This suggests that the absence of ideal mental health can be used to judge abnormality
-Failure to fulfil Jahoda’s 6 criteria at the same time = abnormal.
- The criteria:
AUTONOMY ( individual independent of social influences)
PERCEPTION OF REALITY IS REALISTIC ( not too positive or negative)
PERSONAL GROWTH ( strives/ reaches self actualisation-a concept regarding the process by which an individual reaches his or her full potential)
INTEGRATION (copes with stressful and anxiety provoking situations)
ENVIRONMENTAL MASTERY (indicates individual is successful and well adapted)
SELF ATTITUDES (high self esteem)
Deviation from ideal mental health AO3
STRENGTHS
+highlight areas of disfunction to work to work on help treat mental disorders
WEAKNESSES
-hard to achieve all six criteria at once so most people would be abnormal making it normal to be abnormal = problematic criteria
-six criteria are abstract concepts, difficult to define and measure. How much self esteem do we need to be healthy
What are the 4 behavioural characteristics of phobias?
1)AVOIDANCE - avoid phobic object, can affect day to day life eg unable to go places
2)ENDURANCE- when a person is confronted by their real or perceived threat they would normally have a flight or flight response . However when faced with a phobic object a person may freeze/ faint instead. (To seem “dead” to predator and be left alone)
3)DISRUPTION OF FUNCTIONING- fear so extreme affects functioning socially at work for example
4) PANIC- panic in presence of stimulus. May be crying, screaming throwing up
What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?
1)FEAR- persistent, excessive and unreasonable fear when stimulus is present
2) PANIC AND ANXIETY- might worry a lot when stimulus is present and feel highly anxious with negative feelings
What are the 4 cognitive characteristics of phobias?
1)IRRATIONAL- think in irrational way to phobia and ignore rational arguments that counter it eg someone who fears flying ignore the ‘flying is the safest form of transport’
2)INSIGHT- know fear is silly or unreasonable but ‘cannot help it’
3)COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS- distorted perception of stimulus eg snake is a violent + aggressive- sees them negatively
4)SELECTIVE ATTENTION-when person encounters it can’t focus on anything else but the phobic object
Two process model AO1
-The behaviourist approach explains all behaviour is learnt, from these ideas Mower proposed the two-process model to explain phobias.
-This model suggests that phobias are acquired by classical conditioning then maintained by operant conditioning.
-Classical conditioning is based on the idea of learning by association, where if an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus are repeatedly paired together then the neutral stimulus will eventually produce the same unconditioned response as the unconditioned stimulus.
-This means the neutral stimulus has now become a conditioned stimulus that produces a conditioned response.
-This can be applied to phobias as it is thought that pairing a negative experience with a neutral stimulus produces the response of fear will then lead to that neutral stimulus being associated with that negative response. (include example eg dog attack). This phobia maintained by operant conditioning.
-Individuals can be negatively reinforced to avoid a situation to avoid the negative outcome of it, in this case the negative outcome is the phobic response of fear and anxiety. Also be positively reinforced no fear = rewarding+ relief.
Other than classical conditioning, what other ways can phobias be learnt (as suggested by Minneka)?
-Another way phobias could be learnt is through social learning.
-The social learning theory suggests through observational learning children might pick up a phobia their parents or someone close to them by observing how they react to the phobic stimulus and copying them (example dog attack= screaming, child will also get scared).
-Psychologist Minneka found that when one monkey showed a fear response to snakes in a cage the other monkeys in the cage showed a fear response to snakes too. These findings can be applied to humans
Two process model AO3
STRENGTHS
+ one strength of the two process is can be used for the better, aversion therapy, which involves classical conditioning to help treat addictions
Systematic desensitisation AO1
-Developed by Wolfe to reduce/diminish phobias
-Hierarchy of fear constructed by patient and therapist ranked from least to most fearful
-Taught relaxation techniques eg progressive muscular relaxation (PMR) contract rlly tight then relax while breathing deeply
-Instructed to use relaxation techniques while exposed to phobic stimulus .
-Gradual exposure to phobic stimulus by working up fear hierarchy -INCLUDE EXAMPLES
