psychopathology Flashcards
what are the four definitions of abnormality?
- deviation from social norms
- failure to function adequately
- statistical infrequency
- deviation from ideal mental health
describe deviation from social norms
when someone’s behaviour differs from how we expect them to behave (e.g. wearing pjs in office)
abnormal behaviour is even it offends people’s sense of what’s acceptable/ normal.
is culturally and time specific (e.g. homosexuality in victorian times)
outline the evaluation for deviation from social norms
criticism - susceptible to abuse
Ev- Muslims in china = abnormal by Chinese Gov + put into re-education camps. Same as homosexuality in victorian times.
Ex- Q’s whether it accurately identifies abnormality that needs treatment or way of Gov’s justifying societal prejudice.
L- but differentiates between normal and abnormal unlike DIMH
criticism - culturally relative
Ev- dependent upon culture e.g. DSM-V uses DSN and is based on white, western cultures but generalises to all.
Ex- so someone = abnormal dependent upon the culture they live in rather than whether it causes them a ‘problem’, like FTF does. Surely if beh abnormal, should be no matter where.
L- but can avoid cultural bias - e.g. DSM-V considers cultural differences when diagnosing abnormality - but is still a subjective measure within each culture.
Criticism- depends upon the context and degree of the DSN
Ev- e.g. wearing a swimming costume on the beach=normal, wearing it in a classroom=abnormal
Ex- if abnormal should be abnormal irrespective of the context or degree of beh
L- but even objective def like statistical infrequency has subjective judgements (e.g. where is the cut off for abnormality- 1%, 5%, 10%?)
all def gave subjective judgement issue.
describe failure to function adequately
- unable to cope with demands of every day life
- unable to look after themselves (hold down job, interact with others meaningfully)
- counter-productive to individuals (e.g, not getting up, self-harm
- causes observer discomfort
outline evaluation for failure to function adequately
criticism- who judges what’s abnormal?
Ev- someone’s deciding what functioning is, subjective, effected by class and ethnicity
Ex- individuals receive different diagnoses of abnormality,e.g. Sz more likely in men, depression women. (male not functioning more serious?)
L- more susceptible to abuse - not correctly diagnose someone. maybe be a beh that psychologist doesn’t like, so says not functioning.
Whereas SI based on data, so not.
criticism- what is defined as functioning/not?
Ev- what the individual seems as functioning may be different to the psychologist (e.g. self harm)
Ex- could be functional to individual, but seems not so observer discomfort.
stopping this beh may lead to more serious consequences like suicide so functional.
L- FTF can be utilised by having more than one psychologist decide abnormality, decreases bias.
strength- considers individuals subjective experience
Ev- allows us to view mental disorder from the view of person with it. How beh is affecting everyday life, so unique to individual.
Ex- not overgeneralising abnormality to all ppl with same beh, unlike DSN. basing abnormality of whether beh is adaptive or not to individuals.
L- looking at beh from neg perspective, as to what person can’t do.
DIMH has more pos outlook oh beh.
describe statistical infrequency
uses statistical data based on a normal distribution to decide who’s abnormal.
anyone outside statistical normal is abnormal, and any behaviour trait that is rare - e.g. IQ test - 100 average, 140+ seen as exceptionally smart, less than 80 abnormal
outline evaluation for statistical inferequency
strength- objective - based on statistical data
Ev- uses normal distribution and statistical significance to define abnormality -e.g. 1%, 5%, 10% significant difference from normal pop.
Ex- eliminates unconscious bias/human error. Less subjective, more reliable def of abnormality (can be applied consistently to all ppl)
L- still requires judgement of whether to use a 1%,5% or 10% cut off for being abnormal.
criticism - doesn’t distinguish between abnormal being functional or not
Ev - would consider a higher IQ (over 120) to be just as abnormal as a low IQ (below 80- learning disability)
Ex - doesn’t distinguish if infrequency is desirable or not. assumes both high and low IQ needs treatment.
L - does distinguish diff between normal and abnormal, unlike DIMH.
criticism- culturally relative
Ev- depends on which normal population data is being used. normal distribution is culturally specific (e.g. IQ test=western test and normed in USA)
Ex- abnormality is not defined universally so may be invalid to define abnormal from another culture.
L- can ensure gather normal population data from every culture and define within culture data gathered from.
describe deviation from ideal mental health
abnormality is the absence of criteria for good mental health:
- positive self-esteem
- self-actualisation
- ability to cope with stressful situations
- independence
-accurate perfection of reality
outline evaluation for deviation from ideal mental health
strength - positive approach to defining abnormality
Ev - Looks at what’s desirable
rather than undesirable. She accepted that the person is in control of working on themselves to develop in the 6
categories.
Ex - defines normality and not abnormality. Compares people against what it is to be normal, and if does not meet the criteria then abnormal.
L - doesn’t state how many of criteria are needed to be considered normal. so vague definition unlike FTF.
criticism- unrealistic
Ev - criteria hard to measure as vague, e.g. self-actualisation, and accurate perception of reality.
Ex-not effective def of ab - everyone ab as no one meets all criteria, so not useful as no distinct between normal and abnormal.
L- but is positive approach, and humanistic - views everyone as unique and we all need help; as no such thing as ‘normality’.
criticism - compares physical illness to a mental illness
Ev - Physical health is observable and can be felt and measured objectively. Mental health cannot be directly observed or measured.
Ex - criteria for DIMH isn’t observable or easily measurable, e.g., self-actualisation or self- esteem.
L - However, this is a criticism
relevant to all definitions. (and are all culturally relative)
define phobias
a persistent extreme + irrational fear of an object which disrupts your everyday life.
name some behavioural characteristics of phobias
-avoidance (running away)
- panic behaviour (fight/flight, e.g. sweating, increased heart rate
name some emotional characteristics of phobias
- anxiety - worried when facing phobic stimulus
- fear
name some cognitive characteristics of phobias
- cognitive distortions - person is aware their fear is excessive
- irrational beliefs - unrealistic thoughts
what is the behavioural explanation of phobias?
the two process model (classical creates phobias and operant maintains it)
how does classical conditioning explain phobias?
UCS —> UCR
(loud noise —>fear)
UCS+NS —> UCR (loud noise + rat —> fear)
CS —> CR (rat—> fear)
how does operant conditioning explain phobias?
negative reinforcements - take away fear to increase the chances of further avoidance of phobia
makes person feel calmer by avoiding it
but is teaching the person that there is something to fear, so increases the fear
describe the case study of little albert
- baseline check- showed a variety of animals and chose the animal
Little Albert liked the most (white rat) - Paired the white rat with a loud noise (hammer striking a metal bar)
- Created a phobia of white rats (discrimination)
what are the 2 behavioural approaches treatments of phobias?
systematic desensitisation
flooding
outline systematic desensitisation
UCS (relaxation techniques) = UCR (calm)
UCS (relaxation techniques) + NS (phobia) = UCR (calm)
CS (phobia) = CR (calm)
- teach client relaxation techniques (eg meditation, deep breathing)
- Develop a hierarchy of needs with the client (from least fearful to most fearful)
- The client goes through each step of the hierarchy using the relaxation techniques. Once calm they can then move onto the next step in the hierarchy.
This uses 3 techniques:
a. In vivo = direct contact with the phobic stimulus
b. In vitro = no direct contact with the phobic stimulus
c. Modelling = client watches another person interact calmly with phobic
stimulus.
- if become fearful, can go back a step where they’re calm and repeat process.
- goes at pace of client and is a gradual process.
outline flooding
one session
Directly exposes client to phobic stimulus (in vivo exposure) without the ability to withdraw. NOT GRADUAL
Client is exposed to phobic stimulus until fear is eradicated (e.g., client is back in a parasympathetic state (calm)
Client recognises that fear levels have dropped + that the phobic stimulus is harmless = extinction of phobia
(removal of negative reinforcer - operant conditioning) - cannot avoid fear
outline the A03 for the behavioural approach for treating phobias
_strength (research evidence)_
Ev- 75% patients responded to SD. Used several exposure techniques- in vivo/vitro, modelling.
Ex- SD = effective in treating phobias.
in vivo/vitro allows gradual exposures and sudden exposures
modelling shows how else to respond
L - but evidence shows in vivo more successful in SD - supports flooding. study found flooding more effective and quicker in treating.
criticism - flooding = unethical
Ev- immediately faced with fear, no right to withdraw, treatment ‘done’ to client.
Ex - causes high level of distress (can harm those with medical conditions). less likely to give consent. very few psychologists conduct due to this. SD better as gradual, at clients pace, so ethical.
L- but flooding does screen for medical condition to avoid harm and one session so aren’t exposed to fear as long as SD
criticism - not effective for all types of phobias
Ev - study found SD and flooding may not be effective against phobias which have underlying evolutionary survival component.
Ex - criticises as not all phobias learned through association + maintained through reinforcement.
Evolutionary - resistant to treatment. (could explain 25% didn’t respond)
L - SD and flooding only treat symptoms not cause, so ‘talking therapies’ could be better
what are the definitions of depression?
- Mood disorder
Major depressive disorder = severe but short-term change in mood
Persistent depressive disorder = long term or reoccurring depression
Behavioural
give some examples of behavioural characteristics of depression
changes in sleep patterns (insomnia/hypersomnia)
changes in eating habits (eating more/less)
social withdrawal
give some examples of emotional characteristics of depression
low mood
loss of interest
anger
