Psychopathology Flashcards
Deviation from social norms
Can be seen as abnormal and undesirable, it looks at the impact of an individuals behaviour on other people, the behaviour is examined in terms of how desirable it is for the individual and the society as a whole. Each society has its own set of rules to govern behajour based on moral standards. Deviation from osical norms is behaviour which goes against unwritten expectations in a given society. Rules can be explicit snd to nreak them could mean breaking the law, other rules are seem as codes of conduct. Deviation from social norms can be used to help identify a person who might be suffering from a mental disorder, if a person is behaving strangely then we can be concerned enough to think they are suffering from a mental disorder.
Evaluation for deviation from social norms
-the definition doesn’t always indicate that a person has a psychological abnormality (they might just be odd/eccentric)
-context has to be taken into account (wearing no clothes in shops is abnormal but at a beach it is not)
-cultures have to be accounted for (African cultures believe a it is acceptable to hear God speaking to them but this is auditory hallucinations in western cultures)
+distinguishes between desirable and non desirable, protects members of the public from effects of abnormal behaviours and the damaging consequences of it (no clothes in shops is abnormal and can be damaging for anyone therefore we can minimise that behaviour)
Failure to function adequately
Person is unable to deal with everyday demands (jobs) because of personal distress or discomfort, behaviour can be maladaptive, irrational and dangerous. Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF) to assess rates of social, occupational and psychological functioning, 7 criteria- higher the number more abnormal the person is. This model allows psychologists to think in terms of the degree to which a person is abnormal (SUMOVIV)
Evaluation of failure to function adequately
-abnormality is not always accompanied by dysfunction ( serial killer Ted Bundy)
-criteria is hard to define and can also be very hard to measure and analyse (how much suffering is enough suffering). Very subjective and lacks being scientific and objective, sometimes should be adhered to (suffering is normal when someone passes away)
+uses GAF scale- makes the model more objective e.g. if patient doesn’t seem to be coping very well in their social life then it could be concluded that is not functioning adequately and is therefore abnormal
+it recognises the patients perspective in terms of their experiences
Statistical infrequency
When an individual possesses a less common characteristic than most of the population ( iq above 130) behaviour displayed is statistically rare. (65% of population has iq 85-115, 95% population has average iq, 2.5% have above and below average IQ), the extreme ends of a normal distribution curve can indicate abnormality, statistical infrequency relies on using upto date statistics, can be displayed on a normal distribution curve.
Evaluation of statistical infrequency
+ statistical infrequency can be a good thing ( e.g. 130+ iq)
+ objective and scientific methodology to indicate abnormality, can indicate whether someone needs help or assistance
- self esteem and confidence of the person being labelled abnormal for having IQ below 70, due to negative manners from society
- subjective cut off point ( 71 is normal but 70 is not and why?)
Deviation from ideal mental health (Marie Jahoda)
Stems from the humanist approach (focusing on motivation and self development, uses mental health to judge abnormality and is related to the lack of contented existence, so someone who deviates from optimal mental health can be considered abnormal. Self actualisation- humans should strive to reach their full potential, she had developed 6 criteria that a person must have to have positive mental health and therefore normal. (APPIES)
Evaluation from deviation from ideal mental health
+ positive, productive and holistic
+ shows weak target areas of dysfunction so patient can work on and improve their life
-not very objective and scientific
-very few pple can achieve all criteria- so we can argue that it’s normal to be abnormal
-culture bias: autonomy is more applicable to western cultures whilst eastern ones focus more on whole community
Phobias
Actions- Avoidance, endurance, panic and disruption of functioning
Feelings- Fear, panic, anxiety, strong emotions
Thinking- Irrational, insight, cognitive distortions, selective attention
Classical conditioning
All behaviours (phobias) can be learnt and people who have an abnormality can learn negative behaviours. Classical conditioning: building up an association between two different stimuli so that learning can take place, e.g white rat (ns) is presented to a person, loud banging noise (us) is presented to make the person cry, then we repeatedly pair the two stimuli together, they learn to have an emotional response when the rat is present, rat becomes (cs) and the person has a emotional reaction (cr), learning has taken place via classical conditioning and association has been established
Evaluation of CC
-little Albert study is criticised (not reliable)
-some people do have traumatic experiences like car accident, however do not develop a phobia, some people r scared of dogs but haven’t had a single experience (dinardo et al)
-Menzies, pple with hydrophobia only 2% encountered before, 50% with dog phobia have never experienced anything bad
+king (1998) from reviewing cases has found out children develop phobias by having traumatic experiences with the phobic object e.g. children bitten by dogs go onto have phobias of dogs.
Social learning theory
Observational learning, whereby young children observe a reaction from parents or family to particular situations and the child copies this behaviour, Minneka found out that one monkey caged showed a fear response to snakes and then others started to copy it
operant conditioning
It explains how phobias are maintained, learning a new phobia that can result in reinforcement. Negative: if someone is scared of snakes they will try to avoid them to reduce the risk they fear.
Positive: avoiding snakes and not feeling fear, this is rewarding. Therefore the avoidance of snakes continues
Two process model evaluation
-some pple might have genetic vulnerability to development of phobias (genetic model is ignored)
-cognitive characteristics of phobias are ignored, this needs to be investigated more fully to gain a comprehensive view of how phobias might be learnt
-reductionist, over simplistic approach to explaining the phenomenon of learning phobias into two steps
+Bandar’s experiment- person acted to be in pain when buzzer sounded
+ two clear steps that highlight how phobias are learnt and how they are maintained
Systematic desensitisation
Behavioural therapy by Wolfe to diminish phobias using cc, a person with phobia experiences fear as a behavioural response to an object, sd replaces this irrational fear of the phobic object to calm and relaxed response instead, (hierarchy of fear, relaxation techniques, gradual exposure-leads to extinction)
Relaxation of techniques
Taught deep muscle relaxation techniques (deep breathing and progressive muscular relaxation)- tense a group of muscles so that they are tightly contracted and then relax muscles to their previous state. Sd revolves around the idea that it’s impossible to experience two opposite emotions at the same time (reciprocal inhibition) , counter conditioning- patients learn to remain relaxed in the presence of phobia
Evaluation of SD
+assessment of various treatments- 87% panic free after sd, 50% after medication, 36% with placebo, therefore SD is most effective
+less traumatic
- not very practical in real life instances
-time consuming when compared to flooding and other treatments
-addresses the symptoms not the actual underlying cause- symptom substitution may occur
Flooding
Direct exposure to phobic object, taught relaxation techniques beforehand, no gradual build up. It is done in vivo, immediate exposure, no option for avoidance, extinction occurs when the patient is too exhausted by their own fear response- it is ethical
Lasts for 2-3 hrs who’s is longer than SD sessions
