PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AS COMPLETE STACK Flashcards
Which 2 scientists in 1995 found the ways to define abnormality?
Rosenhan and Seligman.
What are the 4 ways we can define abnormalities?
- Statistical Infrequency
- Deviation from social norms
- Failure to function adequately
- Deviation from Ideal mental health.
Describe what is meant by ‘Statistical Infrequency.’
Human behaviour is statistically abnormal if it falls outside the range that is typical for most people, in other words the average is ‘normal’.
This is often displayed on graphs, tables, etc, and falls far from the mean average.
Describe what is meant by ‘Deviation from Social Norms’
Every society or culture has acceptable behaviour/norms - a collective judgement on whats right and what isn’t. Behaviour that deviates from the norms in a particular society is considered abnormal.
These are DIFFERENT across different cultures, countries, etc.
Describe what is meant by ‘Failure to Function Adequately’
A failure to function adequately means that a person is unable to lead a normal life or engage in normal behaviour. This could be ‘unable to hold a job due to irrational fears.’
What 7 factors did Rosenhan and Seligman state contributes to failures to function adequately? DESCRIBE.
- Irrationality: When a person’s behaviour does not make sense to others and limits communication with others.
- Observer discomfort: Others might find the behaviour uncomfortable to observe - E.G. embarrassing, threatening, sad.
- Unpredictability: Behaviour that wouldn’t be expected e.g. suicidal tendencies following a minor setback.
- Maladaptive behaviour: If behaviour that interferes with a person’s usual daily routine. E.G. Sleep disturbances.
- Personal distress: A key feature of abnormality. Includes depression and anxiety disorders.
- Violation of moral standards: Displaying behaviour violating society’s moral standards. E.G. Hurting someone on purpose.
- Unconventionality: Displaying unconventional (unusual) behaviours.
Describe what is meant by ‘Deviation from Ideal Mental Health’
‘Deviation from Ideal Mental Health’ attempts to explain what Ideal Mental health is using a checklist. If your mental health doesn’t align with the checklist this shows your mental health is not in an ideal state.
What did Marie Jahoda state in 1958?
The ‘Ideal Mental Health’ Checklist. Any lack of the following means deviation from ideal mental health.
Lacking:
1. Ability to cope with stress
2. Ability to grow and achieve full potential (self actualisation).
3. Ability to have a positive view of your own self.
4. Ability to be independant and autonomous.
5. Ability to be able to adapt to your environment.
6. Ability to have a realistic and objective view of the world.
What are the strengths of ‘Statistical Infrequency’ as an explanation for Abnormalities?
+ Objective: It’s mathematical so it is clear what is defined as abnormal and what is not. No opinons or biases involved.
+ Representative: Looks at the whole picture, includes entire population.
+ Useful: Used in clinical practice for formal diagnosis and as a way to assess severity of symptoms.
+ Benefits vs problems: Being abnormal doesn’t always mean bad. E.G. Low IQ = access to support services.
What are the weakness of ‘Statistical Infrequency’ as an explanation for Abnormalities?
- Inflexible: The definition and current criteria for defining mental health issues are at odds. Cut off points can also be illogical as a threshold for abnormality.
- Abnormal behaviours can occur frequently: Abnormal behaviour isn’t always behaviour that is rare - it can be quite common. E.G. Depression.
- Culture: Ignores the impact of culture and desirability of behaviour.
- Usual characteristics can be positive: It is reductionist and cannot alone explain abnormalities.
What are the strengths of ‘Failure to Function Adequately’ as an explanation for Abnormalities?
+ Suggests free will: Focuses on the individual and how they are managing in everyday life from their perspective, so if someone feels as though they are struggling they will be deemed abnormal and get help.
+ Operationalised: The GAF is a scale and allows for the extent of abnormality to be measured.
+ Falsifiable: Abnormality can be seen by others around the individual. The problems can be picked up by others.
+ Practical applications: many people persevere with their mental health, even when symptoms can become severe. It tends to be at the point when they struggle to function that they seek professional help - this criterion for abnormality will help in targeting treatments and services.
What are the weaknesses of ‘Failure to Function Adequately’ as an explanation for Abnormalities?
-Too much focus on the individual: abnormal behaviours may not be a problem for the individual, but may be for others around them.
- Abnormality does not always stop the person functioning: Some abnormal behaviour is missed. People may appear fine to others as they fit into society and have jobs and homes, but they may have distorted thinking.
- Everyday life varies: The ability to cope with everyday life depends on what is seen as normal everyday life. This varies within and across cultures or even based on previous experience. This means that the definition is often subjective and could lead to discrimination and feed stereotypes.
What are the strengths of ‘Deviation from Social Norms’ as an explanation for Abnormalities?
+ Flexibility: it is flexible, dependent on situation and age.
+ Helps society: Adhering to norms means that society is ordered and predictable. This is argued to be advantageous.
+ Useful: used within clinical practice and can be the defining characteristic of a disorder (e.g. antisocial personality disorder).
What are the weaknesses of ‘Deviation from Social Norms’ as an explanation for Abnormalities?
-Change over time: It ignores the fact that norms in society changes over time. E.G. homosexuality was regarded as a mental illness into the 1970s, whereas nowadays that is no longer the case.
- Cultural differences:It is not always clear what is abnormal and what is not in cultures.
- Ethnic differences: Norms tend to be dictated by the majority within a culture and this means that there are sections of society where behaviour is seen as normal within an minor community, but not within the culture as a whole.
- There is a sense of ‘rightness’ – society is right and everyone else is wrong. If this was the case then societies would not be changed by forward-thinking people.
What are the strengths of ‘Deviations from Ideal Mental Health’ as an explanation for Abnormalities?
+ Positive: Focuses on what is helpful and desirable for the individual.
+ Useful: Clear goals can be set and focused upon to achieve ideal mental health.
+ Comprehensive definition: provides a comprehensive checklist against which we can assess ourselves and others, and discuss psychological issues with a range of professionals
What are the weaknesses of ‘Deviations from Ideal Mental Health’ as an explanation for Abnormalities?
- Feasibility: The criteria outlined by Jahoda makes normality practically impossible to achieve. This means that the majority of the population, using this definition, would be abnormal.
- Ethnocentrism: Most western cultures are individualistic so the criteria outlined seems reasonable but non-western cultures cannot relate to the criteria outlined. This means that the definition is not global.
- Subjectivity: The criteria is vague and difficult to measure and see whether someone fits.
What are the 3 types of characteristics of phobias and explain in terms of OCD?
- Behavioural Characteristics
-> Repetitive compulsions to reduce anxieties
-> Avoidance. - Emotional Characteristics
-> Anxiety, distress, depression.
-> Guilt and disgust. - Cognitive Characteristics.
-> Obsessive thought.
-> Cognitive coping strategies.
What are the 4 stages of OCD as a repetitive cycle?
Obsessions/Obsessive thoughts.
LEADS TO
Anxiety. WHICH LEADS TO
Compulsions WHICH LEADS TO
Temporary Relief. Until the cycle restarts.
What are the 2 biological explanations for OCD?
- Genetic e.g. Twin Studies
- Neural e.g. Hormones.
What did ‘Gottesman’s’ Research find and what does this prove?
Gottesman’s research showed that if a parent had a mental health condition, this significantly increased the likelihood of the child developing a mental health condition.
This further proved the genetic explanation for OCD.
HOWEVER - concordance rates show that you can get OCD without inheriting. This shows it is environmentally inherited.
Explain the two genes involved in the Genetic Explanation for OCD?
SERT Gene -> Regulates serotonin transport
COMPT Gene -> Regulates dopamine production.
Explain how the SERT and COMPT genes work in a person who has OCD.
SERT GENE
Involved in the regulation of serotonin. In people with OCD, the gene is faulty and causes transportation issues and lowers levels of serotonin.
COMPT GENE
Responsible for the production of an enzyme that breaks down dopamine. A mutation causes lower production levels, so there isn’t enough to break ‘dopamine down’ and so there are higher levels of dopamine.
Explain the Neural Explanation to OCD?
The Orbital Frontal Cortex (OFC) combines with the Caudate Nucleus to create a ‘worry circuit’ - the Orbital Frontal Cortex starts the ‘worry’ signal and the Caudate Nucleus cannot balance it back out.
This leads to imbalances in the key neurotransmitters which increases the symptoms of OCD.
The left parahippocampal gyrus, associated with processing unpleasant emotions, functions abnormally in OCD, which leads to increased symptoms.
