Psychopathology - Paper 1 Flashcards
What is psychopathology?
Refers to either study of mental illnesses or mental distress or manifestation of behaviours and experiences which may be indicative of mental illness or psychological impairment
Concerned with abnormal behaviour
Seeks to define what makes a behaviour abnormal
What is statistical infrequency?
Abnormal behaviours are those that are extremely rare, mathematical method for defining abnormality
Human attributes fall into normal distribution within population (bell shaped curve)
Standard deviations inform us how far scores fall on either side from the mean
EXAMPLE
IQ - 68% of population fall within one standard deviation from mean
95% fall within two standard deviations from the mean
Definition states that 5% of population which fall more than two standard deviations from the mean are abnormal
People who scored below 70 and above 130 are abnormal
What are deviations from social norms?
Abnormality is when a behaviour doesn’t fit within what is socially acceptable
Dependent on the culture in which the behaviour occurs, what is abnormal in one culture is not defined as abnormal in another
Norm must be deeply embedded into culture for deviations to be seen as abnormal, slight deviations such as changing hair colour may not be seen as abnormal if norm isn’t important to society
EXAMPLES - queuing in a shop, being polite, not laughing at a funeral
Some are also policed by laws such as paedophilia
What is failure to function adequately?
When an individual is not able to cope with everyday life, they have the basic inability to manage in everyday life - behaviour is seen as abnormal
Defined by Rosenhan and Seligman into 7 sections - unpredictability, maladaptive behaviour, personal distress, irrationality, observer discomfort, violation of moral standards and unconventionality.
GAF method of measuring this, included 7 sections by Rosenhan and Seligman plus occupational functioning
Schizophrenia defined as abnormal because behaviours are distressing to others even if they’re not personally distressing
However, this definition would not be made if someone with very low IQ on its own. Must have very low IQ which prevents them from daily functioning to be defined as this
What is deviation from ideal mental health?
Abnormality defined as deviating from an ideal positive mental health, defined by Jahoda’s criteria of ideal mental health
Absence of criteria indicates abnormality and potential mental disorder
If some are not fulfilled the person would experience difficulties
1. Positive attitude towards self - level of self esteem
2. Self-actualisation - state of contentment, become the best you can be
3. Autonomy - independence and self reliance, function as individual and not depend on others (doesn’t include physical disabilities)
4. Resistance to stress - shouldn’t feel stressed, handle stressful situations competently
5. Environmental mastery - can adapt to new situations and be at ease in all situations in life
6. Accurate perception of reality - should have similar perspective to others, distorted thinking of some people
What is a strength of statistical infrequency? Real life application in clinical assessment
Real life application to diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder
Therefore a place for statistical deviation in thinking about what are normal and abnormal behaviours and characteristics
All assessments of patients with mental disorders include some kind of measurement of how severe their symptoms are compared to statistical norms
Useful part of clinical assessment
What is a limitation of statistical infrequency? Some abnormal behaviour is desirable
Some abnormal behaviour is desirable
Very few people have IQ over 150 however a lot of people would be liked to be classed as a genius
Definition doesn’t distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviour
We need a way of identifying behaviours that are both infrequent and undesirable
What is a limitation of statistical infrequency? Subjectively determined
The cut off points are subjectively determined
People disagree on what constitutes an abnormal lack of sleep
This is a symptom of depression therefore its important to know where the cut off point lies for there to be a diagnosis to be made
Disagreements about cut off points make it difficult to define abnormality in terms of statistical infrequency
What is a limitation of statistical infrequency? Can cause distress, negative view on self
Not everyone unusual benefits from a label
Where someone is living a happy fulfilled life, no benefit from being labelled as abnormal no matter how unusual they are
Someone with low IQ may not be distressed and be capable of working however labelling them with ‘intellectual disability disorder’ would not benefit them
Labelling a person using this definition could have negative self effect on their self view and the way others view them
What is a strength of deviation from social norms? Includes issues of desirability of behaviours
Includes those issues
Being a genius is statistically abnormal but we don’t include that in this definition of abnormal behaviour
Narcissism was once viewed as a deviation from social norms however now selfies are a common place
Means that social norms are more useful that other definitions such as statistical norms
What is a limitation of deviation from social norms? Social norms vary all the time
Social norms vary all the time
Homosexuality was considered a mental disorder in DSM, it is now considered to be socially acceptable
Definition is based on prevailing social morals and attitudes about what is deemed to be ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’
Too much reliance on such definitions could lead to systematic abuse of human rights because of attitudes people hold
What is a limitation of deviation from social norms? Social norms vary depending on the behaviour’s context
Deviance is related to a behaviour’s context
Eg - wearing few clothes on a beach is normal but abnormal at a formal gathering
Sometimes theres no clear line between abnormal deviation and harmless eccentricity (slightly strange)
Social deviance on its own cannot offer a complete definition of abnormality
What is a limitation of deviation from social norms? Cultural differences
Behaviours vary from one community to another
Person from one cultural group may label someone as abnormal from another cultural group based on their own views and standards of ‘normal’ behaviour
Hearing voices is not seen as abnormal in all cultures
Can be problematic to use social norms to define abnormality when diagnosing those from other cultures
Abnormality is culturally relative
What is a strength of failure to function adequately? Includes subjective experience of individual and the people around them
Does attempt to include subjective experience of the individual
Acknowledges that experience of individual and people around them is important
Definition captures experience of many people who need help
Useful criterion for assessing abnormality
What is a limitation of failure to function adequately? Some abnormal behaviours can be functional
Some apparently abnormal behaviours can be functional
Depression may lead to extra attention for an individual, attention is rewarding and therefore functional even if regarded as abnormal
Incomplete definition as fails to distinguish between behaviours that are dysfunctional and those that have some function for the individual
What is a limitation of failure to function adequately? Judgment depends on person diagnosing, can be subjective
Someone needs to decide whether this is actually the case
Sometimes people experience personal distress and recognise their behaviour as undesirable, some may be content with their behaviour and others may be distressed by it
Whether a behaviour is defined as abnormal depends on who is making judgement which may be subjective
What is a limitation of failure to function adequately? Limits personal freedom
Hard to say when someone is failing to function adequately or if they’re deviating from social norms
People may think not having a permanent address or job is a sign of failure to function adequately but what can we say about people with alternative lifestyles who choose not to have those things?
Those who practice extreme sports could be accused of being in a maladaptive way, or those with religious or supernatural beliefs could be seen as irrational
If these behaviours are treated as “failures” of adequate functioning, we risk limiting personal freedom and discriminating against minority groups
What is a strength of deviation from ideal mental health? Comprehensive definition
Comprehensive definition
Covers a broad range of criteria for mental health, may cover most of the reasons someone would seek help from mental health services or be referred help
Range if factors discussed in Jahoda’s mental health definition make it a good tool for thinking about mental health
What is a limitation for deviation from mental health? Cultural differences
Specific to Western European and north Mercian cultures, based on western cultures’ ideals and beliefs
Applying them to non-western members of culture would be inappropriate
Concept of self-actualisation may seem indulgent in many areas around the world
Criteria can only be applied within individualist cultures
Makes findings hard to generalise to the rest of the world
What is a limitation of deviation from mental health? Unrealistic, not everyone reaches every point
Criteria are unrealistic
Few people satisfy all criteria all of the time
Everyone would be described as abnormal to a degree
Need to ask how many of Jahoda’s criteria must be absent before someone is judged as abnormal
What is a limitation of deviation from mental health? Mental and physical health are not the same
Suggests mental health is the same as physical health
Generally, physical illnesses have physical causes so easy to diagnose, however not all mental disorders have physical causes
Unlikely we can diagnose mental abnormality in the same way we can diagnose physical abnormality
What is a specific phobia?
Phobia of an object or a stimulus
Eg - arachnophobia, satanophobia, arithmophobia
What is an agoraphobia?
Phobia of being outside or in an open space or public space
Eg - fear of going outside, fear of crowds
What is social anxiety?
Phobia of a social situation
Eg - fear of using a public toilet, fear of public speaking, fear of anger
What is a phobia?
An anxiety disorder which interferes with daily living
It is an irrational, persistent fear of an object or a situation
The exposure to the phobic stimulus almost always produces a rapid anxiety response, excessive fear of phobic stimulus
Phobia stimulus avoided or responded to with great anxiety
What are behavioural characteristics in response to a phobia?
Panic - crying, screaming, running away, freezing, increasing heart rate
Avoidance - efforts made to avoid phobia stimulus to reduce anxiety
Endurance - remaining in presence of phobic stimulus with high levels of anxiety, some fears may not be completely avoidable
What are emotional characteristics of a phobia?
Anxiety - unpleasant state of arousal that prevents relaxation and positive emotion
Emotional responses are unreasonable - emotions are disproportionate to the danger posed by the phobic stimulus
What are cognitive characteristics of phobias?
Selective attention to the phobic stimulus - attention placed on phobic stimulus once identified
Irrational beliefs - unsupported view of phobic stimulus (public speaking - may see more people than are actually there, think they’re stupid if they don’t sound intelligent
Cognitive distortions - exaggerated/irrational thought patterns around phobic stimulus, distorted perceptions (spiders - see them as bigger than they are)
Recognition of exaggerated anxiety - conscious awareness that anxiety levels experienced are overstated, exaggerated
What is behaviourism?
Emphasises role of learning in acquisition of behaviour
Behaviour explained in terms of what is observable
