psychopathy

Question 1

what is psychopathy?

Answer 1

psychopathy is the patterns of thought, feeling or behaviour that disrupt a person’s functioning or wellbeing

Question 2

what are some examples of culture affecting psychopathy?

Answer 2

what is perceived as abnormal behaviour can depend on a person’s culture.

eg. unlucky numbers
- hearing voices of the dead

Question 3

what are some various indicators of abnormality? and what is a key thing to note about what accounts for abnormality?

Answer 3

• subjective distress
• maladaptiveness
• violation of standards of society
• social discomfort
• irrationality and unpredictability

though, no single behaviour is sufficient in determining abnormality.

Question 4

what are a few historical accounts of psychopathy

Answer 4

1. demonology, god’s, magic

2. early chinese meidcine

Question 5

what are a few contemporary views on psychopathy?

Answer 5

1. biological perspective - genetic vulnerabilities, brain dysfunction, hormonal imbalance.
2. psychodynamic perspective (Freud’s) - theory of the unconscious mind of psychopathy
3. behavioural perspective
4. cognitive-behavioural perspective
5. social perspective

Question 6

Who’s theory is the unconscious mind of psychopathy?

Answer 6

Freud’s, that we have a conscious, preconscious and unconcious that accounts for maladaptive behaviour.

Question 7

what are a few new psychodynamic perspectives?

Answer 7

• attachment theory

- interpersonal perspective

Question 8

what is the behavioural perspective in psychopathy?

Answer 8

the behavioural perspective is that only observable behaviour and the stimuli and reinforcing properties can serve as the basis for understanding behaviour.

Question 9

what is the cognitive behavioural perspective?

Answer 9

looks at how thoughts and information processing can be distorted and lead to maladaptive emotions and behaviour. some things that account for this include self-efficiacy, cognitive distortions, attentional bias.

Question 10

what is the social perspective?

Answer 10

social perspective is exposure to multiple uncontrollable and unpredictable frightening life events to leave a person vulnerable to psychopathy. 
- eg. early deprivation or truama 
- problems with caregivers
martial discord and divorce
- low SES and unemployment 
- maladaptive peer relationships 
- prejudice and discrimination

Question 11

what is an important thing to note about psychopathy and all it;s branches of perspectives?

Answer 11

• there is no single cause of psychopathy and there are multiple influences including
  biological, behavioural, emotional and cognitive, social and interpersonal and developmental influences.

Question 12

what is something that can help psychologists shrink the branches of psychopathy? and provide an example

Answer 12

• classification and diagnosis that help clinicians and researchers identify as accurately and comprehensively.

EG. the DSM-5

Question 13

what is the main difference between classification and diagnosis?

Answer 13

classification: overall overarching taxonomy of illness

diagnosis- act of placing someone in a category of that system

Question 14

what is the DSM-5

Answer 14

The DSM-5 stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This is in relation to psychopathy and categorises mental health illnesses and disorders that can contribute to psychopathy and maladaptive behaviour.

Question 15

what is the most prevalent disorder in Australia?

Answer 15

ANXIETY!

Question 16

what are some weaknesses of the DSM?

Answer 16

• people rarely fit into neat categories.