psychopatology Flashcards
what are the definitions of abnormality
deviating from the average social norm , failure to function or deviation from ideal mental health
what are the limitations of the definition of abnormality
> cultural relativism- judgments about labelling human behaviour can only be made within a given time or culture
Time- 1973 homosexuality was defined as abnormal
failure to function - GAF
deviation from social norms does not indicate psychological abnormality e.g. eccentric
context
cannot classify everyone- Rosenham 1973
deviation from rule can be used as excuse/ abuse- Cohen
what are social norms
set of rules based on a moral standards that can be explicit (law) or implicit (unspoken codes)
cohen 1988
claims that Japans drive for industrial success and need to establish strong work ethic; insanity is used as a deterrent and create compliance
what is GAF
global assessment functioning scale- measures psychological, occupational and social functioning on hypothetical continuum of mental health.
positives of GAF
> humane as it is left to person or others close to address problem
negatives of GAF-
> comer ‘not whole picture’
exception to rules e.g. people shoplift to survive
direction of causality- Howell- women’s experience of society in GB predisposes women to depression
neglects RL social issues that might make a failure to function completely understandable
Rosenhan
8 normal people tried to be admitted to 12 psy hospitals saying they heard voices, 7 diagnosed with schizophrenia, all 8 admitted- then claimed they lied (seen as symptom)
>Rosenham told psy hospitals ‘pseudopatients’ would try to get admitted, none tried but 41 genuine patients were diagnosed by staff.
>staff could not distinguish between ill and not ill
what are Marie Jahoda’s 6 criteria
1) positive self-attitude
2) self actualisation
3) resistance to stress
4) personal autonomy
5) accurate perception of reality
6) adaption to environment
limitations of jahoda
> difficult to self actualize
reflects western culture
stress can be positive
demanding
what is the biological approach
medical or somatic model
> explains problems through genetic factors looking for external treatment
> brain damage, infection, biochemistry, genes
biological model- brain damage
physical structure and functioning
accidents, alcohol + drugs e.g. korsakoff’s syndrome
Biological model- infection
Brown linked flu in early pregnancy to schizophrenia
biological model- biochemistry
neurotransmitters out of balance
>schizophrenia too much dopamine
> depression too low serotonin / high cortisol
Mann showed this with PET scans
biological model- genes
genetic disposition
>1 st degree relative with schizophrenia has 10% chance of passing on to child
Gottesman and Heston
treatments of biological model
> drugs- physical cure
psychosurgery- eg frontal lobotomy (not cure but relieves symptoms) ,irreversible, used if suicidal
ECT- 225V shock can lead to memory loss, can come back
positives of biological model
no blame reduces stigma scientific basis Gottesman Heston
weaknesses to biological model
relinquish responsibiltity
ethics- addiction to drugs
reductionist
Gottesman
meta-analysis of TWINS- schizophrenia
>48% chance of developing if identical twin had
>17% if non-identical twin had
Heston
Nature vs nurture
47 adopted children whos mothers had schizophrenia
CG- 50 whos mum didn’t
5/47 developed it and another 4 borderline, compared to 0 in CG
psychodynamic model
> abnormal behaviour down to underlying psy problems from past experiences
non scientific
key features = id, ego and superego
development into 5 stages = oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital
problems develop when ego cannot deal with id and superego, so problem is supressed and defence mechanisms are set up repression, sublimation, projection
What is the treatment in psychoanalysis
Dream analysis
Hypnosis
Word pairs
Little Hans
5 years old boy fear of horses after seeing horse drawn cart fall over would not leave house
Father wrote to Freud who offered analysis based on letters. Fried said said that when he was 3 his mum told him not to play with his willy or it would chop it off. Hand also has a sexual desire for his mother and feared his father as a rival so projected this dear horses who resembled his father.
Evaluate Little Hans
> non scientific > tenuous link which strains credibility > subjective, only relatable to Hans > Freud never met Little Hans > father wrote to fried so believed his theories
Evaluate the psychodynamic model
Influential- talking cure
- untestable
- retrospective
- ethical
the behavioural approach
abnormal behaviours are learnt; through classical and operant conditioning.
Little Albert
Watson + Rayner 1920- 11 month old boy introduced rat and loud noises- child fearful of rats and furry animals. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Mineka et al 1984
young monkeys whose parents feared snakes. young did not automatically have same fear but developed it from watching parents. OBSERVATIONAL CONDITIONING
operant conditioning
learn from consequences of actions
Bandura 1973
behaviours learned through imitation with the bobo dolls. RLA- child violence.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
what is the treatment for the behaviourist approach
> token economy (OC)
aversion therapy (CC)
systematic desensitisation (CC)
flooding or implosion therapy (CC)
Classical conditioning
conditioned response to past experiences
token economy
patients receive tokens for good behaviour that can be exchanged for reinforcements e.g. Tv
Isaacs
Baddeley
Isaacs et Al
40 year old schizophrenic not spoken for 19 years but chewed gum.
> gum used as positive reinforcement to speech, eventually spoke.
Baddeley 1990
those who are ‘cured’ by token economy will not act the same once the reinforcement is removed- they are dependent on the token economy
Aversion therapy
undesired behaviour is removed through association with unpleasant feelings e.g. alcoholics given alcohol and nausea drug
systematic desensitisation
> fear hierachy
presented with lowest option on list and work up
taught to relax, fear linked with relaxing - reciprocal inhibition
in vivo- real life, in vitro- imagined
Emmelcamp
in vivo is more effective and last longer
flooding
patient exposed to feared object or situation without relaxation or gradation
evaluate flooding
traumatic
ethics
have to put self forward
implosion therapy
same as flooding but in vitro. anxiety cannot be maintained so implodes and vanishes.
evaluate the behaviourist approach
\+scientific \+testable \+focused on behaviour and functioning - symptoms reappear in another form? - neglects cognitions - genetic and biology - reductionist
the cognitive approach
abnormality down to irrational and negative thoughts
Ellis
ABC model
A- activating event
B- belief
C- consequence = maladaptive thoughts and irrational thinking (polarized, overgeneralization, catastrophizing)
Beck
cognitive triad- negative thoughts about self lead to the world lead to the future which lead to depression.
cognitive therapies
CBT- lift depression > patient and therapist identify problem > therapist shows they are false > set goals together focused in present situation > keep diary
strengths of cognitive model
useful approach
successfully cured many
allows control
no drugs
weaknesses of cognitive model
deal with consequence not cause?
time consuming and expensive
person could feel like they are to blame
fava et al
40 pps who experienced 3 episodes of depression. one group had drugs and CBT and the other drugs and clinical managment
> 2 years later; 25% grp 1 relapsed compared to 80% from the other group.
Deviation from Social norms
Abnormal behaviour is seen as a deviation from implicit rules about how we ‘ought’ to act. anything that violates these rules is considered abnormal
Deviation to function adequately
By using practical criteria of adequate functioning, mentally healthy people are judged as being able to operate within certain acceptable limits. if abnormal behaviour intereferes with daily life, according the criteria, is abnormal
Deviation for ideal mental health
Abnormality is seen as deviating from an ideal of positive mental health. ideal mental health would include a positive attitude towards the self, resistance to stress and an accurate perception if reality
