social and cultural approaches

Question 1

how does culture affect what is considered to be abnormal?

how does culture affect what is considered to be abnormal?

Answer 1

culture plays a role in determining what is and what is not abnormal

Question 2

how does culture affect what is considered to be abnormal?

what are decisions about abnormal behaviour always involve?

Answer 2

decisions about abnormal behaviour always involve social judgements and are based on the values and expectations of one’s culture or subculture

Question 3

DSM definition of delusion

Answer 3

Firmly holding an incorrect inference about external reality, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary and almost unanimous disagreement.

Question 4

belief as group markers

what is female orgasmic disorder?

Answer 4

recurrent delay in or absence of orgasm following normal sexual excitement phase

Question 5

homosexuality and the DSM

Answer 5

There are many instances in which groups representing particular social values have brought pressure to bear on decisions shaping the DSM

Question 6

what does the DSM I and II state about homosexuality?

Answer 6

homosexuality is a form of mental disorder

Question 7

what did gay/lesbian rights leaders challenge about homosexuality in the 60s

Answer 7

they challenged the assumption that homosexuality was pathological

Question 8

Freudian theories of homosexuality

Answer 8

Homosexuality develops in people whose heterosexual desires are too psychologically threatening (Rado, 1962).

Question 9

gender identity and the DSM

DSM-IV: gender identity disorder

Answer 9

Intense discomfort with one’s biological gender; strong identification with, and desire to be, the opposite gender

Question 10

gender identity and the DSM

DSM-5: gender dysphoria

Answer 10

Emphasises importance of distress about the incongruity between biology and identity.

Question 11

Feb 2017 rally

Answer 11

Rally against Trump’s decision to revoke guidelines issued on transgender students’ rights in schools

Question 12

June 2020 rally

Answer 12

Stonewall rally focused on deaths in black trans community

Question 13

The case of Zell Kravinsky

Answer 13

• Kravinsky sold all his assets
• he wanted to donate a kidney to a lower-income black person but professions refused as the procedure was likely to become unssuccessful

Question 14

The case of Hetty Green

Answer 14

• known as the “world’s geatest miser”
• had an estimated networth of $100-200 million ($3bn)
• she would never turn on the heat or change her clothes

Question 15

were the cases of Hetty Green and Zell Kravinsky abnormal?

Answer 15

unable to tell, how could we measure what the ‘norm’ is when it comes to generosity?

Question 16

what is the dictator game?

Answer 16

• a dictator (distributes money) and a receiver (receiving money)
• the receiver has no input into the decision and must accept whatever the dictator chooses to give

Question 17

dictator game results

Answer 17

Many Dictators show a preference for fairness, offering exactly half of the available money. However, the modal offer among uni students is typically zero…
* differs across cultures

Question 18

what is the role of sociocultural factors in the aeitology of mental dis

sociocultural factors: evidence

Answer 18

many psychological disturbances - symptoms and patterns of symptoms - are cross-cultural universals
* but sociocultural factors often predict prevalence

Question 19

sociocultural factors often predict prevalence example:

Answer 19

Andrade et al. (2003). Assessed prevalence of major depressive disorder in various countries; prevalence ranged
from 3% in Japan to 17% in the USA.

Question 20

pathogenic social influences: low SES

2 points

Answer 20

• Western society: Inverse correlation between SES and incidence of mental disorders
• relationships stronger for certain types of disorders (e.g., stronger for ADP than depression)

Question 21

pathogenic social influences: low unemployment

Answer 21

Unemployment associated with emotional distress and
vulnerability to psychopathology. Underemployment (e.g.,
demotions, downsizing) has comparable effects

Question 22

low SES –> mental disorder?

Answer 22

stressors, resources, help
familial: LBW, modelling

Question 23

mental disorder –> low SES?

Answer 23

primary and secondary difficulties may decrease SES

Question 24

pathogenic social influences: other factors

Answer 24

prejudice and discrimination

Question 25

pathogenic social influences: social media

Answer 25

social media users are more aware of stressful events experienced by online friends

Question 26

pathogenic social influences: other factors

Answer 26

violence and homelessness * e.g. domestic violence against women and children leads to anxiety, PTSD, depression and suicide

Question 27

# how does culture shape the clinical presentation of mental disorders Culture and the DSM: one important role of the DSM

Answer 27

to identify and diagnose mental health problems in a similar way across cultures. This approach assumes that medical illnesses will present in a universal way across cultures.

Question 28

# culture and emotional distress Somatization

Answer 28

a tendency to experience and communicate emotional distress in the form of physical symptoms * rare in western cultures * common in Asian cultures

Question 29

the more Westernised an individual is:

Answer 29

the less likely they are to report predominantly somatic symptoms when reporting psychological distress

Question 30

# cultural symptoms repertoire what did Edward Shorter state in his book?

Answer 30

We might think of culture as possessing a ‘symptom repertoire’ – a range of physical symptoms available to the unconscious mind for the physical expression of psychological conflict

Question 31

# culture and behavioural control Thailand behaviour

Answer 31

Some cultures (e.g., Thailand) highly intolerant of undercontrolled behaviour. Children are taught to inhibit expression of anger

Question 32

# culture and behavioural control what is expression of anger associated with?

Answer 32

it is associated with biological health risk (BHR) - but moderated by culture * Kitayama et al. (2015). Greater expression of anger predicted increased BHR for Americans, but reduced BHR for Japanese.

Question 33

# culture and drunkness drinking games

Answer 33

how much people drink may matter less than how they drink it

Question 34

# culture and drunkeness what do people learn about their drunkeness?

Answer 34

People learn about drunkenness based on what their societies teach them, and by aligning their behavior with these teachings, they become living examples that validate their society's beliefs.

Question 35

what do cultural factors such as technology do?

Answer 35

Cultural factors such as extant technology can shape the content of reality-distortion symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations.

Question 36

what does the capgras delusion result from?

Answer 36

damage to neural pathways underpinning the emotional component of face recognition.

Question 37

anomalous experience of faces

Answer 37

Discordance between how a familiar person “looks” and the way that they “feel”.

Question 38

# capgras delusion and culture what are the most recent presentations of capgras

Answer 38

cyborgs or robots

Question 39

# delusions of reference what is the most common delusional themes?

Answer 39

paranoia, grandosity and ideas of reference * e.g. believing that people on TV or radio are talking about you or to you

Question 40

the Truman Show delusion

Answer 40

Described five patients who believed they were the subjects of something akin to a reality television show, broadcasting their daily life for the entertainment of others. (Gold & Gold 2012)

Question 41

# culture specific disorders what can culture shape? (psychopathology)

Answer 41

culture can shape the expression of psychopathology. At the extreme, entire patterns of symptoms may be more or less unique to a particular culture.

Question 42

# culture specific disorders Windigo/Wendigo | 3 points

Answer 42

* Algonquin Indian hunters * Victims become anxious and agitated, convinced they are bewitched * Fears centre on being turned into cannibal by the power of a monster with a craving for human flesh.

Question 43

# culture specific disorders kitsunetuski

Answer 43

a beleif that one is possessed by. fox and that one's facial expressions change to resemble those of a fox

Question 44

# culture specific disorders Hikikomori

Answer 44

a disorder of acute social withdrawl in which young people remain in their bedroom and refuse social interaction for at least 6 moths

Question 45

# culture specific disorders Hikikomori

Answer 45

a disorder of acute social withdrawl in which young people remain in their bedroom and refuse social interaction for at least 6 months

Question 46

# culture specific disorders sleepy hollow - Kazakhstan

Answer 46

Every 10th villager has unexpectedly fallen asleep in broad daylight – some unable to wake up for several days. * Despite numerous attempts to find the cause of the inexplicable disorder, the Sleepy Hollow riddle remained unsolved until 2015.

Question 47

mystery of kazakh solved

Answer 47

villagers who fell asleep for days at a time and suffered hallucinations were poisoned by disused uranium mine nearby