Theories Of Abnormal Behaviour Flashcards
Single-factor explanation
Interactionist explanation
A genetic defect or single traumatic experience causes a mental disorder
Views behaviour as product of interaction of a variety of factors
- Takes into account biology, behaviour, environment
Why are scientific theories valuable?
They integrate most of what is currently known in the simplest way
They make testable predictions about aspects not previously thought of
They make it possible to specify what evidence would deny the theory
Null hypothesis
Prediction made from the theory is false
- Aim to reject the null
Aim of theories about mental disorders
Explain etiology (causes)
Identify factors maintaining behav
Predict course of disorder
Design effective treatments
Hindbrain
Midbrain
Forebrain
Directs ANS - Digestion, cardiovascular functioning, breathing
Reticular activating system - Controls arousal levels, attention
Thought, speech, perception, memory, learning, planning
How can abnormal behaviour be caused by neurotransmitter systems?
Too much or too little neurotransmitter produced/released
Too few or too many receptors on dendrites
May he an excess/deficit in amount of transmitter-deactivating substance in synapse
Reuptake is too fast or too slow
Brain plasticity
Brain can also change as result of environment/behaviour
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Parasympathetic: Shuts down during stress (rest and digest)
Sympathetic: Fight or flight
Strength and duration of its response related to person’s likelihood to develop psychophysiological disorder
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
Releases stress hormone (cortisol) into bloodstream by adrenal cortex
Altered functioning seen in anxiety and depression (increased response to stress)
Concordance
When the problem characterizing the case also occurs in the comparison person
- Happens in family, twin, and adoption studies
Monozygotic vs Dizygotic twins
Monozygotic - 100% genes in common
Dizygotic - 50% genes in common
Differential susceptibility to home environment depends on what?
Dopamine-related genes
What was Freud’s belief about traumatic experiences?
What is catbarsis?
Traumatic experiences early in life become repressed because they’re too distressing to contemplate
Using hyponosis to identify original traumatic experience
What are Freud’s levels of consciousness?
Conscious - Info of which they’re aware
Preconscious - Info not in awareness but can be readily brought into awareness
Unconscious - Contains majority of memories and drives that is hard to be aware of (usually only in psychoanalytic procedures)
- Defence mechanism keeps traumatic memories out of awareness
What are Freud’s 3 structures of personality?
Id - Present at birth; bio/instinctual drives (pleasure principle)
Ego - 1st year of life; Avoids pain/discomfort by regulating id
Superego - Older in childhood; Moral standards of society by parents (moral principle), monitors ego
What are Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?
Oral (Birth-18 months): Eating, sucking
Anal (18 months-3 years): Toilet training
Phallic (3-6 years): Oedipal complex (boys have sexual desire for mother and sees father as competitor), Electra complex (desire for father, desire for penis)
Latency (6-12 years): Consolidation of behavioural skills and attitudes
Genital (adolescent-death): Achievement of personal and sexual maturity
How did Freud’s psychodynamic perspective contribute?
- Focus on early mother-infant relationship
- Gender roles are shaped by bio factors and our relationship with parents
- Aggression is a biological drive
- Unconscious thoughts/motives underlie prejudice and stereotyping
What were the limits of Freud’s psychodynamic perspective?
- Difficult to test empirically
- Biased measures and populqtion
- Biased methods of collecting info (free association, memories of childhood experiences, adult dreams)
- Focus on childhood sexuality too narrow and too exaggerated
- Bias on men superiority
What do behavioural theories focus on?
Emphasis on how new behavs are acquired thru gradual and continual learning
People play a passive role, directed by events in environment
Mowrer’s Two-factor theory of conditioning of phobias
Classical conditioning establishes aversive response to previously neutral stimulus (CS)
Avoiding of CE to prevent feeling afraid (negative reinforcement, operant conditioning)
Bandura’s social learning theory
Cognitive-behavioural theory
Mainly observational learning: Children learn social behavs by observing and imitating other people
(Rather than just classical and operational)
Both thinking and behav are learned and can be changed (based on beliefs, view, etc)
What are the 3 principles of cognitive theories?
Thinking affects emotion and behav
Thoughts can be monitored and changed
By altering one’s thoughts, a person will experience desired behav and emotional change
Albert Ellis
Rational-emotive behaviour therapy
The ABC model of human disturbances: (C)onsequences of life events aren’t existing only from the (A)ctivating event, but are mediated by one’s (B)eliefs about those experiences
New beliefs replace irrational ones
Aaron Beck
Cognitive theory and therapy
3 levels of cognition:
- Schemas (internal representations of info and exp) - Negative bias
- Info processing and intermediate beliefs
- Automatic thoughts
(Personal loss and failure for depression)
Maladaptive scheme starts at childhood and gets triggered from an event
Content-specificity
Different types of beliefs are related to different kinds of abnormal behav
(Aaron Beck)
Carl Rogers
Abraham Maslow
Both emphasized dignity and potential of humans
Saw experience as providing basis of improving oneself
Rogers: Person-centred bcuz person is central importance in understanding behav
- Distressing life events can distort perception of later exp
Maslow: People are good and only behave dysfunctionally as a result if exp diverting them from self-actualization (top of hierarchy of needs)
- Failure to get self-esteem needed for self-actualization causes dysfunctional behav
Existential theories
Treatment focuses helping ppl accept responsibility for their actions and help find meaning in their kives
Systems theory
The whole is more than the sum of its parts
- Behav is caused by combined effect of multiple factors that are bidirectional (affects both self and those around, increasing behav)
Diathesis-stress perspective
Predisposition of developing a disorder interacting w/ exp of stress causes mental disorders
Needs a trigger
Biopsychosocial model
Disorders can’t come from the influence of just one factor
- Combo of biological, psychological, and social
