unit 2- individual Differences Flashcards
AO2: Limitation of this deviation
-social norms change over time
- therefore defining abnormality as the opposition of social norms is limited as certain behaviour considered abnormal before May no longer be abnormal
- e.g homosexuality was removed from the icd classification in 1990 which suggests that as social norms changed in society, homosexuality is no longer considered as a mental illness
- deviance from hetrosexuality is no longer abnormal
Deviation from social norms : AO1
- social norms are unwritten rules about socially acceptable behaviour
- abnormality is behaviour that violates these norms
- this is considered as anti-social behaviour or undesirable by the majority
- there can be value in breaking social norms and it is how society works
- e.g suffragettes broke social norms but gave women the right to vote
AO2: Limitation of this definition
-deviation from social norms does not have mental health consequences
- because certain behaviour is considered eccentric
- e.g it is acceptable for naturists to be naked in specific places but not in public and although people find it weird it does not mean they are mentally unwell
AO2: Limitation of this definition
-social norms are determined by the culture in which it is established
- attempts to define abnormality by social norms are influenced by cultural factors (cultural relativism)
- ^rates of mental illnesses for ethnic groups when they deviate from western social norms that are considered normal for white population
- e.g cochrane found that black people had higher rates of schizophrenia as they were diagnosed more than whites people or Asians in the UK and this is much higher than in countries such as Jamaica
- suggesting that there is cultural bias
Failure to function adequately:AO1
-definition perceives individuals as abnormal when their behaviour indicates that they cannot cope with everyday life
- these people don’t experience the usual range of emotions which causes distress leading to dysfunction
- rosenhan and seligam suggest that there are 7 features of personal disfunction: personal distress and suffering, maladaptive behaviour, unpredictability, irrationality, observer discomfort, violation of moral standards, unconventionality
AO2: limitations of this definition
-people can still function normally and not feel distressed
- e.g psychopaths who commit murder aren’t suspected for years as they live a normal life
- suggesting that these this definition is limited because it does not account for these individuals as they are mentally unwell&abnormal but don’t meet any of these criteria
AO2: limitations of this definition
-problems in measuring these 7 features Key words: -dysfunctional -rewarding - subjective
- each persons experience of distress and what appears to be dysfunctional may be rewarding for an individual e.g an eating disorder
- suggests that the 7 features of personal dysfunction are subjective therefore is classifying someone as abnormal
AO1: A cognitive explanation for abnormality and psychopathology
-Ellis ABC model
a=refers to an activating even
B=refers to the belief about a (irrational=negative or rational=positive)
C= the consequence (rational beliefs lead to healthy emotions e.g amusement or happiness ), (irrational beliefs leads unhealthy emotions e.g fear or panic)
AO1- Cognitive therapy REBT(rational emotive therapy)
- developed by Ellis (1957)
- based on his idea that abnormality is caused by irrational thinking
- individuals tend to build self defeating habits because of their negative beliefs about themselves
- REBT helps the client understand this irrationality and the consequences of thinking that way
- REBT leads to rational thoughts about events
- during REBT the patient is encouraged to dispute irrational beliefs a number of ways
AO1- Cognitive therapy REBT(rational emotive therapy)
3 ways of disputing irrational thoughts
-logical disputing
-empirical disputing
Pragmatic disputing
-logical disputing
> self-defeating beliefs do not follow logically from the information available
>therapist may ask if thinkin this way makes sense
-empirical disputing
>defeating beliefs are not consistent with reality
> therapist may ask where the clients proof that their belief is accurate
Pragmatic disputing
>therapist emphasis the lack of usefulness of self-defeating beliefs and gets the patient to ask the selves how these beliefs help them
AO2- Cognitive therapy REBT(rational emotive therapy)
-strength:
Meta analysis: Engels et al
-generally done well in studies designed to measure response to treatment e.g. a meta analysis carried out by Engels et al concluding REBT Eve and effective treatment for a number of different types of disorder including OCD and social phobia demonstrating the effectivenes
AO2- Cognitive therapy REBT(rational emotive therapy)
- strength
- limitation
It is not only suitable for people suffering from mental disorders all phobias but it is also useful for people who might suffer from a lack of assertiveness or exam anxiety
-like all psychotherapies REBT does not always work not always & isn’t what people want
How does classical conditioning explain how humans learn abnormal behaviour
Procedure (11 year old Albert)
Supports classical conditioning
- 11 month old child reaction to various stimuli had been tested a white rat, a rabbit and cotton wool
- showed no fear of any of these
- showed fear to loud noises behind him
- during conditioning be experimenters made this noise at the same time as showing him the rat
- this several times finally they could just show him the rat &he would have a fear response
AO1: behavioural approach
How does classical conditioning explain how humans learn abnormal behaviour
Conclusion
-Classical conditioning is one way of explaining fear responses in humans &it can account for how some humans develop phobias about particular stimuli
The behavioural approach Operant conditioning (rat study) Explanation -action -consequences -reward -repeat -reinforced
- The action of the rat pressing the lever results in the consequence of a reward in the form of food
- this action is likely to make the rat repeat the learned behaviour and eventually it becomes reinforced
- rat can be made to unlearn pressing of the lever. Each time the rat pressed the lever a punishment =electric shock from the grid of the box is delivered
- very quickly rat to not press the lever and if punishment is repeated non-lever pressing becomes reinforced
AO1:Behaviourist approach to explaining psychopathology
classical conditioning
- person associates something that initially doesn’t have any response with something that already produces that response
- occurs when these 2 stimuli paired together.
- results in person responding to the neutral stimulus in same way as responded to the unconditioned, after this conditioning process the neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus
AO1:Behaviourist approach to explaining psychopathology
Operant conditioning
- Abnormal behaviour learnt through punishment& rewards
- rewards=literal or emotional&increases likelihood of repeating the behaviour
- punishments decrease chances that behaviour will be repeated
- in both cases repetition of the behaviour leads to behaviour being reinforced
AO2 :Behaviourist approach to explaining psychopathology
Operant conditioning
- Reported that drug taking is through termination of negative with draw symptoms (negative reinforcement)
- suggest drug taking can be initiated by classical conditioning addiction is maintained via operant conditioning
AO1: behaviourist therapy
systematic desensitisation
Explanation before two processes
- aim to replace maladaptive behaviour is learned through environmental experiences with adaptive ones
- Address the symptoms of phobias
- SD uses classical conditioning to replace fears&anxiety associated with the phobic object/situation
