16 marker revision

Question 1

deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 1

-johoda 1958
-absence of good signs of mental health

Question 2

positive of deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 2

-focuses on positive not negative
-focuses on the desirable rather than the undesirable behaviour
-in line w/positive psychology movement, ideas have some influence on mental health professionals
-can be argued that takes a more positive and holistic approach to defining abnormality

Question 3

negative of deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 3

-high standards for mental health which may be unachievable
-few people achieve ‘self-actualisation’ so by definition a large number of people have aspects of abnormality
-criteria difficult to measure e.g. whether someone has the capacity for personal growth
-may not be useable when defining abnormality.

Question 4

failure to function adequately

Answer 4

abnormality judged by the inability to deal with the demands of everyday living

Question 5

positive for failure to function adequately

Answer 5

-takes into account the p’s subjective perspective
-mental disorder from the pov of the person experiencing it
-relatively easy to judge bc we can list behaviours (e.g. can dress self) + chef whether the person is functioning
-if treatment and support needed it can be specific to the individual needs of the p.

Question 6

negative for failure to function adequately

Answer 6

-requires an objective judgement of a way to live
-some may not see not having a job as failure to function but others may disagree
-if we treat these as ‘failures’ we may be limiting personal freedom and discriminating minority groups
-may depend on who’s making the judgement rather than the behaviour itself

Question 7

flooding

Answer 7

exposing p’s to phobic stimulus w/o gradual buildup. involves immediate exposure to a very frightening situation to prevent avoidance p quickly learns phobic stimulus is harmless and the phobic becomes extinct.

Question 8

positive of flooding

Answer 8

-cost effective
-highly effective and quicker than alternatives Ougrin (2001) said. P’s free of symptoms ASAP and that makes it more cost-effective
-reduce financial burden on NHS quicker and cheaper treatment
-useful, perhaps should be first treatment for NHS patients w/phobias

Question 9

negative of flooding

Answer 9

-not appropriate for everyone as traumatic
-not unethical as p gives informed consent but p’s are often unwilling to see it through to the end as it’s extremely distressing
-can lead to high attrition rates which can make phobias worse if treatment not completed
-individual difference limits flooding’s effectiveness as phobia treatment

Question 10

systematic desensitisation

Answer 10

-reciprocal inhibition (fear/relaxation)
-3 process:
1. anxiety hierarchy made by patient and therapist
2. relaxation
3. gradual exposure

Question 11

positive of sd

Answer 11

-supportive empirical evidence to show its effectiveness
-McGrath et al (1990) reported 75% of students w/phobias responded to SD. Particularly effective w/in vivo techniques i.e. actual contact w/stimulus rather than in vitro techniques (images)

Question 12

negative of sd

Answer 12

-not effective in treating all phobias
-phobias not developed through personal experience (cc), i.e. fear of snakes. Phobia not learnt so can’t be unlearnt so not effectively treated.
-certain phobias have evolutionary survival benefit not result of learning
-ineffective in treating evolutionary phobias which have an innate basis

Question 13

two process model

Answer 13

Mowrer (1960)
1. initiated through cc. unpleasant emotion is paired with a stimulus, then the two become associated with each other through conditioning
2. maintained through operant conditioning. person avoids the phobic stimulus, and gains a reward for doing so

Question 14

initiation of phobias

Answer 14

Behavioural approaches suggest that abnormal behaviour is learned somehow. Mowrer’s two process model.

Question 15

strength of behavioural explanation of phobias

Answer 15

-supportive empirical evidence
-watson and Rayner (1920) used cc to create a phobia in an infant known as Little Albert. Phobia of a white rat initiated when he learned to associate the rat (NS) with loud noise (UCS). Then generalised to other white furry items such as Santa’s beard
-Albert no phobia before, only through exposing him to loud noise (UCS) paired with the white rat (NS) did little Albert develop these fears.
-evidence increases the validity of the theory that phobias are learnt and not innate as proposed by the evolutionary explanation, as the theory predicted the research findings.

Question 16

weakness of behavioural explanation of phobias

Answer 16

-doesn’t offer a complete explanation of phobias
-Bounton (2007) highlights how evolutionary factors could play a role in phobias, especially if the effects of a particular could have caused pain or even death to our ancestors. some phobias aren’t learnt but are innate, as such phobias acted as a survival mechanism for our censors
-innate predisposition to certain phobias is called biological preparedness (Seligman 1971) and casts doubt on the two-process model since it suggests that there’s more to phobias learning.
-does not explain phobias that appear to be innate and not learnt through experience.