explanations and treatments BEHAVIOURAL Flashcards
what do the advocates of this approach believe about abnormal behaviour?
that it is learned
is classical conditioning how mental illness is maintained or developed?
developed?
is operant conditioning how mental illness is maintained or developed?
maintained
is social learning theory how mental illness is maintained or developed?
developed
explain classical conditioning
a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus. The neutral stimulus is now a conditioned stimulus producing a conditioned response.
give an example of classical conditioning with phobias
“Little Albert” when he reached out for his rabbit, a steel bar was banged so startle him. A week later, they showed him the rabbit and he began to cry.
Classical conditioning is learning through _______?
association
explain operant conditioning
reinforced responses means the actions will be repeated. If a response is punished, this decreases the chance it will be repeated. Maladaptive behaviour will be rewarded which could create a psychological disorder. This means such behaviour are functional for the individual.
give an example of operant conditioning for a child that has panic attacks
a child finds that get more attention when they have a panic attack. These could become more frequent and become difficult to stop.
explain social learning theory
behaviours are learned by seeing others being rewarded or punished.
One strength of this is it overcomes the ethical issues of labelling, explain this strength
It focuses on the behaviour so states that it is nobody’s` fault which means the patient will not feel ashamed or disheartened as they know it is not their fault. It focuses on maladaptive behaviour.
Another strength of this theory is that it focuses on functioning, explain this strength
The person is more likely to seek treatment as they can “unlearn it”
Cultural differences is also a strength, explain
it focuses on individual culture of one person as it allows culture to be taken into account.
One weakness is that advocates claim the model does not look at the cause just the symptoms of the abnormality
The treatment is effective but only for a short period of time because they don’t find the root of the problem. It manifests in a different illness e.g. a phobia
Another is that it is reductionist explain
Too simplistic as its a limited view. All mental illness are learnt, doesn’t take into account biological/cognitive factors?! Applies mainly to phobias only
