Psychopathology Flashcards
(71 cards)
define psychopathology
the study of mental illness, mental distress and abnormal maladaptive behaviour
what are the four definitions of abnormality
deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately, deviation from ideal mental health, statistical infrequency
describe deviation from social norms
analyses social norms and those that deviate are abnormal, society collectively judges what’s normal, social norms vary across time and cultures
- evaluation of deviation from social norms (peel 1)
p- susceptibility to abuse
ev- what is socially acceptable now may not have been years ago, eg. homosexuality was historically considered a disorder
ex- attitudes to abnormalities change and are subjective, too much reliance on this definition -> abuse of civil rights?, takes away individual’s right to be different
l- statistical deviation may be less susceptible to abuse, objective measure of abnormality, quantitative data rather than societal constructs
- evaluation of deviation from social norms (peel 2)
p- context and degree
ev- eg. swimming costume on the beach but not in school, degree of severity also impacts whether behaviour is considered abnormal, eg. cleaning your house frequently is not abnormal but cleaning it multiple times every day would be
ex- behaviour may be considered appropriate in one context but abnormal in another, definition assumes that behaviour is either a social norm or not, can be both
l- deviation from social norms may only be abnormal based on appropriateness of behaviour in context, inability to read and judge appropriateness of behaviour may be better explained by dimh (ability to be rational)
- evaluation of deviation from social norms (peel 3)
p- cultural relativism
ev- classification systems eg. dsm, based on social norms in western, white, middle-class cultures, criteria still applied to people that don’t fit this
ex- social norms and behaviours differ across cultures, not universal, ethnocentric/classist, limits usefulness
l- dsm was revised in 2013 to incorporate cultural relativism in many diagnoses
describe failure to function adequately
no longer able to function in everyday life, use of global assessment of functioning scale
name the criteria of failure to function
suffering, maladaptiveness, irrational, observer discomfort, vividness, violation of moral codes, unpredictability
describe maladaptiveness (failure to function adequately)
behaviour prevents the person reaching desired goals
describe suffering (failure to function adequately)
the patient themselves may suffer as a result of their condition or may inflict suffering on others
describe irrational (failure to function adequately)
behaviour seems to defy logical sense
describe observer discomfort (failure to function adequately)
behaviour makes those around feel uncomfortable
describe vividness (failure to function adequately)
others find the behaviour odd
describe violation of moral codes (failure to function adequately)
not behaving in accordance with societies norms
describe unpredictability (failure to function adequately)
behaviour is unexpected or unpredictable
evaluation of failure to function adequately (peel 1)
p- can lead to biased diagnosis
ev- someone experiencing personal distress eg. not eating regular meals, may think normal or think undesirable and seek help, tends to be others that judge behaviour due to feeling uncomfortable and finding it abnormal
ex- behaviour is subjective, criteria of ftfa to white, middle class person may be very different to different race or socioeconomic background, wrong diagnosis as opinion-based
l- dimh better explanation, focuses on the individual and their behaviour rather than others, less susceptible to bias in diagnosis
evaluation of failure to function adequately (peeleel)
p- behaviour could be functional
ev- some disorders eg depression may lead to extra attention for sufferer, attention is rewarding and therefore functional
ex- if criteria is decided by one person/group, decide on set of characteristics that are ‘functional’ that do not fit others’ experiences, what ‘functional’ is to someone with a mental disorder and someone without may be very different
l- subjective explanation, may not be generalisable to everyone, but ftfa is still objective
ev- list/count behaviours eg. can dress self, prepare meals
ex- predetermined set of criteria for assessment means observations of ftfa can be repeated and replicated with high reliability
l- observers may not observe behaviours and record them in the same way so definition’s method may lack interobserver reliability, for pure objectivity, statistical infrequency may be better, based on data rather than opinion or categories decided subjectively, definition would judge ‘functional’ based on commonality in population
describe statistical infrequency
uses statistical data based on normal distribution, anyone outside of norm is classed as abnormal, number of people in population with trait, if trait is common -> normal, if rare -> abnormal, majority have average score and represented at top of distribution
evaluation of statistical infrequency (peeleel)
p- judgements are objective and quantitative
ev- data is collected from sources such as tests or records and plotted on a graph, judgements can only be made objectively based on the numerical data provided
ex- avoids bias, data acts as evidence for judgements made, judgements not affected by opinion as objective based on the data displayed
l- does not account for individual difference
ev- IQ of under 70, SI suggests they are abnormal, still true if can function normally?
ex- not everyone who is statistically rare should be considered abnormal, may be classed as abnormal for one trait but may not affect their lives, definition cannot be generalised as people differ greatly
l- ftfa definition may be better as accounts for subjective experience, use of questionnaires
evaluation of statistical infrequency (peel)
p- does not account for desirability of behaviour
ev- people with an IQ of over 130 is statistically abnormal but is a desirable trait
ex- behaviours can be abnormal but desirable at the same time, without accounting for desirability cannot be used to make judgement about abnormality on its own
l- better explanation deviation from social norms, acknowledges desirable and undesirable behaviour
describe deviation from ideal mental health
considers what is normal before abnormal, Jahoda devised a list of characteristics of deviation from ideal mental health -> if do not fit, classed as abnormal
what are the 6 categories of good mental health
- high level of self esteem and a positive view of the self
- autonomy and the ability to act independently
- personal growth and development
- accurate perception of reality
- engages in positive friendships and relationships
- ability to deal with stressful situations (environmental mastery)
evaluation of deviation from ideal mental health (peeleel)
p- unrealistic criteria
ev- not everyone will be able to meet all 6, eg. environmental mastery if suffering anxiety, how many not met before abnormal?, criteria are hard to measure
ex- individuals are complex and flawed, may not be suffering any mental health disorders but still not have high self esteem, subjectivity makes it hard to measure
l- ftf better to identify abnormality using undesirable behaviours, easier to judge as more specific and well defined, but dimh is a positive approach
ev- looks at desirable rather than undesirable, more positive, person simply works towards developing all 6 categories
ex- gives people something to work towards, rather than avoid, more accommodating
l- huge implications in psychology in spotting signs of mental illness and therefore treatment
evaluation of deviation of ideal mental health (peel)
p- tries to equate a physical illness to mental illness
ev- physical illness are treatable or not and affect physical functioning, mental illnesses are hard to treat due to subjectivity and affect people highly differently
ex- mental illnesses are much harder to assess and treat than physical illnesses, mental illnesses are much more complex
l- ftf would show symptoms in form of being able to do physical tasks, more valid in assessing and treating, progress can be observed
