What are the 4 ways in which abnormality is defined
- Statistical infrequency
- Deviation from social norms
- Deviation from ideal mental health
- Failure to function
define and evaluate statistical infrequency
- normal distribution creates ‘usual behaviours’ and those who lie outside of the average statistic are deemed as ‘abnormal’.
- eg IDD ( IQ < 70 )
- real life application in diagnosis eg depression
- uncommon characteristics aren’t necessarily negative
define and evaluation deviation from social norms
- when a person behaves in a different way that society expects which can differ from culture
- eg APD are impulsive+aggressive
- real world application to psychiatry and diagnosing SPD
- social norms are different in different cultures
define and evaluate deviation from ideal mental health
- Jahoda defined this as being able to self actualise, no distress or coping w/ stress, independent, good self esteem, realistic and rational.
- comprehensive criteria allows for lots of different conditions to be treated
- culturally biased to individualistic cultures ( concept of self actualisation )
define and evaluation failure to function
- when someone is unable to maintain basic hygiene and nutrition
- Rosenhan and Seligman defined it as no standard interpersonal rules, severe distress and behaviour harming themselves or others
- provides a threshold for help so that people receive help when symptoms get severe
- its easy to label non standard lifestyle choices as abnormal when they’re not, so people may be restricted freedom
what are the DSM-5 categories of phobias
- specific phobia
- social anxiety ( social phobia )
- agoraphobia
what are the behavioural characteristics for phobias
- panic
- avoidance
- endurance
what are the emotional characteristics for phobias
- fear
- anxiety
- unreasonable emotional response
what are the cognitive characteristics for phobias
- irrational beliefs
- selective attention
- cognitive distortions
what are the DSM-5 categories for depression
- major depressive disorder
- persistent depressive disorder
- disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
- premenstrual dysphoric disorder
what are the behavioural characteristics for depression
- activity levels
- eating and sleeping behaviour
- aggression and self harm
what are the emotional characteristics for depression
- lowered mood
- anger
- lowered self esteem
what are the cognitive characteristics for depression
- poor concentration
- absolutist thinking
- dwelling and attending on the negative
what are the DSM-5 characteristics of OCD
- OCD
- trichotillomania
- hoarding disorder
- excoriation disorder
what are the behavioural characteristics of OCD
- repetitive compulsions
- compulsions reduce anxiety
- avoidance
what are the emotional characteristics of OCD
- anxiety and distress
- accompanying depression
- guilt and disgust
what are the cognitive characteristics of OCD
- obsessive thoughts
- cognitive coping strategies
- insight into excessive anxiety
describe the behavioural approach to explaining phobias
- the two process model (Mowrer)
- phobias are learnt by classical conditioning - NS associated with UCS and becomes CS that produces CR and this generalises to similar objects
- phobia is maintained via operant conditioning by reinforcement because avoiding the fear and feeling avoidance behaviour
evaluate the behavioural approach to explaining phobias
STRENGTHS:
- real world application in exposure therapies as once avoidance behaviour is removed it rarely reoccurs
- link between experience and phobias, eg little alberts study and
LIMITATIONS:
- doesn’t account for the cognitive or biological aspects of phobias
explain the behavioural approach to treating phobias
- systematic desensitisation slowly introduces phobic stimuli with an anxiety hierarchy and relaxation techniques (reciprocal inhibition).
- flooding is immediate exposure to a phobic stimuli with fully informed consent through extinction in classical conditioning.
evaluate the behavioural approach to treating phobias
STRENGTHS:
- research support by Gilroy et al
- flooding is cost effective as its quick
LIMITATIONS:
- flooding has ethical issues and high attrition rates
- those with learning disabilities may struggle with cognitive therapies
explain beck’s negative triad as a cognitive approach to explaining depression
- depression is due to cognitive vulnerability
- they experience faulty information processing (absolutist thinking) and have negative self schema
- negative view on self, world and future
explain ellis’s ABC model as a cognitive approach to explaining depression
- depression results from irrational thoughts/beliefs
- Activating event, rational/irrational belief and consequence
- demonstrates how irrational thoughts affect behaviour and emotional state
evaluate the cognitive approach to explaining depression
STRENGTHS:
- research support from Cohen et al
- real world application to CBT + REBT
LIMITATIONS:
- ellis’s ABC model only explains reactive depression, not endogenous depression
