What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?
STATISTICAL DEVIATION (Abnormality is behaviour which is numerically unusual rare or unusual when plotted on a standard distribution curve) DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS (A person who acts in a socially deviant/breaks societies standards is abnormal) FAILURE TO FUNCTION ADEQUATELY (an individual who cannot meet the obligations of society and their own needs - Rosenham and Seligman 7 characteristics) DEVIATION FROM IDEAL MENTAL HEALTH (Johada 6 characteristics of ideal mental health, if a person does not posses these they are considered abnormal)
What are Rosenham’s and Seligman’s 7 characteristics in which classes someone as abnormal?
Suffering Maladaptiveness (unable to adapt) Unconventional behaviour Irrationality Violation of moral standards Observer discomfort Unpredictable behaviour
What are Johada’s 6 characteristics of ideal mental health?
Positive attitude towards self Personal growth Integration Autonomy Perception of reality Adapting the environment
Evaluation of definitions of abnormality?
- Fails to distinguish between desirable and undesirable (e.g abnormally high IQ)
- Subjective judgement to where boundary is between normal and abnormal.
- Cultural relativism
- Fails to distinguish between desirable and undesirable (e.g abnormally high IQ)
- Too dependent on context.
- depends on time and culture.
- social deviancy isn’t always a bad thing (social change)
- Too dependent on context.
- value judgement (when is it deemed abnormal)
- we all fail to function at some point (e.g death of loved one)
- not all people with mental disorders ‘fail to function’.
- value judgement (when is it deemed abnormal)
- Too vague (how can someone’s self - esteem be measured?
- Many people probably lack these characteristics so what is deemed abnormal?
- Too vague (how can someone’s self - esteem be measured?
What is a phobia?
An irrational fear of something which impacts their everyday life.
What are the 3 types of phobias?
Specific phobias
Social phobias
Agoraphobias
What are the behavioural, cognitive and emotional characteristics of phobias?
Behavioural:
- Avoidance behaviours
- Fight or flight
Emotional:
- Intense fear and emotional upset
- Visibly distressed
Cognitive:
- even though suffer knows fear is irrational, they are unable to control these thoughts.
What is depression?
A mood disorder. Involves a prolonged and fundamental disturbance of mood and emotion. (20% of people in Britain suffer).
What are the symptoms for depression?
Must experience 5 to be diagnosed: Weight loss/gain Sleep difficulty/too much Loss of energy Body slowed down/agitated Loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities Negative feeling about self Inability to concentrate Suicidal behaviour Becks depression inventory can help measure this.
What are the behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of depression?
B: - Shift in activity level - Sleep - Appetite C: - Negative and irrational thoughts E: -Sadness, anger - Loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities
What is OCD?
Obsessive compulsive disorder - anxiety - related disorder.
What are the behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of OCD?
B:
- Compulsive behaviours which they are unable to control
E:
- Concern and upset caused by knowledge that their obsessions and behaviour are irrational and abnormal and unable to control it.
C:
- Obsession, the persistent and uncontrollable thoughts.
What is the behavioural approach to explaining phobias?
All behaviour is learned (normal and abnormal)
Classical conditioning - when 2 stimuli occur at same time, this produces response from individual and even when stimuli no longer occur together, we learn by ASSOCIATION - one stimuli becomes associated with other.
Operant conditioning - we learn through CONSEQUENCES of our actions. If behaviour is reward (positive reinforcement) we are likely to repeat. If a behaviour is punished (negatively reinforced) we are less likely to repeat.
Evaluation of behavioural approach to explaining phobias?
- Limited view (ignores that some phobias are not learnt)
- Ignores biological factors/cognitive
- Ethics (blames individual)
+ Good explanatory power (clearly demonstrated we learn fear)
+ Little Albert
What are the behavioural treatments for phobias?
Systematic Desensitisation (SD)
- Gradually reduce phobic anxieties through classical conditioning
- Procedure (anxiety hierarchy, relaxation, exposure)
Flooding therapy
- Directly exposes person to objects or situations they fear (hits hard)
Evaluation of Systematic Desensitisation?
+ effective (Gilroy 2003)
- Relies on imagination of individual (may have learning difficulties)
- Individual may substitute on symptom for another (symptom substitution)
- Not effective with all types of phobias.
Evaluation of flooding therapy?
+ cost effective
- Less effective for some phobias
- Ethics (traumatisation)
- Symptom substitution
What is the cognitive approach to explaining depression?
- Beck’s cognitive triad (based on the concept of ‘schemas’)
Suggests that depression is a result of holding negative schemas about the world, the self and the future. (pessimistic view becomes self - fulfilling prophecy) - Ellis’ ABC Model (1962) - focuses on irrational beliefs as the source of depression. (not what happens to someone, but how they deal with it).
A = Activating event
B = Belief (rational or irrational)
C = Consequence (rational leads to healthy emotional responses, irrational leads to unhealthy and results in depression).
Evaluation of cognitive approaches to explaining depression?
+ support for role of irrational thinking (Hammen and Krantz - depressed people make more errors in logic)
+ practical applications (CBT)
- Irrational thinking may not cause depression
- Blames person and ignores situational factors
- irrational beliefs may be realistic (sadder the wiser - Alloy and Abrahamson)
- Biological approach contradicts
What is the cognitive approach to treating depression?
Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT)
Aims to change way client thinks (related to explanations)
1. Focuses on challenging negative thoughts about self, world and future (Becks cognitive triad)
2. Ellis’ ‘Rational Emotional Behavioural Therapy’ (REBT) focuses on changing beliefs and how they deal with situations.
Evaluation of cognitive approaches to treating depression?
- can be expensive and time consuming
- patient must be motivated (hard when they have depression)
- relies on good relationship between client and therapist
+ appears to work/make sense
+ focuses on individual
What is the biological approach to explaining OCD?
Abnormality is caused by physiological factors such as brain biochemistry, neuroanatomical and genetics. Genes - may inherit a genetic vulnerability for OCD. Neural - Genes are likely to affect levels of neurotransmitters as well as structures of the brain. Reduced serotonin (happy) leads to OCD.
What is the biological treatment for OCD?
Drug treatment (increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters which cause OCD)
Drug which increase neurotransmitters:
SSRIs (low levels of serotonin) eg Prozac
Alternatives to SSRIs:
Tricyclic’s
SNRIs
Evaluation of biological approach for OCD?
- depression is often co - morbid with OCD (hard to tell difference)
- cause or result (is disruption of neurotransmitters a result of OCD, not cause of it)
- our understanding of neural mechanisms not complete (other brain symptoms may also be involved)
+ drugs which act on serotonin are effective in treating other biological disorders (serotonin is involved with OCD)
+ studied are highly scientific with newest technology (objective, reliable)
+ OCD symptoms are also present in other disorders which we know have biological basis (Parkinsons)
