Sociocultural psychology

Question 1

What is the LEDS?

Answer 1

The life events and difficulties schedule - the gold standard method for assessing for psychosocial stressors.

The researchers elicit stressful life events and put a rating on them. It involves the researches assessing the impact in the context of current social stressors and the patients self-perspective (contextual rating of social adversity).

Question 2

Describe some torts that a person could be found guilty of in civil court?

Answer 2

Negligence, slander, libel and tresspass

Question 3

On the Holmes and Rahe social readjustment scale what are the 3 most stressful life events?

Answer 3

1. Death of a spouse
2. Divorce
3. Marital separation

Question 4

What are Hayward and Bright’s 4 recurring themes behind stigma of mental illness?

Answer 4

1. Responsibility
2. Dangerousness
3. Disruption of social interaction
4. Poor prognosis

Question 5

Fromm-Reichmann proposed which social theory of schizophrenia?

Answer 5

Schizophrenogenic mother

Question 6

What did the Willowbrook study give?

Answer 6

Live hepatitis OR hepatitis globulins + live virus - administered to children

Hepatitis viral material was taken from an infected children
Saul Krugman claimed he consented the parents “meticulously”

Question 7

What is assimilation?

Answer 7

Partial adaption of a new countries culture without giving up one’s identity/culture

Enculturation is the act of learning a culture through exposure to families, friends, teachers and TV (this occurs irrespective of migration).

Question 8

Pathological fear of the cold and wind because of its ability to cause importence, fatigue and death is?

Answer 8

Pa-leng

Question 9

Who proposed the biopsychosocial model?

Answer 9

George Engel

Question 10

Jikoshu-Kyofu

Answer 10

A Japanese culture bound syndrome with excessive fear of omitting bad bodily odours

• included in broader Japanese culture bound syndrome of Taijin-Kyofu - social anxiety due to physical characteristics (includes blushing etc)

Question 11

What was the Changing Minds campaign by RCPsych?

Answer 11

Encouraged patient advocacy in the context of stigma

Question 12

What were Charaka’s medical principles that doctors should show?

Answer 12

4C’s

Confidentiality
Compassion
Caring practice
Continued professional development

Question 13

Define ethnicity?

Answer 13

Shared historical, linguistic, cultural identity of a community, group or nation

• note there may be shared genes however ethnicity does not
  directly describe this

Question 14

Who argued that suicide may be explained by society?

Answer 14

Emil Durkheim

Other sociologists were Karl Marx, Max Weber and August Comte

Question 15

What is the Jarman index?

Answer 15

A scoring system assessing social deprivation in the community.
Generally not accepted outside of the UK

Question 16

Who coined mental institutions as total institutions?

Answer 16

Erving Goffman

Question 17

What did Bateson suggest double-blind relationship to mean?

Answer 17

Superficial verbal communication contradicted by behaviour and deeper communication - children growing in this manner at greater risk of psychosis

Question 18

Who showed that genetics may be linked to life events?

Answer 18

Kendler (1997):
- Genetic risk for depression was associated with increased risk of assault, marital divorce, job loss, financial problems
- Genetic risk for alcohol also associated with forensic difficulties or risk of getting robbed

Question 19

What is the downward drift theory?

Answer 19

Faris and Dunham proposed that a diagnosis of schizophrenia leads to a downturn in economic fortunes rather than lower socioeconomic class being the cause of schizophrenia (highlighted by past evidence that showed parents of FEP males had similar social class distribution to population).

Social selection theory also used to describe concept
In their study in their Chicago study the more urban and disorganised areas had higher rates of psychosis.

Question 20

What are primary and secondary deviance?

Answer 20

Edwin Lemert

Primary deviance is any action from expected normality that occurs before the subject is labelled “deviant”, can be minor

Secondary deviance are acts that occur after the subject has been regarded as deviant and includes maintenance of primary acts that may be driven involuntarily or as a repercussion for being marker deviant.

Question 21

What theory proposes mental illness is socially constructed and made by the interests of groups such as politicians, doctors and lawyers?

Answer 21

Social construction theory

Question 22

Thomas Scheff came up with…

Answer 22

Labelling theory

• Describes the many uncategorised residual rules that are present in society
• Residual deviance occurs when the rules are broken - may be accepted, not noticed or labelled dependent on context rule breaking committed, observers and deviants characteristics
• Societal-labelling can occur from deviance - once individual is labelled as mentally illy the person takes up the role (inc. privileges afforded or behaviour enacted).
• Self-labelling strengthens the individuals beliefs regarding their role

Note based on empirical rather than experimental evidence - modified labelling theory is now used to explain the impact of stigma

Question 23

What is the pre-psychotic segregation theory?

Answer 23

That immigrants who find it hard to survive in their country of birth immigrate to other regions - evidence has refuted this claim - no evidence for selective immigration from Caribbean

Question 24

Outline the steps of entering as Goffman’s termed a total institution

Answer 24

Betrayal funnel - feel conned by family or doctors (circuit of agents) into agreing to admission

Role stripping - in the institution the initial assaults to the recruits self begin. Initiation rituals. Designed to break his spirit and make him more manageable.

Mortification - assaults on the inmates self-image, they become a full member of the institution. Civil death refers to the fact that all private activities are now conducted in the presence of others

Privilege system - The recruit is at the lowest point and freedom is the reward

Question 25

How does social reactivity relate to schizophrenia?

Answer 25

Thought that absence of social contact and stimulation could lead to negative symptoms. Reappraisal struggled to replicate but did show that positive symptoms may be related to a chaotic and overstimulated environment.