Psychopathology(Abnormality)

Disease of the mind. Depart from what is normal.

Deviation from social norms

Failure to function adequately

Deviation from ideal mental health

Definitions of abnormality:

D e fi n i t i o n s o f A b n o r m a l i t y

What is it? Going against accepted codes of behaviour

Examples? OCD

Limitations Context & Extremity: Situation there in Dominant Beliefs: Agree/Disagree Era-Dependant: Fashion/Trendy Cultures relativity Legal system assumes you are responsible for your own

action

Deviation from social norms

D e fi n i t i o n s o f A b n o r m a l i t y

What is it? Not being able to follow normal pattern of behaviour Observer Discomfort- Discomfort or distress on others Unpredictability- Don’t act how they usually act Maladaptive- Badly adaptive behaviour Irrationality- Doing something out of the blueExample? Depression Agoraphobia: Don’t like tight spaces Schizophrenia(Split-Mind): The unit of ‘You’ is jumbled up.Limitations Context May not be linked to a disorder Cultural relativity

Failure to function adequately

D e fi n i t i o n s o f A b n o r m a l i t y

What is it? Not in touch with own identity & feelings Not resistant to stress Not focused on the future Not function as individual Not show empathy & understanding towards others.

Example? Not caring for others pain

Limitations Western vs. Collectivists culture Few would match Jahod’s criteria

Deviation from ideal mental health

D e fi n i t i o n s o f A b n o r m a l i t y

Situation Deviation from Social Norms

Failure to Function Adequately

Deviation from Mental Health

Explanation

Stranger who sits next to you. YES YES Observer Discomfort

Child Abuser YES YES No empathy

Child Genius YES Doesn’t accept normal behaviour

Born again Christian YES Dominate beliefs

Talk to their pets YES YES Observer Discomfort

Stressed workers, take time of work YES YES Maladaptive. Doesn’t focus on future

Person In a dead end job YES Not reaching potential

Person who believes they are being watched

YES Maladaptive. Irrational

Someone who washes their hands a lot YES YES YES Not common behaviour. Irrational.

Maladaptive. Lack of reality

Examples of Abnormality

D e fi n i t i o n s o f A b n o r m a l i t y

The biological approach: Malfunction in the brain system. Treated same as the psychical condition. Changed either caused by the structure or function.

Study: Watson et al (1998)- Isolating monkeys to their social groups. The psychodynamic approach: The forces

that drives into it. The behavioural approach: what we learn The cognitive approach: human memory.

What we think

Four Models of Abnormality

F o u r M o d e l s o f A b n o r m a l i t y

Strength: Use of brain scan which shows everything in the brain. Drug treatment targets it & it is very effective

Weakness: Needs more explanation & details from both sides. Drugs don’t work for eating disorders or phobias.

Biological Approach

B i o l o g i c a l A p p r o a c h

Schizophrenia: Take Antipsychotics which reduces the activity of the brain neurotransmitters dopamine.

Depression: Therapies are highly effective although Prozac drug is used. Which increases the activity of the brain neurotransmitter serotonin.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): small current which goes pass the brain. Works well with depression.

Drugs used to treat: Schizophrenia & Depression

B i o l o g i c a l A p p r o a c h

Antipsychotic Drugs Antidepressant Drugs Anti-anxiety DrugsStrength: Effectiveness Ease of UseLimitations Placebo Effects Tackles symptoms rather than problem Side effects

Chemotherapy: Strength & Limitations

B i o l o g i c a l A p p r o a c h

Genetic Inheritance: Passed from parents. Low Concordance (Phobias). High Concordance rates (Schizophrenia).

Biochemistry: shows levels of hormones & neurotransmitters in the brain. High levels of neurotransmitters serotonin- anxietyLow levels – depression

Neuroanatomy: Structure of brain. Schizophrenics have enlarged spaces, where there's a shortage of tissue.

Viral Infection: Exposure to viruses in the womb e.g. schizophrenia.

Biological Models- Basic Principles

B i o l o g i c a l A p p r o a c h

Sigmund Freud introduced this: Id – Desire/ cannot control Ego – Balancer Superego – Conscious

If Id is dominate, you want pleasure. If superego is dominant they might obsessive. Ego is the mechanism

For example: If you hide something, you try to put it in the unconscious part of the brain. Which causes Denial/ displacement.

Psychodynamic approach

P s y c h o d y n a m i c A p p r o a c h

Oral Stage: Under or over fed. 0-18 months Anal stage: Controls pleasure of having a shit. (OCD) 18 months- 3 years Phallic Stage: The sexes discover other genders. 4-5 years Latency Period: Desire for themselves is gone & for others start. 5- puberty Genital Stage: puberty onwards If these are not met, then it remains unresolved. When you get

stressed, you go back to doing it.

The Oedipus Complex- Boys Developed more for boys As there's psychical contact with moth & has desire for mother.

Father seems to be a threat so they stick to their Fathers morals. The Electra Complex- Girls When a girl depends on not having a penis, creating penis envy &

wants affection of father, when closer to mother.

Freud's Psychosexual Development (Id)

P s y c h o d y n a m i c A p p r o a c h

Mental Disorders result form psychological rather than physical cause: Something else that goes in the brain. The thought & cannot physically see what it is, but knows there’s something in it.

Unresolved conflicts cause mental disorders: Conscious & unconscious parts of the brain causes anxiety when they don’t work together

Early experiences cause mental disorder: Experiences from childhood effect you, when reaching teenage hood( Freud's Psychosexual Development)

Unconscious motivation cause mental disorders: Id- Control over desire e.g. Rapists. Ego-Balancer. Superego- Knows what's right & wrong. Not knowing the cause of change in behaviour.

Basic Principles

P s y c h o d y n a m i c A p p r o a c h

Strengths: Supported by Aimsworths in the Strange Situation & the

childhood experiences & categories the child personality stage.

Significance of repressed materials & unconscious processes widely accepted.

Evidence: Freud used case studies of Adult with neurosis & linked the disorders back to the early experiences.

Limitations: Abstract concepts- difficult to research & define. Sexism- theory is overbalanced. Lack of research evidence- Theory is difficult to prove when

tested.

Strengths & Limitations

P s y c h o d y n a m i c A p p r o a c h

Dream Analysis

Free Association

Projective Tests

Therapies: Psychoanalysis

P s y c h o d y n a m i c A p p r o a c h

To uncover the conflicts repressed in the conscious mind

Therapist analyse the obvious content of the dreams & interpreters the underlying meaning which is called ‘latent content’

Dream Analysis

P s y c h o d y n a m i c A p p r o a c h

Link memories & thought together extending back to childhood & to lower ego defences so repressed material can be assessed

Therapists encourage clients to associate thoughts with anything that enters their mind, to encourage reflection & to identify key terms & ideas.

Free Association

P s y c h o d y n a m i c A p p r o a c h

Uncover projected feelings & beliefs linked to underlying anxieties

Clients are asked what inkblots shapes mean to them, and therapist hope to find particular themes & anxiety

Projective Tests

P s y c h o d y n a m i c A p p r o a c h

Classical Conditioning: Where the phobia develops

Operant Conditioning: Positive Reinforcement & Negative Reinforcement

Social Learning Theory: Observe other behaviour

Behavioural Approach

B e h a v i o u r a l A p p r o a c h

Example: Phobias- learn to get scared of something through experiences

Support: Watson & Ryder. Reflex- clash of cymbals. Associated with rabbit. Scared of Cymbals not rabbits. (Nurture)

Undermine: Preparedness(Seligman) Fear is evolved as spiders are dangerous, so danger is feared. Genetic Response. ( Nature). He believes that its from genetics as it is from Nature that its already biologically programed, which can be triggered.

Classical Conditioning:

B e h a v i o u r a l A p p r o a c h

Example: Anxiety & Depression occurs when you want to behaviour in a way to get attention

Support: Explains certain disorders e.g. depression, from positive reinforcement & negative Reinforcements as you get rewired from early age & it carries on.

Undermine: Reductionist- ignores other aspects of psychology. Shows ways you can get mental illness from.

Operant Conditioning

B e h a v i o u r a l A p p r o a c h

Social Learning Theory Example: OCD, Eating disorders, child

abuse, role models. Support: Emphasis on learning

environment. Who you are influenced by Undermine: Kendall & Hammen (1995)

don’t know if it’s the environment or from genetics. Nature & Nurture. Where Nature is the environment it is by eating e.g. role models they see & follow, where Nurture by the influence of the parents.

B e h a v i o u r a l A p p r o a c h

Abnormality is caused by faulty thinking

Ellis A-B-C Model

The Individual is in control

Cognitive Approach

C o g n i t i v e A p p r o a c h

Distorts the beliefs on yourself. Automatically have negative thoughts Schemata: what you think of a certain thing. Where you have an opinion of yourself and

over exaggerate Example: I always fall ( Not always true) Leads to depression/Anxiety

Abnormality is caused by faulty thinking

C o g n i t i v e A p p r o a c h

A: Activating Event, where something happens

B: Beliefs about ‘A’, which goes through rational/irrational thoughts

C: Consequences, where desirable emotions/ undesirable emotions leads to the behaviour

Ellis A-B-C Model

C o g n i t i v e A p p r o a c h

You make decisions having the right thoughts & behaviours & could get out of abnormality

The Individual is in control

C o g n i t i v e A p p r o a c h

Strength Clear evidence of faulty thinking & beliefs in

depressions & anxiety disorders ( Clark 1986)

Therapies based on this model are very effective for depression & anxiety disorder

Limitation Blames the patient not the situational

factors Consequence (Depression) rather than

cause(Faulty Thinking)

Faulty thinking leads to mental illness

Strengths & Limitations

C o g n i t i v e A p p r o a c h

All or none thinking (Dichotomous Thinking): Classifies either 1of 2 success and failure

Arbitrary Inferences: Drawing negative conclusions without having the evidence to support them

Overgeneralisation: Incorrect conclusions are drawn from little evidence

Catastrophising: Where normal events are perceived as disasters

Selective Abstraction: Where person pays attention to certain features of an event & ignores other features that might lead to a different conclusion

Excessive Responsibility: Taking a lot of responsibility & blame things which happen.

Faulty Thinking Strategies

C o g n i t i v e A p p r o a c h