Psychopathology

• Definitions of abnormality


  • Deviation from social norms
  • Failure to function adequately
  • Statistical infrequency
  • Deviation from ideal mental health
• Statistical infrequency definition of abnormality

  Abnormal behaviour is behaviour that is very rare
• Statistics are how we measure how common behaviours or traits are when measured in comparison to the rest of the population. The most uncommon ones are defined as abnormal.
• Not all statistically infrequent traits are negative. This definition would include high IQ, but whilst this is statistically rare it is also highly desirable.
• Where the cut-off point falls results in some people receiving treatment and some not, so deciding where to put the cut-off is subjective.
• Some psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety are quite common. Around 1 in 6 adults (17%) surveyed in England by the NHS met the criteria for a common mental health disorder (CMD) in 2014. The statistical infrequency definition does not match with the high incidence of mental health disorders within society.
• Failure to function adequately


  Inability to cope with daily life (interacting with the world and people around us)
• Features of failure to function adequately (Rosenhan and Seligman, 1989)


  • Maladaptive behaviour
  • Personal anguish
  • Observer discomfort
  • Irrationality and unpredictability
  • Unconventionality
• Deciding whether an individual is coping or not is a subjective judgement that is affected by the opinions of the observer, so two observers may not rate a person in the same way (potential low inter-rater reliability).
• Some abnormal behaviour is not linked to an inability to cope or intense distress. It is thought that there are many psychopaths that may be more able to function in certain roles in society, which may be at the detriment of people other than themselves.
• Not all maladaptive behaviour is an indication of mental illness. For example, smoking and poor diet are seen as against a person's long-term interests in their personal health, but neither of these behaviours are assumed to constitute mental illness.
• However failure to function does respect and recognises the patient's own lived experiences and perspective, which statistical infrequency and deviation from social norms cannot really address.
• Deviation from social norms


  Unwritten social expectations of behaviour that may differ from one culture to the next and change over time
• An issue with this explanation of mental illness is that, as norms are a group judgement on what is acceptable, certain behaviours in one culture that are considered acceptable may be considered deviant in another culture (i.e: homosexuality, face/hair covering, queuing, chopsticks, public displays of emotions).
• Evaluation of deviation from social norms definition

  • Respects cultural differences by not imposing a set definition of abnormality
  • It is a clear definition of what is and is not abnormal whilst also taking context into consideration
  • Different social classes within the same society may have different social norms, which could result in an overdiagnosis of mental health problems in those of working class backgrounds
  • Can create problems for people living in a culture that is different from their culture of origin
• This definition can result in society imposing punishments to unconventional mentally healthy people for expressing their individuality, which is unethical
• Deviation from ideal mental health

  Marie Jahoda (1958) uses humanist principles in not defining abnormality but defining six features of ideal mental health, suggesting that deviation from these features would indicate an abnormality
• Six features of ideal mental health (EAR SPA)

  • Environmental mastery
  • Autonomy
  • Resisting stress
  • Self actualisation
  • Positive attitude towards oneself
  • Accurate perception of reality
• A positive holistic approach to diagnosis that identifies areas for personal development.
• Criteria are culturally biased to reflect an ethnocentric western viewpoint on what ideal mental health is. This could be an example of a culturally specific (emic) viewpoint being applied to all people as a universal (etic) construct.
• It is very difficult to achieve all of these criteria at the same time, so most people would be judged as failing to achieve ideal mental health, and would therefore be classed as abnormal.
• Characteristics of phobias, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

  • Behavioural
  • Emotional
  • Cognitive
• Phobias


  Extreme irrational fears of certain objects or situations
• Behavioural characteristics of phobias

  • Avoidance
  • Panic
  • Failure to function
• Emotional characteristics of phobias

  • Anxiety
  • Fear
• Cognitive characteristics of phobias

  • Irrational beliefs
  • Reduced cognitive capacity
• Subtypes of phobias


  • Simple/specific phobias
  • Social phobias
  • Agoraphobia
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)


  An anxiety disorder defined by obsessions (constant intrusive thoughts) and compulsions (behavioural responses to the obsessions)
• Behavioural traits of OCD

  • Compulsions
  • Avoidance
  • Social impairment
• Emotional traits of OCD

  • Extreme anxiety
  • Distress/depression
• Cognitive traits of OCD

  • Recurrent thoughts
  • Understanding the irrationality
• Depression


  A category of mood disorders, which is often divided into two main types: unipolar and bipolar depression
• Behavioural traits of depression

  • Weight loss or gain
  • Low energy
  • Self harm
  • Poor personal hygiene
• Emotional characteristics of depression


  • Sadness
  • Reduced self worth
• Cognitive features of depression

  • Poor concentration
  • Persistent concern
• Unipolar/major depression effects 25% of women and 12% of men during their lifetimes, and includes only depressive episodes
• Bipolar/manic depression affects 2% of people. They also have manic episodes where they have high energy and high moods, engage in risk-taking behaviour, and potentially have delusions.
• Behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias

  The two-process model, including classical and operant conditioning; systematic desensitisation, including relaxation and use of hierarchy; flooding
• Acquisition (classical conditioning)


  1. Neutral stimulus becomes associated with unconditioned negative stimulus, resulting in conditioned fear response

  2. Generalisation of fear to similar stimuli
• Maintenance (operant conditioning)


  Phobic person avoids situations with phobic object, reducing anxiety as negative reinforcement