Psychology A Level Paper 1

• What is the definition of statistical infrequency? Abnormality is defined as those behaviours which are extremely rare. Any behaviour that is very infrequent in a population will be defined as abnormal.
• What is the definition of deviation from social norms? Abnormality is defined as deviation from unstated rules about how one 'ought' to behave. Anything that violates these rules is though to be abnormal.
• What is the definition of deviation from ideal mental health? Abnormality is defined in terms of 'mental health', competence and happiness. Ideal mental health would include a positive attitude towards the self, resistance to stress and an accurate perception of reality. Abnormality therefore arises when an individual does not possess these characteristics.
• What is definition of failure to function adequately? People are judged on their ability to go about their daily life. If they cannot do this and are experiencing distress or others are distressed by their behaviour then their behaviour will be considered abnormal.
• What is the definition of cultural relativism? The view that behaviour cannot be judged properly unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates.
• What is DSM? Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders A list of mental disorders that is used to diagnose mental disorders. For each disorder a list of clinical characteristics is given.
• Evaluate statistical infrequency Some abnormal behaviours are desirable (high IQ) and some normal behaviours are undesirable (depression) so unable to distinguish The cut-off point is subjective so difficult to define abnormality Cultural relativism (schizophrenia hearing voices but common in some cultures)
• Evalutate deviation from social norms Susceptible to abuse (homosexuality as sexual and gender identity disorders in past) Deviance is related to context and degree (beach wear in formal gathering) Cultural relativism (panic attacks definitions vary per culture)
• Evaluate failure to function adequately Subjective judgement (it is others who are uncomfortable and judge the behaviour as abnormal) May be functional (transvestitism) Cultural relativism (standard of one culture is being used to measure another)
• Evaluate deviation from ideal mental health Unrealistic criteria (how extreme measurement before abnormal) Equates mental and physical health (many mental disorders don't have physical causes) Cultural relativism (self-actualisation in some cultures)
• What did Marie Jahoda (1958) point out about deviation from ideal mental health? The following six characteristics determine ideal mental health: Self-attitudes Personal growth and self-actualisation Integration Autonomy Accurate perception of reality Mastery of the environment
• What are phobias? A group of mental disorders characterised by high levels of anxiety in response to a particular stimulus or group of stimuli. Phobias are instances of irrational fears that produce a conscious avoidance of the feared object or situation. The anixety interferes with normal living. Around 2.6% of the UK have a clinical phobia.
• What is depression? A mood disorder where a person feels sad and/or lacks interest in their usual activities. Some indiciduals may also experience negative thoughts, raised or lowered activity levels and difficulties with concentraion, sleep and eating. Around 2.6% of the UK population have clinical depression.
• What is OCD? An anxiety disorder where anxiety arises from both obsessions (persistant thoughts) and compulsions (repetitive behaviour). Compulsions are a response to obsessions and the person believes the compulsions will reduce anxiety. Around 1.3% of the UK population have clinical OCD.
• What are the emotional characteristics of phobias? Fear is persistant and is likely to be excessive and unreasonable. There is also feelings of anxiety and panic. These emotions are cued by the presence or anticipation of the stimuli and the fear is out of proportion to the actual danger posed.
• What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias? Avoidance is the immediate response which inteferes significantly with the person's normal routine. The fight, flight or freeze response is also seen.
• What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias? There is an irrational nature of the person's thinking which causes resistance to rational arguments. The person often recognises that their fear is excessive or unreasonable (absent in children).
• What are the emotional characteristics of depression? A formal diagnosis requires at least five or more symptoms and must include either sadness or loss of interest and pleasure in normal activites. Sadness is the most common description of a depressed state. Other characterisitics include hopelessness, worthlessness, low self-esteem, emptiness and anger.
• What are the behavioural characteristics of depression? A shift in activity levels - either reduced or increased. Reduced energy and a wish to sleep all the time. Agitation or restlessness. Some people sleep much more, some experience insomnia. Change in appetite to cause weight loss or gain.
• What are the cognitive characteristics of depression? People experience negative thoughts such as negative self concepts and guilt. They often have a negative view of the world and have negative expectations which can be self-fulfilling. The negative thoughts are irrational.
• What are the emotional characteristics of OCD? Obsessions and compulsions are the source of anxiety and distress. Sufferers are aware of their excessive behaviour which cause feelings of embarrassment, guilt, disgust and shame.
• What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD? Compulsive behaviours are performed to reduce anxiety. They are repetitive and unconcealed. Actions must be completed or something bad may happen. Sufferers tend to avoid situations that cause the OCD.
• What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD? Obsessions are recurrent, intrusive thoughts that are perceived as inappropriate or forbidden. They can be hypervigilance (constantly tense and 'on guard') or catastrophic (thinking about irrational worst-case outcomes). They are seen as uncontrollable, which creates anxiety. The person recognises that the obsessions or compulsions are irrational and a product of their own mind.
• What does the behavioural approach suggest? All behaviour is learned as opposed to being inherited. Behaviourists believe that we are born a blank slate and we learn all our behaviours and characteristics as we grow up.
• How do behaviourists explain the development of phobias? The two-process model explains how phobias are developed and maintained.
• Who proposed the two-process model? Orval Hobart Mowrer (1947)
• What are the two stages of the two-process model? The first stage is classical conditioning which develops the phobia. The second stage is operant conditioning which maintains the phobia.
• How does classical conditioning initiate phobias? Learning through association. Unconditioned stimulus creates unconditioned response. Neutral stimulus is associated with the unconditioned stimulus. The conditioned stimulus now produces a conditioned response.
• What is generalisation? If a slightly different conditional stimulus is presented and the conditional response still occurs, the response is generalised.
• What is extinction? A learned response can be unlearned.
• What is discrimination? When a learned response is only shown to one stimulus rather that to similar ones.
• What is spontaneous recovery? When a conditioned response that has disappeared by extinction suddenly re-appears.
• How was Little Albert's phobia initiated? A loud noise from a steel bar which stimulated a fear response was associated with a furry white rat. This phobia then generalised to other furry white objects such as a non-white rabbit, a fur coat and Watson wearing a Santa Claus beard.
• Who took out the Little Albert experiment? John Watson and Roslie Rayner (1920)
• How does operant conditioning maintain phobias? The likelihood of a behaviour being repeated is increased if the outcome is rewarding. The avoidance of the phobic stimulus reduces fear and is reinforcing. This is negative reinforcement.
• How does social learning initiate phobias? Modelling the behaviour of others can initiate phobias.
• How is positive reinforcement in operant conditioning of phobias? The fear can be reqarded by attention from family and friends.
• How is negative reinforcement in operant conditioning of phobias? Avoiding a feared stimulus means we don't feel anxious, so we continue to avoid it.
• What is support for the behavioural approach in explaining phobias? The two-process model is supported by research asking people about their phobias. E.g. being bitten by a dog or experiencing a panic attack in a social situation (Sue et al., 1994) This demonstrates the role of classical conditioning in developing phobias. An experiment by Bandura and Rosenthal (1966) supported the social learning theory explanation. A model acted as if he was in pain every time a buzzer sounded. The participants that had observed this showed an aquired fear response to the buzzer. This demonstrates that model...
• What challenges the behavioural approach at explaining phobias? It is reductionist and too simplistic. There is incomplete explanation as phobias aren't always formed in response to association. Di Nardo et al., 1988, found that not everyone who is bitten by a dog develops a phobia of dogs. This approach is incomplete on its own as a genetic vunerability is likely to influence the development of phobias. The two-process model ignores cognitive factors. Cognitive approach proposed that phobias may develop as the consequence of irrational thinking. This limits the effectiveness of treatment. ...