The study of mentaldisorders and conditions that are considered psychologicallyabnormal
Definitions of abnormality
Deviation from social norms
Failure to functionadequately
Statistical infrequency
Deviation from idealmental health
Deviation from social norms
Behaviour that deviates from the expectedrules of behaviour in society
Deviation from social norms definition of abnormality
The social dimension can help both the abnormal individual and widersociety
Social norms are flexible to account for the individual and situation
Deviation from social norms definition of abnormality
Social norms are not objective facts, they are subjective rules created by people
Social norms change over time and vary between cultures
A person who deviates from social norms may simply be different rather than psychologically abnormal
Failure to function adequately
A person is unable to navigate everydaylife or behave in the necessary ways to live a 'normal' life
Failure to function definition of abnormality
The GlobalAssessment of Functioning (GAF) scale provides a practical and measurable way of quantifying abnormality
The majority of people who seek clinical help do so because they believe the disorder is affecting their ability to function normally
Failure to function definition of abnormality
Not everyone with a mentaldisorder is unable to function in society
Not everyone who is unable to function is suffering from a mentaldisorder
What counts as failure to function adequately may differ between cultures
Statistical infrequency
Defining abnormality as statistically rare characteristics and behaviours
Statistical infrequency definition of abnormalityadvantage
Provides a clear and objective way of determining abnormality
Does not imply any value judgements
Statistical infrequency definition of abnormality
Infrequency does not always mean abnormality or mental disorder
Abnormality does not necessarily mean infrequency
Some psychological disorders are difficult to measure objectively
Deviation from ideal mental health
Abnormality defined as deviating from the features of ideal mental health
Deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality
Focuses on the entire person rather than specific symptoms
Provides a positive goal to strive towards
Deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality
Too idealistic, very few people meet all the criteria
Criteria are subjective and hard to measure
Ideal mental health may differ between cultures
Phobia
An anxiety disorder characterised by extreme and irrational fear towards a stimuli
Examples of phobias
Arachnophobia (fear of spiders)
Aerophobia (fear of flying)
Agoraphobia (fear of leaving one's house)
Social phobias (fear of crowds, public speaking)
Characteristics of phobias
Emotional: Extreme, uncontrollable, disproportionate fear
Behavioural: Screaming, crying, freezing, avoiding the feared stimuli
Cognitive: Recognition that the fear is irrational, but this does little to reduce the fear
Activist cultures may view individual autonomy as undesirable
Emotional characteristics of phobias
It is natural to feel some fear in response to potential danger. But people with phobias experience extreme fear that is uncontrollable and disproportionate to the situation
Behavioural characteristics of phobias
Screaming, crying, freezing, or running away from the feared stimuli. A phobic person will typically try to avoid the feared stimuli
Cognitive characteristics of phobias
Most people with phobias recognise that their fear is irrational and disproportionate. However, this recognition does little to reduce the fear the phobic person feels
The syllabus focuses on the behaviourist approach to phobias, but other approaches can serve as a means to evaluate this approach
Behaviourist approach
Analyses phobias based on external observations of environmental stimuli and behavioural responses (rather than e.g. the underlying thought processes)
Two-process model
Explains how phobias are developed and maintained through behavioural conditioning
Classical conditioning (acquisition of phobia)
An unconditioned fear response is associated with a neutral stimulus through experience, resulting in a conditioned fear response to that stimulus
Example of classical conditioning
Watson & Rayner (1920) - 'Little Albert' was conditioned to fear a white rat after being exposed to it paired with a loud noise
Operant conditioning (maintenance of phobia)
Behaviours that reduce unpleasant feelings (e.g. avoiding feared stimuli) are negatively reinforced, maintaining the phobia
Not everyone who has an unpleasant experience at the same time as a neutral stimulus goes on to develop a phobia, which weakens the behaviourist claim that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning
Systematic desensitisation
Gradually increasing exposure to the feared stimuli until it no longer induces anxiety
Example of systematic desensitisation
Jones (1924) - A 2 year old boy with a phobia of white rats was treated by progressively increasing his exposure to a white rabbit
Flooding
Exposing the subject to the most extreme scenarios straight away, with the idea that extreme anxiety cannot be maintained indefinitely
Example of flooding
Wolpe (1969) - A girl with a phobia of cars was driven around in a car for four hours until her phobia disappeared
Behavioural treatment works better with some phobias than others, suggesting not all phobias can be explained or treated in behaviourist terms
Behaviourist treatment of phobias, particularly flooding, may raise ethical concerns
Unipolar depression
Characterised by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, low motivation, and inability to feel pleasure, with no manic episodes
Bipolar depression
Characterised by the same symptoms as unipolar depression, plus occasional manic symptoms
Emotional characteristics of depression
Persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, low mood that may come and go in cycles, feelings of worthlessness and lack of enthusiasm
Behavioural characteristics of depression
Low energy, reduced activity, reduced social interaction, irregular sleep patterns, over- or under-eating
Cognitive characteristics of depression
Exaggerated or delusional negative thoughts about self and others, difficulty concentrating and remembering, thoughts about death and suicide
The syllabus focuses on the cognitive approach to depression, but other approaches can serve as a means to evaluate this approach