Psychopathology

• Characteristics of Phobias


  • Behavioural - Avoidance, trembling, panic attacks
  • Emotional - fear of overwhelming anxiety, sadness, feeling of losing control
  • Cognitive - forgetfulness, indecisiveness, negative thinking
• Characteristics of OCD


  • Behavioural - Hoarding, excessive repetitive behaviour, demanding reassurances
  • Emotional - distress, anxiety, anger, fear
  • Cognitive - Hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts, catastrophic thinking
• Characteristics of Depression


  • Behavioural - isolation, lack of energy, weight loss/gain, no motivation
  • Emotional - guilt, hopelessness, low self-esteem, anger
  • Cognitive - forgetfulness, distorted thinking, indecisiveness, difficulty concentrating
• Difference between obsessions and compulsions

  Obsessions are intrusive thoughts, compulsions are repetitive behaviours
• Definitions of abnormality


  • Deviation from social norms
  • Failure to Function Adequately
  • Deviation from Ideal mental Heath
  • Statistical infrequency
• Deviation from social norms


  A social norm is an unwritten rule describing how we should behave in society. Someone may be considered abnormal if they break these social norms. This is because their behaviour is thought to deviate from the acceptable standards or expected behaviours in a person's own cultural environment.
• Behaviour considered abnormal under deviation from social norms


  • The behaviour of someone suffering from OCD may deviate from social norms, as it is not normal to excessively check or count items and have catastrophic thoughts about contamination of germs.
• Deviation from Social Norms is culturally biased, as it is developed in one culture and unfairly applied to other cultures. Social norms change between cultures.
• Deviation from Social Norms is historically biased, as it is developed in one time and unfairly applied to other times. Social norms change over time.
• Failure to Function Adequately


  Someone may be considered abnormal if they Fail to Function Adequately in their day-to-day life. This is when a person's behaviour causes distress to others, is unpredictable and sometimes uncontrolled or maladaptive.
• Behaviour considered abnormal under failure to function adequately

  • The behaviour of someone suffering from Depression may be considered abnormal, as they are unable to cope with the demands of daily life and their behaviour interferes with their routine.
• Failure to Function Adequately is partly subjective, as deciding whether someone's suffering is abnormal or not is a matter of personal opinion.
• The failure to function adequately definition is culturally biased, as definitions of adequate functioning are related to cultural ideas of how your life should be lived.
• Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

  This definition defines normal mental health. If someone does not show the six characteristics of normal mental health (personal growth, resistance to stress, autonomy, an accurate perception of reality, mastery of the environment or high self-attitudes) they may be considered abnormal.
• Behaviour considered abnormal under deviation from ideal mental health

  • The behaviour of someone suffering from Phobias may be considered abnormal, as their behaviour (e.g. avoidance and extreme fear) is preventing them from mastering their environment and being independent.
• Jahoda's definition of deviation from ideal mental health is an unrealistically high standard, as very few people will attain all of the criteria for mental health at any given time.
• The definition of deviation from ideal mental health may be culturally biased, as some of the ideas are specific to Western Europe and North American cultures.
• Statistical Infrequency


  Someone may be considered abnormal if their behaviour is rare or anomalous (statistically unusual). Those who fall more than two standard deviations away (-2 SD or +2 SD) from the mean are considered statistically rare and abnormal.
• Behaviour considered abnormal under statistical infrequency


  • The behaviour of someone suffering from Depression may be considered abnormal, as their behaviour (e.g. not leaving the house and withdrawing from most social activities) is rare and statistically unusual.
• Some abnormal behaviours are actually quite desirable, such as having a very high IQ, so using statistical infrequency to define abnormality means we are unable to distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviours.
• Statistical Infrequency is culturally biased, as statistically infrequent behaviours will change across cultures.
• The Behavioural approach assumes that people develop phobias because they have LEARNT them from the environment, usually through CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• Definitions of abnormality


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

  Abnormality defined as behaviour that deviates from the typical or expected behaviour in a given social context
• Failure to function adequately


  Abnormality defined as an inability to meet the demands of everyday life and carry out normal day-to-day activities
• Deviation from ideal mental health

  Abnormality defined as a deviation from the ideal state of complete physical, mental and social well-being
• Statistical infrequency


  Abnormality defined as behaviour that is statistically rare or unusual compared to the general population
• One limitation of the definition 'Deviation from social norms' is that social norms can vary across cultures and change over time, making it difficult to define what is 'abnormal'
• One limitation of the definition 'Failure to function adequately' is that it is subjective and can depend on individual circumstances and expectations
• One limitation of the definition 'Deviation from ideal mental health' is that the concept of 'ideal mental health' is difficult to define and can vary between individuals
• One limitation of the definition 'Statistical infrequency' is that just because something is statistically rare does not necessarily mean it is abnormal or problematic
• The Two-Process Model proposes that phobias are initiated through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning
• According to the Two-Process Model, phobias are initiated through classical conditioning where a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned response
• According to the Two-Process Model, phobias are maintained through operant conditioning where avoidance of the phobic stimulus is negatively reinforced by the reduction of anxiety
• A limitation of the Two-Process Model is that it is environmentally determinist, suggesting phobias are only caused by external environmental factors
• A limitation of the Two-Process Model is that it ignores cognitive factors involved in the development of phobias, such as irrational thinking
• A strength of the Two-Process Model is that it has strong supporting research evidence, such as the study by Sue et al. finding many phobias started with a specific traumatic event
• Positive reinforcement is when a behaviour is followed by a rewarding consequence, making that behaviour more likely to be repeated. For example, receiving praise for completing a task
• Negative reinforcement is when a behaviour is followed by the removal of an unpleasant consequence, making that behaviour more likely to be repeated. For example, taking painkillers to relieve a headache
• Applying the Two-Process Model to explain Roger's dog phobia


  1. Roger saw his mother get bitten by a dog (classical conditioning)

  2. This paired the neutral stimulus of dogs with the unconditioned response of fear

  3. Roger then avoids dogs to reduce his anxiety, which is negatively reinforcing (operant conditioning)

  4. This maintains Roger's phobia of dogs