Psychopathology

• Definitions of abnormality AO1

  When someone's behaviour is considered 'abnormal' it is generally because their behaviour differs noticeably from what society may expect.Views of abnormality change across cultures vary within cultures over time and vary from group to group (e.g. Chavs and Goths) within the same society (cultural relativism).It is essential to examine views of abnormality as they form the basis for defining and identifying psychological disorders.
• Definitions of abnormality- Norm AO1

  A norm is a standard or rule that regulates behaviour in a social setting e.g. it is the norm in our society to be polite and say please and thank you. Norms are socially acceptable or 'normal' standards of behaviour. Abnormality is defined as moving away from the norm, noncompliance with society's norms and values.
• Statistical Infrequency AO1

  human behaviour is abnormal if it falls outside the range that is typical for most people, in other words the average is 'normal'.People outside these areas might be considered abnormally clever or unintelligent etc. In statistical terms they are abnormal because their behaviour has moved away from the norm.
• Statistical Infrequency AO3- the cut off points are rather arbitrary

  How can someone with an IQ of 70 be considered

  normal, whilst a person with an IQ of 1 point difference (69) be considered abnormal?
• Statistical Infrequency AO3- Fails to recognise desirable behaviour

  Statistical Infrequency defines desirable behaviour such as high IQ as abnormal. This means that a positive characteristic such as high intelligence may be classed as a disorder.
• Statistical Infrequency AO3 - its objective


  The mathematical nature of this definition means that it is clear what is defined as abnormal and what is not there is no opinion involved which means there is no bias.
• Statistical infrequency AO3 - A useful overview

  this definition looks at the whole picture taking all the population into account so can give a useful insight into the whole picture of a particular characteristic
• Deviation from social norms AO1

  Every society or culture has standards of acceptable behaviour. Behaviour that moves away from these norms is considered abnormal. Social norms are approved and expected ways of behaving in a particular society or social situation. These behaviours can be explicit (e.g. laws) or implicit (e.g. unwritten rules). For eg, in all societies there are social norms governing dress for different ages, gender and occasions.
• Deviation from social norms AO1

  In the past, homosexuality was classified as abnormal and regarded as a mental disorder. It was also against the law in the UK (but not nowadays). This judgement was based on social deviation - it was a judgement made by society at the time.
• Deviation from social norms AO3 - limited by cultural relativism.

  As social norms are created within a culture it can be argued that deviation from social norms is limited by cultural relativism.

  Different cultures have different social norms and expectations of behaviour, for example, Cochrane (1977) found that black people were more often diagnosed with schizophrenia than white or Asian people. However, though this is found in Britain it is not found in Jamaica.

  Therefore, it may not be appropriate to use DSN to define abnormality beyond a specific culture (Western).
• Deviation from social norms AO3- differentiates between desirable and behaviour.

  A strength of this definition is that it differentiates between desirable and behaviour. It is based on social norms within a culture unlike the statistical infrequency definition, which suggests that if your behaviour is not typical then you are abnormal even though this behaviour could be desirable (e.g. having a very high IQ). Therefore, deviation from social norms may be a more appropriate definition of abnormality.
• Deviation from social norms AO3- allows mental health professionals to abuse their power.

  Critics may be quick to point out that the deviation from social norms definitions allows mental health professionals to abuse their power. This is because it defines abnormality based on what is viewed as socially acceptable behaviour. This suggests professionals could misuse the definition to classify people as mentally ill just because they 'break the rules' in society.
• Deviation from social norms AO3 following ‘allows mental health professionals to abuse their power.

  For example, in 1950s USA it was considered abnormal to have communist views and people may have been sent to mental health institutions for having such views.

  Therefore, it has been argued that DSN may be way of controlling non-conformists rather than a valid way to define abnormality. CP- However, breaking social norms often leads to positive outcomes. For eg, suffragettes broke many social norms yet this led to the right for women to vote.
• Deviation from social norms AO3- practical applications

  The deviation from social norms definition can be praised for its practical applications to everyday life. This is because it has allowed society to identify developmental norms.

  The definition establishes what behaviours are normal for different ages, for example filling a nappy aged 2 is considered normal, perhaps not so if you're 30. This in turn allows us to identify developmental abnormalities and put measures in place to support the individual therefore demonstrating the useful applications of this definition.
• Deviation from Ideal mental health AO1

  Realistic perception of reality- individual views on reality as it is, rather than being too optimistic or pessimistic.

  Autonomous- Individual is self reliant, not dependant on others.

  Self acceptance and self esteem- Person recognises their own weakness and strengths and accepts themselves for who they are.

  Resilience to stress- Individual has coping techniques that allow them to deal with stressful situations

  Self actualisation- person strives to be their best possible self to fulfil their potential.
• Deviation from ideal mental health AO1

  adapted to the environment- individual responds to a changing environment + is flexible to the situation.
• Deviation from ideal mental health AO3- unrealistic criteria

  According to these criteria most of us are abnormal! We have to ask how many we need to be lacking before a person would be judged as abnormal. Furthermore, these criteria are very difficult to measure and operationalise. For example, how can we assess capacity for personal growth? This means it is not very usable when identifying abnormality. However, it can be argued that comprehensive criteria may have practical value for individuals wanting to improve their mental health as it gives them something to work towards.
• Deviation from ideal mental health AO3- suggests mental health is the same as physical health.

  In general, physical illness have a physical cause such as virus of bacterial infection, and as a result this makes them relatively easy to detect and diagnose. Its possible that some mental disorders have a physical cause (e.g. brain injury) but many do not. Therefore, it is unlikely that we can diagnose mental illness in the same way as a physical illness.
• Deviation from ideal mental health AO3 - positive approach

  The deviation from mental health offers an alternative perspective on Mental disorder by focusing on the positives rather than the negatives and focuses on what is desirable rather than what is undesirable. Even though Jahoda's ideas were never really taken up by mental health professionals, the ideas have had some influence and in accord with the 'positive psychology' movement.
• Failure to function adequately AO1

  a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life. They may be unable to perform the behaviours necessary for day to day living eg self care, hold down a job, interact meaningfully with others, make themselves understood etc.

  Rosenhan & Seligman suggest the following 7 characteristics:

  •personal distress

  • maladaptive behaviour
  • unpredictability
  • irrationality
  • observer discomfort
  • violation of moral standards
  • unconventionality
• Failure to function adequately AO1


  personal distress= suffering for eg, suicidal thoughts and panic attack

  observer discomfort= displaying behaviour causing discomfort to others

  irrationality = displaying behaviour that cannot be explained in a rational way

  unconventionality= displaying unconventional behaviour for eg hearing voices

  unpredictability= displaying unexpected behaviours characterised by loss of control attempting suicide when you fail an exam
• Failure to function adequately AO3- assess degree of abnormality quantitatively

  We can assess the degree of abnormality quantitatively by using the Global Assessment of Functioning scale to decide who needs mental health treatment, and therefore we can judge abnormality objectively.
• Failure to function adequately AO3- behaviour is observable

  Behaviour is observable and therefore we may be able to identify if someone needs help if they are not acting as they usually would do and it is impacting their daily life. For example, if they are not getting out of bed in the morning or they cannot hold down a job.

  This means intervention can occur if the individual is incapable of making a decision themselves as others can then help.
• Failure to function adequately AO3- behaviour is observed CP

  However, an issue with this is that everyday life varies for different individuals. For example, our body clocks may be different and some may be early risers and others may not rise until midday yet this does not mean that they are clinical 'abnormal'.
• Failure to function adequately AO3- cultural differences

  Cultural difference is another issue as what may be considered 'normal functioning' varies from culture to culture, In some cultures, it is normal for a widow to show symptoms of depression (distress) throughout the whole of their life.
• Phobia Behavioural

  characteristics AO1

  : PANIC- A phobic person may panic in response to the presence of a phobic stimulus. Panic involve crying, screaming or running away.

  AVOIDANCE- Unless the sufferer is consciously trying to face their fear they go to a lot of trouble trying to avoid the phobic stimulus, for eg someone with a fear of using public toilets may limit the amount of time they spend away from home.

  ENDURANCE- The sufferer remains in the presence of the phobic stimulus but continues to feel anxiety, for eg during a flight.
• Phobia Cognitive characteristics AO1


  Selective attention to the phobic stimulus- If a sufferer can see the phobic stimulus, it is hard for them to look away from it but keeping our attention on the stimulus is not useful when the fear is irrational. For eg, someone with arachnophobia will not be able to concentrate on anything else if there is a spider in the room.
• Phobia cognitive characteristics AO1

  Irrational beliefs-A phobic may hold irrational beliefs about the feared stimulus. For eg, someone with a social phobia may believe ‘I must always sound intelligent' which increases the pressure on them to perform well in social situations.

  Cognitive distortions- A phobic's perceptions about the phobic stimulus may be distorted. For eg, someone with a fear of flying might develop the belief that if they fly the plane will crash. This is very unlikely but the sufferer distorts it to seem much more likely.
• Phobia Emotional characteristics AO1


  Anxiety-An unpleasant state of high arousal making it difficult to relax or feel positive emotion.

  Fear is the immediate and unpleasant feeling of distress in response to encountering or thinking about the phobic stimulus. Example: arachnophobia: Matt has a phobia of spiders and his anxiety levels increase whenever he enters a place associated with spiders such as a garden shed. This anxiety is a general response to the situation. When he actually sees a spider he experiences fear - a strong emotional response directed towards the spider itself
• Phobia Emotional characteristics AO1


  Emotional responses are unreasonable-

  Matt's fear of spiders involves an emotional response to a tiny, harmless spider is out of proportion to the danger of any spider Matt is likelv to come across in his shed.
• Phobia

  An irrational fear of an object or situation
• Phobia . DSM states that….

  all phobia are characterised by excessive fear and anxiety triggered by an object , place or situation. The extent of the fear is out of proportion to the phobic stimulus.
• Behavioural approach to explaining phobias - two process model AO1

  Mowrer proposed the 2 process model. Classical conditioning is used to explain the acquisition of phobias and operant conditioning is used to explain how phobias are maintained. classical conditioning can explain the acquisition of phobias when a stimulus we initially had no fear of (NS) becomes associated with a stimulus that already triggers a fear response (UCS) .
• Behavioural approach to explaining phobias- two process model

  The fear response is triggered every time they see or think about the feared object. Phobia can be generalised to similar situations where the phobia will be present. Maintenance of phobias is seen as occurring through operant conditioning where avoiding or escaping from a feared object or situation acts as a negative reinforcer. This reinforces the avoidance response makes it more likely to occur again.
• Behavioural approach to explaining phobias AO3- good explanatory power.

  The two process model was a step forward as it was able to explain how phobias were maintained over time and not just how they were learned, which had important consequences for treatment. For example, when patients are prevented from practicing avoidance behaviours, the behaviour is no longer reinforced and therefore it declines. This is a strength as the two-process model has practical applications for treatment in Systematic Desensitisation and Flooding, which can be used to help people overcome their phobias.
• Behavioural approach to explaining phobias AO3- incomplete explanations of phobia.

  The behaviourist explanation has been criticised for being reductionist and overly simplistic. The behaviourist approach ignores the role of cognition (thinking) in the formation of phobias and cognitive psychologists suggest that phobias may develop as a result of irrational thinking, not just learning. 
• Behavioural approach to explaining phobias AO3- incomplete explanation of phobias following from before

  For eg, sufferers of claustrophobia (a fear of space) may think: ‘ I am going to be trapped in this lift and suffocate', which is an irrational thought and not taken into consideration in the behaviourist explanation. Furthermore, the cognition approach has also led to the development of CBT a treatment which is said to be more successful than the behaviourist treatments. This is an issue because it fails to provide a complete account of the cause of all phobias.
• Behaviourist approach to explaining phobias AO3- not all traumatic experiences lead to a phobia .

  The behaviourist approach assumes that we learn to associate fear with a stimulus that caused us distress, however not all traumatic experiences lead to a phobia. This can be explained in terms of biological preparedness. For example, Seligman (1970) suggests that humans have a biological preparedness to develop certain phobias rather than others, because they were adaptive (i.e. helpful) in our evolutionary past.
• Behaviourist approach to explaining phobias- AO3 following from not all traumatic experienced lead to a phobia

  For example, individuals that avoided snakes and high places would be more likely to survive long enough and pass on their genes than those who did not. This can be used to explain why people are much less likely to develop fears of modern objects such as toasters and cars that are much more of a threat than spiders. This suggests that behavioural explanations alone cannot be used to explain the development of phobias
• Behaviourist approach to explaining phobias AO3- Direct experience of a phobic stimulus is not always necessary The behaviourist approach suggests that we learn phobias through direct contact with the feared stimulus, however this is not always the case. For example, Social Learning Theory (SLT) suggests that phobias could be acquired vicariously through observation and imitation of a role model displaying a fear response, such as a parent screaming at spiders. This suggests that the behaviourist explanation is incomplete as it doesn't take account of other ways to acquire phobias.