Psychopathology

• Definitions of abnormality

  • Deviation from Social Norms (DSN)
  • Failure to Function Adequately (FFA)
  • Statistical Infrequency (SI)
  • Deviation from Ideal Mental Health (DIMH)
• Deviation from Social Norms (DSN)

  Behaviour that goes against the unwritten rules and norms in a given society or community
• Psychological behaviour

  • Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) - a person with APD is impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible
• The Diagnostic & Statistical Manual 5 states that one important symptom of APD is that people with APD are abnormal because they do not conform to our moral standards
• Deviation from Social Norms definition

  • Supports the general views that most people have of what abnormality is
  • Norms vary over time as social attitudes change, so it is era-dependent
  • Social norms vary tremendously from one community to another, so it has cultural relativity
• Failure to Function Adequately (FFA)

  Individuals are abnormal when their behaviour suggests that they cannot cope with the demands of everyday life
• Psychological Behaviour

  • Severe depression, which can lead to a lack of interest meaning that the depressed person may fail to get up in the morning and hold down a job
• Characteristics of abnormal behaviour related to the FFA definition


  • Suffering
  • Maladaptiveness
  • Irrational
  • Observer discomfort
  • Vividness
  • Violation of moral codes
  • Unpredictability
• Failure to Function Adequately (FFA) definition

  • Applies to the diagnosis of many disorders and is an important criteria with respect to many psychological disorders
  • Determining 'failure to function adequately' is subjective as someone needs to decide what is 'adequate'
  • Abnormality is not always associated with failing to function adequately
• Statistical Infrequency (SI)


  Abnormal behaviour is behaviour which is rare (uncommon)
• Psychological Behavior

  • Schizophrenia is suffered by 1 in 100 people and so is statistically infrequent
• Statistical Infrequency definition


  • It is an objective way of deciding who is abnormal and can be used in the diagnosis of disorders
  • It focuses on FREQUENCY of behaviour, NOT its desirability
  • Behaviours that are statistically infrequent in one culture may be statistically more frequent in another
• Deviation from Ideal Mental Health (DIMH)

  Abnormality would be an absence of the criteria for ideal mental health, including positive attitudes towards the self, self-actualisation and personal growth, being resistant to stress, personal autonomy, accurate perception of reality, and environmental mastery
• Psychological Behaviour

  • A person with anorexia nervosa has lost touch with reality as they perceive own body in a distorted way thinking they are significantly larger than they actually are. They also do not have a positive attitude towards the self as they often have a negative self-concept and low self-esteem.
• Deviation from Ideal Mental Health (DIMH) definition

  • It offers an alternative view on mental disorders by focusing on the positives rather than the negatives
  • It sets an unrealistically high standard for mental health, as most people would be considered abnormal by these criteria
  • The criteria are rooted in Western societies and may not apply to other cultures
• To identifying abnormality, reducing its validity
• Cultural relativism


  A further limitation of the DIMH is that the characteristics listed by Jahoda above are rooted in Western societies and a Western view of personal growth and achievement
• Self-actualisation (seeking to fulfil one's full potential) may be seen as a key goal in life within some cultures e.g. Western (individualistic) cultures but not other cultures e.g. Non-Western (collectivist) cultures
• In collectivist cultures, elders in the family may plan the young person's future; this might include such things as career paths and arranged marriages
• It may therefore be regarded as abnormal to go after your own goals if they are in conflict with those of your own culture
• This suggests that cultural relativity severely limits the validity of the DIMH definition when looking at abnormality just from a Western society point of view
• Systematic desensitization


  A treatment for phobias where the patient is gradually exposed to the feared stimulus while in a relaxed state
• Anxiety hierarchy


  A list of situations related to the phobia that provoke anxiety arranged in order from least to most frightening
• Gradual exposure


  The patient is gradually exposed to the phobic stimulus while in a relaxed state, starting at the bottom of the anxiety hierarchy and moving up as the patient can stay relaxed
• Research shows systematic desensitization is effective in the treatment of specific phobias
• Relaxation may not be necessary for the success of systematic desensitization


  The exposure to the feared stimulus may be the key factor
• Systematic desensitization is more preferable to flooding for many clients as it is seen as less traumatic
• A limitation of systematic desensitization is the possibility of symptom substitution, where the problem may reappear in a different form
• Flooding


  A treatment for phobias where the patient is immediately exposed to the phobic object or situation for an extended period of time in a safe and controlled environment
• Flooding appears to be an effective treatment for phobias
• Flooding is less effective for treating social phobias compared to simple phobias
• Flooding can be a highly traumatic experience for patients
• A limitation of flooding is the possibility of symptom substitution, where the problem may reappear in a different form
• Rational thoughts


  Thoughts triggered by unpleasant events
• ABC model


  1. A - Activating event: something happens in the environment around you

  2. B - Belief which is held about the event, may be rational or irrational

  3. C - Consequence: rational beliefs lead to healthy emotions, irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy emotions

  
• It is not the activating event that causes the consequence, the consequence is caused by the beliefs about the activating event
• Individuals who become depressed interpret unpleasant events in excessively negative or threatening ways
• Having irrational beliefs leads to unhealthy negative reactions and emotions
• Supporting research for Beck's cognitive explanation of depression


  • Koster et al's study found depressed participants spent longer attending to negative words than non-depressed group
  • Empirical support for Ellis therapy based on the ABC model contributes to the acceptance that irrational beliefs lead to depression
• Distorted cognitive patterns


  May be a consequence rather than a cause of depression