Psychopathology

• Definitions of abnormality, including deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately, statistical infrequency and deviation from ideal mental health.
• The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias: the two-process model, including classical and operant conditioning; systematic desensitisation, including relaxation and use of hierarchy; flooding.
• The cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression: Beck's negative triad and Ellis's ABC model; cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), including challenging irrational thoughts.
• The biological approach to explaining and treating OCD: genetic and neural explanations; drug therapy.
• Psychopathology refers to the study of mental disorders and unusual or maladaptive behaviours.
• Four definitions of abnormality


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


  Behaviour is abnormal as it is numerically rare. The characteristics of the behaviour are less common/typical.
• Normal distribution


  • Symmetrical
  • Bell-shaped curve
  • Most scores = middle = considered to be normal
  • Extreme ends = abnormal
• Intellectual disability disorder


  Abnormal IQ scores - the further people are from the normal range, the more abnormal they are seen
• Unusual characteristics can be positive


  IQ scores over 130 are just as unusual as those below 70, but we would not think of super-intelligence as an undesirable characteristic which needs treatment
• Statistical infrequency can be useful


  Used in clinical practice, both as part of formal diagnosis and to assess the severity of an individual's symptoms
• Labelling someone as 'abnormal' just because they are statistically unusual


  Likely to do more harm than good, which decreases and individuals quality of life
• Deviation from social norms


  Behaviour is abnormal if it is very different to the acceptable behaviour produced by other members of the same society/cultural group. The behaviour is unexpected by other group members and the behaviour may offend other members of society/cultural group.
• There are relatively few behaviours that would be considered universally abnormal on the basis they breach social norms.
• Deviations from social norms


  Useful in psychiatry and classifying mental health disorders, which will enable psychiatrists to implement treatments
• Judging deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures


  Difficult, so this definition cannot be universally applied
• Even within the same culture, social norms differ from one situation and another. Aggressive and deceitful behaviour in the context of family life is more socially unacceptable than in the context of corporate deal-making.
• It is difficult to judge deviation from social norms across different situations and cultures, so this definition cannot be universally applied
• Even within the same culture, social norms differ from one situation and another
• Aggressive and deceitful behaviour in the context of family life is more socially unacceptable than in the context of corporate deal-making
• Deviation from social norms

  Cultural and situational relativism
• Sophie is a 30-year-old business woman and if she does not get her own way she sometimes has a temper tantrum. Recently, she attended her grandmother's funeral and laughed during the prayers. When she talks to people she often stands very close to them, making them feel uncomfortable
• Deviation from social norms


  It is not the norm for someone who is 30 to have a temper tantrum, even though it is normal for a 3 year old, so she is breaking an age-related social norm
• Failure to function adequately


  The inability to deal with the demands of everyday living. The behaviour is maladaptive, irrational or dangerous and can cause personal distress and distress to others
• Everyday demands people may not be able to fulfil


  • No longer maintain basic human functions like hygiene and nutrition or social relations
• Rosenhan and Seligman (1998) proposed additional signs which determine someone is not coping
• Failure to function adequately


  Includes the subjective experience of the individual
• Failure to function adequately


  Failure to function may not be abnormal
• A bereavement may mean people do not engage in consistent personal hygiene or nutrition
• It would be unfair to give someone a label of abnormality because they may be reacting the same way most of us do in a given situation
• Deviation from ideal mental health refers to when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
• The more criteria someone fails to meet, the more abnormal they are
• Criteria for good mental health (Jahoda, 1958)


  • No symptoms or distress
  • Accurate perception of reality
  • We self-actualise (strive to reach our potential)
  • Positive attitude towards the self
  • Resistance to stress
  • Autonomy
  • Environmental mastery
• Deviation from ideal mental health

  May be culture bound
• Some of Jahoda's criteria for ideal mental health are in the context of the US and Europe. A concept like self-actualisation may be dismissed as self-indulgent in other parts of the world
• Even in Europe, there is variation in the value placed on personal independence, e.g., high in Germany and low in Italy. Furthermore, what defines success in our working, social and love-lives is different in different cultures
• Jahoda's concept of 'ideal mental health' includes a range of criteria for distinguishing between ideal mental health and a mental disorder
• The ideal mental health definition provides a checklist in which we can assess ourselves and others and discuss psychological issues with a range of professionals
• An individual's mental health can be discussed meaningfully by a range of professionals who have different theoretical views. E.g., a medically trained psychiatrist might focus on symptoms, whereas a humanistic psychologist might be more interested in self-actualisation
• Limitation of statistical infrequency: Unusual characteristics can be positive.


  Unusual characteristics can be positive. For example, IQ scores over 130 are just as unusual as those below 70, but we would not think of super-intelligence as a negative characteristic. This shows that just because few people show the behaviour doesn't mean it is abnormal. Therefore SI shouldn't be soley used.