Psychopathology

• One definition of abnormality is deviation from social norms. This is when a person behaves in a way that is outside of what we would expect. This can either be explicit (the law) or implicit (a social norm)
• An example of abnormality is antisocial personality disorder. A person with it might be impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible. This fits the definition of abnormality as it means the person does not conform to our moral standards.
• Another definition of abnormality is failure to function adequately. This is characterised by suffering, maladaptiveness, observer discomfort, unpredictability and irrationality.
• An example of failure to function adequately could be someone with schizophrenia. Because of their hallucinations they may suffer themselves and also cause discomfort to any observers because of their odd behaviour.
• Another definition of abnormality is deviation from ideal mental health. Jahoda's research into mental ill health suggested that ideal mental health is defined as positive attitudes toward the self, self-actualisation of one's potential, resistance to stress, personal autonomy, accurate perception of reality and adapting to the environment.
• A strength of deviation from ideal mental health is it gives individuals something positive to aim for. A weakness is that it lacks validity as many people without mental illness don't meet this criteria.
• The behavioural characteristics of a phobia include behavioural: panic, avoidance, emotional: anxiety, fear, cognitive: selective attention, irrational beliefs.
• The behavioural explanation of phobias suggests that phobias are learned through conditioning. The two process model explains that the phobias is acquired via classical conditioning and maintained via operant conditioning.
• Watson and Rayner did an experiment with little Albert on how phobias are acquired. They found support for the idea of classical conditioning as they showed him a white rat alongside a loud noise which created a fear response to the rat on its own. Stimulus generalisation also occurred where little Albert also showed fear to similar furry items like a rabbit and a dog. Internally valid but poor population validity.
• Systematic desensitisation is based on the belief that abnormality can be removed through counterconditioning. It uses a concept called reciprocal inhibition which is where a person learns to feel relaxed in the presence of a phobic stimulus. This works because it is impossible to feel fear and relaxation at the same time
• There are three stages to systematic desensitisation: the fear hierarchy, relaxation and exposure.
• Gilroy et Al examined 42 patients who had received systematic desensitisation for arachnophobia. Compared to a group that had only had relaxation technique training the therapy group showed less fear.
• A weakness of systematic desensitisation is that it is not appropriate for all phobias, such as those that have an underlying evolutionary survival component
• Scientific support for flooding: in 1970 a young girl who was afraid of cars was driven around for 4 hours. At first she was hysterical, but she soon calmed down and realised that she was not in danger. This cured her phobia.
• The behavioural characteristics of depression are: low activity levels, disruption to sleep and eating, aggression and self-harm.
• The emotional characteristics of depression are: lowered mood, anger and lowered self-esteem.
• The cognitive characteristics of depression are: poor concentration, focussing on the negative and absolutist or 'black and white' thinking.
• Beck believed that those with depression are biased towards a negative interpretation of the world because they have a negative self-schema. This is developed in childhood through criticism from parents and peers.
• The negative self-schema fuels a negative triad made up of negative views about the world, future and oneself.
• The cognitive approach suggests that negative thinking is caused by cognitive bias. For example, all or none thinking, arbitrary inferences, overgeneralisation, catastrophising, selective abstraction and excessive responsibility.
• Ellis suggested that depression results from irrational thoughts. He used the ABC model to explain their effects on our behaviour and emotional state. It goes as follows: Activating event, Beliefs (i.e. mustabatory thinking), and consequences.
• The behavioural characteristics of OCD are compulsions such as excessive hand washing, and avoidance of anything that triggers anxiety.
• The emotional characteristics of OCD are anxiety and distress, accompanying depression, guilt and disgust.
• The cognitive features of OCD are obsessive thoughts, cognitive strategies and insight into excessive anxiety.
• The biological explanation of OCD suggests that it could be caused by mutated genes, although many different genes are involved in the disorder.
• The candidate genes for OCD are the SERT gene and the COMT gene. This is associated with the production of COMT which regulates levels of dopamine. One variation of the gene results in higher levels. This is more common in patients with OCD.
• PET scans have found higher activity in the orbitofrontal cortex of patients with OCD. It is suggested that the heightened activity increases the need to respond to sensory information which results in compulsions.
• Drug therapy can be used to manage OCD symptoms. This is usually done with SSRIs.
• SSRIs increase the amount of serotonin being communicated. When it is released by the presynaptic neuron it travels across a synapse. The neurotransmitter then binds to the receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron. Any leftovers are normally reuptaken but SSRIs prevent this so more serotonin is absorbed.
• An alternative to SSRIs is BZs which increases the levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter which reduces anxiety.
• Deviation from abnormality AO3:

  • Deviancy is related to subjective moral codes. What is abnormal varies between cultures and eras. There is little behaviour that would be considered universally abnormal due to breach of social norms. So the definition lacks cultural validity as a diagnosis wouldn't be universal.
  • This definition doesn't distinguish between eccentricity and abnormality. Some people may be socially deviant because they have chosen a non-conformist lifestyle. Therefore the definition lacks validity because it would diagnose mentally healthy people.
• FFA AO3:

  • May not be an accurate way to diagnose an abnormality because some people who have psych disorders can still function. E.g. people with antisocial personality disorder can be charming and manipulative which leads to success in relationships. So the definition is not a valid way to identify people who need psychological treatment.
  • A strength is that it considers the personal experiences of the patient by taking into account their level of suffering. It takes into account individual differences and only seeks to diagnose and treat people who are having a negative experience.
• One definition of abnormality is statistical infrequency. It uses the normal distribution curve with both extremes deemed abnormal and the middle regions as normal (95% of people). The cut-off point is put at +/- 2 Standard Deviations away from the mean on a measure of the behaviour. Any individual outside of this is considered abnormal. This approach works well when dealing with characteristics that can be reliably measured, e.g. intelligence. Only 2% of people have an IQ below 70. Those individuals scoring below 70 are liable to receive a diagnosis of ‘intellectual disability disorder’.
• Statistical Infrequency AO3:

  • weakness: stating that abnormalities are rare is not true. Many psychological disorders requiring treatment are actually very common, e.g. anxiety disorders affect around 18% of people. This is a problem for this definition because it would not accurately diagnose enough people with the condition as it is based on only the most infrequent 5%.
  • Strength: more objective than other explanations because it is less open to interpretation and bias; this means it is more likely to be reliable as all patients are being measured against a consistent standard.
• Deviation from ideal mental health AO3:

  • Strength: very comprehensive, takes a positive view by focussing on what is desirable. Covers a broad range of criteria which relate to the whole person. The big range of factors discussed in relation to ideal mental health makes it makes it clear to people the ways in which they could benefit from seeking treatment to improve their mental health
  • Weaknesses: characteristics are unrealistic and most people don't meet all of them, they are also based on western ideals e.g. individualistic cultures value personal autonomy more.
• The two-process model:

  • Classical conditioning - a person becomes fearful of a stimulus as they associate it with a past negative feeling or stimulus. At first it was a ‘neutral stimulus’. But at some point it became associated with something that does trigger a natural fear response. So the ‘neutral stimulus’ becomes ‘conditioned’ which results in the ‘conditioned response’ of fear.
  • Operant - An individual avoids a situation that may involve the phobic stimulus which results in a desirable consequence of no fear and so means the avoidance behaviour will be repeated (reinforced).
• Behavioural explaination of phobias AO3:

  • Strength: application to therapy. Systematic desensitisation helps people unlearn their fears through counterconditioning. However treatments which also focus on the thought processes, e.g. CBT, have been shown to be more successful than purely behaviourist treatments. So the explanation is reductionist as it focuses only on associations and consequences and not cognition.
  • weakness: it ignores biology. Many phobias are adaptive and based on survival mechanism, e.g. fear of snakes as they are deadly.
• Reciprocal inhibition is when a phobia is cured because a patient learns to become relaxed in the presence of a phobic stimulus. This works because it is impossible to be relaxed and afraid at the same time.
• Flooding stops phobic responses very quickly. This may be because, without the option of avoidance behaviour, the patient quickly learns that the phobic stimulus is harmless and that anxiety can only reach a peak and then begin to reduce. In classical conditioning terms this process is called extinction. A learned response is extinguished when the

  conditioned stimulus is encountered without the unconditioned stimulus. The result is that the conditioned stimulus no longer produces the conditioned response (fear).
• Ellis ABC model:

  A = Activating event: Irrational thoughts are triggered by external events. We get depressed when we experience negative events and these trigger irrational beliefs.

  B = (irrational) Beliefs: Mustubatory thinking is centred on unachievable assumptions that must be true in order for an individual to be happy e.g. to be liked by everyone.

  C = Consequences: When an activating event triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences. E.g, if you believe you must always succeed, then fail at something.