psychopathology

• what are the 4 definitions of abnormality 

  • statistical deviation 
  • deviation from social norms 
  • failure to function adequately 
  • deviation from ideal mental health
• statistical deviation defintion


  we define many aspects of what is 'normal' by referring to typical values e.g the average. Thus the most obvious way to define abnormality is in terms of characteristics pr behvaiours that are statistically infrequent e.g IQ, OCD, height and PTSD
• explain IQ and intellectual disability disorder as an example of statistical deviation (1)

  • this is a mathematical method for defining abnormality. This definition works on the idea that abnormality should be based on infrequency: if it occurs rarely then it is abnormal. The mathematical element of the definition is the idea that human attributes fall into a normal distribution within the population.
  • This means that there is a mean and the rest of the population falls symmetrically above and below that mean. Standard deviation as a measure informs us how far the scores fall on either side. 
• In a characteristic or attribute that falls into a normal distribution like IQ, 68% of the population falls within two standard deviations from the mean

  • 95% of the population falls within two standard deviations from the mean
  • The mean of IQ is 100 and the standard deviation for IQ is 15
  • 68% of the population will score between 85-115 on an IQ test
  • 95% of the population will score between 70-130 on an IQ test
  • The 5% of the population that fall more than 2 standard deviations from the mean are abnormal (below 70 above 130)
• strength of statistical deviation

  • A strength of the statistical definition is that it has a real-life application in the diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder 
  • As it is used in clinical practice to diagnose disorders 
  • Intellectual disability disorder IQ is below 70
  • Therefore statistical deviation is useful in the diagnosis
• weakness of statistical deviation

  • IQ scores over 130 are just as unusual as those below 70 but we wouldn't think of high IQ as an undesirable characteristic that needs treatment
  • High intelligence is not necessarily seen as abnormal. So there is a struggle to compare desirable and undesirable behaviours 
  • therefore there is a struggle to diagnose infrequent undesirable traits/behaviours
• what is a social norm?

  • usual/typical within society 
  • explicit and implicit rules that society has about what are acceptable behaviours, values and beliefs
• deviation from social norms

  • societies have explicit and implicit rules of acceptable behaviour
  • deviations from this are seen as abnormal 
  • norms vary from culture to culture

  e.g. antisocial + schizophrenia
• implicit rules

  • going against social behaviours e.g. standing too close 
  • violation of this is seen as abnormal
• explicit rules

  • legal written laws e.g. murder
• deviation from social norms example (antisocial personality disorder)

  • unpredictable and irrational 
  • violent when aggravated 
  • this goes against social norms as not everyone experiences this
• weakness of deviation from social norms (ethnocentrism)

  • social norms vary tremendously from one culture and situation to another 
  • this means a person from one cultural group may label someone from another cultural group as behaving abnormally according to their social norms 
  • for example, hearing voices is socially acceptable in some cultures but would be seen as a sign of mental abnormality in the UK
  • this creates problems for people from one culture being compared to another cultural group
• weakness of deviation from social norms (human rights)

  • too much reliance on deviation from social norms to understand abnormality can also lead to systematic abuse of human rights 
  • for example, driapertomania was used to describe the behaviour of black slaves trying to run away 
  • it is clear that these diagnoses were designed to maintain control over different ethnic groups 
  • as our social norms have changed, the classifications now appear ridiculous. some radical psychologists suggest that some of our modern categories of mental disorders are really abuses of people's rights
• what is functioning adequately

  a person may become 'abnormal' if they reach the point when they can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life and so they fail to function adequately. We decide someone is not functioning adequately when they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life. not functioning adequately causes distress for the individual and/or may cause distress for others.
• examples of psychological disorders that may stop an individual from functioning adequately

  • schizophrenia 
  • OCD
• the seven criteria for failing to function adequately by Rosenhan and Seligman (only require 2 in definition)

  • suffering/distress 
  • maladaptiveness 
  • irrational 
  • observer discomfort 
  • unconventionality
  • violation of moral codes 
  • unpredictability
• strength of failure to function adequately

  • a strength of failure to function adequately is that it does attempt to include the sensible threshold for people who need professional help 
  • it may not be an entirely satisfactory approach because it is difficult to assess distress 
  • however, at least this definition acknowledges that the experience of the patient is important 
  • this suggests that failure to function adequately is a useful criterion for assessing abnormality
• weakness of failure to function adequately

  • a negative of failure to function adequately is it is easy to label non-standard lifestyle choices as abnormal 
  • e.g. base jumpers seek adrenaline seen as a non-standard lifestyle choice 
  • some people choose to deviate from standard social norms 
  • this suggests that this is subjective and certain people/choices are abnormal
• what are the 6 criteria of ideal mental health by Marie Jahoda (only require 2 in definition)

  • positive view of self 
  • growth and development 
  • independent 
  • an accurate view of reality 
  • building + maintaining relationships 
  • ability to adapt to the environment
• strength of deviation from ideal mental health

  • a strength of deviation from ideal mental health is that it is very comprehensive (vague)
  • it covers a broad range of criteria for mental health 
  • in fact it probably covers most of the reasons someone would seek help from mental health services 
  • this suggests the sheer range of factors discussed in relation to individuals' ideal mental health makes it a good tool for thinking about mental health
• weakness of deviation from ideal mental health

  • a weakness of deviation from ideal mental health is it's not applicable to a different culture
  • some cultures cannot be self-regulating as they don't know when they'll eat 
  • this is an ethnocentric view on deviation from ideal mental health 
  • this suggests that due to the time of research, other cultures haven't been considered
• emotional characteristics of phobias

  • anxiety
  • emotional responses are unreasonable
• expand on anxiety as an emotional characteristic of phobias

  
  

  phobias are classed as anxiety disorders. By definition, they involve an emotional response of anxiety and fear. Anxiety is an unpleasant state of high arousal. This prevents the sufferer from relaxing and makes it difficult to experience any positive emotion. Anxiety can be long term and fear is the immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter or think about the phobia stimulus
• expand on unreasonable emotional responses as an emotional characteristic of phobias

  phobia elicits an irrational response involving a strong emotional response to a harmless stimulus. Widely disproportionate to the danger posed
• what are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

  • selective attention to the phobic stimulus 
  • irrational beliefs 
  • cognitive distortion
• expand on selective attention to the phobic stimulus as a cognitive characteristics

  if a sufferer can see the phobic stimulus it's hard to look away 

  this is not useful when fear is irrational - inability to focus
• expand on irrational beliefs as cognitive characteristics

  a phobic may hold irrational beliefs in relation to phobic stimuli. This kind of belief increases the pressure on the sufferer to perform well in social situations
• expand on cognitive distortions as a cognitive characteristic

  the phobic's perception of the phobic stimulus may be distorted
• what are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

  • panic 
  • avoidance
• expand on panic as a behavioural characteristic of phobias


  in response to phobic stimuli e.g crying and screaming
• expand on avoidance as a behavioural characteristic of phobias


  the effort to avoid coming into contact with phobic stimuli and more difficult to go about daily life
• what are the emotional characteristics of depression?

  • lowered mood 
  • anger 
  • lowered self-esteem
• expand on lowered mood as an emotional characteristic of depression


  defining the emotional element of depression but it's more pronounced. Patients describe themselves as worthless and empty
• expand on anger as an emotional characteristic of depression

  depression is not limited to sadness anger can also be experienced. This can be directed at the self or others on occasion such emotion can lead to aggressive and self-harming behaviour
• expand on lowered self-esteem as an emotional characteristic of depression


  the emotional experience of how we see/like ourselves. sufferers tend to report reduced self-esteem. this can be extreme with some sufferers of depression describing a sense of self-loathing
• what are the cognitive characteristics of depression?

  • poor concentration 
  • attending to and dwelling on the negative 
  • absolutist thinking
• expand on poor concentration as a cognitive characteristic of depression

  depression is associated with poor levels of concentration. the sufferer may struggle to complete tasks or they might find it difficult to make decisions which they would normally find straightforward. poor concentration and poor decision making is likely to interfere with the individual's work
• expand on attending to and dwelling on the negative as a cognitive characteristic of depression

  when suffering a depressive episode people are inclined to pay more attention to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives. They tend to see a glass half empty rather than half full. Sufferers also have a bias towards recalling unhappy events rather than happy ones - the opposite bias that most people have when not dressed
• expand on absolutist thinking as a cognitive characteristic of depression


  most situations are not all good or all bad but when a sufferer is depressed they tend to think in these terms 'black and white thinking'. When a situation is unfortunate they tend to see it as an absolute disaster
• what are the behavioural characteristics of depression?

  • activity levels 
  • disruption to sleep/eating behaviour 
  • aggression and self-harm