psychopathology- a level psychology

• types of abnormality

  • statistical infrequency
  • deviation from social norm
  • deviation from ideal mental health
  • failure to function adequately
• statistical infrequency

  behaviour is seen as rare or it doesn't happen often, e.g. someone with an IQ <70 is seen as abnormal. They may be classified as having a intellectual disability disorder.
• deviation from social norm

  social norm is the unspoken rule within a particular society, deviating from social norm is showing behaviour which is not seen as normal in that society
• deviation from ideal mental health

  
  

  it looks at what makes people normal, Johoda suggested if we are in good mental health we can do the following:

  • environmental mastery
  • autonomy
  • resisting stress
  • self-accualisation
  • positive attitude to one-self
  • accurate perception of reality
• failure to function adequately

  some one is not able to put up with everyday demands/tasks e.g. maintaining eye contact, getting up from bed, having positive relationships with friends/family
• statistical infrequency a03 (strength)

  • usefulness
  • used in clinical practice, both as part of formal diagnosis and to assess the severity of an individual’s symptoms.
  • For example, a diagnosis of IDD requires an IQ of below 70. An example of it being used in an assessment too is in the Beck depression inventory. A score of 30+ is widely interpreted as indicating severe depression.
  • This shows that the value of the statistical infrequency criterion is useful in diagnostic and assessment processes.
• statistical infrequency a03 (limitation)

  • statistically infrequent behaviours labelled as abnormal could, in fact, be desirable traits.
  • For example, having a very high IQ is very unusual, yet this characteristic could be hugely celebrated. Conversely, depression is known to be experienced by many people at some point in their lives and as such is considered common, but not desirable.
  • This is a serious limitation to the concept of statistical infrequency and means it can never be used alone to make a diagnosis.
• deviation from social norm (strength)

  • usefulness.
  • It is used in clinical practice.
  • For example, the key defining characteristic of antisocial personality disorder is the failure to conform to culturally normal ethical behaviour, e.g., recklessness, aggression etc. These signs are deviation from social norms.
  • This shows that the deviation from social norm criterion has value in psychiatry.
• devotion from social norm (limitation)

  • How far an individual deviate from a social norm is mediated by the context.
  • For example, someone walking topless on a beach would be considered normal, adopting the same attire for the office would be viewed as abnormal and possibly an indication of an underlying mental health problem.
  • Consequently, this definition fails to offer a complete explanation since it is related to context
• deviation from ideal mental health a03 (strength)

  • it is very comprehensive.
  • It covers a broad range of criteria for mental health. In fact, it covers most of the reasons someone would seek help from mental health services or be referred for help.
  • This means that an individual’s mental health can be discussed meaningfully with a range of professionals who might take different theoretical views.
  • The sheer range of factors discussed in relation to Jahoda’s ideal mental health make it a good tool in thinking about mental health.
• devotion from ideal mental health a03 (limitation)

  • different elements are not equally applicable across a range of cultures, can be considered culturally bound.
  • e.g., emphasis on personal achievement in the concept of self-actualisation would be considered self-indulgent in most of the world.
  • within western Europe there is variation in the value placed on personal independence e.g., high in Germany, low in Italy.
  • therefore it is difficult to apply the concept of ideal mental health from one culture to another. 
• failure to function adequately (strength)

  • the criterion represents a sensible threshold for when people need professional help.
  • Most of us have symptoms of mental disorder to some degree at some time. The charity MIND found that 25% of people in the UK will experience a mental health problem in any given year. However, it tends to be at the point we cease to function adequately that people seek professional help or are refereed to help by others. This criterion means that treatment and services can be targeted to those who need them most.
• failure to function adequately (limitation)

  • it is easy to label non standards lifestyle choices as abnormal.
  • We might think that not having a job or permanent address is a sign of failure to function to adequately, however it may be that the person is choosing an alternative lifestyle out of the common system for that society.
  • If we treat these behaviours as ‘failures of functioning adequately’, we risk limiting personal freedom and discrimination against minority groups. 
• phobia

  an intense, irrational fear of a stimulus
• behavioural characteristics of phobias

  • panic
  • endurance
  • avoidance
• emotional characteristics of phobias

  • fear
  • anxiety
• cognitive characteristics of phobias

  • selective attention
  • irrational beliefs
  • cognitive distortion
• behavioural approach to explaining phobias: two-process model

  • discovered by mowrer
  • includes classical conditioning and operant conditioning
  • phobia is acquired through association by classical conditioning
  • phobia is maintained by operant conditioning
  • little Albert study (1920: Watson & Rayner)
• behavioural approach to explaining phobias a03 (strength)

  • evidence for a link between bad experiences and phobias.
  • Sometimes phobias appear following a bad experience and it is easy to see how they could be the result of conditioning.
  • Jongh found that 73% of people with a fear of dental treatment had experienced a traumatic experience at the dentists.
• behavioural approach to explaining phobias a03 (limitation)

  • ignores the roles of cognition (thinking): phobias may develop as a result of irrational thinking, not just learning.
  • For example, sufferers of claustrophobia may think they could because trapped in the lift and suffocate, which is an irrational thought that is not taken into consideration in the behaviourist’s explanation.
  • This is a limitation as the behavioural approach cannot explain all types of phobias.
• behavioural approach to treating depression

  systematic desensitisation + flooding
• components of systematic desensitisation

  • fear hierarchy
  • relaxation techniques
  • exposure
• anxiety hierarchy


  A hierarchy in which the sufferer ranks situations in the presence of phobic stimulus from feeling least anxiety-to extreme anxiety
• relaxation training 


  The therapist teaches the patient to relax as deeply as possible. They are taught relaxation techniques, such as breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation strategies, or mental imagery techniques. Patients can be taught to imagine themselves in relaxing situations (such as imagining lying on the beach) or they might learn meditation
• systematic desensitisation

  a form of therapy for phobias to gradually reduce phobic anxiety through classical conditioning. If the sufferer learns to relax in the presence of the phobic stimulus they will be cured. Essentially a new response to the phobic stimulus (phobic stimulus is paired with relaxation instead of anxiety. This learning of a different response is called counterconditioning.