IB Psychology SL Paper 2

deviation of social norms definition of abnormality

violates accepted social rules

advantages of the social norms definition of abnormality

gives society the right to intervene and 'cure' social deviants; seeks to protect society from effects of individual's abnormal behavior on others; gives clear differentiation of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors; what is acceptable for the majority of people

disadvantages of the social norms definition of abnormality

social norms aren't real; sometimes beneficial to break social norms; norms often relate to moral standards that aren't objective; context in which norms are broken is impt

failure to function definition of abnormality

an inability to cope with day-to-day living

Rosenhan and Seligman's 7 features of personal dysfunction

maladaptive behavior; personal distress; unpredictability; irrationality; observer discomfort; violation of moral standards; unconventionality

strengths of failure to function definition

most individuals seeking help believe they have psychology problems (Sue et al); personal distress is the prime reason for seeking help (Miller and Morsley); humane and non-invasive; fairly objective; easy to decide if people are abnormal

weaknesses of failure to function definition

abnormality isn't always accompanied by dysfunction; dysfunction = a subjective experience; sometimes experiencing distress is psychologically healthy; dysfunctional experiences can sometimes be rewarding (eating disorders)

deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormal

failure to meet criteria for perfect psychological well-being

Jahoda's characteristics of ideal mental health

positive self-attitude; self-actualization; autonomy; resisting stress; perception of reality; environmental mastery

strengths of Jahoda's characteristics

positive attitude towards mental health; identifies specific areas of functioning that need to be addressed; holistic view of individual

weaknesses of Jahoda's characteristics

criteria are over-demanding; subjective, vague, difficult to define; perceptions of reality change over time

biological approach

perceives mental disorders as having physical causes

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

WHO manual for diagnosis of disorders

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

US manual for diagnosis of disorders

general paralysis of the brain

ponema palladium enters the body through sexual activity --> tumors in brain --> impaired memory, intellect, personality

Alzheimer's disease

destruction of cells in nervous system; chronic memory impairment

cognitive approach

perceives mental disorders as due to negative thoughts and illogical beliefs

cognitive errors

negative thoughts and illogical beliefs

Beck's theory of the cognitive triad

self (perceiving oneself badly); world (obstacles cannot be dealt with); future (no improvements)

sociocultural approach

perceives mental disorders as determined by social and cultural environments

pibloktoq

Only in Eskimo communities: intense excitement in which victims tear off clothes, break furniture, eat feces, has seizure, a coma, and does not remember anything afterwards

anorexia-nervosa

example of culture-bound disorder

high rate of stressors and low socioeconomic status

explains high rate of schizophrenia in Caribbean people living in Great Britain

classification

groups of symptoms can be grouped together as a syndrome with an underlying cause

Axes used to assess disorders in the DSM

clinical disorders; personality disorders; general medical conditions connected to disorders; psychosocial and environmental problems; global assessment of functioning

ICD-10

diagnostic classification system used in Great Britain

reliability

consistency of diagnosis

Test-retest reliability

clinician makes the same consistent diagnosis on separate occassions using the same info

Inter-rater reliability

when clinician makes identical diagnoses of the same patient, independently of each other

validity

accuracy of a diagnosis

predictive reliability

if diagnosis leads to successful treatment, diagnosis is seen as valid

descriptive validity

patients diagnosed with different disorders should be different from each other in terms of classification

etiological validity

patients with the same disorder should have the same cause

Rosenhan (1973)

8 healthy people went to mental hospitals saying that they heard voices; all were released with "schizophrenia in remmission" --> low validity, high reliability. Then Rosenhan said he was sending in more pseudo-patients and 43% of real patients were suspected of faking it

Moca (2007)

Inter-rater reliability of diagnosis had a concordance rate of of 88% and test-retest reliability of 78%- depression diagnosis

Jurges (2008)

problem with self-diagnosis is that improvements in self-rating are underestimated by patients, reducing reliability

Di Nardo and Barlow (1987)

80% reliability of diagnosis of OCD, which is second only to phobias

evaluation of diagnosis of OCD

need for a quick, reliable diagnostic tool to identify OCD cases (bc of the lack of specialized child psychiatry services and sensitive nature of OCD); high levels of reliability (bc of easily observable symptoms); diagnosis of OCD incurs long-term negative effects on sufferer

Romero-Corral et al (2008)

tested correlation between BMI and body fat % as indicator of obesity: 71% concordance for female, 44% for males, which is relatively good. Diagnostic performance decreases with age; also slender people with abnormal amounts of fat were not said to be obese

culture-bound disorders

disorders that exist in certain cultures

ghost sickness

failure to observe correct burial practices causes some to become weak and dizzy

Cochrane (1977)

Caribbean black people in GB = diagnosed more with schizophrenia (not found in Caribbean) --> cultural bias?

Nobles (1976)

Jahoda's characteristics: independence is desirable, but in collectivist cultures its not

concerns of psychoactive drugs

control patients instead of treat them, drug companies exert unhealthy influence, could hide evidence of ineffectivity

affective mood disorder

mood disturbances that affect thoughts, behaviors, and emotions

endogenous vs exogenous depression

linked to internal biochemical and hormonal influences vs. external stressful experiences

20%; 10%

prevalence rate for depression; suicide rate for severe depressives

Symptoms of depression

constant depressed mood; lessened interest; weight change; sleep pattern disturbance; fatigue; reduced concentration; worthlessness; focus in death

major vs. dysthymic depression

5 required depression symptoms vs. only 3 or more symptoms

Zubenko (2002)

a certain chromosome (2q33-35), which is more common in females, contains the gene REBI, which is linked to depression

carbohydrates

can help with post-natal depression

etiology

the causes or origins of a disorder

Kendler (2006)

a moderate level of heritability of depression was found (using 15,500 swedish twin pairs) with 42% in females vs 29% in men

Wender et al (1986)

adopted depressive children are more likely to have a depressed biological parent, even though they're raised in different environments

monoamines

source of biological explanation of depression: low levels associated with depression

selective seretonin reuptake inhibitors

raise levels of seretonin, antidepressant

specific types of depression

PMS, SAD, post-natal depression

Mann et al (1996)

depressive systems increased and reduced by decreasing/increasing monoamines

evaluation points concerning depression

neurotransmitter levels are affected immediately upon taking medication, whereas medication can take up to several weeks to improve mood; when non-depressives' seretonin levels are reduced, they don't become depressive (Claridge and Davis (2003))

Beck's theory

depression happens because negative schemas dominate thinking

ineptness schema

depressives expect to fail

self-blame schema

makes depressives feel responsible for all their misfortunes

negative self-evaluation schemas

reminds depressives of their worthlessness

arbitrary interference

conclusions drawn in the absence of evidence

selective abstraction

conclusions drawn based on one element

over-generalizations

sweeping conclusions based on one event

magnification and minimization

exaggerations and under-exaggerations in performance

Abramson's depressed attributional style

learned helplessness is in terms of: internal/external (if blame of depression is put on themselves or not); stable/unstable (if cause is permanent feature or temporary); global/specific (if cause is relating to whole person or 1 feature)

Saisto et al (2001)

studied expectant mothers, finding that those who did not adjust personal goals to match demands pf transition to motherhood and indulged in negative thinking patterns = increased depressive symptoms, supporting Beck

dysfunctional family relationships that can cause depression

30% of marital problems: 1 person is depressed; depressed children make depressed children; pregnancy can be tough

sociocultural factors that affect depression

low socioeconomic class, being a minority, poor coping mechanisms

Lorant et al (2003)

factors of low socioeconomic status = highly correlated with increased incidence of depression

India

where many incidents of depression are; highest rated according to WHO; heightened social stressors play a role

Japan

where depression is described more in physical symptoms than mental (low incidents: Waza et al)

collectivist cultures

less prone to depression because there isnt as much upsetness about failure of personal success

weaknesses of sociocultural analysis of depression

unlikely that one explanation can explain all types of depression; lower prevalence of depression among black americans could be from a reluctance to admit it

2%

prevalence of OCD

obsessions

forbidden or inappropriate ideas and visual images, leading to feelings of extreme anxiety (e.g. contamination, losing control, religion, etc.); irrelevant to real-life; suppressed

compulsions

intense, uncontrollable urges to repeatedly perform tasks and behaviors

autism and Tourette's syndrome

disorders that OCD symptoms overlap with

DeMathis et al (2011)

male OCD sufferers: more sexual/religious symptoms, earlier onset; females: more contamination/cleaning symptoms, later onset

Lenane et al (1990)

prevalence of OCD among related family members --> heritable contributions

weaknesses of OCD heritability

family members often display dissimilar symptoms; OCD originating in childhood is more genetic

Chepko-Sade et al (1989)

Rhesus monkeys that performed the most grooming were kept in groups following group in-fightings

Saad (2006)

OCD may have been overactivation of warning systems of evolutionary importance, also reflected in gender differences

attentional bias

perception is focused on anxiety-generating stimuli; could be cognitive explanation for OCD

Clark (1992)

intrusive thinking = signifcantly more common in OCD sufferers than others, supporting he cognitive theory

cognitive explanation evaluation points

doesn't explain emotional aspect of irrational beliefs; different sub-types of OCD supports OCD being dtermined by cognitive factors; cognitive treatments of OCD have proven effective

sociocultural reason for OCD

increase chances of vulnerability, helps shape OCD expression and maintain it

Fontenelle et al (2004)

symptoms of OCD can reflect cultural bias, but no particular sociocultural factor has a causal role: sociocultural factors merely shape the expression of OCD

Horwath and Weissman (2000)

different cultures reflect similar prevalence rates and consistency in form of obsessions and compulsions: OCD is more likely biological

treatment etiology fallacy

mistaken notion that success of a treatment reveals the cause of a disorder

eclectic treatments

use of multiple therapies in the treatment of mental disorders

simultaneous, sequential, stage-oriented

three S's of eclectic treatment

drugs, ECT, psychosurgery

biomedical approaches to treatment

antagonists vs agonists

drugs blocking the effects of neurotransmitters vs drugs that mimic or increase effects of neurotransmitters

ECT

induces changes in neurotransmitters (like sensitivity to seretonin) through brief electrical pulses

unilateral ECT vs bilateral ECT

only non-dominant hemisphere vs both hemispheres

Sackeim et al (2001)

84% of patients relapsed within 6 monthes--not effective long-term

evaluations of ECT

side effects worse with children, teens, elderly, and pregnant women; with antidepressents, ECT use dropped; memory loss