Psychopathology

Definitions of Abnormality

Statistical Infrequency
Deviation from Social Norms
Failure to Function Adequately
Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

Statistical Infrequency

Deviating from the statistical norm or average of a characteristic
Abnormal behaviours are 2 SD above or below mean

Statistical Infrequency: Example

IQ - lower or higher than average range
Average: 100
2% below 70 and qualify for diagnos9s of intellectual disability disorder

Statistical Infrequency: Evaluation

+ Useful in real world assessments

+ Cut offpoint is objective

- Doesn’t recognise many known disorders

I/D: Cultural Relativity

Deviation from Social Norms

Any behaviour that deviates from the norms that society sets

Deviation from Social Norms Example

Antisocial personality disorder
“Absence of prosocial standards associated with failure to conform …’
Abnormal as they don’t fit our moral standards

Deviation from Social Norms: Evaluation

+ Useful

- Deviance is related to context

I/D Cultural relativity

Failure to Function Adequately

Unable to live a ‘normal’ day to day life
Not possessing a ‘normal’ range of physical abilities, emotions or behaviours

Failure to Function Adequately: Checklist

Rosenhan and Seligman’s Checklist of Dysfunction

Checklist of Dysfunction: Items

Personal distress

Maladaptive behaviour

Unpredictable behaviour

Irrational behaviour

Cause observer discomfort

Deviation from social norms and values

Failure to Function Adequately: Evaluation

+ Represents a sensible threshold for help

- Abnormality isn’t always accompanied by dysfunction (Harold Shipman)

- Functional Dysfunction - attention seeking

I/D: Cultural Relativity

Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

Deviation from Jahoda’s ‘normal mental health characteristics

Checklist of Ideal Mental Health Items

No symptoms of distress

Rational and accurate perception of self'

Can self actualise

Can cope with stress

Realistic world view

Good self esteem

Independent of other people

Can successfully work, love and enjoy leisure

Deviation from Ideal Mental Health: Evaluation

- Over demanding criteria

- Changes over time (temporal validity)

I/D: Cultural relativity

Types of Characteristics of Mental Disorders

Behavioural

Emotional

Cognitive

Behavioural Characteristics

Panic

Avoidance

Emotional Characteristics of Phobias

Anxiety

Fear

Cognitive Characteristics of Phobias

Irrational Beliefs

Selective attention

Explanation of Phobias: Key Concepts

Classical Conditioning - Development

Stimulus Generalisation

Operant Conditioning - Maintains

Negative Reinforcement

Prevents extinction

Explanation of Phobias: Researcher

Mowrer (1960)

Two-Process Model

Explanation of Phobias: Evaluation

+ Scientific and Falsifiable

+ Support: Little Albert

- Cognitive aspects

I/D: Reductionist

Treating Phobias: Key Concepts

Reciprocal Inhibition

Relaxation

Anxiety Hierarchy

Counterconditioning

Immediate exposure

Treating Phobias: Methods

Systematic Desensitisation (Wolpe 1958)

Flooding

Systematic Desensitisation: McGrath

75% success rate for curing phobias

Systematic Desensitisation: Jones

Little Peter cured of his rabbit phobia

Systematic Desensitisation: Evaluation

+ Effective (McGrath and Jones)

+ Doesn’t require complex thought

- Reciprocal Inhibition unnecessary

Flooding: Evaluation

+ Quicker

+ Cost effective

- Ethics

Treating Phobias: Issues & Debates

Reductionist

Doesn’t account for cognitive

Depression: Behavioural Characteristics

Change to Activity Levels

Disruption to Sleep and Eating Behaviour

Depression: Emotional Characteristics

Low mood

Anger

Depression: Cognitive Characteristics

Irrational Thinking

Poor concentration

Explaining Depression: Key Concepts

Activating Events

Schema

Beliefs

Masturbatory Thinking

Consequences

Negative Triad

Cognitive errors

Explaining Depressions: Theories

Ellis’ ABC Model

Beck’s Negative Cognitive Triad

Types of Cognitive Error

Selective abstraction

Minimisation

Personalisation

Arbitrary inference

Magnification

Overgeneralisation

ABC Model: Evaluation