Chapter Three: Models of Abnormality
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- Models / Paradigms: The perspectives used to explain events
- Used to only use the demonological model
The Biological Model
- Sees physical processes as key to human behavior
How Do Biological Theorists Explain Abnormal Behavior?
- View abnormal behavior as an illness brought about by malfunctioning parts of the organism
- Brain Anatomy
- Some connections have been found between particular psychological disorders and problems in specific structures of the brain
- ex: Huntington’s disease has been partly linked to a loss of cells in the basal ganglia and cortex
- Brain Chemistry
- Psychological disorders can be related to problems in the transmission of messages from neuron to neuron
- Abnormal activity by certain neurotransmitters is sometimes associated with mental disorders
- Depression has been partly linked to low activity of neurotransmitters (Serotonin and Norepinephrine)
- Mental disorders are sometimes related to abnormal chemical activity in the Endocrine System
- Abnormal secretions of Cortisol have been tied to anxiety and mood disorders
- Brain Circuitry
- Brain Circuit: A network of particular brain structures that work together, triggering each other into action to produce a distinct behavioral, cognitive, or emotional reaction
- ex: The fear circuit often functions improperly in people suffering from anxiety disorders
Sources of Biological Abnormalities
- Genetics
- Genes: Segments that control the characteristics and traits a person inherits
- Several genes combine to help produce our actions and reactions, both functional and dysfunctional
- Evolution
- Mutation: An abnormal form of the appropriate gene that emerges by accident
- Many genes that contribute to abnormal functioning are the result of evolution
- Genes that may have helped our ancestors can hurt people now because our environment has adapted
- Controversial theory
Biological Treatments
- Drug therapy
- Most common treatment
- Psychotropic Medications: Drugs that primarily affect the brain and reduce many symptoms of mental dysfunction
- Overused, doesn’t help everyone
- Four major ones used
- Anti-Anxiety meds / minor tranquilizers / Anxiolytics: Help reduce tension and anxiety
- Antidepressant Drugs: Help improve the functioning of people with depression
- Antibipolar Drugs / Mood Stabilizers: Help steady the moods of those with bipolar disorder
- Antipsychotic Drugs: Help reduce the confusion, hallucinations, and delusions that accompany psychosis
- Psychosis: Loss of contact with reality. found in schizophrenia and other disorders
- Brain Stimulation: Interventions that directly / indirectly stimulate the brain in order to bring about psychological improvement
- Electroconvulsive Therapy: Oldest and most controversial approach. used primarily on severely depressed people
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: An electromagnetic coil is placed on a person’s head, sending a current into certain areas of their brain
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Pulse generator is implanted in a person’s neck to stimulate their vagus nerve, which delivers electrical signals to the brain
- Deep Brain Stimulation: Electrodes are implanted in specific areas of the brain and connected to a pacemaker in their chest
- Psychosurgery: Brain surgery for mental disorders
- Trephining: Prehistoric practice of chipping a hole in the skull to cure mental illness
- Lobotomy: Surgeon cuts the connections between the brain’s frontal lobes and the lower regions of the brain
- Several of today’s biological treatments have undesirable effects
- This model shouldn’t be used alone
The Psychodynamic Model
- Looks at people’s unconscious internal processes and conflicts
- Deterministic Assumption: No symptom or behavior is accidental, it’s all determined by past experiences
How Did Freud Explain Normal and Abnormal Functioning?
- Theory of psychoanalysis explains both normal and abnormal psychological functioning
- Three dynamic central forces shape the personality and operate at the unconscious level
- Id: The psychological force that produces instinctual needs, drives, and impulses
- Pleasure Principle - The Id always seeks gratification
- All Id instincts tend to be sexual
- A person’s libido fuels the Id
- Ego: The psychological force that employs reason
- Reality Principle - We acquire through experience that it can be unacceptable to express our Id impulses outright
- Guides us to know when we can and can’t express Id impulses
- Develops ego defense mechanisms to control unacceptable Id impulses and avoid / reduce the anxiety they arouse
- Repression: Prevents unacceptable impulses from ever reaching consciousness
- Denial: Person refuses to acknowledge the source of anxiety
- Projection: Person attributes their own unacceptable impulses to others
- Rationalization: Person creates a socially acceptable reason for an action that reflects unacceptable motives
- Displacement: Person displaces hostility away from a dangerous object and onto a safer substitute
- Rntellectualization: Person represses emotional reactions in favor of an overly logical response
- Regression
- Superego: The psychological force that represents a person’s values and ideals
- Morality Principle: A sense of right and wrong
- Conscience development
- If the Id, Ego, and Superego are in excessive conflict, the person’s behavior may show signs of dysfunction
- Developmental Stages
- Each stage of development requires a person to make adjustments in their Id, Ego, and Superego
- Fixation: A condition in which the Id, Ego, or Superego do not mature properly and are frozen at an early stage of development
How Do Other Psychodynamic Explanations Differ from Freud’s?
- Self-theorists: Emphasize the role of the self- our unified personality
- Basic human motive: Strengthen the wholeness of the self
- Object Relations Theory: People are motivated mainly by a need to have relationships with other
- Severe problems in parental relationships may lead to abnormal development
Psychodynamic Therapies
- Free Association: Patient describes any thought, feeling, or image that comes to mind
- Therapist interpretation
- Resistance: An unconscious refusal to participate fully in therapy
- Transference: The redirection toward the psychotherapist of feelings associated with important figures in a patient’s life
- Dreams: Thought to be the “royal road to the unconscious”
- Manifest Dream Content: Consciously remembered dream
- Latent Dream Content: Dream’s symbolic meaning
- Catharsis: The reliving of past repressed feelings in order to settle internal conflicts and overcome problems
- Working through: Facing conflicts, reinterpreting feelings, and overcoming one’s problems
- Short-term Psychodynamic Therapies: Patients choose a single problem to work on with the therapist
- Relational Psychoanalytic Therapy: Therapists should also disclose things about themselves to establish more equal relationships with patients
The Cognitive-Behavioral Model
- Emphasizes behavior, the ways it is learned, and the thinking that underlies behavior
The Behavioral Dimension
- Classical Conditioning: Learning by temporal association
- Modeling: Observing and imitating others
- Operant Conditioning: Learning through consequences (reinforcers and punishments)
The Cognitive Dimension
- Ellis and Beck say we can best explain and treat abnormal functioning by focusing on cognitions
- Some people may have inaccurate and disturbing assumptions and attitudes
- Illogical thinking processes (ex: overgeneralizing)
The Cognitive-Behavioral Interplay
- Social Anxiety Disorder: A psychological disorder in which people fear social situations
- Individuals regularly perform avoidance and safety behaviors
- Treatment: Exposure Therapy: Fearful people are repeatedly exposed to the objects / situations they dread
The Humanistic-Existential Model
- Stresses the role of values and choices
Rogers’ Humanistic Theory and Therapy
- Humanists: Human beings are driven to fulfill their potential for goodness and growth
- Client-Centered Therapy: Clinicians try to help clients by conveying acceptance, accurate empathy, and genuineness. Developed by Carl Rogers
- Those who receive unconditional positive regard early in life are likely to develop unconditional self-regard
- Those who don’t acquire conditions of worth (standards that tell them they are acceptable only when they conform to certain guidelines)
Gestalt Theory and Therapy
- Gestalt Therapy: Clinicians actively move clients toward self-recognition and self-acceptance. Developed by Fritz Perls
- Role-playing
- Self-discovery
Existential Theories and Therapy
- Existentialists: Human beings must have an accurate awareness of themselves and live meaningful lives in order to be psychologically well adjusted
- Many people become overwhelmed by the pressures of present-day society and overlook their freedom of choice to avoid responsibility for their decisions
- Dominant emotions: anxiety: frustration, boredom, alienation, depression
- Existential Therapy: People are encouraged to accept responsibility for their lives and for their problems
The Sociocultural Model: Family-Social and Multicultural Perspectives
- Sociocultural model looks to social and cultural forces as the keys to human functioning
How Do Family-Social Theorists Explain Abnormal Functioning?
- Family-Social Perspective: Focuses on an individual’s family and social interactions
- Social labels and roles
- Labeling theory: People eventually adopt / accept the labels that society gives to them
- Labels influence the way people view you
- Social Networks
- Ties were found between deficient social connections and psychological dysfunction
- People’s online relationships tend to parallel their offline relationships
- Family Structure and Communication
- Family Systems Theory: The family is a system of interacting parts who interact with each other in consistent ways and follow rules unique to each family
- The structure and communication patterns of some families force individual members to behave in a way that otherwise seems abnormal
- Enmeshed Structure: Members are grossly overinvolved in each other
- Disengagement: Rigid boundaries between members
Family-Social Treatments
- Group Therapy: A group of people with similar problems meet together with a therapist
- Self-help Groups - same, but without the direct leadership of a clinician
- Family Therapy: Therapist meets with all members of a family, points out problem behaviors and interactions, and helps the whole family to change its ways
- Couple Therapy / Martial Therapy: Therapists work with two individuals in a long-term relationship
- Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy
- Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy
- Community Treatment: A treatment approach that emphasizes community care
- Community Day Programs
- Residential Services
- Key principle is prevention
- Primary: Goal is to prevent psychological disorders altogether
- Secondary: Identifying and treating psychological disorders in the early stages
- Tertiary: Goal is to provide effective treatment as soon as it is needed so disorders don’t become long-term problems
How Do Multicultural Theorists Explain Abnormal Functioning?
- Multicultural Perspective: Emphasizes an individual’s culture and its shared beliefs, values, and history
- Culture-sensitive Therapies: Approaches that are designed to help address the unique issues faced by members of cultural minority groups
- Gender-sensitive Therapies: Approaches geared to the pressures of being a woman in western society
Integrating the Models: The Developmental Psychopathology Perspective
- Biopsychosocial theories: Explanations that attribute the cause of abnormality to an interaction of genetic, biological, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, social, and societal influences
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