Statistical Infrequency
rare
statistically unusual
an example of statistical infrequency
someone having a above/below average IQ
a criticism of statistical infrequency
fails to recognise the desirability of the particular behaviour
what does statistical infrequency imply
that the abnormal behaviour should be rare or statistically unusual
what us not unusual for people to do at some point in their lives…
to show abnormal behaviour
this definition can provide an objective way, based on data, to define abnormality if…
an agreed cut-off point can be identified
limitation - difference
doesn’t give you a difference in between desirable and abnormal behaviour
what percentage of old people have depression
27%
Deviation from Social Norms
behaviour is classified as abnormal if it doesn’t fit in with society
what might their behaviour make others feel
feel threatened or uncomfortable
social behaviour varies markedly when
different cultures are compared
what do people in southern Europe do which people don’t do in the UK
stand much closer while talking
what are common things that vary by culture
voice pitch volume touching direction of gaze acceptable subjects
Deviation from Social Norms strength
This definition gives a definition to abnormality,
Deviation from Social Norms limitation - culture
Social norms can vary from culture to culture.
Deviation from Social Norms limitation - time
norms can vary over time.
Failure to Function Adequately
abnormality that prevent the person from carrying out the range of behaviours that society would expect from them
what would an example of an Failure to Function Adequately abnormality be
getting out of bed
having a job
relationships
what did Rosenhan & Seligman suggest
seven criteria that are typical of FFA
who made the seven criteria that are typical of FFA
Rosenhan & Seligman
suffering
most abnormal individuals report that they are suffering
maladaptiveness
behaviour which prevents people from achieving major life goals
vivid/unconventional behaviour
abnormal individuals tend to behave often differs substantially from most people
unpredictability/loss of control
behaviour of abnormal people is often very variable and uncontrolled and inappropriate
irrationality/ incomprehensibility
others cannot understand why anyone would choose to behave in this way
observer discomfort
observers to the behaviour are made uncomfortable by it
violation of moral/ideal standards
behaviour may be judged ‘abnormal’ when it violates established moral standards-
The more features of personal dysfunction a person has…
the more they are considered abnormal.
what is used to rate peoples social, occupational and psychological functioning
the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF)
strength for FFA
a practical checklist of seven criteria individuals can use to check their level of abnormality
limitation for FFA
FFA might not be linked to abnormality but to other factors
another reason my somebody might not be able to keep a job
economic situation
Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
missing one of Jahoda’s criteria
Resistance to stress
being able to cope with everyday anxiety provoking situations.
Growth and development
Experiencing personal growth and becoming everything one is capable of becoming.
High self-esteem
Having self-respect and a positive self-concept.
Autonomy
Being independent, self-reliant and being able to make personal decisions.
Accurate perception of reality
Having an objective and realistic view of the world
limitations for Deviation from Ideal Mental Health - criteria
Difficulty of meeting all criteria, very few people would be able to do so
limitations for Deviation from Ideal Mental Health - culture
these are western ideas so shouldn’t be used on people from another culture
what does OCD stand for
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
what kind of disorder is OCD
an anxiety disorder
the obsession part of OCD
intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts
the compulsive part of OCD
a need to perform specific acts repeatedly
common obsessions for people with OCD
fear of contamination
repetitive thoughts of violence
sexual obsessions
obsessive doubt
what are compulsions
the behavioural responses intended to neutralize obsessions.
what are the most common compulsions
cleaning, washing, checking, counting, touching
to someone with OCD, how important are their compulsions
very important. If they are not performed exactly “something bad” will happen.
what will happen if someone with OCD doesn’t do their compulsion
they get extreme anxiety
what are the most common rituals in women
cleaning/washing
what are the most common rituals in men
checking rituals
what will happen at some point when someone has OCD
they realise the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable.
what do obsessive thoughts lead to
anxiety, worry and distress.
what are people like if they have OCD
repetitive behavioural responses intended to neutralize these obsessions
Cognitive
what do you think
emotional
how do you feel
behavioural
how do you behave
Biological approach to OCD limitation - environment
it ignores environmental factors that can cause OCD
Biological approach to OCD strength - testability
you can use neuroscience to prove hypothesises such as the dopamine hypothesis
what is the dopamine hypothesis
argues that elevated levels of dopamine are related to symptoms of schizophrenia.
Biological approach to OCD limitation - factors
they focus on only one factor and at present our understanding of biochemistry is oversimplified.
why are the biological explanations deterministic
they ignore the individual’s ability to control their own behaviour
what are genetics
Genetics is the study of genes and inheritance
What kind of condition is OCD in the Genetic explanation
polygenic condition
what is a polygenic condition
where a number of genes are involved in OCD’s development
what do family and twin studies suggest
suggest the involvement of genetic factors in the development of OCD
OCD baseline in the random population
2%/3%
what gene is mutated in OCD patients
The SERT gene (Serotonin Transporter) and COMT gene
what happens if the SERT gene is mutated
an increase in transporter proteins at a neuron’s membrane
what happens if an increase in transporter proteins go to an neuron’s membrane
an increase in the intake of serotonin into the neuron which decreases the level of serotonin in the synapse.
what does the COMT gene do
regulates the function of dopamine
why are the COMT and SERT gene different
they do opposite things
what does the mutated COMT gene do
causes a decrease in the COMT activity and therefore a higher level of dopamine.
Carey and Gottesman 1981 experiment
tested obsessive symptoms in identical and fraternal twins
obsessive symptoms in identical twins
87%
obsessive symptoms in fraternal twins
47%
what does the Carey and Gottesman 1981 experiment suggest
that genetic factors are moderately important
why might the higher concordance rate found for identical twins important
because it may be down to nurture, identical twins are likely to have a similar environment than fraternal twins
why are identical twins are likely to experience a more similar environment than fraternal twins
they tend to be treated the same
Genes alone do not determine who will develop OCD…
they only create vulnerability
is OCD transmitted genetically or culturally
culturally as the family members may observe and imitate each other’s behaviour
how does social learning theory come into OCD
because a large cultural factor comes into it and we learn it from our family members
what part of the brain is involved in decision making and our behaviour
the prefrontal cortex
what could cause OCD in Neural Explanations
Abnormalities, or an imbalance in serotonin
what does Serotonin do
the chemical thought to be involved in regulating mood
what chemical is high in people that have OCD
Dopamine
what has high levels of Dopamine thought to influence
concentration
what did Salloway & Duffy discover in 2002
Brain scans of OCD patients reliably show increased activity in the Prefrontal cortex
what two drugs have proved effective in treating OCD
serotonin reuptake inhibitors
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
what does SRI and SSRI do
increase serotonin levels
what happened when animals were injected with dopamine
they showed OCD behaviour
what did Soomro et al find
SSRIs were significantly better than placebos in reducing symptoms
how many clinical trials did Soomro et al do
17
what’s the issue with serotonin
sometimes symptoms can be made worse
SSRI side effects
dry mouth a slight tremor fast heartbeat constipation sleepiness weight gain
what is depression
Depression is a mood, or affective disorder
what is depression a collection of
physical, emotional, mental and behavioural experiences that damage everyday functioning
what is the criteria for depression
DSM-IV-TR
to have depression, what must you have
5 or more DSM-IV-TR symptoms
what are some of the DSM-IV-TR symptoms
Behavioural
Emotional
Cognitive
Behavioural - depression
Neglect of personal appearance, loss of appetite, insomnia, tiredness, withdrawal from others.
Emotional - depression
Intense sadness, irritability, apathy, feelings of worthlessness, anger.
Cognitive - depression
Negative thoughts, lack of concentration, low self-esteem, poor memory, recurrent thoughts of death, low confidence.
what does the cognitive approach believe causes depression
depression stems from faulty cognitions about others, our world and us
Ellis
depression occurs through irrational thinking
Beck
the cognitive triad.
what is the cognitive triad.
three forms of negative thinking that are typical of individuals with depression
what are the three sides of becks cognitive triad
The Self
The World
The Future
how do people with depression view themselves
helpless, worthless, and inadequate
what does the cognitive triad interact with
with negative schemas and cognitive biases to produce depressive thinking.
what do people with depression do a lot
make logical errors
what do people with depression ignore
the positive of something
what does Beck believe people develop
negative self schema
when does Beck believe people develop negative self schema
during childhood during/after a traumatic event
what do schema influence
how people interprets and experiences life
what does beck believe
these negative schema formed in childhood lay dormant can be activated by life events or stress
what did Lewinsohn et al discover in 2001
that negative thoughts are involved in the development of depression
what was the Lewinsohn et al experiment
they took teenagers and measured how much they had negative thoughts.
a year later, those who had had negative life events were showing to be more susceptible to getting depression
what does the cognitive approach to depression ignore - genes
the genetic factor
what does the cognitive approach to depression ignore - social
social factors relating to life events
what did Albert Ellis do
made the ABC model
what did Albert Ellis propose
we all hold a unique set of assumptions / beliefs about ourselves and our world
in Ellis’s proposition, what do the assumptions/beliefs do
guide us through life and determine our reactions
what are basic irrational assumptions
when peoples assumptions are irrational and lead them to act in ways that are inappropriate
what is depressive realism
when people who have depression have a more accurate view of the world
Rimm & Litvak, 1969
When experimental subjects are manipulated into having bad thoughts, they became more depressed
what is CBT
cognitive behavioural therapy
what does CBT do
aims to change the way a client thinks, by challenging irrational thought processes
what will challenging irrational thought processes do
change in behaviour
what do Cognitive therapists do - help
help clients to recognize the negative thoughts and errors in logic that cause them to be depressed
what do cognitive therapists do - homework
they give their clients homework so they can challenge their irrational beliefs
when is CBT used
when depression has affected their lives in a negative way
a strength of CBT - treating
shown to be very effective in treating depression
what is better for people with depression - CBT or antidepressants
CBT
a strength of CBT - ethics
it can reduce ethical issues – the way this therapy works is that the client is actively involved and in control so feel empowered
Phobias are a type of what disorder
anxiety
what is a phobia
a marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable
examples of phobias
flying,
heights,
seeing blood
Behavioural - phobias
The phobic stimulus is either avoided or responded to with great anxiety.
emotional - phobias
Exposure to the phobic stimulus nearly always produces a rapid anxiety response.
cognitive - phobias
The person is consciously aware that the anxiety levels they experience in relation to their feared object or situation are overstated.
what are the three category’s for phobias
agoraphobia, social phobia and specific phobias
agoraphobia
fear of open spaces/fear of being away from home.
social phobia
an intense fear of social situation or having to interact with other people
specific phobias
a fear of a specific object, such as a spider, or a situation, such as an enclosed space
what kinds of conditioning are used in the two process model
classical conditioning and operant conditioning
who made the two process model
Mowrer
what causes a phobia
a classically conditioned association between an anxiety provoking unconditioned stimulus and a previously neutral stimulus
what does operant conditioning do
help to explain how the phobia is maintained
how does operant conditioning help to explain how the phobia is maintained
The conditioned stimulus evokes fears, and avoidance of the feared situation lessens this feeling, which is rewarding. The reward strengths the avoidance behaviour, and the phobia is maintained.
what support is there that classical conditioning leads to phobias
Watson and Rayner (1920) used classical conditioning to create a phobia in an infant called Little Albert.
what did Watson and Rayner do to Little Albert
they made him fear white rats by associating them to a load noise
what does the behaviourist approach overlook with it comes to phobias
the role of cognition
what is Systematic Desensitisation
aims to remove the fear response of a phobia, and substitute a relaxation response to the conditional stimulus gradually using counter conditioning.
- Systematic Desensitisation
First, the patient is taught a deep muscle relaxation technique and breathing exercises
- Systematic Desensitisation
Second, the patient creates a fear hierarchy starting at stimuli that create the least anxiety and building up in stages to the most fear provoking images
- Systematic Desensitisation
Third, the patient works their way up the fear hierarchy, starting at the least unpleasant stimuli and practising their relaxation technique as they go
how many sessions are used when people are using Systematic Desensitisation
4-6 if the phobia is mild
12 for a severe phobia
exposure can be done in two ways
In vitro
In vivo
in vitro
the client imagines exposure to the phobic stimulus
in vivo
the client is actually exposed to the phobic stimulus.
which out of vitro and vivo is more successful
vivo
practical issue - Systematic Desensitisation - imagine
it relies on the client’s ability to be able to imagine the fearful situation.
practical issue - Systematic Desensitisation - time
Systematic desensitization is a slow process, taking on average 6-8 sessions
Theoretical Issues - Systematic Desensitisation - mental disorders
SD is not effective in treating serious mental disorders like depression and schizophrenia.
Empirical Evidence - Systematic Desensitisation - Rothbaum
Rothbaum used SD with participants who were afraid of flying. Following treatment 93% agreed to take a trial flight. It was found that anxiety levels were lower than those of a control group who had not received SD
Ethical Issues - Systematic Desensitisation
SD creates high levels of anxiety when patients are initially exposed, which raises ethical issues and so questions appropriateness
Flooding
Flooding works by exposing the patient directly to their worst fears.
what is the aim of flooding - exposure
expose the sufferer to the phobic object or situation for an extended period of time in a safe and controlled environment.
what is the aim of flooding - association
Prolonged intense exposure eventually creates a new association between the feared object and something positive
how often is flooding used
rarely
what did Wolpe report in 1969
reported the case of a client whose anxiety intensified to such as degree that flooding therapy resulted in her being hospitalized.