Abnormality

Abnormality

Definition of Abnormality
1. Deviation from Social Norms
  1. Behaviour doesn't follow socially accepted patterns
  2. Limitations
    1. Context
    2. Deviates culture to culture
    3. Related to moral codes
    4. Not always bad
2. Failure to function adequately
  1. Unable to cope with day to day life
    1. psychological distress/discomfort
  2. Rosenhan and Seligman
    1. Suffering
    2. Maladaptiveness
    3. Unconventionality of behaviour
    4. Observer discomfort
    5. Violation of moral support
    6. Irrationality
  3. Limitations
    1. Suffering
    2. Judgement
    3. Cultural bias
3. Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
  1. People who don't meet criteria for ideal mental health
  2. Jahoda's Aspects of Positive Mental Health
    1. Autonomy
    2. Integration
    3. Mastery of Environment
    4. Personal Growth
    5. Personal Attitudes
    6. Perception of reality
  3. Limitiations
    1. How can we measure self-esteem
    2. Many don't adopt criteria
    3. Culture Specific
    4. Is mental health same as physical health?
Biological Model of Abnormality
1. Abnormal behaviours result from physical problems
2. Infection
  1. Germs and bacteria linked with mental illness
  2. Torrey
    1. Mothers who had flu during pregnancy leads to increased likelihood of schizophrenia in children
3. Genetic Factors
  1. Inherit likelihood to certain diseases
  2. Familiar patterns within families and twins can show genetic link
4. Biochemistry
  1. Focus on neurotransmitters and horomones
  2. Schizophrenia linked with high amounts of dopamine
5. Neuroanatomy
  1. Abnormality due to physical differences in the nervous system
  2. Brains of schizophrenia patients different to 'normal' brains
    1. larger ventricles resulting in less functional brain tissue
6. Strengths
  1. Based on well established science
  2. Help provide treatments
  3. Removes blame from patient
7. Weakness
  1. Reductionist
  2. Ethical issues
  3. Focus on symptoms not emotions
  4. Ethically undesirable
8. Treatments
  1. Chemptherapy
    1. Antipsychotic
      1. Treats Schizophrenia
      2. Conventional
        Blocks action of dopamine
        Binds to dopamine receptors
      3. Atypical
        Temporarily occupying dopamine receptors
        Allows normal dopamine transmission
    2. Antidepressant
      1. Treats depression
      2. Reuce re-absorption of serotonin
      3. Blocks anzyme that breaks down serotonin
    3. Strengths
      1. Effective
        World Health Organisation
        Relapse rates after 1yr > Highest for those with placebos (55%)
        chlorpromazine takers (25%) > 2%-23% treated with chlorpromazine and family therapy
      2. Easy to Use
    4. Weaknesses
      1. Placebo Effects
        Kirsch et al
        Placebo faired as well as real drugs
      2. Treat symptoms rather than problems
      3. Side-Effects
  2. Electro Convulsive Therapy
    1. Electrical current thourgh electorde placed on scalp
      1. Induces a convulsive seizure
    2. Last resort for very depressed patients
    3. 'Resets' neurotransmission in the brain
    4. Strengths
      1. Effective
        Comer
        60-70% of ECT patients improve after treatment
    5. Weaknesses
      1. Sham ECT also effective
      2. Side Effects
Behavioural Model of Abnormality
1. Abnormality based on development/learning of behaviour patterns
2. Classical Conditioning
  1. Related to emotional learning as well as behavioural
  2. Learning occurs through association of stimuli
3. Operant Conditioning
  1. Learning occurs through reinforcement and punishment
  2. Behaviour reinforced it will be repeated
  3. Behaviour punished it won't be repeated
  4. Abnormality is when maladaptive behaviour is reinforced
4. Social Learning Theory
  1. Behaviours learnt by seeing others rewarded and punished
  2. Society provides deviant maladaptive behaviour
5. Strengths
  1. Gives patient power to change - we can unlearn what we have learnt
  2. Patient not seen as victim of illnes
  3. Successful at treating phobias
  4. Easy to test experimentally
6. Weaknesses
  1. Focus on symptoms as cause
  2. Minimises other factors
  3. Classical conditioning doesn't explain why people develop phobias
7. Treatments
  1. Patient needs to unlearn maladaptive behaviour & learn adaptive ones
  2. Systematic Desensitisation
    1. Fear and relaxation are incompatible
    2. Patients learn to relax in presence of object or image (imagined)
    3. Strengths
      1. Quick and requires little effort
      2. Successful and effective
      3. McGrath et al
        75% of patients with phobias responded
      4. Capafons et al
        Aerophobics who had SD reported lower levels of fear than control group
    4. Weaknesses
      1. Suppresses symptoms may result in other problems
      2. Reduced effectiveness in some phobias
      3. Ohman et al
        SD may not be effective in phobias related to evolutionary survival components (heights, dark etc)
      4. Ethical issues
Psychdynamic Model of Abnormality
1. Conflicts between id and superego cause abnormality
2. Defence Mechanisms
  1. Repression
  2. Displacement
  3. Projection
  4. Overuse can lead to abnormality
3. Psychosexual Development
  1. Oral
    1. Satisfaction orally
  2. Anal
    1. Satisfaction anally
  3. Phallic
    1. Genital key source of satisfaction
  4. Latent
    1. Sexuality repressed
  5. Genital
    1. Sexual pleasure in genitals
  6. Strengths
    1. Highlights psychology in in mental illness
    2. Identifies childhood experiences as factor
    3. Removes blame from patient
  7. Weakness
    1. Emphasis on past not on present
    2. Non-scientific
    3. Ignores culture and social factors
    4. False memory syndrome
    5. Assumes behaviour is defined by gender and sex
4. Treamtents
  1. Psychoanalysis
    1. Free association
      1. Patient expresses thoughts as they occur
      2. Therapist interprets thoughts
    2. Therapist Interpretation
      1. Therapist looks for clues and possible cause of problem
    3. Working Through
      1. Psychoanalyst and patient discuss reasons for problems
      2. Find ways to improve situation
    4. Insight
      1. Patients develop understanding of unconscious motications
    5. Strengths
      1. Bergin
        10,00- patient histories > 80% benefited compared to eclectic therapies
      2. Tschuchke et al
        Over 450 patients > longer treatment=better outcomes
    6. Weaknesses
      1. Theoretical limitations
        Eysenck
        Theory countered by spontaneous remission and placebo effects
      2. False Memories
        Loftus
        Too much emphasis on reliability of memory > Research proven it is not always reliable
      3. Ethical Issues
Cognative Model of Abnormality
1. Abnormality caused by faulty and irrational cognitive processes
2. Cognitive triad
  1. cycle of negative thoughts in depressed people
3. Ellis
  1. ABC Model
    1. A – Activating Event
    2. B – Belief
    3. C – Consequence
  2. Strengths
    1. Focuses on experiences and feelings
    2. Increased responsibility to change
  3. Weaknesses
    1. Cause&Effect
    2. Judgemental
    3. Implies patient is responsible
4. Treatments
  1. CBT
    1. Rational-Emotive Behaviour Therapy

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	Created by doyea001 about 11 years ago