Definitions of abnormality.docx

8/21/2019 Definitions of abnormality.docx

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Those in the field of abnormal psychology study people's emotional, cognitive,

and/or behavioural problems. Abnormal behaviour may be defined as behaviour that

is disturbing (socially unacceptable), distressing, maladaptive (or self ‐defeating), and

often the result of distorted thoughts (cognitions).

Several perspectives (models, approaches derived from data) and theories attempt

to explain the causes of abnormal behaviour.

. The medical perspective. Those !ho hold a medical perspective focus on biological

and physiological factors as causes of abnormal behaviour, !hich is treated as a

disease, or mental illness, and is diagnosed through symptoms and cured through

treatment. "ospitali#ation and drugs are often preferred methods of treatment

rather than psychological investigation. ($ecent research lin%ing biochemical

disorders !ith some abnormal behaviours has provided some support for this

approach.)&. The psychodynamic perspective. The psychodynamic perspective, proposed as an

alternative to the medical model, evolved from reudian psychoanalytic theory,

!hich contends that psychological disorders are the conseuence of anxiety

produced by unresolved, unconscious conflicts. Treatment focuses on

identification and resolution of the conflicts.. The behavioural perspective. Those espousing a behavioural perspective contend

that abnormal behaviour results from faulty or ineffective learning and

conditioning. Treatments are designed to reshape disordered behaviour and,

using traditional learning procedures, to teach ne!, more appropriate, and more

adaptive responses. or example, a behavioural analysis of a case of child abuse

might suggest that a father abuses his children because he learned the abusive

behaviour from his father and must no! learn more appropriate parenting tactics.*. The cognitive perspective. According to the cognitive perspective, people engage in

abnormal behaviour because of particular thoughts and behaviours that are often

based upon their false assumptions. Treatments are oriented to!ard helping the

malad+usted individual develop ne! thought processes and ne! values. Therapy

is a process of unlearning maladaptive habits and replacing them !ith more

useful ones.

. The social‐

cultural perspective. rom the social‐

cultural perspective, abnormalbehaviour is learned !ithin a social context ranging from the family, to the


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community, to the culture. -ultural variables, acuired through learning and

cognitive processes, are believed to be important in producing abnormal

behaviour. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia, for example, are psychological

disorders found mostly in estern cultures, !hich value the thin female body.

efinitions of abnormality

eviation from social norms

0ne can be regarded as abnormal if they deviate from social norms, i.e. they do not

do !hat is regarded to be socially acceptable.

ea%nesses of deviation from social norms definition1

• -ultural relativism1 social norms differ from culture to culture. 2.g. the social norm

in one culture (3uslim country) !ould be to fast. "o!ever this social norm does

not apply to a estern culture.

• 0ne may be independent or eccentric so that person does not follo! the norm, so

this does not ma%e him abnormal because that person is different from others.

eviation from ideal mental health

3ain characteristics of the ideal mental health. These include1

• 3anaging stress effectively.

• Strong sense of identity.

• Actualisation of one4s potential.

5f one does not have these attributes 6 then they do not have the ideal mental health

and they are therefore abnormal.

ea%nesses1

• 7ot everybody has these attributes all the time. This !ould suggest that !e are

all abnormal to some extent.

• -ultural relativism1 the ideal mental health changes from culture to culture. or

example in a culture !here people are very poor, their ideal mental health !ould

involve the basic necessities and nothing more. "o!ever, the idea mental health

of people living in a rich part of America !ould include the necessities but also a

lot of luxuries as !ell.

ailure to function adeuately


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5f one cannot carry out basic tas%s such as eating or sleeping 6 then they have failed

to function adeuately and they are abnormal. This is !hat this definition suggests.

ea%nesses1

•

Some maladaptive actions may be adaptive for the person after!ards. Anexample is complaining, this !ould seem to be maladaptive. "o!ever, it !ould

get the attention of others and may help that person out in that situation, so

8failing to function adeuately4 is not al!ays something !hich causes abnormality.

• -ultural relativism1 5n one culture 6 functioning adeuately !ill be different to

people than in another culture. or example, in 5ra, there are many places !hich

have poor people and their idea of functioning adeuately !ill be to be able to

survive. hereas in a rich part of America, their idea of functioning adeuately

!ill be to be able to do more than that such as sleeping comfortably etc.

9iological approach to :sychopathology

; Abnormalities can be passed on by genetic inheritance 6 this approach states that

if somebody has schi#ophrenia, then their children are more li%ely to have

schi#ophrenia than children !ho have parents !ho do not have this disorder.

; Abnormalities can be caused by abnormalities in somebody4s neurochemistry. So

lo! serotonin levels can cause abnormalities such as having a sleeping disorder.

; Abnormalities can be caused by abnormalities in somebody4s neuroanatomy such

as having little brain tissue around the ventricles. This can cause schi#ophrenia.

ea%nesses1

• S#as# found that abnormalities do not have a physical base li%e this approach

suggests because abnormalities are related to a person4s psychology and ho!

they vie! things in the !orld.

• c-ause or effect 6 !e do not %no! !hether or not abnormalities in neuroanatomy

and neurochemistry cause abnormalities or vice versa. Therefore, !e cannot

assume that abnormalities in neurochemistry or neuroanatomy cause

abnormalities

• 5nconclusive evidence 6 if abnormalities !ere genetic, then concordance rates of

identical t!ins for schi#ophrenia should be


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9ehavioural approach

; Abnormalities can be caused by conditioning 6 !e condition ourselves to have a

phobia of something from before, sometimes !ithout even realising it. So, !e use

classical conditioning to associate something to something that is negative and as a

result, !e have a phobia from it.

; Abnormalities can be caused by the situation that the person is in. or example

somebody !ho suffers from agoraphobia !ill be more stressed about going outside

to a place !here they have never been than somebody !ho en+oys going outside.

; The behavioural approach suggests that the reasons !hy people have

abnormalities are because of other people and the environment in !hich they are in.

ea%nesses1• >ery limited vie! of loo%ing at abnormalities because there are many other

causes of abnormalities such as psychological, from the unconscious and

genetic.

• 5nconclusive evidence because research has sho!n that a person !ho has a

phobia of something does not remember having a previous experience !ith !hat

that person has a phobia of and conditioning that to something negative.

• The treatments deal !ith the symptoms and not the problem itself because the

treatments !ould involve conditioning !hat the patient has a phobia of !ith

something pleasant. This !ould only deal !ith the problem because it means that

the patient !ill not be able to deal !ith other phobias, only that one.

:sychodynamic approach

; istress is caused by conflict bet!een the id (irrational part of a personality), ego

(rational part of the personality) and superego (rational part of the personality !hich

aims for perfection for the individual). 2go defences can be used to reduce theanxiety caused by the conflict bet!een the id and the ego. 2go defences include

repression (moving un!anted thoughts into the unconscious) and regression

(behaving li%e a child !hen faced !ith a difficult situation). 5f ego defences are used

too much 6 this can cause abnormalities.

; Abnormalities can be caused by the unconscious because in the past, that

individual may have %ept all of these un!anted thoughts and feelings to the

unconscious so all of a sudden, that person may have an abnormality because of allthese thoughts and feelings that they have dismissed.


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; Abnormalities can be caused by experiences that the individual has had !hen

that person !as a child because a child4s ego is not mature enough to deal !ith

situations !hich deals !ith the problem itself so ego defences are used as a child

and if this is repeatedly used as the child gro!s up, it could lead to an abnormality.

ea%nesses1

• >ery abstract concepts 6 the concepts are not very specific and therefore difficult

to trust.

• ?ac% of solid research support !hich sho!s that abnormalities can be caused by

the unconscious.

• Sexist 6 reuds4 concepts are mainly directed to males !hich means that it !ould

be difficult to generalise and to use the psychodynamic approach to treat

abnormalities that females have. An example of reuds4 ideas is the 0edipal

conflict !hich is !hen a male child develops feelings for his mother.

-ognitive approach

; Abnormalities are caused by maladaptive thoughts and it is because of these

maladaptive beliefs !hich cause the abnormality.

; This approach puts the individual in full control over the abnormality because if

abnormalities are psychological, then the individual can deal !ith the abnormality

himself.

; 2llis4 A9- model1

o A1 Action 6 something happens !hich !ould lead the individual to believe something.

o 91 9elief 6 the individual could either thin% of the action in an adaptive manner or a

maladaptive manner.

o -1 -onseuence 6 if the individual thin%s maladaptively, then that person !ill be

more li%ely to behave maladaptively and if the individual thin%s adaptively, then that

person !ill be more li%ely to behave adaptively.

ea%nesses1

• The individual is in full control so the person may be !asting time trying to see

!hat is !rong !ith them and focusing on themselves !hen they could be finding

the root of their abnormality.

• -ause or effect 6 !e do not %no! !hether maladaptive thoughts cause

abnormalities or vice versa. Therefore, it is difficult to assume that maladaptive

thoughts cause abnormalities.


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• Sometimes irrational thoughts may be more appropriate than rational ones if it is

something that you have to thin% maladaptively about because you cannot thin%

in the positive side of everything or else that is unrealistic. This is the sadder but

!iser effect.

9iological !ays to approach psychopathology

2lectroconvulsive Therapy

:rocess1

• :atient is given a muscle relaxant and oxygen is administered before the

therapy starts.

• A small current is then passed through the brain lasting around half a second.

• This causes a sei#ure.

• 5t changes the !ay that the neurotransmitters used to !or%.

• e are still unsure about exactly ho! the therapy !or%s, ho!ever research

has sho!n that it has !or%ed on people !ho are severely depressed.

Strengths1

• 5t can save lives 6 only people !ho are severely depressed use this therapy.

Therefore, if it !or%s on them, it could prevent suicide.

• ea%nesses1

• Side effects1 memory loss, cardiovascular disorders

-hemotherapy

Anti@psychotic drugs

Anti@psychotic drugs reduce the amount of dopamine going to the brain and this

combats the symptoms of psychotic illnesses li%e schi#ophrenia.

Anti@depressant drugs

Anti@depressant drugs such as SS$5s bloc% the mechanism !hich reabsorbs

serotonin, so this means that less serotonin is absorbed so more is available. This

combats the symptoms of depression because lo! levels of serotonin can cause

depression.

Anti@anxiety drugs

9en#odia#epines and 9eta@9loc%ers


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:sychological !ays to approach psychopathology

:sychoanalysis

This therapy uses the psychodynamic approach to abnormalities to treat

abnormalities. The process is1

• ree association 6 the patient tal%s about !hatever is in his/her mind to the

therapist and !hy they thin% that they have this abnormality.

• reams analysis is used 6 the therapist monitors the patient4s dreams to see if

(s)he is having nightmares and nightmares about !hat to see ho! this could be

lin%ed to the abnormality.

• The patient associates certain things that the patient is going through !ith the

abnormality and goes over these issues again and again !ith the patient until the

therapist %no!s more about the patient4s abnormality source. The point of the

psychoanalysis is for the patient to ma%e the thoughts and feelings in the

unconscious conscious.

Strengths1

• The longer the psychoanalysis 6 the more effective it is because the therapist can

go through more issues and loo% at the different !ays in !hich the abnormality

could have been caused.ea%nesses1

• The therapist may plant false memories into the patient by mista%e because the

therapist may have said something !hich (s)he thought is the cause of the

abnormality and the patient may have agreed even though (s)he cannot

remember. This !ould have made the situation !orse.

• There is a reason !hy those memories are repressed 6 ethical issues 6

psychological harm that the patient is suffering from.

Systematic desensitisation

This therapy focuses on the behavioural approach to psychopathology.

:rocess1

• The patient is taught ho! to relax in stressful situations and taught ho! to

recognise a stressful situation.


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• The patient and therapist ma%e a desensitisation hierarchy !hich consists of

scenarios !hich cause more anxiety than the previous scenario and this

scenarios involve the thing that the patient has a phobia of.

• The patient goes through each scene in the desensitisation hierarchy and relaxes

during each scenario as !ell and !hen the patient is ready to move onto the next

scene 6 the patient goes to the next scene !hich !ould cause more anxiety than

the previous one.

Strengths of systematic desensitisation1

• 2ffective 6 research sho!s that it is effective for phobias 6 mention

3eichenbaum.

• :sychological treatment !hich ta%es the least amount of time.

ea%nesses1

• ifficult to avoid bad habits 6 maybe the patient has a phobia of it and is used to

it @ even after the treatment, it !ill still be difficult for the patient to not have a

phobia of it after years of having a phobia of it.

-ognitive 9ehavioural Therapy ($29T)

This therapy is based on the cognitive approach to psychopathology. The process is1

• The patient is taught that the abnormality is caused by faulty thin%ing and it is up

to the patient !hether or not the abnormality is going to remain.

• The therapist disputes !ith the patient about !hether or not the current beliefs

are adaptive for the patient or not. There are types of disputing 6 logic,

pragmatic and empirical disputing 6 these !ays of disputing the patient4s current

beliefs involve as%ed the patient !hether it is logical to thin% li%e that, !here the

evidence for their belief came from and !hether or not their beliefs !ill benefit

them in any !ay.

Strengths1

• $esearch has sho!n that -9T ($29T) has been very effective in dealing !ith

patients !ho suffer from depression.

The psychodynamic model


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The psychodynamic model !as first formulated by Sigmund reud at the end of the

th century and since that time has had an enormous influence on the entire area

of abnormal psychology. 5t still offers for many therapists a preferred alternative to

biological approaches to abnormality. The core assumption of this approach is that

the roots of mental disorders are psychological. They lie in the unconscious mind

and are the result the failure of defence mechanisms to protect the self (or ego) from

anxiety. 3any of these intrapsychic conflicts involve basic biological instincts,

especially sexual ones. 3any adult problems are reflections of these earlier conflicts,

particularly those stemming from infancy and early childhood (such as the 0edipus

conflict).

Treatments based on the psychodynamic model focus on gaining access to the

unconscious and exploring the conflicts !ith the patient so that they are able to

confront them and resolve them in an adult !ay. The emphasis is on the patient

gaining insight into the origins of their problems. This techniue is %no!n as

psychoanalysis. The method of psychoanalysis first developed by reud is still

practised, but perhaps more common today are the psychodynamic

psychotherapies. These share the fundamental principles of psychoanalysis, but are

more eclectic and relaxed in their treatment of patients.

2xample

A patient presenting !ith anxiety symptoms !ould be encouraged to explore his past

in order to discover problems occurring during one of the psychosexual stages (oral,

anal, phallic and genital). 5n order to deal !ith this problem the patient has used ego@defence mechanisms, such as repression or denial. These have ta%en up a lot of

psychic energy, leaving the patient !ith fe!er resources to deal !ith everyday life.

The anxiety itself may have become directed to!ards someone or something else in

the patient4s !orld (displacement). Treatment !ould involve, among other things,

helping the patient to gain insight into the causes of his anxiety.


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2valuation of the psychoanalytic model

The psychodymamic model has a number of strengths !hich account for its enduring

popularity1

• 3any observations of psychodynamic therapists appear to be borne out in

everyday life, e.g., defence mechanisms

• 3any people !ith psychological disturbances do recollect childhood traumas

• reudian theory provides a comprehensive frame!or% to describe human

personality

• reud 8rehumanised4 the distressed, ma%ing their suffering more

comprehensible to the rest of society

• 9y developing a method of treatment, reud encouraged a more optimistic

vie! regarding psychological distress. 3ental illness could, in some cases at

least, be treatedB

ea%nesses of the psychoanalytic model are1

• The tendency to ignore the patient4s current problems by focusing on past

conflicts (though this is not true of many later versions of psychoanalysis)

• A lac% of scientific evidence concerning ma+or theoretical assumptions

• As the source of many of the conflicts are often parents, there is a tendency to

give a lot of responsibility to parents for the psychological health of their

children

• :sychodynamic theory underestimates the role of situation and context, and

overemphasises internal instincts and conflicts

The behavioural model

The behaviourist approach dominated psychology in the first half of this century,

especially in the CSA. The goals of behaviourism !ere to move psychology to!ard a

scientific model, !hich focused on the observation and measurement of behaviour.

5ts assumptions !ere that behaviour is primarily the result of the environment rather


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then genetics (or instincts) and so the behaviourists re+ect the vie! that abnormal

behaviour has a biological basis. ?i%e the psychodynamic theorists, behaviourists

have a deterministic vie! of mental disorders1 they believe that our actions are

largely determined by our experiences in life. "o!ever, unli%e reud, they see

abnormal behaviour is a learned response (through conditioning) and not as the

result of mysterious (and they !ould argue un%no!able) unconscious processes.

hile much of our behaviour is adaptive, helping us to cope !ith a changing !orld, it

is also possible to learn behaviours that are abnormal and undesirable. "o!ever,

such maladaptive learning can be treated by changing the environment so that un@

learning could ta%e place.

2xample

A patient4s fear (phobia) of heights !ould be explained through the process of

classical conditioning. Some time in the past, she !ould have learned to associate

the emotion of fear !ith the stimulus of being in a high place through a chance

association bet!een the t!o stimuli. As a result, she !ould avoid heights, and

therefore not have the opportunity to relearn the association in a more adaptive !ay.

Treatment !ould involve desensitising the fear through conditioning techniues.

2valuation of the the behavioural model

Among the strengths of the model are1

• 5t has led to the development of specific behavioural therapies, many of !hich

have had high success rates

• 5t is !idely regarded as lending itself to scientific study and evaluation

• :roponents of the model argue that once the symptoms of an illness are

alleviated, the complaint disappears

ea%nesses include1

•

The model is reductionist in the sense that it reduces the complexity of humanbehaviour to behavioural responses to environmental stimuli


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• 0nly the symptoms of illnesses are treated, not the underlying causes

• The model provides a limited vie! of the causes of mental illness and does

not explain the evidence relating to genetic predispositions to mental illness

• 2nvironmental causes of abnormal behaviours are only rarely discovered in

patients

0ne important extension of the behaviourist approach is %no!n as social learning

theory (S?T). These theorists (e.g. 9andura) argue that observation and imitation

(%no!n as modelling) are an important forms of learning neglected by the early

behaviourists. Thus maladaptive behaviour can be learned from poorly functioning

parents through imitation. 9ut it can also be treated by therapies based on modelling

(for example a person !ith a sna%e phobia might learn from !atching a person

handle sna%es). 9ecause many therapists !ho use this approach act as a bridge

bet!een the behaviourist and the cognitive approaches, they are usually %no!n as

cognitive@behavioural therapists.

The cognitive model

The cognitive approach is both an outgro!th from, and a reaction to, the behaviourist

approach. The basic assumption of the cognitive approach holds that mental events

cause behaviour in that !e interpret our environment before !e react to it. 5n the

case of abnormal behaviour, it is the interpretations and disordered cognitions that

lead to the behaviour. 2motional problems can be attributed to distortions in ourcognitions or thin%ing processes. These distortions are in the form of

overgeneralisations, irrational beliefs, illogical errors or negative thoughts. The focus

of treatment is on understanding the disordered thoughts and !or%ing !ith the

patient to change these.

2xample


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A patient suffering from a depressed mood after failing a driving test may be having

negative thoughts not only about that specific failure but may be generalising those

to other areas of her life. She may believe she is a failure in all aspects of her life

and !ill never be successful again. These thoughts are irrational and polarised, and

the therapist !ould strive to teach the patient !ays of changing her thoughts. The

therapist might also emphasise the importance of increasing positive reinforcements,

and suggest !ays in !hich this might be achieved.

2valuation of the cognitive model1

Supporters of the cognitive approach claim that the strengths include1

• There is much evidence of maladaptive thought processes in people !ith

psychological disorders

• This model promotes psychological !ell being by teaching people the means

of control over their o!n lives

0n the other hand, !ea%nesses of the cognitive model1

• The disordered cognitions may be a result of the disorder, not the cause

• The emphasis on the individual dra!s attention a!ay from social support

systems and the need to locate the causes of psychological distress in !ider

social, political and cultural contexts

The humanistic model

Sometimes referred to as 8the third force in psychology4, the humanistic movement

!as a reaction against the determinism of the psychodynamic and behaviourist

paradigms. 5t attempted to focus more on the individual as a !hole person.

According to -arl $ogers and other leading figures in this movement, people are


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rational beings, able to ma%e their o!n choices, and are motivated to!ard a state of

fulfilment. :sychological problems occur !hen people experience an incongruence

bet!een their real self and their ideal self. This generates a feeling of lo! self@!orth.

The humanistic model does not believe in labelling people by diagnosing them as

having specific mental disorders. 2very individual4s problems are seen as uniue

and the therapy lies in providing nurturing therapeutic conditions !hich enable the

person to find his/her o!n !ay for!ard in dealing !ith problems.

2xample

An individual !ith feelings of despair and a lac% of motivation to live !ould be

understood in terms of a lo! sense of self@!orth, perhaps to do !ith the lac% of a

nurturing environment. This has led to them losing touch !ith their true self. They are

valuing themselves in overly negative !ays, and feel that they are unacceptable and

unlovable as a person. 5n order to get in touch !ith their true self, it is necessary to

experience conditions that offer empathy, acceptance and genuine understanding.

Strengths of the humanistic model1

• There is a large body of research, particularly case histories, to bac% up the

claims of the humanistic model

• The model offers an optimistic vie! of personality

• 5t is regarded as an ethical model because it focuses on the person rather

than the diagnosis

• The model facilitates the human capacity for self@cure

ea%nesses of the humanistic model1

• The focus on the individual carries the assumption that people should be able

to help themselves, and may neglect important environmental and social

factors (e.g., poverty and discrimination)


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• Some disorders reuiring medical treatment may go untreated due to the

reluctance to diagnose

• The model tends to espouse !estern ideals of individuality and freedom,

!hich may not ta%e into account more collectively based cultures.

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Definitions of abnormality.docx