Abnormality

Abnormality

Definitions
1. Deviation From Social Norms
  1. When someone breaks the unwritten rules of society in regard to behaviour breaking these rules may be considered weird or abnormal
  2. Limitations
    1. Norms changing over time
    2. Considering context - Judges and wigs
    3. Who decides what is normal?
2. Failure To Function Adequately
  1. When people repeatedly engage in behaviours that are not good for them
  2. Limitations
    1. Failing/Not Failing is a subjective judgement
    2. Unnaceptable behaviours may not be maladaptive
    3. Different cultures
3. Deviation From Ideal Mental Health
  1. 1) Positive view of self
    1. 2) Actualisation
      1. 3) Autonomy
        3) Accurate view of reality
        4) Environmental adaptability
        5) Resistance to stress
  2. Limitations
    1. Very few people satisfy all criteria
    2. Criteria are open to interpretation
    3. Cultural Variations
Psychological Approach
1. Psychosexual Development
  1. Oral Stage - Smoking/ Eating/ Drinking when stressed
  2. Anal Stage - Obsessions with cleanliness and difficulty expressing emotions
  3. Phallic Stage - Anxiety and Inadequacy, problems with gender identity and moral understanding
  4. Genital Stage - Fixations from early years reoccur and affect behaviour
2. Defence Mechanisms - Displacement Rationalisation Reaction Formation Regression Repression Denial
3. Therapies
  1. Dream analysis - Therapist analyses symbolism in dreams
  2. Free Association - Patient relaxes talks about anything that on their mind with therapist
  3. Evaluation
    1. Bad - Eyesnck said Therapies don't work recovery rate is comparable to those who don't have therapy
    2. Good - Freuds case studies present Anna O and the Ratman got better through therapy
Biological Approach
1. Genetics
  1. We inherit abnormality or mental illness in the same way that we inherit eye colour
  2. Holland; Twins who shared 100% of genes were more likely to both have anorexia than twins who shared 50% of their genes
2. Brain Damage
  1. A head injury or an interruption of bloodflow to the head such as a stroke can change your behaviours
  2. Phineas Gage; Suffered brain injury, metal rod took part of it away he changed his personality became more aggressive and had lots of mood swings
3. Infection
  1. Bacteria and Virus's can affect brain functioning and behaviour
  2. Clive Wearing; Herpes Simplex Virus damaged his hypocampus lost short term memory
4. Neurotransmitters
  1. Imbalances in chemicals in your brain can cause abnormal behaviour for example and imbalance of Dopamine can lead to schizophrenia
5. Treatments
  1. Drugs
    1. Anti-Psychotic
      1. LITHIUM - Suppresses the production of Dopamine and makes you more calm
    2. Anti-Depressant
      1. PROZAC Balances serotonin levels to make you happier
    3. Axiolytics
      1. VALIUM Contain Benzodiazepines which reduce anxiety
  2. ECT
    1. Alters Serotonin and Noradrenaline - Coffey said it was safe as it did not lead to brain damage - Reid said it produced protective protein (Rats)
  3. Evaluation
    1. Strong - Drugs - 60% of schizophrenia patients saw a reduction in their symptoms ECT - 70% of depressed patients found relief
    2. Weak - Drugs: They are only curative so they don't solve the problem ECT - 85% of the 70% relapsed and became more depressed
Cognitive Approach
1. Kendall problems are caused by distortions and discrepancies
  1. Deficiency - lack of planning and thinking ahead leads to innapropriate situations
  2. Distortions - Information may not be actively processed
2. Beck - Cognitive triad negative view of yourself the work and the future
3. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
  1. A - Activating behaviour
  2. B - Belief
  3. C - Consequence
  4. D - Disputation
  5. E - Effects
  6. Evaluation
    1. GOOD - No side effects/curative/stops recurence
    2. BAD - Long waiting lists/slow acting/ expensive
Behavioural Approach
1. Classical Conditioning - We form associations between objects (stimuli) and an emotional state (Response)
2. Operant Conditioning - We learn through reinforcement for example if we diet and someone compliments us we will keep doing it leading to anorexia
3. Systematic Desensitization
  1. Evaluation
    1. GOOD - works for 80/90% of phobias/ Robust/ Best for removing stage fright
    2. WEAK - Long waiting lists/slow acting/ expensive
  2. STEP 1 - Calming inhibits anxiety
  3. STEP 2 - Looks at anxiety heirarchy

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	Created by Charley Peckham over 11 years ago