Abnormality

Question 1

What is deviation from Social norms?

Answer 1

This is another form of abnormality which is when an individual’s actions, thoughts and behaviours do not align with the norms of society. An example of this is the suffragette movement.

Question 2

What is Statistical infrequency?

Answer 2

This is a form of abnormality in which an individual is classed as abnormal due to their actions or thoughts being rare compared to a population. This can be measured through graphs such as a normal distribution graph

Question 3

What is Failure to function?

Answer 3

This is another form of abnormality which describes someone who is incapable, or cannot cope with, of functioning like how a person of their age should function. This is characterised by not doing proper hygiene, lack of sleep, not able to eat properly, etc.

rosehan and seligman identified characteristics such as:
personal distress
irrationality
inability to perform every day tasks

Question 4

What is deviation from Ideal mental health?

Answer 4

This is a form of abnormality that is seen within individuals who do not meet the standards of ideal mental health through their actions.
Jahoda created 6 categories of what mental health is:
- positive self-attitude
- self-actualisation
- autonomy
- resistance to stress
- environmental mastery
- accurate perception of reality

Question 5

What are the strengths and limits of Statistical infrequency?

Answer 5

Strengths:
- Quick and easy to make conclusions
-Objective - relies on data
Limits:
- It undermines some mental illnesses (e.g. depression)

Question 6

What are the strengths and limits of Social norms?

Answer 6

Strengths:
- Real world application (easier to diagnose antisocial behaviour)
Limits:
- Lacks temporal validity
-culturally biased/relative because in some other countries they will treat the word normal in different ways therefore its ethnocentric (fernandos)
-Subjective

Question 7

What are the strengths and limits of Failure to function?

Answer 7

Limits:
- It is subjective in defining what a functioning person is
- Does not consider disabilities
-Culturally biased

Strengths:
Objective criteria (Roshehn Senglid)

Question 8

What are the strengths and limits of Ideal mental health?

Answer 8

Strengths:
- Criteria of Jahoda is subjective because people will have different meanings of what accurate perception of life is therefore its is less applicable and less valid
Limits:
- Non-scientific method
Culturally biased reflects western growth so it is less applicable (ethnocentric) so less valid

Question 9

What are the characteristics of phobias?

Answer 9

Emotional characteristics = how it makes us feel (e.g. anxiety/pain)
Behavioural characteristics = how it makes us behave (e.g. panicking)
Cognitive characteristics = how it makes us think (e.g. irrational beliefs)

Question 10

What are the diagnostic features of phobias according to the DSM-5?

Answer 10

Intense, persistent, and irrational fear of a certain object, event or situation
Response to this is disproportionate and may be accompanied by panic attacks
Fear is severe enough to interfere with everyday life

Question 11

What is the 2 process model?

Answer 11

A model that consists of 2 steps how a phobia is developed:
- Step 1 is learning the phobia through classical conditioning
- Step 2 is maintaining the phobia through operant conditioning

Question 12

What are the strengths and limits of explaining phobia with the 2 process model?

Answer 12

Strengths:
- Case study support (Little albert) therefore valid
- Real world application (treatment) therefore useful
Limits:
- Idiographic (not representative) therefore less valid
- Disregards biological approach (evolutionary psychology) - less validity

Question 13

What are the behavioural therapies to treating phobia?

Answer 13

1 - Systematic desensitisation
Step 1: Relaxation techniques (e.g. breathing)
Step 2: Construct desensitisation hierarchy
Step 3: Patient work through the hierarchy by visualising
Step 4: Once mastered one fear, move on
Step 5: Eventually master their fear through associating it with a calm feeling (counter conditioning)
2 - Flooding
Step 1: Relaxation techniques (e.g. breathing exercises)
Step 2: Attempt to master phobia in one long session by confronting it but they cannot leave

Question 14

What are the strengths and limits of behavioural therapies to treating phobia?

Answer 14

Systematic desensitisation:
+ It has a clinical real world application (useful)
+ Replicable meaning more reliable data
- Subjective, less generalisable (validity)
- Time consuming process
Flooding:
+ Quick, simple and easy to carry out
- Ethical concerns = no right to withdraw + harm to ppts as they are forced to overcome the fear
- Does not apply to all phobias (e.g. acrophobia)

Question 15

What are the Cognitive Explanations for Depression?

Answer 15

Beck’s negative triad:
- Depressed people have negative schemas which lead to systematic cognitive biases
- Negative views about oneself lead to negative views about the world, which then results in negative views on the future
Ellis’ ABC model:
- For an abnormal person, an activating event (such as getting sacked) causes an irrational belief (the boss hates that person) which results in an unhealthy outcome (not looking for another job)

Question 16

What are the strengths and limits for these cognitive explanations?

Answer 16

Strengths:
- Research support = Clark and Beck - found negative schemas and in patients before being diagnosed for depression (Higher reliability)
Limits:
- Cannot explain all aspects of depression (e.g. aggression)

Question 17

What is the Cognitive approach to treating depression (CBT)

Answer 17

Beck and Ellis came up with ways to treat depression

1. Challenging irrational thoughts
   - disputing the irrational belief with effective beliefs
2. Homework
   - the individual should do tasks that contradict their irrational belief (action)
3. Behavioural activation
   - therapist and patient aim to identify pleasurable activities
4. Unconditional positive regard
   - therapist provides respect and appreciation to client regardless of what they say or do

Question 18

What are the strengths and limits of CBT?

Answer 18

Strengths:
- Research support = March et al - CBT drug treatment improved depression after 36 weeks (86%)
-no side effects
Limits:
-requires long term commitment ppl will lose motivation and interest
-Blames others for their suffering
-Culturally biased as it was developed in western cultures (ethnocentric)