Abnormal Psychology - Notes
Abnormal Psychology - Notes
Abnormal Psychology - Notes
First in 1952, current verion - 4th in 1994, + text revisions in 2000 (changed structure
of the classification, not classification themselves DSM-IV-TR, over 200 distinct
mental disorders
Changes in how long the symptoms must be present, change in social norms
(homosexuality), anorexia and bulimia
14 categories - Box 1.1
Since 1987 5 different axes multiaxial diagnosis box 1.2
o Intrnational Classification of the Causes of Disease and Death ICD by WHO
First in 1948., current in 1992. Similar to DSM-IV but 11, a bit brader categories
Primary classification system, while DSM full comprehensive manual for diagnosis/tests
o Both must be reliable (constant diagnoses) and valid (real/distinct condition and treatment)
o Reliability Inter-rated among different clinicians some issues
o Validity p.11 e.g.; Criterion validity between two systems (not if both are right/wrong)
o +/- p. 14
o Does diagnosis create mental disorder iatrogenesis
Dissociative identity disorder or MPD (e.g. Eve) causeg by dissociation cope with
trauma by splitting self a part and withdrawing from contact to the trauma
Hypnosis may cause iatrogenesis symptoms follow hypnosis
o Social stigmatation prejudice if someone is diagnosed causem more stress- loop
Stereotypes negative, even positive can cause stress, great expectations
Patients refuse to disclose experience from fear of others
o Cultural issues around the world and within same group; cultural bias, supstance abuse
(normal)
o Racial disscrimination Black, Jamaica...
o Cultural-bound syndromes some culture have different syndromes single culture only
Somewhere bizzare but if cause issues with patients = disorder
Dhat Indian, severe anxiety and an odssesive concerne over the discharge of
semen=eeakness and fatigue
Not in ICD or DMS byt an independent disorder
Cultural issues with blood, semen and energy discharge cause weakness and
depression
Koro South chinese sexual anxiety due to shrinking sex organs in abdomen=death
Genital retraction syndrome reduced blood supply to male penis
Not a delusion, just interpretation
+/- p. 23
Conclusion
o Thin/broad line between normal and abnormal
o No single criterion
o Two systems
o Cultural issues
Some argue that real life phobias are neccessary to successful treatment (not just
imaging alone)
Flooding and implosion
Flooding exposure to the most disturbing for of fear for a long time
Implosion same as flooding, only imagined
Different to systematic desensitisation by deliberately elict a masive anxeity
Base on automatic arosam is impossible to sustain, so it will disappear (2 e.g. p.53)
Proved to work or at least reducing phobias and some OCD
Problem very traumatic experience, specially if therapy is nod finished. Virtual reality may help.
+/- p. 55
Aversion therapy
Pairing classical conditioning to undesirable behavior with unpleasent aversiove stimulus
Classical and conditional learning
Emetic to alcoholic, but some possitive rewards are possible
Problems
High drop-out rate as being unpleasent
Laboratory conditions
Can cause anxeity
Ethical issues pain, disconfort, electricity ...
Potential abuse/misuse
1. Covert sensitisation imagining unpleasent consequences
Mainly as preliminary treatment to prepare for new, more appropriate learning with better
results
Token economies
Based on operational conditioning for problemativ children
Rewards for expected behavior food, day-off...
Problem inappropriate behavior is unwittingly reinforced by attention it receives. Ignore
inappropriate actions.
Some improvement is seen, but not cure
Practical and ethical issues:
Improvemnts can stay in lab/institution
Only for simple behavior (not for learning languages)
Manipulative and inhumane but we do work for tokens
Common these days, in addition to punishement for inappropriate behavior
Modeling
Role play for dealing with different situations, specially for shy and submissive people
Best work if p.60
Everyone do it every day. As babies and adults. Painless
+/- p.61
Conclusions:
Pros:
Work well if condition/behaviour is well defined, for anxiety based problems, phobias,
OCDs, PTSDs...
Benefictial even for schesofrenia (not cure)
For children bet-wetting, social withdrawal
Cons:
Treating symptoms/cosequences, not causes of disorders
Studying mental processes (intput -> process -> output) perception, attention, memory, problem
solving
Cannot be directly observed experimental techniques hoe people remeber thing then best
guesses
Assumptions about studying mental processes:
Focus on specific syndromes (part of a problem)
Focus on role of cognitive processes in mental disorders (not always be causes)
Treating cognitive factors will treat symptoms
Becks cognitive theory on emotinal disorders
In 1976 proposed a theory
Main point People react differently to unpleasant or aversive situation
Aversive life situations + cognitive processes = emotional disorder
Cognition precedes an emotional response so it is caused by cognition
Disfunctional beliefs are formed in early childhool through aquiring schemas, so different
disorders are characterised by different types of schemas (e.g. p.65)
Schemas are not enough to create mental problems, critical life event is necessary
Depression is caused by cognitive triad of negative schemas
Anxeity voulnerability schemas, perceprion of threat
Fig 4.1
Activadet schemas process only consistent (falimiar) information and disregard other
(e.g. p. 66 - loop)
Criticism hypo cognitive processes are causing emotional disturbance very difficult to
prove in practice, since no evidence of previous emotinal state to compare, can cause later
problems if wrongly diagnosed
Two potential ways:
1. Experiments to measure different cognitive processes between participants
with/out emotional disorder
2. Evaluate Becks therapy
Biased info processing in depression but accept childhood trauma
Although therapy does work, hard to prove that theory is correct
Schemas are more belief then well defined scientific proof
! Schemas are proved by certain responses and then schema is used to explain information
processing and response
Not scientific approach, too reductionist and mechanistic approach (people with contradistory
beliefs, dynamic rather then rational thinkers)
+/- p.67
Cognitive neuropsychological approach
Based on relationship between cognitive function and brain function
Brain function has profound effect on cognitive (e.g. p. 68)
Cognitive functions are manifestations of changes in brain functioning, but not in all disorders
(Pure) Cognitive theory states disorders (phobia and depression) are caused by
cognitive function/factors (not brain) while in PTSD and schizopfrenia symptoms are
caused by brain changes
Cognitive theory works with symptoms then disorders, cognition can be mapped onto
brain function
PTSD
Cue dependent memory on teo levels
1. Verbally accessible memory recount event
Ch. 8 Schizophrenia
Ch. 9 Depression