Abnormal Behavior in Historical Context 12 12 2011 I Abnormal Behavior A Definition o Psychological Disorder psychological dysfunction within an individual associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected B Abnormal vs Deviant o Deviant behavior defies societal norms Delinquency crime o Abnormal behavior psychological disorder Causes internal distress or problem in functioning Requires a culturally atypical response C Normal Behavior o What is normal behavior Be able to form trusting relationships with people Know that people are not out to get you o Why is it necessary to specifically define abnormal forms of behavior Safety issues Research D Rosenhan 1973 o On being sane in insane places o Rosenhan D L 1973 o Study aimed to test whether perception of mental disorder was determined by environment o Method 8 sane people gained access to 12 different psychiatric Each pseudopatient arrived at hospital saying they hospitals in 5 states heard voices Voices seem to be saying empty hollow and Voices were unfamiliar but of same sex as patient Once admitted pseudopatient stopped faking all thud symptoms Each pseudopatient took notes about their experience how they were treated Each pseudopatient told they would be discharged when they were sane no symptoms o Results diagnosis o Interpretation All but 1 pseudopatient admitted with schizophrenia All discharged with schizophrenia in remission Real patients often detected sanity doctors did not Average hospital stay 19 days Psychiatrists tend to make Type II errors more likely to find an effect where there is none e g find the sane to be insane Points up problem with labeling people II Historical Perspectives A Supernatural Explanations o 1300 s curses spiritual possessions or sorcery o Exorcism was a common cure for mental illness o Some saw effect of emotional stress and promoted rest family support as remedy o Supernatural causes still exist in some religions but modern interventions reign B Biological Tradition o 1 Hippocrates Galen 400 B C Hippocrates likened psychological disorder to physical disorder with possible brain pathology 200 B C Galen balance of humors bodily fluids that influenced brain function Each humor originated in different organ Blood heart Black bile spleen Phlegm brain Yellow bile liver o 2 John P Grey America in mid 1800s Improved hospital conditions for mentally ill attention to social issue Led to deinstitutionalization policy to release patients to community Homelessness side effect o 3 Emil Kraepelin Early 1900 s Founded tradition of classifying distinct mental disorders by symptoms on set course and etiology cause Influence continues Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Ed DSM IV C Psychological Traditions o 1 Psychoanalytic Theory Late 1800 s Sigmund Freud Freud originated talk therapy to treat emotional problems Some basics of the theory A Two minds conscious in awareness vs unconscious out of awareness Root of all neuroses non psychotic illness were in unconscious mind B Drives or instincts Sexual instinct drive Death instinct drive C Structures of the mind Id source of instincts drives primitive part of the mind Ego o Pleasure principle I want it now voice of reason o Reality principle uses defense mechanism maybe I can find a compromise Superego conscience or moral code o Nice people don t do that D Psychosexual stages of development 5 stages oral anal phallic latency genital Stages represent source of pleasure Unsuccessful passage fixation neurotic o 2 Humanistic Theory character Mid 1900 s Carl Rogers Basic premise people strive for self growth or self actualization Good therapy for relatively healthy people Did not offer explanation of abnormal behavior o 3 Behavioral Approach Mid 1900 s contrast to biological and psychoanalytic Joseph Wolpe used Pavlovian learning principles to theories treat phobias Abnormal behavior arose through learning Origin of behavior therapy Summary Abnormal behavior defined behavior Rosenhan study highlights importance of context in defining abnormal Various explanations for abnormal behavior throughout history from supernatural to strict behaviorism An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology 12 12 2011 I Approaches to Understanding Psychopathology A Unidimensional Approaches o Rely on one area of human functioning o Focused exclusively on one section of functioning B Multidimensional Approach o Five areas broad domains of functioning included 1 Biological influences Ex hormones genes neurotransmitters 2 Behavioral influences Ex and reinforcements conditioning 3 Emotional influences Ex attachments hormones affect emotions 4 Social influences Ex Social economic status institutions relationships with others 5 Developmental influences Ex maturation cultural expectation around II Biological Influences puberty A Central Nervous System CNS o CNS contains brain and spinal cord Neurons or nerve cells use neurotransmitters to communicate o Brain divided into 3 areas 1 Hindbrain automatic functions breathing Medulla pons and cerebellum 2 Midbrain coordinate movement Amygdala 3 Forebrain cerebral cortex allows forethought B Peripheral Nervous System PNS o Somatic nervous system controls muscles o Autonomic nervous system regulates major organ system 2 parts Sympathetic nervous system fight flight activation Parasympathetic nervous system brings back to resting state C Neurotransmitters o 1 Serotonin 5 HT Regulates behavior mood and thought Low levels associated with impulsivity aggression Drugs acting on 5 HT used to treat mood and anxiety suicide disorders Serotonin specific reuptake inhibitors SSRIs Ex Prozac o 2 Gamma aminobutyric acid GABA Major inhibitory neurotransmitter Reduces anxiety Drugs that facilitate GABA reception used to treat anxiety o 3 Norepinephrine or noradrenaline Regulation of endocrine system Related in a general way to behavioral tendencies Indirect link to psychological disorders o 4 Dopamine DA Major neurotransmitter in reward circuit in the brain Important for the reward circuit Numerous DA receptors Some associated with schizophrenia some with substance abuse III Behavioral and Cognitive Influences A Learned Helplessness o Discovered in rats by Martin Seligman o Depression like response an animal gives when faced with stresses that are out of their control o Seligman suggested human depression might result from similar process B Social Learning o Social learning theory
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