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AQA A level psychology notes on PSYCHOPATHOLOGY + questions
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AQA A level psychology notes on PSYCHOPATHOLOGY + questions - condensed with A01 and A03 points for quick revision - includes 16 mark questions
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1Definitions of abnormality
Statistical deviation
- behaviours that are statistically rare should be seen as abnormal.
- a normal distribution curve can be drawn to show what proportions of
people share the characteristics or behaviour in question.Most people will me
in the mean and not as many will be above or below it.
people outside curve are deemed as
abnormal.
E.g IQ below 70 is seen as abnormal and
have intellectual disability disorder.
Strengths
- real life application e.g. clinical
assessments
- Objective
- No value judgements e.g. homosexuality used to be seen as a mental
disorder.
- leads to people getting help
Weaknesses
-where to draw the line- not clear how much behaviour should deviate from
norm to be as abnormal
-not all infrequent behaviours are abnormal- high intelligence is desirable its
not a bad thing.
-not all abnormal behaviours are infrequent e.g. depression.
-cultural factors- whats normal in one culture is abnormal in another.
- not everyone benefits from a label
Deviation from social norms
-unwritten rules for society e.g. going out naked is wrong and are norms are
specific to culture we live in.
-E.g. antisocial personality disorder is aggressive and can’t follow social
norms e.g. moral standards
Strengths
helps people that need help
Offers alternative than seeing people as strange or ‘sick in the head’
Situational norms for different cultures
Development norms- norms different for different ages
Distinguishes between normal and abnormal
Protects society from behaviour on others
Weaknesses
, 2
-subjective as they are based on opinions, discriminate against people such as
people with mental illness In china are sent to mental institutions.
-changes over time as attitudes change over time e.g. homosexuality.
-individualism- those who don’t follow social norms may just be
individualistic.
-Ethnocentric bias in diagnosis- reflect western white population which
means ethnic groups are over represented in mental illness statistics.
-cultural differences- social norms vary within cultures.
Failure to function properly
May cross the line between abnormal and normal when they can no longer
cope with the demands of everyday life and fail to function adequately e.g
lack of hygiene or unable to hold a job.
Rosenhan and Seligman (1989) have proper some signs to determine
whether someone is not coping:
- When a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules e.g. eye
contact and personal space.
-When a person experiences severe personal distress.
- When a person’s behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves
or others.
e.g. intellectual disability disorder where one criteria is very low IQ but a
person must also be failing to function adequately before a diagnosis would be
given.
Strength
- attempts to include subjective experience of the individual, may not be
entirely satisfactory approach as its difficult to assess distress but least
acknowledges experience of patient.
Weakness
- Hard to say if they are really failing to function or just not following social
norms, some lifestyle choices could be seen as failures e.g travelling having
no job.
- When choosing whether someone is failing to function this could be
subjective.
Johoda (1958) suggested good mental health followed this criteria.
- We have no symptoms or distress.
- We are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately.
- We can self-actualise.
- We can cope with stress.
- We have a realistic view of the world.
- We have good self-esteem and lack guilt.
- We are independent of other people.
- We can work successfully, love and enjoy our leisure.
There is an some overlap between what we might call deviation from ideal
mental health and what we might call failure to function adequately e.g
, 3
someones inability to keep a job as either failure to cope with pressures of
work or as a deviation from the ideal of successfully working.
It is comprehensive and covers a broad range of criteria for mental health
and covers most the reasons why someone would seek help.
Some ideas are specific to western European and north American cultures
(they are culture-bound). E.g the emphasis on personal achievement and self
actualisation puts too much attention on the self instead of family or the
community, would see independence as a bad thing.
Sets unrealistically high standard for mental health as not many would have
all of them or keep them up for long and sees people as abnormal, In a
positive way people may seek help but in a negative way has no value in
thinking of people who would benefit from treatment against their will.
When we make a judgement that someone is failing is to cope we end up
giving them a label which can cause issues. For example, it would be normal
for someone to feel depressed after losing a job but giving this label can affect
future jobs.
Behavioural- way people act, emotional- ways people feel, cognitive- refers to
process of thinking, knowing, perceiving, believing.
Phobia- an irrational fear of a specific object or situation.
Behavioural characteristics of phobias-
Panic- crying, screaming or running away.
Avoidance- avoid phobic stimulus
Endurance- remains in presence of phobic stimulus but high levels of anxiety.
Emotional characteristics
Anxiety- unpleasant state of arousal, long term.
Emotional responses are unreasonable- disproportionate to actual danger
imposed.
Cognitive characteristics
Selective attention to phobic stimulus
Irrational beliefs
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