Complete Study notes summary on Cambridge A-Levels Psychology chapter 6: Abnormality. This includes content such as: - Characteristics - Treatments - Evaluations - Case studies etc. Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Depression, ICD, Anxiety, OCD.
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Chapter 6: Abnormality
● Abnormality is when one’s way of thinking, and patterns of behavior, do not follow the
statistical norms and conventional social rules. Major characteristics include failure to
function adequately, maladaptive behavior
● Maladaptive behavior is a behavior that disturbs an individual’s daily living and their
ability to participate in particular settings
○ Symptoms present in schizophrenia, depression, OCD, etc.
● Distress: state of extreme anxiety or pain
○ Commonly present in ppl with mental health disorders
○ A cut from reality can create distorted perceptions, can thus create a sense of
mistrust, anxiety, distress
● Statistical infrequency: implies that a disorder is abnormal if its frequency is more than
2 standard deviations away from the mean incidence rates presented on a
normally-distributed bell curve
○ + used in clinical diagnoses of mental health disorders, as a comparison with a
baseline value
■ Assess the severity of the disorder
○ - makes assumptions that any abnormal characteristics are automatically
negative
● Definition of Abnormality:
1. Statistical infrequency | Deviation from statistical norms
a. How common behaviors are, measured in comparison to the rest of the
population, then the most unusual ones = abnormal
2. Failure to function adequately
a. Inability to cope with daily life [struggle to interact w. world & ppl
b. Maladaptive Behavior
c. Irrationality and Unpredictability
d. Personal Anguish [suffering anxiety & distress bcuz of inability to cope]
e. Unconventionality [behaviors that go against normal expectations]
f. Observer discomfort [behavior cause distress to ppl around them, such as
poor personal hygiene]
3. Deviation from social norms
4. Deviation from Ideal mental health
a. Perfect mental health consists of:
i. Growth, development, self-actualization
ii. High self-esteem and a strong sense of identity
iii. Autonomy [act independently of others]
iv. Accurate perception of reality
Biological Explanation of Abnormality
● Belief: From physical causes; therefore can be treated by treating the body
● Infection: bacteria & viruses can manipulate the body and cause mental illness
○ General Paresis: a disease where the individual loses control over mental
processes
, ○ Bacteria cause syphilis to enter the central nervous system & damage the brain
● Neurotransmitters: chemicals in brain used to communicate message from nerve cells to
target cells
○ Brain use to regulate muscle movement, mood, pleasure, etc.
○ Surplus/ Shortage can lead to abnormal behavior
○ Eg. Schizophrenia occurs when brain is using too much dopamine
■ Therefore, med that influences neurotransmitters are used to treat mental
illness
● Brain Damage: Physical damage can manipulate the way it works
○ Leads to change in behavior
○ Possible when damage in areas that control impulses & regulates emotions
○ Eg. Phineas Gage: metal rod pass thru his brain & damage brain
■ Behavior changed & became more introverted
■ Before: pleasant & hardworking | After: aggressive behavior
● Genetics: Changes & Manipulations in genetic structure (DNA sequences..)
○ Can influence how someone is instructed to behave
○ Eg. Phenyliketonuria (frequent tantrums, possible self-harm) -> caused by defect
in gene inherited
■ Leads to brain damage -> change behavior
● Evaluation
○ Highly scientific
○ Ignores influence of environment
○ Helps us understand role of brain in mental functions
Cognitive Explanation of Abnormality
● Belief: result of faulty mental processes & thinking
○ Rational thinking is normal & Irrational thinking is abnormal
○ 2 forms of irrational thinking:
● Cognitive Deficiencies
○ Impairment in one’s ability to learn & function
■ Influence the way individual understands and acts in daily life
○ Lack of sufficient thinking leads to development in maladaptive behavior
○ Usual Symptoms: complex decision-making, difficulties in reasoning, memory
loss
○ Eg. Giving up in an exam after failing 1 question
● Cognitive Distortions
○ Exaggerated thought pattern of individual, usually inaccurate & negative
○ Fail to accurately process all information -> lead to maladaptive thoughts
○ Usual Symptoms: selective abstraction, overgeneralization
○ Eg. Being scared of spiders bcuz you think all spiders are poisonous
● Cognitive triad= errors in thoughts (negative) that can occur due to cognitive deficiencies
& distortions
○ Fail to think rationalliy about oneself, future, and the world
○ How depressed individuals form a set of irrationally negative beliefs
, ○
● Evaluation:
○ CBT is proven to work -> proves mental process does play a role
○ Use of models help understand the thought process
○ Tends to ignore biological influences
○ Doesn’t consider role of unconscious thoughts
○ Very complex
6.1 Schizophrenic & Psychotic disorders
Psychotic disorders:
● a mental disorder that involves a major break from reality, where the individual perceives
their world in a way that is very different from how others perceive it
Schizophrenia:
● a mental disorder characterized by significant impairments in the way reality is perceived
n changes behavior related to
○ Affects all aspects of a person’s thinking, emotions, actions
○ >1 positive symptom (eg. delusion) for >6 months
○ Not due to use of illegal substances
○ Reduction in normal functioning (eg. difficulties in maintaining relationships)
Characteristics of Schizophrenia spectrum & psychotic disorders
● Schizophrenia spectrum: several different but similar disorders which vary in their
duration (length of time) & severity (intensity)
● DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
○ Defines Schizophrenic spectrum & Psychotic disorders as sharing 1 or more of
following:
● Positive Symptoms:
○ Delusions: non-realistic beliefs
■ Eg. believe someone will harm you
○ Hallucinations: false sensory experience
■ Eg. Hearing voices
○ Disorganized thoughts: mixed up + racing thoughts; unorganized speech
○ Catatonic Behavior: No reaction to the environment
■ Awkward poses, engage in constant repetitive movements
, ● Negative Symptoms:
○ Loss of normal functioning, such as loss of speech, lack of typical facial
expression
Schizotypal personality disorder: characterized by great difficulty in developing emotionally
meaningful relationships w. others; extreme coldness
Case study: Conrad (male aged 23)
● 1st Psychotic episode: on holiday age 22
● Later diagnosed w. Schizo-affective disorder
● Spent 8 months following his diagnosis in psychiatric hospital
● Challenge: maintain healthy weight
Delusional disorder: characterized by persistent delusions; otherwise have quite normal
behavior, unlike ppl with classic schizophrenia
● Excludes positive or negative psychotic symptoms
● Types:
○ Erotomanic: Belief somone is in love with them
○ Grandiose: Belief they have great unrecognized skill or status
○ Jealous: Belief that partner is being unfaithful
○ Persecutory: Belief that people want to harm you
○ Somatic: Have physical defect
● Bizarre delusions: logically impossible
○ Eg. believe one’s internal organs are removed & replaced with others, without
any scars
● Non-bizarre delusions: possible but unlikely
○ Eg. Believe partner’s cheating on them
● Diagnosis of Delusion:
○ 1 month or longer
○ Unrelated to physiological effects of substance use
○ Not better explained by another psychological or medical disorder
VR for Symptom assessment (Freeman, 2008)
● Explored potential for VR to eliminate challenges (misinterpretation of individual’s
experiences in the social world) when checking symptoms & developing treatment for
schizophrenia
● Typically, interviewer + patient sit in clinical room n discuss behavior
○ Problem: relies on the individual’s truthfulness
● Advantage of VR:
○ Standardized procedure + assess actual behavior
○ P are presented w artificial + neutral social situation w unresponsive avatars
■ Therefore any paranoid thought is unfounded 근거없는 + genuine
■ Allows to assess severity of paranoid delusions
○ Situation can easily be manipulated + behavior monitored
● Freeman’s VR:
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