Psychology questions - Evaluate the models of explanation of mental disorders.

duration of the disturbed emotional state and the pattern of its occurrence determine how a mood disorder is diagnosed.Give 3 symptoms of schizophrenia. (3 marks)Ans) The symptoms of schizophrenia include, Thought disorder in which there are breaks in the train of thought and the person appears to be making illogical jumps from one topic to another. Words may also become confused and sentences incoherent (word salad).Psychomotor disturbances or catatonic behavior is another symptom of schizophrenia. The patient may adopt strange postures or engage in repetitive movements such as pacing or rocking.  Catatonic refers to the tendency of some patients to hold a particular position for an extended length of time and in extreme cases, for several years.Disturbance of affect is where the patient may show little emotional response or in some situations may exhibit inappropriate emotional responses. Blunted affect is where the patient shows few signs of emotional sensitivity, for example showing no response at the death of a friend. Inappropriate affect is when the patient shows an inappropriate emotional response, for example – laughing at a funeral.Evaluate the models of explanation of mental disorders. (8 marks)Ans) Psychologists look at a number of different ways of explaining abnormality and their ideas about the causes and how it should be dealt with. There are four contrasting explanations: The biological/medical model, the behavioral model, the cognitive model and the psychodynamic model. The biological model of abnormality proposes that psychological disorders have underlying biological or biochemical causes. Advantages include, the fact that this model is based on well-established sciences such medicine. It provides a structured and logical system of diagnosis and treatment. On the other hand, this model ignores the role of social and psychological factors. For most mental illnesses, there is no definite proof of a physical cause and even if physical changes are associated with mental disorders, it is not clear whether they are the cause or the effect of the illness. The behavioral model has two basic assumptions which are-all behavior, including maladaptive behavior, is learnt and what is learnt can be unlearnt. The advantages are that it has led to the development of specific behavioral therapies, many of which have had high success rates. Also, proponents of the model argue that once the symptoms of an illness are alleviated, the complaint disappears. The weakness of this model is that the model is reductionist in the sense that it reduces the complexity of human behavior to behavioral responses to environmental stimuli. Also, only the symptoms of illnesses are treated, not the underlying causes.The cognitive model assumes that abnormal behavior is caused due to faulty thinking processes.The advantage is that the model promotes psychological well-being by teaching people the means of control over their own lives. Also, there is much evidence of maladaptive thought processes in people with psychological disorders. The weakness includes that the disordered cognitions may be a result of the disorder, not the cause and also the emphasis on the individual draws attention away from social support systems and the need to locate the causes of psychological distress in wider social, political and cultural contexts.The psychodynamic model assumes that the root of all mental disorders is psychological. The advantages of this model include the fact that by developing a method of treatment, Freud encouraged a more optimistic view regarding psychological distress. Mental illness could, in some cases at least, be treated. Also, Freudian theory provides a comprehensive framework to describe human personality. The weakness of this model includes the tendency to ignore the patient’s current problems by focusing on past conflicts as well as a lack of scientific evidence concerning major theoretical assumptions. Also, psychodynamic theory underestimates the role of situation and context, and overemphasizes internal instincts and conflicts.In conclusion, all four models have their own strengths and weaknesses and can be used to effectively treat most mental disorders. Describe what psychologists have found about schizophrenia. (8 marks) Ans) The word Schizophrenia is derived from two Greek words – Skhizein meaning ‘to split’ and phren meaning ‘mind’. It is a serious mental disorder that is characterized by severe disturbances in psychological functioning. Psychologists have discovered two main categories of symptoms – Negative and Positive symptoms. Negative symptoms are the loss of certain abilities in a person, e.g. – poverty of speech, lack of motivation. Positive symptoms are abilities that a person has gained e.g. – delusions, hallucinations. Psychologists have also categorized schizophrenia into sub-types. Paranoid schizophrenia has delusions and hallucinations as its main characteristics. Negative symptoms are less apparent in this type as compared to others. Hebephrenic/disorganized schizophrenia is characterized by disorganized behavior and rambling, incoherent speech along with a marked flattening and inappropriateness of affect. Catatonic Schizophrenia has psychomotor abnormality as its central characteristic and the adoption of strange postures and flailing limbs along with resistance to instructions or attempts to move them. Undifferentiated schizophrenia is labeled when there are insufficient symptoms to fit into a sub-type or excessive ones to fit into a single one. Psychologists have put forward various explanations as to the cause of schizophrenia. Genetic explanations indicate strong links between genetics and schizophrenia. Evidence includes twin studies that show a higher probability that if one twin presents symptoms, then the other is likely to do so. Adopted children whose biological family had a member who developed schizophrenia were more at risk and a child whose adopted family had a schizophrenic member was no more likely to develop it. The biochemical explanation includes the dopamine hypothesis which suggests that excessive activity in the dopamine neurons leads to increased dopamine production and the limited absorption of the existing dopamine is associated with schizophrenia. Pregnancy and birth factors are also used to explain schizophrenia. Torrey et al states that there is a correlation between being born in winter and early spring and developing schizophrenia. He also supported the viral hypothesis from the observation that in history, peaks in schizophrenia diagnosis have corresponded with major flu epidemics.Psychologists have also found treatments for schizophrenia. Chemotherapy can be used to treat schizophrenics.  This is the use of anti-psychotic drugs to treat psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia. This is a very effective treatment as NHS cites a 50%-60% success rate for chemotherapy as well as the ease of administration and immediate relief. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is also used to treat schizophrenics. Low voltage shocks are given to the patient in an attempt to restore the abnormal neurotransmitter level in individuals. This is a temporary relief and not a cure. Sackeim et al has shown that 60% of patients have responded to the treatment. Another treatment is Psychosurgery which is a very controversial method that includes procedures like pre-frontal lobotomy and computer based imagery to remove large sections and burn tissue. Moniz claims a 70% success rate with schizophrenia. But this should be used only as a last resort as the patient undergoes irreversible operations with many side effects and requires strong rehab because recovery would be slow.  In conclusion, psychologists have discovered a lot about schizophrenia and are still uncovering more and more information every day.