"Attempts to define abnormality are always limited by cultural differences" Consider how definitions of abnormality may be influenced by cultural differences
"Attempts to define abnormality are always limited by cultural differences" Consider how definitions of abnormality may be influenced by cultural differences Cultural differences are always a problem when defining abnormality. What one would consider completely normal in one culture would be considered abnormal in another, for example the island of Java often set fire to a ball soaked in petrol and then play football with it. Here that would be considered wrong and abnormal but is an everyday occurrence for the people of Java. This concept doesn't only apply to eastern cultures; the English could be defined as abnormal by other cultures definitions, even by other western societies e.g. it would not be considered normal by the Italians to wait at a red light when there are no other cars around as the British often do. The 'Deviation from Social Norms' definition of abnormality is greatly limited by cultural differences, for example in Japan there is a very strong work ethic. Those who do not wish to conform and work hard are labelled insane and confined in asylums. If such behaviour was displayed in England they would not be considered insane, they are only treated in such a way in Japan because they have deviated from that cultures social norm. When using this approach to define abnormality you would first have to consider what is normal behaviour for that particular
Compare and contrast the main approaches - Biological and Behaviourist, biological and cognitive, Psychodynamic and Behaviourist.
Compare and Contrast the Psychodynamic and Cognitive approaches in terms of similarities and differences. [12 Marks] The cognitive and psychodynamic approaches have many similarities and differences; these include debates in nature and nurture, the usefulness of these approaches, deterministic and scientific/non scientific. The psychodynamic approach takes into account both nature and nurture, however the cognitive approach has failed to recognise the influence of nature and nurture. Freud claimed that adult personality is the product of innate drives (nature) and childhood experiences (nurture). These innate drives include the structure of the personality, Id, ego and superego as well as the psychosexual development every child passes through. If a child does not pass through these processes successfully it could lead to abnormalities in behaviour. The cognitive approach has carried out research into intelligence but has not looked at the influence of genes in its research or environmental factors (such as wealth) that could influence intelligence. Therefore this clearly indicates that both approaches are different in terms of nature and nurture. The cognitive approach is useful and has been applied successfully in therapy. As one of the core assumptions of the cognitive approach is that mental processes influence our behaviour, therefore if these process are
With reference to alternative research findings, critically assess Aschs study into conformity
With reference to alternative research findings, critically assess Asch's study into conformity A study that criticises Asch is by William & Sogon (1984) who claimed that the group Asch created did not reflect all groups found in society. They found that majority influence was significantly greater among friends than among strangers. Therefore Asch failed to realise that he could have obtained much stranger majority influence if he had replaced groups of strangers with an in0group of friends of the genuine participants & consequently this limits Asch findings to only groups of strangers & as a result lacks generalisability to other populations. And to support this Abrams et al (1990) argued that 1st year psychology participants would show more conformity if the other group members were perceived as belonging to an in group (other 1st yr psychology students) than if they were perceived as belonging to an out group (history students). Eagli & Carli (1981) criticise Asch study for being gender biased. They claim that in Western societies a masculine bias exists & as a consequence women show higher levels of conformity than men in the Asch study. They also found that in feminist societies, women actually show less conformity than men. This criticises Ash because he ignored complex gender characteristics that would have affected his results. Also David & Turner (1996) criticise
Evaluation of Freud's little Hans study.
Evaluate the little Hans study Strengths of the little Hans study are that they support the usefulness of case studies and have the ability to reveal and treat the origins of abnormal behaviour. In fact some forms of psychotherapy rely on building up a long and detailed case history as an aid to understanding and then helping the client. Case studies like that of little Hans are able to produce very in-depth qualitative data. In fact Freud argued that it was the special and intimate relationship between Hans and his father that displayed such progress of the analysis However, this case study only relates to little Hans as one individual and therefore there is a danger in generalising the findings to the population. There is no way of assessing how typical little Hans was and whether or not his situation can be generalised as the study could have been unique between Freud, Hans's father and little Hans. As well as this, Hans's father and mother were supporters of Freud's ideas thus they may have been raising little Hans in relation to Freud's theories so when it came to giving evidence of little Hans's phobia they did so in relation to Frauds' theories. Freud himself did not regularly meet little Hans as he only met him on one or two occasions, so Freud was only interpreting what Hans's father was interpreting of little Hans so it lacks a lot of objectivity. The little
Outline and evaluate two or more therapies used in the treatment of schizophrenia.
Treating Schizophrenia 'Therapies can be time-consuming and, in some cases, uncomfortable for the client. It is, therefore, very important to offer the most appropriate and effective type of treatment.' Outline and evaluate two or more therapies used in the treatment of schizophrenia. Different people choose different therapies for schizophrenia because the difference in treatments is so vast with different levels of intensity and effectiveness. Treatments are usually selected by which the patient feels most comfortable with. There are two main types of therapies, Biological and Psychological. Antipsychotic medication is a biological therapy. These are drugs that are effective in treating the most disturbing forms of psychotic illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Antipsychotic medication helps the person with the disorder function as well as possible in their life. Conventional antipsychotics (for example chlorpromazine) are used primarily to combat the positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations. The basic mechanism of conventional antipsychotics is to reduce the effects of dopamine and so reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia, hence their alter ego, dopamine antagonists. They bind to dopamine receptors but do not stimulate them, thus blocking their action. By reducing stimulation of the dopamine system in the brain, antipsychotics can
Discuss two or more biological therapies for schizophrenia
Discuss two or more biological therapies for schizophrenia (9 + 16) Biological therapies for schizophrenia come in two forms: antipsychotic medication, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Considering the eclectic nature of schizophrenia as a disorder, the debate over appropriate and effective treatment is heated, and many psychologists are still unclear over which is the ideal method for tackling the disorder. Antipsychotic medications are commonly divided into two categories: conventional and atypical. Conventional antipsychotics bind to dopamine receptors but do not stimulate them, blocking the way for displaced dopamine to cause a chemical imbalance in a schizophrenic's biology. By reducing the effects of dopamine, positive symptoms such as hallucinations can be reduced, in line with the view of the dopamine hypothesis. Whilst atypical antipsychotics also act on the dopamine system, it is debated whether the drugs' ability to reduce negative symptoms such as avolition stems from a varying way of dealing with the dopamine system, or, alternatively, the additional effect of blocking serotonin. Kapur and Remington suggested in 2001 that whilst conventional antipsychotics block dopamine receptors long-term, atypical medication does so temporarily, before dissociating to allow normal transmission of the chemical. The differing ways in which the drugs work is central to the
Discuss biological explanations of schizophrenia
'Research into schizophrenia shows that there is a major genetic component but the fact that concordance rates between identical twins is never 100% means that there must be environmental contributions.' Discuss biological explanations of schizophrenia. (30 marks) Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder involving the loss of contact with reality and a range of symptoms. There is considerable evidence that genetic factors are involved. This view considers that certain individuals possess certain genes which predispose them to schizophrenia. This means that it is inherited and we would expect to find that relatives have similar chances of developing the disorder. Indeed research has found that first degree relatives of people with schizophrenia are 18 times more likely to be affected than the general population. Monozygotic twins would be expected to have the same chance of having schizophrenia as they carry the same genes. Research by Gottesman and Shields has found high concordance rates (where both twins have the disorder) in monozygotic twins than in dizygotic. However if schizophrenia was solely caused by genes then we would expect a 100% concordance in monozygotic twins. Since this is not found then other factors must play a part. Mz twin studies have the advantage of controlling for genetics but the disadvantage of not controlling for environment. One way to get
Compare the observation method to any other method
Compare the observation method to any other method. The observation method has many strengths and weaknesses. One of the strengths for a covert observation is that people are in their natural environment and as they don't know that they are being observed they are acting in their natural way, so there are no demand characteristics, unlike the experimental method. The experimental method has a real problem with this as in a laboratory experiment there is no hiding the fact that they are being observed, therefore may act in the way they think the researcher wants them too instead of acting in the way they normally would. Another difference between the observational method and the experimental method is that the observational method mostly uses qualitative data for their research and the experimental method mostly uses quantitative data. There are strengths and weaknesses of each way of collecting data. Qualitative data is subjective and is useful as it gives an in depth explanation of what the participant is feeling or why they may act the way they act, so giving more understanding to the research. The weaknesses of qualitative data is that it has to be interpreted and this is where you loose validity. Also it can be harder to interpret qualitative data because it is words and people's thoughts on a subject, where as quantitative data is objective and generates
Describe and Evaluate Psychodynamic, Behaviourist and Humanist Theory of Psychology
Describe and Evaluate Psychodynamic, Behaviourist and Humanist Theory of Psychology Psychology is a relatively new science, having only been officially recognised for a hundred years or so. In this short time there have been many different theories and approaches. In this essay three of the main approaches are discusses and positive and negative ideas of the three are given. The three approaches in discussion are Psychodynamics, Behaviourism and Humanism. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) developed an approach to psychology referred to as psychoanalysis. Other psychologists refer to Freud's theories as psychodynamics of the mind. Freud believed that different mental forces operate in the mind. He expanded his ideas to state that conflicting mental forces can cause inner conflict. Freud believed that a large amount of the processes that occur in the mind happen on an unconscious level. Freud believed that many people were unaware of the thoughts and processes of the mind. Freud argued that slips of the tongue and accidental damage caused by a person had roots in the unconscious and were expressing themselves without the subject being aware. Freud would argue that when a child accidently calls a teacher 'mum' the child unconsciously relates to the teacher as a mother. This mistake is termed a Freudian slip. Freud states that thoughts and memories were held in the unconscious by a
Behavioural Study of Obedience - Stanley Milgram
Behavioural Study of Obedience Stanley Milgram 963 Many atrocities had been committed in the Second World War. Many culprits were put on trial for their lives in Nuremberg, at the end of the war. The chief defence was that they were only following orders from somebody above. This argument, followed to it's extreme would absolve every person involved in an atrocity, leaving only Hitler as the only person who could be found guilty (as he took orders from no one)! Naturally, with feelings running high at the end of the war, this defence was rejected outright, and many defendants were found guilty and hanged. Popular opinion for some time after the end of the Second World War was that there was something in the German character that made them particularly cruel. This is a dispositional view. People are genetically determined to act in a certain fashion, or are brought up to act in a certain fashion. Milgram questioned this dispositional view of the German character. He felt that the situation that many people had found themselves in had led to their cruel behaviour. It would follow from this, that most people, regardless of nationality, would perform cruel acts upon another, under certain situations. The defence for many of the war criminals had been they had been following orders. Milgram, reasoned that people could commit atrocities when they are given orders by somebody
