In this essay I will be looking at behaviour and experience that is sometimes defined as abnormal. I will be looking at Rosenhans study, Thigpen and Cleckly, Baron Cohen and Freud.
Psychology essay In this essay I will be looking at behaviour and experience that is sometimes defined as abnormal. I will be looking at Rosenhans study, Thigpen and Cleckly, Baron Cohen and Freud. (a) What problems did psychologists have when they tried to categorise and investigate abnormal behaviour? The first problem that I will be looking at is observer bias, which means looking more at a particular group rather than another. An example of this if a man was undertaking a study on the difference between men and women, he may focus more on the woman. This was a problem in the Rosenhan study on being sane in an insane place. Those who were observing the pseudo patients with the other patients may have only tried to focus more on one particular group, and may have only taken down what they wanted to see, rather than what they had to see. Another problem is the demand characteristics of a study. Demand characteristics are when people try and act in ways that are expected of them. This may have been a problem in the study of Thigpen and Cleckly, on multiple personality. Maybe the whole of the Eve White thing was just acting to please the psychologists. She maybe wanted to make a name for herself therefore acting the way in which the psychologists wanted her to she might have made a name for herself. This could have also been a problem in the Baron Cohen et al study on
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
Atypical Psychology: Describe and Evaluate Perspectives of Psychological Disorders (Studies and Theories).
Atypical Psychology: Describe and Evaluate Perspectives of Psychological Disorders (Studies and Theories). In this assignment the Author intends to describe the dopamine hypothesis and its relationship to Schizophrenia, describe the biological and/or physiological theory of depression, evaluate the theories and offer alternative explanations for both schizophrenia and depression and finally conclude by writing an essay identifying three psychological disorders. The Dopamine Hypothesis According to the biochemical theory of schizophrenia and /or the dopamine hypothesis the causes of schizophrenia like symptoms is essentially an excess of the neurotransmitter dopamine. (Coordination Group Publications 2009). 'This was based on observations that an overdose of amphetamine causes schizophrenia like symptoms in normal participants (e.g., Snyder et al., 1974) and when given to schizophrenic patients, amphetamines tend to exaggerate their symptoms (Snyder et al., 1974). Amphetamines enhance the synaptic activity of dopamine.' (Snyder, 1976). (Keiron Walsh 2008). The primary evidence for this hypothesis comes from three main sources; the first is post mortems on schizophrenics which have shown unusually high levels of dopamine, especially in the limbic system (Iverson, 1979). The second is anti-schizophrenic drugs such as chlorpromazine which are thought to work by inhibiting
Definitions Of Abnormality. The definition of what constitutes normal behaviour has undergone dramatic transformations throughout history
25/1/12 Definitions of Abnormality The definition of what constitutes normal behaviour has undergone dramatic transformations throughout history. Before the application of scientific thinking, any behaviour that seemed outside an individuals control was thought to be the product of super natural forces and was dealt with by extremities like exorcism or burning, etc. Although we have moved on in our understanding of what constitutes normal and abnormal behaviour (and therefore who needs treatment), the definition of abnormality itself inevitably remains a judgement. There have been some attempts to define this elusive concept, each capturing some aspects of what we might expect from a true definition of this term, yet no definition is adequate on its own. Consequently, abnormality is usually defined by several characteristics at the same time, rather than one alone. The first definition of abnormal behaviour is deviation from social norms. The term 'deviation' in this definition refers to deviant behaviour which is considered anti-social or undesirable by the majority of society members. In any society there are standards of acceptable behaviour which are set by the social groups, adhered by those socialised into that group and are often in place for good reason. An example of a social norm is politeness, however social standards are not just restricted to rules of
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 issues of bias in diagnostic systems
Discuss issues of bias in diagnostic systems If we consider abnormality as deviating from the norm, then what would we consider being ‘normal’? Certain behaviours are expected from us at certain times and in certain situations, and if those expectations are not met, then the behaviour and the person may be judged as being ‘bad’ or ‘sick’. This is the issue with diagnosing abnormality, what may be considered normal to one person, may be consider abnormal to others. Will there always be bias when diagnosing abnormality, as there is not a clear definition of what ‘normal’ really is? The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) group’s disorders into categories and then offers specific guidance to psychiatrists by listing the symptoms required for a diagnosis to be given. The DSM assumes that all symptoms can be grouped together to form a specific mental disorder. It lists around 400 disorders including clinical depression. However, there are problems with these two classification systems. Diagnosis is the process of identifying a disease and allocating it to a category on the basis of symptoms and signs. Any system of classification will be of little value unless psychiatrists can agree with on another when trying to reach a diagnosis and so they can have inter-judge reliability. Another problem is that they are reductionist as they are
Discuss the influence of culture on romantic relationships
Discuss the influence of culture on romantic relationships A feature of westernised culture is the urban environment, which has easy geographical and social mobility. This influences voluntary relationships, where there is a large choice of partners and fewer restrictions. In this sense, there may be an illusion of free will, with people thinking they have more choice. In reality they are limited by personal characteristics as well as by the chances of meeting someone they find attractive. On the other hand, non western cultures have fewer large urban centres so they interact with less people on a daily basis. Therefore relationships are linked to factors such as family or economic resources, because of fewer options for partners, where arranged marriage is likely to occur. In societies with reduced mobility (e.g. India) arranged marriages make good sense and seem to work well. Females from professional and non professional backgrounds were found to be happy with both love and arranged marriages as long as their parent’s approved, emphasising the importance of family Batabyal (1992). Divorce rates are low and half of the spouses in arranged marriages fell in love with each other as Epstein found out in 2005. There was no difference in marital satisfaction when compared to individuals in non-arranged marriage in the US with arranged marriages in India. Myers et al studied
EVALUATE THE MEDICAL MODEL AND THE BEHAVIOURAL MODEL OF ABNORMALITY
EVALUATE THE MEDICAL MODEL AND THE BEHAVIOURAL MODEL OF ABNORMALITY. The Biological Model: The Biological model also referred to as the medical, biomedical, physiological or somatic model of abnormality is probably the most interesting model of abnormal behaviour to understand. Within psychiatry it is by far the most influential theory in use in the western world today. The biological model assumes that the cause of mental disorders or illness is down to physical malfunctions of the brain and nervous system and that mental disorders or illness can be treated in the same way as a physical disease. As a result treatment can vary from drugs to surgery in order to solve the problem. Assuming that mental illness is a result of biological factors is not without its problems, as the classification of physical illnesses involves observation and measurement of actual symptoms such as broken bones, fever or blood pressure, whereas with mental illnesses the symptoms are much more subjective such as feelings of despair, lack of energy, hearing voices, mood swings and grandiose thoughts. These cannot be easily measured so a clinician/doctor must make a judgement based largely on experience and usually with the help of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders. With the biological model doctors will usually diagnose the patient, giving some indication as to what is the
Explanations of Successful and Failed Dieting
Explanations of Successful and Failed Dieting The first explanation for the failure of dieting is causal analysis of overeating. It was argued by Polivy and Herman (85) that there is a causal link between dieting and overeating, “restraint not only precedes overeating but contributes to it causally”. This is explained through the Boundary Model which suggests that an individual exceeds the cognitive boundary for food that they have imposed on themselves through their dieting this leads to the “what the hell effect” leading to the individual to overeat according to the physiological boundary. The second explanation is known as mood modification. This was also proposed by Polivy and Herman and suggests that failed dieting could be explained by the fact that eating can mask negative mood by temporarily elevating mood. It is suggested that the cause of negative mood is further masked, as individuals can then attribute their low mood to overeating, a controllable problem, masking any potential uncontrollable issues. Another explanation is the role of denial. Wegner suggests that attempts to supress thoughts about eating and food can paradoxically make those thoughts more prominent in a person’s mind. This has been referred to as the “theory of ironic processes of mental control”. When food is denied during dieting and becomes forbidden, this is translated into
Discuss the role of one or more factors that influence attitudes to food
Discuss the role of one of more factors that influence attitudes to food: It has been suggested that one factor that influences attitudes to food and eating behaviour is learning. There is evidence to suggest that infants are born with innate food preferences, particularly for sweet foods and display neophobia. However, it appears that neophobia decreases with age and with experience. On the other hand individuals might be influenced through the Social Learning Theory, whereby a person’s eating behaviour is influenced by observing models’ eating behaviour. This helps to explain why parents can affect their children’s attitudes to food. Another factor that affects children’s attitudes to food is their parents. In an early study, Duncker (1938) looked at the impact of ‘social suggestion’ on children’s food choices. The children participants observed a series of role models sampling food that was unfamiliar. The models were other children, a friend, their mother, an unknown adult, and a fictional hero. Duncker found that the children were most likely to sample the food that was modeled by their mothers, indicating that parental behavior and attitudes are an essential part of how children acquire their eating behaviours. Social Learning Theory (SLT) emphasises the impact of observing other peoples’ behavior on our own behavior, and is also known as ‘modeling’
