Models of Abnormality

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Models of Abnormality
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• Biological (medical) model
• Psychodynamic model
• Behaviourist model
• Cognitive model

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The biological (medical) approach Assumptions on
the causes of abnormality

• Infection
• Some mental illnesses have been linked to known
  micro-organisms (germs). Barr et al found an
  increased incidence of schizophrenia in mothers
  who had the flu when they were pregnant
• Genetic factors
• Individuals may inherit predispositions to
  certain illnesses, they are carried on in the
  genes from one generation to the next. Masterson
  Davis (1985) found relatives of schizophrenics
  were 18 times more likely to be diagnosed

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The biological (medical) approach Assumptions of
the causes of abnormality

• Biochemistry
• Schizophrenia is associated with an excessive
  amount of dopamine, a chemical substance in the
  brain. However, we cannot be certain whether
  excesses are the cause or the effect of
  schizophrenia
• Neuroanatomy
• Neuroanatomy means the structure of the nervous
  system. In the case of schizophrenia, there is
  evidence from post-mortem studies that their
  brains are different from non-schizophrenic brains

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The biological (medical) approach Implications
for treatment

• If the causes of a disorder are biological, then
  it is possible to cure the patient by changing
  their biological processes, there are a number of
  treatments
• Drug therapy
• Drugs may be used to correct biochemical
  abnormalities, for example decreasing the
  dopamine levels in schizophrenia sufferers

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The biological (medical) approach Implications
for treatment

• Psychosurgery
• Brain surgery is used in extremely rare
  conditions, where no other treatment seems
  appropriate. Sections of the brain are removed or
  lesions are made separating parts of the brain.
  Examples include lobotomies which typically make
  patients calmer

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The Psychodynamic Approach (Early 1900s)

• One of the main psychologists in this approach is
  Sigmund Freud
• Freud believed that the mind is made up of three
  parts

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Within the mind there are three aspects of your
personality that determine how you behave
Super-ego This is the part that contains your
morals / conscience (Its like an angel!)
Id This is the part of your personality that
demands immediate satisfaction of needs (Its like
a little devil!)
Ego The part that controls the fights between
the Id and the Super-ego
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The psychodynamic approach Assumptions of the
causes of abnormality

• Conflict between the id, ego and super-ego
• Conflicts occur between the ids desire for
  immediate gratification and the desire of the
  super-ego to maintain moral standards and ideals.
  The ego is the mediator between the two
• Fixation at the psychosexual stages due to
  conflict
• There are a number of stages that individuals go
  through during development. Major conflicts or
  excessive gratification at any of the stages
  means that the child will become fixated. At
  times of great emotional stress a person may
  regress to an earlier stage of development or
  fixation (e.g. thumb sucking / comfort eating in
  times of distress)

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The psychodynamic approach Assumptions of the
causes of abnormality

• Defence mechanisms that help control conflict
• The conflicts of the id and super-ego lead to
  anxiety. The ego protects itself against anxiety
  using defence mechanisms which include repression

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The psychodynamic approach Implications for
treatment

• If the causes of a disorder are unconscious, the
  implication of this model of treatment is to
  bring the repressed material into the conscious
  mind, this may be done through
• Dream analysis
• Freud believed that dreams are the royal road to
  the unconscious. There were two parts of dreams,
  the latent and the manifest content. The manifest
  content is the storyline and the latent content
  is the true meaning that is hidden beneath the
  symbols
• Free association
• This is where the patient lets their mind wander
  freely and says whatever comes into their head.
  This often uncovers repressed events and exposes
  unconscious desires
• (Dont forget that Freud also used hypnosis and
  analysis of slips of the tongue)

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The Behavioural Approach Assumptions of the
causes of abnormality

• Human behaviour is learnt
• mental disorders arise from maladaptive learning.
  Learning can be in the form of classical
  conditioning, operant conditioning or social
  learning
• Classical conditioning
• A stimulus which does not normally produce a
  response in an individual will come to do so if
  paired with a stimulus that does produce a
  response, for example Pavlovs dogs. This can
  help to explain how disorders such as phobias
  develop.

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The Behavioural Approach Assumptions of the
causes of abnormality

• Operant conditioning
• Behaviours which are reinforced are likely to be
  repeated. For example, if behaviours such as
  depression are reinforced through increased
  attention, they may be repeated.
• Observational learning and modelling
• With social learning, individuals learn
  particular abnormal behaviours through observing
  others and then modelling (copying) behaviour.
  This may explain how eating disorders develop.

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The Behavioural Approach Implications for
treatment

• If the causes of a disorder are the result of
  maladaptive learning, then the behaviour can be
  unlearned using one of the following
  techniques
• Systematic desensitisation (Classical
  conditioning)
• The client is taught to relax and confront feared
  objects/situations in a calm and peaceful
  setting, the idea is that the object becomes
  associated with calmness
• Token economy (Operant conditioning)
• Institutionalised patients may be given tokens
  for behaving in appropriate ways (can be used to
  obtain privileges).

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The Behavioural Approach Implications for
treatment

• Aversion therapy (Classical conditioning)
• Maladaptive behaviour is associated with
  something unpleasant (for example, given a
  sickness drug when lighting a cigarette).

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The Cognitive Approach Assumptions of the causes
of abnormality

• To understand behaviour we must understand
  thoughts includes how people see themselves and
  the world around them. Abnormal behaviour is
  caused by faulty and irrational thought processes
• Examples of irrational thinking include
• Magnification and minimisation people magnify
  failure and minimise achievement.
• Overgeneralization a person makes a sweeping
  conclusion based on a single trivial event.
• Beck used the term cognitive triad to refer to
  the three main forms of negative thinking
  negative views of (1) self (2) world and (3)
  future.