Introduction: What is Abnormal Psychology?
Syllabus Point:
Discuss to what extent biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors
influence abnormal behaviour.
Answered
throughout.
Syllabus Point:
Evaluate psychological research relevant to the study of abnormal psychology.
Answered
throughout.
Concepts and Diagnosis
Syllabus Point:
Examine the concepts of normality and abnormality.
-
It
is difficult to define normality. Simply it’s used to refer to conformity to
standard or regular patterns of behaviour, but of course, IBO doesn’t want your
life to be that easy.
-
Abnormality
hence becomes the failure to conform to behaviour considered ‘normal’. But
wait, there’s more!
Statistical
Abnormality
-
The
term normality implies that there is such a thing as average.
-
Behaviours
considered normal are ones that occur most frequently in situation.
-
Therefore,
behaviour that does not occur very often in a given context is regarded as
being abnormal.
-
This
does not mean that it is a bad thing.
-
E.g.
IQ scores: very low = abnormal, very high = abnormal.
-
Whereas
a very low IQ would require treatment, you wouldn’t treat an individual with
very high IQ to reduce their high IQ.
-
Statistics
are a useful approach when dealing with numbers as you can identify the mean,
etc.
-
Statistics
can only be used when dealing with numbers however, so it’s restricted.
Deviation from
Social Norms
-
Deviation
from social norms assumes that there is an expected behaviour in any
circumstance.
-
The
expected behaviour is what society and culture dictate is appropriate for the
context.
-
People
associate the breech of these social rules to madness and abnormality. There
are however, 3 problems with such an approach:
1-
Social
norms vary widely across cultures and social situations.
2-
Historical
variation; what was abnormal in the past may be considered very normal in
today’s world.
3-
What
is considered to be socially acceptable/unacceptable is often dictated by
groups with social power. Judging normality according to conformity is
inaccurate and has led to cruel treatment of individuals whose behaviour
opposes the interests of powerful groups.
-
Therefore,
mental health practitioners must understand the diversity of behaviour across
cultures, times and gender in order to treat their patients correctly.
Maladaptiveness
and Adequate Functioning
-
Assumption:
humans perform behaviours that are good for them.
-
Maladaptive:
behaviour that threatens a person’s ability to function well in a social context.
-
Examples
include alcoholism + anorexia; people engage with behaviour that is damaging to
their health – maladaptive.
-
Limitation
of this approach: people who don’t suffer from a mental disorder may also
engage in maladaptive behaviour, such as extreme sports and extreme protests.
Suffering and
Distress
-
If
the person is suffering or experiencing distress they may be regarded as
abnormal.
-
You
take the individual’s own opinion of their behaviour but this assumes that
individuals engaging in abnormal behaviour will have sufficient insight to
experience distress – not always the case.
-
For
example: a person may begin to drink a lot of alcohol but be unaware of the
damages it may cause their health, as such they do not suffer nor do they
experience any distress.
-
Must
also consider that some degree of suffering and distress is a normal response
to challenging life events, as such it is not considered a mental illness but a
sign of mental health.
Jahoda’s
Positive Mental Health
-
Marie
Jahoda (1958) tried to define what is normal.
-
Jahoda
identified 6 components of ideal health:
1-
Positive
attitude toward oneself
2-
Growth,
development, and self-actualization
3-
Integration
4-
Autonomy
5-
Accurate
perception of reality
6-
Environmental
mastery
-
Not
everyone will possess all 6 qualities all the time – according to this approach
fewer people will be regarded as being in a state of ideal mental health.
Syllabus Point:
Discuss validity and reliability of diagnosis.
-
The
3 main diagnostic systems used are: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM), the International Classification of Diseases (CID) and
the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders (CCMD).
DSM:
-
Published
by the American Psychiatric Association and is very popular.
-
Published
in 1952, but constantly revised, currently 4th edition is available
DSM-IV
-
Revisions
are done in order to increase its reliability and validity.
-
Its
aimed that 2 clinicians will agree on the same diagnosis when using the DSM.
-
Disorders
are added, removed and altered. In 1980, homosexuality was taken out.
-
The
DSM groups disorders into categories and has a list of symptoms for each
disorder.
-
The
DSM’s strength is that, in 1987 there was the implementation of the multiaxial
approach which urged clinicians to take a more holistic approach as the
individual’s medical conditions, psychosocial and environmental problems and
their overall wellbeing would need to also be taken into consideration before a
diagnosis is made.
ICD:
-
Currently
in its 10th edition, ICD-10. More commonly used internationally than
the DSM (Mezich, 2002).
-
Was
initially developed to record causes of death by the WHO.
-
Intended
more for classification rather than diagnosis but contains a chapter dedicated
to mental disorders.
-
Very
similar to the DSM as both authoring teams consulted with each other. With
every new edition the ICD and DSM have decreasing differences.
CCMD
-
Not
very popular outside of Chinese territory.
-
Maintains
a focus on issues that are of interest to the Chinese culture.
-
Some
disorders in the DSM and the ICD are not found in the CCMD as they are not
prevalent in China. Vice versa also, some not in the ICD and DSM are found in
the CCMD.
-
E.g.
homosexuality is a disorder that can be treated in the CCMD.
RELIABILITY ISSUES
-
Inter-rater
reliability: assessed by having more than one practitioner observe the same
person and use the same diagnostic manual to make a diagnosis. If the
practitioners make the same diagnosis, the manual is reliable.
-
Test-retest:
to see whether the same individual will receive the same diagnosis if they are
assessed more than once (e.g. at diff times)
-
Nicholls et al. (2000): a city that assessed the inter-rater
reliability of several diagnostic manuals.
-
2
practitioners were asked to use either the DSM-IV, ICD-10 or the Great Ormond
Street Hospital’s own diagnostic manual (GOS) to diagnose 81 children who had
eating problems.
-
Correlational
study: reliability was assessed according to the agreement of the
practitioners.
-
Inter-rater
reliability: ICD-10 = 36%, DSM-IV = 64%, GOS = 88%
-
Researchers
suggest that the GOS was the most reliable in this study because it was
specially designed for young people.
-
Mary Seeman (2007): test-retest reliability: found that
initial diagnosis of schizophrenia, especially in women, would change over time
as the clinicians became more familiar with their patients.
VALIDITY ISSUES
-
In
regards to diagnostic manuals, validity is concerned with whether people are
correctly diagnosed when they have a particular disorder and do not give a
diagnosis to people who don’t.
R.D. Laing:
-
Suggests
that diagnosis is made more with respect to social factors than medical ones as
it is often difficult to find the biological factors which cause psychological
disorders.
-
Diagnosis is full of financial, political and
legal implications.
-
The
pharmaceutical industry has been heavily criticized for their influence over
the medical profession.
-
Many
of the advisory panels for the DSM-IV had financial ties to the pharmaceutical
industry, in terms of research funding (Cosgrove et al., 2006)
Thomas Szasz
-
Szasz
suggested that it’s incorrect to use mental illnesses as a metaphor to describe
behaviour that does not conform to expectations.
-
Biological
causes have not been established for many psychological disorders and terms
such as ‘depression’ and ‘schizophrenia’ are just labels given to a set of
behaviours, emotions or thoughts.
-
The
name given is the problem, not the
cause of the problem.
-
The
DSM-IV specifically states that bad events in a person’s life must be taken
into consideration when diagnosing disorders such as depression.
Rosenhan et al. (1973) - really good study
-
Rosenhan and a group of individuals presented
themselves to 12 different hospitals across USA, complaining of hearing voices,
but otherwise being completely normal.
-
11
of the individuals were admitted to hospital and diagnosed as suffering from
schizophrenia.
-
Once
admitted, the 11 individuals seized to complain about any symptoms and behaved
normally. Their goal was to get out.
-
All
of them were released, but with a diagnosis of schizophrenia on remission.
-
Their
normality was never detected, despite nurses indicating that there was no
further display of psychotic behaviour.
-
It
took 7-52 days for the pseudopatients to be released. During their stay they
made observations regarding hospital life and patient-staff interactions.
-
Rosenhan
also found that ‘abnormal’ people may be mistakenly assumed as being ‘normal’.
-
After
conducting his study, Rosenhan returned to the hospitals, questioning how many
patients the staff thought were pseudopatients over the course of 3 months.
-
The
staff believed 19 were pseudopatients and turned them away, despite all of them
being genuine patients which Rosenhan had not sent.
-
Rosenhan’s
(1973) study essentially shows that there is a general inability to tell the
difference between normal and abnormal behaviour.
Criterion-related validity
-
Gavin
Andrews published research on using the DSM and ICD-10 manuals. He found that
if an individual can be diagnosed with a disorder using one manual but not the
other by a group of practitioners, this indicates poor validity.
Syllabus Point:
Discuss cultural and ethical considerations in diagnosis.
- Labeling theory: once a diagnosis is made, it tends to
stick.
-
This
is problematic if the diagnosis is not valid and will affect the way others
treat the individual.
-
Caetano (1973) conducted an experiment whereby he
video recorded a male psychiatrist interviewing a paid university student and a
hospitalized mental patient.
-
The
video was shown to 77 students and 36 psychiatrists who were either told that
the interviewees were both students or both patients.
-
What
they had been told affected the final outcome as psychiatrists were more likely
to diagnose the interviewees who they were told were mentally ill.
-
Scheff (1966) argued that the adverse effect of
labels if the self-fulfilling prophecy – people will begin to act as they have
been labeled.
-
Doherty (1975) reported that those who reject the
label, recover faster.
-
Morgan et al. (2006) found that in the UK incidences of
schizophrenia were 9 times higher amongst Afro-Caribbean’s and 6 times higher
for those of black African descent than for white British people.
-
It
is most likely that diagnostic biases of clinicians account for these findings.
-
Ethnic
minorities are over represented in mental hospitals in Europe and America,
women are also more likely to be diagnosed with depression than men.
-
Another
consideration is confirmation bias. Therapists tend to presume that the client
must have a disorder if they are turning up for treatment.
-
Since
the therapists job is to diagnose abnormalities, they may overreact and see
abnormality all the time which was shown by Rosenhan’s (1973) study.
-
Conceptions
of abnormality differ between cultures which can have a significant impact on
the validity of diagnosis of mental disorders.
-
Many
disorders are universal, however some abnormalities are thought to be
culturally specific. (called culture-bound syndromes).
-
For
example, Shenjing Shuairuo which is found in the CCMD and is widespread in
China. The symptoms are similar to mood disorders in the DSM.
-
Depression
is common in western cultures but seems to be absent in Asian cultures which
may be a result of different lifestyles or because Asians do not see the need
to consult doctors to handle their own problems.
-
Culture blindness: problem of identifying symptoms of a
psychological disorder, if they are not the norm in the clinicians own culture.
-
Cochrane and Sashidharan (1995) found that based on the assumption that
behaviours of the white population is considered normal, any deviation by
another ethnic group reveals some racial or cultural pathology.
-
Rack (1982) points out rthat a member of a minority group who
exhibits a set of symptoms similar to that of a white British-born individual
will be diagnosed as suffering from the same disorder.
-
This
may not always be the case.
-
Example: the ethnic culture the individual is from may not
consider hearing voices as abnormal during a time of mourning, however the DSM
would diagnose this as psychotic.
Psychological Disorders & Treatment Review
Syllabus Point:
Describe symptoms and prevalence of one disorder from two of the following
groups
-
Anxiety disorders
-
Affective disorders
-
Eating disorders
Syllabus Point:
Discuss cultural and gender variations in prevalence of disorders.
Syllabus Point:
Analyse etiologies (in terms of biological, cognitive and/or sociocultural
factors) of one disorder from two of the above groups.
^The 3 syllabus points above are answered together below
ANXIETY DISORDER – POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
-
PTSD
lasts for more than 30 days. It develops in response to a stressor.
-
Characterized
by intrusive memories of a traumatic event, emotional withdrawal, heightened
autonomic arousal which may cause insomnia, hypervigilance, loss of control
over anger and aggressive behaviour.
-
PTSD
patients often experience decreased interest in others and a sense of
separation.
-
May
exhibit an inability to feel positive emotions – known as anhedonia.
Symptoms
-
Anhedonia
-
emotional
numbing
-
Hypervigilance
-
Passivity
-
Nightmares
-
Flashbacks
-
exaggerated
startle response
-
intrusive memories
-
inability
to concentrate
-
Hyperarousal
-
lower
back pain, headaches
-
stomach
ache
-
digestion
problems
-
Insomnia
-
regression
in children
-
losing
acquired developmental skills
-
Is
associated with impairment of the person’s ability to function in social or
family life.
Prevalence
-
In
US, prevalence rate of 1-3%, a lifetime prevalence of 5% in men and 10% in
women.
-
Davidson
et al. (2007) estimates that PTSD affects 15-24% of individuals who are exposed
to traumatic events.
-
Not
all individuals who are exposed to traumatic events develop PTSD.
-
In
communities with frequent traumatic events, prevalence rate increases to 9%.
-
The
type of trauma is a key factor: 3% = people who experience a personal attack,
20% = wounded veterans, 50% = rape victims, develop PTSD.
-
Most
frequent trigger is the loss of a loved one, accounting for 1/3 of all cases.
-
PTSD
symptoms are frequent and common amongst war veterans, regardless of their
background.
Biological Level
of Analysis
-
Twin
studies show a possible genetic predisposition for PTSD (Hauff and Vaglum, 1994)
-
More
research in the neurotransmitter, noradrenaline which is important in emotional
arousal.
-
Increased
levels of noradrenaline cause people to more openly express their emotions than
normal.
-
Geracioti (2001) found that PTSD patients had higher
levels of noradrenaline than average.
-
Stimulating
the adrenal system in PTSD patients induced a panic attack in 70% of patients
and flashbacks in 40% of patients.
-
Bremner (1998): increased sensitivity of noradrenaline
receptors in patients with PTSD.
Cognitive Level
of Analysis
-
May
be differences in the way individuals cognitively process experiences and their
attributional styles.
-
Cognitive
therapists have found that PTSD patients feel that they lack control in their
lives and that their world is unpredictable.
-
Patients
often experience guilt regarding the trauma.
-
Experience
intrusive memories: memories that come to a person’s consciousness at random.
-
Intrusive
memories are usually triggered by sounds, sights or smells related to the
traumatic event.
-
Brewin et al. (1996) argues that the flashbacks are a
results of cue-dependent memory, where stimuli similar to the original
traumatic event may trigger sensory and emotional aspects of the memory,
causing panic.
-
Development
of PTSD is related to the tendency to take personal responsibility for failures
and to cope with stress by focusing on the emotion rather than the problem.
-
Sutker et al. (1995) found that Gulf war veterans who had a
sense of purpose and commitment to the military had less chance of suffering
from PTSD than other veterans.
-
Cognitive
theorists have also found that children who are able to identify that the
traumatic event was not their fault are able to overcome the symptoms of PTSD.
-
There
is a cognitive explanation because it deals with attributional style and
thoughts, linked to schemas.
Sociocultural
Level of Analysis
-
Research
suggests that experiences with racism and oppression are predisposing factors
for PTSD.
-
Roysircar (2000) cites that among Vietnam war veterans,
20.6% of black and 27.6% of Hispanic veterans met the criteria for PTSD, while
only 13% were white veterans.
-
Dyregrov
argued that threat of death had the strongest influence on intrusive thoughts
and avoidance of behaviour (avoiding situations that can trigger anxiety and
panic).
-
Social
learning may play a role in PTSD.
-
Studies
by Silva (2000) indicate that
children may develop PTSD by observing domestic violence.
Cultural
-
In
many cultures it’s common for survivors to initiate treatment with someone due
to somatic complains which, according to the DSM, are uncommon.
-
Kleinman (1987) argues that it’s irrational and
ethnocentric to assume that non-western survivors form of PTSD is uncommon.
-
Many
assume that the form of PTSD often seen in the West is the norm.
-
Often,
non-western survivors exhibit was is called body memory symptoms which are akin to PTSD.
-
One
example is dizziness experienced by a woman which was a body memory of her
repeated experience with being forced to consume alcohol then being raped (Hanscom 2001).
Gender
-
Research
has found significant gender difference in the prevalence of PTSD.
-
Breslau et al. (1991) did a longitudinal study of 1007 young
adults who had been exposed to community violence.
-
Found
a prevalence rate of 11.3% in women and 6% in men.
-
Horowitz (1995) reviewed a number of studies and found
that women have a risk up to 5 times greater than males to develop PTSD after a
violent or traumatic event.
-
Symptoms
also differ between genders.
-
Men
= irritability and impulsiveness, also likely to suffer from substance abuse
disorder.
-
Women
= numbing and avoidance, also likely to suffer from anxiety and effective
disorders.
-
To
explain the prevalence of PTSD amongst women: women are raped more often than
men and rape has one of the highest risks of triggering PTSD.
-
According
to Achenbach (1991), women are more
likely to internalize their problems (causing depro mood and such) whereas men
are more likely to externalize their problems (more agro, etc).
EATING DISORDER – BULIMIA
Symptoms
-
Feelings
of inadequacy
-
Guilt/Shame
-
Recurrent
episodes of binge eating
-
Use
of vomiting, laxatives, exercise or dieting to control weight
-
Negative
self-image
-
Poor
body-image
-
Tendency
to perceive events as more stressful than most people would
-
Perfectionism
-
Swollen
salivary glands
-
Erosion
of tooth enamel
-
Stomach
or intestinal problems
-
Extreme
cases = heart problems
Prevalence
-
According
to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2-3% of women and 0.02-0.03%
of men in the US have been diagnosed with bulimia.
-
According
to Frude (1998), the women to men ratio of bulimia sufferers is 10:1.
-
Most
often eating disorder, affects around 2% of adults.
-
Onset
of bulimia usually occurs in the late teens or early twenties.
-
There
is an increase in bulimia incidents.
-
More
common in industrialized countries and countries where being thin is desired in
a culture.
Biological Level
of Analysis
-
Krendler et al. (1991) studied 2000 female twins and found a
concordance rate of 23% in MZ twins and 9% in DZ twins.
-
The
rates vary from 23-83% which can be
attributed to differences in the method of collecting data and the
definitions of the disorder.
-
Bulimia
tends to be highly secretive and not many people report it.
-
Strober (2000) found that first-degree relatives of
women with bulimia are 10 times more likely to develop the disorder than
average.
-
Serotonin
also has an impact.
-
Increased
serotonin levels stimulate the medical hypothalamus and decrease food intake.
-
Carraso (2000) found lower levels of serotonin in
patients with bulimia.
Cognitive Level
of Analysis
-
According
to the body-image distortion theory proposed by Bruch (1962), eating disorder patients suffer from the delusion
that they are fat.
-
Research
has confirmed that they overestimate their body size.
-
The
distortion varies considerably with contextual factors, such as the nature of
the questions directed at the patients.
-
Some
of the reports given reflect the patient’s emotional appraisal rather than
their perceptual experience.
-
Slade and Brodie (1994) suggest that those who suffer from
eating disorder are uncertain of their body size and shape, and when asked to
make a judgement, they report an overestimation of their body size.
-
Polivy and Herman have looked at the role of cognitive
disinhibition – occurs because of dichotomous thinking whereby individuals take
an all-or-nothing approach to judging themselves.
-
Bulimics
have strict dieting rules and feel the urge to binge eat when they break these
rules.
-
Thoughts
about eating (cognitions) act to release all dietary restrictions
(disinhibition).
-
Polivy
and Herman (1985) conducted a
study with dieters and non-dieters.
-
They
were all asked to take part in a taste test and told that they could eat as
much ice-cream as they desired.
-
Study
found that the non-dieters consumed a greater amount of ice-cream than the
dieters.
-
So,
if 3/4 women diet at some point in their lives, but only 1 in 33 women suffer
from bulimia, why isn’t there more bulimia?
-
The
cognitive explanation that people with eating disorders suffer from perceptual
distortions and maladaptive cognitive patterns does not explain how these
distortions arise.
-
Hard
to establish cause and effect – distorted eating patterns may result in
distorted thinking, rather than vice versa.
Sociocultural
Level of Analysis
-
The
perfect body figure changes over time and varies amongst cultures.
-
Movie
stars tend to establish standards for how a person should look, intentional or
unintentionally.
-
Some
cultures prefer a thinner body shape whereas others prefer a more rounded
figure.
-
People
constantly compare themselves to others which affects their self esteem.
-
The
media advocates extremely uniform and rigid standards of beauty.
-
Standards
of beauty have become increasingly difficult to attain, especially for women,
with less than 5% of the female population able to attain it.
-
Many
eating disorders begin with an individual who is not overweight believing that
they need to go on a diet.
-
The
desire to be thin is often heavily influenced by media images and messages.
Gender
-
Women
are much more likely than men or children to be the target of media propaganda
that promotes thinness.
-
Thinness,
however, is also widespread in children’s magazines and toys.
-
Sanders and Bazalgette (1993) analysed the body shape of the 3 most
popular dolls available to young girls, measuring theur height, hips, waist and
bust.
-
They
then transformed these measurements to apply to a woman of average height and
found that, relative to real women, the dolls had tiny hips and exaggerated
inside leg measurements.
-
Distorted
ideas of what is normal and acceptable make young children dissatisfied with
their own shape, even if it’s in a healthy range.
-
Studies
show that by the age of 12, body shape can be a major criterion on
self-evaluation and evaluation of others.
-
Men
too are now under pressure.
-
In
1993, a MORI survey of adult males
in the UK showed that 1/3 of males had been on a diet and almost 2/3 believed
that a change in shape would make them more sexually attractive.
-
We’ll
see if the growing emphasis on an ideal male shape will increase the number of
men suffering from eating disorders.
Culture
-
Jaeger et al. (2002) conducted a study on cross-cultural
differences in body dissatisfaction.
-
They
aimed to investigate body dissatisfaction as it was a risk factor of bulimia.
-
It
was suggested that eating disorders were mainly prevalent in Western societies.
-
Recent
research, however, have been able to compare various cultures.
-
1751
medical and nursing students were sampled across 12 nations, including western
and non-western cultures.
-
Was
a natural experiment as culture (the IV) could not be controlled.
-
10
body silhouettes were shown to the participants in order to assess body
dissatisfaction.
-
BMI
was also measured.
-
There
were significant differences between cultures.
-
Most extreme body dissatisfaction was found in
Mediterranean countries, followed by Northern European countries.
-
Developing
countries showed intermediate dissatisfaction whilst non-western countries
showed the lowest levels.
-
Body
dissatisfaction was the most important influence on dieting in most countries
and was found to be independent of self-esteem and BMI.
-
The
significant differences across cultures support the explanation that bulimia is
due to the “idealized” body images portrayed by the media, which encourages
distorted views, leading to body dissatisfaction and dieting.
-
Western
countries are more exposed to these and show higher body dissatisfaction than
non-western countries.
-
The
study, however, doesn’t consider biological factors, and cannot differentiate
between nature vs. nurture.
-
The
experiment was also natural rather than true so causation cannot be inferred as
the independent variable wasn’t directly manipulated by the experimenter.
-
Lastly,
all the participants were well-educated people and cannot be generalized to the
wider population of their respective countries.
Syllabus Point:
Examine biomedical, individual and group approaches to treatment.
Syllabus Point:
Evaluate the use of biomedical, individual and group approaches to the
treatment of one disorder.
(Both answered below)
Treatments for Phobias
Biomedical
-
Biomedical
therapy focuses on using medication to alleviate anxiety symptoms and
biofeedback training to help the individual manage their own physiological
arousal.
-
Biomedical
approaches are generally not used on their own, but in conjunction with other
treatment methods.
-
Benzodiazepines
are most frequently used. In a study of the use of alprazolam to treat fear of
flying, the alprazolam did reduce anxiety, but a week later the effect wore off
and the people who had been administered the placebo were better off.
-
Criticism
of benzodiazepines: patients develop tolerance rendering them ineffective and
they can cause drowsiness, sexual dysfunction, and sometimes an increase in
aggression and irritability.
-
They
do not tackle the cause of the problem.
-
They
maximize the effectiveness of GABA, a neurotransmitter involved in the
parasympathetic nervous system that calms the person down, but fails to solve
the problem of the initial reaction.
-
Therefore
psychotherapy is usually favoured.
Individual
Therapy
-
Behavioural Treatment is based on classical conditioning
theory, which suggests that fear is a learn response to a stimuli and the
association can be broken with various approaches in therapy.
-
Desensitization is very popular. An individual is
slowly exposed to their fear gradually, over a period of time until the phobia
is completely extinguished.
-
Choy et al (2007) suggests that desensitization is good
at reducing anxiety but not at reducing avoidance behaviours.
-
When
desensitization is beneficial, it usually lasts for a long time. It has no
side-effects and corrects the problem, unlike drugs.
-
In vivo treatment is where the individual is directly
exposed to their fear. Most effective for phobias such as fear of flying than
fear of dogs.
-
Cognitive therapy is also used. They attempt to correct
some of the faulty thinking that is assumed to be causing the problem.
-
Booth and Rachman (1993) found this type of therapy to be
effective by itself and in conjunction with in vivo for claustrophobia.
Group Therapy
-
Ost (1998) tested the effectiveness of carrying out group
therapy (8 people) to treat spider phobia.
-
1
group = direct contact, 1 group = watched a video of people touching spiders, 1
group = observed the people touching spiders
-
Found
that anxiety levels were reduced more in the first group than the other 2
groups.
-
Ost
concluded that its probably due to the first group undertaking the procedure
and increasing their self-efficacy.
-
Group
therapy is much cheaper and more efficient in terms of time than individual
therapies.
-
It
can be hard to predict, however, how long it will take for each individual to
improve.
-
Lumpkin et al (2002) found that with the use of group
therapy, all children showed signs of improvement who suffered from a mix of
anxiety disorders, except for one child.
-
The problem = good for children who make progress, may
make things worse for the child who does not improve.
Syllabus Point:
Discuss the use of eclectic approaches in treatment.
-
An
eclectic approach incorporates principles or techniques from various systems or
theories.
-
An
eclectic approach can be used in individual therapy by combining medication
therapy or by choosing an appropriate psychotherapy from the range available.
-
Beutler (1991) advises that with an eclectic approach,
therapists should start from non-confrontational questions then move onto
behavioural therapy and then get another close family/support member involved.
-
Eclectic
therapy recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of various therapies and crafts
sessions to the needs of an individual or group.
-
Rush et al. (1977) suggests that there is a higher relapse
rate when patients are treated with drugs alone, because patients who partake
in the cognitive-behaviour therapy learn skills to cope with their problems,
whereas patients on medication do not.
-
A
combination os psychotherapy and drugs appears to be more successful than
either psychotherapy or drugs alone
(Klerman et al, 1994)
Syllabus Point:
Discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic approach in relation
to one disorder.
This is kinda
everything above put together, just link it to a psychological disorder and
explain why certain therapeutic treatments are used to treat the disorder.
I swear I’m not
just too lazy to write stuff up.
(Clearly I had had quite enough of writing notes for IB psychology by this point ahaha)
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