Possible Essay Questions
Discuss the extent to which biological, cognitive,
and sociocultural factors influence abnormal
behavior.
 Biological: People have a predisposition for certain behaviors.
 Depression: Nurnberger & Gershon (1982)
 PTSD: Hauff and Vaglum (1994); Geracioti (2001)
 Bulimia: Kendler (1991), Strober (2000)
 Cognitive: The way a person thinks and processes information influences
the person towards abnormal behaviors.
 Depression: Ellis (1962)
 PTSD: Brewin (1996) & Rizzo “Virtual Iraq”
 Bulimia: Slade & Brodie (1994); Polivy and Herman (1985)
 Sociocultural: The environment, events, people, and situations influences
behavior.
 Depression: Brown & Harris (1978)
 PTSD: Rousircar (2000); Silva (2000)
 Bulimia: Sanders & Bazalgette (1993); Jaeger (2002)
Evaluate psychological research relevant to the study of
abnormal behavior.
 Explain the strengths and limitations of research.
 Rosenhan (1973) Being Sane in Insane Places
 Rosenhan and Seilgman Criteria (1984)
 Jahoda (1958)
 Szasz (1962)
Discuss the concepts of normality and abnormality.
 Use PAGE 1 & 2 for this answer!
 Abnormality defined by the APA as behavior that causes distress, loss of freedom,
physical or emotional pain, increased risk of death or injury to self or causes a
disability of some sort
 7 Criteria for Abnormal Behavior (Rosenhan & Seligman, 1984)
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Suffering
Maladaptiveness
Irrationality
Unpredictability
Vividness and unconventionality
Observer discomfort
Violation of moral or ideal standards
 6 Characteristics of Mental Health (Jahoda, 1958)
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Efficient self-perception
Realistic self-esteem and acceptance
Voluntary control of behavior
Accurate perception of the world
Sustaining relationships and providing affection
Self-direction and productivity
Evaluation
 Actually applying these criteria means most people would be considered abnormal
 Normalness is culturally determined
 Revisions of DSM – In prior edition, homosexuality seen as mental illness, in new DSM rename
substance abuse to addiction
Discuss validity and reliability of diagnosis.
 Use page 3 & 4 for this answer!
 Difficult to diagnose psychological disorders– no
physical symptoms, have to go on word of patient
 Reliability – Beck (1962), Cooper (1972), Dinardo
(1993), Lipton and Simon (1985)
 Validity – Rosenhan (1973)
Discuss cultural and ethical considerations in diagnosis.
 Cultural
 Reporting Bias (5)
 Difference in symptoms – Body Memory (12)
 Culture Blindness (5)
 Culture-bound Syndrome (5)
 Ethical
 Self-fulfilling prophecy (5)
 People who believe they are 'abnormal' may begin to act abnormal thus fulfilling
the prophecy they have a psychological illness (Scheff, 1966)
 Racial and ethnic (Jenkins-Hall & Sacco, 1991) (5)
 African American women rated more negatively and less socially competent than
European women by therapists watching them on videos of a clinical interview
 Only women were used, possible gender difference
 Confirmation bias(5)
 Cognitive bias that leads practitioners to assume that patients seeking help are
sick and thus look for signs/symptoms that can lead to a diagnosis even if patient
is 'normal' (Rosenhan, 1973)
 Powerlessness and depersonalization (5)
 Makes assessing patients properly difficult
 Effect of institutionalization where patient has little choice, few rights, not much
privacy and a lack of constructive activities affects their 'normal' behavior
Discuss the interaction of biological, cognitive, and sociocultural factors
in abnormal behavior.
 This question is similar to the first one… Focus on how
they interact with one another –
 a person may have a predisposition for depression, but
unless a certain social event occurs they may never have
depression
 A person my have bulimia in their family, but if they
cognitively have a strong self image and high self esteem
they may never experience it.
 A person may expreience a traumatic event, but never
suffer from PTSD. The severity of the trauma and it’s
effect are determined by the person and their cognitive
outlook.
Describe symptoms and prevalence of one disorder from two of
the following groups: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, eating
disorders.
 Anxiety disorders – PTSD (10-11)
 Affective disorders – Major Depression Disorder (6-7)
 Eating disorders – Bulimia (12-13)
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Anxiety disorders - PTSD
 Affective - anhedonic (=inability to experience pleasure), callousness
 Behavioral - flashbacks, paranoia and hypervigilance, nightmares
 Cognitive - intrusive memories of traumatic event, problems concentrating, hyperarousal
 Somatic - lower back pain, digestion issues, insomnia, losing ability to control bladder
 US - 1-3% with lifetime prevalence of 5% in men and 10% in women
 Affects 15-24% of people who experience a traumatic event (Davidson et al., 2007; Breslau et al.,
1998)
 Usually cooccurs with other disorders like depression and substance abuse
Affective disorders – Major Depression Disorder
 Affective - sadness, inability to find joy in things once found enjoyable
 Behavioral - lacking desire to do any activities, extremely passive and idle
 Cognitive - negative thoughts, attribute failures to self, poor self-esteem, possible suicidal thoughts,
hopelessness and lack of confidence in their condition improving
 Somatic - low energy levels, insomnia or hypersomnia (=sleeping all the time), lack of sex drive
 US - lifetime prevalence of 15% (Charney & Weismann, 1988)
 2-3x more likely to occur in women
 80% diagnosed will experience a subsequent episode
Eating disorders – Bulimia
 Affective - feelings of inadequacy, guilt, shame
 Behavioral - binge eating, vomiting after eating, laxative use, excessive exercising
 Cognitive - distorted perception of body, perfectionism
 Somatic - irregular menstrual cycle, tooth enamel erosion, gastrointestinal problems, risk of heart
palpitations
 Affects 2-3% of women
 Roughly 5 million experience an eating disorder in US
 Some symptoms reported in up to 40% of college women in US (Keel et al., 2006)
 5.79% for women aged 15-29 in Japan
Analyze etiologies (in terms of biological, cognitive, and
sociocultural factors) of one disorder from two of the following
groups: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, eating disorders.
 Affective: Major Depressive Disorder (7-9)
 Anxiety: PTSD (11-12)
 Eating: Bulimia (13-14)
 Anxiety disorders - PTSD
 Biological
 Twin research showed a potential genetic disposition (Hauff & Vaglum, 1994)
 High levels of noradrenaline cause individuals more openly and PTSD patients had
above average noradrenaline levels (Geracioti, 2001)
 PTSD patients have Increased sensitivity in noradrenaline receptors (Bremner, 1998)
 Cognitive
 PTSD patients believe they have no control over their lives
 Intrusive memories in the form of flashbacks occur because of cue-dependent memory
 Cues in the real world are similar to the cues of the traumatic experience which cause
the same level of panic as the cues in the traumatic event (Brewin et al., 1996)
 Recovering from child abuse may be related to the patient's tendency to think the abuse
was their fault - patients who did not think it was their fault were more likely to recover
 Sociocultural
 People exposed to racism and oppression are more likely to develop PTSD
 Vietnam War veterans (Roysircar, 2000)
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20.6% black developed PTSD
27.6% Hispanic developed PTSD
13% white developed PTSD
Threat of death linked to PTSD so patients should avoid situations that cause anxiety
and panic (Dyregrov)
Sarajevo, Bosnia 1998
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35% boys had PTSD
73% girls had PTSD
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Higher rate linked to girls being threatened with rape (Kaminer et al., 2000)
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Explain cultural and gender
variations in disorders.
 Cultural
 Depression (9)
 PTSD (12)
 Bulimia (13 & 14)
 Gender
 Depression (10)
 PTSD (12)
 Bulimia (13 & 14)
Examine biomedical, individual, and group treatment
approaches to treatment.
 Biomedical
 Drugs (15)
 Individual
 Cognitive Reconstructing & individual CBT (15 & 16)
 Group
 Couples Therapy & Group CBT (16)
Evaluate the use of biomedical, individual, and group
approaches to the treatment of one disorder.
 Depression
 Biomedical – Kirsch & Sapirstein (1998/2008), Blumenthal (1999),
Leuchter & Witte (2002), Elkin (19889) (15)
 Individual – Beck Cognitive reconstructing (15), CBT Teasdale
(1997), Riggs (2007) (15-16)
 Group – Toseland and Siporin (1986), McDermut (2001), factors:
group cohesion, exclusion, relationship w/ therapist (16)
 PTSD
 Biomedical – Marshall (1994), tranquilizers (16)
 Individual – Foa (1986), Keane (1992)(16)
 Group – Weine (1998), Mayou (2000) (17)
 Bulimia
 Biomedical – McGilley & Pryor (1998), Goldstein (1995)
 Individual – CBT, Wilson (1996) (18)
 Group – Group therapy, McKisack (1997), concerns for group
therapy.
Discuss the use of eclectic approaches to treatment.
 Eclectic approach to therapy – an approach that
incorporates principles or techniques from various
systems or therapy.
 Eclectic therapy recognizes the strengths and
limitations of the various therapies, and tailors
sessions to the needs of the individual client or group.
 USE CASE STUDIES FROM AREAS BELOW
 Biological
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Drug Therapy – antidepressants, tranquilizers
 Cognitive (Psychological)
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Individual Therapies – CBT
 Social
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Group Therapy
Discuss the relationship between etiology and
therapeutic approach in relation to one disorder.
 Etiology – the cause of the disorder.
 Multifaceted Approach to Treatment is the most
efficient. We do not know the exact causes of
disorders, so using a biopsychosocial covers all aspects
 Biopsychosocial (bio-psycho-social) perspective
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Biological
 Drug Therapy – antidepressants, tranquilizers
Cognitive (Psychological)
 Individual Therapies – CBT
Social
 Group Therapy