Contemporary Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior
Chapter 3
Biological Perspective
►The Nervous System
►Evaluating Biological Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior
Brain chemistry
Brain anatomy
The Neuron: Structure
Neurotransmitters and Neuromodulators
►Synapse
►Neurotransmitters
Ach
DA
NE
5-HT
The Brain: Lobes
►Occipital Lobes
►Temporal Lobes
►Parietal Lobes
►Frontal Lobes
►Sulci
Central sulcus
Lateral sulcus
The “Strips”
►Somatosensory strip
Front of parietal lobe
►Motor strip
Rear of frontal lobe
►Next to each other
►Both are organized by body part
The Inner Brain
►Pons
►Medulla
►Cerebellum
►Reticular Activating System
►Thalamus
►Hypothalamus
►Hippocampus
►Amygdala
►Cerebrum
Causes & Treatment
►Genetics
►Evolution
►Viral infections
►Drug therapy
Antidepressant
Antianxiety
Antibipolar
antipsychotic
►ECT (electroconvulsive therapy)
►psychosurgery
The Psychological Perspectives
►Psychodynamic Model
►Learning Model
►Humanistic-Existential Model
►Cognitive Model
Psychodynamic Model
►Abnormal behavior due to unconscious dynamic conflicts
►Tied to early relationships
►Determinism: no “accidents”
►Preconscious/unconscious/conscious
The Iceberg Metaphor
The structure of the Mind:
10% of an iceberg are visible (conscious), 90% are beneath the water (preconscious and
unconscious).
the Unconscious is allotted overwhelming 75-80%.7
The Structure of Personality
Defense Mechanisms
VI. Defense mechanisms
►1. Repression: the suppression of unpleasant thoughts into unconscious so that we
can’t access them.
►E.g., a child who is molested, may suppress the traumatic event so that he/she has no
memory for the event.
2. Denial- refusing to believe something unpleasant has occurred.
►We refuse to accept horrible news, even with evidence to the contrary.
►E.g., you hear a friend has died & can’t believe it’s true.
3. Rationalization – we justify the events that have happened.
►E.g., A man explains his cheating on his income tax by saying, “Everybody does it.”
4. Displacement- you take out your anger & frustration on a person or object not the
actual target of your anger.
►E.g., After being grilled by your boss, you go home & yell at your partner or the
dog/cat.
5. Projection – You attribute your negative characteristics to another person.
►E.g., A hostile person perceives the world as being a dangerous place.
6. Reaction Formation – acting the opposite of how you feel.
►You do the opposite of how you feel to defend your own doubts.
►E.g., A person who doubts his faith may act like a religious zealot to defend his
religion.
7. Sublimation – the transformation of an unacceptable impulse into an acceptable
behavior.
►E.g., Aggressive impulses are transformed into the urge to engage in competitive
sports.
►Most desirable way of dealing with unacceptable id impulses.
8. Regression: the return under stress, to behavior indicative of earlier development
stage.
V. Psychosexual Stages of development:
►1. Oral (birth to 18 months), needs met through oral area.
2. Anal (18 mths to 3 yrs)-needs met- through elimination of waste. Either
retaining or expelling feces.
►3. Phallic (3-5yrs)-needs met through genital stimulation (self-stimulation).
4. Latency (5-12 yrs)-impulses dormant.
►5. Genital (12+)-needs met through intercourse.
During Phallic stage-2 complexes develop:
►A. Oedipus complex:
►Male child wants to kill father & replace him as mother’s sexual partner.
►Boy fears father will castrate him (castration anxiety), so he rejects his mother &
identifies with his father.
B. Electra complex
►Freud argued that females believe they’ve been castrated because they lack a penis.
►Girls interpret the clitoris as inferior to a penis (penis envy).
►Girls transform desire from mother to father & become angry at mother for not
protecting them from being castrated.
►Girls ultimately reject father & identify with mother in healthy development.
Other Psychodynamic Theorists
►Carl Jung: collective unconscious
►Alfred Adler: inferiority complex
►Ego theorists
►Self theorists
►Object relations theorists
Psychodynamic model & Abnormal Behavior
►Neurosis
►Psychosis
►Free association
►Evaluating Psychodynamic Models
Learning Models: Behaviorism
►A) Classical conditioning
►B) Operant Conditioning
►Punishment
►C) Social-Cognitive Theory
Albert Bandura
Modeling
Classical Conditioning
►Discovered (accidentally) by Ivan Pavlov
Pavlov’s Observation
►Studied digestion in dogs
Pavlov’s Experiment: Phase 1
►Food (US): salivation (UR)
Reflexive response
►Tone (CS): nothing (CR)
Pavlov’s Experiment: Phase 2
►CS is repeatedly paired with the US
A tone is sounded before the food is presented
Pavlov’s Experiment: Phase 3
►Eventually, the CS elicits a new CR
Hearing the tone by itself causes salivation
Operant Conditioning: Principles
►Stimulus-Response
►Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Psychopathology & O.C.
►A. fail to learn a response
►B. Respond maladaptively
►Developed due to:
►A. Not reinforced for adaptive behaviors
►B. Punished for behaviors that later would be considered adaptive
►C. Were reinforced for maladaptive behaviors
►D. Were reinforced under inappropriate circumstances for what would otherwise be
adaptive behavior
Behavioral Assessment
►1. Identify specific behavior
►2. Identify specific environmental factors that elicit, cure, ore reinforce behaviors
►3. Identify specific environmental factors that can be manipulated to alter behavior
Humanistic Models
►Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
►Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
►Slightly different from Existentialism
►Subjective conscious experience & self direction
►Self-actualization vs. responsibility
►Humanistic Model & Behavior:
Unconditional pos. regard unconditional self-regard
Conditional positive regard  conditions of worth
►Rogers’ Client-Centered Therapy requires:
Unconditional positive regard
Empathy
Genuineness (congruence)
►Evaluation
Cognitive Models
►Study thoughts, beliefs, expectations, & attitudes
►Interpretation NOT events themselves
►Information-Processing Models
Input
Manipulation
Storage
Retrieval
Output
►Albert Ellis & Aaron Beck
Albert Ellis
►The ABC approach
►A = Activating Event
►B = beliefs
►C = Consequence
►Activating event  Beliefs  Consequences
►Irrational beliefs  catastrophize
►Ellis’ Rational-Emotive Therapy (REBT)
Aaron Beck
►Depression result of “cognitive errors”:
Selective abstraction
Overgeneralization
Absolutist thinking
►Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
Assessing the Cognitive Model
►Pros
Thought processes
Grounds for research
Effective treatments
►Cons
Cannot assume cognition as cause of disorder
Narrow theory in ways
Narrow range of applicability
►Cognitive-Behavioral therapy (CBT)
Sociocultural Perspective
►Society sets boundaries & expectations
►Sociocultural model & Behavior:
Norms
Roles & Labels
Cultural Influences
Society (networks & conditions)
Family structure
►Family systems theory
Enmeshed
Disengagement
►Ethnicity and Mental Health
►Evaluation
Downward drift hypothesis
Sociocultural Treatments: Focus for other models
►Group therapy
►Self-help group
►Family & Couple Therapy
►Community treatment
Primary (prevent disorders altogether)
Secondary (stop disorder in early stages)
Tertiary (keep disorder from becoming long-term)
Biopsychosocial Perspective
►The diathesis-Stress Model
►Evaluation