DYSFUNCTIONAL
BEHAVIOUR
a.
b.
c.
G543
Diagnosis, Definition, Bias
Explanations
Treatments
HEALTH & CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
2. Explanations of Dysfunctional Behaviour
a.
b.
c.
Biological: Gottesman
Behavioural: Watson & Rayner
Cognitive: Beck
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Explanations
BIOLOGICAL
January 2011
a. Outline a biological explanation of dysfunctional behaviour [10]
b. To what extent are explanations of dysfunctional behaviour reductionist? [15]
BEHAVIOURAL
a. Outline a behavioural explanation of dysfunctional behaviour [10]
b. Discuss strengths and limitations of different explanations of dysfunctional behaviour [15]
COGNTIVE
June 2011
How might cognitive psychologists explain dysfunctional behaviour? [10]
Assess the appropriateness of different explanations of dysfunctional behaviour [15]
January 2013
Outline a cognitive explanation of dysfunctional behaviour [10]
Compare explanations of dysfunctional behaviour [15]
What are the assumptions of the Cognitive
Approach in terms of dysfunctional behaviour?
2c.Summary Questions: COGNITIVE
BECK, 1961
Aims
What was the aim of this study?
Background
What do we know about people with
depression?
Sample


What are the details of the sample?
Total sample, median age
How many were diagnosed with manicdepression? Neurotic- depression?
Method & Procedures
What method did the researchers use?
If appropriate, what was the design?
If appropriate, what were the IVs?
What were the DVs? How was data collected?
Where there any control measures?
What happened?
How was data collected?
Results
Where were there clear differences
between groups?
How was anxiety felt?
What was there a tendency to do?
2b. Summary Information: COGNITIVE
BECK, 1961
Aim
To understand how people with depression think and
how their thinking differs from normal people.
Background
People with depression often have low self-esteem,
criticise themselves a lot and blame themselves for
failures which other people see as illogical and
without any basis in fact. This leads to a gradual
withdrawal from other people and a failure to enjoy
things once enjoyed. At its worst, suicidal thoughts of
escape from a pointless life predominates.
Sample
50 patients diagnosed with depression – 16 men and
34 women with a median age of 34. Twelve were
diagnosed as having psychotic-depressive or manicdepressive reactions and 38 as having neuroticdepressive reactions.
2b. Summary Information: COGNITIVE
BECK, 1961
Method
Clinical interviews in a matched pairs design as the patients
were compared to a control group of non-depressed people
matched for age, sex and social position.
Procedure
Clinical interviews using free association, formal analysis
and diaries of thoughts were used to collect the data and
patients were asked about their thoughts before the
interview and during the interview. The non-depressed
patients also recorded their thoughts for comparison.
Results &
Conclusion
There were clear differences between the two groups in
certain themes of low self-esteem, self-blame, overwhelming
responsibilities and a desire to escape. They felt anxiety by
feeling they were in personal danger, a hypomanic state by
themes of self-enhancement and a hostile paranoid state by
themes of accusations against others. In addition there was a
tendency to ruminate at length on failures. In all cases there
was no logical basis for these feelings.
Activity 1

How useful/valid/reliable/generalisable is this
research?
Usefulness
Reliability
Validity
Generalisability
ACTIVITY 2


Complete the comprehension/summary questions to
consolidate learning of the explanations.
You may do this in pairs, or you may choose to do it
independently to test your own learning.
ACTIVITY 3


Consider the following evaluation questions
Discuss as a group and then write your responses
ACTIVITY 4

Once you have completed that: complete the
summary table
3c. Evaluation Questions: COGNITIVE
Identify strengths and weakness of the cognitive
explanation for Dysfunctional Behaviour
Is data collection a reliable way to measure behaviour?
Is ‘free association’ a good tool to use to collect data?
Do suffers choose to think in this manner or is it related to
their situation?
Is the approach oversimplifying the complexity of
depression?
Is there any other support for this approach?
Is there an alternative way to explain dysfunctional
behaviour?
3c. Debate Questions: COGNITIVE
Free Will Vs Determinism – is depressive
thought consciously chosen?
Reductionism – what is this explanation
reducing depression to?
Usefulness – Is there research evidence to
support this explanation? Does the research use
scientific rigour?
EVALUATION SHEET FOR EXPLANATIONS OF DYSFUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOUR
EVALUATION POINT
Strengths & Limitations
Compare & Contrast
Issue: Usefulness
Debate: Reductionism
Wild Card:
* you can use any evaluation point
here
1: BIOLOGICAL
2: BEHAVIOURAL
3: COGNITIVE
Gottesman,1978
Watson & Rayner, 1920
Beck, 1961
HOMEWORK
Complete summary table
 Extension: research biological
therapies of dysfunctional behaviour
to share with the rest of the class
