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]
Resources:
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Information Booklet
PowerPoint
Essay Help Booklet
Exam Style Questions (ESQ)
Activity 1
Worksheet 1: KEY WORDS
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Complete the key terms related to this topic
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You can use the resources and internet to help
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Each definition should be at least two sentences long
You should use these terms where appropriate in your
essays
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Activity 2
Worksheet 2: Summary Notes
Complete summary notes for each section
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a.
b.
c.
Biological Approach
Behavioural Perspective
Cognitive Approach
You can use the resources and internet to help
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2a. Summary Questions: BIOLOGICAL
GOTTESMAN, 1976
Aims
Method & Procedures
What was the aim of this study?
What research method was used in
this study?
What happened?
Background
What issue did Gottesman want to
resolve?
Sample
What are the details of the
sample?
Results
What did all 3 adoption studies
show?
What were the concordance rates for
biological siblings?
What were the concordance rates for
monozygotic twins?
What were the concordance rates for
dizygotic twins?
2a. Summary Information: BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
Gottesman, 1976
Aim
Background
Sample
To review research on family, twin and adoption
studies to test from evidence of a genetic cause.
A dispute had arisen between those who believed that
schizophrenia was caused by environmental factors
such as schizophrenia or abnormal parenting and
those who believed there was a genetic cause. Twin
and adoption studies begun in late 1960’s attempted
to resolve the issue.
In total there were 711 participants in the adoption
studies and 210 monozygotic twins and 317 dizygotic
twin sets studied.
2a. Summary Information: BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
Gottesman, 1976
Method
Procedure
Results &
Conclusion
A review article of three adoption and five twin
studies between 1967 and 1976
Concordance rates (how often both twins were diagnosed
with schizophrenia) and incidence of schizophrenia in
parents and children in biological and adoptive families
were calculated in the study.
All three adoption studies showed increased incidences of
schizophrenia in adopted children with a schizophrenic
parent, but normal children fostered with a schizophrenic
parent did not develop schizophrenia. In one study, the
biological siblings of children with schizophrenia were found
to have a 19.2% change of also developing the condition.
The twin studies also supported the biological explanation,
with monozygotic twins showing a 58% concordance rate
compared to 12% in dizugotic twins.
2a. Summary Questions: BEHAVIOURAL
WATSON & RAYNER, 1920
Aims
What were the four aims of Watson
and Rayner’s research on Little
Albert?
Background
What did Watson & Rayner want to find
out about?
What theory did Watson and Rayner
support?
Sample
What are the details of the
sample?
Method & Procedures
What research method was used in this study?
Identify the conditioned and unconditioned
stimulus and the conditioned and unconditioned
response?
What happened?
What is meant by the term generalization in this
study?
Results
What happened in the first few weeks?
What other objects was the phobia
transferred to?
How was Albert calmed down?
Why were Watson and Rayner unable
to test the last question?
2b. Summary Information: BEHAVIOURAL
WATSON & RAYNER, 1920
Aim
To see if a conditioned fear response could be
created in a previously normal child by using classical
conditioning. Would the fear transfer to other objects
and what would happen over time? Could the fear
later be removed?
Background
Watson & Rayner wanted to find out how simple
emotional responses in childhood such as fear, rage,
and love became the more complete adult range of
behaviours and believed that classical conditioning
had role to play.
Sample
A nine-month-old child, Albert, who has was the son of
a wet-nurse employed at the hospital where Watson
worked. He was described as ‘stolid’ which means
calm and unemotional.
2b. Summary Information: BEHAVIOURAL
WATSON & RAYNER, 1920
Method
A controlled experiment conducted as a case study.
Procedure
First fear response was discovered in Albert which was the
sound of a mental bar being struck close to the child. Then
this feared sound was paired with the presentation of a
white rate which the child had previously played happily
with. This process was repeated over approximately six
weeks with variations.
Results &
Conclusion
Within the first week, Albert showed fear towards the rate
and this got worse over seven session so that just the rat with
no noise produced a strong response. The fear then
transferred to a rabbit, a dog, a seal-fur coat, some cotton
wool, Watson’s hair and a Santa Claus mask to varying
degrees. Building blocks were used as a neutral stimulus and
they had the effect of calming Albert between the stressful
presentations. He was removed from the hospital before
they could test whether they could remove the fear.
2c.Summary Questions: COGNITIVE
BECK, 1961
Aims
What was the aim of this study?
Background
What do we know about people with
depression?
Sample
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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 3
Worksheet 3: Evaluation
Part 1: DIAGNOSIS
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* Write/type up your responses. Elaborate your responses fully.
Part 2: EVALUATION GRID
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3a. Evaluation Questions: BIOLOGICAL
 Identify strengths and weakness of the biological
explanation for Dysfunctional Behaviour
 To what extent does genetics play a role in the
cause of Dysfunctional Behaviour?
 Has a single gene been identified as a contributor
to Dysfunctional Behaviour? Why is this an issue?
 Is there any other support for this approach?
 Is there an alternative way to explain
dysfunctional behaviour?
3a. Debate Questions: BIOLOGICAL
Does this research offer support for the role of
nature or nurture?
If a genetic element can be identified, does
this suggest we can find a cure?
Is this approach useful?
3a. Evaluation & Debates: BIOLOGICAL
Both genes and environment are each necessary but
not sufficient for developing schizophrenia.
There were disagreements on the diagnosis of
schizophrenia across the studies.
No single gene for schizophrenia has been identified.
 Nature-Nurture is a clear debate here with the use of twin
studies which offer the possibility to test genes against environment.
Reliability of diagnosis could be an issue here.
Usefulness – the research suggests potential genetic cures but a
need to isolate many genes first and also investigate environmental
causes, it yet unspecified, although cannabis is one suspect at the
moment.
3b. Evaluation Questions: BEHAVIOURAL
Identify strengths and weakness of the behavioural explanation
for Dysfunctional Behaviour
Is the little Albert study by Watson & Rayner ethical? Explain your
answer
Does the behavioural approach suggest the roll of nature or
nurture as an influence for our behaviour?
Based on the behavioural approach can we explain behaviour as
dependent on the situation or the individual?
How can understanding the cause of dysfunctional behaviour be
useful?
Is there any other support for this approach?
Is there an alternative way to explain dysfunctional behaviour?
3b. Debate Questions: BEHAVIOURAL
Does this research show the influence of nature
or nurture?
Is phobia related to individual factors or
situational factors?
Could systematic desensitization offer a cure
for phobias?
3b. Evaluation & Debates: BEHAVIOURAL
Watson justified the stress on the child by saying
sooner or later this sort of thing would happen to him in
real life.
The study showed how powerful classical conditioning
can be in explaining phobias.
Nature/Nurture debate could be used here. Watson’s work is clearly on the
nurture side of this debate. Contrast with the evolutionary perspective of
‘preparedness’
Situational vs. Dispositional explanations of behaviour could also be discussed.
Was Albert’s behaviour the results of his situation or his personality?
Usefulness – provides an explanation and through systematic desensitisation – a
cure for phobia.
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?
3c. Evaluation & Debates: COGNITIVE
Collecting data in a therapeutic relationship lacks
reliability and increases the likelihood of bias.
The use of free association could have ‘fed’
negative ideas to the patients.
 Free Will vs Determinism – do patients consciously choose to think
like this or is their condition determined by external factors?
Reductionism – reduces depression to illogical thinking.
Usefulness – because it supports other similar research the findings
are useful, but it lacks rigour and reliability.
It provides an alternative to biological explanations which rely on
drug-based therapies.
Activity 4
Worksheet 4: Essay Plans
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10 Mark Questions
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15 Mark Questions
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]
Biological Approach [10]
Introduction:
Assumption:
Conclusion:
Gottesman:
Behavioural Perspective [10]
Introduction:
Assumption:
Conclusion:
Watson & Rayner:
Cognitive Approach [10]
Introduction:
Assumption:
Conclusion:
Beck: