Chapter 3
Models of Abnormality

Models of Abnormality

What is a model or paradigm?
•
A set of assumptions and concepts that help us explain and interpret observations
• A school of thought
•
Helpful because it spells out basic assumptions and sets guidelines for investigation
•
It influences what investigators observe, the questions they ask, the information they seek, and their interpretation of that information
Slide 2

Models of Abnormality

Historically, clinical scientists of a given time and place agreed on a single model of abnormality – a model strongly influenced by cultural beliefs

Currently, there are several competing models of abnormality
•
Why? Each model focuses on one aspect of human functioning and no single model can explain all aspects of abnormality
Slide 3

The Biological Model

Takes a medical perspective

Main focus is that psychological abnormality is an illness brought about by malfunctioning parts of the organism
• Typically focused on the BRAIN
Slide 4

How Do Biological Theorists
Explain Abnormal Behavior?

Brain anatomy
•
The brain is composed of ~100 billion nerve cells
(called neurons) and thousands of billions of support cells (called glia)
•
Within the brain, large groups of neurons form distinct areas called brain regions
Slide 5

How Do Biological Theorists
Explain Abnormal Behavior?

Brain anatomy and abnormal behavior
•
Clinical researchers have found connections between certain psychological disorders and problems in specific brain areas
• Example: Huntington’s disease & basal ganglia
(forebrain)
Slide 6

How Do Biological Theorists
Explain Abnormal Behavior?

Brain chemistry
•
Information spreads throughout the brain in the form of electrical impulses that travel from one neuron to one or more others
• An impulse is first received at a neuron’s dendrites, travels down the axon, and is transmitted to other neurons through the nerve endings
Slide 7

Slide 8

How Do Biological Theorists
Explain Abnormal Behavior?

Brain chemistry
• Neurons don’t touch; they are separated by a space (the synapse), across which a message moves
•
When an electrical impulse reaches a nerve ending, the nerve ending is stimulated to release a chemical (a neurotransmitter or “NT”)
• Some NTs tell receiving neurons to “fire”; other NTs tell receiving neurons to stop firing
Slide 9

How Do Biological Theorists
Explain Abnormal Behavior?

Role of brain chemistry in abnormal behavior
•
Researchers have identified dozens of NTs
•
Examples: serotonin, dopamine, and GABA
•
Studies indicate that abnormal activity in certain
NTs can lead to specific mental disorders
• Examples: depression (serotonin and norepinephrine) and anxiety (GABA)
Slide 10

How Do Biological Theorists
Explain Abnormal Behavior?

Role of brain chemistry
•
Additionally, researchers have learned that mental disorders are sometimes related to abnormal chemical activity in the endocrine system
•
Hormone release, triggered by a variety of factors, propels body organs into action. Abnormal secretions have been linked to psychological disorders
•
Example: cortisol release is related to anxiety and mood disorders
Slide 11

How Do Biological Theorists
Explain Abnormal Behavior?

Biological abnormalities – genetics
• Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, each with numerous genes that control the characteristics and traits a person inherits
• Studies suggest that inheritance plays a part in mood disorders, schizophrenia, mental retardation, Alzheimer’s disease, and other mental disorders
• Aren’t able (yet) to identify specific genes
• Don’t know the extent to which genetic factors contribute to disorders
• Seems no SINGLE gene is responsible for a particular behavior or disorder
Slide 12

How Do Biological Theorists
Explain Abnormal Behavior?

Biological abnormalities – evolution
• Genes that contribute to mental disorders are viewed as unfortunate occurrences:
• May be mutations
• May be inherited after a mutation in the family line
• Evolutionary theorists argue that we can best understand abnormality by examining the millions of years of human evolution
•
Looking at a combination of adaptive behaviors of the past, genes, and the interaction between genes and current environmental events
•
This model has been criticized and remains controversial
Slide 13

How Do Biological Theorists
Explain Abnormal Behavior?

Biological abnormalities – viral infections
•
Infection provides another possible source of abnormal brain structure or biochemical dysfunction
•
Example: schizophrenia and prenatal viral exposure
• Interest in viral explanations of psychological disorders has been growing in the past decade
• Example: anxiety and mood disorders
Slide 14

Biological Treatments

Biological practitioners attempt to pinpoint the physical source of dysfunction to determine the course of treatment

Three types of biological treatment:
• Drug therapy
•
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
•
Psychosurgery
Slide 15

Biological Treatments

Drug therapy:
•
1950s = advent of psychotropic medications
•
Changed outlook for a number of mental disorders
•
Four groups of drugs:
• Antianxiety drugs (anxiolytics; tranquilizers)
•
Antidepressant drugs
• Antibipolar drugs (mood stabilizers)
• Antipsychotic drugs
Slide 16

Biological Treatments

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT):
•
Currently experiencing a revival
•
Used for severe depression when drugs and other therapies have failed
•
In 60% of cases, ECT can lift symptoms within a few weeks
Slide 17

Biological Treatments

Psychosurgery:
•
Historical roots in trephination
•
1930s = first lobotomy
•
Much more precise than in the past
•
Considered experimental and used only in extreme cases
Slide 18

Assessing the Biological Model

Strengths:
•
Earns considerable respect in the field
• Fruitful
• Creates new therapies
• Suggests new avenues of research

Weaknesses:
•
Can limit rather than enhance our understanding
•
Too simplistic
• Evidence is incomplete or inconclusive
•
Treatments produce significant undesirable
(negative) effects
Slide 19

The Psychodynamic Model

Oldest and most famous psychological model
 Based on belief that a person’s behavior is determined largely by underlying dynamic psychological forces of which she or he is not aware
• Abnormal symptoms are the result of conflict among these forces

Father of psychodynamic theory and psychoanalytic therapy:
•
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
Slide 20


How Did Freud Explain
Normal and Abnormal Behavior?
Caused by three UNCONSCIOUS forces:
1.
Id – guided by the Pleasure Principle
•
Instinctual needs, drives, & impulses
• Sexual; fueled by libido (sexual energy)
2.
Ego – guided by the Reality Principle
•
Seeks gratification but guides us to know when we can & can’t get and express our wishes
• Ego defense mechanisms protect us from anxiety
Slide 21

Slide 22


How Did Freud Explain
Normal and Abnormal Behavior?
Caused by three UNCONSCIOUS forces:
3.
Superego – guided by the Morality Principle
• Conscience; unconsciously adopted from our parents

These three parts of the personality are often in conflict
•
A healthy personality is one in which compromise exists between the parts
• If the id, ego, and superego are in excessive conflict, the person’s behavior may show signs of dysfunction
Slide 23

How Did Freud Explain
Normal and Abnormal Behavior?

Developmental stages
•
Freud proposed that at each stage of development, new events and pressures require adjustment in the id, ego, and superego
•
If successful = personal growth
• If unsuccessful = fixation at an early developmental stage, leading to psychological abnormality
• Because parents are the key figures in early life, they are often seen as the cause of improper development
Slide 24

How Did Freud Explain
Normal and Abnormal Behavior?

Developmental stages
•
Oral (0 to 18 months of age)
•
Anal (18 months to 3 years of age)
•
Phallic (3 to 5 years of age)
•
Latency (5 to 12 years of age)
•
Genital (12 years of age to adulthood)
Slide 25

How Do Other Psychodynamic
Explanations Differ from Freud’s?
 Although current models deviate from Freud’s in fundamental ways, each retains the belief that human functioning is shaped by interacting forces:
•
Ego theorists
• Emphasize the role of the ego; consider it independent
• Self theorists
• Emphasize the unified personality over any one component
• Object-relations theorists
•
Emphasize the human need for interpersonal relationships
Slide 26

Psychodynamic Therapies

Range from Freudian psychoanalysis to more modern therapies

All seek to uncover past trauma and inner conflicts
• Understanding early life experience critically important
 Therapist acts as “subtle guide”
Slide 27

Psychodynamic Therapies

Utilize various techniques:
•
Free association
• Therapist interpretation
•
Resistance
• Transference
• Dream interpretation
•
Catharsis
• Working through
•
Short-term dynamic therapies
Slide 28

Assessing the Psychodynamic Model

Strengths:
• First to recognize importance of psychological theories & treatment
• Saw internal conflict as important source of psychological health and abnormality
• First to apply theory and techniques systematically to treatment – monumental impact on the field

Weaknesses:
•
Unsupported ideas; difficult to research
• Non-observable
•
Inaccessible to human subject (unconscious)
Slide 29

Slide 30

The Behavioral Model

Like the psychodynamic perspective, behaviorism is deterministic, and is based on the idea that our actions are determined largely by our life experiences

Emphasis is on observable behavior and environmental factors

Focus on how behavior is acquired (learned) and maintained over time
Slide 31

The Behavioral Model

Historical beginnings in laboratories where conditioning studies were conducted
•
Several forms of conditioning:
•
Operant conditioning
• Modeling
•
Classical conditioning
•
May produce normal or abnormal behavior
Slide 32

How Do Behaviorists
Explain Abnormal Functioning?

Operant conditioning
• Organism “operates” on environment and produces an effect
•
Humans and animals learn to behave in certain ways as a result of receiving rewards whenever they do so
Slide 33

How Do Behaviorists
Explain Abnormal Functioning?

Modeling
•
Individuals learn behavioral responses by observing and repeating behavior
• No direct reinforcement
Slide 34

How Do Behaviorists
Explain Abnormal Functioning?

Classical conditioning
•
Learning by temporal association
•
When two events repeatedly occur close together in time, they become fused in a person’s mind; before long, the person responds in the same way to both events
• Father of classical conditioning: Ivan Pavlov
(1849 – 1936)
• Classic study using dogs & meat powder
Slide 35

Classical Conditioning
US
Meat
US
Meat
+
Tone
CS
Tone
UR
Salivate
UR
Salivate
CR
Salivate
Slide 36

How Do Behaviorists
Explain Abnormal Functioning?

Classical conditioning
•
If, after conditioning, the CS is repeatedly presented alone, it will eventually stop eliciting the CR
•
This process is called extinction
• Explains many familiar behaviors (both normal and abnormal)
Slide 37

Behavioral Therapies

Aim is to identify the behaviors that are causing problems and replace them with more appropriate ones
•
May use classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or modeling
 Therapist is “teacher” rather than healer
• Early life experiences important only in providing clues to current learning
Slide 38

Behavioral Therapies

Classical conditioning treatments may be used to change abnormal reactions to particular stimuli
•
Example: systematic desensitization for phobia
• Step-by-step procedure
• Learn relaxation skills
• Develop a fear hierarchy
• Confront feared situations (covertly or in vivo)
Slide 39

Assessing the Behavioral Model

Strengths:
•
Powerful force in the field
• Rooted in empiricism
• Phenomena can be observed and measured
• Significant research support for behavioral therapies

Weaknesses:
•
Too simplistic
• Unrealistic
•
Downplays role of cognition
• New focus on selfefficacy, social cognition, and cognitive-behavioral theories
Slide 40

The Cognitive Model

Seeks to account for behavior by studying the ways in which the person attends to, interprets, and uses available information

Argues that clinicians must ask questions about assumptions, attitudes, and thoughts
•
Concerned with internal processes
•
Present-focused
Slide 41

How Do Cognitive Theorists
Explain Abnormal Functioning?

Maladaptive thinking is the cause of maladaptive behavior
•
Several kinds of faulty thinking:
•
Faulty assumptions and attitudes
• Illogical thinking processes
•
Example: overgeneralization
Slide 42

Cognitive Therapies

People must be taught a new way of thinking to prevent maladaptive behavior
 Main model: Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
•
The goal of therapy is to help clients recognize and restructure their thinking
• Therapists also guide clients to challenge dysfunctional thoughts, try out new interpretations, and apply new ways of thinking in their daily lives
•
Widely used in treating depression
Slide 43

Assessing the Cognitive Model

Strengths:
• Broad appeal
• Clinically useful & effective
•
Focuses on a uniquely human process
• Correlation between symptoms and maladaptive cognition
• Therapies effective in treating several disorders
•
Adapt well to technology
• Research-based

Weaknesses:
•
Singular, narrow focus
• Overemphasis on the present
•
Limited effectiveness
• Verification of cognition is difficult
• Precise role is hard to determine
Slide 44

The Humanistic-Existential Model

Combination model
•
The humanist view
•
Emphasis on people as friendly, cooperative, and constructive; focus on drive to self-actualization
•
The existentialist view
• Emphasis on self-determination, choice, and individual responsibility; focus on authenticity
Slide 45

Spiritual Views and Interventions

For most of the twentieth century, clinical scientists viewed religion as a negative factor in mental health

This alienation now seems to be ending:
•
Numerous books have been published
• Ethical codes now include religion under “diversity”
•
Researchers have begun to systematically study the influence of religion and spirituality on mental health
• Many therapists now address spiritual issues when treating religious clients
Slide 46

Assessing the Humanistic-
Existential Model

Strengths:

Weaknesses:
•
Emphasizes the individual
• Taps into domains missing from other theories
• Non-deterministic
•
Optimistic
• Emphasizes health
•
Focuses on abstract issues
• Not much influence
•
Weakened by disapproval of scientific approach
•
Changing somewhat
Slide 47

The Sociocultural Model

Argues that abnormal behavior is best understood in light of the social and cultural forces that influence an individual
•
Addresses norms and roles in society

Influenced by sociology and anthropology
 Argues that we must examine a person’s social surroundings to understand their
(abnormal) behavior
Slide 48

How Do Sociocultural Theorists
Explain Abnormal Functioning?

Focus on:
•
Family structure and communication
•
Family systems theory = abnormal functioning within family leads to abnormal behavior ( insane behavior becomes sane in an insane environment)
•
Examples: enmeshed, disengaged structures
• Role of culture
•
Role of social networks/support
Slide 49

How Do Sociocultural Theorists
Explain Abnormal Functioning?

Focus on:
•
Societal conditions
•
Abnormality more common in lower classes. Why?
•
Societal labels & roles
• Diagnostic labels (example: Rosenhan study)
•
Sick role
Slide 50

Sociocultural Treatments

May include traditional individual therapy

Broadened therapy to include:
•
Culturally-sensitive therapy
•
Group therapy
•
Family therapy
• Couples therapy
•
Community treatment
•
Includes prevention work
Slide 51

Assessing the Sociocultural Model

Strengths:
•
Added greatly to the clinical understanding of abnormality
•
Increased awareness of labeling
• Clinically successful when other treatments have failed

Weaknesses:
•
Research is difficult to interpret
• Correlation
 causation
•
Model unable to predict abnormality in specific individuals
Slide 52

Slide 53

Integration of the Models

Each perspective is valuable to understanding abnormal behavior

Different perspectives are more appropriate under differing conditions

An integrative approach provides a general framework for thinking about abnormal behavior while also allowing for specification of the factors that are especially pertinent to particular disorders
Slide 54