Models of Abnormal Behavior Chapter Two Models of Abnormal Behavior

One-Dimensional Models of Mental Disorders Etiology: Cause or origin of a disorder Model: An analogy used by scientists, usually to describe or explain a phenomenon or process they cannot directly observe Model, viewpoint, and perspective are often used interchangeably

One-Dimensional Models of Mental Disorders (cont’d.) Most explanations or causes of abnormal behavior fall into four distinct camps: Biological explanations Psychological explanations Social explanations Sociocultural explanations

One-Dimensional Models of Mental Disorders (cont’d.) These one-dimensional views are overly simplistic: Set up a false “either-or” dichotomy between nature and nurture Fail to recognize the reciprocal influences of one on the other Mask the importance of acknowledging the contributions of all four dimensions in the origin of mental disorders

A Multipath Model of Mental Disorders Biopsychosocial model: Attempts to integrate biological, psychological, and social factors, but gives little importance to sociocultural influences Multipath model: Provides an organizational framework for understanding the causes of mental disorders, the complexity of their interacting components, and the need to view disorders from a holistic framework

A Multipath Model of Mental Disorders (cont’d.) Figure 2-1 The Multipath Model Each dimension of the multipath model contains factors found to be important in explaining abnormal behavior.

A Multipath Model of Mental Disorders (cont’d.) Assumptions of the multipath model: No one perspective can explain the development of mental disorders Multiple pathways to and causes of a disorder Explanations must consider all four dimensions Not all dimensions contribute equally to a disorder The multipath model is integrative and interactive Strengths of a person may serve as protective factors against psychopathology

A Multipath Model of Mental Disorders (cont’d.) Figure 2-1a The Resilience Model Strengths, assets and protective factors that help maximize mental health and allow individuals to bounce back from trauma and stressful life events.

Dimension One: Biological Factors Biological models have been heavily influenced by the neurosciences Understanding biological explanations requires knowledge about the structure and function of the central nervous system

The Human Brain Neurons: Three functions of the brain: Nerve cells that transmit messages throughout the body and that make-up the brain Three functions of the brain: Receives information Uses information to decide on a course of action Implements decisions by commanding muscles and glands

The Human Brain (cont’d.) Figure 2-4 The Internal Structure of the Brain A cross-sectional view of the brain reveals the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. Some of the important brain structures are identified within each of the divisions.

The Human Brain (cont’d.) The forebrain: Controls all the higher mental functions, such as learning, speech, thought, and memory Thalamus: “Relay station;” transmits nerve impulses throughout brain Hypothalamus: Regulates bodily drives and body conditions Limbic system: Involves experiencing and expressing emotions and motivation

The Human Brain (cont’d.) The midbrain: Involved in vision and hearing, and along with the hindbrain, controls sleep, alertness, and pain Manufactures serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine The hindbrain: Controls heart rate, sleep, and respiration Manufactures serotonin

Biochemical Theories Basic premise: Dendrites: Axons: Chemical imbalances underlie mental disorders Dendrites: Receive signals from other neurons Axons: Send signals to other neurons

Biochemical Theories (cont’d.) Figure 2-5 Major Parts of a Neuron The major parts of a neuron are dendrites, the cell body, the axon, and the axon terminals.

Biochemical Theories (cont’d.) Synapse: Gap between axon of sending neuron and dendrites of receiving neuron Neurotransmitters: Chemicals that help transmit messages between neurons

Biochemical Theories (cont’d.) Figure 2-6 Synaptic Transmission Messages travel via electrical impulses from one neuron to another. The impulse crosses the synapse in the form of chemicals called neurotransmitters. Note that the axon terminals and the receiving dendrites do not touch.

Genetic Explanations Genetic makeup plays an important role in developing abnormal conditions Autonomic nervous system reactivity may be inherited Hereditary factors are implicated in alcoholism, schizophrenia, and depression Genotype: genetic makeup Phenotype: observable physical and behavioral characteristics

Biology-Based Treatment Techniques Psychopharmacology: Study of effect of drugs on mind and behavior Electroconvulsive therapy: Application of electric voltage to the brain to induce convulsions Psychosurgery: Brain surgery for the purpose of correcting a severe mental disorder

Multipath Implications of Biological Explanations Science increasingly rejects a simple linear explanation of genetic determinism Disorders are seen as the result of complex interactive and often reciprocal processes Epigenetics: field focused on understanding how environmental factors influence gene expression Genome: all the genetic material in the chromosomes of an organism Environment affects biochemical and brain activity, as well as structural neurological circuitry

Dimension Two: Psychological Factors Psychological explanations vary considerably depending on the psychologist’s theoretical orientation Four major perspectives: Psychodynamic Behavioral Cognitive Humanistic-existential

Psychodynamic Models Psychodynamic model: Adult disorders arise from childhood traumas or anxieties Childhood-based anxieties operate unconsciously and are repressed through defense mechanisms because they are too threatening to face Defense mechanism: Ego-defense mechanisms that protect the individual from anxiety, operate unconsciously, and distorts reality

Psychodynamic Models (cont’d.) Personality structure: Id: Present from birth Operates on the pleasure principle Impulsive, pleasure-seeking aspect of our being; immediate gratification of instinctual needs Ego: Realistic, rational part of mind Operates on reality principle Awareness of environmental demands and need to adjust behavior to meet these demands

Psychodynamic Models (cont’d.) Personality structure: Superego: Moral judgments and moralistic considerations Conscience instills guilt Instincts give rise to thoughts and actions and fuel their expression Freud: Sex and aggression as dominant human instincts Although most impulses are hidden from consciousness, they determine human actions

Psychodynamic Models (cont’d.) Psychosexual stages: Sequence of stages through which personality develops: Oral (first year of life) Anal (second year of life) Phallic (beginning ages 3-4) Latency (approximately ages 6-12) Genital (beginning in puberty) Fixation: emotional development gets stuck at a particular psychosexual stage

Psychodynamic Models (cont’d.) Defense mechanisms: Characteristics: Protect individuals from anxiety Operate unconsciously Distort reality Maladaptive when overused

Psychodynamic Models (cont’d.) Traditional psychodynamic therapy: Psychoanalysis has three main goals: Uncovering repressed material Helping clients achieve insight into desires and motivations Resolving childhood conflicts that affect current relationships

Psychodynamic Models (cont’d.) Traditional psychodynamic therapy: Four methods to achieve therapeutic goals Free association Dream analysis Resistance Transference

Psychodynamic Models (cont’d.) Contemporary psychodynamic theories: Post-Freudian theories place less emphasis on sex and more emphasis on: Freedom of choice and future goals Ego autonomy Social forces Object relations (past interpersonal relations) Treatment of seriously disturbed people

Psychodynamic Models (cont’d.) Criticism of psychodynamic models: Freud’s observations made under uncontrolled conditions Patients represented a very narrow spectrum of his society Models cannot be applied to a wide range of disturbed people Formulations are difficult to investigate in a scientific manner

Behavioral Models Behavioral models: Concerned with the role of learning in abnormal behavior Three learning paradigms: Classical conditioning (Ivan Pavlov) Operant conditioning (B. F. Skinner) Observational learning (Albert Bandura)

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) Classical conditioning paradigm: Classical conditioning: Process in which involuntary responses to stimuli are learned through association Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): Elicits an unconditioned response Unconditioned response (UCR): The unlearned response made to an unconditioned stimulus

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) Classical conditioning paradigm: Conditioned stimulus (CS): Neutral stimulus that acquires some properties of another stimulus with which it is paired Conditioned response (CR): The learned response made to a previously neutral stimulus that has acquired some properties of another stimulus with which it was paired

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) Figure 2-8 A Basic Classical Conditioning Process Dogs normally salivate when food is provided (left). With his laboratory dogs, Ivan Pavlov paired the ringing of a bell with the presentation of food (middle). Eventually, the dogs would salivate to the ringing of the bell alone, when no food was near (right).

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) Classical conditioning paradigm: John B. Watson: Demonstrated acquisition of a phobia (exaggerated, seemingly illogical fear) using classical conditioning paradigm Classical conditioning helps explain acquisition of phobias, unusual sexual attractions, and other extreme emotional reactions

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) Classical Conditioning Classical Conditioning involves the pairing of an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus in order to learn and produce new responses.

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) Operant conditioning paradigm: Operant behavior: A voluntary and controllable behavior that “operates” on an individual’s environment Operant conditioning: Voluntary behaviors are controlled by the consequences that follow them Differs from classical conditioning Linked to voluntary, not involuntary, behaviors Behaviors are controlled by reinforcers

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) Operant conditioning paradigm: Abnormal behaviors (e.g., head banging) have been linked to environmental reinforcers: Positive: pleasurable feelings; lower anxiety Negative reinforcers: escape/ avoidance

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) Rat in a Skinner Box Take a tour of the Skinner box and see a demonstration of reinforcement contingencies that govern operant conditioning.

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) The observational learning paradigm: Behaviors are acquired by watching other people perform those behaviors Modeling (vicarious conditioning): Learning by observing models and later imitating them Exposure to disturbed models is likely to produce disturbed behaviors

Behavioral Models (cont’d.) Criticisms of behavioral models: Often neglects importance of inner determinants of behavior Overextends animal studies to human behavior Mechanistic: ignores human values

Cognitive Models Cognitive models: Conscious thought mediates or modifies an individual’s emotional state or behavior in response to a stimulus Cognitive dynamics in psychopathology: Causes of psychopathology: Actual irrational and maladaptive assumptions and thoughts Distortions of the actual thought process

Cognitive Models (cont’d.) Beck and Ellis: Psychological problems produced by irrational thought patterns stemming from an individual’s belief system Irrational thoughts conditioned through early childhood are reinstilled in adulthood “Logical errors” in thinking distort objective reality

Cognitive Models (cont’d.) Cognitive approaches to therapy: Highly specific learning experiences designed to teach clients to: Monitor negative, automatic thoughts (cognitions) Recognize connections between cognition, affect, and behavior Examine evidence for and against distorted automatic thoughts Substitute more reality-oriented interpretations Identify and alter beliefs that predispose them to distort their experiences

Cognitive Models (cont’d.) Criticisms of cognitive models: Skinner: Cognitions are not observable, so they cannot form the foundation of empiricism Human behavior is more than thoughts and beliefs Therapist, as teacher, expert, and authority figure is direct and confrontational and may intimidate client and misidentify the disorder

Humanistic-Existential Models Assumptions: Reality: The product of our unique experiences and perceptions of the world; subjective universe is more important than the events themselves We have free choice/personal responsibility A person’s wholeness or integrity is critically important We have the ability to become what we want and to fulfill our capacities

Humanistic-Existential Models (cont’d.) The humanistic perspective: Abnormal behavior results from disharmony between a person’s potential and self-concept Positive view of the individual Carl Rogers best known of humanists Humanity is basically good, forward-moving, and trustworthy

Humanistic-Existential Models (cont’d.) The humanistic perspective: Actualizing tendency: People are motivated to satisfy not only biological needs, but also the self Abraham Maslow’s actualizing tendency: Self-actualization: Inherent tendency to strive toward realization of one’s full potential

Humanistic-Existential Models (cont’d.) The humanistic perspective: Development of abnormal behavior Rogers: If left unencumbered by societal restrictions, we would become fully functioning people Self-concept: assessment of one’s value and worth Imposition of conditions of worth, transmitted via conditional positive regard, results in disharmony, or incongruence, between one’s potential and one’s self-concept Unconditional positive regard: Value and respect a person, separate from one’s actions

Humanistic-Existential Models (cont’d.) Person-centered therapy: Emphasizes therapist’s attitudes in therapeutic relationship rather than the precise techniques used Therapeutic techniques involve expressing and communicating respect, understanding, and acceptance

Humanistic-Existential Models (cont’d.) Existential perspective: Shares with humanistic psychology emphasis on individual uniqueness Also differs in following ways: Less optimistic than humanistic therapy Individual must be viewed in context of human condition Stresses not only individual responsibility but also responsibility to others

Humanistic-Existential Models (cont’d.) Criticisms of humanistic and existential approaches: “Fuzzy,” ambiguous, nebulous nature Applied to a restricted population Creative in describing human condition, but not in constructing theory Not suited to scientific or experimental investigation

Humanistic-Existential Models (cont’d.) More criticisms of humanistic and existential approaches: Subjective, intuitive, and empathic; not empirically based Effective with intelligent, well-educated, relatively “normal” clients, not severely disturbed clients

Multipath Implications of Psychological Explanations All psychological theories have strengths and weaknesses; none has the “whole truth” Multipath model suggests we best understand abnormal behavior only by evidence-based integration of the various approaches

Dimension Three: Social Factors Assumptions of social-relational models: Healthy relationships are important for human development and functioning These relationships provide many intangible health benefits When relationships are dysfunctional or absent, individuals may be more prone to mental disturbances

Social-Relational Models Family, couples, and group perspectives: Family systems model: Behavior of one family member directly affects entire family system Characteristics: Personality development ruled by family attributes Abnormal behavior is a reflection of unhealthy family dynamics and poor communication Therapist must focus on the family system, not just the individual

Social-Relational Models (cont’d.) Social-relational treatment approaches: Conjoint family therapeutic approach: Stresses importance of teaching message-sending and message-receiving skills to family members Strategic family approach: Deals with family power struggles by shifting to a more healthy distribution Structural family approach: Reorganizes family in relation to family involvement

Social-Relational Models (cont’d.) Social-relational treatment approaches: Couples therapy: Aimed at helping couples understand and clarify their communication, needs, roles, and expectations Group therapy: Members of group are initially strangers Focus on interrelationships and dynamics of interaction among members

Social-Relational Models (cont’d.) Criticisms of social-relational models: Studies have generally not been rigorous in design Groups tend to operate under culture-bound definitions Family systems models may have negative consequences: Parental influence may not be a factor in an individual’s disorder but are burdened with guilt

Dimension Four: Sociocultural Factors Emphasizes importance of the following factors in explaining mental disorders Race Ethnicity Gender Sexual orientation Religious preference Socioeconomic status Physical disabilities

Race and Ethnicity: Multicultural Models of Psychopathology Past cultural models: Inferiority model: Contends that racial and ethnic minorities are inferior to majority population Deficit model: Minority groups lacked “right” culture The universal shamanic tradition: Non-Western indigenous psychologies assume special healers have power to act as intermediaries between the human and spirit worlds

Race and Ethnicity: Multicultural Models of Psychopathology (cont’d.) Multicultural model (current model): Recognizes differences in cultures, and that each culture has its own strengths and limitations Assumes all theories of human development arise from a particular cultural context Suggests that sociocultural stressors reside within the social system – not within the person Appropriate treatment, therefore, may be served through teaching self-help skills and strategies to negotiate client’s social situation

Race and Ethnicity: Multicultural Models of Psychopathology (cont’d.) Criticisms of the multicultural model: Operates from relativistic framework: normal and abnormal behavior must be evaluated from a cultural perspective Critics argue “a disorder is a disorder,” regardless of cultural context Lacks empirical validation concerning its concepts and assumptions Based on Western worldview