1. Dysfunctional Behaviour
Diagnosis, Definition, Bias
Explanations
Treatments
HEALTH & CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
G543

2. 2. Explanations of Dysfunctional Behaviour
Biological: Gottesman
Behavioural: Watson & Rayner
Cognitive: Beck

3. EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ) Explanations
BIOLOGICAL
January 2011
Outline a biological explanation of dysfunctional behaviour [10]
To what extent are explanations of dysfunctional behaviour reductionist? [15]
BEHAVIOURAL
Outline a behavioural explanation of dysfunctional behaviour [10]
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]

4. Resources: Information Booklet PowerPoint Essay Help Booklet
Exam Style Questions (ESQ)

6. Activity 1 Worksheet 1: KEY WORDS
Complete the key terms related to this topic
You can use the resources and internet to help
Each definition should be at least two sentences long
You should use these terms where appropriate in your essays

8. Worksheet 2: Summary Notes
Activity 2
Worksheet 2: Summary Notes
Complete summary notes for each section
Biological Approach
Behavioural Perspective
Cognitive Approach
You can use the resources and internet to help

9. 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
Results
What issue did Gottesman want to resolve?
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?
Sample
What are the details of the sample?

10. 2a. Summary Information: BIOLOGICAL APPROACH Gottesman, 1976
Aim
To review research on family, twin and adoption studies to test from evidence of a genetic cause.
Background
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.
Sample
In total there were 711 participants in the adoption studies and 210 monozygotic twins and 317 dizygotic twin sets studied.

11. 2a. Summary Information: BIOLOGICAL APPROACH Gottesman, 1976
Method
A review article of three adoption and five twin studies between 1967 and 1976
Procedure
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.
Results & Conclusion
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.

12. 2a. Summary Questions: BEHAVIOURAL Watson & Rayner, 1920
Aims
Method & Procedures
What were the four aims of Watson and Rayner’s research on Little Albert?
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?
Background
What did Watson & Rayner want to find out about?
What theory did Watson and Rayner support?
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?
Sample
What are the details of the sample?

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 2c.Summary Questions: CoGNITIVE Beck, 1961
Aims
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?
What was the aim of this study?
Background
What do we know about people with depression?
Results
Sample
Where were there clear differences between groups?
How was anxiety felt?
What was there a tendency to do?
What are the details of the sample? Total sample, median age
How many were diagnosed with manic- depression? Neurotic- depression?

16. 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 manic-depressive reactions and 38 as having neurotic-depressive reactions.

17. 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.

18. Worksheet 3: Evaluation
Activity 3
Worksheet 3: Evaluation
Part 1: DIAGNOSIS
* Write/type up your responses. Elaborate your responses fully.
Part 2: EVALUATION GRID

19. 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?

20. 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?

21. 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.

22. 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?

23. 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?

24. 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.

25. 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?

26. 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?

27. 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.

29. Worksheet 4: Essay Plans
Activity 4
Worksheet 4: Essay Plans
10 Mark Questions
15 Mark Questions

31. EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ) Explanations
BIOLOGICAL
January 2011
Outline a biological explanation of dysfunctional behaviour [10]
To what extent are explanations of dysfunctional behaviour reductionist? [15]
BEHAVIOURAL
Outline a behavioural explanation of dysfunctional behaviour [10]
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]

33. Biological Approach [10]
Introduction:
Assumption:
Gottesman:
Conclusion:

34. Behavioural Perspective [10]
Introduction:
Assumption:
Watson & Rayner:
Conclusion:

35. Cognitive Approach [10]
Introduction:
Assumption:
Beck:
Conclusion: