Abnormal Psychology

PSYCH 40111

Models of Psychopathology

Scientific Paradigms
 Paradigms are conceptual frameworks that
scientists use to study the world
 Paradigms include assumptions about science
and methods
 Paradigms dictate what will and will not be
studied
 Paradigms can dictate the methods used by a
scientist

Abnormal Behavior in Ancient

Times
 Demonology, gods, and
magic
 Hippocrates’ medical
concepts
 Early philosophical
conceptions of
consciousness and mental
discovery

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Abnormality During the
Dark Ages
 Marked by an increase
of influence of churches
 Church authorities
came to view witchcraft
as an explanation of
abnormality
 Witches were in the
league with the Devil
 Torture was required to
elicit “confessions”

Renaissance
 Resurgence of
scientific questioning
in Europe
 Establishment of early
asylums and shrines
 Humanitarian
Reformers

The Beginning of the Modern Era

 Establishing the link
between the brain and
mental disorder
 Early biological views
 The beginnings of a
classification system

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Early Views of Psychopathology

 Somatogenesis is the view that disturbed

body function produces mental abnormality
 Psychogenesis is the belief that mental
disturbance has psychological origins

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The Psychoanalytic Paradigm
 The core assumption of the
psychoanalytic paradigm is that
abnormal behavior reflects
unconscious conflicts within the
person
 The psychoanalytic paradigm is
derived from the theories of
personality developed by Sigmund
Freud

Freud’s Model of the Mind

 Freud suggested that the mind is composed
of three parts:
 Id is the raw energy that powers the mind
 Id seeks gratification of basic urges for food, water,
warmth, affection, and sex
 Id processes are unconscious

 Ego is a conscious part of the mind that deals

with reality
 Superego is the final part of the mind to emerge
and is similar to the conscience

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Freud’s Model of the Mind

Psychosexual Development
 Freud argued that personality develops in stages: in
each stage the id derives pleasure from a distinct
part of the body
 Oral (Birth to 18 months): infant derives pleasure from
eating and biting
 Anal (18 months to 3 years): the focus of pleasure is the
anus
 Phallic (3 to 6 years): the genitals are the focus of
pleasure
 Latent (6 to 12 years): id impulses are dormant
 Genital: heterosexual interests are dominant

Defense Mechanisms
 Anxiety results from blockade of id impulses or
from fear of expression of an impulse
 Defense mechanisms reduce anxiety:
 Repression
 Denial
 Projection
 Displacement
 Reaction formation
 Regression
 Rationalization
 Sublimation

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Psychoanalysis
Goal: Insight
 Free association

 Interpretations

 Dream analysis

 Resistance

 Transference

Neo-Freudian and Modern

Psychodynamic Theories
 Jung
 Adler
 Ego Psychology (Horney, Erikson)
 Object Relations (Klein, Kernberg)
 Interpersonal Therapy (Sullivan)
 Attachment Theory (Bowlby)

Critique of Psychoanalysis
 Sexual instincts as basis for all behavior
 Id, Ego, Superego
 Based on limited sample of women in Vienna
 Little evidence for success with many
disorders
 Lengthy/expensive treatment
 Not based on empirical research

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Freud’s Legacy
 Freud contributions include the views that:
 Childhood experiences help shape adult
personality
 There are unconscious influences on personality
 Defense mechanisms help to control anxiety
 The causes and purposes of human behavior
are not always obvious

Humanistic/Existential
Paradigms
 Humanistic/existential paradigms focus on
insight into the motivations/needs of the
person
 These paradigms place greater emphasis on the
persons freedom of choice (free will)
 The humanistic paradigm does not focus on
diagnostic labeling

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Assumptions of Roger’s Client-
Centered Therapy
 People can only be understood from
the vantage point of their own feelings
(phenomenology)
 Healthy people are:
 aware of their own behavior
 innately good and effective
 purposive and directive

Existential Therapy
 The existential view emphasizes personal
growth
 The existential view notes that making
choices results in anxiety
 Existential therapy encourages clients to
confront their anxieties and to make
important decisions about how to relate to
others

Gestalt Therapy/
Modern Experiential Therapy
 Gestalt therapists focus on the here and now
and on the individual as an actor responsible
for his or her role
 Modern experiential therapy combines
humanistic, existential, and Gestalt
approaches:
 attending to nonverbal cues
 empty-chair technique
 2-chair dialogue

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Evaluation of Humanistic/
Existential Approach
Pros:
 Relies upon the client’s strengths, goals

 Rogers should be credited for the origination of

psychotherapy research
Cons:
 Premise that humans are inherently good has
been challenged
 No effort is made to determine whether the patient
has the necessary skills for effective change

Behavior Paradigm
 Focus on environmental influences and
observable behavior: Behaviorism
 Learning
 the process whereby behavior changes in
response to the environment
 Key Figures
 Pavlov
 Watson
 Thorndike
 Skinner

Three Models of Learning

 Classical conditioning
 Pavlov
 Operant/instrumental conditioning
 Skinner
 Modeling/observational learning
 Bandura

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Classical Conditioning
 Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
 Unconditioned Response (UCR)

 Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

 Conditioned Response (CR)

+ =

Classical Conditioning
 Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
 Unconditioned Response (UCR)

 Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

 Conditioned Response (CR)

+ =

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Operant Conditioning
 Operant conditioning
 The likelihood of a response is increased or decreased
by virtues of its consequences
 Contingency (Thorndike’s Law of Effect)
 the association between action and consequences
 Reinforcement
 the process by which events in the environment
increase the probability of the behavior that precede it

Operant Conditioning
 Positive reinforcement
 behaviors followed by pleasant stimuli are
strengthened
 Negative reinforcement
 behaviors that terminate a negative stimulus are
strengthened
 Punishment
 suppression of behavior by introduction of aversive
consequences

Modeling
 Learning can occur in the absence of
reinforcers
 Modeling involves learning by watching and
imitating the behaviors of others
 Models impart information to the observer
 Children learn about aggression watching
aggressive models

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Behavior Therapy
 Behavior therapists use classical and operant
conditioning techniques as well as modeling
 Exposure

 Systematic desensitization

 Contingency Management

 Observational Learning

Evaluating Behaviorism
Cons:
 Oversimplification
 Determinism
 Denies Intrapersonal factors
Pros:
 Scientific
 Sensitive to Environmental Factors

The Cognitive Paradigm

 Based in Information processing viewpoint
 Cognition involves the mental processes of
perceiving, recognizing, judging and
reasoning
 Schemas
 Beliefs
 Attributions
 Expectancies

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Cognitive Therapy
 Ellis
 Rational-Emotive Therapy
 Beck
 CognitiveDistortions
 Negative Cognitive Triad
 Automatic Thoughts

Cognitive Behavior Therapy

 Cognitive and Behavioral Paradigms have
largely merged
 Thoughts, feelings, behaviors are all causally
interrelated
 Combination of performance-based and
thinking-based interventions
 Collaborative Empiricism
 Interactive effort between therapist and client

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The Biological Paradigm

The Biological Paradigm

 The biological paradigm
(medical model) suggests that
alterations of biological
processes result in abnormal
behavior
 Biological processes may
include:
 Imbalances of brain chemistry
(functional deficits)
 Disordered development of brain
structures
 Disordered genes lead to
disorder (heredity)

Neuroscience and the

Nervous System
 The Field of Neuroscience
 The role of the nervous system in disease
and behavior
 The Central Nervous System (CNS)
 Brain and spinal cord
 The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
 Somatic and autonomic branches

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 The Neuron

Transmission of information from one neuron to another

Neuroscience: Neurotransmitters
and Psychopharmacology
 Functions of Neurotransmitters
 Agonists, antagonists, and inverse agonists
 Most drugs are either agnostic or antagonistic
 Main Types and Functions of
Neurotransmitters
 Serotonin (5HT)
 Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) and
benzodiazepines
 Norepinephrine and beta blockers
 Dopamine and L-Dopa

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Neuroscience and Brain
Structure
 Two Main Parts
 Brainstem and forebrain
 Three Main Divisions
 Hindbrain
 Midbrain
 Forebrain

Midbrain and Hindbrain

Midbrain and Hindbrain

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The Peripheral Nervous System
 Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
 A network of nerve fibers leading from the CNS to all
parts of the body
 Somatic Branch of PNS
 Controls voluntary muscles and movement
 Autonomic Branch of the PNS
 Sympathetic division
 mobilizes the body to meet emergencies
 Parasympathetic division
 slows down metabolism and regulates the organs in such a way
that they can do the work of rebuilding their energy supply

The sympathetic nervous system (red) and parasympathetic nervous system (blue)

The Endocrine System

 Hormones
 chemical messengers that are released into the
bloodstream by the endocrine glands
 affect sexual functioning, appetite, sleep, physical growth
and development, the availability of energy, and
emotional responses
 Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenalcortical Axis
 HPA axis
 Integration of endocrine and nervous system function

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 The major endocrine glands

Biological Approaches to
Treatment
 The approach to treatment is usually to alter the
physiology of the brain
 Drugs alter synaptic levels of neurotransmitters
 Surgery to remove brain tissue
 Induction of seizures to alter brain function
 Experience Can Change Brain Structure and
Function
 Therapy Can Change Brain Structure and Function
 Medications and psychotherapy

Behavior Genetics
 Behavior genetics is the study of how
individual differences in genetic
makeup contribute to differences in
behavior
 Genotype is the total genetic makeup,
composed of genes
 Phenotype is the observable behavioral
profile
 The phenotype can change over time as a function of
the interaction of genes and environment

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Methods of Behavioral
Genetics
 Family studies

 Twin studies

 Adoption studies

 Molecular genetic studies

Models: An Integrative
Approach
 Psychopathology is multiply determined
 One-dimensional accounts of
psychopathology are incomplete
 On the horizon: innovative approaches to
psychopathology (e.g., emotion frameworks)
 Must consider reciprocal relations between
 Biological, psychological, social, experiential,
cultural, and developmental factors

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Multidimensional Perspective
of Abnormal Behavior

Multidimensional Perspective
of Abnormal Behavior

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