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THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
ON ABNORMALITY:
BIOMEDICAL AND PSYCHODYNAMIC
LECTURE OUTLINE
• Theoretical perspectives
• Biomedical theories
• Psychodynamic theories
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
What Is a Theory?
• way of viewing, interpreting, explaining psychological phenomena
Why Are Theories Important?
• generates research that leads to new knowledge
• guides diagnostic decisions
• suggests treatment approaches
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
What Are the Levels of Theories?
• single factor theories (e.g., dopamine hypothesis for schizophrenia)
• interactionist theories consider multiple factors
• theories vary according to their level of explanation and levels of analysis
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
The Value of Theories
• not explanation or proof of an enduring truth
• integration of knowledge/understanding of a phenomenon
• prediction about phenomena not previously thought of
• specifies what evidence would deny the theory
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
Testing Theories: The Null Hypothesis
• studies don’t seek to prove theory, but rather reject or fail to reject the theory
• if the null hypothesis is rejected, then there is support, not proof, for the theory
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
The Search for Causes
• explain the origins of a disorder
• identify factors that maintain the behaviour or disorder
• predict the course of the disorder
• design effective treatments
BIOMEDICAL THEORIES
• Roots – Hippocrates, general paresis, Kraeplin and classification
• The language – etiology, symptom, disorder, diagnosis, therapy, prognosis
BIOMEDICAL THEORIES
Central Nervous System – Areas of the Brain
• parts of the brain - hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain
• brain damage
BIOMEDICAL THEORIES
Central Nervous System
Neurotransmission – chemical messengers that carry electrical activity from one neuron to the next; synapse – gap between 2 neurons
BIOMEDICAL THEORIESCentral Nervous System
Neurotransmission - Monoamines
Norepinephrine (NE)Norepinephrine (NE)
DopamineDopamine
SerotoninSerotonin
Gama aminobutyric Gama aminobutyric acid (GABA)acid (GABA)
Stress reactions, Stress reactions, anxiety, depressionanxiety, depression
SchizophreniaSchizophrenia
DepressionDepression
AnxietyAnxiety
BIOMEDICAL THEORIESCentral Nervous System
Dysfunctional behaviour can result from disturbances in neurotransmission in 4 different ways
1. too much or too little of a neurotransmitter is produced
2. Too much or too little of a neurotransmitter is deactivated in the synapse
BIOMEDICAL THEORIESCentral Nervous System
Dysfunctional behaviour can result from disturbances in neurotransmission in 4 different ways
3. The reuptake process is defective
4. too many or too few receptors are available on the dendrite of the next cell
BIOMEDICAL THEORIESPeripheral Nervous System
• Somatic nervous system – muscle control
• Autonomic nervous system (ANS) – which consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, which act in concert to maintain homeostatic balance
BIOMEDICAL THEORIESPeripheral Nervous System
• Sympathetic nervous system – readies the body for action during stress
• Parasympathetic nervous system – shuts down non-essential functions
• Chronic overactive response of sympathetic system is related to anxiety disorders
BIOMEDICAL THEORIESEndocrine System
• Hormones – chemical messengers released by various glands into the blood stream
• Dysfunctional behaviour may result from hormonal imbalances
BIOMEDICAL THEORIESGenetics
• Genetic research provides insights into whether certain disorders may be inherited
• Concordance rates among family members
• Research strategies – family studies, twin studies (MZ & DZ twin comparisons), adoption studies, genetic linkage studies (genetic markers for disorder)
BIOMEDICAL TREATMENTS
ECTDrug treatments• Antipsychotics• Anxiolytics• Antidepressants• Lithium• Stimulants
SUMMARY OF BIOMEDICAL THEORIES
• There is a wide variety of biomedical theories and factors regarding different disorders
• There is also a wide range in the role played by these factors in different disorders
• Biomedical factors are not the whole story, but the biomedical model is dominant in the mental health field
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
• Roots – Freud and his followers
• Psychic structure – id, ego, superego
• Levels of consciousness – conscious, preconscious, unconscious
• How do psychological problems develop? Through disruptions of the psychosexual stages of development – oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital stages
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
• Neurosis – Freud focused on anxiety-related disorders, including depression, formerly called the neuroses
• Anxiety – the core problem of the neuroses
• Types of anxiety – realistic, moral, neurotic
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
• How do psychological problems develop? Through disruptions of the psychosexual stages of development – oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital stages
• How are psychological problems maintained? Through the individual’s use of defense mechanisms
• Defense mechanisms are ways of coping with anxiety aroused by life circumstances or events
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
Defense Mechanisms
• repression
• denial
• rationalization
• projection
• displacement
• reaction formation
• sublimation
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
Neo-Freudian theories
• Jung - collective unconscious
• Adler – inferiority complex
• Object relations theories
• Bowlby – attachment theory
PSYCHODYNAMIC TREATMENTS
What psychodynamic treatment methods are used to treat psychological problems?
• free association
• dream analysis
• interpretation
• analysis of resistance
• transference and the problem of counter-transference
PSYCHODYNAMIC TREATMENTS
More recent psychodynamic treatments
• brief and time-limited psychodynamic therapy – importance of therapeutic alliance
• ego analysis
• Adler – individual psychology
• Sullivan – interpersonal therapy