Atypical Behaviour Essay Revision PDF

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Theories of atypical behaviour and suggested therapies with studies and evaluation...

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Atypical Behaviour Essay Revision Biological Either inherited, caused by biological abnormalities such as high concentration of the hormone dopamine or bad communication between neurotransmitters Genetics: Gottesman (1991) Found that biological relatives of patients of schizophrenia are at an increased risk of also suffering from abnormal behaviour 40 family studies Found that the greater degree of genetic relatedness, the greater the risk of abnormal behaviour In twin studies where 100% of the genes are shared between two members, there is a 48% concordance rate of the nonsuffering twin to later develop the illness, compared to 9% between siblings and 6% between parents Shows this theory is likely due to the high genetic concordance rate ‘The Dopamine Hypothesis’: Comer (2003) High levels of dopamine in the brain cause attention deficiency which can then lead to symptoms of schizophrenia e.g. disorganised thoughts, disorderly behaviour, loss of perception which can lead to hallucinations Schizophrenia patients have a high number of D2 receptors in the brain which causes more dopamine to

Behaviourist Argue that learning plays a key role in the development of atypical behaviour Early experience of punishment may lead the child to retreat into a rewarding inner world Labelling Theory Scheff (1966): Suggests individuals may be labelled as ‘bizarre’ or ‘strange’ and continue to act strangely to conform to the label given. Bizarre behaviour is rewarded with attention and becomes more exaggerated in a continuous cycle before eventually being diagnosed as schizophrenic Behaviourists aim to explain that atypical behaviour is a consequence of faulty learning. If a child receives no social reinforcement in early life they child will respond to inappropriate and irrelevant environmental cues instead of paying attention to social stimuli in the socially accepted norm They explain that schizophrenia runs in families as a function of social learning. Bizarre behaviours are imitated by children from their parents and the parents reinforce this behaviour until it becomes progressively worse and the child will eventually be labelled as schizophrenic Scott and Dixon (1995): Supported by therapy treatments

Cognitive Faulty Thinking Hemsley (1993): Suggested people with atypical behaviour have what is known as a faulty thinking process They cannot distinguish between information that is already stored and new incoming information which results in a sensory overload and do not know what information to acknowledge or ignore When a schizophrenic first experiences hallucinations they seek to conform the validity of these from close relatives Some people fail to confirm their hallucinations are false so start to believe them instead They begin to reject feedback from those around them and form delusional beliefs that they are being manipulated Yellowees et al Developed a curious treatment where patients watch a machine that produces virtual hallucinations This aims to show schizophrenics that their hallucinations are not real and teach them to differentiate between reality and delusion Harshly iterates that disbelieving others is a consequence of madness

Humanistic Accounts more for childhood and past experiences of sufferers in the nurture debate ‘Double Bind Theory’: Bateson et al. (1958) Children who received regular contradictory statements or messages from their parents can then go on to develop incoherent speaking and thoughts in adulthood If a parent tells them they love them but accompanies this with a dirty look then the child receives two conflicting messages which nullifies the other, causing an inability to respond properly Fits the conditional love aspect of the humanistic approach If the child is exposed to this for a long period of time then the normal development of cognitive processes and sense of reality may be disrupted. This can cause positive symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, disrupted thoughts and speakings Berger (1965): Supports theory with schizophrenia patients who could recall a high number of double bind statements particularly from mothers.

Liem (1974): Measured patterns of parental

bind to neurons Supported by Falkai (1988) and Owen (1978) who found high levels of dopamine in the amygdala of the brain and increased D2 receptor cells respectfully

Evaluation Study valid as many case studies were used but it lacks generalisation as twin studies were used meaning it cannot be applied to the general population Does not account for environmental or social factors If biological factors were the only valid reason for atypical behaviour then genetic concordance would be 100% Dopamine hypothesis hard to test accurate levels of dopamine and is not enough on its own to cause all symptoms of schizophrenia, especially negative symptoms Other factors can contribute to high levels of dopamine such as recreational drugs

such as social skills training techniques which have helped them achieve useful social skills. The success of this therapy suggests the very skills they learn are what has failed them in the past

Made valid as the success of behaviour therapies support the theory Can explain how schizophrenia symptoms are maintained but does not explain where they originated from Labelling theory ignores strong genetic evidence and belittles a serious disorder Supported by empirical evidence Comments on the past and present of patients Effective treatments Accounts for cultural differences Simple model which is reductionist

relationships with children and communicative language such as double bind statements but found no significantly higher relationship between schizophrenia sufferers and parent communication than those with normal families

Focuses on current cognitions such as thought processes Plenty of empirical research and data Influential and popular model Includes both biological and psychological models and factors so validates other research Ignores environmental influences Unscientific as cannot measure cognitive processes Blaming the individual can make behaviour worse

Results conflicting Based on assumptions and memories are not always a reliable test of truthful statements Patients who are delusional may believe strongly they had a bad childhood when this may not be the case Can only be applied to familial relationships and does not consider biological factors

Compare/Contrast Biological/Behavioural Similarities Both study psychological explanations for atypical behaviour using methodology which follows the basic principles of their theory Agree that psychological explanations can be found for the existence of atypical behaviours Both address the effects of atypical behaviour on society using historical and contemporary examples Both agree atypical behaviour must be understood to understand the nature of behaviour within society today

Differences Biological suggests it is an innate response while behavioural believes it is learned

Biological/Cognitive Similarities Both study psychological explanations for atypical behaviour using methodology which follows the basic principles of their theory Agree that psychological explanations can be found for the existence of atypical behaviours Both address the effects of atypical behaviour on society using historical and contemporary examples Both agree atypical behaviour must be understood to understand the nature of behaviour within society today Both recognise biological factors in this instance Both understand the condition always existed Differences Cognitive understand atypical behaviour can be innate but vary from biological as they believe it is worsened by the environment

Biological/Humanistic Similarities Both study psychological explanations for atypical behaviour using methodology which follows the basic principles of their theory Agree that psychological explanations can be found for the existence of atypical behaviours Both address the effects of atypical behaviour on society using historical and contemporary examples Both agree atypical behaviour must be understood to understand the nature of behaviour within society today Both investigated family relationships

Behavioural/Cognitive Similarities Both study psychological explanations for atypical behaviour using methodology which follows the basic principles of their theory Agree that psychological explanations can be found for the existence of atypical behaviours Both address the effects of atypical behaviour on society using historical and contemporary examples Both agree atypical behaviour must be understood to understand the nature of behaviour within society today Both focus on past experiences and validation from others

Differences Biological approach does not account for social factors unlike the humanistic approach Humanistic approach contrasts to biological as examines past childhood experiences rather than medical causes. Nature/Nurture debate Biological theory can be supported by empirical evidence while the humanistic approach is based on assumptions

Differences Cognitive does not account for environmental cues and influences

Behavioural/Humanistic Both study psychological explanations for atypical behaviour using methodology which follows the basic principles of their theory Agree that psychological explanations can be found for the existence of atypical behaviours Both address the effects of atypical behaviour on society using historical and contemporary examples Both agree atypical behaviour must be understood to understand the nature of behaviour within society today

Behavioural suggests atypical behaviour is learned while humanistic believes it is imposed upon an individual and that they are responsible for the subsequent actions...