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

SUMMARY OF PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY

• first psychological theory of abnormality, particularly the intra-psychic level

• focus on early childhood roots of psychological problems

• focus on anxiety disorders and defense mechanisms

• focus on psychological treatment