Research Studies for Abnormal Psychology
GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES
To what extent do biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence abnormal behaviour? (22 marks)
Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression
Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression
82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk
Lewisohn et al. (2001) - Negative attribution
Studied adolescents who experienced many negative life events over 12-month period
Those who had strong negative attribution / attitudes more likely to develop depression
Prince - Depression in Africa and Asia
Study claims there are no signs of depression in Africa and Asia
Prevalence rose with Westernisation
Teuting - Depression and serotonin study
Individuals with depression asked to provide urine samples
There was a significantly lower level of serotonin recorded in depressed participants' urine samples
Nurnberger and Gershon (1982) - twin studies into depression
Conducted 7 twin studies, concordance rate consistently higher for monozygotic twins (65%) than dizygotic twins (14%)
Depression may be a result of genetic vulnerability
Seligman - learned helplessness in dogs
Aimed to prove that learned helplessness in dogs can lead to depression; dogs were placed in an enclosure where the floor was lined with electrodes, electrodes were activated periodically and the dog would jump over a low wall that would slowly be raised by the researcher
When the wall was too high the dog could no longer jump and even after the wall was lowered again the dog made no attempt to jump and was shocked by the electrodes
Evaluate psychological research (studies / theories) relevant to the study of abnormal behaviour. (22 marks)
Rosenhan - being sane in insane places
Aimed to challenge the reliability of diagnosis / investigate effects of labelling, 8 participants (5 male 3 female) attempted to gain access to various hospitals' psychiatric ward by claiming they were hearing voices at phone-made appointments, 7 diagnosed with schizophrenia, 1 with manic depression
Once they entered hospital, stopped all "symptoms" and acted normal, took notes during their stay; took between 7-52 days to discharge all of them
Follow-up study: Rosenhan - being sane in insane places (II)
Informed previously-used institutions that one or more "pseudo-patients" will attempt to be admitted, staff members were asked to rate them on a 10-pt. scale of how likely they were to be pseudo-patient; no pseudo-patients were sent
193 patients judged, 41 confidently identified as pseudo-patients by one staff member, 23 suspected by psychiatrist, 19 suspected by psychiatrist and staff member
CONCEPTS AND DIAGNOSIS
Examine the concepts of normality and abnormality (22 marks)
Szasz (1962) - psychological [ab]normality is a culturally-defined concept
Taylor and Brown (1988) - those with depression are more accurate in their perception of reality
Discuss validity and reliability of diagnosis (22 marks)
Cooper et al. (1972) - New York / London diagnosis
Psychiatrists in London and NY were shown the same videotaped clinical interviews, psychiatrists in NY twice as likely to diagnose schizophrenia while London psychiatrists twice as likely to diagnose mania / depression
Beck et al. (1962) - Psychiatrists' agreement
Agreement between two psychiatrists for 153 patients' diagnoses was 54%
Di Nardo et al. (1993) - reliability of DSM
Studied reliability of DSM III for anxiety disorders, two clinicians separately diagnosed 267 people seeking treatment for anxiety / stress-related disorders
80% reliability for OCD, 57% for generalised anxiety disorder GAD; may be because how excessive someone's anxiety is is subjective
Rosenhan - being sane in insane places
Aimed to challenge the reliability of diagnosis / investigate effects of labelling, 8 participants (5 male 3 female) attempted to gain access to various hospitals' psychiatric ward by claiming they were hearing voices at phone-made appointments, 7 diagnosed with schizophrenia, 1 with manic depression
Once they entered hospital, stopped all "symptoms" and acted normal, took notes during their stay; took between 7-52 days to discharge all of them
Temerline - Authority on diagnosis
investigate effect of authority on diagnosis - 2 groups of participants listened to same tape of a person describing their normal life (happy marriage, work satisfaction etc.
An authority figure told one group that person in the tape was psychologically healthy, told other that the person was psychotic
Those who were told he was normal gave normal diagnosis, those told he was psychotic agreed with the psychosis diagnosis
Discuss cultural and ethical considerations in diagnosis (22 marks)
Erinosho and Ayonrinde - Nigeria Yoruba tribe study
Aimed to investigate cultural differences in criteria of normality and abnormality, participants were tribesmen of Nigerian Yoruba tribe, presented with information of schizophrenic patients
Only 40% of tribespeople actually identified patients as mentally ill, 30% of tribesmen said they would marry a person like the patient
Bintie - Schizophrenia in Nigeria
To investigate cultural differences in criteria of normality and abnormality, participants were Nigerians living in a city, information about schizophrenics were presented to them
Most participants identified patients as being mentally ill, 31% expressed aggression and suggested patients should be expelled / shot
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Describe symptoms and prevalence of one anxiety / affective / eating disorder (8 marks)
Brown's vulnerability model
Losing a parent at a young age, unemployment
Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression
Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression
82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk
Analyse etiologies (in terms of biological, cognitive and / or sociocultural factors) of one anxiety / affective / eating disorder. (8 marks)
Lewisohn et al. (2001) - Negative attribution
Studied adolescents who experienced many negative life events over 12-month period
Those who had strong negative attribution / attitudes more likely to develop depression
Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression
Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression
82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk
Prince - Depression in Africa and Asia
Study claims there are no signs of depression in Africa and Asia
Prevalence rose with Westernisation
Seligman - learned helplessness in dogs
Aimed to prove that learned helplessness in dogs can lead to depression; dogs were placed in an enclosure where the floor was lined with electrodes, electrodes were activated periodically and the dog would jump over a low wall that would slowly be raised by the researcher
When the wall was too high the dog could no longer jump and even after the wall was lowered again the dog made no attempt to jump and was shocked by the electrodes
Teuting - Depression and serotonin study
Individuals with depression asked to provide urine samples
There was a significantly lower level of serotonin recorded in depressed participants' urine samples
Nurnberger and Gershon (1982) - twin studies into depression
Conducted 7 twin studies, concordance rate consistently higher for monozygotic twins (65%) than dizygotic twins (14%)
Depression may be a result of genetic vulnerability
Discuss cultural and gender variations in prevalence of disorders (22 marks)
Williams and Hargreaves (1994) - prevalence of depression in women
Women are 70% / 2-3 times more likely to develop depression, perhaps because on average women experience more major life events (e.g. childbirth), women also more likely to develop several episodes of depression
Women are more outwardly emotional than men, more vulnerable to emotional fluctuations, more likely to report their depression
Brown's vulnerability model
Losing a parent at a young age, unemployment etc.
Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression
Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression
82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk
Koss et al. - discrimination against women
Found that discrimination against women begins early in their lives
Women make up the majority of victims of physical and sexual assault, domestic abuse / violence
Prince - Depression in Africa and Asia
Study claims there are no signs of depression in Africa and Asia
Prevalence rose with Westernisation
Fallon and Rozin - body image perception
Aimed to discover gender difference in body image perception, showed US undergrad students figures of own sex and asked them to indicate ones that looked most like themselves, their ideal figure, and most attractive to opposite sex; men asked to choose female figure they found most attractive
Men selected very similar body shapes to their own, women selected thinner as "most attractive" / ideal shape, figure that men chose as most attractive was heavier than figure women chose
Makino et al. - prevalence of EDs in Western / non-Western countries
compared prevalence of EDs in Western and non-Western countries and found that although it seems to be on the rise in non-Western countries, it is till lower than W countries
Development of EDs in non-W countries may be because of perceived social pressure to conform to W beauty standards, thinness seems more popular in post-WWII beauty ideal
IMPLEMENTING TREATMENT
Examine biomedical, individual and group approaches to treatment (22 marks)
Neale et al. (2011) - meta-analysis of antidepressants vs placebo
Analysis of published studies on outcomes of antidepressants vs placebo, focused on patients who started with real then switched to placebo, patients who only had placebo, patients who only recieved real
Found that patients who do not take anti-depressants have 25% risk of relapse compared to 42%+ for those who were on medication and then stopped; antidepressants may interfere with brain's natural self-regulation
Paykel et al. (1999) - therapies to prevent relapse
Conducted controlled trial of 158 patients who experienced one episode of major depression, patients received antidepressants, some received CBT
Relapse rate for those who had CBT much lower compared to those who only had antidepressants
Evaluate the use of biomedical, individual, and group approaches to the treatment of one disorder (22 marks)
Neale et al. (2011) - meta-analysis of antidepressants vs placebo
Analysis of published studies on outcomes of antidepressants vs placebo, focused on patients who started with real then switched to placebo, patients who only had placebo, patients who only recieved real
Found that patients who do not take anti-depressants have 25% risk of relapse compared to 42%+ for those who were on medication and then stopped; antidepressants may interfere with brain's natural self-regulation
Paykel et al. (1999) - therapies to prevent relapse
Conducted controlled trial of 158 patients who experienced one episode of major depression, patients received antidepressants, some received CBT
Relapse rate for those who had CBT much lower compared to those who only had antidepressants
Discuss the use of eclectic approaches to treatment (22 marks)
Keller et al. (2004) - antidepressants
Nearly 50-60% of depressed outpatients experience improvements in mood in first trial of antidepressants, however only 1 in 3 make full recovery with no symptoms
Klerman et al. (1974) - treatment of depression with drugs and / or psychotherapy
Aimed to test efficacy of treatment with antidepressants and psychotherapy alone or in combination, participants were 150 females diagnosed with depression split into 4 groups - antidepressants alone, antidepressants and psychotherapy, no antidepressants but more psychotherapy, placebo and no psychotherapy
Relapse rates highest in placebo group (36%), psychotherapy alone relapse rate of 16.7%, antidepressants alone relapse rate of 12%, combination of drugs and psychotherapy 12.5%
Pampallona et al. (2004) - meta-analysis of efficacy of drug treatment alone vs with psychotherapy in depression
Aimed to analyse whether combining anti-depressants and psychotherapy was more effective in treating depression, 16 random controlled studies including 932 patients taking antidepressants only and 910 receiving combined treatment
Patients in combined treatment improved significantly more than those in drug treatment alone
Discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic approach in relation to one disorder (22 marks)
Teuting - Depression and serotonin study
Individuals with depression asked to provide urine samples
There was a significantly lower level of serotonin recorded in depressed participants' urine samples
Nurnberger and Gershon (1982) - twin studies into depression
Conducted 7 twin studies, concordance rate consistently higher for monozygotic twins (65%) than dizygotic twins (14%)
Depression may be a result of genetic vulnerability
Kirsch et al. (2002) - effectiveness of SSRIs
Aimed to find out whether new generation of SSRIs were effective in treating depression, using Hamilton Scale for Depression on patients with different levels severity of depression, patients either taking placebo or SSRI
SSRIs did not appear to have any effect on those with mild / moderate depression, had positive effects for those with severe
Brown and Harris (1987) - Social factors in depression
Aimed to find out the social origins of depresison in women, sampled 458 women aged 18-65 who received hospital treatment for depression
82% of those who became depressed recently experienced life-changing effects as opposed to 33% who experienced lifechanging events in non-depressed group; those with young children at greater risk
Paykel et al. (1999) - therapies to prevent relapse
Conducted controlled trial of 158 patients who experienced one episode of major depression, patients received antidepressants, some received CBT
Relapse rate for those who had CBT much lower compared to those who only had antidepressants
