Factors Underlying Abnormal Behaviour

Factors Underlying Abnormal Behavior

Biological Factors influence all aspects of our behavior.

• A wide range of biological factors may interfere with normal development and functioning of the human body such as:

1. Faulty genes
2. Endocrine imbalances
3. Malnutrition
4. Injuries

• These factors may be potential causes of abnormal behavior.
• According to the biological model, abnormal behavior has a biochemical or physiological basis.
• Psychological disorders are often related to problems in the transmission of messages from one neuron to another across synapse.
• When an electrical impulse reaches a neuron’s ending, the nerve ending is stimulated to release a chemical called neuro-transmitter.
• Abnormal activity by certain neuro-transmitters can lead to specific psychological disorders. For example,

1. Anxiety disorders have been linked to low activity of neurotransmitter - gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)
2. Schizophrenia to excess activity of dopamine.
3. Depression to low activity of serotonin.

Genetic Factors

• They have been linked to mood disorders, schizophrenia, mental retardation and other psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, etc.
• In most cases, no single gene is responsible for a particular behaviour or a psychological disorder. In fact, many genes combine to help bring about our various behaviours and emotional reactions, both functional and dysfunctional.

Psychological Model

• This model also provides a psychological explanation of mental disorders.
• These models maintain that psychological and interpersonal factors have a significant role to play in abnormal behavior.
• These factors include:

(a) Maternal deprivation

1. Separation from the mother
2. Lack of warmth and stimulation during early years of life.

(b) Faulty parent-child relationships

1. Rejection
2. Overprotection
3. Over-permissiveness
4. Faulty discipline

(c) Maladaptive family structures

1. Inadequate or disturbed family

(d) Severe stress

Psychodynamic Model (oldest and most famous of the modern psychological models)

• Theorists believe that behaviour, whether normal or abnormal, is determined by psychological forces within the person of which she/he is not consciously aware.
• These internal forces are considered dynamic i.e. they interact with one another and their interaction gives shape to behaviours, thoughts and emotions.
• Abnormal symptoms are viewed as the result of conflicts between these forces.
• Freud believed that 3 central forces shape personality:

1. Instinctual needs, drives and impulses (id)
2. Rational thinking (ego)
3. Moral standards (super ego)

• He stated that abnormal behavior is a symbolic expression of unconscious mental conflicts that can be generally traced to early childhood or infancy.

Behavioral Model

• It states that both normal and abnormal behaviors are learned and psychological disorders are the result of learning maladaptive ways of behaving.
• It concentrates on behaviors that are learned through conditioning and propose that what has been learned can be unlearned.
• Learning can take place by:

1. Classical conditioning (temporal association in which two events repeatedly occur close together in time)
2. Operant conditioning (behavior is followed by a reward)
3. Social learning (learning by imitating others’ behavior)

• These 3 types of conditioning account for behavior, whether adaptive or maladaptive.

Cognitive Model

• It states that abnormal functioning can result from cognitive problems.
• People may hold assumptions and attitudes about themselves that are irrational and inaccurate.
• People may also think repeatedly in illogical ways and make overgeneralizations i.e. they may draw broad, negative conclusions on the basis of a single insignificant event.

Humanistic-Existential Model

• Focuses on broader aspects of human existence.
• Humanists believe that human beings are born with a natural tendency to be:

1. Friendly
2. Cooperative
3. Constructive
4. Are driven to self-actualize i.e. to fulfill this potential for goodness and growth

• Existentialists believe that from birth we have total freedom to give meaning to our existence or to avoid that responsibility
• Those who shrink from this responsibility would like

1. Empty
2. Inauthentic and
3. Dysfunctional lives

Socio-Cultural Model

• Socio cultural factors such as:

1. War and violence
2. Group prejudice and discrimination
3. Economic and employment problems
4. Rapid social change

put stress on most of us and can also lead to psychological problems in some individuals.

• According to this model, abnormal behavior is best understood in light of the social and cultural forces that influence an individual.
• As behavior is shaped by societal forces, following factors become more important:

a) Family structure and communication

Certain family systems are likely to produce abnormal functioning in individual members.

Some families have an enmeshed structure in which the members are overinvolved in each other’s activities, thoughts and feelings. Children from this kind of family may have difficulty in becoming independent in life.

b) Social networks

The broader social networks in which people operate include their social and professional relationships.

People who are isolated and lack social support, i.e., strong and fulfilling interpersonal relationships in their lives are likely to become more depressed and remain depressed longer than those who have good friendships.

c) Societal labels and roles

Abnormal functioning is influenced by the societal labels and roles assigned to troubled people. When people break the norms of their society, they are called deviant and ‘Mentally ill’.

• Such labels tend to stick so that the person may be viewed as ‘crazy’ and encouraged to act sick. The person gradually learns to accept and play the sick role, and functions in a disturbed manner.

Diathesis - Stress Model (widely accepted)

• It states that psychological disorders develop when a diathesis (biological predisposition to the disorder) is set off by a stressful situation.
• This model has 3 components:

1. The first is the diathesis or the presence of some biological aberration which may be inherited.
2. The second is that the diathesis may carry a vulnerability to develop a psychological disorder. This means that the person is ‘at risk’ or ‘predisposed’ to develop the disorder.
3. The third is the presence of pathogenic stressors, i.e. factors/stressors that may lead to psychopathology.

• If such "at risk" persons are exposed to these stressors, their predisposition may actually evolve into a disorder.
• This model has been applied to several disorders including anxiety, depression and schizophrenia.