Psychological theories offer diverse explanations for abnormal behavior. From unconscious conflicts to learned responses, each perspective sheds light on mental health issues. These theories help us understand how thoughts, experiences, and biology shape our minds and behaviors.

Cognitive processes, psychodynamic theories, and learning principles all play roles in mental disorders. By examining distorted thinking, early relationships, and conditioning, we gain insights into the complex factors contributing to psychological problems. This integrated approach enhances our understanding of abnormal behavior.

Psychological Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior

Psychological theories of abnormal behavior

• Psychodynamic perspective emphasizes the role of unconscious conflicts and early childhood experiences in shaping personality and behavior with abnormal behavior resulting from unresolved conflicts and maladaptive defense mechanisms (repression, projection)
• Behavioral perspective focuses on observable behaviors and the role of learning and conditioning in the development of abnormal behavior which is acquired through classical and operant conditioning (phobias, addiction)
• Cognitive perspective emphasizes the role of thoughts, beliefs, and information processing in the development and maintenance of abnormal behavior with maladaptive thinking patterns and cognitive distortions contributing to mental disorders (catastrophizing, overgeneralization)
• Biological perspective focuses on the role of genetic, neurological, and biochemical factors in the development of abnormal behavior resulting from imbalances in neurotransmitters, brain abnormalities, or genetic vulnerabilities (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder)

Cognitive processes in mental disorders

• Cognitive distortions involve negative automatic thoughts and irrational beliefs contributing to the development and maintenance of mental disorders
  • All-or-nothing thinking evaluates experiences in extremes without considering middle ground
  • Overgeneralization draws broad conclusions based on a single event
  • Catastrophizing predicts the worst possible outcome in any situation
• Attentional biases involve selective attention to threatening or negative stimuli maintaining anxiety and mood disorders (hypervigilance in PTSD)
• Memory biases involve a tendency to recall negative experiences more readily than positive ones perpetuating depression and anxiety (rumination in major depressive disorder)
• Maladaptive schemas are deeply held, rigid beliefs about oneself, others, and the world leading to dysfunctional behavior and emotional distress (abandonment schema in borderline personality disorder)

Psychodynamic theories of abnormality

• Freudian theory posits that abnormal behavior results from unresolved conflicts between the id, ego, and superego with fixation at various psychosexual stages leading to specific personality traits and mental disorders (oral fixation, anal-retentive personality)
• Object relations theory emphasizes the importance of early relationships with caregivers in shaping personality and behavior with abnormal behavior stemming from disrupted or dysfunctional early attachment experiences (insecure attachment styles)
• Ego psychology focuses on the role of the ego in mediating between internal drives and external reality with weak or underdeveloped ego functions leading to maladaptive behavior and mental disorders (poor impulse control, reality testing deficits)

Learning and conditioning in abnormal behavior

• Classical conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an aversive stimulus leading to the development of phobias and anxiety disorders
  1. Neutral stimulus is presented (white rat)
  2. Aversive stimulus is introduced and paired with the neutral stimulus (loud noise)
  3. Neutral stimulus alone elicits a conditioned fear response (fear of white rats)
• Operant conditioning shapes and maintains abnormal behavior through reinforcement and punishment with positive reinforcement of maladaptive behaviors leading to their persistence (attention-seeking behaviors in histrionic personality disorder)
• Social learning theory posits that observational learning and modeling can contribute to the development of abnormal behavior with children learning aggressive or dysfunctional behaviors by observing and imitating parents or peers (intergenerational transmission of abuse)

Integrating Psychological Perspectives