OCR Psychology A Level Book 2 sample

Background Alternatives to the medical model Topic 3 The specification requires that you study explanations of mental illness that are alternatives to the medical model. Five alternative explanations are identified. You are required to know the behaviourist and cognitive explanations plus one other (humanistic, psychodynamic or cognitive neuroscience). On this spread we look at the behaviourist explanation of mental illness. This spread covers the essential information you will need on background for the exam but you also need to link the background to issues and debates and to the key research. We will look at these links on page 46. Behaviourist principles There are three main behaviourist principles that can be applied to mental illness. Classical conditioning Classical conditioning is learning through association, as demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov: a dog salivates when it smells food. Salivation is an unlearned/ unconditioned response (UCR) to food ( unconditioned stimulus, UCS ). A neutral stimulus ( NS , e.g. a bell) is associated with the UCS and eventually, on its own, produces the UCR (salivation). Because this is a learned response the NS is now a conditioned stimulus (CS) which produces a conditioned response (CR) . Operant conditioning Operant conditioning refers to learning through reinforcement and punishment. A stimulus that produces a desirable outcome is reinforced making it more likely that the same behaviour will be repeated in the future in anticipation of the same reinforcement. A stimulus that produces an undesirable outcome (punishment) is discouraged and is less likely to occur again. Social learning theory Social learning theory (SLT) is a ‘neo’ behaviourist explanation. This means that it still uses the basic behaviourist principles of learning through interactions with the environment, but it is slightly different as it acknowledges the role of cognitions in the learning of behaviour. SLT proposes that behaviour can be learned directly as described above, and it can also be learned indirectly (vicariously). If a person observes someone else being reinforced (or punished) for certain behaviours this may encourage (or discourage) them from imitating the observed behaviours. People may develop a mental illness because they observe someone else displaying certain ‘abnormal’ behaviours and imitate those behaviours, possibly because they see the model receiving some form of reward for their behaviours. Behaviourist explanation of major depression Classical conditioning One explanation for depression stems from research with dogs. Martin Seligman and Steven Maier (1967) placed dogs in a cage and classically conditioned them to expect a shock after they heard a tone. The dogs could not escape the shock. Later they placed the dogs in another cage which this time had two compartments separated by a low wall which could easily be jumped over. Some of the dogs could escape the shocks if they moved to the other compartment. The researchers found that those dogs who had learned that it was not possible to escape the shock didn’t even try to escape when given the opportunity. They called this learned helplessness which has been used to explain depression – early experiences of lack of control mean that, later in life, when faced with similar situations, people may respond with passivity, inaction and depression. Operant conditioning Peter Lewinsohn (1974) proposed that operant conditioning can explain depression, arguing that it occurs when positive reinforcers from the environment are removed. For example, if someone’s relative passes away they no longer receive the positive reinforcement of spending nice time with that person. Or, if for example a person loses their job, then the positive reinforcements of interactions with colleagues are reduced. If the individual is not receiving positive reinforcement from others they are less likely to seek out other social situations, known as avoidance . This then further reduces the positive reinforcers they are experiencing. This social withdrawal may eventually lead to friends and family members staying away, thereby reducing the individual’s reinforcement even further. Those people who are close to someone with depression may unconsciously encourage the depressive behaviour by giving attention to the depressed individual when they show their symptoms, therefore encouraging these symptoms of depression through a process of positive reinforcement. Thus a vicious circle is created because the only stimulation the patient is receiving from those close to them is sympathy and attention for the depressive behaviours, rather than the positive social events they may have previously encountered. Research evidence Treatments involving operant conditioning can be highly effective at treating depression, which supports an explanation based on conditioning as the initial cause of the depression. For example, David Ekers et al. (2008) conducted a meta-analysis of 17 studies, involving 1109 patients with depression. They found that behavioural treatment which involves rescheduling daily activities to reintroduce positive reinforcers, and to reduce avoidance of situations that could involve reinforcers, significantly reduced depressive symptoms (as measured on the Beck Depression Inventory ) compared with control groups . If therapy based on behaviourist principles is effective, this suggests that the explanation is valid. In fact results from Ekers et al .’s meta-analysis showed that behaviourist treatments were as effective as cognitive treatments, suggesting that behaviourist explanations are as important as cognitive explanations for depression (see the next spread for a detailed cognitive explanation of depression). The behaviourist perspective You are familiar with the behaviourist perspective in psychology, discussed in our Year 1 book (chapter 7). The behaviourist explanation of mental illness proposes that mental illness is learned, much like any other behaviour. It assumes that mental illness is determined by external events, and is driven by past experiences or anticipation of future outcomes. Behaviourists are interested in observable behaviours, in this case abnormal behaviours, rather than the thought processes behind these behaviours. The behaviourist explanation of mental illness Chapter 1: Issues in mental health 34