Download Final-set

Social Influence, Personality,
Abnormality and Treatment
Two opposing views:
Social Influence which suggests
malleability and Personality which
suggests continuity
Focus
• Two somewhat opposing views:
• Social Influence
• Consistent Personality
Bystander Apathy & Intervention
• Surprising work of Darley & Latane on the
effect of the no. of bystanders
Mechanisms That Produce
Bystander Apathy Effects
1. moral diffusion
2. lack of clarity--ambiguity of interp. and of action.
airport/subway crutch--fall 83 vs. 41 % helped,
and they were people more familiar with the
surround.
3. costs of intervention. sometimes they are raised by
the presence of others (surveillance)
4. rules for behaving: don't stare, unless you know
what to do/day, keep your mouth shut etc.
5) mood: Isen dime in coin slot mailing letter 10-->90
%
Mechanisms That Produce
Bystander Apathy Effects
1. moral diffusion
2. lack of clarity--ambiguity of interp. and of action.
airport/subway crutch--fall 83 vs. 41 % helped, and they
were people more familiar with the surround.
3. costs of intervention. sometimes they are raised by the
presence of others (surveillance)
4. rules for behaving: don't stare, unless you know what to
do/day, keep your mouth shut etc.
5) mood: Isen dime in coin slot mailing letter 10-->90 %
Underlying Explanation
•
•
•
•
•
Foot in the door
Other is responsible (diffusion of resp.)
Aloneness- lack of social support
Ambiguity about situation/what to do!!!
Other directedness (Reisman)
Schein’s POW Work
•
•
•
•
Level of compliance and how it was obtained
The power of social isolation
Who resisted?
Solution: inner codes vs. external or
situational control
• Conclusion: balance?……
Summary
• Humans oriented toward what others do and
can become dangerous as a result
• Issues:
– Conformity
– Obedience
– Self Perception
– Foot in the door
– Dehumanization
Roots of Aggression
Two Theories
Defining Abnormality
• Medical approach
• Statistical approach
• Functional approach
These reflect two basic views of disorders
--brain based
--behavior/experience/personality/
situation based
The “two worlds” of psychiatry
A Radical Viewpoint
• Thomas Szasz—there is no mental illness
– Brain disease vs. mental illness
– Problem in living vs. mental illness
– Prisons as hospitals
– Practical outcome
DSM-IV
•
•
•
•
•
•
Axis 1: Syndromes (Scz, Depress, etc.)
Axis 2: Retardation & Personality Disorders
Axis 3: General Medical Condition
Axis 4: Social/Environmental Problems
Axis 5: Global Assessment & Copin
Older classification (primarily of Axis 1 & 2)
dichotomized: Neuroses & Psychoses
• Mood (Dep. Bipolar) vs. Thought (Scz) Disrdr
Some Interim Conclusions
• Psychoses (focus on SCZ) is a disorder of
heredity and/or prenatal environment
• But it’s also a disorder of poverty (and that
may be bidirectional)!
• Another view of prevalence and recent
dramatic changes in prevalence
Incidence & Prevalence
• Schizophrenia: approx. 1%
• Bipolar Disorder: approx. 1%
• Depression:
approx. M 13% F 21%
Different Therapies for Different
Conditions
• Medical: Brain targeted drug interventions
examples:
--SCZ: Dopamine receptor blockers (the better
the block the more effective it is)
--Other neurotransmitters involved as well
--Depression: ex. Norepinephrine uptake or
release+, Serotonin release+, & a host of other
neurotransmitter controls involved
-- Electro-convulsive shock therapy!
Psychological Therapies
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Psychoanalytic
Behavioral
Client-centered
Cognitive-behavioral
Existential
Eclectic
Situational
Commonalities
• Just as there are some common underlying
aspects of disorders (chemical imbalance, brain
disease, stress, social disconnection) there are
commonalities of psychotherapy.
• Correcting the neurological imbalance can correct
our thinking and so can working directly on our
thinking and behavior.
• A two-pronged approach may be best.
One More Outcome Study
• In a recent meta-analysis comparing drug with
psychotherapy approaches to treating depression,
drugs resulted in a 55% improvement, psychotherapy
52% and a combination of the two 85%!! (New England J.
of Medicine, 5-18-’00.)
• Mind and body interact, we shouldn’t be surprised!
Some Over-arching Issues
•
•
•
•
•
Therapy works!
Comparative studies
It’s the therapist as much as the theory
Meta analyses
Cost is driving the system now!
What to do?
• Keep wits about you & get recommendations from
knowledgeable people
• Don’t try to tough it out--it’s not weakness!
• Make sure therapist listens and understands
• Realize that there are setbacks along the way and that it
takes time
• Remember that heredity vs. environment isn’t “either-or”
but a set of interactions--so changing situations is
important in any case
• Finally, remember that most people get better!
Summary
• Who are we-what does Psychology have to
say?
• Are there implications for how we should
behave so as not to be a danger to ourselves
and each other?