Explanations of Child Behavior Disturbance

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Chapter 2

• Explanations of Child Behavior Disturbance

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Brain and Behavior The Neuroscience of Disorders

• Four types of abnormality in normal gene
  replication that can cause physical or mental
  problems
• A single defective gene
• Recessive genes
• Disarranged or excessively replicated gene
  sequences
• Incompletely divided chromosomes

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Some Basic Concepts of Genetics

• Polygenic Model Multiple genetic abnormalities
  are usually required for a person to develop a
  disorder
• A few serious and progressive neurological
  disorders (Huntingtons Chorea), and some types
  of mental retardation (Down syndrome) have
  genetic basis
• However, little or no accepted evidence of a
  genetic basis for behavior disorders

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Behavioral Genetics

• Aims to discover the contributions of genes to
  many human behaviors
• Behavioral geneticists study similarities in the
  most closed related individuals (identical twins)
• Adoption studies examine what disorders are
  genetic versus developmental
• Studies reveal that genes underlie family
  similarities in many skills and behaviors

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Evaluation of Genetic Models of Abnormality

• Critics charge environment can account for many
  similarities in twins
• Studying identical and fraternal twins reared
  apart should be a stronger test
• U. of Minnesota study reported personality
  similarities among adult identical twins
  separated at birth
• But researchers did not report lists of
  dissimilarities

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Evaluation of Genetic Models of Abnormality

• Effect of genes may be indirect
• Reciprocal gene-environment model genetic
  endowment increases a persons chances of
  entering or creating particular types of social
  situations
• Genetic vulnerabilities can increase a persons
  exposure to the very situations that create
  problems for that person
• Perils of Genetics Research

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Perils of Behavioral Genetics Research

• Very difficult to connect specific genes with
  specific psychological disorders
• Complex and subtle contributions of many genes
  more difficult to trace
• Many psychological disorders difficult to
  diagnose
• Many of the presumed causal paths cannot be
  traced

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• No perfect correspondence between brain
  structure, genes or biochemistry and behavior
  disorder
• Genetic endowment most often creates
  predispositions to develop certain disorders,
  given a particular set of biological and
  environmental conditions

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Structure and Functions of the Brain

• (CNS) Central Nervous System brain and spinal
  cord
• (PNS) Peripheral Nervous System somatic and
  autonomic nervous systems
• Brain contains billions of neurons (nerve
  cells)
• Neurotransmitters chemicals that cross gap
  between neurons to transmit or inhibit nerve
  impulses.
• An excess or deficiency of various
  neurotransmitters is thought to be involved in
  many mental disorders

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Structure and Function of the Brain

• Some Neurotransmitters
• Serotonin Acts on information processing and
  modes. Low activity levels in suicide,
  aggression, sexual excesses, impulsive overeating
• GABA Reduces anxiety, inhibits behaviors and
  emotions, reduces overall arousal, reduces
  emotional responses

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Structure and Function of the Brain

• Norepinephrine May act to generally regulate or
  moderate behavioral tendencies
• Dopamine Activates other neurotransmitters to
  inhibit or facilitate emotions and behavior.
  Associated with Parkinsons disease and possibly
  with schizophrenia

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Links between Brain, Behavior and Psychopathology

• Cerebral Cortex contains most of the neurons of
  the CNS and has 4 lobes (frontal, parietal,
  temporal, and occipital) that have different
  functions
• HYPAC hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenalcortical
  axis is made up of the hypothalamus and endocrine
  system
• Brain sites below cerebral cortex (midbrain,
  cerebellum, pons, medulla oblongata and spinal
  cord) associated with more automatic functions

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A Psychodynamic Explanation Freuds
Psychoanalytic Theory

• Four main themes of Freuds personality theory
• Irrationality of humans
• Unconscious aggression, sexual jealousy, anxiety
• Formation of personality in early childhood
• Need to recognize and overcome early irrational
  feelings about parents

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Structure of Personality

• Composed of three systems (not anatomical
  locations, but constructs to explain irrational
  and conflicted human behavior
• Id first and most primitive component, seeks
  immediate gratification
• Ego operates more realistically, decision making
  executive branch of personality
• Superego represents the harsh moral code derived
  from what child believes strict, unforgiving
  parents want, drives person to try to meet
  impossibly high standards

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Stages of Psychosexual Personality Development

• Freud thought most of adult personality formed in
  first 5 years
• Oral stage too much or too little oral
  gratification can produced oral fixation
• Anal stage over eagerness to please others with
  tangible creations, compulsivity about
  cleanliness
• Phallic stage resolution of Oedipal Complex

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Evaluation of Freuds Theory

• Demolished general beliefs that children lack
  sexual interests and adults behave rationally
• Psychoanalysis an intervention for
  psychologically disturbed people that guided
  psychiatric assessment and treatment for decades

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Evaluation of Freuds Theories

• Criticisms
• Psychoanalytic theories more self-contradictory,
  more complex, and less parsimonious than
  competing theories
• Lack of rigorous research
• Lack of empirical evidence to support
  effectiveness
• Dated

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Freuds Heritage Eriksons Ego Theory

• Ego Identity individuals healthy solution to a
  sequence of identity crises associated with each
  psychological stage

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Ego Theory Stages

• Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (infant)
• Initiative vs. guilt (3-5)
• Industry vs. inferiority (before puberty)
• Identity versus isolation (adolescence)

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Ego Theory Stages

• Intimacy vs. isolation (young adulthood)
• Generativity versus stagnation (maturity)
• Integrity versus despair (old age)

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Ego Theory Evaluation

• Not much more focused or scientifically
  verifiable than Freuds theory

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Freuds Heritage Attachment Theory

• One of the most influential explanations of early
  social and emotional adjustment
• Normal social development throughout formative
  years based on infants developing trust in
  attachment figure

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Attachment Theory Evaluation

• Difficult distinguish between effects of early
  attachment quality and later relationships with
  parents
• Insufficient evidence that early troubled
  attachment strongly predicts later psychopathology

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Freuds Heritage Object Relations Theory

• Object relations refers not to physical objects
  but to human social and emotional relations
• Theory stresses lasting influence of early
  relationships with important others
• Child forms stable internalized beliefs about
  himself and other people

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Freuds Heritage Object Relations Theory

• Introjection child imitates and identifies with
  the mother and others, viewing herself as others
  do
• Internalization child thinks of herself as dumb
  or bright, good or bad, reacting as though person
  who was the original attachment object was still
  present

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Conditioning, Learning, and Cognitive Psychology
Explanations
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Skinners Operant Learning Model

• Two basic types of learning operant and
  respondent
• Operant conditioning involves voluntary and
  purposeful behaviors

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Skinners Operant Learning Model

• Operant behavior alters or operates on the
  physical or social environment and is cued by
  situations that precede it
• Discriminative stimuli stimuli that certain
  behaviors can be reinforced
• Reinforcing consequences any event that
  strengthens a preceding operant response or makes
  it more likely to occur

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Skinners Operant Learning Model

• Operant Behavior can be eliminated through
  extinction
• Extinction when usual reinforcement is
  completely withheld for a prolonged period

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Punishment and Negative Reinforcement

• Negative reinforcement increases the rate of
  behavior it follows exactly as positive
  reinforcement does
• Operant behavior is repeated because it removes
  an aversive stimulus
• Punishment delivery of an aversive stimulus
  following some action, which reduces future
  probability of that behavior

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Evaluation of Skinner

• Skinner provided focused, general, easily
  understood and parsimonious explanation of human
  behavior
• Some say he is too grounded in animal research to
  explain complex human activities
• Behavioral geneticists argue that some behavior
  is hereditary and not learned

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Banduras Social Cognitive Theory

• Humans can exert great control over our own
  conduct regardless of external influences
• A persons interpretation of an event is the
  chief determinant of that persons reaction.
• Humans adept at observational learning
  (imitation, modeling)

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Sources of childrens abnormal behavior

• Exposure to socially deviant models
• Insufficient reinforcement
• Inappropriate reinforcement or reinforcement of
  undesirable behavior
• Faulty learning

• Fictional reinforcement contingencies
• Faulty self-reinforcement

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Self-Efficacy and Behavior

• Theory attempts to explain the mutual interacting
  influences of peoples self-perceptions and their
  behavior
• Self-Efficacy Your belief in your own ability
• Self-efficacy convictions can be self-fulfilling