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 basedThe “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?