(a) Ravi has been showing signs of extreme social withdrawal and erratic mood swings. As a psychology student, how would you apply different approaches/models/factors to understand and explain any abnormal behaviour ?
OR
(b) Psychological Disorders have come a long way in their journey of understanding and treatment of disorders. To understand psychological disorders, we would require a brief historical account of how these disorders have been viewed over the ages. When we study the history of abnormal psychology, we find that certain theories have occurred repeatedly. Trace the history of disorders to understand their origin and leading to the latest developments.
(a) Ravi has been showing signs of extreme social withdrawal and erratic mood swings. As a psychology student, how would you apply different approaches/models/factors to understand and explain any abnormal behaviour ?
OR
(b) Psychological Disorders have come a long way in their journey of understanding and treatment of disorders. To understand psychological disorders, we would require a brief historical account of how these disorders have been viewed over the ages. When we study the history of abnormal psychology, we find that certain theories have occurred repeatedly. Trace the history of disorders to understand their origin and leading to the latest developments.
This is an OR question; a model answer for each option is given below.
Option (a): Approaches to Understanding Ravi's Abnormal Behaviour
- Biological approach: examines genetic predisposition, biochemical imbalances (e.g., neurotransmitter dysregulation) and brain abnormalities that could underlie Ravi's withdrawal and mood swings.
- Psychological approaches: the psychodynamic view looks at unresolved unconscious conflicts; the behavioural view looks at learned maladaptive responses and reinforcement history; the cognitive view examines distorted, negative thought patterns; the humanistic-existential view considers blocked self-actualisation and loss of meaning.
- Sociocultural factors: examines stressors like family conflict, social isolation, poverty or cultural expectations that may have triggered or worsened Ravi's condition.
- Diathesis-stress model (integrative view): combines the above — Ravi may have an underlying biological/psychological vulnerability (diathesis) that becomes an actual disorder only when triggered by significant environmental stress.
Option (b): Historical Account of Understanding Psychological Disorders
- Ancient/supernatural period: disorders attributed to evil spirits or divine punishment; treated through exorcism, prayer, and even trephining (drilling holes in the skull to release spirits).
- Somatogenic hypothesis (Greek era): Hippocrates proposed disorders arise from imbalances of four bodily humors, marking the first naturalistic/medical explanation.
- Middle Ages (demonology revival): disorders again linked to possession and witchcraft, leading to cruel treatments and witch hunts.
- Reform era: Philippe Pinel's humane treatment reforms in asylums (removing chains from patients) shifted care towards moral treatment.
- Psychogenic hypothesis and classification systems: Emil Kraepelin's classification of mental disorders and Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis established psychological causation.
- Modern era: development of behavioural, cognitive and biological models, integrated today into standardised classification systems (DSM, ICD) and the biopsychosocial/diathesis-stress model.
Marking Scheme
- 1Option (a) — 1.5 marks each: biological approach; psychological approaches (any two of psychodynamic/behavioural/cognitive/humanistic); sociocultural factors; diathesis-stress model as integrative synthesis.
- 2OR Option (b) — 1 mark each for correctly sequenced stages: supernatural/ancient beliefs; somatogenic hypothesis (Hippocrates); demonology revival in Middle Ages; humane/moral treatment (Pinel); classification and psychoanalysis (Kraepelin/Freud); modern biopsychosocial/DSM-ICD era.
- 31 mark (either option) for a concluding synthesis line connecting history/approaches to present-day integrative understanding.
Hint
For (a): cover biological + psychological (psychodynamic/behavioural/cognitive/humanistic) + sociocultural + diathesis-stress synthesis. For (b): trace supernatural → somatogenic → demonology → moral treatment (Pinel) → classification/psychoanalysis → modern biopsychosocial model.
Quick Oral Answer
Abnormal behaviour like Ravi's can be understood through biological, psychological and sociocultural approaches integrated by the diathesis-stress model; historically, views progressed from supernatural beliefs to Hippocrates' somatogenic hypothesis, a demonology relapse, Pinel's moral treatment reform, and finally to modern classification systems and the biopsychosocial model.
Analysis & Explanation
This 6-mark OR question rewards structured, multi-perspective thinking rather than a single-cause explanation.
Option (a) focus
The key insight examiners look for is integration: no single approach (biological/psychological/sociocultural) fully explains abnormal behaviour alone; the diathesis-stress model, which combines vulnerability and environmental trigger, is the modern, most complete explanatory framework and should ideally be highlighted as the concluding synthesis.
Option (b) focus
The historical trace should show a clear progression: supernatural → somatogenic (medical) → demonology relapse → humane/moral treatment → psychogenic/classification systems → modern integrative models. Students should note that history did not move in a straight line — supernatural beliefs and medical explanations alternated across eras before settling into modern science-based approaches.
Exam Trap
For (a), a common mistake is discussing only the biological approach in depth and treating psychological/sociocultural factors as an afterthought. For (b), students often jump straight from 'ancient superstition' to 'modern DSM classification', skipping the crucial Hippocratic and moral-treatment (Pinel) stages that examiners expect for full marks.
Common Mistakes
- 1In option (a), explaining only the biological (medical) approach in detail while giving one line each to psychological and sociocultural factors, missing the required breadth for 6 marks.
- 2In option (b), omitting Hippocrates' somatogenic hypothesis and Pinel's moral treatment reform, jumping directly from 'ancient superstition' to 'modern psychiatry.'
- 3Failing to mention the diathesis-stress model (option a) or the biopsychosocial synthesis (option b) as the concluding, integrative modern viewpoint, which examiners specifically look for.
Interesting Facts
Trephining, evidence of which dates back over 7,000 years in archaeological skull findings, is considered one of the earliest known surgical procedures, believed to release evil spirits causing abnormal behaviour.
Philippe Pinel, appointed head of the Bicêtre Hospital in Paris in 1793, famously ordered the chains removed from mental patients, a landmark moment in the shift toward humane treatment.
Emil Kraepelin's late-19th-century classification system for mental disorders laid the direct groundwork for today's DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) and ICD classification systems.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the diathesis-stress model?
It is an integrative model stating that a person needs an underlying vulnerability (diathesis) — genetic, biological or psychological — combined with significant environmental stress for a psychological disorder to actually develop; neither factor alone is usually sufficient.
How did the historical understanding of psychological disorders change over time?
It moved from supernatural explanations (evil spirits, trephining) to Hippocrates' somatogenic (medical, four-humors) hypothesis, back to demonology during the Middle Ages, then to humane moral treatment under Pinel, followed by classification systems (Kraepelin) and psychoanalysis (Freud), culminating in today's integrated biopsychosocial and DSM/ICD-based understanding.