Psychological Development Chapter 3

• Chapter 3 explores the definition and support of psychological development.

Lessons Overview:

• 3A: Categorizing typical and atypical behavior.
• 3B: Understanding normality and neurotypicality.
• 3C: Neurodiversity.
• 3D: Role of mental health workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and organizations.

Key Knowledge:

• The usefulness and limitations of psychological criteria to categorize behavior as typical or atypical.
• Cultural perspectives, social norms, statistical rarity, personal distress, and maladaptive behavior
• The concepts of normality and neurotypicality.
• Consideration of emotions, behaviors, and cognitions may be viewed as adaptive or maladaptive.
• Normal variations of brain development within society, illustrated by neurodiversity.
• The role of mental health workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and organizations.
• Support for psychological development, mental wellbeing, diagnosis, and management of atypical behavior.
• Culturally responsive practices are important.

Categorizing Typical and Atypical Behavior:

• Psychological criteria are used to determine if behavior is typical or atypical.
• Criteria include cultural perspectives, social norms, statistical rarity, personal distress, and whether the bahaviour is maladaptive.

Criteria for Categorizing Behavior:

• Perceptions are subconsciously influenced by various factors.
• Criteria such as cultural perspectives and social norms are determining factors, such as subconsciousness.
• Typical behaviors align with an individual's usual behavior.
• Atypical behaviors are unusual for an individual.
• Objectivity is important when assessing behaviors.
• Behavior may be atypical for one person but typical for another.

Cultural Perspectives:

• Society and community influence one's thoughts.
• Cultural perspectives involve awareness of customs, beliefs, traditions, rules, and etiquette.
• Attitudes towards the importance of mental health vary across cultures.
• Judgements of behaviour should be done in the context of their culture.
• Behavior is not a universal constant; perceptions vary across society.

Social Norms:

• Society has unofficial rules and expectations for behavior
• They are broader than cultural perspectives.
• Cultural perspectives and these norms are linked.
• One should assess how an individual acts within the group's expectations.
• Consideration should be made of the shifting baseline of normality.
• Normality can change over time as societal values change.

Statistical Rarity:

• This is unusual enough to be deemed significant and falls outside the range of normality.
• An individual’s behavior is often assessed in comparison to others.
• This method provides an objective way to categorize behaviors.
• Being rare is not equal to being bad or good.
• IQ scores may be considered very high or very low on the statistical range.

Personal Distress:

• This refers to the personal, emotional reaction of an individual.
• Reactions may not be explicit, but does go against the norm.
• Distress can also be internalized
• Visual or internal indicators may express personal distress.

Maladaptive Behavior:

• Prevents an individual meeting everyday demands.
• Like personal distress in that it results in an ability to cope, howeever, it manifests outward more.
• Behaviours are considered atypical as they are not how the idividual would behave.
• There is an effective hinderance in action.

Considerations when using maladaptive behavior:

• Determine if the individuals are performing effectively.
• Be sure to evaluate after a big change.
• Note maladaptive and atypical are two concepts related as maladaptive bahviour hinders an individuals ability to adjust to changes.
• Be objective about the behaviours of the individual.

Theory details

• The usefulness and limitations of different criteria should be evaluated to ensure an accurate categorization is being made.
• Evaluating their strengths and limitations is crucial so that the best possible categorisation is possible.

Evaluating the criteria for categorising behaviour

• Behaviours should be effectively catergorised in order to avoid the worst possible outcome.
• Strengths and limitations of psychological criteria should be evaluated in order to provide the best possible categorization.

Normality and Neurotypicality:

• Section provides an understanding of normality, covering a range of elements from emotions to behaviours.
• The lesson intends to have one understand psychology, and cognitions.
• This refers to understanding how psychological changes happen accross life.
• Normality is an extensive spectrum, and some behaviours that seem abnormal may be normal to others.

Normality 1.1.6.1:

• How 'normal' can be defined, influences perception.
• Normality is a standard, and is based on views, beliefs, and background.

Theory details

• Normailty refers to the state in relation to acceptability and the behaviours associated.
• Approches include the Socio-cultural, functional, historical, medical, statistical, and situational.
• In society, psychological development follows a typical pattern, but this is open to interpretation.
• Defining normality is crucial to dicussions mental health.
• It can aid with detection of emotions but also have negative effect of abnormalising patients.
• Due to continuous changes, normalitys explanation changes.

Neurotypicality 1.1.6.2:

• Neurotypicality looks at brain function in defining normality.
• Arose alongside the term neurodiversity, examines normality and the brain.

Theory details

• Neurological/cognitive functioning is viewed as typical or expected.
• 'Neurodiversity' is a term referring to varying function.
• 'Autism' was coined by Judy Singer.
• Terms aid to understand function although it does not mark being neurodivers as bad in comparison to neurotypical.

Adaptive and maladaptive emotions, behaviours, and cognitions 1.1.6.3:

• A cut can resilt in different reactions to individuals, what results from their behaviours
• 'adaptive' behaviours mean being able to effectively adjust
• Being maladaptive is when someone cannot conform with the expectations and behaviour

Adaptive:

• To effectively and practically adjust.
• Being hand in hand with the effective function
• To not comply impairs ability to make new connections

Theory details

• Adaptative refers to the enrionment and how actions take new effect.
• Psycological development can be montitored along three domains: emotoions behaviours and cognition.
• What is adapted to normality may not apply for every individual or behaviour.
• There is an action with the ability to meet the environment, though its important to note there are different perspectives. Our understanding of adaptive devlopment changes behaviour for example sleep requirements in which there is a variance for age.