PSYC 3390 Lecture Notes - Observational Learning, Protective Factor, Mecha
5 Dec 2012
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Document Summary
Understanding the causes of abnormal behaviour is clearly a desirable goal but is enormously difficult to achieve because human behaviour is so complex. Many investigators now prefer to speak of risk factors rather than of causes. Necessary cause - a condition that must exist for a disorder to occur e. g. ptsd cannot develop unless someone has experienced a severe traumatic event. Sufficient cause - a condition that guarantees the occurrence of a disorder e. g. if you are hopeless enough about your future, you will become depressed. Other causal factors that operate shortly before the occurrence of the symptoms of a disorder are considered proximal causal factors. A reinforcing contributory cause is a condition that tends to maintain maladaptive behaviour that is already occurring e. g. extra attention, sympathy and relief from un- wanted responsibility that may come when a person is ill.
