Abnormal Psychology



Abnormal Psychology

Explain the social learning perspective on the role of learning in the etiology of somatoform disorders?



Learning can be defined as the process leading to relatively permanent behavioral change or potential behavioral change. In other words, as we learn, we alter the way we perceive our environment, the way we interpret the incoming stimuli, and therefore the way we interact or behave. Behavioral Psychology is basically interested in how our behavior results from the stimuli both in the environment and within ourselves. They study, often in minute detail, the behaviors we exhibit while controlling for as many other variables as possible. Often a grueling process, but results have helped us learn a great deal about our behaviors, the effect our environment has on us, how we learn new behaviors, and what motivates us to change or remain the same(Oltmanns & Emery, 2012).

Other sub-camps of learning theory include Social Learning. or the idea that we learn through our interactions with society. In social learning theory, society plays a much larger role in the way we think about ourselves and the world and therefore how we interact or behave in the larger context of society.

Still others see our thoughts as playing an important role in the development of personality. While this concept is negated or denied by some strict behaviorists, many argue that the world is not made up of factual information but rather information that is always open to interpretation. The way we perceive the world is much more important than the way the world really is. Social-Cognitive theories of personality represents a combination of behaviorist, social learning theory, and cognitive theory and could be termed cognitive-behavioral in nature.

Somatoform disorders are a group of problems characterized by physical problems, such as pain, immobility, and discomfort. Typically, this group of disorders includes somatization disorder, conversion disorder, pain disorder, and hypochondriasis. (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012)

In all of these illnesses, the problems are serious enough to interfere with the person's daily life, work, and relationships. The problems are also usually bad enough to cause the person to seek medical treatment. However, for many of these problems there are no medical explanations or successful medical treatments. As a result, many people with somatoform disorders are referred to mental health care professionals for additional assessment, explanations, and treatments. (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012)

However, just because a person is referred to a nonmedical professional doesn't mean that the person's pain isn't real. People with somatoform disorders aren't pretending to be sick; their pain is very real despite the fact that there is no known cause. People with somatoform disorders are often referred to mental health care professionals for treatment instead of (or in addition to) medical professionals for a number of reasons: these problems are often made worse by psychological stress; they can be made worse by a person's behaviors; they often lead to emotional issues such as depression; and in some cases, the cause of the problem is psychologically related. (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012)

The ...