4.1.4 psychopathology

Question 1

what are the 4 definitions of abnormality

Answer 1

There are 4 definitions of abnormality:
Deviation from social norms 
Failure to function adequately  
Deviation from ideal metal health ( Marie Jahoda ( 1958) ) 
Statistical infrequency

Question 2

definition of abnormality- deviation from social norms

Answer 2

every society has norms, unwritten rules for acceptable behaviour, any behaviour that goes against this is a deviation from social norms
draws a line between desirable and undesirable behaviours and labels individuals behaving undesirably as social deviants

Question 3

definition of abnormality- failure to function adequately

Answer 3

behaviour suggests that they cannot cope with everyday life.
abnormal when it causes distress leading to an inability to function adequately, like disrupting the ability to work.

Question 4

features of personal dysfunction- personal distress

Answer 4

key feature, involves depression/anxiety

Question 5

features of personal dysfunction- maladaptive behaviour

Answer 5

behaviour stopping individuals from attaining life goals, both socially and occupationally

Question 6

features of personal dysfunction- unpredictability

Answer 6

displaying unexpected behaviours characterised by loss of control, like attempting suicide after failing a test

Question 7

features of personal dysfunction- irrationality

Answer 7

displaying behaviour that cannot be explained in a rational way

Question 8

features of personal dysfunction- observer discomfort

Answer 8

displaying behaviours makes other uncomfortable

Question 9

features of a personal dysfunction- violation of moral standards

Answer 9

displaying behaviour that violates society’s moral standards

Question 10

features of a personal dysfunction- unconventionality

Answer 10

displaying unconventional behaviours

Question 11

assessing coping

Answer 11

clinicians use the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF), which rates their level of social, occupational and psychological functioning

Question 12

strengths of failure to function adequately

Answer 12

matches sufferers perception

Question 13

definition of abnormality- deviation from ideal metal health

Answer 13

failure to meet the criteria for perfect psychological wellbeing.
Jahoda (1958) devised the idea of ideal mental health. has 6 characteristics an individual must exhibit in order to be ‘normal’
characteristics- self-actualisation, positive attitudes towards self, autonomy, resisting stress, accurate perception of reality and environmental mastery

Question 14

Jahoda’s criteria- positive attitudes towards self

Answer 14

having self-respect and a positive self-concept

Question 15

Jahoda’s criteria- self-actualisation

Answer 15

experiencing personal growth and development

Question 16

Jahoda’s criteria- autonomy

Answer 16

being independent, self-reliant and able to make personal decisions

Question 17

Jahoda’s criteria- resisting stress

Answer 17

effective coping strategies and being able to cope with everyday anxiety-provoking situations

Question 18

Jahoda’s criteria- accurate perceptions of reality

Answer 18

percieving the world in a non-distorted way.

having an objective and realistic view of the world

Question 19

Jahoda’s criteria- environmental mastery

Answer 19

being competent in all aspects of life and able to meet the demands of any situation. having the flexibility to adapt to changing life circumstances

Question 20

definition of abnormality- statistical infrequency

Answer 20

behaviours that are statistically rare should be seen as abnormal
depends in natural distribution

Question 21

phobias

Answer 21

a type of anxiety disorder
characterised by uncontrollable, extreme, irrational and enduring fears and involve anxiety levels out of proportion to any actual risk

Question 22

phobias- behavioural symptoms

Answer 22

avoidant/anxiety type- confrontation with feared stimulus produces high anxiety responses and so efforts are made to avoid the chances of anxiety responses
disruption of functioning- anxiety and fear responses are so extreme that they severely interfere with the ability to conduct everyday working and social functioning

Question 23

phobias- emotional symptoms

Answer 23

persistent, excessive fear- produce high levels of anxiety due to the presence of or the anticipation of the feared object/situation
fear from exposure- produce an immediate fear response, even panic attacks due to the presentation of the feared phobic object/situation

Question 24

phobias- cognitive symptoms

Answer 24

recognition of exaggerated anxiety- are typically consciously aware the anxiety levels they experience are overstated

Question 25

phobia sub-types

Answer 25

1. simple 2. social 3. agoraphobia

Question 26

simple phobias

Answer 26

specific | sufferers have fears of specific things and environments

Question 27

simple phobias divisions

Answer 27

animal injury situational natural

Question 28

social phobias

Answer 28

commonly experienced involve being overly anxious in social situations like having to talk in public involve the perception of being judged and feeling inadequate

Question 29

social phobias divisions

Answer 29

performance interaction generalised

Question 30

agoraphobia

Answer 30

fear of leaving home or a safe place often occurs with panic attacks can be brought about via the fear of contamination

Question 31

depression

Answer 31

affective mood disorder involving lengthy disturbances of emotions can occur in cycles

Question 32

unipolar depression

Answer 32

without mania

Question 33

unipolar depression- behavioural symptoms

Answer 33

``` loss of energy social impairment weight changes poor personal hygiene sleep pattern disturbance ```

Question 34

unipolar depression- emotional symptoms

Answer 34

loss of enthusiasm- lessened concern with/ lack of pleasure in daily activities constant depressed mood- overwhelming feeling of sadness or hopelessness worthlessness- constant feelings of reduced worth/inappropriate feelings of guilt

Question 35

unipolar depression- cognitive symptoms

Answer 35

delusions- some, generally concerning guilt, punishment, personal inadequacy or disease. some experience hallucinations reduced concentration thoughts of death poor memory

Question 36

bipolar depression

Answer 36

manic

Question 37

bipolar depression- behavioural symptoms

Answer 37

high energy levels-boundless energy, resulting in increased work output reckless behaviour talkative

Question 38

bipolar depression- emotional symptoms

Answer 38

elevated mood states- constant 'high' moods are common with intense feelings of euphoria irritability- often frustrated/irritable when they dont get their own way lack of guilt- social inhibition

Question 39

bipolar depression- cognitive symptoms

Answer 39

delusions | irrational thought processes

Question 40

OCD

Answer 40

anxiety disorder where sufferers experience persistent and intrusive thoughts occuring as obsessions, compulsions or a combination of both

Question 41

obsessions

Answer 41

forbidden/inappropriate ideas and visual images that arent based on reality

Question 42

compulsions

Answer 42

intense, uncontrollable urges to repetitively perform tasks and behaviours attempt to reduce distress or prevent feared events can include avoidance

Question 43

obsessions - behavioural symptoms

Answer 43

hinder everyday functioning social impairment- anxiety levels generated are so high as to limit the ability to conduct meaningful interpersonal relationships

Question 44

obsessions- emotional symptoms

Answer 44

extreme anxiety

Question 45

obsessions- cognitive symptoms

Answer 45

recurrent and persistent thoughts- experience constantly repeated obsessive thoughts and ideas of an obsessive nature recognised as self-generated realisation of inappropriateness attentional bias- perception tends to be focused on anxiety-generating stimuli

Question 46

compulsions- behavioural symptoms

Answer 46

repetitive- feel compelled to repeat behaviours hinder everyday functioning social impairment

Question 47

compulsions- emotional symptoms

Answer 47

distress

Question 48

compulsions- cognitive symptoms

Answer 48

uncontrollable urges | realisation of inappropriateness

Question 49

common compulsions

Answer 49

``` excessive washing/cleaning excessive checking repetition mental compulsions hoarding ```

Question 50

behavioural approach to explaining phobias

Answer 50

see phobias as learnt through experience via association. in classical conditioning, a stimulus becomes associated with a response, while operant conditioning involves learning behaviour due to consequences. social learning theory where behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation of another

Question 51

two-process model

Answer 51

onset- directly through classical conditioning or indirectly through social learning maintenance- through operant conditioning, where avoiding/escaping acts as a negative reinforcer, reward being the reduction of anxiety

Question 52

treating phobias- systematic desensitisation

Answer 52

main- developed by Wolpe (1958) and is based on classical conditioning learn in stages to replace fear responses with feelings of calm. anxiety and relaxation are seen as incapable of co-existing simultaneously

Question 53

treating phobias- systematic desensitisation hierarchy

Answer 53

goes from least to most feared types of contact contact is usually achieved by imagining scenarios (covert desensitisation) but sometimes include actual scenarios (in vivo desensitisation)

Question 54

cognitive approach to depression- Beck's negative triad

Answer 54

believes people become depressed because the world is seen negatively through negative schemas which dominate thinking and are triggered when in situations similar to when negative schemas are formed

Question 55

negative schemas

Answer 55

developing in childhood and adolescence, when authority figures place unreal demands on individuals and are highly critical fuelled by cognitive biases

Question 56

types of negative schemas

Answer 56

ineptness schema- make depressives expect to fail self-blame schemas- make depressives feel responsible for all misfortunes negative self-evaluation schemas- constantly remind depressives of their worthlessness

Question 57

cognitive bias- arbitrary inference

Answer 57

conclusions drawn in the absence of sufficient evidence

Question 58

cognitive bias- selective abstraction

Answer 58

conclusions drawn from just 1 part of a situtaion

Question 59

cognitive bias- overgeneralisation

Answer 59

sweeping conclusions drawn on the basis of a single event

Question 60

cognitive bias- magnification and minimisation

Answer 60

exaggerations in evaluation of performance

Question 61

Beck's negative triad

Answer 61

negative schemas, together with cognitive biases, maintain the negative triad, which sees negative thoughts as being: 1. the self- sees themself as being helpless 2. the world- obstacles are percieved within 1's environment that cannot be dealt with 3. the future- persons worthlessness is seen as blocking improvement

Question 62

cognitive approach to depression- Ellis' ABC model

Answer 62

believes depressives mistakenly blame external events for their unhappiness, thought it is their interpretation of the events that is responsible for their distress A- activating event- something happens in the environment B- beliefs- hold a belief about the event/situation C- consequence- have an emotional response to your belief

Question 63

genetic explanation to depression

Answer 63

centres on the idea that the vulnerability to depression is inherited. generally researched through twin and adoption studies