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4.1.4 Psychopathology Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?

A

Deviation form social norms
Statistical infrequency
Failure to function adequately
Deviation from ideal mental health

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2
Q

What is deviation from social norms?

A

Concerned with behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society.
All societies make collective judgements about what counts as normal behaviour.
Behaviour is abnormal is if is very different to the acceptable behaviour in the group, unexpected by other members or offends other members in sone way.

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3
Q

Strengths of deviation from social norms

A

It is a culturally specific definition so can be tailored for use in very different cultures.
Includes the issue of the desire ability of a behaviour, so behaviours which are deemed as ideal/desireable by the group are not defined as abnormal.
Practical application is the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, the defining characteristic of which is the failure to conform to culturally normal/ethical behaviour. This shows it has value as a criteria in psychiatry.

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4
Q

Weaknesses of deviation from social norms

A

Culturally relative as social norms vary with time and culture, so it is difficult to determine universal signs of illness.
Social norms change over time so the definition lacks temporal validity.
May lead to an ethnocentric bias in diagnosis, as western social norms reflect the majority ‘white’ population, so deviation from these means ethnic minorities are overrepresented in mental health statistics.
Could be abused as an instrument of social control, as a powerful group can establish norms and therefore decide what is abnormal.
Less scientific and objective than other definitions (statistical infrequency)
Limited applicability as it is not clear what norms are being broken when someone displays a mental disorder, so may be difficult to diagnose them.

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5
Q

What is failure to function adequately?

A

Occurs when someone is unable to cope with the ordinary demands of day-to-day living and lead a normal life.

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6
Q

Who created the criteria to define failure to function adequately?

A

Rosenhan and Seligman

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7
Q

What are the points on the criteria to determine if someone is failing to function adequately?

A

Severe personal distress
Displays maladaptive behaviours
Danger to themselves or others
Unpredictable and uncontrollable
Irrational
Discomfort for observers
Violates moral or social standards

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8
Q

Strengths of failure to function adequately?

A

Recognises the patients perspective - the people seeking help believe that they are suffering from psychological problems that interfere with their daily life. The criteria means help can be directed to those who need treatment and services.
Characteristics are mostly observable, providing an objective measure of abnormality.

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9
Q

Weaknesses of failure to function adequately

A

Judging a person as failure to function adequately eg. Distressed relies on a subjective assessment and so cannot be standardised
Does not differentiate between behaviour that is abnormal and behaviour that is simply non-conformist, unconventional or eccentric.
Many mental disorders do not cause personal distress, so may go untreated.
Some maladaptive behaviours eg. Smoking are not a sign of psychological abnormality. This could limit peoples freedom of choice.

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10
Q

What is statistical infrequency?

A

Occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic than the average normal population, based on a statistical average.

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11
Q

How is statistical infrequency measured?

A

Presumes human characteristics are normally distributed, where normal is seen as the statistical average.
Behaviour is abnormal if it is numerically rare, a certain distance from the statistical average and occupies the extreme ands of a normal distribution curve.
Therefore it focuses on the quantity of a behaviour rather than the quality

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12
Q

Strengths of statistical infrequency?

A

Real world application as all assessment of patients with mental disorders includes some kind of measurement of how severe their symptoms are compared to statistical norms. This makes it a useful part of clinical assessment. Eg. Beck’s depression inventory shows that a score in the top 5% of participants indicates severe depression.
A scientific explanation- using statistics to define abnormality is objective and standardised.

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13
Q

Weaknesses of statistical infrequency

A

Issue of who decides where the cut off is, as to how far a behaviour should deviate from the mean to be classed as abnormal
Fails to account for behaviour that is statistically rare, but desirable eg. A high IQ would also be considered abnormal, failing to distinguish between good and bad.
Relies on the use of up-to-date statistics
Assumes human behaviour and experiences can be measured in numerical form
Some disorders eg. Depression, are not statistically rare and so may go undiagnosed.
Doesn’t consider cultural variations so is guilty of cultural relativism - what is statistically normal in one culture may not be in another, which can lead to cultures being deemed abnormal based on the standards of others.

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14
Q

What is deviation from ideal mental health?

A

Occurs when someone fails to achieve good mental health

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15
Q

What criteria is used to assess deviation from ideal mental health?

A

Jahoda’s critera

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16
Q

What are the points on jahoda’s criteria for deviation from ideal metal health?

A

Inaccurate perception of reality
Problems with self-actualisation
Inability to cope with stress
Negative attitude towards self
Lack of autonomy and independence
Poor environmental mastery

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17
Q

Strengths of deviation from ideal mental health

A

A positive approach to defining abnormality which provides a useful set of criteria for self-improvement, helping sufferers to improve.
Practical application as it allows targeting of areas of dysfunction when treating disorders, giving the person clear and specific goals to work towards.

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18
Q

Weaknesses of deviation from ideal mental health

A

Criteria are not equally applicable across a range of cultures, being located in Western context. This variation across cultures eg. Self-actualisation and independence, means it is difficult to apply the concept of ideal mental health from one culture to another.
Criteria are difficult to assess- they rely on self-reports of people who may be mentally ill and so unreliable in their description of their problems.
The criteria were devised over half a century ago so may lack temporal validity.

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19
Q

What is a phobia?

A

An irrational fearful anxiety response to a specific object or situation

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20
Q

What is the DSM-5?

A

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder

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21
Q

How does the DSM-5 categorise phobias?

A

All phobias show an out of proportion fear response to a phobic stimulus.
They can either be…
Specific phobias
Social anxiety
Agoraphobia

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22
Q

What is a specific phobia?

A

A phobia of an object or situation

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23
Q

What is social anxiety?

A

A phobia of a social situation

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24
Q

What is agoraphobia?

A

A phobia of being outside or in a public place.

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25
What is a behavioural characteristic of a phobia?
How people respond when presented with the phobic stimulus Panic, avoidance or endurance
26
What is avoidance?
Making an effort to avoid coming into contact with the phobic stimulus
27
What is endurance
Remaining in the presence of the phobic stimulus despite experiencing high levels of anxiety
28
What are emotional characteristics of phobias?
How people feel when presented with the phobic stimulus Anxiety and fear
29
What is anxiety?
An unpleasant state of high arousal, usually long term
30
What is fear
The immediate and extremely unpleasant response when we first encounter the phobic stimulus, usually short term.
31
What are cognitive characteristics of phobias?
Ways in which the information is processed about phobic stimuli, and what the person is thinking or believing. Selective attention, irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions
32
What does irrational mean in relation to phobias?
The fear and anxiety response to the phobic stimulus is widely disproportionate to the danger posed by the phobic stimulus.
33
What is selective attention
Cannot focus on anything else but the phobic stimulus, and does not look away from it
34
What is irrational beliefs
Beliefs that are disproportionate and untrue about the phobic stimulus
35
What are cognitive distortions
Perceptions about the phobic stimulus are distorted
36
What is behaviourism?
A way of explaining behaviour in terms of learning from the environment.
37
Who proposed the two-process model?
Mowrer
38
What is the two-process model?
An explanation for the onset and persistence of a phobia in terms of classical an operant conditioning. It states that the original learnt fear is acquired by classical conditioning and is maintained by operant conditioning.
39
How can a phobia develop through classical conditioning?
After a traumatic event (UCS) that results in fear/anxiety (UCR) is associated with the neutral stimulus to produce a conditioned response of fear/anxiety. This often leads to generalisation of the fear so the person becomes afraid of other similar objects.
40
What is generalisation of a phobia?
When the phobia is generalised so the person becomes afraid of other similar objects.
41
How is a phobia maintained by operant conditioning?
Once developed, a phobia is maintained by operant conditioning, as the person becomes anxious about their phobic stimulus so avoids it. The reduction in fear/anxiety due to the avoidance acts as negative reinforcement so they continue to avoid the phobic stimulus.
42
Who discovered classical conditioning?
Pavlov
43
Who discovered operant conditioning?
Skinner
44
What is depression?
A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels
45
What are the DSM categories of depression?
Major depressive disorder- severe but often short term Persistent depressive disorder- long term or recurring depression Disruptive mood disregulation disorder- childhood temper tantrums Premenstrual dysphoric disorder- disruption to mood prior or during menstruation
46
What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?
Reduced activity levels Psychomotor agitation- struggle to relax Social withdrawal Disrupted sleep Changes in eating behaviour Verbal or physical aggression Self harm
47
What are the emotional characteristics of depression?
Low mood- feeling worthless or empty Anger or extreme anger towards themselves of others Low self esteem- self-loathing
48
What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?
Poor concentration so difficulty sticking to tasks or making decisions Dwelling on the negatives of a situation and ignoring the positives Absolutist thinking- thinking situations are either all good or all bad Catastrophising- seeing an unfortunate situation as an absolute disaster
49
What do cognitive explanations for depression focus on?
How mental processes affect behaviour, and how negative or maladaptive biases in thinking lead to depression.
50
What are the two cognitive explanations for depression?
Beck’s negative triad Ellis’s ABC model
51
What is Beck’s negative triad?
Explains why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others. It is a cognitive model with 3 components.
52
What are the 3 components of Beck’s model?
Negative triad Faulty information processing Negative self schemas
53
What is the negative triad?
When a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of automatic negative cognitions about the self, the world and the future. These thoughts affect their mood, behaviour and physiology. These thinking patters predispose people to experience depression.
54
What is faulty information processing?
When individuals selectively attend to negative interpretations and ignore positives, whilst blowing small problems out of proportion. Processing is cognitively biased, as people rely on existing beliefs/schemas. Said to ensure depression will occur and need to change cognitions to get better.
55
What are negative self-schemas and why are they a problem?
Schemas allow us to selectively process information rapidly due to expectation. If our self-schemas (self-beliefs) are negative, then we selectively take in information that confirms these negative beliefs, and ignore contrary evidence. These are likely acquired in childhood due to repeated criticism or rejection
56
When are negative self schemas usually acquired?
in childhood due to repeated criticism or rejection
57
When does a dysfunctional belief lead to depression according to beck?
If the individual encounters a critical life event, which triggers dysfunctional assumptions and biased information processing that results in symptoms of depression.
58
What are the effects of negative schemas in adulthood?
Overgeneralisation- one negative event means everything is negative Magnification- blowing things up out of all proportion Selective perception- perceiving only bad events and ignoring others Absolutist thinking- believing everything must be perfect or else it is a disaster.
59
What is Ellis’s ABC model?
Suggests that good mental health is the result of rational thinking, meaning thinking in ways that allow people to be happy and pain-free. Anxiety and depression are therefore the result of irrational thoughts- not illogical or unrealistic, but prevent us being happy and pain-free.
60
What is the A in Ellis’s ABC model?
Activating event Negative, irrational thoughts and beliefs are triggered by an external event eg. Failing a driving test
61
What is the B in Ellis’s ABC model?
Beliefs Beliefs about the event are irrational, like thinking we must always achieve perfection (musturbation) or that life should always be fair (Utopianism).
62
What is the C in Ellis’s ABC model?
Consequences When an event triggers irrational beliefs, there will be emotional and behavioural consequences eg. Triggering of depression
63
What is musturbation?
Thinking that we must always achieve perfection
64
What is Utopianism?
Thinking that life should always be fair
65
What is CBT?
Cognitive behaviour therapy A method for treating mental disorders by challenging negative thoughts and altering dysfunctional behaviours.
66
What is CBT an application of and how?
Beck’s cognitive theory of depression, as it identifies negative thoughts about the self, the world and the future (beck’s negative triad) to challenge them.
67
What strategies are used in CBT?
Viewing the patient as a scientist and setting hypotheses to test the negative thoughts, gathering evidence to prove the belief wrong Challenging irrational thoughts by asking for evidence Asking them to keep a diary to record events where negative thoughts occur so that they can be targeted in the future.
68
What is behavioural activation?
An element of CBT that gradually decreases the patients avoidance and isolation, and improve their engagement in activities that have been shown to improve mood.
69
What is thought-catching?
Keeping a record of automatic negative thoughts in response to events, so that they can be challenged and replaced.
70
Why does CBT give patients coping strategies?
To reduce recurrence of depression
71
What is REBT?
Rational emotive behaviour therapy A cognitive therapy for mental disorders that aims to identify and dispute irrational thoughts, to replace them with more rational ones.
72
What is REBT based on?
Ellis’s ABC model- extends to ABCDE model with d standing for dispute and e for effect.
73
What are irrational thoughts?
Those that are negative or self-defeating, and are likely to interfere with the individual’s happiness.
74
How is REBT carried out?
The therapist identifies irrational thoughts, challenging them through rational confrontation/argument, supported by evidence or logical argument. The irrational belief is replaced by an irrational one.
75
What are the different types of disputing and how are they done?
Logical disputing- whether the thought processes make sense Empirical disputing- whether there is evidence to support the belief Pragmatic disputing- whether thought processes are useful to the patient
76
What are all cognitive therapies based on?
Aiming to achieve cognitive restructuring- changing the way individuals think about their life situation and self, in order to change emotional responses and behaviour.
77
What are drug therapies?
Treatments involving chemicals that have an effect on the functioning of the brain In psychological treatments, they increase or decrease levels or activity of neurotransmitters in the brain.
78
How do drug therapies aim to treat OCD?
Aims to increase serotonin levels, decrease anxiety and lower arousal.
79
What are SSRIs?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors A type of antidepressant that is the main treatment for OCD, by working on the serotonin systems in the brain.
80
How do SSRIs work?
When serotonin is released by certain neurones in the brain, it is released into the synapse by the pre-synaptic neurone. This is reabsorbed by the post-synaptic neurone once bound, and is broken down to be reused. SSRIs prevent the reuptake of serotonin by the post-synaptic neuron so they continue to stimulate it. This compensates for the reduction in functioning of the serotonin system in the brain, to correct imbalance of neurochemicals that leads to OCD.
81
How are SSRIs normally used?
Fluoxetine (20mg) is usually used but dosages may vary It takes 3-4 months for them to have an impact on symptoms of OCD. SSRIs may be combined with other treatments such as CBT. The drugs reduce emotional symptoms (anxiety or depression) so the patient can engage effectively with CBT.
82
What other drugs can SSRIs be combined with if they do not work?
SNRIs- serotonin-noroadrenaline reuptake inhibitors increase elevens of serotonin and noradrenaline Tricyclics- block reuptake of serotonin and noradrenaline to prolog their activity in the synapse, but usually have greater side effects Anti-anxiety drugs- reduce anxiety by slowing down the CNS by enhancing GABA (a neurotransmitter) which makes the person feel more relaxed.
83
What is OCD?
A condition characterised by either obsessions, such as recurring thoughts and images, and/or compulsions, which are repetitive behaviours. It becomes time-consuming and interferes with everyday life.
84
What are OCD obsessions?
Internal components that are cognitions or thoughts Private and non-observable to the individual Intrusive, recurring and unwanted
85
What are OCD compulsions?
External component of repetitive behaviours Observeable Usually as a result of the obsession
86
What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?
Compulsions- repetitive behaviours performed repeatedly, usually to reduce anxiety Avoidance- reduces anxiety by keeping away from situations that trigger it
87
What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?
Anxiety and distress Accompanying depression Guilt and disgust at things they are obsessed with
88
What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?
Recurrent and persistent thoughts that are intrusive Attentional bias- hyper vigilance to anxiety gathering stimuli Catastrophic thinking Cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions Insight to excessive anxiety so aware it is irrational
89
What is the focus of the biological approach?
To emphasise the importance of brain structures and physical processes in the body on behaviour
90
What are the two ways the biological approach explains OCD?
Genetic explanations Neural explanations
91
What are the genetic features for OCD?
Genetic vulnerability Candidate genes Polygenic Different types of OCD
92
What is genetic vulnerability?
Genes make an individual more likely to develop OCD OCD runs in families, but what is passed on is a vulnerability to develop OCD rather than a certainty The diathesis-stress model says that certain genes make people more likely to develop a mental disorder- but some environmental stress or experience is necessary to trigger OCD.
93
What did Lewis discover about ocd?
Observed that 37% of his ocd patients had parents with ocd and 21% had siblings with ocd, which suggests that it runs in families.
94
What are candidate genes? And an example
Create a vulnerability to ocd eg. 5HT1-D Beta is involved in transport of serotonin across the synapse (ocd= low levels of seretonin)
95
What does it mean if OCD is polygenic?
OCD is not caused by one single gene but a combination of several genetic variations that together increase vulnerability
96
What did Taylor find about OCD?
Found evidence from analysing previous studies that up to 230 different genes may be involved in OCD, showing it is polygenic.
97
How do genetic explanations for OCD explain different types of OCD?
Different groups of genes cause ocd in different people Term to describe this is aetiologically heterogenous Also Evidence that different types of ocd are a result of genetic variations
98
What does aetiologically heterogenous mean?
That origins of OCD vary from one person to another
99
What are genetic explanations for OCD?
Genes are involved in the development of OCD and so it is an inherited condition Genes are passed on through generations, and make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which comes for the physical and psychological features of an organism
100
What are neural explanations for ocd?
The genes associated with ocd affect the levels of neurotransmitters and physical structures of the brain Focuses on the role of the nervous system in the development of ocd.
101
What is the two elements of the neural explanations on ocd?
Role of seretonin Decision-making systems
102
What is the role of serotonin in development of ocd according to neural explanations?
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate mood If a person has low levels of serotonin then the normal transmission of mood-relevant information does not take place so mood is affected Some cases of ocd explained by the poor functioning of serotonin systems in the brain
103
How are decision-making systems associated to OCD according to neural explanations?
Cases of ocd are associated with impaired decision-making This may be associated with abnormal functioning of the lateral frontal lobes (responsible for logical thinking and decision-making) Evidence that the left parahippocampal gurus is associated with processing and regulating unpleasant emotions, and it functions abnormally in OCD.
104
What is systematic desensitisation?
A behavioural therapy designed to gradually reduce a phobic response of fear or anxiety through principles of classical conditioning. It relies on counter-conditioning and reciprocal inhibition.
105
What is counter-conditioning?
The idea that phobias can be unlearnt by unlearning the association between the phobic stimulus and fear (to learn to be able to relax in the presence of the phobic stimulus)
106
What is reciprocal inhibition?
The idea that it is impossible to be afraid and relaxed at the same time, so one emotion prevents the other.
107
What is the procedure of systematic desensitisation?
Patient and therapist create an anxiety hierarchy of fears, of situations involving the phobic stimulus listed from most to least frightening. Therapist teaches the patient relaxation techniques eg. Breathing exercises Gradual exposure to phobic stimulus across several sessions, moving up the levels of hierarchy as they learn to relax in each situation. Treatment is successful if the patient can stay relaxed in the most feared situation.
108
What is flooding?
A behavioural therapy in which a person with a phobia is exposed to an extreme from of their phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety around the stimulus. It is based on bombardement.
109
What is bombardment?
Immediate and direct exposure of the patient to the phobic stimulus without avoidance.
110
What is in vivo and in vitro flooding?
In-vivo- confronted with real feared object In-vitro- imagine or visualise feared object
111
What is the procedure of flooding?
Bombardment: immediate and direct exposure to phobic stimulus without avoidance (patient feels extreme anxiety and is in a state of panic). Exhaustion of phobic response: direct exposure lasts until anxiety subsides (reciprocal inhibition) The fear response becomes extinct when they realise they have come to no harm Prevention of avoidance: learned fear response is extinguished when the conditioned stimulus is encountered without the unconditioned stimulus = no fear

Psychology (16 decks)

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