5: Psychopathology Key Terms

Question 1

Statistical infrequency

Answer 1

occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic, for example being more depressed or less intelligent than most of the population

Question 2

Deviation from Social Norms

Answer 2

concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society

Question 3

Failure to function adequately

Answer 3

Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living

Question 4

Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 4

Occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health

Question 5

Phobia

Answer 5

An irrational fear of an object or situation

Question 6

behavioural characteristics

Answer 6

Ways in which people act

Question 7

emotional characteristics

Answer 7

Ways in which people feel

Question 8

cognitive characteristics

Answer 8

Refers to the process of thinking – knowing, perceiving, believing.

Question 9

depression

Answer 9

A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels

Question 10

OCD (obsessive–compulsive disorder)

Answer 10

A condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour

Question 11

behavioural approach

Answer 11

A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning

Question 12

classical conditioning

Answer 12

Learning by association. Occurs when two stimuli are repeated the paired together – an unconditioned (unlearned) stimulus (UCS) and a new neutral stimulus (NS). The neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unlearned stimulus alone.

Question 13

Operant conditioning

Answer 13

A form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Possible consequences of behaviour include positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment.

Question 14

systematic desensitisation (SD)

Answer 14

A behavioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response, such as anxiety, to a stimulus. SD involves drawing up a hierarchy of anxiety provoking situations related to the phobic stimulus, teaching the patient to relax, and then exposing them to the phobic situations. The patient works their way through the hierarchy whilst maintaining relaxation.

Question 15

flooding

Answer 15

A behavioural therapy in which a phobic patient is exposed to an extreme form of a phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety triggered by that stimulus. This takes place across a small number of long therapy sessions.

Question 16

Cognitive approach

Answer 16

The term ‘cognitive’ has come to mean ‘mental processes’, so this approach is focused on how our mental processes (e.g. thoughts, perceptions, attention) affect behaviour

Question 17

negative triad

Answer 17

Beck proposed that there were three kinds of negative thinking that contributed to becoming depressed: negative views of the world, the future and the self. Such negative views lead a person to interpret their experiences in a negative way and so make them more vulnerable to depression.

Question 18

ABC model

Answer 18

Ellis proposed that depression occurs when an activating event (A) triggers an irrational belief (B) which intern produces a consequence (C), i.e an emotional response like depression. The key to this process is the irrational belief.

Question 19

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Answer 19

A method for treating mental disorders based on both cognitive and behavioural techniques. From the cognitive viewpoint the therapy aims to deal with thinking, such as challenging negative thoughts. The therapy also includes behavioural techniques such as behavioural activation.

Question 20

irrational thoughts

Answer 20

Also called dysfunctional thoughts. In Ellis’s model and therapy, these are defined as thoughts that are likely to interfere with a person’s happiness. Such dysfunctional thoughts lead to mental disorders such as depression.

Question 21

biological approach

Answer 21

A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function

Question 22

genetic explanations

Answer 22

Genes make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism (such as eyecolour, height) and psychological features (such as mental disorder, intelligence). Genes are transmitted from parent to offspring, i.e. inherited.

Question 23

Neural explanations

Answer 23

The view that physical and psychological characteristics are determined by the behaviour of the nervous system, in particular the brain as well as individual neurons.

Question 24

drug therapy

Answer 24

treatment involving drugs, i.e. chemicals that have a particular effect on the functioning of the brain or some other body system. In the case of psychological disorders such drugs usually affect neurotransmitter levels.