6: Personality & Mental Health

Question 1

define: diathesis

Answer 1

an inherent vulnerability to develop an illness.

Question 2

what are the 3 challenges of identifying personality diathesis?

Answer 2

There could be several diathesis per disorder

There may be protective factors

Specific Vulnerability Hypothesis (Blatt & Zuroff, 1992): Diathesis may be differentially sensitive to certain types of (congruent) stressor

Question 3

what are the 4 personality diathesis for depression?

Answer 3

high autonomy
self-critical personality style
pessimistic explanatory style
high dependancy

Question 4

what are the 3 reasons for the inconsistencies in findings surrounding the personality diathesis model for depression?

Answer 4

There is little focus on other risk and protective factors (e.g. self-esteem).
Too much emphasis on individual stress level relative to the group.
Researchers cannot classify stressful events for each individual.

Question 5

what did using children’s depressive experience questionnaire & self esteem measure find about the predictive nature of stress on depression?

Answer 5

those with high dependency, and low self-esteem were the most likely to be depressed, especially if they were stressed

low dependency & self-esteem was not affected by stress

-just look at graph

Question 6

define: SZ genes

Answer 6

change the way the brain develops in the womb (linked to schizophrenia)

Question 7

define: schizotaxia

Answer 7

CNS anomalies linked to schizophrenia

Question 8

define: schizotypy

Answer 8

manifestation of schizotaxia in personality

Question 9

define: Endophenotypes

Answer 9

clusters of schizophrenia type symptoms with the absence of a diagnosis (eg working memory problems)

Question 10

in Kwapil’s(2013) looking at undergraduate students, what did positive schizotypy lead to in later life?

Answer 10

mood disorder, substance abuse & schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

Question 11

in Kwapil’s(2013) looking at undergraduate students, what did negative schizotypy lead to in later life?

Answer 11

schizoid traits, lower relationship closeness & schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

Question 12

define: abberation

Answer 12

hallucinations

Question 13

what did Haslam suggest was the cause of negative schizotypy?

Answer 13

birth complications

Question 14

what did Haslam suggest was the cause of positive schizotypy?

Answer 14

chaotic environment

Question 15

define: cognitive abbaration

Answer 15

false connection, leads to better bisociation - linking less linked ideas

Question 16

which components of schizotypy did comedians score higher than actors on?

Answer 16

introverted anhedonia
cognitive disorganisation
impulsive nonconformity

Question 17

which components of schizotypy did poets score higher than controls on?

Answer 17

unexpected experiences
cognitive disorganisation
impulsive nonconformity
- Highest levels of schizotypy for ‘avant-garde’ poets

Question 18

what proportion of pets researched met the criteria for self-reported bipolar

Answer 18

18%