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Psychology Unit 2 - Resit > Abnormality > Flashcards

Abnormality Flashcards

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1
Q

Define Abnormality?

A

It is a psychological or behavioural state leading to impairment of interpersonal functioning

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2
Q

Define deviation from social norms?

A

When the behaviour of someone violated accepted social rules and therefore their behaviour is considered abnormal

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3
Q

What are the limitations for deviation from social norms

A

Individuals who don’t conform to norms may just be individualistic
May be used as an excuse for influential groups of non-conformists
Social deviancy is related to particular cultures = subjective
Can change with time

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4
Q

Define failure to function adequately?

A

The inability to cope with day to day living

Focusing on individual suffering, concentrating on personal experiences associated with mental disorders

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5
Q

What are the features of Personal Dysfunction?

A 
Personal Distress
Maladaptive behaviour
Unpredictability 
Irrationality 
Observer discomfort
Violation of moral standards
Unconventionality
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6
Q

Describe personal distress?

A

A key feature of abnormality that includes depression and anxiety disorders

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7
Q

Describe Maladaptive behaviour?

A

Behaviour that prevents realisation of life goals both socially and occupationally

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8
Q

Describe unpredictability?

A

Displaying unexpected behaviours characterised by loss of control such as attempting suicide after losing job

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9
Q

Describe irrationality?

A

Displaying behaviour not explicable in a rational way

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10
Q

Describe observer discomfort?

A

Displaying behaviour that causes discomfort to others

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11
Q

Describe violation and moral standards?

A

Displaying behaviour that breaks expected ethical norms

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12
Q

Describe unconventionality?

A

Displaying behaviour that does not conform to accepted rules or standards

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13
Q

What is social dysfunction measure by?

A

GAF scale

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14
Q

Describe the GAF scale?

A

Series of questions to classify the type and extent of abnormality someone may have before they make certain of a decision - it is used to eliminate or diagnose illness

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15
Q

What are the limitations for social dysfunction?

A

Individuals behaviour may cause others distress and thus be perceived as dysfunction - while they feel no distress
The behaviour may be rewarding
Not being able to cope with everyday life may be the cause of mental problems rather than effect
Definitions of inadequate functioning vary between cultures

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16
Q

Define deviation from ideal mental health?

A

Failure to meet the criteria for perfect psychological well being

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17
Q

Who was the criteria for perfect mental health proposed by?

A

Jahoda

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18
Q

What are Jahoda’s 6 criteria?

A 
Positive attitudes towards oneself
Self actualisation 
Autonomy 
Resisting Stress
Accurate Perception of reality 
Environmental mastery
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19
Q

Describe positive attitude towards oneself?

A

Having self-respect and positive self-concept

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20
Q

Describe self-actualisation?

A

Experiencing personal growth

Becoming everything one is capable of becoming

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21
Q

Describe autonomy?

A

Being independent
Self-reliant
Able to make personal decisions

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22
Q

Describe resistance to stress?

A

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

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23
Q

Describe accurate perception of reality?

A

Perceiving the world in a non-distorted manner

Having an objective and realistic world view

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24
Q

Describe environmental mastery?

A

Being competent in all aspects of one’s life and being able to meet the demands of any situation

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25
Q

What are the limitations of ideal mental health?

A

It is difficult to achieve all 6 simultaneously - most would be judged abnormal at any given time
Quite vague and thus difficult to measure
Western cultures are orientated to individual goals whereas eastern culture is all about collective success (autonomy isn’t desirable)
Hard to fully achieve self-actualisation

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26
Q

What does the Biological approach state?

A

Abnormality is due to brain dysfunction and mental illness is analogous to physical illness

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27
Q

What are the 3 biological explanations for disorders?

A

Genetics
Biochemistry
Brain structure

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28
Q

What are the different ways testing genetic effect?

A

Twin studies
Separated twin studies
Adoption studies
Molecular genetics

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29
Q

What do twin studies compare?

A

Monozygotic and Dizygotic twins and if the disorder is genetic there should be higher concordance with Mz’s rather than Dz’s

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30
Q

What is concordance?

A

It is a measure of similarity

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31
Q

What happens in separated twin studies?

A

Identify the concordance rate between separated MZ twins where at least one has the illness and compare it to the base rate population

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32
Q

What happens in adoption studies?

A

Identify the % of adopted offspring of biological parents with mental illness who develop the same illness, compare it to base rate or concordance rate in a similar sample whose biological parent doesn’t have an illness

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33
Q

What happens in molecular genetics studies?

A

They identify the specific genes carried by those with an illness more than by those without the illness

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34
Q

What is the overall conclusion from genetic studies?

A

Moderate to strong effect on the more serious disorders such as bipolar or Sz
There is a weak to moderate effect on less serious disorders such as phobias
There is no evidence to prove that any disorder is entirely genetic - environmental reasons

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35
Q

What did Gottesman 1990 find?

A

Found that for Sz concordance rates were

48% for Mz’s
17% for Dz’s

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36
Q

What did Kendler et al 1992 find?

A

Found that for Social Phobias concordance rates were

24% for Mz’s
15% for Dz’s

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37
Q

What did Tienari et al 1987 find?

A

Found that for Sz concordance rates were

7% between adopted offspring and their biological mothers
1.5% of adopted offspring of non-Sz biological mothers

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38
Q

What is an issue with adoption studies?

A

Some adoptive parents might not want to adopt a child with a parent that has a disorder

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39
Q

What is an issue with twin studies?

A

Greater similarities with their environment, Mz’s are treated more similarly due to their looks and have identical pre-natal environments

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40
Q

What is the diathesis stress model?

A

It attempts to explain why some are more vulnerable to mental illness than others

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41
Q

What did Tienari find that was related to communication?

A

Through the analysis of the quality of parenting in adoptive parents

Adoptees those with mothers with Sz that developed Sz grew up in homes with poor communication

Among the adoptees with non-Sz biological parents the quality of communication did not predict the development of Sz

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42
Q

What is the biochemistry argument?

A

Psychological disorders can be caused by biochemical abnormalities in the brain

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43
Q

What is the dopamine hypothesis?

A

Sz has been claimed to be a result of excessive levels of dopamine in the brain or sensitivity of dopamine receptors

More recent versions also claim that the locus of dysfunction is pre-synaptic

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44
Q

What did Wong et al 1986 find?

A

Evidence was taken from PET scans and they found that greater dopamine receptor activity was present in those with Sz

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45
Q

What has been found from postmortems?

A

There are high levels of dopamine in the brains of those who suffered with Sz

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46
Q

What have studies with benzodiazepines showed?

A

They mimic the effect of GABA, and are moderately successful in reducing anxiety but it weak evidence for the role of GABA

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47
Q

State some overall supporting evaluative points?

A

Based on scientific disciplines (valid and accepted)
Focuses on objectively measurable features which result in clear, unbiased judgements to be made about causes and effects
Helped create effective treatments
Most humane approach as it does not see the sufferers as responsible

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48
Q

State some overall non-supporting evaluative points?

A

Simplistic and over focus on physical symptoms - neglecting psychological factors
Physical abnormalities associated with it may be effects of mental disorders
Because the physical treatment is based upon the model are effective - lends support to the idea of abnormal conditions having biological cause

49
Q

What is the psychodynamic approach?

A

This is a psychological approach perceiving mental disorders as arising from unresolved, unconscious childhood disorders

50
Q

Who was the psychodynamic approach proposed by?

A

Freud

51
Q

What are the 3 elements of Freud’s argument?

A

Model of personality
Defence mechanisms
Stages of psychosexual development

52
Q

What are the 3 elements of the Model of Personality?

A

Id
Ego
Superego

53
Q

Describe the Id?

A

An intense, unexpressed anger of contradictory oblivious to reason and morality

54
Q

Describe the Ego?

A

Developed by about 3 years old and is the reality principle - partly conscious and unconscious as you are aware of desires of the Id and outside world (child learns from consequences)

55
Q

Describe the Superego?

A

Based on the morality principle - relentless judge and is a voice of society (formed by our experiences with parents who pose restrictions on actions allowed)

56
Q

What is the best element of the model of personality to be strongest?

A

Ego

It means the person can cope with the demands of the Id and superego

57
Q

What do unchecked Id impulses lead to?

A

They could become expressed in a destructive or immoral way

58
Q

What does a very powerful superego do?

A

It might overpower the Id so that the person is deprived of any social pleasure

59
Q

What is libido?

A

Sexual energy

60
Q

What is a defence mechanism?

A

Ways of protecting the conscious mind from painful truths, memories, anxieties and desires

61
Q

What is repression?

A

Pushing unpleasant material into the unconscious

62
Q

What is denial?

A

The refusal to face the reality of memories, desires, behaviour - denial of the importance

63
Q

What is rationalisation?

A

Coming up with spurious justification for behavioure

64
Q

What is sublimation?

A

Diversion of emotions into a socially acceptable activity which allows for the expression of the underlying desires

65
Q

What is projection?

A

When one’s own faults and desires are attributes to someone else, politician using opponent to hide his flaws

66
Q

What is regression?

A

Behaving in a way reminiscent of children - thumb sucking when stressed

67
Q

What is displacement?

A

Pushing anxiety or emotion about one thing onto another

68
Q

What is the reaction formula?

A

Objecting very strongly to an unconscious desire or memory that we become the opposite of what it represents - homophobia are repressed homosexual feelings

69
Q

What are the 5 stages of psychosexual development?

A 
Oral Stage
Anal Stage
Phallic Stage
Latency Stage 
Genital Stage
70
Q

Describe the Oral Stage (1)?

A

0-18 months
Focus of pleasure is mouth and feeding
Due to the weaning crisis
Fixation leads to thumb sucking, smoking, disordered eating, drinking and high dependency on others

71
Q

Describe the Anal Stage (2)?

A

18-36 months
Focus of pleasure = anus
Due to toilet training
Fixation leads to obsession with hygiene, OCD and meanness with money or the complete opposite

72
Q

Describe the Phallic Stage (3)?

A

3-6 years old
Focus of pleasure is genitals
Due to the Electra crisis
Fixation leads to attraction to partners who resemble to opposite sex parent

73
Q

Describe the Latency Stage (4)?

A

6+ and up to puberty

The desires are repressed

74
Q

Describe the Genital Stage (5)?

A

Puberty onward
This is when the sexual desires emerge
Effects of the first 3 stages have their impact

75
Q

What is the major criticism of Freud’s argument?

A

It is unfalsifiable - so ambiguous that they can be twisted to explain any outcome

If the patient thinks that he is saying is true they are gaining insight

If they say its a load of rubbish they are in denial

76
Q

Describe Massie and Szajnberg?

A

76 ppts followed from birth to 30
Quality of parental relationships assessed in infancy
Traumatic events are recorded
Mental health is assessed at 30 using standard measures

Mental health problems were moderately associated with poor parental relationships and strongly associated with traumatic events in childhood

77
Q

Give some general evaluative points for the psychodynamic approach?

A

It removes the responsibililty for abnormality from the patient as it is seen as coming from the unconscious
Empirical evidence shows that mentally disordered people have earlier conflict
Model puts blame on bad parenting
Over emphasis on child influences at the expense of adult ones and over emphasis on sexual factors

78
Q

What is the behavioural approach?

A

A psychological approach perceiving mental disorders as learned behaviour

79
Q

What are the 3 explanations for the biological approach?

A

Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Social Learning Theory

80
Q

What is a brief explanation for Classical Conditioning?

A

Learning through association

81
Q

What is an example of Classical Conditioning?

A

Pavlov’s Dog

82
Q

Describe Pavlov’s Dog?

A

The salivation reflex in dogs comes when food does, he was able to train the dos to salivate at the sound of a bell
This was due to him repeatedly ringing a bell when food was brought, thus the salivation
After this the dog salivated at the sound of the bell even without food

83
Q

Describe Watson and Rayner?

A

Used CC to form an association between a pet rat and a scar noise
Repeatedly banged irons together when Albert played with the rat
The fear of the rat was conditioned due to the fear of the noise everytime he played with it
The fear was also generalised to other fluffly objects such as rabit

84
Q

What is a brief description of Operant conditioning?

A

Learning through consequences

85
Q

Define positive reinforcement?

A

Getting something good for performing a specific behaviour in turn makes the beahviour more likely in the future

86
Q

Define Negative reinforcement?

A

A negative reward, with the removal of something bad and this also makes the behaviour more likely in the future

87
Q

What does a lack of reinforcement usually result in?

A

Less likely occurence of behaviour

88
Q

How are phobias maintained?

A

They are maintained through the process of negative reinforcement, people avoid the phobia = drop in anxiety= maintainence of phobia

89
Q

How do you treat phobias?

A

Behavioural therapies which involved facing up to the object of the phobia
Suggesting that the phobia is maintained by avoiding the object of the phobia

90
Q

Brief description of Social Learning Theory?

A

Learning through the observation and imitation of others behaviour

91
Q

What did Fearn 1999 find?

A

Studied young women living in Fiji, before 1995 no western TV by 1998:

78% of women surveyed said they were too fat and eating disorders began to appear

92
Q

What did Nasser 1986 find?

A

Compared Eygptian women studying in Cairo and London
12% of those in London had eating disorders
0% in Cairo

93
Q

What did Mineka find?

A

They showed that monkeys are not born with a fear of snaked but young monkeys who observe their parents displaying fears acquire the same fear

94
Q

What is the cognitive approach?

A

This is the rejection of behaviourist idea that external evens are the sole cause of disorders and that cognitions are involved

95
Q

What does Becks cognitive triad lead to?

A

It is 3 illogical though processes that lead to irrational, negative emotions and depression

96
Q

What are the 3 elements of the cognitive triad?

A

Negative self-feelings
Negative feelings about the future
Negative views about oneself

97
Q

What is Ellis’ Model?

A

A - Activating Events
B - Beliefs about those events and onself
C - Consequences

98
Q

Explain Ellis’ model?

A

The activatin event does not cause the diroder, their effect is mediated by beliefs about the event - making people vulnerable to disorders adn the the disorders display various types of irrational thinking which take place automatically

99
Q

What are the 3 types of irrational thinking in depression?

A

Polarised thinking
Over-generalisation
Catastrophising

100
Q

What did Grazioli and Terry find?

A

Prospective study of women with high cognitive vulnerability during preganncy are more likley to develop post-natal depression

101
Q

What is the treatment for cognitive issues?

A

The issue with saying that there is causality with the results of therapy is that the treatment may work even if the theory behind it is false

102
Q

What does ECT stand for?

A

Electro Convulsive Treatment

103
Q

What is ECT the treatment for?

A

Mental disorders

104
Q

What are the uses of ECT?

A

Originally developed to treat Sz but now used to treat depresion
Used more frequently in Sz if patient is at risk to themselves or others

105
Q

What are the aims of ECT?

A

Abnormal activity of neurotranmiters and or hormones which this shoudl change
The exact mechanism is unclear but the shock seems to disrupt and correct teh faulty activity

106
Q

What is the process of ECT?

A

Small electric current of aroun 70-130 MV
For 0.5-5 seconds
Induces a mini seizure by producing electrical convulsions in the brain
Several sessions over a number of weeks
Anaesthetic and muscle relaxants have been introduced to prevent bone breaks

107
Q

How can ECT be delivered?

A

Unilaterally - one side (non-dominant)

Bilaterally - both sides

108
Q

What did the Sz Cochrane Review find in 2009?

A

MA of 26 studies with 798 ppts
RCCT
More patients improved with real ECT than sham ECT
ECT group have fewer relaspes in the ST but no evidence for long term effects

109
Q

What did Sakheim find?

A

60-70% of Sz pateints improved after ECT, these were only in ST about 60% relapsed within first year

110
Q

What did Kho et al find?

A

MA that ECT is more effective than sham ECT and drug treatments fro severe depression and it ca redce the risk of suicide with patients with severe depression

111
Q

Is ECT appropriate?

A

Can affect the memory of the patient
Issues with disoreintation
The last resort

112
Q

What are the 3 main psychological treatments?

A

Psycho-analysis
Systematic de-sensitisation
CBT

113
Q

Explain Psycho-analysis?

A

A psychodynamic treatment seeking to give patients insight into their disorder

114
Q

What are the 2 types of Psychoanalysis?

A

Dream analysis

Free association

115
Q

What is dream analysis?

A

Images and events of dreams are seen as containing repressed thoughts and desires
The manifest content (what the dream is about0
The latent content (the real meaning)

116
Q

What is free association?

A

They are encouraged to speak freely without reservation thus revealing a stream of consciousness
They look for signs of resistance

117
Q

What is systematic desensitisation?

A

Behavioural therapy that modifies phobias by contructing and working through a heirarchy of anxiety-producing stimuli
Impossible to experience 2 opposite emotions of fear and relaxation simultaneously
CC to gradually replace fear with relaxation
Taught deep muscle relaxation

118
Q

Describe CBT?

A

It is about challenging and restructuring abnormal ways of thinking into useful, rational ones
It emcompasses a number of different therapies
Patients are encouraged to practive models of thinking like the ABC technique

Psychology Unit 2 - Resit (3 decks)

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