Clinical psychology — content, studies and key question Flashcards
Book 2 Chapter 1
What are the four ‘D’s used to define abnormality in mental functioning?
Deviance, dysfunction, distress, and danger
Define reliability in the context of clinical psychology.
When something is done again, it gets the same results, including when a diagnosis is repeated
Define validity in the context of clinical psychology.
Measuring what is being said to be measured, including in a diagnosis
What are the main research methods used in clinical psychology?
Case studies and interviews
Define a case study.
A research method where one person or a small group is involved in a detailed study which produces a lot of data
Define an interview.
A research method where an interviewer asks questions of an interviewee
Define grounded theory.
Gathering qualitative data without a research question driving the data collection, then using coding to uncover themes and ideas in the data to generate theory
Define longitudinal design.
A psychological study that involves studying the same participant(s) over a period of time to make comparisons in the data gathered over that time.
What is content analysis?
A method of gathering and analysing data by looking in detail at some content (e.g., newspaper articles, studies, films) and analysing that content using particular categories
What is summative content analysis?
Looking at some content and counting specific key terms in that content, where the key terms are decided beforehand
What is the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)?
The governing body of psychologists in 2008 that keeps a register of psychologists and regulates the profession
What is a review in psychology?
A theoretical examination of a research question using what is already known
What is a study in psychology?
Where researchers take a research question and then gather data to consider that research question, drawing conclusions accordingly
Define clinical psychology.
The study of mental health and mental disorders.
What is the DSM?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is a list of mental health disorders, with their symptoms and features intended to aid diagnosis.
Define neuroses.
Mental health issues that fall just outside normal experiences but that may require treatment.
What is the single-blind technique?
A technique that does not allow the hypothesis of a piece of research to be known to people other than the researchers, so that it cannot be a cause of bias in judgement/data.
What is co-morbidity?
The state of having more than one mental disorder or, more generally, more than one illness or disease
What is reductionism?
The idea of breaking down a complex phenomenon into simpler components
What are culture-bound syndromes?
Mental health problems (or other illnesses) with a set of symptoms found and recognised as an illness only in one culture.
What is the ICD?
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, a popular diagnostic system used more frequently than the DSM in some parts of the world.
Define thought insertion.
When someone thinks someone else is putting thoughts into their head. It is a positive symptom of schizophrenia.
Define disordered thinking.
When someone finds it hard to put their thoughts into a logical order to make them make sense. This is a positive symptom of schizophrenia
Define a biomarker.
A biological marker that can signal a disease or problem. It is a biological state that can be measured
Define empirical data.
Data gathered directly, using touch, sound, smell, taste or sight.
In a medical sense, what does ‘hypo’ mean?
Insufficient.
In a medical sense, what does ‘hyper’ mean?
Too much
Define phenotype.
Our genetic make-up as well as our environmental influences
Define positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
Symptoms that can be noted, such as delusions and hallucinations. They are about changes in thinking
Define negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
Flatness of emotions (flat affect), social withdrawal, apathy, not looking after self, lack of pleasure in life, not speaking much.
Define cognitive symptoms of Schizophrenia
Poor working memory, poor executive functioning (understanding and decision-making), difficulties in concentration, difficulties in paying attention.
what is the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia?
Suggests that an excess of dopamine receptors at the synapses in the brain contributes to schizophrenia.
What is the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia?
Another neurotransmitter, glutamate, is also thought to cause psychotic symptoms if its production is blocked
What is the social causation hypothesis for schizophrenia?
A person’s social position in life is at least in part an explanation for schizophrenia
Name two types of treatments for schizophrenia.
Drug therapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).
What is assertive community treatment (ACT)?
A treatment for schizophrenia focusing on social issues.
What are atypical antipsychotics?
A newer type of drug used to treat schizophrenia with fewer side effects
What is the aim of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for schizophrenia?
To address the thinking and behaviour involved in schizophrenia
What does NICE stand for?
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
What are SSRIs?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a class of drugs commonly used as antidepressants
What was the aim of Gottesman and Shields’ (1966) twin study?
To look at how far schizophrenia was genetic and also to try to replicate other studies that had found a genetic link with schizophrenia
What type of data did Gottesman and Shields (1966) gather?
Secondary data from one hospital, about twins who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia
Over how many years did Gottesman and Shields (1966) gather data?
Starting in 1948, they accessed 16 consecutive years of records to obtain information
What tests did Gottesman and Shields (1966) use to determine zygosity?
Blood and visual tests
What model did Gottesman and Shields (1966) think best explained their results?
The diathesis-stress model. This model suggests that behaviour comes in part from genetic predisposition and in part from environmental triggers
According to Gottesman and Shields (1966), what do particular genes do?
Reduce a person’s capacity for stress management, which increases their risk of developing schizophrenia.
What overall conclusion did Gottesman and Shields (1966) come to?
In Western societies, the identical twin of someone with schizophrenia is at least 42 times as likely to have schizophrenia as someone from the general population. A fraternal twin of the same sex is at least nine times as likely
What did Gottesman and Shields (1966) say about environmental triggers?
Certain genes are necessary for schizophrenia to occur but environmental triggers may also be required. If there is not a 100 per cent concordance rate between identical twins then the characteristic must have some environmental explanations
Give a strength of the Gottesman and Shields (1966) study.
The study replicates other studies and the results are backed up by them, which means they are likely to be reliable
Give a weakness of the Gottesman and Shields (1966) study.
The researchers felt that a concordance rate simply notes whether if one twin has some abnormality, the other has it too. It would have been useful to have information about the degree of the abnormality.
Define ‘Concordance Rate’
Concordance rate refers to the rate at which both twins share the same diagnosis
What did Goldstein (1988) find regarding the reliability of the DSM-III?
High level of agreement and inter-rater reliability, suggesting that DSM-III is a reliable tool
What did Brown et al. (2001) find regarding the reliability of the DSM-IV?
Good-to-excellent reliability for most DSM-IV categories, with disagreements primarily focusing on symptom severity, duration, or whether enough symptoms were present
What is co-morbidity?
The state of having more than one mental disorder or, more generally, more than one illness or disease
How can cultural issues affect the validity of diagnosis using the DSM?
With regard to its list of symptoms and features, studies have suggested that the DSM-IV-TR is both reliable and valid within the culture where it was devised, but not when used to assess people from other cultures
Give a strength of the DSM.
When more than two doctors use the DSM, they should come close to the same diagnosis
Give a weakness of the DSM.
“Shopping list” of symptoms and features that suit different mental disorders that does not suit the complexity of individual patients
Evidence Supporting the Glutamate Hypothesis
Drug Studies
Genetic evidence
Animal studies
