Individual Differences - Psychopathology Flashcards
Define abnormality
A psychological or behavioural state leading to impairment of interpersonal functioning and/or distress to others
Define deviation from social norms
Behaviour violating accepted social rules
What are the strengths of the deviation from social norms definition?
- The definition considers the social dimensions of behaviour.
- Considers developmental norms (behaviour that is normal for different ages)
What are the limitations of the deviation from social norms definition for abnormality?
- Subjective (social norms are not real and are based on opinions of the ruling elite, not majority opinion)
- Changes over time (norms change over time as social attitudes change)
- cultural relativism
Define failure to function adequately
An inability to cope with day-to-day living
What is a strength of the failure to function adequately definition for abnormality?
- assesses degree of abnormality (GAF-(global assessment for functioning scale) allows clinicians to see the degree of abnormality)
- focuses on observable behaviour allowing the judgement of others
What are the limitations of the failure to function adequately definition for abnormality?
- Abnormality is not always accompanied by dysfunction
- cultural relativism
Define deviation from ideal mental health
Failure to meet the criteria for perfect psychological well-being
What is Jahoda’s characteristics of ideal mental health?
Positive attitudes towards oneself
Self-actualisation (motivated to achieve full potential)
Autonomy (independent and self reliant)
Resisting stress (having effective coping strategies)
Accurate perception of reality
Environmental mastery (able to adapt to all situations)
What are the strengths of the deviation for ideal mental health definition for abnormality?
- Holistic - considers individual as a whole person rather than focusing on individual behaviours
- Allows the return to normality
What are the limitations of the deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality?
- Over demanding criteria - most people do not meet the criteria
- Cultural relativism - ideal mental health differs between cultures, for example, collectivist culture in the East do not desire autonomy
Define statistical infrequency
Behaviours that are rare
What is a strength of the statistical infrequency definition of abnormality?
- Objective (based on real data)
- Gives an overall view of rare behaviours in a given population
What are the limitations of the statistical infrequency definition of abnormality?
-Not all behaviours that are infrequent cause impairment of interpersonal functioning or cause distress to others and are
Therefore, not abnormal
-Not all abnormal behaviours are infrequent (e.g - depression and drug abuse are behaviours that are common)
Define phobia
An anxiety disorder characterised by extreme irrational fears that effects daily living.
What are simple/specific phobias?
Simple/specific phobias - sufferers have fears of specific things. This can be further divisible into animal (fear of spiders), injury (fear of blood), situational (fear of flying) or natural environment (fear of water) phobias.
What are social phobias?
Fear and anxiety in social situations. Divisible into performance phobias (fear of public speaking), interaction phobias (fear of interviews), generalised phobias (fear of being around people like being in a crowd)
What is agoraphobia?
The fear of leaving a safe place
What are the behavioural symptoms of phobias?
Avoidant response
Disruption of functioning
What are the emotional symptoms of phobias?
Persistent, excessive fear
Fear from exposure to phobic stimulus
What is the behavioural approach to explaining phobias?
The perception of phobias as occurring through learning processes with treatments based upon modifying maladaptive behaviour through substitution of new responses.
What is the two process model?
Behaviourists use the two-process model. Referring to step 1 classical conditioning and social learning causing the acquisition of phobias and step 2, the maintenance of phobias occurring through operant conditioning.
How does classical conditioning lead to the acquisition of a phobia?
An unconditioned stimulus triggers an innate response such as fear. When an unconditioned stimulus is followed by a neutral stimulus, the innate response still occurs and an association is made. After the association, when the neutral stimulus is exposed, it triggers the fear response (a learned response).
How does social learning lead to the acquisition of a phobia?
When observing a role model having a fear response, an individual will simulate this fear response when also exposed to the same stimulus as a result of vicarious reinforcement and mediational processes.
How does operant conditioning maintain a phobia?
A behavioural symptom of phobias is the avoidant response. By attempting to escape the phobic stimulus, the reduction of anxiety negatively reinforces the avoidant response making it more likely to occur again, maintaining the phobia.
What are the strengths of the behavioural explanation for phobias?
Research support - little Albert
Effectiveness of behavioural treatments lend support to behavioural explanations
What are the weaknesses of the behavioural explanation for phobias?
- Not everyone who experiences trauma develops a phobia
- Two-process model neglects the influence of evolution, whereby avoidant responses are learned more rapidly if the response resembles an animals natural defensive behaviour.
What was the aim of the ‘little Albert’ study by Watson and Rayner?
To provide empirical evidence that human emotional responses such as phobias could be learned through classical conditioning.
What was the procedure of the ‘little Albert’ study by Watson and Rayner?
An 11 month old boy called Albert was presented with various tumult including a white rat, a rabbit and some cotton wool. He showed no fear reaction to any stimuli. A fear reaction was induced by striking a steel bar with a hammer behind alberts head. He was then given a white rat, but as he reached to touch the rat, the bar and hammer were struck. This was repeated 3 times.
What were the findings of the ‘little Albert’ study by Watson and Rayner?
Albert had developed a fear towards the white rat, which he also displayed to similar animals and other white furry objects evident by crying and crawling away from the stimuli.
What were the conclusions made from the ‘little Albert’ study by Watson and Rayner?
Conditioned emotional responses including fear and phobias are acquired as a direct result of environmental experiences, unless removed by counter-conditioning.
What are the evaluations of the ‘little Albert’ study by Watson and Rayner?
It was an unethical study as it purposely induced a fear response increasing levels of anxiety possibly leading to psychological harm.
The study was also performed without his mother’s consent.
Therefore, the study cannot be replicated to verify the findings.
What is systematic desensitisation?
A behavioural therapy for treating phobias in which the sufferer learns relaxation techniques and then faces a progressive hierarchy of exposure to the phobic stimulus.
What are the strengths of systematic desensitisation?
Research support-Brosan and Thorpe used systematic desensitisation to effectively treat techno phobia
What are the criticisms of systematic desensitisation?
Slow process taking on average 6-12 weeks.
Creates high levels of anxiety when patients are initially exposed which can be psychologically harmful.
What is flooding?
A behavioural therapy used to remove phobias through direct confrontation of a phobic stimulus.
What are the strengths of flooding?
Research support-Wolpe used flooding to successfully remove a girls phobia of being in cars, by forcing her into a car and driven around for four hours until her hysteria was eradicated.
What are the criticisms of flooding?
Flooding is not suitable for patients who cannot tolerate extreme levels of anxiety such as those who could have seizures or heart attacks.
Their have been cases where flooding can actually increase their fear.
What is depression?
A mood disorder characterised by feelings of despondency and hopelessness which effects daily living.
What is bipolar depression ?
A form of depression characterised by periods of heightened moods and periods of despondency and hopelessness.
What is unipolar depression?
A form of depression occurring without mania
What are the behavioural symptoms of depression?
Loss of energy Social impairment Weight/eating pattern changes Poor personal hygiene Sleep pattern disturbances
What are the emotional symptoms of depression?
Loss of enthusiasm
Unable to feel pleasure in daily activities previously enjoyed
Feelings of sadness and hopelessness
Feelings of worthlessness
What are the cognitive symptoms of depression?
Delusions
Reduced concentration
Thoughts of death/suicide
Poor memory
What is the cognitive approach for explaining depression?
The perception of depression as determined by maladaptive thought processes with treatment based upon modifying these thought patterns to alter behavioural and emotional states.
What is Becks negative triad?
A model of the cognitive biases which are characteristic features of depression. The triad consists of negative views about the world, oneself and the future.
What schemas dominate thinking in people with depression?
Ineptness schemas - expect to fail
Self-blame schemas - feel responsible for all misfortune
Negative self-evaluation schemas - feelings of worthlessness
How does Beck think negative schemas are developed in depressives?
Beck perceived negative schemas as developing in childhood and adolescence, when authority figures place unreal demands on individuals and are highly critical of them. When individuals fail to meet the unreal demands, negative schemas are generated.
What are cognitive biases?
A mistake in cognitive process which leads to individuals to misperceive reality.
What are examples of cognitive biases that depressives experience?
- Arbitrary inference:conclusions without evidence
- Selective attention:focusing on negative aspects of situations
- Overgeneralisation:conclusions based on a single event
- Catastrophising:over exaggerating the outcome of an event
- Magnification and minimisation:making every bad event big, and making oneself small
What is Ellis’ ABC model?
An explanation that sees depression occurring through an activating agent (A), a belief (B), and a consequence (C)
What is the ABC process in people with depression?
The activating event triggers a negative emotion, the consequences are depressive symptoms such as feelings of worthlessness.
What are the strengths of the cognitive explanation for depression?
Based upon scientific principles
Effective cognitive treatments for depression suggest a cognitive explanation
What are the weaknesses of the cognitive explanation for depression?
Cognitive approach unable to explain the manic component of bipolar depression
Some depressed people do not experience cognitive biases and have an accurate perception of reality.
What is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)?
A cognitive therapy in which patients identify irrational thought processes and using role play and tasks to challenge them maladaptive thought patterns.
What is rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)?
Using the ABC model, patients identify their activating event, record their beliefs and thoughts associated with the event and then the therapist assists them to decide how their beliefs can be challenged in order to change the consequences (non-depressive behaviour/emotions).
What are the strengths of CBT/REBT?
Research support - Lincoln et al. Successfully reduced symptoms in stroke victims that developed clinical depression.
What are the criticism of CBT/REBT?
Ethical concerns= therapist centred and therapists may abuse their power of control over patients
CBT is a talking therapy and therefore, cannot be used on patients that do not have the verbal skills to talk or who have difficulties talking about inner feelings.
What are the alternative explanations for depression?
Wender et al. Found that adopted children who develop depression were more likely to have a depressive biological parent, even though adopted children are raised in different environments, suggesting a biological factor. -Genetic explanation.
Lewinsohn found that depression could be a result of a lack of positive reinforcement and depression is learned helplessness. - behavioural explanation
What is OCD?
An anxiety disorder characterised by persistent, recurrent thoughts and repetitive, ritualistic behaviours
What are the behavioural symptoms of OCD?
Compulsions that hinder everyday functioning
Limited interpersonal relationships (Anxiety levels so high leading to Social impairment)
What are the emotional symptoms of OCD?
Extreme anxiety
Depression
What are the cognitive symptoms of OCD?
Recurrent persistent thoughts
Obsessional thoughts recognised as self generated
Selective attention
What is the biological approach to explaining OCD?
The perception of OCD as determined by physiological means with treatments based upon chemical means.
What is the genetic explanation for OCD?
OCD is transmitted through inherited factors. Psychologists have found that the variant forms of the SERT and COMT genes in OCD sufferers have caused low levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain.
Twin studies have found that there is a concordance rate of up to 80% in MZ twins compared 50% in DZ twin. Suggesting a genetic component.
What is the neural explanation for OCD?
The orbital frontal cortex and basal ganglia initiates activity upon recieving impulses to act and then stop the activity when the impulse lessens. In those with OCD, they have a highly active orbital frontal cortex and basal ganglia and have difficulty ignoring impulses that turn into obsessions resulting in compulsive behaviour.
What are the strengths of the biological explanation for OCD?
Research support - brain imaging twin studies
Empirical evidence -concordance rates
Effective biological treatment for reducing symptoms suggest a biological explanation
What are the weaknesses of the biological explanation for OCD?
- It is still not known how genetic and neural differences relate to the precise mechanisms of OCD
- Not all OCD sufferers respond positively to serotonin enhancing drugs which lessens support for the neurotransmitter to be a cause.
What is drug therapy?
The treatment of OCD through chemical means
How do SSRI’s treat OCD?
When serotonin is released, it helps lift mood. It is then usually broken down by enzymes and absorbed back into the pre-synaptic neuron. This process is called reputake. SSRI’s blocks this process.
What are the strengths of drug therapy for treating OCD?
Research support such as Piggot & Seay found that it is effective at reducing symptoms of OCD
Relatively cheap form of treatment
What are the weaknesses of drug therapy for treating OCD?
Drugs do not ‘cure’ the underlying cause of OCD just reduces symptoms
Many drug therapies have side-effects
