Paper 1: Psychopathology Flashcards
What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?
- Statistical Infrequency
- Deviation from Social Norms
- Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
- Failure to Function Adequately
Outline the statistical infrequency definition of abnormality.
This definition considers behaviors that are statistically rare or uncommon as abnormal.
Outline the deviation from social norms definition of abnormality.
This definition identifies abnormality based on behaviors that violate societal norms or expectations.
Outline the deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality.
This definition focuses on the absence of certain criteria for optimal psychological well-being.
Outline the failure to function adequately definition of abnormality.
This definition considers individuals abnormal if they cannot perform daily activities or cope with life demands.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the failure to function adequately definition of abnormality?
(+) provides a checklist to assess whether someone is functioning.
(-) It doesn’t consider what is functioning normally for one person may not be the same for others.
(-) People can function normally with mental illness
(-) Could be cultural bias
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality?
(+) it provides goals people can meet to achieve ideal mental health.
(-) some of the criteria are vague and difficult to assess
(-) Criteria is over-demanding – few people would meet all of it so lots could be seen as abnormal.
(-) Could be Cultural Bias
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the deviation from social norms definition of abnormality?
(-) An issue is that social attitudes and norms change over time.
(+) Much of our behaviour is context specific. This definition considers the fact that behaviour can be normal in one situation and abnormal in others.
(-) Social Deviancy isn’t always a bad thing so shouldn’t always be seen as abnormal.
(-) Could be cultural bias.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the statistical infrequency definition of abnormality?
(-) It fails to distinguish between desirable and non-desirable behaviours.
(+) There is an objective quantitative cut off point so less subjective in deciding abnormality
(-) One issue is that some mental illnesses actually aren’t that statistically rare.
(-) Could be culturally biased
What is OCD?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition characterized by persistent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions).
What are behavioural characteristics of OCD?
Hinders Everyday functioning – having obsessions & compulsions makes it difficult to perform everyday tasks.
Social Impairment – Anxiety levels can make it difficult to conduct meaningful relationships.
Repetitive – Sufferers feel compelled to repeat behaviours
What are cognitive characteristics of OCD?
Obsessive Thinking – this is where most sufferers have reoccurring unpleasant thoughts.
Realisation of Inappropriateness – most sufferers understand their thoughts are inappropriate.
Attentional bias – attention tends to be focused on anxiety-generating stimuli.
What are emotional characteristics of OCD?
Extreme anxiety felt – forbidden ideas create high levels of anxiety.
Distress – The recognition that compulsive behaviours cannot be controlled can lead to distress.
Depression – OCD is often accompanied by low mood and lack of enjoyment in activities.
Explain what obsessions and compulsions are.
Obsessions are intrusive thoughts that cause anxiety, while compulsions are repetitive behaviors performed to reduce that anxiety.
What is the cycle of OCD?
The cycle of OCD involves obsessions leading to anxiety, which triggers compulsions that temporarily relieve the anxiety, reinforcing the cycle.
Obsessive thought ➡️Anxiety➡️Compulsive Behaviour➡️Temporary relief
What are the two possible explanations of OCD?
- Genetic Explanation
- Neural Explanation (including neurotransmitters and brain abnormalities)
Outline the genetic explanation of OCD.
This argues that OCD has been inherited through genetic transmission from biological parent to child.
Research often examines CONCORDANCE RATES from family studies (e.g twins).
What are some of the weaknesses of twin study concordance rates?
(-) the rates aren’t 100% for MZ twins so therefore genetics cannot totally contribute to the development of OCD
(-) It is difficult to separate the effects of genetics from the effects of the environment.
(-) a higher concordance rate in MZ twins could be cause by their more similar environment.
Outline the Nestadt concordance rates for OCD (2000) study into twins with OCD.
Nestadt (2000) found concordance rates of monozygotic (MZ) twins was 68% and of dizygotic twins (DZ) was 31%.
What is the gene linked with OCD as researched by Ozaki (2003)?
SERT (or 5-HTT)
What is the neural explanation of OCD related to neurotransmitters?
OCD could be caused by low levels of neurotransmitters like SEROTONIN.
This would affect the transfer of messages from one neuron to the other at the synapse as less neurotransmitters means less signals sent on.
Explain some of the weaknesses of the biological explanations of OCD.
(-) it is likely a combination of environment and biological factors.
(-) there are different subtypes of OCD so a single cause is unlikely.
(-) children often show dissimilar OCD symptoms to their parents which weakens the genetic explanation.
Explain what depression is.
An affective (mood) disorder is characterised by feelings of sadness and withdrawal from people.
Can be mild to severe and can involve inability to make decisions and inability to perform simple tasks.
Explain the cognitive characteristics of depression.
Reduced Concentration
Thoughts of death
Poor Memory
Focus on Negative
Explain the emotional characteristics of depression.
Loss of pleasure – people with depression feel less interest in things they used to enjoy.
Worthlessness – People with depression feel less worth and feelings of guilt.
Depressed Mood – Feelings of sadness and hopelessness.
Explain the behavioural characteristics of depression.
Loss of Energy
Social Impairment
Poor Personal Hygiene
Sleep Pattern Disturbance
What is the cause of depression according to the cognitive approach?
Depression is caused by irrational, overly pessimistic and faulty thinking styles.
According to Beck’s cognitive vulnerability theory what are the 3 mechanisms responsible for depression?
The three mechanisms are negative self-schema, errors in logic, and the cognitive triad.
Give some examples of cognitive errors in logic that people with depression have.
- Arbitrary Inference
- Selective Abstraction (focusing on negative)
- Magnification and Minimisation
- Personalization
- Dichotomous Thinking (black and white thinking)
Explain what is meant by a negative self schema.
They possess a set of beliefs and expectations about themselves that are essentially negative and pessimistic. It makes it difficult to process anything positive about themselves.
Explain what the cognitive triad is.
The cognitive triad consists of negative views about the self, the world, and the future.
What is the main criticism of the cognitive approach to explaining depression?
Whether negative thinking is a cause OR a symptom of depression.
I.e do negative thoughts cause depression or does depression cause negative thinking?
Explain Ellis’s ABC model.
A – Activating event
B – Belief about event
C – Consequences (e.g if irrational beliefs held then unhealthy emotions and behaviour)
Explain what ‘mustabatory thinking’ is.
‘Mustabatory thinking’ refers to the belief that certain things must happen for an individual to be happy.
Describe a prospective study of depression, examining if negative thinking causes depression.
Grazioli & Terry (2000) - prospective study - Pregnant women with high levels of negative thinking (assessed before they gave birth) were more likely to suffer post-natal depression
What are some of the evaluation points for the cognitive approach to explaining depression?
(-) negative thinking could be a symptom rather than the cause of depression.
(+) there are practical applications to the explanation in the form of CBT.
(-) it may not be all about thinking as there is some support for biological explanations of depression (e.g serotonin/genetics)
What is the name of the treatment for Depression?
CBT - cognitive behavioural therapy
What are the two CBT therapies we have looked at (developed by Beck and Ellis)?
Cognitive Therapy (CT) – Beck
Rational Emotive behaviour Therapy (REBT) - Ellis
What are the cognitive and behavioural elements of CBT for depression?
Cognitive - Identifying and replacing negative/ irrational thoughts with more realistic ones.
Behaviourist - Encouraging the client to behave in ways they may have avoided doing, because of held beliefs, through setting challenges.
Outline Cognitive Therapy (CT) as a treatment for depression.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) aims to challenge negative thinking and replace the negative thoughts with more positive rational thinking, in order to reduce depression.
Outline Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) as a treatment for depression.
REBT extends the ABC model to include a D and E.
• D – Dispute
• E – Effect
REBT works on reframing and disputing the irrational thoughts and mustabatory thinking through “vigorous arguments”.
Explain the process of using a dysfunctional thought diary
- Writing down irrational thoughts and rating belief in them.
- Writing a more rational alternative to the thought.
- Re-rating original irrational thought
Rating of belief should lower after rationalising thought.
Explain 2 techniques used to dispute the irrational beliefs in REBT?
Empirical Argument – disputing whether there is evidence to support beliefs
Logical Argument – Disputing whether the negative thought logically follows the facts.
Explain some weaknesses of CBT.
• Clients may need a course of antidepressants first
• The client needs to be highly motivated/ committed to change for this treatment to be effective.
• Not a quick fix - can take months to see improvement
• Vast differences between skills and successes of therapists
Explain some strengths of CBT.
• CBT teaches self-help strategies giving patient more control.
• Deals with root cause and targets underlying problem rather than just masking symptoms.
• Gives the patient some control over disorder & the power to change
• No real side effects or withdrawal symptoms
Describe a study that compared the effectiveness of CBT to drug treatments.
David (2008) compared the effectiveness of CT, REBT and Drugs. After the initial 14 weeks of treatment there was a similar effectiveness in each – around 60% improved in each group. At the 6 month follow up there was a higher relapse rate for the drug group than the therapies.
Explain a problem with samples used to test treatments like CBT for depression.
Holmes (2002) argues that the evidence for the effectiveness of CBT comes mainly from trials of highly selected patients with “pure” depression and no other symptoms which he argues isn’t a typical person with depression.
What are two drug treatments for OCD?
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s )
Benzodiazapines
How do SSRI’s work?
By blocking the re-uptake of serotonin after a signal has passed. Therefore, more serotonin is available at the synapse to bind to receptors.
How do Benzodiazepines work?
These increase GABA. When GABA binds to receptors it opens a channel that increases the flow of chloride ions into the neuron.
The ions have an inhibitory effect (make it more difficult for neuron to fire) which makes the person feel relaxed.
Describe a study that shows the effectiveness of SSRI’s for OCD.
Soomro (2009) reviewed studies comparing SSRI’s to placebo’s for treatments for OCD. It was found in all 17 studies they reviewed, that SSRI’s were more effective than a Placebo. It was found that SSRI’s are typically effective for about 70% of people.
What are some of the weaknesses of using drugs to treat OCD?
(-) there are harmful side effects
(-) there can be a publication bias in the research published. Therefore, drugs may appear more effective than they actually are.
(-) behavioural therapies might be just as effective so drugs may not be needed.
What is a phobia?
A type of anxiety disorder.
Anxiety is a natural emotion to dangerous stimuli.
Phobias are uncontrollable, irrational and extreme reactions, to an object or situation, that are out of proportion to any actual risk.
What are the different types of phobias?
– specific phobias (spiders, flying etc)
– social phobias (a phobia of situations involving other people).
– Agoraphobia
What are the cognitive characteristics of Phobias?
Recognition of exaggerated anxiety - The person consciously recognises that their thinking and reaction is excessive.
What are the emotional characteristics of Phobias?
Persistent Fear – Phobias produce high levels of fear and anxiety over the feared object or situation.
The behaviourist approach explains phobias by the ‘two process model’. Explain what the two parts of this are.
It suggests that phobias are:
– Acquired (learned) through classical conditioning
– Maintained (continues) through operant conditioning
Explain how phobias are acquired through classical conditioning.
Phobias are acquired when something which normally causes no fear response (neutral stimulus) is paired with something that causes fear (unconditioned stimulus). The neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus and produces a fear response.
Explain the ‘Little Albert’ experiment.
Little Albert was a 9 month old boy who was classically conditioned to fear white rats when a loud noise (UCS) was paired with the rat (NS). Eventually Albert showed fear (UCS) for the rat without the noise.
Explain some of the strengths and weaknesses of the behaviourist explanation of phobias.
(-) there are alternative explanations for phobias (e.g biological preparedness).
(+) there are practical applications in the treatments for phobias (e.g SD).
(+) research has shown phobias can be learned (e.g Little Albert)
Outline what Systematic Desensitisation is?
This is gradually exposing a person to the thing they are fearful of while trying to relax around the phobic object.
It works because of reciprocal inhibition.
Explain what flooding is.
Involves exposing the client to the phobic stimulus. It is immediate exposure to the thing they are scared of – they go right to the final stage of hierarchy.
Sometimes only one session is needed. As the client is unable to practise their avoidance their fear becomes extinct.
What are the 3 stages of SD?
- Develop hierarchy of fear (from the least frightening to the most frightening)
- Teach the client relaxation techniques.
- The client works thought the hierarchy while putting their relaxation techniques into practise.
What techniques are used to work through the hierarchy?
Usually the hierarchy is completed using a variety of techniques:
– Visualisation (in vitro desensitisation)
– actual exposure (in vivo desensitisation)
– virtual reality
– Modelling
– Role Play
What are the weaknesses of SD as a treatment for phobias?
(-) It doesn’t work for all people (about 25% see no effect - McGrath)
(-) It might be less effective for social phobias
(-) it takes longer than flooding
(-) it is unclear why it is effective – whether it more down the relaxation or the exposure to the feared object.
Describe a study that supports the behavioural treatments of phobias.
McGrath – SD worked for 75% of people with specific phobias
Craske – SD and flooding were found to be equally effective
Gilroy – SD was an effective treatment for spider phobia, even still effective at 33 month follow up.
What are the limitations of SD?
(-) It doesn’t work for all people (about 25% see no effect - McGrath)
(-) It might be less effective for social phobias
(-) it takes longer than flooding
(-) it is unclear why it is effective – whether it more down the relaxation or the exposure to the feared object.
What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?
Avoidant Responses – the fear of the object leads to avoidant behaviours to avoid contact with the feared stimuli.
Disruption of Function – avoidance behaviours are so extreme they can interfere with the ability to conduct everyday activities.
How are phobias reinforced?
By avoiding contact with the object = negative reinforcement – the unpleasant emotions (e.g anxiety) are taken away.
This is why phobias persist in people that avoid contact with their feared stimulus.
Why is SD preferred to flooding?
Flooding is argued to be traumatic and potentially unethical because it puts the client under a great deal of stress and anxiety. Whereas SD is only gradually exposing them to the thing they are frightened of so the stress is minimised.
