Paper 1 - Psychopathology

Question 1

what is statistical infrequency?

Answer 1

occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic and any behaviour different to normal is considered abnormal

Question 2

what is deviation from social norms?

Answer 2

concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community/society

• we are making a collective judgement about what is right as a society
• social norms may be different in different cultures/generations - homosexuality

Question 3

what is failure to function adequately?

Answer 3

occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living
- when they are unable to maintain basic nutrition and hygiene

Question 4

what signs did ROSENHAM & SELIGMAN propose that show when a person isnt coping

Answer 4

• when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules eg. maintaining eye contact
• when a person experiences severe personal stress
• when a persons behaviour becomes irrational/ dangerous to themselves or others

Question 5

what is deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 5

occurs when someone does not meet a set criteria for good mental health

Question 6

what were JAHODA’s suggested good mental health characteristics

Answer 6

• we have no symptoms or distress
• we are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately
• we self actualise
• we can cope with stress
• we have a realistic view of the world
• we have good self esteem and lack of guilt
• we are independent of others
• we can successfully work, love and enjoy leisure
• there is some overlap between failure to function adequately and deviation from ideal mental health

Question 7

EVALUATION OF DEFINITIONS OF ABNORMALITY

—- STATISTCAL INFREQUENCY—–

Answer 7

Strength
real life application –> in the diagnosis of intellectual ability disorder. useful for part of a clinical assessment

Limitation
unusual characteristics can be positive –> IQ scores above 130+ are just as unusual as those below 70
-but people wouldn’t think of super intelligence was as undesirable
- serious limitation * would never be used alone to make a diagnosis*

not everyone unusual benefits from a label –>if someone is fulfilling a happy life, there is no need to label them abnormally

e. g. if someone has a low IQ but isn’t distressed by it, they wouldnt need a diagnosis
* may have a negative effect on them if labelled*

Question 8

EVALUATION OF DEFINITIONS OF ABNORMALITY

—- DEVIATIONS FROM SOCIAL NORMS—–

Answer 8

Strength
not a sole explanation –> think about what is normal/ abnormal e.g. the stress to others

Limitation
cultural relativism –> social norms vary tremendously from one culture to another
e.g. hearing voices in one country is seen as normal but is not normal in the uk
– creates problems for people who are living in a different culture group to their own

can lead to human rights abuses –> too much reliance can lead to systematic abuse of human rights
diagnoses were made to maintain control over minority ethnic groups and women
– these classifications now appear ridiculous because social norms have changed
* some radical psychologists suggest that some of our modern categories of mental disorder are really abuses of peoples rights to be different

Question 9

what is the definition of OCD?

Answer 9

a condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour

Question 10

what are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?

Answer 10

compulsions –> 1)compulsions are repetitive - compelled to repeat behaviour
2) compulsions reduce anxiety - try to manage anxiety produced by obsessions

avoidance –> avoid situations that may trigger their anxiety

Question 11

what are the emotional characteristics of OCD?

Answer 11

anxiety and distress –> unpleasant and emotional experience
obsessive thoughts can be frightening and overwhelming
– urge to repeat behaviour causes anxiety

accompanying depression–> OCD is often accompanied with depression so they can experience low mood, lack of enjoyment in activities
* compulsive behaviour brings relief( but its temporary)

guilt & disgust –> irrational guilt or disgust at something external

Question 12

what are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?

Answer 12

obsessive thoughts–> 90% of sufferers have these

cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions–> e.g. a religious person may respond by praying or meditating
– this may help their anxiety but appear abnormal to others

insight into excessive anxiety –> they are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are not rational
if they thought they were normal, they may have a mental disorder
* OCD sufferers are always alert

Question 13

what is the definition of a phobia?

Answer 13

an irrational fear of an object or a situation

Question 14

what are the behavioural characteristics of PHOBIAS

Answer 14

panic –> in response to the presence of the phobic stimulus e.g. crying, screaming, running away

avoidance –> go to a lot of effort to avoid coming into contact with phobic stimulus * may make it hard to do daily life*

endurance –> sufferer remains in the presence of the stimulus but experiences high level of anxiety * may be unavoidable *

Question 15

what are the emotional characteristics of PHOBIAS

Answer 15

anxiety –> an unpleasant state of high arousal prevents the sufferer from relaxing and makes it difficult to experience positive emotion - fear

emotional responses are unreasonable –> how we react to the stimulus goes beyond what is reasonable

Question 16

what are the cognitive characteristics of PHOBIAS

Answer 16

selective attention to the phobic stimulus –> hard to look away from it, keep attention on it so they can react quickly

irrational beliefs –> increases the pressure on the sufferer to perform well in social situations

cognitive distortions –> phobic perceptions on the phobic stimulus may be distorted

Question 17

what is the definition of depression?

Answer 17

a mental disorder characterised by low mood / energy level

Question 18

what are the behavioural characteristics of DEPRESSION?

Answer 18

activity levels–> reduced level of energy, making them lethargic
- has a knock on effect - can’t socialise etc
- or has opposite effect - psychomotor agitation (pacing up and down a room)

disruption to sleep/ eating behaviour –> reduced sleep/ insomnia or an increased need for sleep (hypersomnia)
- appetite may increase/decrease leading to weight fluctuations - behaviours are disrupted

aggression and self harm –> verbally/ physically aggressive or aggression towards self( self harm)

Question 19

what are the emotional characteristics of DEPRESSION?

Answer 19

lowered mood–> feeling sad, patients often describe themselves as feeling worthless/ empty

anger–> could be extreme anger at themselves or others

lowered self esteem–> how much we like ourselves - sufferers will often be less than usual - can be quite extreme

Question 20

what are the cognitive characteristics of DEPRESSION

Answer 20

poor concentration–> may be unable to stick to a task they normally could, or make decisions that would normally be straightforward – interfere with work/school

attending to & dwelling on the negative–> pay more attention to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives – also recall unhappy events rather than happy

absolutist thinking–> sometimes called ‘black & white thinking’ means when a situation is unfortunate they see it as an absolute disaster

Question 21

who came up with the two process model for behaviour approach to explaining phobias and what did he say

Answer 21

MOWRER
states that phobias are phobias are learned(acquired) in the first place through classical conditioning and then continue because of operant conditioning(maintenance)

Question 22

What did WATSON & RAYNER say about ‘Acquisition by classical conditioning’ and what was their study

Answer 22

learning to associate something of which we initially have no fear(NS) –> with something that triggers a fear response(UCS)

WATSON & RAYNER – Little Albert

• showed no unusual anxiety at start of study
• shown a white rat and loud noise in his ear at the same time -> creates UCR of fear
• Albert then became frightened(CR) when seeing a rat(CS)
• also generalised to other furry white objects/ non white*

Question 23

what is maintenance by operant conditioning?

Answer 23

phobias acquired through classical conditioning tend to decline overtime, though some are long lasting
–> operant conditioning takes place when a behaviour is reinforced(rewarded) or punished

negative- avoids unpleasant situation and then they get a desirable consequence so behaviour is repeated

• whenever we avoid a phobic stimulus we successfully escape fear/ anxiety we would’ve suffered if we remained there
• • reinforces the avoidance behaviour so phobia is maintained

Question 24

EVALUATION OF TWO PROCESS MODEL

Answer 24

Strength
good explanatory power –> it was a step forward because it went beyond Watson & Rayners theory of just classical conditioning
– they can also apply to therapy

Limitaions
alternative explanation for avoidance behaviour–> evidence to suggest that at least some avoidance behaviour appears to be motivated by positive feelings of safety
* suggests that avoidance is motivated by anxiety reduction*

incomplete explanations of phobias–> some aspects require further explanation
BOUNTON - suggests that the evolutionary factors that have an important role in phobias but two process does not mention this (REDUCTIONIST)
– we easily acquire phobias of things that have been a source of danger in the past e.g. snakes, dark
–> SELIGMAN called this biological preparedness – innate predisposition to acquire certain fears

• shows there is more to acquiring phobias than simple conditioning*