PAPER 1- TOPIC 4 PSYCHOPATHOLOGY ✅ Flashcards
describe statistical deviation (infrequency) as a definition of abnormality
when an individual has a less common and characteristics than most of the population, based on stats and frequencies
-unusal = abnormal
what can be used to identify abnormal behaviour using statistical deviation
- measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode)
- statistical deviation from average of a normal distribution curve
example of statistical infrequency
IQ scores on a normal distribution curve, can identify if an individual has intellectual disability
(bottom 2% of scores)
Describe deviation from social norms as a definition of abnormality
someone behaves in a different way to the accepted standards in a society
define social norm
what do they vary in
- a rule/judgement held by a social group of how people should behave
- cultures and generations
example of what is anti social personality disorder
characteristics of it
how it is an example of deviation from social norms
- anti social personality disorder (psychopathy)
- —> characteristics are being impulsive, aggressive and lacking empathy
- they are unable to conform to social and ethically normal behaviour
- so psychopaths are seen as abnormal in a range of cultures
Describe failure to function adequately as a definition of abnormality
when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day to day living
examples of signs someone is not functioning adequately
- unable to maintain basic hygiene and nutrition
- unable to hold down jobs
- unable to maintain social relationships
What are signs someone is failing to function adequately according to Rosenham and Seligman
Rosenham said these signs are
- not carrying out typical interpersonal interactions (e.g. eye contact, personal space)
- severe personal distress
- their behaviour becomes irrational and dangerous to themselves or others
example of how failure to function adequately can result in diagnosis
- used in combination with statistical infrequency
- can identify if the bottom 2% of people on IQ distribution curve are failing to function adequately, and then can diagnose them with intellectual disability
Describe deviation from ideal mental health as a definition of abnormality and who suggested it
when someone doesn’t meet the set of criteria for a good mental health
Jahoda
Examples of Jahodas ideal mental health criteria
- no symptoms of distress
- rational, and accurate with self perception
- trying to reach self-actualisation
- cope with stress
- realistic view of the world
- good self esteem and lack of guilt
- independent of others
- can work, love and enjoy leisure
- in stable social relationships
What is the DSM 5
(diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders)
-that classify symptoms for different mental disorders so patients can be accurately diagnosed
Define a phobia
an irrational fear of an object or situation that creates excessive fear and anxiety
-triggered by an object, place or situation
3 categories of phobias
- specific - an object or a situation
- social phobia (non specific) - of social situations (involving people)
- agoraphobia (non specific) - fear of going outside or in public place (where escape or getting help may be difficult if things go wrong)
Behavioural characteristics of phobias
- Panic - involves crying and running away (for kids- freezing)
- Avoidance - avoid coming into contact with phobic stimulus
- Endurance - remain in phobic stimulus presence
Emotional characteristics of Phobias
- Unreasonable emotional response - anxiety and fear are disproportionate to threat
- Fear - immediate and short term extremely unpleasant response
- Anxiety - an unpleasant state of high arousal (longer term)
Cognitive characteristics of phobias
- Selective attention to phobic stimulus - hard to look away from the phobic stimulus when present
- Irrational beliefs - beliefs in relation to phobic stimulus are inaccurate and actually real
- Cognitive distortions - perception of phobic stimulus is unrealistic and inaccurate
behavioural explanation to how phobias are acquired and maintained
What’s the model called?
who coined it
THE TWO PROCESS MODEL
- acquired by classical -associate something we have no fear of with something that we have fear of
- maintained by operant conditioning
(Mowrer)
describe the study showing acquisition of a phobia through classical conditioning
Little Albert (9 month old baby)
- had no unusual anxiety to a white rat at start
- whenever rat was presented, iron bar was hit, creating loud frightening noise
- when the neutral stimulus of a white rat was paired with the unconditioned stimulus of a loud noise, the unconditioned response of fear from the loud noise, was gradually associated with the neutral stimulus of a white rat
- now the white rat (conditioned stimulus) produces a conditioned response of fear and anxiety
- this was generalised to anxiety reactions from similar furry objects (non white rabbit, Santa claus beard, fur coat)
describe how phobias are maintained
by operant conditioning
- when our behaviour is reinforced (reward or punishment)
- reinforcement increased frequency of behaviour
- when you avoid an unpleasant situation (negative reinforcement) and as a result get a desirable consequence of not being in presence of phobic stimulus (escape fear and anxiety), the behaviour will be repeated
State the two behavioural approaches to treating phobias
- systematic desensitisation
- flooding
Describe how systematic desensitisation treats of phobias (not steps)
- is a gradual process
- attempts to counter-condition the learned response of anxiety to a response of relaxation through classical conditioning
- if relaxation is associated with the phobic stimulus this will prevent the response of anxiety (reciprocal inhibition)
Describe the main 3 steps of systematic desensitisation
- anxiety hierarchy - client and therapist rank different situations from lowest to highest level of anxiety
- relaxation - client is taught relaxation techniques (e.g. meditation, breathing exercises, visualisation… could possibly use drugs, like valium)
- exposure - over several sessions the client will be exposed to situations that create increasing anxiety levels based on the hierarchy, only move on if relaxed at that level
Define flooding as a treatment of phobias
- client is exposed to an immediate, extreme form of the phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety that the stimulus creates
- intense, quick process (can stop phobia in 2-3 hours)
Describe the process of flooding
- by being exposed to the phobic stimulus without the option of avoidance behaviour the client learns the stimulus is harmless
USES EXTINCTION
- the conditioned response of fear is extinguished when the conditioned stimulus (e.g. dogs) is present without the unconditioned stimulus (e.g. biting you) and so the conditioned stimulus no longer produces the conditioned response of fear
OR……
- sometimes the response stops due to exhaustion as adrenaline has a limit and so fear can’t be maintained and so the stimulus has to be associated with relaxation
Define OCD
> Define obsessions
> Define compulsions
•obsessive-compulsive disorder
- a condition that involves obsessions and compulsive behaviour
- obsessions - intrusive thoughts that recurr
- compulsions - urge to repeat a behaviour, reduce anxiety of obsessions
Behavioural characteristics of OCD
The behavioural aspect of OCD is compulsive behaviour
•the compulsive behaviour is:
> repeated - person feels compelled to repeat the behaviour
> anxiety reducing - reduce anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts
> avoiding - avoidance of situations where there may be triggers that cause anxiety
Emotional characteristics of OCD
- anxiety and distress - anxiety in obsessive thoughts as they are unpleasant and overwhelming
- depression - often OCD patients experience low moods and lack of enjoyment in activities
- guilt and disgust - irrational, out of proportion guilt for minor issues (e.g. massive guilt for being late)
Cognitive characteristics of OCD
- obsessive thoughts - recurring thoughts
- cognitive coping strategies - mental coping strategies to deal with the anxiety of the obsessions (e.g. meditating), may appear abnormal and can prevent them from completing everyday activities
- knowledge of their excessive anxiety - aware their compulsions and obsessions aren’t rational
Two biological explanations to OCD
Genetic explanations
Neural explanations
Describe the Genetic explanation to OCD
Genes can lead to OCD vulnerability
Diathesis-stress model
Candidate genes
OCD is polygenic
There are different types of OCD
Describe research showing genes can lead to OCD vulnerability
Lewis
•37% of his patients had OCD, 21% of their siblings had OCD
not 100% so it is a vulnerability to OCD that runs in families
Describe the diathesis-stress model
-suggests people can have a genetic vulnerability for OCD that can be triggered by environment, experiences or stress
Describe candidate genes in relation to vulnerability to OCD
•Candidate genes have been identified by researchers as genes that create vulnerability for OCD
-some of these genes are involved in regulating serotonin levels
example of candidate gene for Sz
5HT1 - D beta
Explain the idea that OCD is polygenic and research showing it
- means that OCD is not caused by one single gene but a combination of genetic variations
- these combine to form vulnerability to OCD
TAYLOR found evidence of 230 genes linked with OCD
-including genes associated with the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine (these regulate mood)
Describe the idea that there are different types of OCD
• The origin (aetiology) of OCD has different causes (heterogenous)
- the genetic combination leading to OCD changes from person to person (may cause OCD in one person and not another)
ALSO:
- different variations of genetic combinations in people may cause them developing different types of OCD
Define aetiologically heterogeneous
The origin (aetiology) of OCD has different causes (heterogenous)
-these causes (genetic combinations) vary from person to person
Describe the neural explanations to OCD
- the role of serotonin
- abnormal functioning of decision making part of brain
- worry circuit
Describe the role of serotonin in causing OCD
- the neurotransmitter serotonin controls mood
- neurotransmitters are responsible for relaying info from one neurone to another
- if someone has low serotonin levels than the normal rate of transmission of mood-related info doesn’t take place
- therefore they will experience low moods, resulting in OCD
Describe the role of the abnormal functioning of the decision making part of the brain in OCD
- some OCD cases are associated with impaired decision making
- this could be associated with abnormal functioning of the frontal lobes of the brain
- these are responsible for thinking and making decisions
-also research suggesting the parahippocampal gyrus which is associated with processing unpleasant info, functions abnormally in OCD
describe the worry circuit
- in people with OCD the filter in the basal ganglia doesn’t work, so unnecessary messages end up being sent to thalamus
- thalamus becomes hyperactive and so sends strong signals to frontal cortex
- increases compulsive behaviour
Simplified:
- in OCD, the filter of information in basal ganglia doesn’t work, leading stronger signals being created and resulting in an increase of compulsive behaviours
1 Strengths of genetic explanations to OCD
1 weakness of genetic explanations to OCD
STRENGTH
•research support
- Nestadt’s found that 68% of identical twins share OCD compared to 31% of non identical twins
-support that genetics increases vulnerability to OCD
WEAKNESS
•partial explanation to OCD
-doesn’t account for environmental risk factors that can trigger or increase risk of developing OCD
-Cromer et al found that over half of the OCD clients in her sample had experienced a traumatic event in their life
Outline the biological approach to treating OCD
DRUG THERAPY:
>SSRIs
> Combining other treatment and SSRIs
> Alternatives to SSRIs
where do SSRIs work
- work on the serotonin system in the brain
Describe what SSRIs are and how they work
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
- usually the excess serotonin is reabsorbed by the presynaptic neurone and broken down, after it has conveyed the information across
- but SSRIs inhibit the reuptake of this excess serotonin transported out of the synaptic cleft (of the presynaptic neurone)
- preventing this leaves higher serotonin levels in the synaptic cleft
- means the serotonin can continue stimulating the post synaptic neurone with mood-related information, and compensate for whatever was wrong with the system before
- work on the serotonin system in the brain
example of SSRI
- name
- typical dose
- length of time before symptoms affected
- fluoxetine
- 20mg
- 3-4 months of daily use before impact on symptoms
Describe the combination of SSRI with other treatments
- often combined with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
- the drugs reduces emotional and behavioural symptoms
- this means people can engage more effectively with the CBT (can address cognitive symptoms (e.g. recurring intrusive thoughts)
Describe the alternatives to SSRIs
- When SSRIs are not effective after 3-4 months, dosage can increase, or other antidepressants can be used (only used if SSRIs fail)
- Some alternative drugs work for some and not at all for others
•Tricyclics- acts on various systems including serotonin system (which it has same effect on)
- e.g. clomipramine
- —> side effects more severe than SSRIs
•SNRIs- (serotonin, noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors) increase serotonin and noradrenaline levels
- more recent development and usage
Describe the cycle of OCD
—> obsessive thought
—> anxiety
—> compulsive behaviour
—> temporary relief
1 Strengths of neural explanations to OCD
1 weakness of neural explanations to OCD
STRENGTH
•research support
-research on antidepressants that work on serotonin levels, have shown that they are effective in reducing OCD symptoms
-suggests serotonin is involved in OCD
WEAKNESS
- serotonin levels being disrupted may not be a direct link to OCD
- many people with OCD also have clinical depression (co-morbidity)
- depression usually occurs due to disruption to levels of serotonin
- could be that serotonin is disrupted in OCD clients because they are already disrupted due to their depression
Strengths of biological approach to treating OCD
•a practical treatment
- cost effective - tablets manufactured in bulk at reasonably low prices
- time effective- thousands of tablets and doses can be manufactured in same time as one therapy session
•research showing the effectiveness of SSRIs
- Soomro reviewed 17 studies comparing SSRIs to placebos in OCD treatment and found all 17 provided better outcomes
- reduced symptoms by 70%
Weaknesses of biological approach to treating OCD
•minority suffer from side effects
- indigestion, blurred vision
- 1 in 10 suffer from weight gain or erection problems
- overall reduce quality of life
- these people may be scared to try future drug treatment so they become completely ineffective
•publication bias of drug effectiveness
-some psychologists believe evidence for drug effectiveness is biased
-because psychologists are sponsored by drug companies they may choose to publish only positive outcomes of the drug use
—> publication bias
