Psychological Disorders

Question 1

Mental Health

Answer 1

• Mental health – capacity of individuals to behave in ways that promote their emotional and social well-being

Question 2

Mental Health Problems

Answer 2

• Mental health problems – wide range of behavioural and emotional abnormalities that affect people throughout their lives

Question 3

Mental Disorder

Answer 3

• Mental disorder – a clinically recognisable set of symptoms and behaviours that cause distress to the individual and impair their ability to function as usual

Question 4

Cognitive/ Behavioural

Answer 4

• Cognitive/behavioural: Integrates classical and operant conditioning with cognitive-social approach e.g. Thoughts that precede a panic attack, so Assessment of the context or which thoughts trigger an adverse psychological reaction e.g. Anxiety, substance use disorders

Question 5

Biological Theoretical Approaches

Answer 5

• Biological theoretical approaches: Cause determined from brain’s circuitry, such as neurotransmitter imbalances, brain structure deformities or neural pathways impacting upon behaviours etc So move from a mental to physiological level e.g. imbalance of 5-HT à depressive disorders or neural circuitry like DA and reward system

Question 6

System theoretical approaches

Answer 6

• System theoretical approaches: Individual’s behaviour in terms of social groups such as couple, family, or larger group; roots of the psychopathology in the broader social context e.g. a parent who brought their child in for treatment of depression had a psychological disorder themselves So, looking at treatment of an individual’s symptoms as symptoms of dysfunction in the family. Looks at risk protective factors in an individual’s environment

Question 7

Evolutionary theoretical approaches

Answer 7

• Evolutionary theoretical approaches: Psychopathology not comprehensively explained as in other approaches, and is counterintuitive as mental illness is often maladaptive, but can be useful to think about. Three ways evolutionary perspective explains:

Question 8

Evolutionary theoretical approaches 1) Natural Selection

Answer 8

Natural selection – example is where anxiety is an evolutionary mechanism gone askew – fear can be our protector against enemies/ predators.. But if maladaptive à oft person is socially isolated and have less chance of reproducing [BUT many generations have evolved with mental illness so undermines this approach]

Question 9

ETA 2) Emerging Knowledge

Answer 9

Emerging knowledge – role of genes

Question 10

ETA 3) Interplay of genes and environments

Answer 10

Interplay of genes and environment – normal processes go awry because of abnormal circumstances – Fear is a protector but if faced with a trauma a person may become preoccupied with the fear and less functioning

Question 11

Schizophrenia and psychotic disorders

Answer 11

• Schizophrenia and psychotic disorders
o Characterised by: Loss of contact with reality
o Marked disturbances of thought (delusions)
o Marked disturbances of perception (hallucinations)
o Disorganised thinking
o Abnormal motor behaviour