Psychological Disorders- Explaining A Disorder

Question 1

Aim of Lewinsohn

Answer 1

To compare the amount of ‘positive reinforcement’ received by depressed and non-depressed patients

Question 2

Method of Lewinsohn

Answer 2

Quasi experiment

Longitudinal study including self-reports

Question 3

Participant of Lewinsohn

Answer 3

30 all diagnosed with depression, a disorder different to depression and ‘normal’.

Question 4

Procedure is Lewinsohn

Answer 4

• pps asked to check mood daily using depression adjective checklist
• pps ticked the ones they felt that day
• then asked to complete the please activity scale rating 320 activities
• ^ rated twice on scale of 3, once for pleasantness once for frequency

Question 5

Results of Lewinsohn

Answer 5

Positive correlation between mood ratings and pleasant activities

Question 6

Conclusions of Lewinsohn

Answer 6

There appears to be a link between reinforcement from pleasant activities and mood, but further research needed

Question 7

What does behavioural approach suggest about disorders?

Answer 7

Learnt through conditioning or imitation

Question 8

What does a biological approach suggest about disorders?

Answer 8

We may have GENETIC VULNERABILITY to depression and various NEUROTRANSMITTERS may have a role to play in depression

Question 9

Aim of Wender

Answer 9

To investigate contribution of genetic and environment factors in the aetiology of mood disorders

Question 10

Participants of Wender

Answer 10

Adoptive and biological relatives of 71 adult adoptees with a mean age of 43.7 who had a mood disorder & 71 afult’s adoptees with mean age of 44 who were psychologically normal.

Question 11

Procedure of Wender

Answer 11

Psychiatric evaluations of relatives

Question 12

Results of Wender

Answer 12

There was an eight fold increase in unipolar depression amongst biological relatives and 15 fold increase in suicide among the bio relatives

Question 13

Conclusions of Wender

Answer 13

There is a genetic link between unipolar depression and suicide

Genetic predisposition to depression

Question 14

What is cognitive approach saying about disorders?

Answer 14

Different thought processes

ABRAMSON :
1) attribute failure to internal cause or external cause
2)we attribute failure to stable cause or unstable cause
3) attribute failure to global cause or specific cause
internal, stable and global = depressed

Question 15

Aim of Beck

Answer 15

Understand cognitive distortions in patients with depression

Question 16

Method of Beck

Answer 16

Self report- clinical interviews

Question 17

Participant of Beck

Answer 17

50 pps w/depression. 18-48 y/o, average intelligence, working and middle class compared to 34 non-depressed

Question 18

Procedure of Beck

Answer 18

Face to face interviews
Reports of thought before session and during
Diaries sometimes kept of thoughts and bought to the session

Question 19

Results of Beck

Answer 19

Certain themes occurred in depressed that didn’t occur in non-depressed e.g low self-esteem, self blame, desire to escape
Regarded themselves as inferior having stereotypical responses to situation

Question 20

Conclusions of Beck

Answer 20

Patients showed cognitive distortions that weren’t logical or relistic thinking.

Only depression not other disorders