Psychological Problems Flashcards
Unipolar depression
a type of mood disorder causing periods of feeling sad and lacking motivation to do everyday activities.
Mental health problem
A form of psychological problem characterised by symptoms affecting your mind and behaviour; they can affect how you think, how you feel, how you behave or how you relate to other people
Twin studies
Research that compares behaviour in groups of twins to see if there are similarities in each park of twins
Monozygotic twins
Twins developed from one fertilised egg that has split into two; monozygotic twins are genetically identical
Dizygotic twins
Twins developed from two different eggs fertilised during the same pregnancy; dizygotic twins are not genetically identical
Genetic predisposition
A biological tendency to develop a particular behaviour as a result of the genes someone has
Diathesis-stress model
An explanation for depression that claims people can have a gene that makes them more likely to develop depression, but only if they face stressful situation that triggers depressive thoughts
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter associated with controlling mood
Deterministic
Our actions come from what we are born with and what we experience; this is the opposite of having ‘free will’ or free choice
Free will
Explanations of behaviour that claim we have the ability to choose exactly what type of behaviour we want to show; this is opposite of being ‘determind’
Cognitive theory
An explanation that focuses on how thought process influence behaviour
Negative triad
A set of three thought patterns where people feel bad about themselves, the future and the world in general
Magnification
A form of cognitive bias that makes people see their problems as far bigger than they actually are
Nature
Explanations of behaviour that focus on innate factors (the things we born with)
Nurture
Explanations of behaviour that focus on environmental factors (the things that happen to us)
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
A therapy for mental health disorder that aims to change thought processes in order to reduce symptoms
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals found within nervous system that pass message from one neuron to another across a synapse
Noradrenaline
A type of neurotransmitter that is involved in mood and is released during times of stress
Reuptake
The process by which neurons reabsorb neurotransmitters tha they released
Placebo
An inactive substance or ‘fake pill’, used instead of an active substance. The person given a placebo will not know it is fake
Relapse
A return of symptoms after treatment has been given
Addiction
A mental health problem that means people need a particular thing- a substance or an activity- in order to be able to go go about their normal routine
Withdrawal
A set of unpleasant physical or psychological symptoms someone gets when they are trying to quit or cannot satisfy their addiction
Learning theory
An explanation that believes behaviour is learned through associations and experiences
Classical conditioning
Learning my associations
Operant conditioning
Learning from the consequences of actions
Social learning theory
Behaviour is learned through observation and limitations of role models
Reinforcement
An outcome resulting from behaviour that increases the chance of the behaviour that increases the chance of the behaviour being repeated or avoided in the future. The outcome may be the result of gaining something positive, or of something negative being removed
Functional analysis
The first stage of CBT to treat addiction that identifies triggers
Skills training
The second stage of CBT to treat addiction whereby addicts learn ways to control the patterns of behaviour that lead to their addiction
Detoxification
When an addict tries taking the substance they are addicted to
Longitudinal study
The same people are tested over a period of time to investigate changes
Likert- type scale
A scale where a person can rate their level of agreement
