Psychological Problems (2022) complete

Question 1

what do you know about incidence of mental health problems (MIND statistics)

Answer 1

MIND says that per 100 people

4. 7 have anxiety
5. 6 have depression
6. 6 have a form of eating disorder

Question 2

how does incidence of mental health problems change over time

Answer 2

In 2007, 24% of adults were accessing treatment which rose to 37% in 2014
By 2030 it is estimated that 2 million more adults will have mental health problems than in 2013

Question 3

how have increased challenges of modern living impacted mental health?

Answer 3

Income - those in lower income households are more likely to have mental health problems than those from higher income households

City living - results in greater social isolation, increasing loneliness and is linked to increased depression

Question 4

describe two cultural variations in beliefs about mental health problems

Answer 4

Schizophrenia - In Western society, hearing voices is seen as a sign of schizophrenia whereas in India and Africa it is seen as a positive experience

Eating Disorders - some syndromes are culture bound; eating disorders were relatively rare for many years outside of the Western world

Question 5

define characteristics of mental health

Answer 5

The signs and symptoms relating to mental illness are subjective

Question 6

what are the six categories of mental health?

Answer 6

Self attitude
Personal growth and self actualisation
Integration
Autonomy
Accurate perception of reality
Mastery of the environment

Question 7

what is lessening of social stigma?

Answer 7

Labelling a person as ‘mentally ill’ or a ‘schizophrenic’ develops expectations about their behaviour which can act as a stigma and be harmful

The preferred term is mental health, which has less stigma and is focused on health

Question 8

define individual effects

Answer 8

The way that mental health problems affect the person experiencing them

Question 9

what are the three individual effects of mental health problems?

Answer 9

Damage to relationships
Difficulties coping with day-to-day life
Negative impact on physical health

Question 10

explain damage to relationships as an individual effect of mental health problems

Answer 10

MH can affect the ability to talk to others which affects relationships because communication is important
Can cause isolation as people avoid others as they feel bad about themselves and fear judgement

Question 11

explain difficulties coping with day-to-day life as an individual effect of mental health problems

Answer 11

Mental health problems are linked to difficulties with getting dressed, socialising, cleaning the house

Question 12

explain negative impact on physical health as an individual effect of mental health problems

Answer 12

If you are anxious or stressed, the body produces cortisol

This prevents the immune system from functioning properly so physical illness is more likely

Question 13

define social effects

Answer 13

The way that mental health problems affect others in society

Question 14

what are the three social effects of mental health problems

Answer 14

Need for more social care
Increased crime rate
Implications for the economy

Question 15

explain need for more social care as a social effect of mental health problems

Answer 15

Taxes fund social care which offers people the basic necessities
Social care includes helping people to learn social and work skills to make them feel less isolated and more competent

Question 16

explain increased crime rates as a social effect of mental health problems

Answer 16

There is an increased risk of violence in people with mental health problems (4x)
However this may be explained by co-occuring problems such as substance abuse

Question 17

explain implications for the economy as a social effect of mental health problems

Answer 17

MH care costs £22bn a year so
cheaper drug treatments should be researched more
Increase in dementia is also an issue

Question 18

what is a psychological explanation?

Answer 18

psychological explanations focus on factor like influences of others and our thinking

Question 19

what are the 4 main points of the psychological explanation of depression?

Answer 19

Faulty thinking - depressed people tend to ignore +’s and focus on -‘s, black and white thinking

This causes hopelessness and negative self schemas

Seligman proposed some people have a negative attributional style so make negative internal, stable and global attributions that result in depression

This is because of learned helplessness
If a person has a bad experience their first instinct is to escape, if they can’t they give up trying

Question 20

define attribution

Answer 20

The process of explaining causes of behaviour

Question 21

define negative self schema

Answer 21

Negative thoughts we hold about ourselves due to negative experiences, they cause us to interpret all information about ourselves negatively

Question 22

what is learned helpessness?

Answer 22

If a person has a bad experience their first instinct is to escape, if they can’t they give up trying

Question 23

give 3 evaluation points of the psychological explanation of depression

Answer 23

STRENGTH - there is research support for learned helplessness
STRENGTH - has lead to ways of treating depression
WEAKNESS - negative beliefs may sometimes be realistic

Question 24

elaborate strength of psychological explanation of depression (research support for learned helplessness)

Answer 24

There is research support for learned helplessness
Seligman demonstrated the process, dogs learned to react to a challenge by giving up
This supports his explanation of depression due to negative attributions

Question 25

elaborate strength of psychological explanation of depression (has lead to ways of treating depression)

Answer 25

Has lead to ways of treating depression
CBT teaches people to think differently replacing faulty thinking with rational thinking to help relieve depression
Therefore, the explanation leads to successful ways of treating depression

Question 26

elaborate weakness of psychological explanation of depression (negative beliefs may sometimes be realistic)

Answer 26

Negative beliefs may sometimes be realistic
There are occasions where life is depressing and it is realistic to feel sad
Alloy and Abraham found that depressed people gave more accurate estimates of disasters than ‘normal’ people
Therefore a negative attributional style may not be all that bad

Question 27

define aversion therapy

Answer 27

A form of therapy in which a patient is exposed to a stimulus whilst simultaneously being exposed to some form of discomfort

Question 28

define classical conditioning and explain it

Answer 28

Learning by association, two stimuli are repeatedly paired together so that the neutral stimuli produces the same response as the unconditioned stimulus

Question 29

how is aversion therapy used to treat alcoholism

Answer 29

Antabuse given (drug that causes vomiting)
Just before vomiting the alcoholic has several alcoholic drinks

Neutral stimulus (alcohol) associated with unconditioned response (vomiting) which becomes a conditioned response

Question 30

how is aversion therapy used to treat gambling

Answer 30

Write gambling related or unrelated phrases on cards
Gambler reads out each card and gets shocked for every related phrase

Electric shock (unconditioned stimulus) given for any gambling related phrase (neutral stimulus) to become a conditioned response

Question 31

how is aversion therapy used to treat smoking

Answer 31

Smoker rapidly smokes in a closed room and becomes nauseated to associate disgust with smoking

Rapid smoking (unconditioned stimulus) in closed room causing nausea
Feel disgust/nausea when looking at cigarette (now a conditioned response)

Question 32

give 3 evaluation points of aversion therapy

Answer 32

STRENGTH - can be combined with CBT holistically
WEAKNESS - addicts may abandon therapy
WEAKNESS - benefits are short term

Question 33

elaborate strength of aversion therapy (can be combined with CBT holistically)

Answer 33

Can be combined with CBT holistically
Aversion therapy gets rid of the immediate urge to use the substance whilst CB works on long term support for addicts thoughts and feelings
This provides a long term solution to the problem

Question 34

elaborate weakness of aversion therapy (addicts may abandon therapy)

Answer 34

Addicts may abandon therapy
Aversion therapy uses unpleasant stimuli and addicts may find it more unpleasant than they initially thought
This means it is hard to assess the effectiveness of the treatment in research studies, so it is difficult to come to any conclusion about the general effectiveness of aversion therapy

Question 35

elaborate weakness of aversion therapy (benefits are short term)

Answer 35

Benefits are short term
In a long term follow up of upto nine years McConaghy et al found that it was no more effective than a placebo and covert sensitisation was more effective
This suggests that aversion therapy lacks overall effectiveness

Question 36

what are the 4 main points of self help programmes?

Answer 36

They require individuals to organise treatment with no professionals helping them

Participants must surrender control to a higher power ad let go of their will
Persson comes to terms with their ‘sins’ through a share and members listen to accept the ‘sinner’

Recovery is lifelong and the members can call each other in case of relapse

Self help groups are peer sharing models that support members through recovery, some avoid the religious element and some have local traditions

Question 37

give 3 evaluation points of self help programmes

Answer 37

STRENGTH - 12 step is holistic
WEAKNESS - lack of any supporting research
WEAKNESS - may only be effective for certain types of people

Question 38

elaborate strength of self help programmes (12 step is holistic)

Answer 38

12 step programme is holistic
Many steps are concerned with emotions and social support to help a person manage their emotions
This means it has advantages to aversion therapy

Question 39

elaborate weakness of self help programmes (lack of any supporting research)

Answer 39

Lack of any supporting research
The AA reported in 2007 that 33% of its North American members remained sober for 10 years but this doesn’t tell us the dropout rate
This suggests it is quite hard to judge effectiveness

Question 40

elaborate weakness of self help programmes (may only effective for certain types of people)

Answer 40

May only be effective for certain types of people
The dropout rates are quite high indicating that the self help approach is demanding and requires high levels of motivation
This means that the treatment is a limited approach