psychology - psychopathology

Question 1

What is statistical infrequency?

Answer 1

statistical infrequency occurs when an individual has al less common chachteristics. To find out what is abnormal we need to know what normal is

Question 2

what is a strength of this definition
EXPLAIN IN TERMS OF PEEL

satisitcal infrequency

Answer 2

P- A strength is that it provides an objective way based on data to define abnormality
E in this definition there is judgement being made because it based on numbers for e.g a graph to show what is the difference between normal and abnormal
E This has helped diagnose disorders and asses severity

Question 3

Limitation 1 - labelling

Limitation 2 - distinguish between desirable and undesirable

*satsitcal infrequcny or social norms
Limitation 3 - demand characteristics

Answer 3

P - another limitation is that labelling people can have negative effects
E for example somebody with low iq may be labelled negatively as abnormal and prevent them from getting help that they need
E - this becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and may prevent somebody from getting the help that they need

P - it fails to distinguish between desirable and undesirable
E Many gifted people may be labelled as undesirable beheviour using this meaning for example having high iq could be desirable but judged as abnormal
E This may not be appropriate because the norm is subjective

Question 4

what is deviation from social norms?

Answer 4

moving away from beheviour that is seen as norm and when individual don’t confirm to social norms

Question 5

Strengths 1 - scientific
DEFINTION OF ABNORMALITY
Strength 2 - helped diagnose mental condition’s
DEFINTION OF ABNORMALITY

Answer 5

P- it is now also scientifically credible
E development of brain scanning techniques have led us to see a difference in the brain of psychopaths
E deviation form social norms is also supported through evidence of those likely to deviate

P- this definition has enabled diagnoses of mental health issues like APD
E the diagnostic statistical manual states somebody with APD fails to confirm to norms
E however a question Aries if it is deliberate or a mental health condition

Question 6

Limitation 1 - different cultures have different morals

Limitation 2 - human rights abuse

Answer 6

P - A limitation is that different cultures have different morals and so the definition would be subjective
E for example although homosexuality was legalized it is still is seen as abnormal in some cultures
E so the norm is subjective

P - the definition could lead to human rights abuse
E Somebody seen as abnormal could be treated unfairly like women with nycophenomia were seen as abnormal and treated unfairly

Question 7

what does inability to cope mean?

what is rosehanan Seligman say the signs of somebody unable to cope look like?

Answer 7

a person may cross the line between normal and abnormal as they cannot deal with the demands of everyday life

the signs included

• unable to confirm to interpersonal rules
• personal distress and unable to think rationally

Question 8

what is deviation from ideal mental health?

jhandoa 8 criteria of ideal mental health?

Answer 8

• a different way to look at abnormity is too look at what makes somebody normal.

no symptoms of distress. Rational, self actualization, good self esteem, independent of others, successfully work and love.

Question 9

Strength one - comprehensive definition
Strength two - sees patient perspective
Strength three - treatment plan

Answer 9

P - a strgenth is that the criteria covers a range of reasons to why somebody may seek help for
E - rosehanan and Seligman signs have common reasons to look for when struggling for others to see and for own personal processing
E - furthermore jhonda criteria has range of factors to consider and is comprehensive

P - A strength is that it sees it from a patient’s perspective
E - e, although it’s difficult to assess severity the definition acknowledges the experiences of the patient Like not being able to cope with everyday life
E - it helps people ask for help as the reasons are so individual

P - A strength is that it can help diagnose and create a treatment plan
E- both jhandoa criteria and rosehanan signs cover variety of reasons and patient is able to see which one they lack and know what to go to get help for
E - this helps create a plan and diagnose condition’s when needed

Question 10

Limitation one - very few people meet the criteria

Limitation 2 - subjective

ideal mental health

Answer 10

P - jhandoa criteria is a very high standard for mental health
E- very few people will meet the full criteria as it is high expectations of ideal mental health and so most people will be seen as abnormal

E this places no value on who may benefit from treatment against their will and the expectations may lead to a lot of pressure and a self fulfilling prophecy

Question 11

beheviour symptoms of a phobia?
emotional symptoms of a phobia?
cognitive symptoms of a phobia?

Answer 11

Behavioural;
Panic- may involve running away or crying screaming.
Avoidance- considerable effort to avoid coming into contact with the phobia stimulus. This can make it hard to go about life

Emotional:
Anxiety and fear. Fear is the immediate experience when a phobias encounters or thinks of the situation. Fear leads to anxiety
Responses are unreasonable- responses disproportionate to the threat posed e.g a strong emotion to a spider

Cognitive:
Selective attention to the phobic stimulus the phobic finds it hard to look away from phobic situations.
Irrational beliefs for e.g believe such as if i blush ppl will see me as a week

Question 12

beheviour symptoms of depression?
emotional symptoms of depression?
cognitive symptoms of depression?

Answer 12

Depression;
Behaviour- activity levels- suffers of depression have reduced levels of energy making them lethargic. E.g getting out of bed
Disruption to sleep and eating behaviour
Suffers may experience reduced sleep insomnia or an increased need for sleep. Appetite may increase or decrease. Leading to weight gain or loss

Cognitive- suffers may find themselves unable to stick with a task as they usually would or they might find it simple decision difficult

Emotional
Lowered mood more than daily feelings of sad.
anger on occasion it leads to aggression.
Abulosite thinking. Black and white thinking

Question 13

Behavioural symptoms of OCD?
Emotional symptoms of OCD?
Cognitive symptoms of OCD?

Answer 13

Ocd-
Behavioural: compulsions actions are carried out repeatedly e.g handwashing repeating as a ritual. Avoidance- manage to avoid difficult situations that trigger anxiety

Emotional: anxiety and distress. People with ocd experience unpleasant frightening anxiety. Guilt and disgust. Irrational fear over minor or moral issue

Cognitive: obsessive thoughts 90% have obsessive thoughts
Hypervigilance irrational

Question 14

What is the cognitive ways to explain depression?

Answer 14

• faulty information processing ( beck suggested some people more prone to depression of those who have faulty information processing i.e thinking in a flaw ad way ignoring positive’s.
• negative self schemas (brief explanation of schema) if an individual has negative self schema they interpret all information about themselves negatively
• Becks negetive triad, negetive view of the world, future and self
• Ellis ABC model. A - activating event is seen to cause depression which causes negative or irrational beliefs, musatbation is the thought that you always have to succeed, I cant stand this is the thought it is diester if things do not go to plan and utopianism is the world must always be fair. C - consequences

Question 15

what is the supporting evidence for this explanation?

What is the real world application to support this explanation? (negetive triad)

Answer 15

P - by gazzorzi and terry
E - they assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vunraiblty before and after pregnancy
E found those who did have cog vun were likely to have postnatal depression

P -becks explanation forms a basis for CBT
E - the triad that beck created can be easily identified and challenged by patient and therapist for example if you have a negative view of self you can easily identity and challenge based on self opinion
E - this means your able to test reality of the triad.

Question 16

What aspects does becks explanation of depression does he miss? )complex disorder

What does Ellis lack in his model?

Answer 16

P - becks explanation is incomplete
E - Depression is complex disorder and can often have feelings like deep anger and extreme emotion or even hallucinations
E this is missed out by beck and seems oversimplified as depression is a wide condition

P - Ellis model is a partial explanation of depression
E - although depression can come from a negative event this is identified as reactive depression but often depression can come without causation and can be genetic too
E - this therefore means cognitions does not cause all aspects of depression

Question 17

What is the cognitive approach to treating depression?

Answer 17

• client and therapist work (work to identify the thought process of client and see if a challenge is needed)
• challenging irrational thoughts relating to negative triad (cleint takes an active role)
• patient as scientist
• Ellis rational emotional behavioural therapy (extended for ABC) d for dispute and e for efffect
• Challenge the irrational belief: a patent might talk about how lucky or unfair life has been. An REBT therapist would identify this as utopianism and challenge is as an irrational belief. Empirical argument - disrupting wherever their evidence to support their belief or logical argument- disrupting whether the negative thoughts actually follow form facts
• behavioural activation

Question 18

what is the evidence to support CBT as effective? (march et al)

How does patient and therapist relationship determine success?

Answer 18

P - march at el followed a group of depressed people

E - group 1 was just CBT, Group 2 was Just drugs and Group 3 was a combo

E - he found 81% of just CBT and 81% of just drugs as well as 86% of both improved over 36 weeks showed that cbt is just as effective as drugs

P - Success may be due to patient and therapist relationship

E - every psychotherapy varies but one essential ingredient is patient and therapist relationship and for example in order for CBT to work client has to trust therapist so rapport is important

E - So success may be due to this rather then anything else

Question 19

why does CBT NOT WORK IN SEVERE CASES?

Why else might not CBT WORK (past)

Answer 19

P - some cases of depression may be too severe and CBT may not be suitable

E - client may be too depressed to do the work required by CBT due to lack of motivation and a behavioural symptom being lack of energy causing lack of effort so in this case drugs may be more suitable

E - This therefore shows CBT soly may not be effective

P - another limitation is that some clients may want to work on their past

E - cbt only focuses on present and futute rather then past but depression may stem from past experience’s

E and so by talking abut it may useful but cbt doesn’t do that which makes it a limitation

Question 20

What is the behavioural explanation for phobias?

Answer 20

• two process model of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. classical causes phobia operant maintains it
• aqustion by classical conditioning - this is when a phobic person associates the UCS as causing UCR of fear then the NS becomes CS to the CR fear
• little albert’s condtioned fear - waynor and watson showed how fear could be conditioned into little albert. so when little albert played with a white rat they made a loud bang noise to the point where little albert became afraid and began crying. He then conditioned the noise to the rat and become scared of the rat.
• generalisation of conditioning - little albert for example associated all fury objects with his phobia like Santa bearded.
• maintained by operant conditioning - operant conditioning takes place when behaviour is reinforced. Negative reinforcement- an individual produces behaviour that avoids something unpleasant. When a phobic avoids phobic stimulus they escape from anxiety that they would have experienced. The reduction in fear legibility reinforces avoidance and the behaviour is maintained.
• negative reinforcement

Question 21

stegenth of the two process model?

Answer 21

P - The two process model has good explanatory power
E - the process model goes above and beyond classical and operant conditioning as shown by watson and raynor and explains the processing of phobias
E - this has had many implication for CBT and shows how if avoidence can be prevented then beheviour declines

Question 22

• Alternative explanations for avoidance beheviour -
• incomplete explanation to phobias
• not all bad things lead to phobia
• does not consider cognitive aspect

Answer 22

E - in more complex conditions like agoraphobia it is found that avoidance is stemmed from positive feelings of safety
E - this explains why an agoraphobe may feel safe only to leave the house with a trusted friend but the model only shows avoidance stemming from anxiety

P - Although classical conditioning and operant conditioning is a valid explanation for phobias futher explanation is required
E - Some phobias can be devolved from past experiences and this is biological preparedness
E - We already prepare ourselves to feel fear this shows elements of cognitions so classical conditioning needs more explanation

P - sometimes phobias are a result of bad experiences not always
E - However some people don’t always have bad experiences with the phobia but fear it anyway or they have a bad experience and don’t develop a phobia
E - classical condtioning alone and operent cannot explain phobia

P - behavioural explanations can explain phobias but cogitations are not considered
E -. This why is the process model explains maintenance of phobias in terms of avoidance we also know that phobias have a cognitive element.
E - The two process model does not adequately address the cognitive element of phobias like not being able to look away

Question 23

BEHEVIROUAL EXPLANTION TO TREATING PHOBIAS

Answer 23

Systematic desensitization based on classical conditioning, counterconditioning and reciprocal conditioning - the therapy aims to gradually reduce anxiety through counterconditioning. Phobia is learned so that the pohibc stimulus conditioned stimulus produces fear unconditioned response. The conditioned stimulus is paired with relaxation and now becomes new conditioned response. Reportical inhibition - it is not possible to be afraid and relaxed at the same time so one emotion prevents the other.

Formation of the anxiety hierarchy: patient and therapist design an anxiety hierarchy - a list of fearful stimulus arranged in order from least to most frightening. An arachnophobic might identify sewing a picture of a small spiders slow on the hierarchy and holding one the highest .

Relaxation practiced at each level of hierarchy - phobic individuals is first taught relaxation techniques such as deep breathing. Patient then works through the anxiety hierarchy and at each level phobic is exposed to the phobic stimulus in a relaxed store. This takes place over several sessions starting at the bottom of the hierarchy. Treatment is successful when the person can stay relaxed on the high of the hierarchy

Flooding - immediate exposure to phobic stimulus -flooding involves bombarding the phobic patient with the phobic object without gradual build up. For example an arachnophobe.

Very quick learning through excitation - without the option of avoidance the patient quickly learns that the phobic object is harmless through exhaustion and fear of their response known as extension.

Ethical safeguards. Flooding is not unethical but it is unpleasant so patients must give informed consent. Fully prepared.

Question 24

Gilroy study

diversity of patients?

ACCEPTED BY PATEINTS

Answer 24

P - there is supporting evidence for the effectivness of sd
E - Gilroy followed 42 patients with a spider phobia for 3 x45 minute sessions.
E - He found that the SD group were least afraid after 3 - 33 months compared to controlled group who practiced with just relaxation technique’s without phobia exposure

P - the attentive to sd is flooding and cognitive therapies not suited to some people.
E - For example having difficulties such as learning can make it hard for some patients to understand what is happening during flooding or to engage in cognitive therapies that require reflection.
E - For those sd is probably most appropriate

P - a strength of sd is that patients prefer it if given choice between sd or flooding.
E - This is because it does cause the same degree of trauma flooding does. It may also be because sd includes elements that are pleasant like talking.
E - This is reflected in the low refusal rates and low attrition rates of patients dropping out of sd

Question 25

LESS EFFECTIVE FOR SOME TYPES OF PHOBIA

TRUAMATIC

Answer 25

P - although flooding is slightly effective for treating simple phobias
E - it appears to be less for more complex Phobias like social phobia’s this may be because social phobias have a cognitive aspect to it for eg a sufferer of social
E - phobia does not experience just anxiety but unpleasant thought this type of cognitive more beneficial for cognitive therapies.

P - A further limitation is that flooding is traumatic - perhaps a serious issue with flooding is highly traumatic.
E - The problem is not that it’s unethical because patients give informed consent but that patients unwilling to see it through the end
E - this is a limitation because r it ultimately means the treatment is not effective.

Question 26

Biological explanation of phobias -

Answer 26

genetic explanation - Candinate genes,
researchers have identified a specific type of gene which creates vulnerability for ocd called Candinate genes, serotonin help regulate mood transitioned across synapse and dopamine both neurotransmitter’s

ocd is polygenic - there is different variations of OCD Taylor found up to 230 involved
different types of ocd - there are different genes involved in OCD one type of variation may cause one particular tpye of ocd for one person but another variation a diff type of ocd known as astregenically heterogeneous

neutral explanation
low levels of serotonin - neurotransmitters responsible for relaying information from one neuron to another. low level of serotonin makes the mood relevant information difficult

desscion making in the frontal lobe impaired - some cases of OCD is associated with desscion making like hording disorder this may in turn be associated with abnormal functioning of the lateral part of the Frontal lobe
Para hippocampal gyrus dysfunction- there is also evidence that suggest an area called the left Para hippocampal gyrus is associated with processing an unpleasant emotions and functions abnormality in ocd.

Question 27

biological explanation to ocd

Answer 27

candidate genes, serotonin- genes implicated in the trans motion of sertonian across synapse, dopamine- genesis are also implicit in ocd. Both dopamine and neurotransmitters have a role in regulating mood.

Ocd is polygenic; ocd is not caused by a single gene but by several genes that are involved. Taylor found that up to 230 genes may be involved in ocd

Different types of ocd: one group of genes may cause ocd in one person but a different group of genes may cause the disorder in different people known as aetiologically heterogeneous. There is also evidence that different types of OCD may be a result of a particular genetic variation such as hoarding disorder, religious obsession

Neural explanation low levels of serotonin
Low level of serotonin lowers mood - neurotransmitters responsible for relaying information of one neuron to the othe.for example if a person have w levels of serotonin the normal transmission of mood relevant information does not take place.

Decision making systems in the frontal lobe impaired - some cases of OCD a particular hoarding disorder is associated with impared decision making. This in turn may be associated with abnormal l functioning of the lateral side bits of the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is logical thinking and decision making.

Parahippocampal gyrus dysfunction- there is also evidence that suggest an area called the left parahippocampal gyrus is associated with processing an unpleasant emotions and functions abnormality in ocd.

Question 28

treatment of OCD

Answer 28

drug therapy;
Changing level of neurotransmitters; drug therapies for mental disorders aim to increase levels of neurotransmitters in the brain or to increase/decrease activity. Low levels of serotonin are associated with ocd therefore drugs work in various ways to increase level of in the brain.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor ;ssri prevent reabsorption and breakdown of section in brain this increases levels in the synapse and thus section continues to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron. This compensates for whatever is wrong with the sertonaian system in ocd

Typical dosage; a typical dosage daily of fluoxetine an ssri is 20mg although this may be increased to benefit patent. It takes 3-4 months of daily use of SSRI to impact upon symptoms. This can be increased to 60mg a day if needed.

Combining SSRI with cbt- drugs often used to treat alongside cognitive behaviour therapy to treat ocd. The drugs reduce Patten emotional systems such as feeling anxious or depressed this means patients can effectively engage in cbt.

Alternative to SSRI is trcalynius - triccylias is an order type of antidepressant are sometimes used such as clomipramine these have same effect on the sertoaian system as ssri but the side effects can be more severe.

Alternative to SSRI IS SNRIS - in the last 5 years different types of antidepressant called serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor has also been used to treat ocd. Like tricylias these are second line of defence for patients who don’t respond to SSRI snri increase levels of setotiaan as well as noradrenaline

Question 29

• a strength is that drug therapy is effective in tackling ocd symptoms
• a stegenth is that drugs are cost effective and non disruptive

Answer 29

Soomro et al reviewed by comparing 17 studies comparing SSRI to placebos in treatment of ocd 17 showed better results of SSRI than placebos. Effectiveness is greatness when combined with cbt. Typically symptoms reduced for about 70% of patients taking SSRI the rest are helped by alternative drugs or cbt plus drugs so drugs help most patients.

• another strength is that drugs are cheaper than psychological treatments using drugs to treat ocd is better value for NHS. as compared to psychological therapies SSRI are not disruptive to patients lives if you wish you take drugs until symptoms decline and not engage with the hard work of therapy. Many doctors and patients like drug treatments for those reasons

Question 30

• limiation - side effects.

unrealible

truama

Answer 30

• although drugs such as SSRI can help most people small minority will have no benefit some patients only suffer from side effects such as digestion issues and blurred vision. For those taking clomipramine side effects are more common and can be more serious. More than 1 in 10 patients suffer weight gain 1 in 100 becomes aggressive and suffer disruption to BP. such factors reduce effectiveness because people stop taking the medicine
• lthough SSRI are effective and any side effects will probably be short term like all drug treatment SSRI are controversially attached. For example some believe the evidence favoring drug treatment is biased because it sponsored by drug companies who do not report all evidence. Such complaints may suppress evidence.
• ocd is widely believed to be biological in origin it makes sense therefore that the standard treatment should be biological however it has acknowledged that cd can have rage of causes some may be trauma. It may not be appropriate to use drugs when treating cases that follow trauma when psychological therapies may be best solution