Psychopatholgy Flashcards
What are the four definitions of abnormality?
Statistical infrequency
Deviation from social norms
Failure to function adequately
Deviation from ideal mental health
What is the definition of statistical infrequency?
A person is classified as abnormal if their behaviour is rare or statistically unusual.
What is a strength of statistical infrequency as a definition of abnormality?
S- good real world application- helps professionals to diagnose people with a disorder and shows how severe it is. For example, if you score under 70 on an iq test or over 40 on Beck’s depression meter you can be helped more easily
What are limitations of statistical infrequency as a definition for abnormality?
L- can give people an unnecessary label- for example if a person has an iq over 135 they are technically abnormal and don’t need a label as it could come with negative stigma. This can also be said with people with an iq under 70.
L- some behaviours are not statistically infrequent but still need treatment- depression effects 27% of elderly people but this doesn’t mean they don’t need help.
L- where is the cut off point?- for example why is an iq under 70 seen as manageable but an iq of 69 means someone requires help
What us the definition of deviation from social norms?
This sees any behaviour which differs from that which society expects as abnormal.
What is an example of deviation from social norms?
-Wearing bright colours to a funeral
-not wearing shoes in public
What is cultural relativism?
When something is seen as normal and acceptable in one culture but abnormal in another.
What is an example of cultural relativism?
Being homosexual is seen as acceptable in the UK but in Middle Eastern countries such as Brunei it can be punishable by death
What is situational relativism?
When something is seen as normal in one situation but abnormal in another
What is an example of situational relativism?
Being naked on a nudist beach compared to being naked in public
What is a strength of DfSN as an explanation for abnormality?
S- good real world application- can be used in psychiatry to make a clinical diagnosis, core example is reckless and aggressive they can be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.
What are limitations of DfSN as an explanation for abnormality?
L- definition of ‘social norms’ can change- cultural relativism and situational relativism may apply
L- human rights- DfSN has been use to persecute people of different cultures such as slaves
What is the definition of failure to function adequately?
A person who fails to function and cope in everyday life.
What are examples of failure to function adequately?
-being unable to hold down a job
-not being able to leave the house
-not drinking
-not washing
What signs did Seligman say were displayed if someone wasn’t functioning adequately?
-a person breaks interpersonal rules, thy cannot hold eye contact or respect personal space
-when a person is severely distressed
-when a persons behaviour is irrational and dangerous to themselves and others
What is a strength of failure to function adequately?
S- sets a reasonable threshold- the charity ‘mind’ shows that 25% of people struggle with a mental health issue throughout the year. However they don’t all require help.
What is a limitation of failure to function adequately?
L- not generalisable- some people may not be failing to function adequately but just live an alternative lifestyle, such as travellers would fall into the category of failure to function adequately even though they just don’t follow social norms.
What is the definition of deviation from ideal mental health?
Sees any behaviour which differs from good psychological health as abnormal
What was Jahoda’s criteria for good mental health?
-no symptoms of distress
-rational with an accurate perception of reality
-we can self-actualise
-we have a realistic view of the world
-good self esteem and lack of guilt
-independent of other people
-successfully love, work and enjoy leisure
What is a strength of DfIMA?
S- Good real world application- jahodas criteria is very comprehensive so psychiatrists can easily identify and treat mental health issues using it.
What’s a limitation of DfIMH?
L- unrealistic- Jahoda’s criteria sets a very high standard and it’s likely very few people will reach the demands but not have a mental health issue.
What are the cognitive symptoms of phobias?
Selective attention to the phobic stimulus
Irrational beliefs
Cognitive distortions
What are behavioural symptoms of phobias
Panic
Avoidance
Endurance
What are emotional symptoms of phobias?
Unreasonable emotional response
Anxiety
Fear
What are the strengths of the behaviourist explanation for phobias?
S- real world applications- the two-process model of classical and operant conditioning lead to the development of systematic desensitisation and flooding
S- supporting evidence- Ad De Jongh found that 73% of people with a phobia of thr dentist had past trauma. This compared to people who didn’t have a fear of the dentist who only 21% had had a traumatic experience in the past
What are limitations of the behaviourist explanation of phobias?
L- floored design- not all phobias come from a traumatic experience. For example some of the most common phobias in the UK are snakes and sharks but no one has a phobia of cars which kill way more people.
L- states all phobias come from direct experience. Whereas some phobias such as the dark are inherited so have a biological explanation
What’s the the three steps of systematic desensitisation?
Create the ‘anxiety hierarchy’
Teach relaxation techniques
Work through the hierarchy
What is flooding?
The instant exposure of a phobic stimulus which is very frightening to the patient.
What are the strengths of systematic desensitisation?
S- supporting evidence- Gilroy followed 42 people with a phobia of spiders who had 3x45 mins sessions of SD compared to those who had basic relaxation therapy and 3 years later the people who did SD were less scared than the control group
S- can he used for everyone- ideal for younger children or people with mental disabilities as is more gradual and can be stopped at any time
S- applies to all phobias- virtual reality can be used for fears such as heights.
What are the limitations of SD?
L- takes longer- flooding is only one 3 hour session while SD takes multiple sessions which means it’s more expensive and time consuming.
L- lacks realism- Weachsler said that using virtual reality is very different from real life
What is a strength of flooding?
S- cost effective- only takes one 3 hour session which creates a shorter waiting list and is cheaper
What is a limitation of flooding?
L- highly traumatic- if a person drops out of flooding half way through at maximum anxiety levels it can make their phobia worse
What are three behavioural characteristics of depression
Change in activity levels
Disrupted sleep and eating
Aggression and self harm
What are three cognitive symptoms of depression
Poor concentration
Dwelling on the negative
Black and white (absolutist) thinking
What are three emotional symptoms of depression
Lowered mood
Anger
Lowered self esteem
What are the three parts of Becks’s three part theory of cognitive vulnerability
Faulty information processing
Negative self schema
Negative triad
What is faulty information processing
When depressed people tend to selectively attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives
What is a negative self schema
When a person interprets all the information about themselves in a negative way
What makes up the negative triad
Negative view of the self
Negative view of the world
Negative view of the future
What is Ellis’ ABC model?
Activating event
Belief
Consequence
What are two strengths of the cognitive theory of depression
S- supporting research for Becks’s theory- Cohen tracked the development of 473 adolescents and monitored levels of ‘cognitive vulnerability. The more ‘vulnerable ones’ were more likely to get depression.
S- real world application for Ellis- lead to REBT. Vigorous arguments is effective
What are two limitations of the cognitive theory of depression
L- ethical issues associated with ABC model (beck)- blames patients ‘irrational thoughts’- this may upset and be unhelpful to a person with depression
L- Ellis’ model can only explain some forms of depression- doesn’t explain endogenous depression (not triggered by an event)
Describe CBT (Beck)
Identify automatic negative thoughts
Reality testing
Homework (journal)
‘Client as scientist’
Describe REBT (Ellis)
ABC goes to ABCDE (dispute and effect (positive)
Vigorous dispute
Empirical argument- is there evidence for your argument
Logical argument- is your belief based on fact
What are the strengths of CBT therapies
S- supporting evidence- march compared CBT with drug therapy with 327 adolescents- 81% of CBT group significantly improved (same as drug therapy)
S- real world application- Lewis and Lewis found it was better than drugs for people with severe depression
What are the limitations of CBT therapies
L- drugs better- March found that both CBT and drug therapy helped 81% of people and drugs are cheaper and less time consuming
L- not effective- Ali assessed 439 patients every month for 12 months and found - 42% relapsed within 6 months, 53% relapsed within a year
What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD
Repetitive compulsions
Compulsions reduce anxiety
Avoidance
What are cognitive characteristics of OCD
Obsessive thoughts
Cognitive coping strategies
Self awareness
What are the emotional characteristics of OCD
Anxiety and distress
Accompanying depression
Guilt and disgust
What did Lewis find about concordance rates for OCD
37% of people with OCD had a parent with OCD
21% of people with OCD had a sibling with OCD
What did Taylor find about OCD genes
There are over 230 genes that cause OCD
What are the strengths of genetic explanations of OCD
S- supporting evidence- Lewis study- Nestadt found 68% of identical twins shared OCD as opposed to 31% non identical twins
What are the limitations of genetic explanations of OCD
L- only partly genetic- should be 100% not 68%
L- Cromer found 50% of people with OCD underwent a traumatic event
what experiment supports the behaviourist approach to phobias (two-process model)
little Albert
what was little Albert afraid of after the experiment
cotton wool, Watson's hair and a Santa Claus mask
what is the two process model
phobias are attained by classical conditioning but maintained by operant conditioning
how does operant conditioning maintain phobias
negative reinforcement when phobic stimulus is avoided
what is the cognitive theory of depression
assumes that thinking, expectations and attitude (cognitions) direct behaviour. Mental illness is the result of disordered thinking. The issue is not the problem itself, but the way you think about it.
what are the three components of Beck's cognitive theory of depression
faulty information processing
negative self-schema
negative triad
what are the two different types of disputes that can be made in REBT
empirical argument
logical argument
what is empirical argument
'is there any evidence to support your belief'
what is logical argument
'is your belief logically follow form the evidence'
what is the 5HT1-beta gene and how does it link to OCD
a mutation of this gene leads to the reuptake of serotonin in synapses causing a person to have lower levels of serotonin
study showed that in two families with this mutation present 6 of 7 had OCD
what did Nesdadt find about OCD concordance rates
revised twin studies
68% of MZ twins both had OCD
31% DZ twins both had OCD
what did Cromer find about OCD (Diathesis stress)
50% of people with OCD had suffered a traumatic event
what are the neural explanations of OCD
neurochemistry
neuroanatomy
what is the role of serotonin in OCD
many with OCD have lowered serotonin (5HT1-beta) causing lowered mood
how do SSRI's (anti-depressants) help OCD (neural)
increase levels of serotonin
how does the prefrontal cortex link to OCD
located in frontal lobes which are associated with logical thinking and decision making
in those with OCD the PFC often functions abnormally (over active) leading to compulsive and repetitive behaviour
how does the left parahippocampal gyrus link to OCD
PHG linked with processing unpleasant emotions
found to be abnormal those with OCD
what are the limitations of neural explanations of OCD
comorbidity- OCD and depression often diagnosed together. problem as unclear if lack of serotonin is to do with OCD or just depression
hard to establish cause and effect- unclear if structural abnormalities cause OCD or the other way around
how do SSRI's work
block receptors which reuptake serotonin, forcing it to diffuse across synapse.
what are the effects of combining SSRI's with CBT
drugs reduce emotional symptoms such as anxiety and depression which makes the therapy easier
what are the alternatives to SSRI's
tricyclics
SNRI's
what are tricyclics
used before SSRI's
work in the same way
more severe side effects (low blood pressure, vomiting, blurred vision etc)
clozapine is an example
what are SNRI's
work in same way but work on noradrenaline as well
developed in last decade
what are the strengths of biological treatments (drug treatments) for OCD
supporting evidence- Soomro reviewed 17 studies where SSRI's were compared to placebo's and found- SSRI's worked better than placebo 100% of the time, 70% had reduced symptoms on SSRI's
easier- more cost effective, shorter waiting lists for NHS, some people with OCD may not want to do therapy due too fear of germs etc
what are the limitations of biological treatments (drug treatments) for OCD
contradictory evidence- Skapinakis found in a meta-analysis that SD and flooding were more effective in treating OCD than SSRI's
side effects- SSRI's can cause blurred vision, indigestion and low sex drive. Tricyclics can cause aggression and heart problems. this decreases quality of life and deters people from taking them
why can the behaviourist approach to explaining phobias be seen as overly simplistic (AO3)
doesn't explain the cognitive factors such as irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions
what is reciprocal inhibition in SD
part of relaxation- when a person cannot be both scared and relaxed simultaneously
what is the aim of flooding
'extinction'
conditioned stimulus present unconditioned stimulus not
why is ethical safeguarding important in flooding
informed consent vital as traumatic
SD offered as well
Why is CBT and REBT not suitable for all (AO3)
doesn't work for severe depression as people don't engage
Stevey- 'any form of psychotherapy is unsuitable for those with learning difficulties'
why is CBT and REBT suitable for everyone (AO3)
Taylor sash it was suitable for those with learning difficulties
lewis said it was suitable for severe depression
what is supporting evidence for biological explanations of OCD (AO3)
Nesdadt found 68% of peoples who's parents had OCD had OCD and same with 31% with siblings. Stebanicki found if a family member had OCD a person is 4 times more likely to get it
SSRI's work on OCD. also people with Parkinson's show symptoms of OCD (nesdadt)
how many months does a person need to take SSRI's for before they are effective for ocd
3-4
what is the average dosage for SSRI
20 mg
what are the side effects of cloripramine (AO3)
1 in 10 gain weight
1 in 100 have heart problems
why is research into drug treatments for OCD biased (AO3)
Research normally done by drug companies who will only publish favourable results which could be misleading
