Psychopatholgy AO3

Question 1

Deviation from social norms

Answer 1

:( cultural relativism- different cultures have different ideas of norms- defining people as abnormal by western standards is ethnocentric

:( temporal validity- social norms change over time- homosexuality- would be considered abnormal in different time periods

Question 2

Failure to function adequately

Answer 2

:( individual differences- some people may miss work due to ocd rituals but some may not- each person would be diagnosed differently

:) considers subjective personal experiences of the patient- takes into account the thoughts and feeling of patient

Question 3

Statistical infrequency

Answer 3

:( some disorders are statistically common- depression 10% - makes this behaviour ‘normal’ but still needs help

:( doesn’t distinguish between desirable and undesirable- high iq is abnormal but desirable

Question 4

Deviation form ideal mental health

Answer 4

:( unrealistic criteria- sets high expectations- everyone will experience some stress in their lives at some point

:) takes a positive and holistic stance- focus on positive and desirable behaviours

Question 5

Behavioural approach to explaining phobias

Answer 5

:) empirical evidence- Watson(1920) conditioned phobia of white rats that when then generalised to white fluffy objects in Little Albert

:) application to therepy- treatments used systematic desensitisation and flooding are very effective

:( ignores role of cognition- irrational thoughts that come with phobias- cbt is main therapy

:( not complete explanation- Bounton (2007) evolutionary factors may play a part- fear of snakes

Question 6

Systematic desensitisation

Answer 6

:) empirical evidence- McGrath et al (1990) found treatment successful for 75% of cases

:( not effective at treating all phobia- ones with an evolutionary part can’t be treated like this

:) more ethical than flooding- doesn’t overwhelm patient and expose them to fear

Question 7

Flooding

Answer 7

:) cost effective treatment- Ougrin (2011) takes much less time to achieve results

:( can be highly traumatic for patients- Wolpe(1969) patient become so anxious required hospitalisation

:( ineffective for social phobias- caused by irrational thoughts rather than learned behaviour

Question 8

Cognitive approach to explaining depression

Answer 8

:) application to therapy- Cbt and rebt are developed from Ellis’s abc model- most effective treatment

:( does not explain the origin of irrational thoughts- can’t determine of irrational thoughts cause depression or the other way round

:( ignores biological- low serotonin- ssris are used as a treatment so much be a part of it

Question 9

Treating depression

Answer 9

:) empirical evidence- March et al (2007) was just as effective as antidepressants for treating depression- 81% of Cbt and antidepressants group had improved

:( requires motivation- many people with depression lack motivation has a symptom so is hard for them to do

:( doesn’t take situational factors into account- social circumstances that may contribute to a persons depression

Question 10

Biological approach to OCD

Answer 10

:) empirical evidence- Nestadt et al (2000) found individuals who have first degrees relatives with ocd are 5 times more likely to develop disorder

:) empirical evidence- Billett et al (1998) meta analysis of 14 twin studies- mz twins had double the risk of developing ocd

:( hard to establish causality- biological abnormalities in orbitofrontal cortex due to ocd it cause ocd

Question 11

Treating ocd

Answer 11

:) empirical evidence- Soomro et al (2008) found ssris much more effective than placebo group across 17 trials

:) cost effective- relatively cheap compared to therapys- don’t disrupt day to day life for patient

:( possible side effects- sexual problems, raised blood pressure and anxiety can be caused making life worse for patients (ssris) bz are very addictive and can increase agression