psychopathology- 1 Flashcards
what are phobias
phobias are categorised by excessive fear and anxiety, triggered by a phobic stimuli
behavioral characteristics of phobias
avoidance- if a person is in a situation with their phobic stimuli their immediate response will be to avoid it, if they cannot it results in panic- freeze or flight
emotional characteristic of phobias
fear and anxiety, anxiety occurs even when phobic stimuli is not present, just through anticipation of phobic stimuli appearing
cognitive characteristic of phobias
selective attention and irrational thoughts about possible dangers of phobic stimuli
behaviorist explanation for phobias
two process model- acquisition is classical conditioning is operant conditioning, led by avoidance- stimulus genralistation results in heightened emotional characteristics, more to fear
strength- behaviourist explanation of phobias- research support
little albert experiment, association between loud noise and rat led to formation of rat phobia - small sample size, lacks population validity
weakness- behaviourist explanation of phobias- success of cbt
provides limited exp, only focuses on environmental factors not beliefs, which CBT challenges
outline flooding
exposing the sufferer to their phobic stimuli in a safe environment, after they have been taught relaxation techniques- waits till the fear subsides and the patient feels relaxed in the presence of their phobic stimuli
why does flooding work
prevents maintenance through avoidance, counterconditioning- learned response replaced with healthier response, works on the assumption that fear is time limited
outline systematic desensitisation
create anxiety hierarchy, teaching relaxation techniques, exposure- this can occur invivo or invitro
why is SD effective
prevents maintenance through avoidance, counterconditioning- works different to flooding, new association is formed because of the relaxation techniques
weakness- flooding and SD as treatment of phobias- effectiveness
CBT more effective, in social phobia, focuses on irrational thoughts, flooding and SD focus on behavioral responses
strength- treating phobias through flooding- research support
wolpe (1960) girl with fear of cars, fear response went away- after hours of driving fear became hysteria then calm- unethical, led to psychological harm, small sample size (case study)
behavioral characteristics of depression
change in activity, disturbances in sleeping pattern, changes in appetite
emotional characteristics of depression
depressed mood, feelings of worthlessness, anger- directed at self or others, can lead to self harming activities
cognitive characteristics of depression
difficulty paying/ maintaining attention, inclined to focus on negative characteristics of a situation, absolutist thinking- seeing in absolute terms, irrational thoughts likely to interpret any negative situation as disastorous
outline Ellis’ ABC model
Behaviors’ and emotions associated with depression are partly a Consequence of Activating events- also result of irrational beliefs- mustabatory thinking
outline becks negative triad
negative thoughts of self, world and future- develops because of early negative experiences
strength- cog exp of depression- indirect research support
cog exp led to development of CBT, meta analysis in 2013 revealed it is highly effective in treating depression
limitation- cog exp of depression-limited exp
SSRIs effectively treat depression, overlooks the role of biology
outline OCD
anxiety disorder charecterised by persistent and intrusive thoughts, cognitive- obsessions, behavioral- compulsions, emotional- anxiety
outline the genetic exp for OCD
OCD has a genetic basis meaning it is at least partially inherited, polygenic, different combinations of candidate genes, SERT- low serotonin, COMT- high dopamine
outline the diathesis- stress model
only partially genetic, candidate genes make a person vulnerable to developing OCD, must be exposed to stressors- traumatic environmental experiences, interacts with diathesis to trigger OCD
outline the neural explanation
hyperactive prefrontal cortex- decision making, caused by low serotonin- inhibitor, and high dopamine- excitor
what are SSRIs and what do they do
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, e.g. fluxotine, work by inhibiting reuptake in serotonergic neurons, controls low level of serotonin, lowers overactive prefrontal cortex
what are antipsychotics and what do they do
not a first line treatment, given to patients who don’t respond to SSRIs, dopamine antagonists, block dopaminergic neurons receptors, lowers high dopamine levels, lowers overactive prefrontal cortex
limitation -biological treatment of OCD- side effects
loss of sex drive, indigestion. SSRIs have withdrawal effects when users stop taking them, antipsychotics cause weight gain and issues controlling the body
strength- bio treatment of OCD- research support
research support-Soomro (2008)- 17 studies using SSRIs were significantly better at treating OCD than placebo
-drug treats the symptoms- use of placebo shows benefits are not a product of the patient’s expectations
- strengthened by it being a review as reviews consider multiple studies- greater external validity
strength- bio exp for OCD- research support
research support- Nestadt (2010) review of twin studies, 68% concordance rates with mz twins and 31% concordance rates with dz twins
- review means greater external validity since they consider the results of multiple studies
-limitations of twin studies- assumption of shared environments
- not 100% shows not only genetic basis
limitation - bio exp for OCD-correlational research
Correlation does not equal causation
-may be a causal link but direction of causation is unknown, may be a third variable
what are definitions of abnormality used for
identifying psychopathologies and who needs help
what is a statistical abnormality
behaviors that are statistically rare,
the behavior needs to be quantified before we can judge if it is a statistical deviation -it should be 2 or more standard deviation points away from the mean- can use a bell curve to describe
what are the 4 types of abnormality
statistical abnormality, failure to function, deviation from social norms, deviation from ideal mental health
what is deviation from social norms
deviates from social norms of appropriate behaviour - unstated rules about how one ‘ought’ to behave in society (culturally specific)
can be very damaging as it impairs their ability to function in society
what is failure to function
failing to function in daily life- can’t manage regular activities or behaviour causes significant distress
no longer conforming to standard interpersonal rules- eye contact, and exhibiting behaviour that is dangerous or irrational.
what is deviation from ideal mental health
when someone does not meet a set of criteria for ideal mental health- e.g.
no symptoms or distress, rational and perceiving ourselves accurately, able to self-actualise, able to cope with stress, a realistic view of the world
strength -statistical deviation- objectivity
criteria for being diagnosed with intellectual disability disorder is their IQ must be more than two standard deviations below the mean IQ.
shows how the definition ca be used to give an unbiased definition of abnormality, definition can give an objective way of categorising people as abnormal
limitation -statistical deviation- defining deviation
e.g. depression occurs in roughly 20% of the population while ASPD affects no more than 3% of people.
challenges statistical infrequency as a definition of abnormality- defining others as infrequent is less clear- classifications of abnormality will always be somewhat subjective, as researchers must decide what counts as rare enough to be a ‘statistical deviation’.
strength- deviation of social norms- avoiding cultural bias
occurs when psychologists ignore cultural differences + interpret all phenomena from own cultural perspective
-helps avoid cultural bias as the normality/abnormality of a behaviour needs to be judged from within a particular cultural context
applies cultural relativism
-can only be judged as abnormal if it is unusual within a particular cultural context
limitation- deviation from social norms- universality
definitions of abnormality that are universal would apply everywhere, regardless of culture.
-if abnormality is defined only as behaviour that deviates from social norms, there can be no universal definition of abnormality
- abnormality will vary depending on the social norms of a particular culture
strength- failure to function- assessment tools
the Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) is a questionnaire used by clinicians to rate functioning on various domains (e.g., social, occupational and psychological).
-This shows how the definition has practical applications
- It has been used to develop a tool for identifying who is abnormal and therefore in need of treatment- has helped improve people’s lives.
limitation- failure to function- applying to people with unconventional lives
The unconventional lives of soldiers lead them to engage in dangerous behaviour that will cause them and others distress.
-Using the failure to function definition, soldiers would be classed as psychologically abnormal just for doing their job.
needs to be considered in respect of a person’s social context- requires a consideration of social norms.
strength- deviation from ideal mental health- positive focuses
other definitions of abnormality focus on the negative aspects of abnormality while deviation from ideal mental health identifies the positive aspects of good mental health.
-positive focus of the definition means it is not limited to identifying people in extreme situations
-can be useful in identifying a broad range of people who have the potential to live more fulfilling lives.
limitation- deviation from ideal mental health- cultural bias
occurs when psychologists ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena from their own cultural perspective
-may be culturally biased as it appears to interpret ideal mental health from a Western cultural perspective- not applicable to other cultures
e.g. in individualist cultures self-actualisation and independence might be regarded as valuable goals/qualities, but in the more collectivist cultures such as China and Japan, focus on the self could be regarded as selfish and undesirable.
-the characteristics defining the definition may not be seen as ideal in all cultures.
