Psychopathology Flashcards
Definitions of abnormality
-Statistical infrequency
A person’s trait, thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it is rare or statistically unusual (2 deviations away from the mean)
Definitions of abnormality
-Deviation from ideal mental health
Behaviour is abnormal if a person deviates too far from the expected state of ideal mental health
Deviation from ideal mental health
-6 main characteristics
- Positive attitude towards oneself
- Accurate perception of reality
- Autonomy
- Resisting stress
- Self-actualisation
- Environmental mastery
Definitions of abnormality
-Deviation from social norms
This means we label people and behavior as abnormal if their behaviour is different from what we accept as the norms of society
Definitions of abnormality
-Failure to function adequately
Where a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life, or experience personal distress
Failure to function adequately
-Rosenhan and Seligman’s features of personal dysfunction
- Personal distress
- Maladaptive behaviour
- Unpredictability
- Irrationality
- Observer discomfort
- Violation of moral qualities
- Unconventionality
The behavioral, emotional and cognitive characteristics of phobias
Emotional- Immediate fear and persistent, excessive fear
Behavioral-Avoidance and disruption of everyday working and social function
Cognitive-Irrationality and recognition of exaggerated anxiety
The behavioral, emotional and cognitive characteristics of depression
Emotional-Depressed/ sad mood, feelings of worthlessness
Behavioural-Changes in appetite (weight gain/loss), insomnia, no/low energy
Cognitive-Recurrent thoughts of self harm and suicide, focusing on the negative
The behavioral, emotional and cognitive characteristics of OCD
Emotional-Obsessions are persistent which can cause anxiety and depression
Behavioral-Compulsions are repetitive in nature and are used to manage and reduce anxiety
Cognitive- Repeated unwelcome thoughts, images, urges or doubts=Fear of contamination (germs), fear of safety (doors and windows being left open)
-Attentional bias=Perception tends to be focused on anxiety-generating stimuli
The behavioral approach to explaining and treating phobias
-Mowrer’s Two process model of phobias
Stage 1: Association-> classical conditioning-> acquisition of phobias
-Occurs through a traumatic event in a person’s life
Stage 2: Consequences-> operant conditioning-> maintenance of phobias
-Avoiding the feared stimulus is rewarding; this maintains the phobia
The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias
-Systematic desensitization
- Using classical conditioning to replace the anxiety response (fear) with a relaxed response to overcome the phobia
- Hierarchy of fear= A list of triggers that makes you anxious: from most to least frightening
- Relaxation training= Relaxation techniques used in the presence of a phobia to help overcome it
The behavioral approach to explaining and treating phobias
-Flooding
- Flooding is used to expose the sufferer to the phobic object/stimulus in a situation for a period of time in controlled manner (‘in vivo’ method)
- Uses the idea of reciprocal inhibition where you cannot have 2 opposite emotions at the same time, so your response becomes calm and not phobic
The cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression
-Beck’s negative triad
- Beck believed that depression is caused by the emergence of negative schemas developed by the individual
- Thought to be triggered by the parents in childhood (overly critical authority figures)
- The triad consists of; negative views about the world, negative views’ about one’s self, negative views about the future
The cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression
-Ellis’s ABC model
- Ellis claimed depression was not the result of the activating event, but based on the beliefs (cognitions) about the event
- A= Activation event
- B= Beliefs (about A)
- C=Consequence (of B not A)
The cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression
-Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
- CBT is based on challenging irrational thoughts and correcting them
1. Identifying negative thinking patterns in depressed patients
2. Challenging irrational thoughts of depressed patients
3. Skill acquisition and application
4. Follow-up