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Psychopathology Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?

A

1) Deviation from Social Norms
- An unwritten rule of society.
2) Failure to Function Adequately
- not being able to cope with everyday living:
e.g. doesn’t maintain basic hygiene/nutrition
causes distress to themselves or others
they are irrational/unpredictable
behaviour restricts their social/occupational goals
3) Statistical Infrequency
- Numerically rare (less than 2%)
4) Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
- Jahoda argued physical ill-health is judged by a lack of signs of physical health, so mental health should be looked at in the same way.

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2
Q

Evaluate Deviation from Social Norms Definition.

A

+ Considers the fact that behaviour is context specific
- Era dependent.
- Social Deviancy isn’t always a bad thing so shouldn’t always be seen as abnormal.
- Cultural Bias

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3
Q

Evaluate Failure to Function Adequately Definition.

A

+ Provides a checklist to assess whether someone is not functioning adequately.
- Doesn’t consider individual differences.
- People can function normally with mental illness.
- Cultural bias

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4
Q

Evaluate Statistical Infrequency Definition.

A

+ Objective quantitative cut off point
- Fails to distinguish between desirable and non-desirable behaviours.
- Some mental illnesses aren’t statistically rare.
- Cultural Bias

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5
Q

What are the 6 characteristics of Ideal Mental Health?

A
  • Positive Attitude to oneself
  • Environmental Mastery
  • Autonomy
  • Accurate Perception of reality
  • Resisting stress
  • Self Actualisation

PEAARS

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6
Q

What is autonomy?

A

Being independent, self-reliant and able to make personal decisions.

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7
Q

Evaluate Deviation from Ideal Mental Health Definition

A

+ Focuses on what is desirable so provides goals.
- Some of the criteria are vague and difficult to assess so rely on subjective judgements.
- Criteria is over-demanding - few people meet all of it
- Cultural bias

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8
Q

What are phobias?

A

A type of anxiety disorder. Phobias are uncontrollable, irrational and extreme reactions to an object or situation.

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9
Q

What are the 3 key features of a phobic disorder?

A
  • Reaction is excessive and causes great distress
  • Phobia interferes with normal life
  • Persists for at least 6 months
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10
Q

What are the emotional, behavioural and cognitive characteristics of phobias?

A

EMOTIONAL
- Anxiety (long-term)
- Fear (immediate)
- Unreasonable emotional response

BEHAVIOURAL
- Panic
- Avoidance
- Endurance

COGNITIVE
- Irrational beliefs
- Selective attention to stimulus
- Cognitive disorders

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11
Q

How are phobias acquired and maintained? (Two process model)

A

Acquired through classical conditioning.

Maintained through operant conditioning. Negative reinforcement - phobias persist because the person avoids the thing they are frightened of.

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12
Q

Evaluate the Two Process Model to explaining phobias.

A

+ Practical Applications - e.g. systematic desensitisation - successful treatments

+ There is research to support it - e.g. Little Albert

  • There is contradictory research. - e.g. only 2% of individuals with water phobia reported an unpleasant experience with water.
  • Alternative explanations of phobias - e.g. biological preparedness (innate fears from evolution)
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13
Q

What are the two main treatments for Phobias? Explain them.

A

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITISATION
Gradually exposing a person to their phobic stimulus while using relaxation techniques.

FLOODING
The immediate exposure to their phobic stimulus.

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14
Q

Why does systematic desensitisation work?

A

Reciprocal inhibition (the idea that we cannot feel two conflicting emotions at once) - fear and relaxation.

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15
Q

What are the stages of SD?

A

1) Client works out hierarchy of fear from the least to the most frightening.
2) Client learns relaxation techniques
3) Client works through the hierarchy of fear while using relaxation techniques.

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16
Q

What techniques can be used to expose someone to their feared stimulus in SD?

A
  • Visualisation
  • Virtual Reality
  • Modelling
  • Role play
  • Actual exposure
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17
Q

Evaluate SD and Flooding.

A

+ There is research to support SD - e.g. McGrath found about 75% effectiveness for specific behaviours.
+ Research has assessed the long term effects of SD - e.g. patients who received 3 sessions of SD were less fearful of spiders 3 months and 33 months after the treatment than a control group.

+ Research found that flooding and SD are equally effective.
- SD might be preferred to flooding

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18
Q

What is OCD?

A

An anxiety disorder. Sufferers experience obsessions which lead to compulsions.

Occurs in about 2% of the population.

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19
Q

What are obsessions and compulsions?

A

OBSESSIONS
Irrational, inappropriate, intrusive thoughts.

COMPULSIONS
Uncontrollable urges to repetitively carry out a behaviour to reduce anxiety.

20
Q

What are the behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of OCD?

A

BEHAVIOURAL
- Compulsions
- Hinders everyday functioning
- Social Impairment

EMOTIONAL
- Extreme anxiety felt
- Distress
- Depression

COGNITIVE
- Obsessive thinking
- Selective Attention
- Realisation of inappropriateness

21
Q

What are the 2 biological explanations for OCD?

A

GENETIC EXPLANATION
- Genetic transmission from biological parent to child.
- SERT gene affects the transport of serotonin.
- Twin studies

NEURAL EXPLANATION
- caused by abnormal levels of neurotransmitters/abnormal brain circuits
- OCD sufferers have high levels of activity in the orbitofrontal cortex - linked to low levels of serotonin (inhibits the post-synaptic neuron from firing).

22
Q

Evaluate the Genetic Theory/explanation for OCD

A

+ Practical applications - e.g. genetic screening of parents.
+ Research evidence examining specific genes - e.g. study of 2 families where 6/7 family members had OCD. They found a mutation in the SERT gene in these members. (However OCD is polygenetic).

  • OCD is not only caused by genes - over half the OCD patients studied had a traumatic event in their past - OCD is therefore explained more by Diathesis Stress (environmental triggers combined with gene disposition).
  • Children often show dissimilar OCD symptoms to their parents.
23
Q

Evaluate the Neural explanation of OCD

A

+ Practical applications - this explanation could be used to help with diagnosis and treatment for OCD - e.g. brain scans and drug treatments.
+ Research evidence - e.g. lower serotonin activity found in OCD patients than controls.
+ Research evidence - increasing levels of serotonin seem to reduce symptoms of OCD (e.g. SSRIs)
- OCD is often co-morbid (combined with other disorders) - e.g. depression - low serotonin levels could be the cause of the depression, not OCD.

24
Q

State the 2 biological treatments for OCD?

A

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
and Benzodiazepines (BZs)

25
Q

How do SSRIs work?

A

They increases the levels of serotonin, causing the orbitofrontal cortex to function more normally.

Typically used as an antidepressant.

26
Q

How do BZs work?

A

They slow down the CNS by increasing activity of GABA ( a neurotransmitter). GABA binds to receptors, opening a channel that increases the flow of Cl- into the neuron. This ion has an inhibitory effect which makes the person feel relaxed.

27
Q

Evaluate Drug Therapy for OCD

A

+ Supporting research - e.g. SSRIs were more effective than a placebo. They were effective for about 70% of people.
- Side effects - e.g. Indigestion, insomnia, blurred vision, low libido for SSRIs - long-term memory problems and aggression for BZs.
- CBT just as effective (60%)
- Publication bias - researchers sponsored by drug companies and so only publish positive outcomes.

28
Q

What is depression?

A

An affective mood disorder, characterised by feelings of sadness and withdrawal from people. Can be mild or severe and can involve inability to make decisions and perform tasks.

29
Q

What are the two types of depression?

A

Major/Unipolar depression

Manic/Bipolar depression - characterised by periods of depressed mood that alternate with periods of extremely elevated mood, increased energy and euphoria (mania).

30
Q

What are the behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of depression?

A

BEHAVIOURAL
- Loss of energy
- Social Impairment
- Sleep Pattern Disturbance
- Poor Personal Hygiene

EMOTIONAL
- Depressed mood
- Worthlessness (low self-esteem)
- Loss of pleasure

COGNITIVE
- Focus on the negative
- Thoughts of death
- Reduced concentration
- Poor memory

31
Q

How is someone diagnosed for Depression?

A

At least 2 weeks of symptoms: DSM Criteria
- Low Mood
- Lack of interest
- Eating and weight
- Sleep
- Motor activity (e.g. agitated)
- Fatigue
- Self-worth
- Concentration
- Death

32
Q

What do Cognitive Explanations argue about depression?

A

When our cognitions/thoughts are negative and irrational, it can result in maladaptive (unhelpful) behaviours like depression.

33
Q

Who were the two people involved with the explanations of depression?

A

Beck and Ellis

34
Q

What is Beck’s Cognitive Vulnerability?

A

1) Errors in Logic
2) Negative Self-schema’s
3) The Cognitive Triad (link between negative view of self, future and world)

35
Q

Give some examples of Errors in Logic.

A
  • Magnification and Minimisation
  • Personalisation
  • Arbitrary Inference (lack of supporting data for negative thought)
  • Selective Abstraction
36
Q

What is Ellis’s ABC model?

A

Irrational beliefs result in ‘Mustabatory thinking’ (when something MUST be true).

Activating Event –> Belief –> Consequences

37
Q

What type of therapy challenges mustabatory thinking?

A

REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy)

38
Q

What are the 2 main elements of CBT?

A

COGNITIVE
Identifying and replacing negative /irrational thoughts with more realistic ones and examining evidence for/against them.

BEHAVIOURAL
Encouraging clients to behave in ways they may have avoided because of their beliefs, through setting tasks and challenges.

39
Q

What is thought catching and reality testing?

A

THOUGHT CATCHING
Challenging irrational thoughts and replacing them with more rational thoughts.

REALITY TESTING
When a client is set homework tasks to test the reality of their thoughts and to gather evidence showing their thoughts are irrational.

40
Q

What is an example of a technique Beck used on clients with depression that can be used to challenge negative thinking? (other than reality testing)

A

Dysfunctional Thought Diary
- writing down irrational thoughts and rating their belief in them.
- writing a more rational alternative to the thought
- re-rating the original irrational thought

41
Q

REBT extends the ABC model to include D and E. What do these stand for?

A

Dispute and Effect

42
Q

How can disputing be done?

A

Empirical Argument = disputing by examining evidence for thoughts

Logical Argument = disputing whether the negative thought logically follows the facts.

43
Q

Evaluate CBT as a treatment for depression.

A

+ Research evidence - There was a similar effectiveness (60%) of CBT, REBT and drugs on clients with depression. However there was a higher relapse rate for the drug group. Therapy is better long-term.
- Takes time and effort and money

44
Q

Evaluate the Cognitive Approach to explaining Depression.

A

+ Practical Applications (CBT and REBT)
+ Supporting Evidence - mothers with more maladaptive thoughts had worst post-natal depression.
- Issues with how depression can be assessed - e.g. BDI (questionnaire, closed questions, social desirability bias etc)

45
Q

What are the positives to using CBT and REBT rather than drugs?

A

+ Long Term
+ Empowering - self-help strategies
+ No side effects

Psychology (17 decks)

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