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Psychopathology Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the definitions for Abnormality?

A
  • Statistical infrequency
  • Deviation from social norms
  • Failure to function adequately
  • Deviation from ideal mental health
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2
Q

Statistical infrequency definition and AO3

A
  • When someone’s traits, behaviour or thinking is rare or statistically unusual
  • provides an objective definition for abnormality
  • non-judgemental
  • shows rare traits are abnormal (but high IQ is not bad)
  • incorrect diagnosis, many people have depression but that does not mean it is normal
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3
Q

Deviation from social norms definition and AO3

A
  • Something socially deemed as abnormal
  • comprehensive - it covers a broad range of criteria
  • culturally varied
  • unrealistic - there is not one social mindset
  • norms vary - not effective as norms vary over time
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4
Q

Failure to function adequately definition and AO3

A
  • When a person cannot cope with everyday life, Rosenhan defined symptoms which show this form of abnormality include distress, irrationality, etc
  • practical checklist - matches sufferers perceptions
  • external factors - other factors may look like abnormality but are actually not, such as if a person cannot hold down a job due to economic factors.
  • context dependant - not eating is seen as abnormal with this explanation, but fasting during Ramadan is not abnormal
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5
Q

Deviation from ideal mental health definition and AO3

A
  • Proposed by Jahoda, she suggested 6 things shown by a person with ideal mental health, not showing these qualities = abnormality. the criteria are:
  • resistance to stress (has effective coping strategies)
  • growth/development (achieves their goals)
  • High self esteem (high self respect)
  • Autonomy (being independent)
  • Accurate perception of reality (being objective)
  • harsh criteria - impossible to always have all 6 traits
  • culture bias - these criteria represent what is desired in western culture, some nations may value things like economic success or academic success instead
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6
Q

What is a phobia?

A

a phobia is a persistent fear of an unreasonable stimulus

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7
Q

What are the symptoms of a Phobia?

A

Behavioural - actions, (avoiding the stimulus, breathing)
Emotional - feelings (anxiety, panic, etc)
Cognitive - thoughts (aware their fear is irrational)

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8
Q

What are the DSM’s 3 categories of phobias?

A

Agoraphobia - fear of open spaces, being away from home, etc

Social phobia - fear of socialising or interacting with other people or animals

Specific phobias - phobia derived from an individual stimulus e.g. arachnophobia, Coulrophobia, etc

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9
Q

What is the two process model?

A

Explains how a person obtains a phobia through classical conditioning, and then maintains the phobia through operant conditioning

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10
Q

How does classical conditioning explain how a person develops a phobia

A

When a person begins to associate fear with the phobic stimulus, such as how a child being bitten by a dog may begin to associate a fear of being bitten or hurt with dogs

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11
Q

How does operant conditioning explain how a person maintains a phobia?

A

By avoiding the fear, the person will never learn that their fear is not necessarily real, thus they never overcome their fear meaning it remains present

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12
Q

Behavioural approach to phobias AO3

A
  • Watson & Rayner (1920) - proved how classical conditioning can cause a phobia (little Albert study)
  • Doesn’t factor in cognitive function, many people have seen a car crash, but still drive regularly
  • Seligman - questions if the biological approach is more useful than the behavioural approach. Explains how many phobias are inherited from our ancestors avoiding dangerous things like heights in order to survive
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13
Q

What are the two main types of treatment for phobias?

A
  • Systematic desensitisation

- Flooding

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14
Q

What is the process used in systematic desensitisation?

A

1 - the patient is taught breathing techniques to help them relax during a stressful/scary environment

2 - the patient then makes a list of their fears hierarchy, a person with arachnophobia, may begin with a photo of a spider, then a dead spider, then a living spider

3 - the patient then works their way through the hierarchy across multiple sessions until they are relaxed enough in one level of the hierarchy to move up to the next level, until they come into direct contact with the phobic stimulus, and are able to disassociate the fear response with the stimulus, thus ending their phobia

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15
Q

Systematic desensitisation AO3

A
  • not always effective as the patient may stop treatment before they have ended their phobia
  • time consuming (usually takes 6-8 weeks)
  • cost ineffective - (many sessions = very expensive)
  • safe for the patient (slowly builds them up)
  • not effective with social phobias (cannot build an effective fear hierarchy for a social interaction)
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16
Q

What is the process for flooding?

A

The patient is instantly exposed to their phobic stimulus on a large scale, but in a safe and controlled environment. The patient will be exposed until their natural fear response will reduce, at which point the patient realises how their phobia is not rational, and their fear is then disassociated with the phobic stimulus

17
Q

Flooding AO3

A
  • Wolpe (1969) - flooding can lead to hospitalisation of the patient
  • the extreme levels of panic the patient first experiences may lead to the treatment being stopped before the patient becomes calm, which leads to the patients phobia being strengthened, not lessened
  • time/cost effective - only one session is required
18
Q

What is OCD?

A

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterised by intensive and uncontrollable thoughts, which compel the sufferer to perform certain actions, such as constantly washing their hands

19
Q

What are the symptoms of a OCD?

A

Behavioural - actions (response to constant thoughts)
Emotional - feelings (anxiety if the action is not done)
Cognitive - thoughts (compulsive thoughts)

20
Q

Biological explanation of OCD AO3

A
  • Ignores environmental factors - people may develop OCD through conditioning (many are not born with it)
  • reductionist - only focuses on one factor (biological)
  • deterministic - ignores free will on the patients behalf
21
Q

What is the biological approach to OCD?

A

OCD occurs as a result of innate factors. This develops into the Genetic (inheritance) and Neural (brain) explanations for OCD

22
Q

What is the genetic explanation to OCD?

A

OCD can be inherited from parents who also have OCD

23
Q

What are the two genes which if mutated are believed to cause OCD?

A
  • SERT gene (SERatonin Transporter)

- COMT gene (believed to cause higher levels of OCD)

24
Q

Genetic explanation of OCD AO3

A
  • Carey & Gottesman (1981) - 87% concordance in identical twins compared to 47% in fraternal twins. However environment may affect the results of this study as identical twins are usually treated identically
  • SLT may be how children are able to obtain OCD from their OCD parents, instead of inheriting it directly
25
Q

What is the neural explanation for OCD?

A

Alterations in the brain are what cause OCD

26
Q

What area of the brain is associated with OCD?

A

Pre-Frontal Cortex - is responsible for decision making, people who suffer with OCD tend to have an over-active pre-frontal cortex

27
Q

How does dopamine associated with OCD?

A

Sufferers of OCD have high levels of dopamine, which may be the cause of their OCD as they permanently associate their obsessive actions with an indirect reward

28
Q

Neural explanation of OCD AO3

A
  • Salloway & Duffy - used brain scans to prove that patients with OCD had a much larger PFC than patients without OCD
  • unprovable - impossible to prove that dopamine & serotonin actually causes OCD
29
Q

What is the drug used to combat OCD, and how does it work?

A

SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) is used to increase the level of serotonin retention in the brain, which reduces the depressive-like symptoms which are commonly shown by patients with OCD

30
Q

Drug treatment for OCD AO3

A
  • Soomro et al - found that SSRI’s had the same affect as a placebo did in reducing negative symptoms
  • Side affects - causes weight gain, constipation, etc
  • SSRI’s only stop symptoms, they cannot cure OCD

Psychology (11 decks)

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