Psychopathology

Question 1

Deviation from social Norms

Answer 1

• social norm is an unwritten rule about what is acceptable within a particular society
• a person is seen abnormal if their thinking or behaviour violates these unwritten rules

Question 2

evaluation of deviation from social norms

Answer 2

• cultural relativism. social norms differ between cultures. what is considered normal in one culture may be considered abnormal in another. e.g. Homosexuality would still be seen as abnormal in some countries. Therefore there is no global standard for defining behaviour as abnormal and therefore abnormality is not standardised.
• How far an individual deviates from social norm is mediated by the degree of severity and the context. e.g. when someone breaks a social norm once this may not be deviant behaviour, but the persistent repetition of such behaviour could be evidence for psychological disturbance. e.g. topless at the beach would be considered normal but too work abnormal. therefore the definition fails to offer a complete explanation in its own right since it is still related to degree and context

Question 3

failure to function adequately

Answer 3

• individuals are seen as abnormal when there behaviours suggest they cant cope with everyday life. the behaviour causes distress leading to an inability to function adequately.

Question 4

martin and Seligman signs when someone is not functioning adequately

Answer 4

• when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules. e.g. maintaining eye contact and respecting personal space
• when a person is experiencing personal distress
• when a persons behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others

Question 5

failure to function adequately evaluation

Answer 5

• strength. definition considers the subjective experiences of the patient. considers thoughts and feelings of the person experiencing the issue and does not simply make judgement without taking the personal viewpoint of the suffer into consideration. useful model for assessing psychopathological behaviour
• confusion with distinguishing between failure to function adequately and deviation from social norms e.g. not being able to go to work may be a deviation from social norm as the person may be choosing to live an alternative lifestyle like new age travellers. therefore difficult to ascertain if the behaviour should be considered maladaptive and by labelling individuals who make such choices as “failing to function”, personal freedom may be quashed

Question 6

statistical infrequency

Answer 6

• a behaviour is seen as abnormal if it is statistically uncommon. therefore abnormality is determined by looking at the distribution of a particular behaviour within society

Question 7

evaluation of statistical infrequency

Answer 7

• real-life application in the diagnosis of intellectual disorder. useful part of clinical assessment.
• unusual characteristics can be positive. e.g. IQ scores over 130 is unusual but wouldn’t be though of as an undesirable characteristic. on the other hand, depression is statistically common but undesirable. therefore it is difficult to define abnormality based on statistical infrequencies.
• ## labelling an individual as abnormal can be unhelpful or even detrimental. e.g. someone with a low IQ may be able to live quite happy and a relatively normal life. such a label may contribute to poor self-image, such as individuals starting to view themselves as “stupid” or be a invitation for discrimination e.g. being told you are “stupid”. meaning being labelled as statistically infrequent can cause the person more distress than the condition itself

Question 8

deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 8

• Jahoda(1958).suggests abnormal behaviour should be defined by the absence of ideal characteristics. behaviours which move away from ideal mental health

Question 9

4 of Jahoda’s principles of ideal mental health

Answer 9

• having a positive view of yourself(high-self esteem) with a strong sense of identity
• being capable of personal growth and self-actualisation
• independent of other people
• being able ton resist stress

Question 10

evaluation of deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 10

• unrealistic criteria. There are times when everyone will experience stress and negativity e.g. grieving for a loved one. However, according to this definition, theses people would be classified as abnormal, irrespective of the circumstances that are out of their control. with the standards set by the criteria, how many need to be absent for diagnosis to occur must also be questions.
• cultural relativism. some of the criteria could be considered western origin. e.g. her emphasis on personal growth and development may be considered overly self-centred in other countries of the world who favour community over individualism. likewise, independence within collectivist cultures is not fostered making the definition culture-bound,

Question 11

types of phobias

Answer 11

• an anxiety disorder which causes an irrational fear of a particular object or situation. 3 categories of phobias:
• simple phobias- phobia of an object or situation e.g. spiders/flying
• social phobias- phobia of social situations such as public speaking or using public toilets
• Agoraphobia- phobia of being in open or public spaces. can be caused by simple phobias

Question 12

behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 12

• panic- in the presence of the phobic stimulus. e.g. screaming, crying
• avoidance- can make it hard to go about daily life
• endurance- sufferer remains in the presence of the phobic stimulus but continues to experience high levels of anxiety. may be in unavoidable situations

Question 13

emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 13

• excessive and unreasonable fear and anxiety

Question 14

cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 14

-selective attention- find it difficult to direct there attention elsewhere. cause them to become fixated on the object they fear.
-irrational beliefs-e.g. believing spiders
are deadly despite them being harmless in the UK
-cognitive distortions-perception of the phobic stimulus may be distorted

Question 15

The two-process model

Answer 15

• states phobias are acquired by classical conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning.
• classical conditioning involves learning to associate something we initially have no fear(neutral stimulus) with something that already triggers a fear response (unconditioned stimulus)
• phobias are maintained through negative reinforcement by which a suffer avoids a phobic stimulus to escape the fear and anxiety that would have been suffered if we had remained there. The reduction in fear evoking pleasant feeling reinforces the avoidance behaviour and so the phobia is maintained.

Question 16

Watson and Rayner (1952) “little Albert”

Answer 16

• created a phobia in a 9month old baby.
• Albert showed no unusual anxiety at the start of the study when shown a white rat
• in the experiment, whenever presented with a white rat (NS) the experimenter made a loud, frightening banging noise by banging an iron bar close to albert ear(UCS) which created a USR of fear. eventually the UCS and the NS become associated and both produced the fear response.
• Albert become frightened when he say the rat. the Rat become the CS that produces a CR. conditioning generalised to similar objects as he was scared of other white furry objects

Question 17

evaluation of the behaviour approach explaining phobias

Answer 17

• research evidence e.g. Watson and Rayner (1920) demonstrated the process of classical conditioning in the formation of phobia in Little Albert. supports the idea that classical conditioning is involved in acquiring phobias. However, this was a case study so difficult to generalise findings to other due to the nature of the investigation.
• Real-life application to therapy. have been used to develop treatments including systematic desensitisation which helps people unlearn their fears and flooding preventing people from avoiding there fears stopping negative reinforcement from taking place. Therapies have been successful providing further support for the effectiveness of the explanation.
• ignores the role of cognitions- phobias may develop as a result of irrational thinking, not just learning. The cognitive approach has led to the development of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). which is said to be more successful than behaviourist treatments

Question 18

two behavioural approaches to treating phobias

Answer 18

• systematic desensitisation and flooding

Question 19

systematic desensitisation

Answer 19

uses the principle’s of classical conditioning

• counterconditioning is used to unlearn the fear response to the situation or object by eliciting another response (relaxation).
• 3 components: - anxiety hierarchy- the client and therapist rank the phobic situation from least to most terrifying
• relaxation- the individuals taught relaxation techniques, such as breathing techniques or mental imagery situations.
• exposure- exposing the patient to the phobic stimulus while relaxed. patient gradually moves there way up the hierarchy until they are completely relaxed in the most feared situation.
• according to systematic desensitisation to emotional states can not exist at the same time known as reciprocal inhibition theory. therefore a person is unable to be anxious and relaxed at the same time. The relaxion should take over the fear.

Question 20

evaluation of systematic desensitisation

Answer 20

• research support- Gilroy (2002) examined 42 patients with arachnophobia who were treated using 3 45 minutes systematic desensitisation sessions. when examined months and 33 months after, the systematic desensitisation group were less fearful than a control group who were only taught relaxation techniques. provides further support for systematic desensitisation as an effective treatment for phobias in the long term
• not effective in treating all phobias such as evolutionary phobias which have not developed through personal experience (classical conditioning) but a survival benefit. e.g. fear of snakes. therefore ineffective in treating evolutionary phobias which have an innate basis.
• patients prefer it over flooding. largely because it does not cause the same degree of trauma as flooding and includes pleasant relaxation procedures. reflected in the low refusal and attrition rates (number of patients dropping out of treatment)

Question 21

flooding

Answer 21

• a person is exposed to the phobic stimulus immediately.
• a person is unable to avoid their phobia (negative reinforce) and through continuous exposure, anxiety levels decrease as the patient quickly learns that the phobic stimulus is harmless and so extinction occurs. in some cases the patient may achieve relaxation in the presence of the phobic stimulus simply because they become exhausted by their own fear response.

Question 22

evaluation of flooding

Answer 22

• cost-effective treatment- Research suggests that flooding is equally effective to other treatments, including systematic desensitisation and cognitive therapist (ougrin 2011), but it takes much less time. patients are free from there symptoms as quick as possible and makes the treatment cheaper
• Highly traumatic- purposefully elicits high levels of anxiety. e.g., wolpe (1969) recalled a case with a patient becoming so intensely anxious she required hospitalisation. Not unethical but the patients are often unwilling to see it through to the end wasting time and money.
• less effective for other phobias. including social phobias and agoraphobia are suggested to be caused by irrational thinking and not by an unpleasant experience. Therefore cannot treat complex phobias and may be more responsive from cognitive therapies such as CBT.

Question 23

behaviour characteristics of depression

Answer 23

• reduced activity levels/ psychomotor agitation in which agitated individuals struggle to relax.
• reduced sleep (insomnia)/increased need for sleep(hypersomnia)
• physical aggression against self (self-harm)

Question 24

emotional characteristics of depression

Answer 24

• lowered mood
• feelings of worthlessness and emptiness
• anger directed at themselves or others
• lowered self-esteem

Question 25

cognitive characteristics of depression

Answer 25

• poor concentration and poor decision making

- focus on the negatives and ignore the positives

Question 26

beck’s cognitive theory of depression

Answer 26

• the cognitive approach models suggests depression results from faulty information processing/negative thinking about events
• Beck believed the depression can result from a negative self-schema which is a package of information we have about ourselves used to interpret information about ourselves developed from childhood events such as criticism from parents or bullying.
• Events are seen with a negative bias due to the development of negative schemas about the world, the self and the future. can lead to overgeneralisation, magnification of problems seeing them as more important than they are and focusing on the negatives.

Question 27

Ellis ABC model

Answer 27

• According to Ellis good mental health is the result of rational thinking which allows people to be happy and pain free, whereas depression is the result of irrational thinking which prevents us from being happy and pain free
• Ellis ABC model proposed 3 stages to explain how irrational thoughts could lead to depression
• A= activating events, where external events trigger irrational thoughts
• B= beliefs, interpretation of the event, can be rational and irrational. an irrational belief is musturbation thinking which can lead to disappointment
• C=consequences, irrational beliefs can lead to unhealthy outcomes, including depression

Question 28

evaluation of the cognitive approach to explaining depression

Answer 28

• has application to therapy- have been used to develop effective treatments for depression, including cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) which attempt to identify and challenge negative, irrational thoughts and have been successfully used to treat people with depression, providing further support
• does not explain the origin of irrational thoughts. since most of the research is correlational, psychologist are unable to determine if negative, irrational thoughts cause depression, or whether a persons depression leads to negative mindset. irrational thoughts may be a symptom of depression.
  -The theory do not explain some symptoms of depression, some patients are deeply angry,or suffer hallucination.
• there are alternative explanations suggesting depression is a biological condition, caused by genes and neurotransmitters. research focused on the role of serotonin has found lower levels in patients with depression. Additionally, drug therapies, including SSRI’s, which increase serotonin, are found to be effective in the treatments of depression, providing further support for the role of neurotransmitters in the developments of depression casting doubt on the cognitive explanation as the sole cause

Question 29

CBT:becks cognitive therapy

Answer 29

• the automatic thoughts about the world,self and the future(the negative triad) is identified then are challenged. Central component of the therapy.
• patient is required to do ‘homework’ where they test the reality of there thoughts.
• homework can be used by the therapist to provide evidence against their irrational thoughts

Question 30

CBT: Ellis rational emotive behaviour therapy(REBT)

Answer 30

• REBT extends the ABC model to ABCDE model- D stands for dispute and E for effect. The central technique is identify and dispute irrational thoughts.
• Ellis identified different methods for disputing. E.g. empirical arguments which is disputing whether there is actual evidence to support the negative belief or logical arguments which involve disputing whether the negative thought. logically follows from the fact
• helps client feel better and will make them feel more accepting

Question 31

Evaluation of the cognitive approach to treating depression

Answer 31

• research support:demonstrates its effectiveness in treating depression. March et al (2007) found that CBT was a effective as antidepressant in treating depression. Researcher examined 327 adolescents with a combination of CBT and antidepressants and looked at t ur effectiveness of CBT, antidepressant and treatment with a combination of both. After 36 weeks, 81% of the antidepressant group and 81% of the CBT group had significantly improved. With a combination of both 86% had significantly improved.CBT is helpful alongside medicine
• requires motivation therefore may not work in severe cases as patients may not be able to motivate themselves to engage with the hard cognitive work and may not pay attention in sessions. Alternative treatments e.g. antidepressant require less motivation and may be more effective in reverse cases. Limitation means CBT cannot be used as the sole treatment for cases of depression.
• overempathisis on the role of cognitions as the primary cause. May end up minimising the importance of the circumstance the patient is living. E.g. a person suffering from abuse need to change there circumstances not irrational thoughts therefore CBT would be ineffective in treating these patients until there circumstances have a changed.

-pateints find present focus irritating. may not want to focus on their past as they are aware between the link of their childhood experiences and their depression

Question 32

Behavioural characteristics of OCD

Answer 32

• compulsions- repetitive. Suffers of OCD may feel compelled to repeat a behaviour. E.g. hand washing. And compulsions reduce anxiety
• avoidance to reduce anxiety by keeping away from situations that trigger Jv

Question 33

Emotional characteristics of OCD

Answer 33

• anxiety
• depression- anxiety may be accompanied by low mood or lack of enjoyment activities
• guilt and disgust

Question 34

Cognitive characteristics of OCD

Answer 34

• obsessive thoughts— unpleasant
  -selective attention
• people respond by adopting cognitive coping strategies. E.g person tormented by obsessive guilt may respond by praying to help manage anxiety.

Question 35

Genetic explanation in explaining OCD

Answer 35

• OCD is believed to be polygenic. Taylor (2003) suggest that as many as 230 genes may be involved in t he condition and perhaps different genetic variations contribute to the different type of OCD e.g. hoarding
• examples of genes linked to OCD are the COMT and SERT genes.. The COMT regulates domaine. Once variation of the COMT gene results in higher levels of dopamine which is more common with patients with OCD.
• SERT gene. affects the transport of serotonin causing lower levels of serotonin. Ozaki et al(2003) published results of unrelated families who both had mutations of the SERT gene. It coincided with 6 out of 7 of family members having OCD

Question 36

Neural explanations for OCD

Answer 36

• neurotransmitter serotonin is believed to play a role in OCD. Serotonin regulates mood. Some cases of OCD are also a result of lowered levels of OCD which may be caused by the SERT gene. Piggot et al (1990) found that drugs which increase levels of serotonin are effective in treating patients with OCD.
• high levels of dopamine have also been associated with some symptoms of OCD, in particular compulsion behaviour
• believed that several regions of the brain have abnormal circuits on patients with OCD such as the basal ganglia involved in coordination of movement and orbital frontal cortex which coverts sensory information into thoughts and actions. Research found higher activity in orbitofrontal cortex which may increase conversion of sensory information to actions which result in compulsions

Question 37

Evaluation of the biological approach to explaining OCD

Answer 37

• research support- Lewis (1936) examined patients with OCD and doing that 37% of the patients with OCD has parents with the disorder and 21% had siblings who suffered.
• Nestadt et al (2010) reviewed previous twin studies and found that 68% of identical twins shared OCD as opposed to 31% of non- identical twins. Strongly suggest a genetic influence on OCD.
• may not be a cause and effect relationship with neural mechanism involved in OCD. While there is evidence to suggest that certain neural systems do not function normally in patients suffering from OCD, research had also identified other areas of the brain that are occasionally involved as well meaning there is no brain system consistently been found to play a role in OCD. Therefore It’s difficult to ascertain whether biological abnormalities seen are a cause of OCD or a result of the disorder.

Question 38

Drug therapies

Answer 38

• SSRI’s inhibits reabsorption into the pre-synaptic cell increasing levels of serotonin in the synapse. Typical daily dose of fluoxetine is 20mg although may be increased. Usually takes 3 to 4 months of daily use of SSRI’s to have much a impact of symptoms
• CBT alongside SSRI’s. Drugs reduce patients emotional symptoms such as feeling anxious and depressed so can engage more effectively with CBT.
• if SSRI’s aren’t effective can be combined with other drugs. Such as tricyclics- same effect as SSRI’s but had more severe side effects
• SNRI’s increase levels of serotonin as well as noradrenaline

Question 39

Evaluation of biological treatments of OCD

Answer 39

• Cost effective in comparison with psychological treatments like CBT. Doctored may prefer to use drugs and they are more beneficial for health service providers. Unlike CBT drug therapies do not require patients to be motivated and are non-distributive to everyday life. More likely to be successful in patients who lack motivation as a result.
• some patients experience mild side effects such as ingestion whilst some experience severe side effects such as hallucinations. Side effects diminish the effectiveness of drug treatments, as patients will stop taking medication if they experience negative side effects
• criticised for treating symptoms of the disorder and not that cause.does not treat the underlying cause of OCD. Furthermore once a patient stops taking the drug they are more prone to relapse. A psychologist suggested psychological treatments such as CBT may be a more Effective long - term solution to provide lasting treatment and a potential cure