psychopathology Flashcards
what is an example of statistical infrequency
schizophrenia only occurs in 1% of the population
what is statistical infrequency? as a definition of abnormality
a measure of abnormality where if a person’s measure falls outside the majority field e.g. +-2 S.D. away from the mean is abnormal
therefore characteristics are measurable to determine an average where the ‘majority’ of normal lay here
what is a good thing about statistical infrequency as a definition of abnormality
acts as a base line/ cut off point for abnormal behaviour, more easily identified
is Statistical infrequency scientific
yes as it creates a baseline/cut off point to determine general laws of what is abnormal or not using objective methods such as S.D.
Does statistical infrequency have practical applications
yes using an IQ score anyone bellow two standard deviations around the mean may need support in their educations or can be tested for learning difficulties etc to give them a ‘normal’ life
what are the two issues with statistical infrequency as a definition of abnormality
not ‘black and white’ for example the IQ difference between 68 and 73 is practically non-existant
not all behaviours are rare e.g. depression occurs in 20% of people so may not be classified as abnormal and therefor limits a patients treatment
what is deviation from social norms as a definition of abnormality
behaviour is abnormal if it goes against what people consider socially acceptable e.g. queuing in the UK
what is socially deviant behaviour (AO1)
behaviour society views as undesirable or antisocial for example shouting at elderly people
what is a social norm (AO1)
an unwritten rule or accepted and expected behaviour
how is abnormality measured in deviation from social norms (AO1)
cumulatively where the more norms that are broken the more abnormal the person is
what approach is deviation from social norms considered to be
holistic approach as it takes account for all situational and developmental norms e.g. queuing and age specific behaviour
so is a more detailed definition of abnormality as cumulates qualitative data
is deviation from social norms useful as a definition of abnormality
no as social norms are subjective and perception of norms may differ per person
what is the practical application of deviation of social norms as a definition of abnormality
therapists can determine social abnormalities in a patients behaviour for example someone with social anxiety and treat them by drug therapy
what is the issue with social norms as a definition of abnormality
they can change over time for example with homosexuality being accepted when it wasn’t before
what is deviation from ideal mental health as a definition of abnormality
6 aspects of ideal mental health to determine the degrees of normality in a person’s mental health
who determined the 6 criteria of ideal mental health
Marie Jahoda
what are the 6 criteria of ideal mental health
positive attitude to self
accurate perception of reality
autonomy
resisting stress
self-actualisation
environmental mastery
PAARSE ideal mental health
positive attitude to self
accurate perception of reality
autonomy
resisting stress
self-actualisation
environmental mastery
what is autonomy in ideal mental health criteria
being able to behaviour independently making own decisions
what is environmental mastery in ideal mental health
ability to adapt to change without stress
how is deviation from ideal health as a definition of abnormality ‘refreshingly positive’
definition focuses on how to achieve ideal mental health enabling someone to develop their own will power and work towards something rather than being labelled
what is meant by failure to function adequately as a definition for abnormality
behaviour is abnormal if an individuals behaviour effects their day to day life
example: not being able to attend work
who presented the 7 features of person dysfunction
Rosenhan and Seligman
what are the 7 features of personal dysfunction
personal distress
maladaptive behaviour
unpredictibility
irrationallity
observer discomfort
violation of moral (SN’s)
unconventionality
MOV UUPI
maladaptive behaviour
observer discomfort
violation of morals
unpredictability
unconventionality
personal distress
irrationality
what is maladaptive behaviour
behaviour that prevents individual reaching goals
what is violation of moral quantities
behaviour is not reflective of social norms
why can failure to function adequately as a definition for abnormality be scientific
behaviour like missing work can be measured objectively, so if attendance falls bellow average.. abnormal
why does failure to function adequately as a definition for abnormality being NOMOTHETIC decrease its effectiveness
subjective, generalises behaviour in similar situations may be interpretated differently for each individual
GIVE EXAMPLE
how can failure to function adequately as a definition for abnormality be seen as realistic
considers social norms, personal suffering and how others view the person
how is failure to function adequately as a definition for abnormality culturally bias
social norms differ for each culture
e.g. personal space UK vs middle east
what is a phobia
debilitating fear of object, place, situation, feeling or animal
an anxiety disorder 15-20% of pop effected
diagnosis after 6 months of interferance
what are the emotional characteristics of a phobia
persistant excessive unreasonable fear
-> causes high anxiety
fear when exposed to object
-> can lead to panic attacks
what are the behavioural characteristics of a phobia
avoidance
crying, screaming, running, fearing
distruption to daily function
what are the cognitive characteristics of a phobia
conscious awareness to exaggerated fear
selective attention to stimulus
irrational beliefs
-> all clowns evil
cognitive distortions
-> leave house will see clown
what is Depression
mood disorder
causes persistant feeling of sadness and loss of intrest
5% general pop
what are the emotional characteristics of depression
low mood (for 2 weeks diagnosis)
anger
low self esteem
-> worthlessness
what are the behavioural characteristics of depression
loss of energy
insomnia
weight changes (5% + or - BMI)
agression
bad hygiene
what are the cognitive characteristics of depression
low concentration
cognitive biases (-ve thinking)
black and white thoughts
-> situations are only good or bad
thoughts of suicide
indecisiveness
what is OCD
anixety disorder
obsessions- thoughts
compulsions- behaviours
1.2% uk pop
what are the emotional characteristics of OCD
anxiety/distress
low mood/depression
guilt/disgust
what are the behavioural characteristics of OCD
compulsions
-> repetitive behaviour (reduces anxiety)
aviodence
high anxiety limits interactions
what are the cognitive characteristics of OCD
obsessive/ intrusive thoughts
cognitive coping strategies
conscious awareness to irrational compulsions and obsessions
selective attention
how are phobias explained
behaviourist approach, classical conditioning (aquisition) and operant conditioning (maintanence)
what model uses the behaviourist approach to explain phobias
Mowrer’s two step process model
what is
stimulus generalisation
anxiety of 1 stimulus is generalised to similar objects/situations
what is
higher order conditioning
phobics relate other situations/stimuli of the original fear through -ve reinforcement
parks associated with fear of dogs
what are the 2 behavioural treatments of phobias
systematic desensitisation
flooding
what happens in systematic desensitisation
1) fear hierarchy
2) relaxation training (breathing and muscle relaxation)
3) graduated exposure over sessions must fully relax to move on
in vitro: imagine
in vivo: real exposure
what is reciprocal inhibition in treating phobias
fear and relaxation cannot exist at the same time, so specific relaxation techniques remove anxiety completely
weakness of systematic desensitisation
can improve the root cause but predisposition to a phobias could be transferred between
CRASKE AND BARLOE
doesn’t reduce social or complex phobias, causing relapse after 6months with agoraphobia
what is flooding
exposure occurs all at once and taught relaxation techniques
1) until no response as fear has a limited physical response
2) unlearn connection as cannot leave due to fear being replased with relaxation
what does the cognitive approach suggest about abnormality
that it is caused by irrational thought processes
such as how we perceive people, reason and judge
what are the two explanations of depression
Beck’s negative triad
Ellis’s ABC model
how does Beck’s negative triad explain depression
its a cycle of faulty thought processes:
- negative thoughts of self
- negative thoughts on future
- negative thoughts of the world
what does depression stem from in beck’s triad
negative schemas
which makes them interpret self in a negative way
what does it mean by an inept schema
an expectation of failure
what does it mean by self-blame schema
feeling responsible for misfortunes
how are negative schemas maintained
arbitrary inference
minimisation
over generalisation
what is arbitrary inference
draw conclusions without evidence
what is minimisation
minimising the positive events in life
what is over generalisation
conclusions based on a single event
what does ellis’s ABC model stand for
activating event
beliefs about event
consequences (OF B)
leads to negative behaviour
what causes leads to depression in ellis’s ABC model
faulty/ irrational beliefs
what is CBT
treatment for depression that challenges irrational thoughts to improve behaviour
how is CBT used in treating depression
1) identify negative thinking patterns (self report methods)
2) challenge thoughts present alternatives
3) learn skills to change thoughts
4) follow up
what is the genetic explanation of OCD
faulty candidate gene cannot regulate serotonin production
faulty SERT gene reduces serotonin levels
what does the genetic explanation of ocd suggest
that if you inherited faulty genes you have a genetic predisposition to OCD
what did Nedstadt find in relation to genetic explanation of ocd
that first degree relative have a greater vulnerability to the disorder = 12%
compared to 3% of general population
what is the neural explanation of OCD
damaged caudate nucleus cannot supress signals from the orbital frontal cortex so signal continues to the thalamus
thalamus is alerted repeting a worry circuit as the signal repeats going back to the OFC
leads to obsessions that need to be carried out by compulsions
how does serotonin relate to OCD
low levels can cause anxiety, and cannot inhibit repetitions = compulsions
high levels block prevent the repetitions
how is OCD treated by the biological approach
using drug treatment SSRI’s
like prozac
how do SSRI’s work to treat OCD
blocks re-uptake pump for serotonin on the presynaptic neuron increasing serotonin binding to receptors on postsynaptic
this reduces the number of inhibitory receptors causing rapid fire of serotonin increasing levels more
when there are less inhibitory receptors of serotonin what is this called
down regulation
what are other types of drugs used to treat OCD
valium- boosts GABA strength reducing communication, calming effect
beta blockers- block beta receptors in body e.g. heart reducing response to adrenaline and noradernaline
