Psychopathology

Question 1

What are the definitions of abnormality?

Answer 1

1) Statistical Infrequency
2) Deviation from social norms
3) Failure to function adequately
4) Deviation from ideal mental health

Question 2

What is statistical infrequency?

Answer 2

• Abnormality in terms of statistics.
• Rarely seen behaviour/characteristics are abnormal.
  e.g IQ below 70 or above 130

Question 3

Evaluate statistical infrequency

Answer 3

1) Unusual characteristics can be positive.
2) Not everyone benefits from a label.
3) Real world application: most assessment of mental disorders is compared with statistics, intellectual disability disorder.

Question 4

What is deviation from social norms?

Answer 4

• Behaving differently than expected based on societal context.
• Relatively few behaviours are universally abnormal.
  e.g Anti-Social Personality Disorder

Question 5

Evaluate deviation from social norms

Answer 5

1) Social norms culturally relative e.g hearing voices.
2) Real world application: diagnoses of APD and schizotypal personality disorder.

Question 6

What is Deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 6

• What makes us normal
• A list of 8 qualities from Jahoda

Question 7

List the 8 qualities from Jahoda

Answer 7

1) No symptoms/distress.
2) Rational
3) Self-actualise
4) Cope with stress
5) Realistic view of the world
6) Good self-esteem
7) Independent
8) Successfully work

Question 8

Evaluate Deviation from Ideal Mental Health

Answer 8

1) Culturally relative.
2) Unrealistically high standards.

Question 9

What is Failure to Function adequately?

Answer 9

-Inability to cope with everyday living

Question 10

Criteria for Failure to Function adequately

Answer 10

• No longer conform to interpersonal rules.
• Experience personal distress.
• Irrational or dangerous behaviour..

Question 11

Evaluate Failure to Function adequately

Answer 11

1) Hard to explicitly see sometimes.
2) It provides a threshold of who requires urgent professional help.
3) Failure to function can be normal, grieving a lost one.

Question 12

Give 2 behavioural characteristics of Phobias

Answer 12

1) Panic
2) Avoidance or Endurance

Question 13

Give 2 emotional characteristics of Phobias

Answer 13

1) Fear to Anxiety - one leads to the other.
2) Unreasonable responses - e.g. crying to tiny spider

Question 14

Give 2 cognitive characteristic of Phobias

Answer 14

1) Selective attention.
2) Irrational beliefs.

Question 15

Give 2 behavioural characteristic of depression

Answer 15

1) Activity levels
2) Disruption to sleep and eating

Question 16

Give 2 emotional characteristic of depression

Answer 16

1) Anger
2) Low mood

Question 17

Give 2 cognitive characteristic of depression

Answer 17

1) Poor concentration
2) Absolutist thinking

Question 18

Give 2 behavioural characteristic of OCD

Answer 18

1) Compulsions
2) Avoidance

Question 19

Give 2 emotional characteristic of OCD

Answer 19

1) Anxiety and distress
2) Guilt or disgust

Question 20

Give 2 cognitive characteristic of OCD

Answer 20

1) Obsessive thoughts
2) Insight into excessive anxiety

Question 21

Outline the behavioural approach to explaining phobias

Answer 21

Two-process model:
- Learned via Classical
-Maintained via Operant

Question 22

Explain the process of acquiring a phobia (little Albert)

Answer 22

1) UCS (loud noise) –> UCR (fear)
2) NS (white bunny) –> No response
3) UCS (loud noise) + NS (white bunny) –> UCR (fear)
4) CS (white bunny) –> CR (fear)

Question 23

What type of reinforcement maintains the phobia?

Answer 23

Negative reinforcement.
- Avoiding the phobic stimulus creates relief, conditioned to avoid stimulus.

Question 24

What’s an evaluative strength of the two-process model?

Answer 24

Real world application:
- Phobias maintained by avoidance important for therapy.
- If they can’t avoid, phobic behaviour declines.

Question 25

Give 2 evaluative limitations of the two-process model?

Answer 25

1) Incomplete explanation:
-De Jongh et al. 73% of dental phobics had past trauma. Control group only 21% experienced dental trauma.

2) What about cognitive aspects?

Question 26

Describe SD

Answer 26

Systematic Desensitisation
-Counter-conditioning; phobia (CS) paired with relaxation (becomes new CR).
- Reciprocal inhibition theory.

Formation of anxiety hierarchy.

Relaxation practiced at each level of hierarchy.

Question 27

What is reciprocal inhibition?

Answer 27

The inability to feel two emotions at the same time.

Question 28

Give 2 positive evaluations for Systematic Desensitisation

Answer 28

1) Effective:
- Gilroy et al. followed up 42 patients who had SD for arachnophobia: less fearful than control groups after 33 months.

2) Suitable for all

Question 29

What is flooding?

Answer 29

• Immediate exposure.
• Extinction: fear is exhausted without option of avoidance removing phobia.
  -Ethical safeguards.

Question 30

Give one positive and one negative evaluation of flooding

Answer 30

1) VERY cost effective

2) Traumatic for patients

Question 31

What is Beck’s cognitive theory of depression?

Answer 31

• Faulty information processing. Absolutist thinking.
• Depressed people have negative self-schemas.
  -Negative view of:
  1) Self
  2) Future
  3) World

Question 32

Give 2 evaluative strengths of Beck’s cognitive theory of depression

Answer 32

1) Good supporting evidence:
Cohen et al. 473 adolescents, early cognitive vulnerability predicted depression. Association.
2) Real world application:
- Screening for depression. Understanding cognitive vulnerability is applied to CBT.

Question 33

Give 1 evaluative limitation of Beck’s cognitive theory of depression

Answer 33

1) Doesn’t explain all aspects:
- Jarrett (2013) some suffer delusions, hallucinations or even Cotard Syndrome: belief that one is a zombie.

Question 34

Describe Ellis’ ABC model

Answer 34

A - activating event

B- beliefs (irrational): if you believe you must always succeed, failure is catastrophic.

C - consequences: emotional and behavioural.

Question 35

Give 2 evaluations of Ellis’ cognitive theory of depression

Answer 35

1) Partial explanation:
- Only useful in explaining reactive depression.
2) Real world application:
- ABC is used in REBT to help relieve depression.

Question 36

Explain CBT

Answer 36

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Cognitive: challenge negative or irrational thoughts.
Behaviour: change behaviour so it is more effective.

• Challenge negative thoughts about the self, world and future.
• “Client as scientist” tests reality of beliefs through homework.

Question 37

Explain REBT

Answer 37

Rational Emotional Behaviour Therapy
ABCDE model.
D - dispute irrational beliefs.
E - effect.

Challenge irrational thoughts.

Behavioural activation.

Question 38

Therapist’s goal of BA?

Answer 38

Behavioural activation: therapist encourages/ rewards effort e.g exercise or going outside is rewarded.

Question 39

How would Ellis challenge irrational beliefs?

Answer 39

1) Empirical argument: is there evidence to support irrational belief?
2) Logical argument: does the negative thought follow from fact?

Question 40

Describe evidence that indicates CBT is effective?

Answer 40

March et al. (2007) compared effects of (1) CBT (2) Anti-depressants (3) combination of both.
- After 36 weeks.
1) 81%
2) 81%
3) 86%
Since improvement is similar, suggests CBT is first port of call.

Question 41

Give 2 limitations of CBT

Answer 41

1) May not work for all cases
- However, Lewis and Lewis CBT works for severe cases. Taylor et al. can be effective with learning dissabilty.

2) Relapse rate:
Ali et al. relapse rate was 42% after CBT treatment six months later.

Question 42

Outline the Genetic explanation for OCD?

Answer 42

• Candidate genes
• OCD is polygenic
• Aetiologically heterogenous

Question 43

What is supporting evidence for genetic explanations of OCD?

Answer 43

Research support:
- Nestadt et al. Twin studies. Identical (MZ) twins 68% share OCD. 31% in DZ twins. Family who have relative with OCD 4x likely to develop it.

Question 44

Give 3 evaluative limitations of genetic explanations of OCD.

Answer 44

1) Too many genes identified:

2) Environmental risk factors involved:
- Cromer et al. Found that over 1/2 of the patients in their sample had suffered a traumatic event in their past. OCD more severe with trauma

3) Animal studies:
- Show specific genes associated with repetitive behaviours in mice etc. Human brains more complex, more neurons in cerebral cortex.

Question 45

Outline the Neural explanation of OCD

Answer 45

• Low levels of serotonin lower mood
• Decision making in frontal lobes impaired
• Dysfunctional left Parahippocampal gyrus

Question 46

2 evaluations for neural explanations of OCD?

Answer 46

1) Supporting evidence:
- Antidepressants reduce OCD by increasing serotonin. Neural mechanisms are involved.

2) No unique neural system:
- Co-morbidity with depression as it is this that disrupts serotonin.

Question 47

Give an evaluative negative of the neural explanation for OCD

Answer 47

Serotonin possibly not relevant:
- Many who suffer OCD are also depressed; co-morbidity.
Could be that the serotonin system is disrupted because OCD sufferers are depressed. Thus serotonin no relevant to OCD symptoms.

Question 48

Outline the biological approach to treating OCD

Answer 48

• Changing levels of neurotransmitters
• SSRIs
• Typical dosage (20 mg)
• SSRIs + CBT
• Tricyclics and SNRIs

Question 49

Give 2 evaluative strengths of the biological treatment for OCD

Answer 49

1) Drug therapy is effective:
- Soomro et al. found significantly better results when comparing SSRIs to placebos in 17 studies. 70% had reduced symptoms.
- CBT + drugs = most effective.
2) Drugs cost-effective and non-disruptive:
- Cheap compared to psychological treatments, which is good for the NHS.
No need to take time out for therapy.

Question 50

Negatively evaluate the Biological approach to treating OCD

Answer 50

1) Serious side-effects
2) Unreliable evidence