psychopathology Flashcards
statistical infrequency
occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic.
bottom/top 2% on normal distribution curve considered abnormal
deviation from social norms
sees any behaviour which differs from that which society expects as abnormal.
(passed through socialisation and can change overtime/culture)
failure to function adequately
abnormality judged as inability to deal with the demands of everyday living.
eg •stops them from working
•causing them or others harm
•stops them being hygienic
•causes observer discomfort
deviation from ideal mental health
absence of signs of good mental health used to judge abnormality.
Jahoda developed these ideals:
1.accurate perception of reality
2.positive attitude to him/herself
3.self actualisation
4.resistance to stress
5.environmental mastery
6.be independent of other people
cultural relativism
the idea that one cannot judge behaviour properly unless it is viewed in the cultural context from which it originated.
individualistic culture
culture where they put the self as more important.
collectivist culture
cultures where they put the groups needs before their own.
definition of phobias
a persistent and irrational fear of a specific situation, object or activity which is consequently either strenuously avoided or endured with marked distress.
definition of depression
depression is a mental health disorder that is characterised by persistent sadness and a lack of interest or pleasure in previously rewarding or enjoyable activities.
definition of OCD
obsessive compulsive disorder is a common mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts (internal) and compulsive behaviour (external).
emotional characteristics of depression
•sadness
•avolition
•anger
emotional characteristics os OCD
•anxiety and distress.
•embarrassment and shame.
behavioural characteristics of phobias
•panic.
•avoidance.
behavioural characteristics of depression
•reduction in energy.
•insomnia or increased sleep.
•appetite changes.
behavioural characteristics of OCD
•compulsive behaviour.
•avoidance.
cognitive characteristics of phobias
•irrational thought process.
•cognitive distortions.
cognitive characteristics of depression
•negative thoughts.
•poor concentration.
•memory bias.
cognitive characteristics of OCD
•obsessive thoughts.
•sufferer is aware these obsessive thoughts are irrational.
DSM
diagnostic statistical manual, published by the american psychiatric association
ICD
international statistical classification of diseases, published by the world health organisation.
behavioural approach
theory of learning that states all behaviours are learned through interaction with the environment through conditioning.
what is classical conditioning
learning through association
what is operant conditioning
learning through reinforcement
mowrers (1960) two process model
•phobias are acquired or initiated through classical conditioning.
•phobias are maintained or continued through operant conditioning.
how are phobias initiated
ucs —> ucr
ns + ucs —> ucr
ns —> cr
how are phobias maintained
• operant conditioning takes place as behaviour is reinforced.
• a person avoids a feared object to reduce anxiety and is therefore reinforced (negative reinforcement)
systematic desensitisation
first type of counter-conditioning, where patients learn to respond to feared stimuli with relaxation instead of anxiety.
fear and relaxation cannot co-exist (reciprocal inhibition).
it involves:
•the anxiety hierarchy
•relaxation
•gradual exposure
how does systematic desensitisation work
•involves the client and therapist designing a list of hierarchy of frighting/ stressful events or objects.
•finally the therapist helps the client gradually work their way up the hierarchy while maintaining deep relaxation.
•at each stage, if the client becomes upset they can return to an earlier stage and regain their relaxed state.
flooding
• flooding involves immediate exposure to a very frightening situation to prevent avoidance, learning that the stimuli is not harmful.
•flooding sessions are typically longer than SD with one session usually lasting 2-3 hours, however sometimes only one long session is needed to cure a patient.
• some patients even get so exhausted they reach relaxation
how does flooding work
•flooding stops phobic responses very quickly as prevents avoidance behaviour, so the patient quickly learns that the phobic stimules is harmless. In classical conditioning terms this process is called extinction
• A learned response is extinguished when the conditioned stimuli is encountered without the learnt response of fear as the association with the UCS has been broken.
•In some cases the patient may achieve
relaxation simply because they become exhausted by their fear responte due to the immediate exposure.
cognitive approach to explaining depression
the cognitive approach links psychological disorders such as depression to dysfunctional thinking or irrational thinking
Beck (1967)
states that depression is caused by faulty information processing
- overgeneralisation
-absolutist thinking
becks negative triad
people have 3 negative schemas the world, future and self.
world - creates impression there’s no hope anywhere.
future - further hopelessness and wormed depression.
self - enhances depressive feeling, confirm low self esteem.
Ellis (1962) cause of depression
states that depression is caused by irrational thinking
ellis ABC model
Activating event = the adversity or event to which there is a reaction
Beliefs = the belief or explanation about why the situation occurred
Consequences = the feelings and behaviour the belief now causes. in essence the external event is “blamed” for the unhappiness being experienced.
Mustabatary thinking
thinking that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for an individual to be happy.
what do both cognitive treatments have in common
all CBT starts with an initial assessment, in which the patient and therapist identify the patients problems.
identify and replace irrational thoughts
changing the irrational beliefs then had a positive impact upon the behaviour or consequence. In this cause the depressive symptoms are reduced.
client and therapist
patient is seen as an expert, the patient and therapist agree on a set of goals and plan of action to achieve these goals.
homework
challenging negative thoughts if often done outside the sessions as homework
Beck (1967) negative triad - challenging negative thoughts
•the therapist will help the patient to identify negative thoughts in relation to Becks negative triad.
•the patient and therapist will work together to challenge these irrational thoughts by discussing evidence for and against them.
Beck (1967) - client as scientist
the patient will be encouraged to test the validity of their negative thoughts and may be set homework, to challenge and test their negative thoughts
Ellis (1962) - ABCDE treatment
•dispute - the therapist asks the client to challenge their irrational thoughts and beliefs.
•effective response - the therapist asks the client to think of more rational responses.
Ellis (1962) - challenging irrational thoughts
effective disputing changes self-defeating beliefs into more rational beliefs. catastrophising —>more rational interpretations
Nestadt et al (2000) genetic explanation of OCD
first degree relatives of OCD sufferers had a higher chance of developing the disorder
12% first degree with OCD
3% control group
terms associated with the genetic explanation
•OCD is likely to be polygenic
•230 candidate genes
•aetiologically heterogeneous
COMT gene
a mutation of the COMT gene causes low levels of the COMT enzyme. this enzyme breaks down dopamine, so low levels of the enzyme means high levels of dopamine. this causes compulsions in OCD
SERT gene
creates a protein which removes serotonin and recycled it. when a mutation of this gene creates too much of the protein, serotonin levels go down
diathesis stress model - interactionist approach
certain genes leave some people more likely to suffer a mental disorder but it is not certain as some environmental stress if necessary to trigger the condition.
biological neural explanations use what approach
abnormal levels of neurotransmitters
serotonin
•is important for the regulation of mood and has an overall calming effect on the brain.
•low levels of serotonin means that the brain does not communicate information about mood effectively.
dopamine
•is a neurotransmitter which is important for maintaining interest and motivation.
•high levels of dopamine should therefore help to maintain a compulsive though or behaviour, therefore leading to a symptom of OCD.
the worry circuit
- orbital frontal cortex sends worry signal to thalamus.
- on the way the caudate nucleus is supposed to suppress unimportant signals.
- therefore if the caudate nucleus is damaged the thalamus is alerted too often, resulting in more worry and causing compulsive/obsessive behaviour.
what does SSRI stand for
selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors
choy & schneier (2000) - first line treatment
SSRIs are first line of treatment as they are the preferred drug for treating anxiety disorders such as OCD.
what levels of serotonin are linked with OCD
low levels of serotonin
how do SSRIs work
•SSRIs increase levels of serotonin in the brain. people with OCD reabsorb too much serotonin and therefore have low amounts and are anxious.
•SSRIs block the reabsorption site and prevent the serotonin being recycled. the levels of serotonin in the synapse will increase, thus improving symptoms of anxiety.
what does SNRI stand for
serotonin and noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitors
how do SNRIs work
block the transporter mechanism that re-absorbs both serotonin and noradrenaline. when levels are low a person is unable to focus their attention which may result in anxiety/ compulsions
role of noradrenaline in OCD
low noradrenaline does not cause OCD, preventing re-uptake of this neurotransmitter (increasing it) has been associated with relief symptoms and anxiety
why are SNRIs second line treatment
greater side effects so only used when SSRIs are not effective
benzodiazepines
commonly used to reduce anxiety. they are manufactured under various trade names, most common valium it diazepam.
which neurotransmitters do benzodiazepines work on
inhibitory neurotransmitters - calms and reduces the activity of neurones.
