Psychopathology Flashcards
Statistical infrequency
A less common characteristic. The top and bottom 2% are considered abnormal.
Deviation from social norms
Behaviour that is different from society’s expectations.
Failure to function adequately
An inability to deal with the demands of everyday living.
Deviation from ideal mental health
Absence of signs of good mental health.
Cultural relativism
One cannot judge behaviour properly unless it is viewed in the cultural context from which it originated.
Ethnocentrism
The norms of the home culture being used to assess the behaviour of individuals from another culture.
Individualistic culture
Put themselves as more important than others / groups.
Collectivist culture
The group’s needs come above their own needs.
Failure to function adequately criteria (x6)
Own personal distress and anxiety
Observer discomfort
Stops them from working
Stops them from being hygienic
Causing themselves or others harm
Behaviour is maladaptive, irrational or dangerous
Jahoda - Deviation from ideal mental health criteria (x6)
Accurate perception of reality
Positive self-esteem
Self actualisation - reach potential
Resistance to stress
Environmental mastery
Be independent of other people (autonomy)
Phobia
A persistent and irrational fear of a specific situation, object or activity which is consequently either strenuously avoided or endured with marked stress.
Emotional characteristics of phobias (x1)
Anxiety
Behavioural characteristics of phobias (x2)
Panic
Avoidance
Cognitive characteristics of phobias (x2)
Irrational thought processes
Cognitive distortions
Depression
A mental health disorder that is characterised by persistent sadness and a lack of interest or pleasure in previously rewarding or enjoyable activities.
Emotional characteristics of depression (x3)
Sadness
Avolition (loss of motivation)
Anger
Behavioural characteristics of depression (x3)
Reduction in energy
Insomnia or increased sleep
Appetite changes
Cognitive characteristics of depression (x3)
Negative thoughts
Poor concentration
Memory bias
OCD
A common mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts (internal) and compulsive behaviour (external).
Emotional characteristics of OCD (x2)
Anxiety and distress
Embarrassment and shame
Behavioural characteristics of OCD (x2)
Compulsive behaviours
Avoidance
Cognitive characteristics of OCD (x2)
Obsessive thoughts
Sufferer is aware these obsessive thoughts are irrational
Systematic desensitisation
A counter conditioning procedure (fear is replaced with relaxation) in which exposure is increased gradually to the feared stimulus so it becomes more familiar.
Flooding
Exposing phobic patients to their fear but without a gradual build-up in an anxiety hierarchy.
Behavioural approach to explaining phobias
Phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning.
Classical conditioning
Learning through association.
A neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
Neutral stimulus is now a conditioned stimulus producing a conditioned response.
Operant conditioning
Learning through reinforcement.
If a behaviour is reinforced / rewarded it increases the probability that it will be repeated.
Beck’s negative triad (1967)
World - Creates the impression there is no hope anywhere.
Future - Furthers hopelessness and worsens depression.
Self - Enhances depressive feelings, confirms low self-esteem.
Beck (1967) states that depression is caused by
Faulty information processing / faulty thinking strategies
What is a schema?
A mental representation of knowledge of the world. Beck argues that those with depression have negative schemas.
Ellis (1962) 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(s) the belief now causes. In essence the external event is ‘blamed’ for the unhappiness being experienced.
Ellis (1962) stated that depression is caused by…
Irrational thinking
Mustabatory thinking
Mustabatory thinking
Thinking that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for an individual to be happy.
Ellis identified the 3 most important irrational thinkings:
- I must be approved
- I must do well
- The world must give me happiness
Beck (1967) negative triad - treating depression
Helps the patient to identify negative thoughts in relation to themselves, their world and their future.
Beck’s negative triad - Challenging negative thoughts (treatment)
The patient and therapist will discuss evidence for and against irrational thoughts.
Beck’s negative triad - Client as a scientist (treatment)
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) REBT
Ellis’s rational emotive behaviour therapy
Ellis (1962) ABCDE
Activating event
Beliefs
Consequences
Disputation of beliefs
Effective new approach
Ellis REBT - Challenging irrational thoughts
Effective disputing
The client can move from catastrophising to more rational interpretations of events.
This in turn helps the client to feel better, and eventually become self-accepting.
Effective disputing
Changes self-defeating beliefs into more rational beliefs.
Empirical disputing
Therapist asks the client where is the proof / evidence that the belief / thought is accurate.
Self-defeating beliefs may not be consistent with reality.
Logical disputing
Self-defeating beliefs do not follow logically from the information available.
The therapist may ask ‘does thinking in this way make sense?’.
Pragmatic disputing
Pragmatic means dealing with practically.
The therapist emphasises that self-defeating beliefs are useless and not practical (e.g ‘how is this belief likely to help me?’).
Genetic explanations of OCD - researcher and findings
Nestadt et al (2000)
12% chance of developing OCD for first degree relatives
3% risk for control group participants
Polygenic
More than one gene involved
Aetiologically heterogeneous
Different combinations of genes cause different types of OCD in different people.
COMT gene
Causes low levels of catchecol-o-methyltransferase.
This enzyme regulates the amount of dopamine in the brain.
Low levels of the enzyme = high levels of dopamine.
High dopamine levels are linked to OCD.
SERT gene
Creates a protein which removes serotonin and recycles it.
When a mutation of this gene creates too much of the protein, serotonin levels decrease.
Low serotonin levels are linked to OCD.
Interactionist approach (diathesis stress model)
Certain genes leave some people more likely to suffer a mental disorder but it is not certain as some environmental stress is necessary to trigger the condition.
Diathesis - genetic vulnerability.
Stress - environment.
MZ twins
Monozygotic twins - share 100% of DNA.
DZ twins
Dizygotic twins - share 50% of DNA.
Serotonin
Important for the regulation of mood.
It has an overall calming effect on the brain.
Low levels of serotonin means that the brain does not communicate information about mood effectively.
Serotonin and OCD
Low levels of serotonin have been linked with the symptoms of OCD (e.g anxiety).
Dopamine
Important for maintaining interest and motivation.
Dopamine and OCD
High levels of dopamine should help to maintain a compulsive thought or behaviour, therefore high levels are associated with compulsions in OCD.
The worry circuit - OFC
Orbitofrontal cortex in the frontal lobes.
The worry circuit
- OFC sends ‘worry’ signal to thalamus to report on things which should cause worry.
- On the way the caudate nucleus is supposed to suppress unimportant signals.
- If the caudate nucleus is damaged the thalamus is alerted too often. This results in you worrying more, causing obsessive and compulsive behaviours.
What does SSRI stand for?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
How do SSRIs work?
They increase levels of serotonin in the brain.
They 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 reuptake inhibitors
How do SNRIs work?
They block the transporter mechanism that re-absorbs both serotonin and noradrenaline.
Noradrenaline and OCD
When levels are low, a person is unable to focus their attention which may result in anxiety and compulsions.
Benzodiazepines
Commonly used to reduce anxiety.
They are manufactured under various trade names, the most common being Valium and Diazepam.
Which neurotransmitter do benzodiazepines work on?
They increase the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter - it calms and reduces the activity of neurons.
When GABA docks at the receptor site of a neuron, it reduces the activity level of that neuron and makes it less likely to fire an electrical signal (action potential).
Behavioural activation
(An example of CBT homework) Engaging in more active and enjoyable activities.
