Psychopathology

Question 1

What is one strength of statistical infrequency?

Answer 1

Real-world application- diagnosis of intellectual disability disorder (bottom 2%) and BDI assessment of depression (top 5%)

Question 2

What is one limitation of statistical infrequency?

Answer 2

Unusual characteristics can be positive- some characteristics are infrequent but not abnormal, eg. high IQ

Question 3

What are two limitations of deviation from social norms?

Answer 3

• Real-world application- diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder and schizotypal personality disorder (strange behaviour)
• Cultural and situational relativism- social norms vary across cultures/situations, making it hard to decide what is deviant

Question 4

What is one strength of failure to function adequately?

Answer 4

Represents a threshold for help- identifies when someone requires professional help

Question 5

What is one limitation of failure to function adequately?

Answer 5

Can lead to discrimination against (and social control of) people who choose to deviate from social norms (eg. adopt non-standard lifestyles)

Question 6

What is one strength of deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 6

Comprehensive definition- covering most of the reasons why anyone should seek or be referred for help

Question 7

What is one limitation of deviation from ideal mental health?

Answer 7

Culture-bound- eg. self actualisation (striving to reach your potential) would be meaningless in many cultures

Question 8

What are two strengths of explaining phobias?

Answer 8

• Real-world application- phobias successfully treated by preventing avoidance (exposure therapy), as suggested by the model
• Phobias and traumatic experiences- 73% of people with a dental phobia had past trauma (De Jongh et al)

Question 9

What is the counterpoint to phobias and traumatic experiences for explaining phobias?

Answer 9

Not all phobias follow bad experiences and not all bad experiences lead to phobias

Question 10

What is one limitation of explaining phobias?

Answer 10

Cognitive aspects of phobias not explained, eg. irrational beliefs about the phobic stimulus

Question 11

What are two strengths of systematic desensitisation?

Answer 11

• Evidence of effectiveness- better for spider phobics than relaxation alone (Gilroy et al)
• Suitable for people with learning disabilities, no rational thinking required (as in cognitive therapies) and no trauma (as in flooding)

Question 12

What is one strength of flooding?

Answer 12

More cost-effective than SD, can be carried out in 1-3 sessions

Question 13

What is one limitation of flooding?

Answer 13

Traumatic- more stressful than SD, through informed consent helps (Schumacher et al), high attrition

Question 14

What are two strengths of Beck’s negative triad?

Answer 14

• Research support- research shows cognitive vulnerability precedes depression (Cohen et al)
• Real-world application- identify cognitive vulnerability to screen those at risk of depression, then target vulnerabilities in CBT

Question 15

What is one strength of Ellis’s ABC model?

Answer 15

Real-world application- Ellis’s ABC model led to REBT, can change negative beliefs (David et al)

Question 16

What is one limitation of Ellis’s ABC model?

Answer 16

Only explains reactive depression- Ellis’s model does not explain cases that do not follow an activating event (endogenous depression)

Question 17

What is one strength of treating depression?

Answer 17

CBT as effective as antidepressants, together is best (81% vs 86%, March et al)

Question 18

What are two limitations of treating depression?

Answer 18

• CBT may not be suitable for severe cases of depression or for people with learning disabilities (Sturmey)
• Relapse rates- benefits short-term, 42% relapsed after 6 months (Ali et al)

Question 19

What is the counterpoint to CBT not be suitable for everyone for treating depression?

Answer 19

Newer evidence challenges this (eg. Lewis and Lewis), CBT may have wider application

Question 20

What is one strength of genetic explanations to explain OCD?

Answer 20

Research support- 68% concordance MZs, 31% DZs (Nestadt et al)

Question 21

What is one limitation of genetic explanations to explain OCD?

Answer 21

Environmental risk factors- in one sample over half of people with OCD experienced a traumatic event (Cromer et al)

Question 22

What is one strength of neural explanations to explain OCD?

Answer 22

Research support- antidepressants reduce OCD by increasing serotonin, eg. neural mechanism involved

Question 23

What is one limitation of neural explanations to explain OCD?

Answer 23

No unique neural system- serotonin-OCD link may be due to co-morbidity with depression- the depression disrupts serotonin

Question 24

What are two strengths of treating OCD?

Answer 24

• Evidence of effectiveness- review of 17 studies all showed SSRIs more effective than placebos (Soomro et al)
• Cost-effective and non-disruptive- cheap for NHS and don’t involve spending time at therapy sessions

Question 25

What is the counterpoint to evidence of effectiveness for treating OCD?

Answer 25

Psychological therapies alone (eg. CBT) are likely to be more effective than drugs for OCD

Question 26

What is one limitation of treating OCD?

Answer 26

Serious side-effects (eg. clomipramine associated with erection problems, weight gain, aggression, heart-related problems) which may affect whether treatment continues