psychopathology Flashcards
define deviation from social norms
abnormal behaviour is classified in this way as any behaviour that goes against societal expectations about how to and not to behave. often these social expectations are rooted in a desire to make society more pleasant (e.g. being polite)
describe the emotional, behaviour and cognitive characteristics of depression
emotional- intense sadness, often worthlessness, sometimes anger
behavioural- increased or reduced levels in activity. sleeping hours may be reduced whereas other might experience agitation and restlessness. appetite is also affected with some experiencing diminished appetite and other increased appetite
cognitive- negative thoughts cause the native emotions associated with depression. these thoughts are irrational and include negative expectations and thoughts of worthlessness
how are phobias initiated through classical conditioning
a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus so that it eventually takes on the properties of this stimulus to produce a conditioned response
describe systematic desensitisation
this is a treatment for phobias that attempts to replace the association between fear and the phobic stimulus with an association between relaxation and the phobic stimulus. patients are exposed to scenarios that progressively cause more anxiety than the last state in their hierarchy
why is systematic desensitisation preferred to flooding
because flooding is not a viable form of treatment for all phobic individuals, no matter how effective it is, this is because it can be highly traumatic form of treatment. although patients are aware of this before beginning treatment, many find themselves unable to complete the treatment, limiting its overall effectiveness at treating phobias
describe the diathesis stress model
suggest that certain genes create a vulnerability for the mental disorders, and that after an activating event or trauma, mental disorders develop in these individuals
what is a negative triad
this is a cognitive approach to understanding depression, focusing on how expectations about the self, world and future lead to depression
define failure to function adequately
abnormality is defined in this way as an inability to cope with everyday life especially is this is causing the individual or other around them distress. in some instances, the individual may not be aware that their behaviour is causing distress to others
how does social learning theory explain phobias
suggests that phobias may be acquired through modelling the behaviour of others. if a child sees and adult react fearfully to a toy they are lily to imitate the behaviour themself because the behaviour is rewarding- it gets them attention
describe the emotional, behavioural and cognitive characteristics of OCD
emotional- anxiety and shame
behavioural- compulsive behaviours are carried out to alleviate the anxiety caused by obsessions
cognitive- obsessions are recurrent, intrusive thoughts, irrational thoughts
how are phobias maintained by operant conditioning
if a behaviour produces a favourable outcome, it is likely to be repeated- in the case of phobic individuals, avoidance of their phobic stimulus reduces anxiety, so they are likely to continue to avoid it. example of negative reinforcement
how does the cognitive theory explain depression
depression is due to irrational thinking and cognitions that are skewed towards negative thoughts
define statistical infrequency
abnormality is defined in this way as behaviour which is extremely rare or as characteristics not displayed by many people
how does the biological theory explain OCD
OCD is cause by abnormal levels of dopamine and serotonin, and a non functioning worry circuit in which signals about potentially worrying things from OFC are not suppressed by the caudate nucleus
describe the emotional, behavioural and cognitive characteristics of phobias
emotional- anxiety triggered by phobic stimulus
behavioural- avoid phobic stimulus, interfere daily life, freezing
cognitive- irrational thoughts
how is depression treated using the cognitive approach
its treated using CBT which is combination of cognitive therapy and behavioural therapy
briefly describe the case of little Albert
- Watson and Rayner
- fear of fluffy white objects was conditioned in young baby
- white objects= neutral stimulus
- banging steel rode= unconditioned stimulus
how is OCD treated using the biological approach
this involves the treatment of mental disorders by administering drugs to reduce symptoms of the disorder. this involves using SSRIs to increase levels of serotonin
define deviation from the ideal mental health
abnormality is defined in this way as displaying the absence of ideal mental health criteria set by Jahoda
why is deviation from ideal health definition criticised
this issue with this definition is that criteria it is founded on is unrealistic, it is very unlikely that anyone individual will display all of the traits suggested by Jahoda all of the time
Watson and Rayner
- explaining how phobias can be maintained overtime has important implications
- it shows the need to expose patients to phobic stimulus in order to prevent avoidance behaviour
- therefore high explanatory power and supports therapy as treatment
Seligman
- biological preparedness is the innate predisposition to acquire a phobia
- evolutionary factors can play a role in developing phobias
- therefore shows there is more to acquiring phobias than simple conditioning
Gilroy et al
-followed up 42 patients with fear of spiders
- three 45 sessions of systematic desensitisation
- control group just used relaxation techniques without the exposure of phobic stimulus
- 3 months and 33 months later after the treatment the patients were less fearful than the control group
- therefore shows effectiveness and long lasting effects
Grazoli and Terry
- assessed 65 pregnant women with cognitive venerability and depression
- those that had high cognitive vulnerability suffered post natal depression
- therefore supports that depression is associated with faulty information processing, negative trait and schemas
march et al
81% of cbt group, 81% of antidepressant group, 86% of both combined were significantly improved from depression
therefore effectiveness of CBT alongside medication
Nestadt et al
68% of identical twins shared OCD and 31% non identical twins shared OCD suggesting genetic influence
Soomro et al
17 studies showed significantly better results than placebos of SSRIs
