Psychopathology Flashcards

Question

PEEL: behavioural approach to explaining phobia Environmental reductionism

Answer 1

Environmental reductionism Reduces complex human behaviour of developing a phobia down to simple basic units of stimulus, response and association and maintaining phobias through reinforcements Neglects a holistic approach which would take into account a persons culture and social context which could influence phobias For example the phobia of displeasing others is relative to the culture of Japan which na collectivist culture whereas in an individualistic culture displeasing others is not as feared Lacks internal validity as it does not allow us to understand behaviour in context

Answer 2

Practical application Suggests behaviours are learnt through classical conditioning and so can be unlearn through classical conditioning. This theory has been used to create treatment of systematic desensitisation The patient is taught relaxation techniques and gradually exposed to their phobic stimulus so they learn to associate their phobic stimulus with relaxation rather than fear and therefore extinguishes the phobia . This helps treat people in the real world Explanation important part of applied psychology

Answer 3

Alternative explanation the evolutionary explanation Argues we are born with certain phobias as the feared stimulus would have been dangerous in our evolutionary past and so has been passed down through generations as a survival advantage. Explain d why people fear snakes even if they have never encountered one before as they would have been dangerous in our evolutionary past Therefore the behavioural explanation can not be the sole explanation of phobias

Answer 4

To use classical conditioning to unlearn maladaptive behavioural responses to a phobic stimulus and to re associate phobic stimulus with relaxation

Answer 5

The patient is first taught relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises The patient and therapist then work together to create a graded scale starting with stimuli that fears them the least eg picture of spider to stimuli that fears them the most eg holding a spider The client is then gradually exposed to the phobic stimulus starting with the least fearing stimulus and only moving on to the next stage when they feel comfortable and relaxed. During exposure client may feel anxiety the therapist would then encourage them to use relaxation techniques this is based on the reciprocal inhibition theory which suggests two opposite states of mind can not coexist so the client can not be both relaxed and anxious at the same time The patient completes the treatment when they are desensitised and can move through the hierarchy without anxiety

Answer 6

Requires motivation and commitment Seen as more appropriate as patient given control over their treatment It can be completed using virtual reality

Answer 7

Not appropriate because requires motivation and commitment Patients must attend sessions over a period of time and be exposed to anxiety provoking situations which may make some patients stop therapy. If patients stop attending the therapy becomes ineffective and their anxieties will return This is unlike drug therapy which require little motivation and commitment from patients as they only need to take a drug to reduce anxiety they feel. Limits the appropriateness of systematic desensitisation

Answer 8

More appropriate for some patients as patients are given high control over their therapy This is because they create their own hierarchy of anxiety with the therapist and are gradually exposed to the feared stimulus only moving onto the next stage when they feel relaxed This is unlike flooding which can be quite traumatic for patients as they are immediately exposed to their most feared stimulus which can cause high anxiety levels. Patients tend to opt for systematic desensitisation which is shown in low refusal rates and low drop out rates. More appropriate treatment

Answer 9

It can be completed in a real world setting using virtual reality Exposure through virtual reality can help avoid dangerous situations such as heights Another reason to use virtual reality is that it is cost and time efficient because the psychologist and client do not need to leave consulting room Therefore treatment can be used to treat a wide scope of phobias making it accessible to a wide variety of patients

Answer 10

The patient is immediately exposed to the phobic stimulus and must stay in its presence They will experience high levels of anxiety and panic and they are unable to avoid the stimulus They remain exposed to stimulus till anxiety response is exhausted and starts to decrease This lasts around 2-3 hours until patients anxiety eventually disappears Known as extinction eventually patient learns exposure to stimulus is harmless

Answer 11

Highly cost effective Unethical

Answer 12

Highly cost effective wwy to treat phobia Bc therapy found to be effective and not expensive Flooding works with little as one session due to the immediate exposure and extinction of phobia unlike sd which could take up to 10 sessions for the same result due to the gradual exposure to the phobic stimulus Flooding a more cost effective alternative for the NHS and benefit the economy as more people would be treated for a phobia in less less time using fewer resources More appropriate therapy to use in real world

Answer 13

Unethical treatment Patient experiences extreme anxiety as they are exposed to their most feared phobic stimulus for 2-3 hours Even though full informed consent is received from patients sd may be viewed as more ethical as it gradually exposed the patient to stimulus at their own pace Schumacher Et al found that therapists and patients rated flooding as significantly more stressful then sd Moreover the traumatic nature of flooding means drip out rates are higher than sd Reduces effectiveness and appropriateness

Answer 14

Change in activity levels Lack of energy and withdrawal of activities once enjoyed Disruption to sleep Sleep may be reduced- insomnia Sleep may be increased- hypersomnia

Answer 15

Poor levels of concentration Inability to stick with a task which they would normal be able to do or make straightforward decisions about Negative schema Organisation of thought is mainly negative ignoring positive aspects of something

Answer 16

Lowered mood Often feeling sad empty or numb Anger Anger directed towards themselves or others

Answer 17

This approach explains how depression is caused by the way we think about information and our environment. Therefore is our thoughts and perceptions are irrational and negative then we are more vulnerable to depression

Answer 18

Becks negative triad Consistent negative thoughts can make a person more vulnerable to depression. He proposed negative trust which explains how negative thoughts about oneself ‘ I’m useless’ your future ‘I will never achieve anything’ and the world ‘ the world is unfair’ can make a person more vulnerable to depression Ellis ABC model Ellis’s model emphasises the role of irrational thoughts interfering with us being happy and free of pain. Activating event which is an external event such as losing a job triggers irrational beliefs Ellis identifies a range of types of irrational beliefs which are triggered for example musterbation which is the belief we should always achieve perfection. When an activating event triggers these irrational beliefs it leads to emotional and behavioural consequences such as depression

Answer 19

Rts cohen et al Practical application Alternative explanation- biological explanation

Answer 20

Rts cohen et al He tracked development of 473 adolescence regularly measuring their cognitive vulnerability- negative way of thinking that could lead to person become depression Found those showing cognitive vulnerability developed depression later in life Supports there’s an association between cognitive vulnerability such as negative thinking and increased vulnerability to depression as outlines in becks negative triad Thus supporting it as an appropriate explanation of depression

Answer 21

Practical applications Principle of the theory that depression is caused by negative irrational thought processing has lead to the treatment of cognitive behavioural therapy. Found to be effective in treating depression by helping clients identify challenge and change negative irrational thoughts to rational positive ones via disputing. Important part of applied psychology as it helps treat people in the real world

Answer 22

An alternative explanation is biological explanation Suggests depression due to physical factors such as neurotransmitters For example low levels of serotonin causing low mood rather than faulty though processing causing negative thoughts So cognitive explanation not the only explanation that he pull be considered to explaining depression

Answer 23

CBT is a method of treating mental health disorders using cognitive and behavioural techniques from a cognitive viewpoint. Cognitive aim- The client and therapist work together to identify irrational thoughts that cause depression in the client. These negative irrational thoughts will then be challenged to turn them into more positive rational thoughts Behavioural aim- cbt then works to bring in more effective behaviours in place Empirical disputing- therapist uses this to challenge the clients negative irrational beliefs by asking for evidence of them ‘where is the proof that no one likes you’ the therapist may give the client homework and ask the client to keep a diary of all the times some one is mean to them, this tests the reality of their beliefs. The therapist will then use this to prove that their negative beliefs are false Behavioural activation- used to challenge the clients behaviour such as encouraging the depressed individual to become more active. Therapist may encourage client to take part in activities they once enjoyed which will help improve the persons mood and reduce negative thoughts Through the treatment the client will become more independent so they can use the strategies learnt in the real world and so gain control over their depressive thoughts

Answer 24

March(2007) Requires Motivation and commitment Focus on clients present and future rather than the past

Answer 25

March (2007) Studied adolescents with depression and found that 81% of their symptoms had significantly improved after CBT and 86% had improved if cbt was combined with antidepressants Suggests challenging irrational negative thoughts can provide a reduction in depressive symptoms Thus cbt popular choice of treatment for depression for the NHS

Answer 26

Requires motivation and commitment from patients Have to attend session over a long period of time and complete homework’s for example keeping a diary and engaging in activities they once enjoyed Issue bc individuals with depression often lack motivation Thus reducing effectiveness of cbt as a treatment of depression

Answer 27

Focus on clients present or future rather than past Some client may be aware of the link between their childhood and past experiences and their current depression and they may want to talk about it They may find the present future focus frustrating and therefore reduces the effectiveness of cbt

Answer 28

Compulsions External behaviours which are repeated to alleviate anxiety for example washing hands Avoidance of situations that could trigger compulsions For example person with a cleaning ritual may try avoiding germs by not shaking hands with people

Answer 29

Obsessions Internal intrusive thoughts which are reoccurring and unpleasant causing anxiety eg worries of being contaminated by germs Awareness They are aware their thoughts and compulsions are irrational

Answer 30

Anxiety and distress Obsession is often unpleasant and frightening causing overwhelming anxiety Ocd can also cause other negative emotions such as guilt and disgust

Answer 31

Argues that OCD is due to physical factors in the body OCD tends to run in families, suggesting there is a genetic predisposition to OCD, which can be inherited The genetic explanation argues the OCD is due to the inheritance of one or many maladaptive genes eg SERT gene Explanation states that the closer the genetic link, the greater the risk, a person would inherit OCD shown in twin studies wear monozygotic (identical) twins have been found to have a concordance rate of 87%, compared to a concordance rate of 47% for dizygotic twins Candidate genes can make an individual vulnerable to developing OCD these are called ’COMT’ and ‘SERT’ gene The sert gene is involved in the transportation of serotonin if mutated reduces the serotonin activity levels, which is associated with an increase in anxiety and OCD symptoms

Answer 32

Neurochemical exclamation Suggest OCD is due to an imbalance of neurotransmitters, specifically low levels of serotonin activity Serotonin is involved in maintaining a stable mood, a mutation in the SERT gene causes serotonin to be recycled, too quickly back into the presynaptic neuron before it can activate the post synaptic neuron Low levels of serotonin activity can lead to anxiety. This can be seen with obsessions in OCD. Neuroanatomy explanation Siri suggests that OCD is due to a difference in shape and or functioning of specific brain areas, OCD is linked to the area of the brain known as the basil ganglia, which is responsible for Psycho motor functions. Hyper sensitivity of the basil ganglia may result in repetitive movements this could help explain why compulsions are experienced by people with OCD

Answer 33

Biologically reductionist Scientific methods Practical applications

Answer 34

Biologically reductionist Reduces complex human behaviour of OCD down to simple basic units of mutations within genes causing imbalance in neurotransmitter activity eg SERT This neglect the holistic approach which would take into account our persons culture and social context could influence OCD E.g. research has shown there is a higher prevalence of OCD in certain religious groups where regular cleansing before Prayer is a daily ritual. Therefore, the biological explanation of OCD may lack validity as it does not allow us to understand the behaviour in context

Answer 35

Scientific methods Theory is based on objective and empirical techniques, such as genemapping studies, which are used to identify specific genes (SERT) which influence the activity of neurotransmitters, which can cause OCD. Increases of Real internal validity does raising Psychology scientific status

Answer 36

Practical applications The principles of the theory that OCD is due to a mutation in the SERT gene and low serotonin activity levels has led to the development of drug treatments Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (ssri) increased amount of serotonin activity in the brain, and this has been found to reduce anxiety relieving OCD symptoms Important part of applied psychology as it helps, improve the lives of those with OCD

Answer 37

Biologically reductionist Practical applications

Answer 38

Biologically reductionist Reduces complex human behaviour of OCD down to simple basic units of an imbalance in neurotransmitters, for example, low serotonin activity This neglects a holistic approach, which would take into account, help persons culture, and social context could influence OCD For example, research has shown that there is a higher problems of OCD in certain religious groups where regular cleansing before prayer is a daily ritual Explanation lacks validity as it doesn’t allow us to understand the behaviour in context

Answer 39

Practical applications The principles of the series that OCD is due to an imbalance in neurotransmitters, for example, low serotonin activity has led to the development of drug treatments For example, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) these work by increasing the amount of serotonin activity in the brain This has been found to reduce anxiety relieving OCD symptoms. Important part of applied psychology as it helps, improve the lives of those with OCD

Answer 40

Drug therapy is the biological treatment for OCD Works by balancing levels of neurotransmitters in the brain in order to relieve symptoms of OCD For example selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) SSRI are serotonin agonists They increase serotonin activity levels by blocking the reabsorption of serotonin to the presynaptic neuron, thus, increasing serotonin levels in the synapse, so it continues to activate the postsynaptic neuron These drugs have been shown to reduce anxiety associated with OCD SSRI usually take around 3 to 4 months to alleviate symptoms and the dosage can vary from person to person In the past few years, a different class of anti-depressant drugs called SNRI (serotonin norapinphorine re-up take inhibitors ) has been used to treat OCD, these increased levels of serotonin and noradrenaline activity and can be used if SSRI have not been effective

Answer 41

Rts soomro et al Little motivation required Negative side effects

Answer 42

Rts soomro et al Reviewed 17 studies of the use of SSRI to treat ocd Found SSRI were more effective in reduces symptoms compared to placebos Typically symptoms were reduced in around 70% of people of people taking ssri and the other 30% were helped using alternative drugs and psychological therapies Shows effectiveness

Answer 43

Requires little motivation from patient As all they have to do is remember to take a tablet in order to reduce their symptoms of ocd This may be a better option than cbt to treat ocd as it requires motivation form patients to attend sessions to challange their irrational beliefs, obsessions. Some patients may prefer drug therapy as a treatment of depression

Answer 44

Can cause negative side effects For example ssri can cause nausea, headaches and insomnia This is an issue as patients may become distressed form negative side effect and may stop taking their medication due to these negative effects Reduces effectiveness of drug therapy as a treatment of ocd