Psychopathology Flashcards
Define deviation from social norms
Concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society
What is a strength of deviation from social norms
- allows psychologists to identify those people who might need help because their behaviour goes against the normal behaviour in society.
- real life application in the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder
What is a weakness of deviation from social norms
- changes over time - may be a lack of agreement through generations - homosexuality was seen as a mental disability
- cultural relativism - behaviour in cultures vary significantly from one to the next e.g. hearing voices is normal in some cultures but would be seen as a mental health condition in the UK.
Define failure to function adequately
when a person can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life. e.g unable to maintain basic standards of nutrition, can’t hold down a job or relationship.
What is a strength of failure to function adequately
- provides evidence of failure to function to a person e.g unable to get out of bed
- attempts to include subjective experience of the individual
What is a limitation of failure to function adequately
- problem with different perspectives in what counts as failing to function - not all people with mental illnesses fail to function eg. some people with depression can still function normally
- subjective judgement on failing to function could limit personal freedoms
Define statistical infrequency
abnormal behaviour is defined by what or how unusual behaviour is, eg. living in a cave in England would be considered abnormal as it is rare.
What is a strength of statistical infrequency
- useful definition - more objective because you rely on statistics to identify which behaviours are abnormal.
- the objective measure of what is rare can be applied to every different behaviour equally.
What is a limitation of statistical infrequency
- some rare behaviour is desirable. eg. high intelligence is rare, but it is not abnormal or in need of treatment.
- several mental health conditions would not be labelled as abnormal and therefore unhealthy, because they are quite common.
Define deviation from ideal mental health
set of criteria of what is psychologically healthy - those who do not match these ideals are abnormal.
Identify 6 characteristics of ideal mental health
- positive attitude towards one self
- self actualisation
- integration
- autonomy
- accurate perception of reality
- mastery of the environment
Describe a positive attitude towards oneself
high self-esteem and self-respect, you feel good about yourself
Describe self-actualisation
experiencing personal growth and development - ‘becoming everything one is capable of becoming’.
Describe integration (resisting stress)
the ability to cope with highly stressful situations
Describe autonomy
being able to live independently and care for yourself
Describe accurate perception of reality
seeing the world as it really is without delusions and hallucinations
Describe environmental mastery
the ability to love, to work and have interpersonal relationships. having the flexibility to adapt to changing life circumstances.
What are strengths of deviation from ideal mental health?
- use of a checklist means that the same checklist can be applied to everyone and that there is less subjectivity.
- positive outlook, looks at what mental health should be like - desirable and achievable
What are limitations of deviation from ideal mental health
- some aspects of this definition are vague - how can someone’s self-esteem be measured?
- most people do not meet one or more of Jahoda’s characteristics - means majority of people are abnormal.
Define phobia
an uncontrollable, irrational fear that causes unjustifiable anxiety
Define simple phobia
fears about specific objects, animals, situations or activities
- eg. arachnophobia, aerophobia, hydrophobia
Define agoraphobia
the fear of leaving home or a safe place, feeling vulnerable about being in open spaces.
Define social phobia
fear of social situations (eg. mixing with others, meeting new people)
Name 2 behavioural symptoms of phobias
- avoidant/anxiety response: confrontation with feared situations/objects produces high anxiety response - efforts are made to avoid these to reduce chances of such anxiety responses occurring.
- disruption of functioning: avoidant/anxiety responses are so extreme they severely interfere with the ability to conduct everyday working and social functioning.
Name 1 cognitive symptoms of phobias
- recognition of exaggerated anxiety: phobics consciously aware that anxiety levels they experience in relation to feared object/situations are overexaggerated.
Name 2 emotional symptoms of phobias
- persistent, excessive fear: phobias produce high levels of anxiety due to presence of or anticipation of fear object/situation
- fear from exposure to phobic stimulus: phobias produce an immediate fear response (eg. Panic attacks) due to the presentation of phobic object/situation
Describe the two-process model to explanation phobias
- classical conditioning - how the phobia is acquired
- operant conditioning - how the phobia is maintained
Define depression
depression is a mood disorder - persistent feelings of sadness
Define unipolar depression
only depression:
b: lack of energy, sleep disturbance, poor hygiene
c: suicidal thoughts, delusions, poor memory
e: low mood, low enthusiasm
Define bipolar depression
depression + mania
b: reckless behaviour, high energy
c: irrational thought processes, delusions
e: lack of guilt, irratibility
Define OCD
obsessive-compulsive disorder: an anxiety disorder and is characterised by experiencing persistent and intrusive thoughts which occur as obsessions, compulsions or both.
Define obsession
recurrent, persistent, intrusive, self-generated, inappropriate, consuming thoughts
- e.g. there are germs everywhere and they could harm me
Define compulsions
actions completed in response to obsessions; repetitive, excessive and often illogical
e.g. I need to wash my hands each time I touch something to avoid the germs and getting ill
Describe compulsions as a behavioural characteristic for OCD
- repetitive and time-consuming,
- can stop the person suffering from OCD from continuing their daily life
- eg. having to wash your hands 7 times in a row could easily make you late for college or work
- usually reduce anxiety - repetitive behaviour is performed to reduce the anxiety of the person
What are some emotional characteristics of OCD
- extreme anxiety: from extreme levels of anxiety, obsessive thoughts (which are often frightening and overwhelming) and the compulsions that cause the sufferer anxiety and distress
- guilt: negative emotions against oneself, such as feeling guilt over a situation or being disgusted with oneself
- depression: suffers may suffer from depression and experience low mood plus a lack of enjoyment of activities, brought on by the compulsions and obsessions
What are some cognitive characteristics of OCD
- obsessive thoughts: majority of people suffering from OCD have thoughts that reoccur over and over again and are often intrusive
- obsessive actions: person suffering from OCD will often have to perform obsessive actions to allow them to continue with their day
- excessive anxiety: sufferer understands that these thoughts and actions are irrational but they cannot stop them - they may experience catastrophic thoughts about what could happen - worst-case scenarios
What is classical conditioning?
learning by association
What is operant conditioning?
- learning through reinforcement and punishment.
- rewards increase likelihood of the behaviour reoccurring
- punishments decrease likelihood of behaviour reoccurring
Describe the key study of Watson and Rayner (1920)
A - Albert was taught to fear stimuli through CC
P - hammer was struck against a metal bar behind Little Albert when he had a white rat put in front of him.
F - Albert learned to be afraid of the rat and anything similar (anything white/fluffy)
Evaluate the Little Albert study
ethical concerns: small child was put in a stressful and fear-inducing situation
- does prove that a phobia can be learnt
high internal validity: controlled environment
low ecological validity: unrealistic scenario
