Psychopathology Flashcards
what is psychopathology?
- scientific study of psychological disorders/ mental illnesses
what are the main guides on how to classify disorders?
Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM)
International Classification of Disorders (ICD)
what are the 4 definitions of abnormality?
- statistical infrequency
- deviation from social norms
- failure to function adequately
- deviation from ideal mental health
what are neurotic disorders?
self-aware
what are psychotic disorders?
unaware
what is statistical infrequency?
- defines ‘normal’ behaviour in typical values, such as mean, median and mode
- number based definition
- shown on a distribution curve, if something is more than 2 standard deviations away from the mean then it is classed as abnormal
- e.g. average IQ is 100, so anything above 130 and below 70 is classed as abnormal
what are the limitations of statistical infrequency?
- some infrequent behaviours may be desirable (i.e. high IQ) and some frequent behaviours may be undesirable, meaning there is problem with using a numbers based definition
- subjective cut off on the normal distribution
what are the strengths of statistical infrequency?
- appropriate for some as it gives us an indication (has a good objective starting point/ measure
- however, needs to be paired with another definition (failure to function adequately)
what is the cultural relativism evaluation of statistical infrequency?
- statistically infrequent behaviours in one culture may be frequent in another
- eg. hearing voices in one may be associated with schizophrenia, but it may be seen as desirable in another
what does deviation from social norms mean?
- social norms refers to the expected/ usual behaviour in a culture or society
- socially based explanation
- deviance from these norms often leads to the individual being isolated/rejected, seen as undesirable and considered abnormal
- e.g. standing too close to someone or wearing inappropriate dress (for age or situation)
what are the limitations of deviation from social norms?
- does not consider the role of context
- social norms change over time
what is a strength of deviation from social norms?
- focus is on social norms, which helps society to function
- enables an individual to consider how their actions affect others
what is the cultural relativism evaluation of deviation from social norms?
- social norms vary .i.e. personal space
- dangers of being ethnocentric (not considering other cultural values, and judging someone else based on your own cultural values)
- DSM now makes reference to different cultural behaviours
what is failure to function adequately?
- individuals will experience psychological distress and feel unable to cope with usual everyday situations i.e. unable to go to work
- usually aware they are suffering but with some mental disorders they may not be aware and will have to rely on others around them to identify it instead
- measure of adequate functioning can be done using WHODAS, allowing a quantitative measure of functioning to be taken, as individuals are rated and given a score for each criteria
what are the areas considered by WHODAS (world health organisation disability assessment)?
- understanding and communicating
- getting around
- self care
- getting along with people
- life activities
- participation in society
what are the limitations of failure to function adequately?
- subjective judgement as it depends on who is making the decision
- may be functional to the individual, it doesnt distinguish between functional/dysfunctional behaviour
what is a strength of failure to function adequately?
- provides an objective measure, so it is a more sensitive definition
what is the cultural relativism evaluation of failure of function adequately?
- what is considered dysfunctional in one culture may not be in the other
- i.e. sleeping in the day may be normal in Mediterranean cultures but could be considered as depression in the UK
- risks measure of being ethnocentric
what is deviation from ideal mental health?
- based on humanistic approach
- positivist definition (all have the ability to achieve full potential if given the correct conditions
- looks at characteristics the individual needs to have present to be able to maintain optimal mental health
- Marie Jahoda (1958) identified 6 categories relating to ideal mental health
what are the 6 categories Marie Jahoda (1958) identified relating to ideal mental health?
- self attitude
- personal growth
- integration
- autonomy
- accurate perception of reality
- mastery of environment
(more of these characteristics present, more mentally healthy and when without these, considered vulnerable)
what are the limitations of deviation from ideal mental health?
- ideals are unrealistic and hard to achieve by nature
- involves subjective assessment on Jahoda’s criteria, as it is a matter of opinion and hard to objectively measure
- difficult to diagnose mental ill-health and physical ill-health in the same way
what are the strengths of deviation from ideal mental health?
- positivist approach, meaning it looks at categories that give us good mental health and considers what is needed for it
what is the cultural relativism evaluation of deviation from ideal mental health?
- based on western values (individualist cultures), which encourage working for one’s own personal growth towards self-actualisation, whereas collectivist cultures encourage working for the good of the community
- cultural context may limit this definition to certain cultural groups
what are the most common mental disorders?
- phobias
- obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- depression
what are phobias?
- categorised as an anxiety disorder
- defined as an irrational fear that produces a conscious avoidance of feared stimuli
what are the main types of phobias?
- agoraphobia (fear of being trapped in a public place)
- social phobia (anxiety in social situations e.g. speaking to a group)
- specific phobia (fear of specific thing e.g. spiders)
what is OCD?
- categorised as an anxiety disorder
- comprised of two main elements: obsessions (persistent thoughts) and compulsions (repetitive behaviours)
what is depression?
- categorised as a mood disorder
- defined as persistent low mood causing distress and impairment of functioning
- DSM distinguishes between major depression and persistent depressive disorder
what are the emotional, cognitive and behavioural characteristics of phobias?
E = extreme and persistent fear, anxiety and panic
C = irrational thinking that’s resistant to rational reasoning, with recognition of this irrational fear
B = avoidance, freeze or faint stress responses, interference with normal life
what are the emotional, cognitive and behavioural characteristics of OCD?
E = distress, awareness that behaviour is excessive
C = recurring, intrusive thoughts which are perceived as inappropriate, uncontrollable thoughts and recognition of this
B = repetitive compulsive behaviours aimed at reducing the activity, not necessarily associated with what they are aimed at (e.g. compulsively avoiding a certain object to avoid something bad happening)
what are the emotional, cognitive and behavioural characteristics of depression?
E = sadness and feeling empty/ worthless, with a loss of interest in usual activities, and anger towards others or self
C = negative thoughts including worthlessness and guilt, having negative expectations
B = change in activity level (may be increased or decreased), change in sleep patterns (more or less) and change in appetite (more or less)
