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A Level Psychology > Psychopathology > Flashcards

Psychopathology Flashcards

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1
Q

What are social norms?

A

Unwritten behavioural expectations that depending on the culture, time and context

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2
Q

What are social deviants?

A

Individuals who break the norms of their society and are seen as abnormal

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3
Q

Why are using social norms not ethnocentric? (AO3)

A

Using social norms does not impose a western view of abnormality on other non-western cultures. For this reason diagnosing abnormality according to social norms is not ethnocentric

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4
Q

Negative of defining people with social norms

A

Defining people who move to a new culture as abnormal according to the new cultural norms can be inappropriate e.g. people from Afro-Caribbean background and living in the uk are 7x more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia

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5
Q

Failure to function adequately?

A

When individuals cannot cope with day-to-day challenges of life. They show maladaptive behaviour; their irrational and unpredictable actions go against their long term best interests. They show personal anguish, and observers feel discomfort in their presence.

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6
Q

Positives of failure to function adequately?

A

Respects the individual and their own personal experience, which is something that other definitions, such as statistical infrequency and deviation from social norms, cannot do.

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7
Q

Negatives of failure to function adequately?

A

Only includes people who cannot cope; psychopaths can often function in society in ways that benefit them personally. Having lower empathy can lead to success in business and politics.

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8
Q

What is statistical infrequency?

A

Someone is mentally abnormal if their mental condition is very rare in the population; the rarity of the behaviour is judged objectively using statistics, comparing the individuals behaviour to the rest of the population.

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9
Q

What does the normal distribution curve show?

A

Shows a populations average spread of specific characteristics

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10
Q

Positive of statistical infrequency?

A

Individuals who are assessed as being abnormal according to statistical infrequency have been evaluated objectively; this is better than other definitions that depend on the subjective opinion of a clinician

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11
Q

Negative of statistical infrequency?

A

Not all statistically rare traits are negative, for example IQS of 130 are just as rare as 70, also there are common MH conditions like anxiety. NHS found 17% of people surveyed met the criteria for a common mental health disorder

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12
Q

What is deviation from ideal mental health?

A

Rather than defining abnormality, it defines feature of ideal mental health, and deviation from these indicates abnormality. The six features are:
Environmental mastery
autonomy
Resisting stress
Self actualisation
Positive attitude towards yourself
Accurate perception of reality

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13
Q

Positive of deviation from ideal mental health?

A

Holistic definition, as it considers multiple factors in diagnosis and provides suggestions for personal development, DIMH does not simply state what is wrong but also suggests how problems can be overcome

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14
Q

Negatives of deviation from ideal mental health

A

Too strict of a criteria to define mental health, as it is challenging to achieve all of the requirements at one time; most people would be defined as abnormal.

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15
Q

What are behavioural characteristics of phobias?

A

Avoidance: physically adapting to normal behaviour to avoid phobic objects
Panic: an uncontrollable physical response
Failure to function: difficulty taking to part in normal day-to-day activities

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16
Q

What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

A

Anxiety: an uncomfortable high and persistent state of arousal
Fear: intense emotional sensation of extreme and unpleasant alertness. It only subsided when the phobic object is removed.

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17
Q

What are the Cognitive characteristics of phobias?

A

Irrational thoughts: negative and irrational mental processes that include an exaggerated belief in harm the phobic object could cause

Reduced cognitive capacity: due to attentional focus on a phobic object

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18
Q

What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?

A

Reduction in activity level: includes lethargy, lacking the energy needed to perform everyday activities

A change in eating behaviour: either significant weight gain or weight loss

Aggression: to others/self harm

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19
Q

What are the emotional characteristics to depression

A

Sadness: a persistent, very low mood

Guilt: linked to helplessness and a feeling that they have no value in comparison to other people

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20
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of depression

A

Poor concentration: people with depression cannot give their full attention to tasks

Negative schemas: automatic negative biases when thinking about themselves, the world and the future

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21
Q

What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD

A

Compulsions: behaviour performed repeatedly to reduce anxiety

Avoidance: taking actions to avoid objects that trigger obsessions

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22
Q

What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?

A

Anxiety: a uncomfortable high and persistent state of arousal, making it difficult to relax

Depression: a consistent and long lasting sense of sadness. Due to being unable to control thoughts

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23
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?

A

Obsessions: intrusive, irrational, recurrent thoughts that tend to be unpleasant, catastrophic thoughts

Hypervigilance: a permanent state of alertness, looking for the source of obsessive thoughts

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24
Q

What is acquisition?

A

Classical conditioning suggests the phobic object changes from being a neutral stimulus with no fear response to a conditioned stimulus with a fear response by being presented at the same time as an unconditioned stimulus that naturally causes a fear response, forming an association

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25
Q

What is maintenance?

A

Operant conditions suggests avoidance behaviour leads to a reduction in anxiety, which is a pleasant sensation. This negative reinforcement strengthens the phobic response.

26
Q

What is Generalisation?

A

A conditioned fear response is also experienced in the presence of stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus e.g. a fear of bees could be generalised to other small flying insects

27
Q

What study supports association

A

Watson and rayner: Watson paired showing a rat with hitting a large metal pole behind a child’s head (little Albert) creating a loud noise and scaring the child. A phobic response formed, demonstrating phobias can be acquired through association

28
Q

Negative for explaining phobias?

A

DiNardo: showed while conditioning events like dog bites were common in participants with dog phobias (56%), they were just as common in participants with no dog phobia (66%)

29
Q

Positive of explaining phobias?

A

Behaviourist theories of phobias have been practically applied to counter-conditioning therapies, systematic desensitisation and flooding. These treatments are effective, which suggests the behaviourist principles they are based on are valid

30
Q

Criticism of the behaviourist approach for explaining phobias?

A

Humans also don’t often display phobic responses to objects that cause the most pain in day to day life, such as knives or cars. However, phobias of snakes and spiders are more common. They may be better explained by evolutionary theory

31
Q

What is systematic desensitisation?

A

The therapist first teaches relaxation techniques like breathing exercises, then progresses through an anxiety hierarchy created by the client and therapist from least feared presentation to most. A stepped approach is used, with the client relaxing at each stage. The gradual exposure leads to extinction of the fear association and a new association with relaxation is formed.

32
Q

What is flooding?

A

Involves immediate and full exposure to the maximum level of phobic stimulus. This will cause temporary panic in the client, and they may attempt to escape. The clinician will keep the client in this situation until temporary panic has stopped due to exhaustion and the client is calm in the presence of the phobic object.

33
Q

Neutral evaluation for flooding?

A

Compared to flooding, the client controls SD, making it a more pleasurable experience as they limit their anxiety. However, this slower process can result in more sessions for SD compared to flooding. Also, flooding isn’t appropriate for older people.

34
Q

Criticism for flooding and SD (specificity)

A

Both SD and flooding are more effective for treating specific phobias than social phobias, as it is difficult to stimulate social situation and interactions with unfamiliar individuals in a therapists office

35
Q

Support for SD?

A

Garcia palacios found 83% of participants treated with VR exposure of spiders improved compared to 0% in the control group. This suggests the principles of SD are valid, and the use of VR allows a wider range of phobias to be treated

36
Q

Criticism of SD and flooding (resurfacing)

A

The effects may be limited to the controlled environment of a therapists office and may not translate to real world experiences. For example, when confronted with numerous wild birds in the outside world, the phobia may resurface.

37
Q

What is the cognitive approach to depression?

A

Argues depression is due to irrational thoughts from maladaptive internal mental processes

38
Q

What is becks negative triad?

A

These schemas with a persistent automatic negative bias. The self: aka self schemas, feeling inadequate or unworthy. The world: thinking people are hostile or threatening. The future: thinking things will always turn out badly. Develops in childhood but provides the framework for persistent biases in adulthood leading to cognitive distortions, perceiving the world inaccurately

39
Q

What is Ellis’ negative triad model:

A

A: activating event. It can be anything that happens to someone

B: belief. For people without depression, beliefs about A are rational. People with depression have irrational beliefs

C: consequence. Rational belief leads to positive consequence; irrational beliefs lead to negative consequences

Mustabatory thinking: thinking the world must be a certain way ultimately leads to disappointment.

40
Q

Study that supports the cognitive approach for depression

A

Grazioli and terry: assessed thinking styles of 65 women before giving birth and after doing women with negative thinking styles were most likely to develop postpartum depression; this supports the idea that faulty thinking leads to depression.

41
Q

Negative for becks theory?

A

People with depression may experience manic phases; they feel extremely happy, overly excited, confident and focused. This is a problem for becks theory which explains depression is due to negative schemas, which are resistant to change

42
Q

What did march study?

A

Showed CBT had an effectiveness rate of 81% after 36 weeks of treatment, the same as drug therapy. The fact these treatments are successful suggests the underlying cognitive explanations they are based on are valid.

43
Q

Criticism of cognitive theory of depression?

A

Depend on the assumption that the person with depressions thoughts is irrational; it could be depression is a reasonable response to the challenges they face, for example, poverty and racism.

44
Q

What is becks CBT?

A

The patient generates and tests hypotheses about the validity of their irrational thoughts; when they realise their thoughts don’t match reality, this will change their schemas and the irrational thoughts can be discarded

Thought catching: identifying irrational thoughts coming from negative triad of schemas, the patient is also set homework tasks (e,g keeping a diary to identify sources of negative thinking)

45
Q

What is Ellis’ rational emotional behaviour therapy?

A

Development of the ABC model, adding D for dispute and E for effect.
Dispute: therapist confronts the clients irrational beliefs. Empirical arguments challenge the client to provide evidence for their irrational beliefs, whilst logical arguments attempt to show beliefs don’t make sense

Effect: reduction of irrational thoughts (B) leading to better consequence (C)

46
Q

Negative of CBT?

A

Some people with depression are too severely depressed to engage with the demands of CBT; completing homework, challenging irrational thoughts and attending sessions require motivation and commitment

47
Q

Positive of CBT?

A

Advocates of CBT say it empowers patients and gives a sense of personal efficacy, enabling them to take control of their lives and make positive changes. In contrast, drugs often require a passive role where patients are reliant on biological intervention.

48
Q

Negatives of REBT and CBT?

A

Overly focused on the present and how to restructure how the client thinks about their current situation cognitively. Clients may want to discuss severe trauma in their past or actually improve their present situation.

49
Q

Genetic explanation for OCD?

A

The disorder is inherited; genetic analysis has revealed around 230 separate candidate genes found more frequently in people with OCD; The SERT gene affects reputable in the serotonin system. Other identified genes include gene 9, COMT gene, and 5HT1-D gene. Due to the large number of candidate genes OCD appears to be polygenic, meaning a predisposition to OCD requires a range of genetic changes.

50
Q

What is the neural explanation for OCD?

A

Neural explanation for OCD includes low serotonin levels; low serotonin levels is likely due to it being removed too quickly from the synapse before it has been able to transmit its signal/influence the postsynaptic cell

51
Q

What is the worry circuit?

A

The worry circuit is a set of brain structures, including orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) (rational decision making), the basal ganglia system, especially the caudate nucleus, and the thalamus. Communication between these structures in the worry circuit appears to be overactive in people with OCD resulting obsessive thinking.

52
Q

Positive study for biological explanation of ICD

A

Nestadt: dizygotic twins had a 31% concordance rate, and monozygotic twins have 68%. MZ and DZ twins grow up sharing similar environment. This suggests that the additional shared DNA is responsible for the increased concordance

53
Q

Criticism of biological explanation of OCD?

A

The correlation in twin studies does not equal causation. As the concordance rate for MZ twins is 68%, not 100%, the level we would expect for an entire genetically determine physiological feature, there must be some role for the environment.

54
Q

Neutral evaluation for biological approach OCD?

A

The diathesis stress explanation combined a genetic vulnerability to OCD (diathesis) with an environmental factor (stressor) needed for the disorder to develop. Cromer showed 54% out of 265 people with OCD reported at least one traumatic event in their life,

55
Q

Neutral study evaluating biological approach for OCD?

A

Soomro: meta analysis demonstrated SSRIs are more effective than placebos, suggesting there is a biological aspect to OCD, however despite altering levels of serotonin in the synapses within hours, these drugs take weeks to reduce symptoms

56
Q

How do SSRIs treat OCD

A

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They only influence serotonin in the brain; as reuptake inhibitors, they inhibit the reuptake process in the synapse. Therefore serotonin is still present in the synaptic cleft and continued to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron. This decreases anxiety by normalising the activity of the worry circuit.

57
Q

How do Benzodiazepines treat SSRIs?

A

Enhancing a neurotransmitter called GABA, slowing the CNS and resulting in general relaxation. Tricyclics and SNRIS increase serotonin and noradrenaline; these drugs can be effective when SSRIS fail, but because they work on multiple neurotransmitters, they tend to have more intense side effects

58
Q

What study supports drug treatment for OCD

A

Soomro: meta analysis combining 17 studies comparing SSRIs to placebos. Found SSRIs significantly reduced the symptoms of OCD compared to placebos between 6 and 17 weeks post treatment. Suggests drug therapy is effective in the short term.

59
Q

Study that criticises the biological approach?

A

Goldacre: argues most research studies on drug therapies are conducted by the pharmaceutical companies that created them. This means the companies have a financial interest in showing the drugs are effective (potentially biased results)

60
Q

Positive for the biological approach?

A

In comparison to psychological therapies like CBT, drug therapy is relatively inexpensive to the NHS and potentially a more convenient treatment for the patient as CBT requires the patient to find time for multiple sessions with a trained therapist.

61
Q

Negative for biological approach?

A

Many patients prefer CBT; drug therapy can have a range of potential side effects; in Soomro, it was found to be nausea, headaches and insomnia were the most common side effects.

A Level Psychology (9 decks)

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