Psychopathology Flashcards
What is deviation from social norms?
concerns behaviour that is different from the accepted standards of behaviour in a community or society
What is failure to function adequately?
occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day-to-day living
What is statistical infrequency?
occurs when an individual has a less common characteristic
What is deviation from ideal mental health?
occurs when someone does not meet a set of criteria for good mental health
What are the 4 definitions of abnormality?
- Statistical infrequency
- Deviation form social norms
- Failure to function adequately
- Deviation form ideal mental health
Who came up with the set of criteria for good mental health?
Marie Jahoda
What are 3 behavioural characteristics of Phobias?
- crying
- running away
- avoiding the stimulus
What are 3 emotional characteristics of Phobias?
- anxiety
- emotional reactions are unreasonable
- fear of seeing the object
What are 3 cognitive characteristics of Phobias?
- beliefs about the world is distorted
- anxious thoughts
- abnormal processing of object
What are 3 behavioural characteristics of Depression?
- agitated
- decrease/increase in appetite
- hypersomnia/insomnia
What are 3 emotional characteristics of Depression?
- extreme anger
- feelings of despair
- low mood
What are 3 cognitive characteristics of Depression?
- absolutist thinking
- distorted beliefs
- poor concentration
What are 3 behavioural characteristics of OCD?
- avoidance
- compulsions
- agitated
What are 3 emotional characteristics of OCD?
- anxiety
- distress
- guilt
What are 3 cognitive characteristics of OCD?
- awareness
- obsessive thoughts
- cognitive strategies to deal with the disorders
What is the two process model?
phobias are acquired by classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning
What is classical conditioning in the context of explaining phobias?
learning by association; associated fear with a stimulus creating a phobia
What is operant conditioning in the context of explaining phobias?
behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequence; positively reinforcing your phobia
How do you maintain a phobia?
Operant Conditioning:
1) avoid the stimulus
2) reduces fear/anxiety
3) desirable
4) repeat behaviour forever
What is systematic desensitisation?
a behavioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response such as anxiety
What is the role of relaxation in treating phobias?
Counter conditioning
you replace fear in classical conditioning with something relaxing; breathing exercises or mental imagery techniques
What is reciprocal inhibition?
idea that you cannot feel two emotions at once in response to a stimuli; cannot be relaxed and scared
What is the anxiety hierarchy?
is a list of situations put together by client and therapist in relations to the phobia that provoke anxiety arranged in the order least to most frightening
1) list of situations
2) provoke anxiety
3) order least to most frigntening
What are the two treatments of phobias?
- Systematic desensitisation
- Flooding
How does systematic desensitisation work?
draw up a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations related to a person’s phobic stimulus, teaching the person to relax and then exposing them to phobic situations.
What is flooding?
involves exposing people to their phobic stimulus without a gradual build up and involves immediate exposure to a very frightening situation
What is Beck’s negative triad?
he identified 3 aspects to cognitive vulnerability: negative view on the world, the future and the self
What is Ellis’ ABC model?
Activating event; irrational thoughts are triggered by external events
Beliefs; identification if the irrational beliefs
Consequences; the emotional and behavioural consequences to the irrational thoughts
What is Cognitive Behavioural therapy?
most common treatment for depression; uses cognitive elements and behavioural elements
What is the cognitive element of CBT?
begins with an assessment in which the client and therapist work together to clarify the clients problems. they then jointly identify goals and put a plans together to achieve them.
What is the behaviour element of CBT?
involves working to change negative and irrational thoughts and putting more effective behaviours in place.
How is Beck’s cognitive therapy used to treat depression?
used to identify irrational thoughts about the world, self and future once identified need to be challenged.
How did Beck use homework to challenge irrational thoughts?
wanted clients to test the reality of their negative beliefs by recording when they have enjoyed an event or when people are nice to them. in future sessions the therapist can produce this evidence and use it to prove the client’s statements are incorrect.
What does REBT stand for?
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
How is Ellis’ REBT used to treat depression?
ABCDE model, D-dispute; challenge irrational thoughts and E-for effect. the therapist would challenge these thoughts through vigorous argument to break the link between negative life events and depression.
What is an empirical argument?
involves disputing whether there is actual evidence to support the negative belief
What is a logical argument?
involves disputing whether the negative thought logically follows from the facts
What is behavioural activation?
is to work with depressed people to gradually decrease their avoidance and isolation and increase their engagement in activities that have been shown to improve mood
What does OCD stand for?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
What is the neural explanation of OCD?
suggests that abnormal levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and certain regions of the brain are impacted in OCD
What is the role of serotonin in explaining OCD?
serotonin regulates mood, low levels of serotonin may cause people to experience low moods
What is the role of decision making in explaining OCD?
frontal lobe are responsible for logical thinking and making decisions. Parahippocampal gyrus is associated with processing unpleasant emotions and functioning abnormally in OCD
What is the genetic explanation of OCD?
suggests that OCD is inherited and that individuals receive specific genes from their parents which influence the onset of OCD
What are candidate genes in the context of OCD?
they are identified genes which create vulnerability for OCD
What does polygenic mean in terms of OCD?
means that OCD is not caused by one single gene but by a combination of genetic variations that together significantly increase vulnerability
What does aetiologically heterogeneous mean?
that the origins of OCD vary from one person to another
How is drug therapy used to treat OCD?
aims to increase/decrease levels of neurotransmitters in the brain to increase/decrease their activity
What do SSRIs stand for?
Selective Serotonin Reuptake inhibitor
How do SSRIs work?
1) SSRIs are ingested which places a chemical block within the re-up-taker
2) re-up-taker is blocked and therefore does not work for serotonin
3) the electrical impulse travels down the pre-synaptic neuron to the terminal button and reaches the vesicles
4) it stimulates the release of neurotransmitters from the vesicles e.g. serotonin coding for mood regulation
5) people with OCD have lower levels of serotonin so is released less
6) these bind to receptors, depending on shape
7) receptors are then stimulated
8) there is not enough serotonin so there is less stimulation
9) the re-up-taker is blocked so serotonin cannot be re-up-taken
10) serotonin remains in the synapse so continually binds with receptors
11) this increases transmission of mood regulation information due to the increased stimulation of receptors
12) electrical impulses in the post-synaptic neuron reform repeatedly
What are SNRIs?
increase the levels of serotonin as well as noradrenaline
