psychopathology Flashcards
what are the 4 definitions of abnormality
statistical infrequencey
deviation from social norms
failure to function
deviation from ideal mental health
what is statistical infrequencey
finding the common value and then working out what is rare
uses normal distribution
strength of statistical infrequency
gives clear cut off points
limitations of statistical infrequency
suggests rare is negative
eg Einstein IQ
abnormal behaviours end up being normal
eg
16% of adults w depression post covid
10% pre
what is deviation from social norms
standards of acceptable behaviour that are set out by society
strengths of dev of social norms
look at things in the present day and current morals
limitations of dev of social norms
culturally bound and lack temporal validity
eg gay illegal until 1967
some countries being gay is illegal
society views change
differ by context
what is failure to function
not being able to cope with everyday life
both personal and observer stress
strength of failure to cope
considers context eg grief
limitations of failure to cope
subjective - who decides somone isnt coping
what is deviation from ideal mental health
working towards what we lack
what characteristics did Jahoda put forward and state was ideal mental health q
high self esteem
personal growth
independence
resistant to stress
accurate perception of reality
environmental mastery
strengths of deviation from ideal mental health
positive - identifies the areas we need to improve
limitations of deviation from ideal mental health
most people fail to meet criteria so abnormal becomes normal
culturally bound
behavioural characteristics of phobias
panic
avoidance
emotional characteristics of phobias
fear
anxiety
cognitive characteristics of phobias
irrational beliefs
selective attention to phobic stimulus
how are phobias acquired
classical conditioning
pairing the UCS and NS
how are phobias maintained
operant conditioning
negative reinforcement
removal of the unpleasant stimulus
by avoiding the stimulus phobia is maintained
strengths of the explanation of phobias
evidence of a link between phobias and a bad experience
Little Albert
HOWEVER
not all phobias are due to a bad experience
many people fesr snakes despite never coming across one
this could be due to evolution
limitations of phobias
does not account for all cognitive aspects
doesnt explain phobic symptoms
what two ways treat phobias
systematic desensitisation
flooding
what is systematic desensitisation
behavioural therapy
counterconditioning
learning how to relax with the phobic stimulus
how does systematic desensitisation
- create an anxiety hierachy from least to worst anxiety
- teaches the client relaxtion techniques
- exposure to phobic stimulus
how does flooding work
immediate exposure to phobic stimulus
client quickly learns the stimulus is harmless after anxiety reaction has calmed down
strengths of flooding
cost effective
can happen in one session
limitations of flooding
can be traumatic
behavioural charactersitics of depression
lack of motivation
distruption to eating and sleeping
emotional charactersitics of depression
low mood
anger
cognitive characteristics of depression
poor concentration
dwelling on the negative
what is Becks theory of the explantion of depression
negative thinking = depression
its not the situartion its how you think about the situation
what are negative self schemas
negative ideas about yourself
what are cognitive biases
the way depressed people view the world
what is overgeneralisation
drawing a general conclusion from a single occurence
what is personalisation
negative feelings of others are attributed to something about you
what is selective abstraction
focus on one aspect and ignore any positive aspect
what is magnification
exxagerate the significance of the event
what is minimisation
down play the positives
what is the negative triad
negative schemas and cognitive biases
what makes up the negative triad
negative view of self
negative view of world
negative view of future
what is Ellis ABC model
explains how irrational thoughts lead to depression
what is the ABC model `
A - activating event
B - beliefs
C - consequence
what is an activating event
irrational thoughts are triggered by an event
what are beliefs
irrational beliefs that lead to negative thinking
what are consequences
activating event triggers irrational thinking leads to deppresion
strengths of Becks theory
good supporting evidence
65 pregnant women
high cognitive vunerabilities = post natal depression
pratical application CBT
limitations of Becks theory
cannot explain all aspects of depression
limitations of Ellis theory
only offers partial explanation
only explains reactive depression
what is a strenght of Ellis theory
pratical explanations REBT
what is the aim of CBT
changing the thinking will change the behaviour
how many sessions are usually in CBT
6-12
focuses on the present
what is behavioural activation in CBT
engaging in activites that bring us joy
pleasant event sceduling
what is homework in CBT
therapist sets small achievable tasks
record in a diary
what is thought catching in CBT
identifying and writing down negative thoughts
what is cognitive reconstructing
changing the negative thinking
what is REBT
type opf CBT that identifies and disputes irrational thoughts
how does REBT work
extends ABC to DEF
what is DEF
D- dispute irrational thoughts
E - effects of disputing
F - feelings
what are the three type of disputes
pragmatic
logical
empirical
what is pragmatic dispute
how does this thought help you
what is logical dispute
does it make sense
what is emperical dispute
where is the evidence
strengths of CBT
effectivness
Marth et al
therapy as effective as drugs
treats the cause
what was Marth et al
examained 327 depressed teenagers
three groups
CBT
drugs
CBT and Drugs
81% of CBT/ drug had improvment
86% of CBT AND drug had improvment
limitations of CBT
requires motivation
patients with severe depression may noy be able to attend the session
antidepressants to not require the same level of motivation
limitation of CBT
overemphasis of cognition
doesnt take into account social circumstances eg parent suffers from physical abuse
