psychopathology Flashcards
define social norms
unwritten behavioural expectations that vary depending on culture, time and context. “Social deviants” are individuals who break the norms of their society and are seen as abnormal. Examples of behaviours showing high cultural specificity are tolerance to homosexuality, religious experiences, and public displays of emotion.
give a strength of using social norms
social norms don’t impose a Western view of abnormality that very depending on cultures. For this reason, it is argued diagnosing abnormality according to social norms is not ethnocentric.
define failure to function adequately.
when individuals cannot cope with the day-to-day challenges of daily life, such as maintaining personal hygiene. Rosenhan and Seligman’s features: 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 present.
strength of failure to function adequately definition
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.
weakness of failure to function adequately
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.
define statistical infrequency
someone is mentally abnormal if their mental condition is very rare in the population; the rarity of the behaviour is judges objectively using statistics, comparing the individual’s behaviour to the rest of the population. The normal distribution curve shows a population’s average spread of specific characteristics.
strength of statistical infrequency
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 clinical.
weakness of statistical infrequency
not all statistically rare traits are negative; for example, IQs of 130 are just as statistically rare as IQs of 70. Also, there are common MH conditions like anxiety. NHS found 17% of people surveyed met the criteria for a common mental health disorder.
define deviations from ideal mental health
humanistic definiton- Jahoda 1958. Rather than defining abnormality, it defines features of ideal mental health, and deviation from these indicates abnormality. The 6 features are;
-environmental mastery
-autonomy
-resisting stress
-self-actualisation
-positive attitude to yourself
-accurate perception of reality
strength of deviation from ideal mental health
it is a holistic definition, considers multiple factors in diagnosis and provides suggestions for personal development, doesn’t simply state what is wrong but also suggests how problems can be overcome.
weakness of deviation from ideal mental health
it is too strict a set of criteria to define mental health, it is challenging to achieve all of the requirements at any one time; most. people would be defined as abnormal.
what are the behavioural characteristics of phobias
1)avoidance- physically adapting normal behaviour to avoid phobic objects
2)panic- an uncontrollable physical response (e.g: screaming, running)
3) failure to function: difficulty taking part in normal day-to-day activities
what are the emotional characteristics of phobias
anxiety-an uncontrollably high and persistent state of arousal
fear- intense emotional sensation of extreme and unpleasant alertness. It only subsides when the phobic object is removed.
what are the cognitive characteristics of phobias
irrational thoughts (fears)- negative and irrational mental processes that include an exaggerated belief in the harm the phobic object could cause
reduced cognitive capacity- due to attentional focus on a phobic object.
what are the behavioural categories of depression
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
what are the emotional categories of depression
sadness- a persistent, very low mood
guilt- linked to helplessness and a feeling that they have no value in comparison to other people
what are the cognitive characteristics of depression
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
what are the behavioural categories of OCD
compulsions- behaviours performed repeatedly to reduce anxiety e.g; checking and cleaning behaviours
avoidance; take actions to avoid objects that trigger obsessions
what are the emotional characteristics of OCD
anxiety- an uncontrollably 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.
what are the cognitive characteristics of OCD
Obsessions: intrusive, irrational, recurrent thoughts that tent to be unpleasant, catastrophic thoughts
hyper vigilance: a permanent state of alertness, looking for the source of obsessive thoughts.
outline the two-process model suggested by behaviourists for explaining phobias
the two-step process describes how phobias are acquired and maintained.
acquisition: 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 unconditioned stimulus that naturally causes a fear response (e.g; the pain of being stung), forming an association.
maintenance: operant conditioning suggests avoidance behaviour leads to a reduction in anxiety, which is a pleasant sensation. this negative reinforcement strengthens the phobic response.
outline generalisation as part of the behaviourist explanation to phobia
-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.
define reciprocal inhibition
behavioural therapies assume that fear and relaxation as opposite emotions cannot co-exist at the same time.
outline systematic desensitisation
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. this gradual exposure leads to the extinction of the fear association, and a new association with relaxation is formed.
