psychopathology Flashcards
what are the 4 definitions of abnormality
1.statistical infrequency
2.deviation from social norms
3.deviantion from ideal mental health
4.failure to function adequetely
what is statistical infrequency
where statistics say if your abnormal or not. if the behaviour is 2 or more standard deviations away, the behaviour is considered rare
what is deviation away from social norms
the more you drift away from socially normal behaviour the more abnotmal you are. the definition is cumulative- the more you deviat from social norms the more abnormal you are
what is deviation from ideal mental health
where you are considered abnormal if you steer away from jahoda’s ideal mental heakth. the more you dont meet the ideal mental health characteristics, the more abnormal you are
what are jahodas 6 main characteristics of ideal mental health
- postitive attitude towards one’s self
- accurate perception of reality
- autonomy
4.resisting stress - self-actualisation
6.environmental mastery
what is failure to function adequately
if you meet some or all of rosenhan and seligmans 7 major features of personal dysfunction you are considered abnormal.it is cumulative, the more features you meet, the more abnormal you are.
wha are rosenhans and seligman’s 7 features of personal dysfunction
- personal distress
- maladaptive behaviour
- unpredictability
4.irrationality - observer discomfort
6.violation
7.unconventionality
what is a phobia
its an irrational fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal.its an anxiety disorder that affects 15-20% of the population
what are the emotional characteristics of phobias
1.persistent excessive/unreasonable fear
2.high levels of anxiety when anticipating the object
3.fear when presented the object
what are the behavioural characteristics of phobias
- panic attacks,crying, screaming ect
2.avoidance of the fear stimulus - disrupted everyday functioning
what are the cognitive characteristics of phobias
- conscious awareness of exaggerated anxiety
- paying selctive attentionto feared stimulus
3.irational beliefs
4.cognitive distortions
what is mowrers 2 process model of phobias
classical conditioning and operant conditioning
what is classical conditioning
1.unconditioned stimulus(punishment/pain) = unconditional response(fear)
- neutral stimulus(phobic object) + unconditional stimulus(punishment/pain) = unconditioned response(fear)
- conditional stimulus(phobic object) = conditional response(fear)
what is operant conditioning
negative reinforcement that is put in place to keep the fear of the phobic object. e.g avoiding the phobic object keeps you afraid so you keep the phobia
what is stimulus generalisation
where you have a fear of something and it makes you a fear of something else. e.g. if you have a fear of spiders, you might also develop a fear of other insects.
what is higher order conditioning
where a fear is pushed on to another object because of stimulus generalisation
what are the 2 treatments of phobias
- systematic desensitisation
2.flooding
what is systematic desensitisation
where you slowly get exposed to your fear and your anxiety response gets replaced with a calm response to covercome your fear.
what are the 4 key features of systematic desensitisation
- fear heirarchy
- relaxation traing
- gradual exposure
- reciprocal inhibition
what is flooding
where you get exposed to your phobia until the anxiety goes away and is replaced with a calm response
what is depression
its a mood disorder that causes a persistant feeling of sadness or loss of interest
what are the emotional characteristics for depression
- lowered mood
- anger
3.. low self esteem
what are the behavioural characteristics of depression
- anxiety levels
- disruption of sleep and eating
- aggression or self harm
what are the cognitive characteristics of depression
1.poor concentration
2.dwelling on negative thoughts
3.absolutist thinking(black and white thinking)
what are the 2 cognitive approaches (explanations) to depression
- beck negative triads
- ellis’s ABC model
what is beck negative triads
he said that someones cognitive can create a vunerability to depression thorugh negative schemas of the world, the future and the self
what is ellis’s ABC model
elllis propsed that irrational beliefs came from external events which lead to depression
what does the ABC in ellis’s model stand for
A: activation event- what causes the thoughts
B: beliefs- the irrational/rational thoughts
C: consequences- undesirable/desirable behaviours
what are the 3 beliefs that ellis also identified
- utopianism
- i-cant-stand-it-itis
- musterbationary thinking
what is utopianism
the thought that life should always be fair
what is i-cant-stand-it-itus
where we think that there is a major disaster when something doesnt go smoothly
what is musterbationary thinkinh
where we think that we must always achieve perfection
what cognitive behavioural therapy
a way to help rationalise and challenge depressed peoples thinking to help them overcome there depressive states.
what are the 4 steps in CBT depression
- identifying negative thinking patterns
- challenging irrational thoughts
- skill aquisition and application
4.follow-up
what is OCD
its an anxiety disorder where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.
what are the emotional characteristics of OCD
- anxiety and distress
- accompanying depression
3.guilt and disgust
what are the behavioural characterstics of OCD
1.compulsions- repetative and anxiety reducing
2.avoidance
what are the cognitive characteristics of OCD
- obsessive thoughts
- cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions
3.insight to excessive anxiety
what are the biological approaches (explanations) of OCD
1.genetic explanation of OCD
2.neural explanations of OCD
what is the genetic expalanation for OCD
people who have first degree relative with OCD have a 12% of developing the disorder, suggesting people might inherit a genetic predisposition to develop OCD
what is the neural explanation for OCD
people with OCD have an abnormal frontal lobe, usually the caudate nucleus is damaged so it fails to supress minor worry signals which alerts the thalamus, which sends signals to the orbital frontal cortex, acting as a worry circuit
how does the role of low serotonin effects/accomanies OCD
low levels of serotonin influences mood regulation, anxiety, sleep, and social behaviours. the exact connection is unknown but may be possible that serotonin stops repitions, so low serotonin brings out compulsions which is a symptom of OCD
how does the role of low dopamine affect/accompany OCD
dopamine releases when you expect a reward. so doing repetitive tasks, release dopamine when someone compluses.giving that person pleasure
how does drug therapy treat OCD
the drug affects the neurotransmitters in the brain to raise levels of serotonin
what is the name of the drug that helps with OCD
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRI)
