psychopathology Flashcards
what is deviation from social norms?
breaking social norms within a given situation
ie antisocial personality disorder
what is failure to function adequately?
not able to cope with demands of daily life (job, home life etc)
causes personal distress
what is statistical infrequency?
statistically uncommon behaviour
ie intellectual disability disorder
what is deviation from ideal mental health?
focuses on how to be mentally healthy
ie positive self-esteem, resistant to stress, self actualisation, reach your potential
evalution of statistical infrequency
S - usefulness - used in clinical practice ie Beck’s depression inventory
L - infrequent characteristics can also be positive
evaluation of deviation from social norms
S - real world application - used in clinical practice ie diagnosing antisocial personality disorder
L - cultural and situational relativism
evaluation of failure to function adequately
S - represents a threshold for help
L - easy to label non-standard life choices as abnormal
evaluation of deviation from ideal mental health
S - highly comprehensive
L - different elements are not equally applicable across cultures ie self-actualisation is a western ideaology
what is a phobia?
persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity or situation that leads to a desire to avoid it
interferes with daily life
what is a fear?
unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm
what are the types of phobias?
specific
social
agoraphobia
behavioural characteristics of phobias
panic - crying, screaming, running away (children may freeze, cling or have a tantrum)
avoidance - tend to go to a lot of effort to avoid phobic stimulus (unless trying to face their fear)
endurance - sufferer remains in presence of phobic stimulus but continues to experience high anxiety levels
emotional characteristics of a phobias
anxiety - phobias are classed as anxiety disorders, prevents person from relaxing & makes it hard to experience any positive emotions, long term
fear - immediate and extremely unpleasant response when we encounter or think about a phobic stimulus, more intense but shorter period than anxiety
emotional response is unreasonable - anxiety/fear is much greater than is ‘normal’ and disproportionate to any threat posed
cognitive characteristics of phobias
selective attention to the phobic stimulus - may be hard to look away from phobic stimulus
irrational beliefs - may hold irrational beliefs about phobic stimuli ie ‘all dogs will bite’
cognitive distortions - perceptions of the stimulus may be distorted ie seeing it as ugly/disgusting
what is a key explanation of phobias?
the behavioural approach
what is the two-process model?
Mowrer’s idea that phobias are (a) learned and (b) maintained
how do classical & operant conditioning relate to phobias?
CC - acquisition of phobias, neutral stimulus associated with fear, then becomes phobic object
OC - maintains phobia, negative reinforcement because avoidance reduces anxiety
case of little albert
Watson and Rayner
used a placid baby boy who showed no fear of a white lab rat at 9 months
at 11 months they carried out a study to endure fear
whenever they placed the rat in Albert’s lap, Watson banged two steel bars together behind his back - he did this 7 times
by the 3rd trial Albert showed fear whenever he saw the rat
little albert CC equation
loud noise (UCS) = crying (UCR)
loud noise (UCS) + rat (NS) = crying (UCS)
rat (CS) = crying (CS)
behavioural approach to explaining phobias evaluation
S - real world application - two-process model is used in exposure therapy (ie systematic desensitisation)
L - does not account for cognitive aspects of phobias - two-process model does not offer an explanation for phobic cognitions
S - provides evidence of a link between bad experiences and phobias
C - not all phobias appear after a bad experience
behavioural characteristics of depression
activity levels - typically have reduced energy levels, can be so severe that they cannot get out of bed, tend to withdraw from social life, school, work, can have opposite effect (psychomotor agitation - struggle to relax & pace)
disruption to sleep & eating behaviour - may experience reduced sleep (insomnia), or increased need for sleep (hypersomnia), appetite may increase/decrease
aggression & self-harm - often irritable, may become verbally/physically aggressive, can also lead to self-harm and suicide attempts
emotional characteristics of depression
lowered mood - often describe themselves as ‘empty’ or ‘worthless’, defining emotional trait
anger - frequently experience anger, sometimes extreme anger, may lead to aggressive or self-harming behaviours
lowered self-esteem. - emotional experience of how much we like ourselves, can be extreme ie self-hatred
cognitive characteristics of depression
poor concentration - may find themselves unable to stick to tasks or make decisions, may interfere with daily life
attending to and dwelling on the negative - tend to pay more attention to negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives
absolutist thinking - ‘black-and-white thinking’, tend to think situations are all good or all bad
what is systematic desensitisation?
anxiety hierarchy: created by therapist and client and is a list of situations related to the phobia arranged from least to most frightening
relaxation: therapist teaches patient to relax - using breathing exercises; patient may learn mental imagery techniques; meditation; or drugs (ie valium)
exposure: patient is exposed to phobic stimulus while in relaxed state, takes place across several sessions so is gradual
what is reciprocal inhibition?
two emotional states cannot exist at the same time
what is flooding?
stops phobic responses quickly, doesn’t allow option of avoidance behaviour, patient learns that phobic stimulus is harmless, fear decreases
process is called extinction: CS (dog) is encountered without UCS (being bitten), therefore CS no longer produces the CR (fear)
systematic desensitisation evaluation
S - evidence base for its effectiveness
S - can be used to help people with learning disabilities
flooding evaluation
S - highly cost-effective
L - highly unpleasant experience
faulty information processing (beck’s negative triad)
do not process info in a positive light, focus on negative aspects, cognitive bias - overgeneralisation where they may make a sweeping conclusion based on a single incident, catastrophising - exaggerate a minor setback and believe that its a complete disaster
self-schemas (beck’s negative triad)
self-schemas = packages of knowledge, mental framework based on experience, depressed people possess negative self-schemas - may come from negative experiences ie criticism: examples are ineptness schema, where sufferers expect to fail, self-blame schema makes them feel responsible for any misfortunes
negative triad (beck’s negative triad)
according to beck, negative self-schemas & cognitive biases maintain the negative triad which is three types of negative thinking that occur automatically
negative view of the self, the world, and the future
ellis’ abc model
A - ‘activating event’ that could trigger depression ie failing a test
B - ‘beliefs’ (interpretations) leading from this event - rational interpretation = hard test, didn’t revise enough - irrational interpretation = too stupid to pass
C - ‘consequences’ - rational beliefs = healthy emotional outcomes - irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy emotional outcomes ie depression
beck’s negative triad evaluation
S - existence of supporting research - ‘cognitive vulnerability’ refers to ways that may predispose someone to becoming depressed
S - applications in screening & treatment for depression - assessing cognitive vulnerability allows psychologists to screen young people for depression
S - partial explanation - depressed people show patterns of cognition
C - some aspects are not particularly well explained by cognitive explanations (ie differing symptoms)
ellis’ abc model evaluation
S - real world application - psychological treatment of depression - rational emotive behavioural therapy (REBT)
L - only explains reactive depression and not endogenous depression - many cases of depression do not have ‘activating events’
L - ethical issues - locates responsibility for depression purely with the depressed person - could be seen as blaming
C - may make some people motivated
CBT: overview
begins with assessment
patient and therapist jointly identify goals for therapy and creating a plan to achieve them
key task is to identify where there might be negative & irrational thoughts that will benefit from a challenge
CBT: beck’s cognitive therapy
identifying the negative automatic thoughts in negative triad
thoughts are then challenged
helps clients to test the reality of their negative beliefs
may be set homework - ie record when they enjoyed something (client as scientist)
therapist can refer back to homework in future if they claim not to enjoy anything
CBT: Ellis’ rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)
ABC model becomes ABCD (dispute) E (effect)
REBT is based around identifying and disputing irrational thoughts
would involve a rigorous argument with the aim of changing irrational beliefs which then breaks the link between negative life events and depression
types of disputing
logical disputing - does it make sense to think this way? does the negative thought logically follow from the facts?
empirical disputing - is there any actual evidence to support the negative belief?
evaluation of CBT: depression
S - large body of evidence - CBT was just as effective when used on its own and more so when used alongside antidepressants
L - lack of effectiveness for severe cases & for clients with learning disabilities - may not be able to motivate themselves
C - CBT can be effective if done properly
L - relapse rates - 42% relapsed into depression within six months of ending treatment & 53% relapsed within a year
genetic explanations of OCD
polygenic - OCD is caused by several genes
candidate genes - genes create a vulnerability for OCD
neurotransmitters - serotonin and dopamine
aetiologically heterogenous - one group of genes may cause OCD in one person and a different group of genes may cause OCD in another person
genetic explanations of OCD evaluation
S - research support - variety of sources strongly suggest that some people are genetically vulnerable to OCD - twin studies
L - environmental risk factors - strong evidence for idea that genetics make people vulnerable to OCD - study showed over half of OCD clients in sample had had a traumatic experience
neural explanations of OCD (role of serotonin)
neurotransmitters are responsible for relaying information from one neuron to another
serotonin is believed to help regulate mood
low levels of serotonin = transmission of mood-relevant information does not take place and so they may experience low mood
some cases of OCD may be explained by a reduction in the functioning of the serotonin system
neural explanations of OCD (decision-making systems)
some cases (esp hoarding disorder) seem to be linked to impaired decision making
abnormal functioning of frontal lobes
frontal lobes -> responsible for logical thinking & making decisions
some evidence to suggest left parahippocampal gyrus functions abnormally in OCD
neural explanation evaluation
S - research support - antidepressants that work purely on serotonin are effective in reducing OCD symptoms
L - no unique neural system - the serotonin-OCD link may not be unique to OCD
behavioural characteristics of OCD
compulsions are repetitive - sufferers often feel compelled to repeat behaviours ie hand washing
compulsions reduce anxiety - performed to manage the anxiety created by the obsessions ie compulsive hand washing is performed as a response to an obsessive fear of germs
avoidance - attempt to reduce anxiety by keeping away from situations that trigger it
emotional characteristics of OCD
anxiety and distress - obsessive thoughts are unpleasant and frightening, anxiety can be overwhelming
accompanying depression - low mood and lack of enjoyment in activities
guilt and disgust - can feel irrational guilt over minor moral issues or disgust directed at the self or external objects such as dirt etc.
cognitive characteristics of OCD
obsessions - obsessive thoughts that recur over and over again
cognitive strategies can be used to deal with obsessions ie a religious person tormented by guilt may pray or meditate
insight into excessive anxiety - are aware that their obsessions/compulsions are not rational - necessary for diagnosis of OCD
hypervigilant - maintain constant alertness and keep attention focused on potential hazards
what is the ocd cycle?
obsessive thought -> anxiety -> compulsive behaviour -> temp relief
cycle repeats over and over
SSRIs
SSRIS prevent the re-absorption and breakdown of serotonin which increases its levels in the synapse and will continue to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron
combining SSRIs with other treatment
often used alongside CBT to treat OCD
drugs reduce a person’s emotional symptoms so OCD can engage more effectively with the CBT
alternatives to SSRIs
tricyclics: older type of antidepressant ie clomipramine, acts on various systems including the serotonin system (has same effect as SSRIs), more severe side effects
SNRIs: different class of antidepressants, increase levels of serotonin and noradrenaline
evaluation of drug therapy
S - evidence for effectiveness - SSRIs reduce symptom severity
C - may not be most effective treatments available
S - cost-effective and non-disruptive
L - serious side effects ie indigestion, blurred vision, weight gain
