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Psychopathology Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the four definitions of abnormality

A

Failure to function adequately, deviation from social norms, deviation from ideal mental health, statistical infrequency.

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2
Q

What is statistical infrequency

A

Statistical infrequency is a definition of abnormality where numerical averages are used to find out if a person is abnormal.

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3
Q

How does statistical infrequency work

A

Using a bell curve where the peak of the bell curve is the average person. Then using standard deviation, psychologists can determine abnormality. The further they are from the yip of the bell curve the more abnormal they are.

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4
Q

What are the strengths of statistical infrequency

A

Easy to read and interpret

Real life application- can measure how abnormal a person is and how likely they need help

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5
Q

What are the limitations of statistical infrequency

A

Cultural and historical relativism- what is statistically frequent in one country or era is not the same for others

Desirable qualities- a high IQ is considered desirable but according to statistical infrequency

Having a cut off point is arbitrary because one person with an IQ of 70 is considered normal but one point below is abnormal.

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6
Q

What is failure to function adequately

A

It is a definition of abnormality describing an individuals lack of personal wellbeing and overall contribution.

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7
Q

Who developed the 7 criteria of failure to function

A

Rosenham and Seligman (1989)

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8
Q

What are the 7 criteria of failure to function

A

Suffering, maladaptiveness, bizarness/vividness, unexpected behavior, irrationality, observer discomfort, breaking moral/ideal standards.

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9
Q

What is deviation from ideal mental health

A

A person is defined as abnormal this way by not matching the criteria for good or stable mental health

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10
Q

What criteria was developed for deviation from ideal mental health

A

● no symptoms or distress
● rational and can perceive themselves accurately
●self- actualisation
● cope well with stress
● realistic view of the world
● good self esteem and lack guilt
● independent of other people
● successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure

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11
Q

Who developed the criteria for deviation from ideal mental health

A

Marie Jahoda (1958)

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12
Q

What are the strengths of Jahoda’s criteria

A

It is highly comprehensive and has a range of criteria which covers a broad range of reasons why a person may deviate from ideal mental health

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13
Q

What are the limitations of Jahoda’s criteria

A

It is difficult for a person to achieve all of the criteria at once and have perfect mental health and may be seen by a person as impossible.

The idea may be culture bound as it is not easily applicable to other cultures. Individual cultures will have fluctuations in how much they believe in certain criteria. For example in Germany high independence is typically normal whereas in Italy it would be considered abnormal to be very independent.

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14
Q

What are the strengths of failure to function

A

It is a sensible threshold for when people need professional help- people who are failing to function are the ones who need it most and so help is targeted at them

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15
Q

What are the limitations of failure to function

A

It makes non-standard lifestyles easy to label as a normal. For example people who seek high risk activities or spiritual practices may be seen as irrational and perhaps a danger according to failure to function.

It is circumstantial as a person who is grieving may act unusual but it does not mean that they are failing to function.

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16
Q

What is the definition of a phobia

A

An irrational fear of an object or situation

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17
Q

What are the DSM-5 categories of phobia

A

Specific phobia- phobia of an object, animal, person or situation

Social anxiety/phobia- phobia of social situations

Agorophobia- fear of being outside or in a public place

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18
Q

What are the behavioral characteristics of phobias

A

Panic- crying, screaming, running away, freezing

Avoidance- making a conscious effort to stay away from the phobic stimulus. Can affect daily life.

Endurance- alternative response to avoidance by staying in the area of it to keep an eye on it

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19
Q

What are the emotional characteristics of phobias

A

Anxiety- an unpleasant state of high arousal. Potentially long term

Fear- immediate response to seeing a phobic stimulus. More intense than anxiety but short term.

Unreasonable emotional response- the response given is disproportionate to the stituation

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20
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias

A

Selective attention to the phobic stimulus- keeping an eye of the stimulus so that a reaction to a threat is quick but it does not help with irrational phobias as a person will struggle to concentrate.

Irrational beliefs- the phobia cannot be easily explained and has no basis in reality because the person with the phobia has irrational thoughts

Cognitive distortions- the perceptions may be inaccurate and unrealistic to reality.

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21
Q

What is the behavioral approach to explaining phobias

A

The two process model

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22
Q

What is the two process model

A

It is the idea that a phobia is acquired through classical conditioning (Little Albert, Watson and Rayner,1920) and maintained by operant conditioning by reinforcing the irrational beliefs.

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23
Q

Who developed the two-process model

A

Henry Mowrer (1960)

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24
Q

How is the Little Albert case evidence of classical conditioning in developing phobias behaviourally

A

John Watson and Rosalie Rayner performed an experiment in 1920 where they used a 9 month old baby called Little Albert and conditioned him into a phobia of white rats and other fluffy items. They did this by associating a white rat (neutral stimulus) with a loud noise (unconditioned stumulus) which upset Albert (unconditioned response). Because he associated the horrible noise to the rat he had an upsetting response (conditioned response). He was then shown other furry objects such as a fur coat and a non white rabbit and he was still distressed at the sight of them. This shows that classical conditioning plays a part in developing phobias.

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25
Q

What are the strengths of the two process model

A

It has real world application in exposure therapy where they use the idea ,from the two process model, where avoidance is key to maintaining the phobia and so expose the person to their phobic stimulus as a way of curing it.

The little Albert case shows that there is a link between bad experiences and phobias. The distress and trauma from the event develops the phobia.

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26
Q

What are the limitations of the two process model

A

It does not account for the cognitive aspects of the phobias. It is geared towards explaining the behavioral side of phobias but not the cognitive. Phobias are not simply avoidant- there is an important cognitive aspect behind it.

Not all phobias appear following a bad experience. It is more commonly because a person has very few experiences and/or limited knowledge of the phobic stimulus e.g. snakes

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27
Q

What are the two approaches to treating phobias

A

Systematic desensitisation and Flooding

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28
Q

What is Systematic desensitisation

A

It is a behavioral therapy used to gradually reduce the anxiety levels around a phobic stimulus.

29
Q

What are the three processes of systematic desensitisation

A

Anxiety hierarchy- it is a list of situations linked to the phobic stimulus in levels of anxiety from the least anxious to the most .

Relaxation- the therapist teaches the patient to relax as much as possible around the stimulus. It is impossible to be relaxed and anxious at the same time so one emotion prevents the other. Breathing exercises and mental imagery is most commonly used.

Exposure- the client is gradually exposed to the stimulus working up the anxiety hierarchy. The client learns to fully relax before moving up in the hierarchy. It spans across several sessions.

30
Q

What is flooding

A

A treatment of phobias where it is done in a small number of sessions and has a high anxiety amount of exposure

31
Q

What is the process of flooding

A

A client is given a full debrief before the process begins. They are warned the process is traumatic and will be tough. The client is then exposed to their phobic stimulus and is not given the option to avoid the stimulus. This normally is done in one session that takes three hours.

32
Q

What are the strengths of systematic desensitisation

A

Less traumatic than flooding

33
Q

What are the limitations of systematic desensitisation

A

Lengthy process

Cost inefficient

VR usage may be less effective

34
Q

What are the strengths of flooding

A

Cost effective as it takes less time

35
Q

What are the limitations of flooding

A

Unpleasant and traumatic experience- ethical issues

Provokes a lot of anxiety

Does not tackle the underlying problems of phobias

36
Q

What are the behavioral characteristics of depression

A

Reduced energy levels

Disruption in sleep (insomnia)

Aggression

Self harm

37
Q

What are the emotional characteristics of depression

A

Low mood

Anger

Low self-esteem

38
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of depression

A

Different ways of processing information

Poor concentration

Dwell on the negatives and ignore positives

Black and white thinking

39
Q

Who developed the negative triad

A

Aaron Beck (1967)

40
Q

What is the negative triad

A

Negative views of the self, the future, the world

41
Q

What are the components of Becks Cognitive Theory

A

Negative Triad
Negative self- schema
Faulty information processing

42
Q

Who developed the ABC model

A

Albert Ellis (1962)

43
Q

What is the ABC model

A

Activating event

Beliefs which are irrational

Consequences which are emotional

44
Q

What are the strengths of Becks theory

A

Strong supportive evidence from Grazioli and Terry.

Practical application in CBT.

45
Q

What are the limitations of Becks theory

A

Doesn’t explain all aspects of depression- hallucinations and delusions

46
Q

What are the strengths of Ellis ABC theory

A

Practical application in CBT

47
Q

What are the limitations of Ellis ABC theory

A

Only provides a partial explanation- reactive depression arises without activating event

Doesn’t explain all aspects of depression- hallucinations and delusions

48
Q

What are the two different types of CBT to treat depression

A

Becks Cognitive Therapy

Ellis Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy

49
Q

What is the process of CBT

A
  1. Begins with an assessment where the issue is identified
  2. Together the therapist and patient identify goals and create a treatment plan
  3. Identify where negative or irrational thoughts can be challenged
  4. Change the negative thoughts and encourage effective behaviors
  5. Therapists use Becks or Ellis theories
50
Q

What is Becks Cognitive Theory based on

A

Challenging negative thoughts about the future, the self and the world. They may be given homework which can be used as evidence in future sessions

51
Q

What is Ellis’ REB therapy and what does it aim to do

A

It’s is a type of CBT that he calls Rational Emotive Behavioour therapy. It is an extension of his ABC model (ABCDE model) where the D means dispute and E means effect. The aim is to challenge the negative and/or irrational thoughts by having logical and empirical arguments to dispute the beliefs and show the patient that the thoughts are irrational.

52
Q

What are the strengths of CBT

A

Large amounts of evidence for the effectiveness of CBT ( John March et.al 2007 tested 327 depressed adolescents and gave them either anti-depressants, CBT or both)

53
Q

What are the limitations of CBT

A

Lack of effectiveness in people with severe depression (motivation) and people with learning disablilites (too complex)

High relapse rates because there is lack of research done on how long the effects of CBT last for

54
Q
A
54
Q

Define OCD

A

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which is a condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour

55
Q

What are the DSM-5’s categories of OCD

A

Trichotillomania-compulsive hair pulling

Hoarding disorder- compulsive gathering of possessions and the inability to part with anything regardless of its value

Excoriation disorder- compulsive skin picking

56
Q

What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD

A

Repetitive compulsions

Avoidance- staying away from things that trigger OCD behaviour

Anxiety reducing compulsions- compulsions happen as a response and a coping method to irrational anxiety

57
Q

What are the emotional characteristics of OCD

A

Anxiety and distress- the thoughts are unpleasant and frightening

Accompanying depression- low mood and lack of enjoyment in activities

Guilt and disgust- of both external factors and internal factors

58
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD

A

Obsessive thoughts- recurring and horrible

Cognitive coping strategies- developed in order to cope with the anxiety

Insight into excessive anxiety- People with OCD are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are irrational but cannot do anything to stop them.

59
Q

What are the genetic explanations for OCD

A

Candidate genes- genes that are responsible for the regulation of neurotransmitters such as serotonin which makes a person more vulnerable to developing OCD.

Aubrey Lewis (1936) observed OCD patients- 37% had parents with OCD and 21% had siblings with OCD

OCD is polygenic- numerous genes can cause vulnerability to OCD

Aetiologically Heterogeneous- one group of genes that’s causes OCD in one person, may not for another

60
Q

What are the neural explanations for OCD

A

The role of serotonin-if a person has lower serotonin then the normal transmission of mood relevant information does not take place.

The abnormal functioning of the brain- OCD affects parts of the brain such as the frontal lobes (responsible for logical thinking and making decisions) and the parahippocampel gyrus (processes unpleasant emotions). If these function abnormally then a person shows behavioural, emotional and cognitive signs of OCD.

61
Q

What are the strengths for genetic explanations of OCD

A

Strong evidence base- Nestadt et.al and the twin study showing a connection between OCD and genetics.

62
Q

What are the limitations of genetic explanations of OCD

A

Environmental risk factors- OCD does not seem entirely genetic in origin. For example a traumatic event could trigger OCD

63
Q

What are the strengths of neural explanations of OCD

A

Supporting evidence- antidepressants prove to work on people with OCD because of serotonin levels affecting people with depression as well.

64
Q

What are the limitations of neural explanations for OCD

A

Serotonin OCD may not be unique to OCD- common co morbidity with depression means that the serotonin level may be affected by the depression not the OCD

65
Q

What is the biological approach to treating OCD

A

SSRIs- also known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. They prevent the reabsorption of serotonin into the presynaptic nerve and forcing it into the post synaptic receptors. it is often combined with CBT to help a person with OCD concentrate properly in the therapy.

66
Q

What are the alternative drugs in treating OCD

A

Tricyclics
SNRIs

67
Q

What are the strengths of drug therapy for treating OCD

A

Good evidence for effectiveness- Soomro et.al (2009) compared SSRIs to placebos in treating OCD and found symptoms reduced for around 70% of ppts.

Cost-effective and non disruptive- very easy to take meaning that people will actually stick to them. Therapy takes up a lot of time and is expensive so people don’t find it as effective or easy.

68
Q

What are the limitations of drug therapy as a treatment for OCD

A

The drugs can have serious side effects- loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, bruises easily, headaches, confusion. Can make people stop taking the medicine.

Drug treatments are not the most effective- Skapinakis et.Al (2016) found that cognitive and behavioural therapy is more effective than drugs

Psychology (7 decks)

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